Rebecca Ross can do no wrong and I cannot be convinced otherwise. She has the most incredible talent of producing an equally beautiful, yet devastating story. If you want to FEEL something, pick up this book. As a matter of fact, pick up anything she has ever written because you are guaranteed to come out on the other side changed.

I loved that we got so much more about the gods/goddesses than we did in DR/RV and it helped bring things full circle for me personally. We also got to experience different worlds which added so much depth to not only the story and overarching plot, but to all of the characters we got to meet. The plot was so incredibly well thought out and complex. Her writing is so enchanting that I was glued to my seat, devouring every single word on the page. 10/10 recommend, especially if you loved DV/RV!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books for an eARC of this book!

I really enjoyed this prequel and new installment of the Letters of Enchantment series! Rebecca Ross has a remarkable way of developing her characters’ desires and goals in a way that naturally drives the plot forward—and this book takes that even further. In Wild Reverence, we dive deeper into the divine characters who were only touched upon in Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, yet played such a powerful role in the background.
Matilda is one of the bravest protagonists I’ve ever read. She’s become a favorite—someone whose mind you genuinely want to spend time in. Her selflessness is inspiring and beautifully written. The story is a reminder that those with the power to create change are capable of choosing good and doing what’s right—something especially important in today’s world.

I highly recommend Wild Reverence as a fantastic new adult romantasy read!

LOVE! This book was everything I've been waiting for. Rebecca Ross builds worlds in a way that is so immersive. All of the characters were well fleshed out and the main story was lovely. The ending wasn't what I expected, but it was still fantastic. Cannot wait for her next novel.

An absolutely beautiful book. The story set in the Divine Rivals world is captivating from the start and does not need to depend on its connection to a successful series. The world development is excellent and allows for opportunity to dive more into the Skywards and Underlings, and doesn’t meander beyond what is necessary to further the story. Vincent and Matilda both come in with a LOT of baggage, but their friendly start and evolution into more is characteristic of the author’s capabilities of writing yearning into her stories. Matilda’s relationships with other gods tied into her character so well and provided a lot of context for the story and character development. The story was heartbreaking in the best way, but had a lovely ending and epilogue to finish it off. I come back to Rebecca Ross’s books again and again for the prose and fairytale-like atmosphere in the way she writes. I’m so glad to have had the chance to revisit this world via e-ARC, and cannot wait to reread this book when it’s fully out in the world!

a soaring epic of the life of matilda, herald of the gods.

this was absolutely amazing. I never wanted it to end, so I dragged out finishing the book as much as possible. rebecca ross knows how to craft a story with amazing characters, create a fascinating and magical world, and capture the complexities of gods and mortals. I loved being able to revisit the world she created in the letters of enchantment duology, but then see a completely new side of it. and see how it connects to the duology in the epilogue!! the love story was so beautifully written and I loved so many scenes and tropes that were captured. honestly, do not know how else to convey how much I loved this story and rebecca ross's way of writing. looking forward to my eventual reread when the physical book releases.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book early.

4.5 stars! As someone who only liked Divine Rivals, and Ruthless Vows not so much, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel!! I am so glad that Rebecca Ross decided to do an adult book within this fantasy universe. I loved the world in the Divine Rivals duology, but I believe the dislike came from the feel of it being young adult. Everything about this world is whimsical, intriguing, and beautiful.

This prequel obviously tied things together from the duology, but it could also be read alone! I did enjoy how the loose ends from reading the duology came together, giving me a better, well-rounded understanding of the characters, the world, and their magic systems.

I am deducting .5 from the rating because the beginning felt too slow at first, but I have grown to appreciate it. It did not start getting truly interesting and fast-paced until 1/3 of the way through. I see that this was necessary in order to understand the plethora of characters and what was going on during the prequel. However, the author did include a cheat sheet in the beginning that was useful in remembering characters and their roles!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Rebecca Ross for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! Wild Reverence is released September 2, 2025!

Thank you to Saturday Books and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book.

Wow! This book is exquisitely beautiful. Lyrical prose and stunning imagery wrapped around a beautiful love story. I was so moved by this book. What do you get when an irreverent mortal falls in love with a divine goddess. A story of love, yes, but also of a life worth living, of loss, grief, greed, and yearning. A story of prioritizing love over glory. Of exchanging having your name on all men’s lips for only one man uttering your name. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve read.

I loved the rich worlds of the gods and getting to know Matilda from birth and her childhood. It is so rare that we see books that highlight a god growing up, and I loved that. We so often get glimpses of gods when they are fully formed and in their power. I loved getting to meet Matilda as a godchild first. The love story between Matilda and Vincent is beautiful yearning at its finest.

Although this is a standalone, I do think you need to read Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vowels first for maximum emotional connection. What a stunning prequel. I have finished the book and am feeling bereft that I am no longer entwined in Vincent’s and Matilda’s story. I fear their story is now etched on my heart.

If you loved Divine Rivals, you absolutely must read Wild Reverence.

✨5 Beautiful Stars ✨

This has the poetic writing of Divine Rivals, and had me hooked from the very beginning. There wasn’t a single moment in this book that felt slow or disinteresting. The way Rebecca Ross wove together the story of Matilda and Vincent truly made it feel like they were always meant for each other. I also like that we see some familiar characters from Divine Rivals and learn a little more about that setting.

I think this is my favorite book Rebecca has written and I cannot wait for it to be published!


Thank you to NetGalley for an EARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley & Rebecca Ross for this Arc!!

This was a beautiful romance and has gods if that's your thing! The romance felt very sincere and the world building is top level. It does start off a little slow but I'd suggest sticking with it!

Rebecca Ross does it again. She weaves a beautiful magical world that transports you easily. In a nearly 600 page book, it never seemed like it dragged or as though something should have been left out.
I easily fell in love with Matilda and Vincent. While this is a prequel for the Letters of Enchantment duology, I do not think those are a required read. This book could easily be a standalone without confusing people.
I highly recommend and it will take a long time for me to move on from.

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross was an incredible read! The plot was original and full of anticipation, world building, creativity, and was action-packed. Everything you’d expect in a fantasy novel and more. The constellations, the powers, the taking and trading of stars — it was incredible. Extremely well done.

The characters were all crafted perfectly. Each character had their own identity (and there were some cool ones!) and made me feel differently about them all. (I really like Bade - his entire story throughout was powerful, as a secondary character.)

Matilda and Vincent were so different from one another, but somehow matched so well. A true test of love, hope, patience and longing.

Also, don’t miss that epilogue if you’ve read other books by Ross!

My favorite book by Rebecca Ross by far. The detail and thought that went into the plot, character development, and magic system is evident. I was hooked from the beginning and truly couldn’t put the book down - I finished it in 4 days.

Love how the book ties in at the end to the rest of the series but the entire book wasn’t just about the characters from the rest of the series and that time period.

I gave this book five stars and would reread the entire series again for sure.

Reading this after coming off Divine Rivals, and Ruthless Vows, it was just as poetic, and beautiful. Rebecca Ross truly knows how to write a magnificent book, and seeing the back story of the two characters in this was delightful. This book was easily 5 stars for me.

This was an ARC read for me and I wanted to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. I came to this book having reading Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows . I definitely think this was top-tier easily a 4.5 star read for me.

As Rebecca’s adult debut, I did find the spice level (about a 1) a little underwhelming but truthfully, the story didn’t need it. It was filled with yearning, an arranged marriage, and a subtle found family element. One of my favorite parts was learning more backstory on characters from Ruthless Vows. Despite the large cast, Rebecca was able to make it clear and easy to follow, which can be tricky when there are multi-character narratives.

I loved the journey the two main characters went through. The back and forth tension, her travels as a messenger, and the way those along her path ended up helping and guiding her. There were moments where the storyline frustrated me, especially when circumstances kept forcing the two leads apart, but in the end, it was bittersweet and was filled with nostalgia. Especially when you learn how the typewriters came to be.

Matilda and Vincent completely won me over, together and apart. Their narration was easy to follow and I loved how each chapter felt almost like a play, titled by the character whose perspective we were in. It made the structure simple to follow.

This is definitely one of the longer works in Rebecca’s repertoire, but it was absolutely worth every page.

Wild Reverence
4.5⭐️

Me: a girl who grew up without a dad 🤝🏼 Wild Reverence

I know everyone is loving the romance in this book (it was beautiful, for sure!) but the parts that hit me the hardest were the moments between Bade and Matilda. Those are the scenes I sobbed, the pages that I read over and over. Their love for each other is what changed the world. Sure, Matilda and Vincent’s romantic love was woven into the loom of fate but Matilda and Bades familial love grown in a place that does not allow space for love like that? It changed everything. Man I cried so much.

The romance is very well done as well, don’t get me wrong. Vincent is a lovely man and he fits with Matilda and I love their love. Their brief moments of peace and solitude that they’re able to share together felt so special and I can see how they both fell so deeply for each other in those stolen moments.

But where this book truly shined though was the world building, the way we got to grow up with Matilda in the under realm learning alongside her while she discovered who her true allies and adversaries were. It felt magical and exciting each time I turned the page.

You do not need to have read Divine Rivals/Ruthless Vows in order to understand what’s going on in this book, I literally forgot it was in the same universe and only realized again halfway through.

Rebecca Ross’ writing is the most beautiful masterpiece I’ve ever come across✨ I did not want the book to end but I kept wanting to find out what would happen next! The love between Matilda and Vincent feels so warm and comforting. Matilda is such a badass yet compassionate character and she deserves all the power given to her! I loved being able to get a closer look into the gods and goddesses & their powers. This book really tied up the story in a big beautiful bow 💘💐

This was…enchanting. Lovely and heart breaking and exactly what I expected but at the same time surprising.

I will admit - I struggled to weave my way through the beginning simply because I was unsure of where the story was leading and what Matilda would face. I had done very little reading into the description of what this story was and I’m glad that I did. It added to the overall unfolding of her journey.

This was full of magic and so many moments of embracing and finding inner strength. It was a quiet story with loud meaning and it touched me deeply.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC - dearly.

This book ended up surprising me by how good it was! The blurb did not prepare me for the rich and utterly beautiful story. A definite 5 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for this advanced copy of Wild Reverence.

Wild Reverence is a prequel story set in the world of Divine Rivals. It tells the story of Matilda, the daughter of an underling goddess and how she builds a connection with a human mortal named Vincent. It’s a beautiful story about sharing our weaknesses and love.
My main critique stems from sometimes the beautiful imagery of Rebecca’s writing distracts from the plot. The flowery language can make following the plot second string, beyond that I really loved the book and this world. I think this was a great story to add to the duology.

Overall: 4 out of 5 Stars

Hang on For the Ride!

Wild Reverence was my first eARC I had the privilege to read on NetGalley. Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for this extraordinary opportunity. This is the first book I have read by Rebecca Ross, and I LOVED it!
"It will break me, to live when you have breathed your last."
This line isn’t just poetic. it’s a brutal emotional anchor that captures the depth of this story’s soul. Wild Reverence is a book that doesn’t rush you. It asks for your patience and rewards you for it.

Yes, the opening pages are rich in world-building. Yes, they are slow. But I didn't let that tempt me to set the book aside. Every detail laid in those early chapters serves a greater purpose: to fully immerse the reader in the stakes, the history, and the breathtaking intimacy that grows between the FMC and MMC. The payoff is in the weight of the emotions I felt as the tension and battles among the immortals and mortals unfolded, because I understand the risks that was being taken by all. I found myself silently cheering for several people and holding my breathe hoping for "good" to prevail.

This is a love that simmers! It’s patient! It waits! Man, does it WAIT! It watches.! The commitment, sacrifice, and reverence these two characters hold for one another is nothing short of staggering. Not if, but WHEN you pick up this book to read you will witness world building, patient love, slow burn, sacrifice for love, emotional resilience and healing. As you turn the last page you will have a WILD REVERENCE for Matilda and Vincent and find yourself wanting to read another Rebecca Ross book.