“One moment, you were there before me. The next, the wind had carried you away”

I started this book thinking I will be lost with the number of characters and the universe. But I got into it and I loved my reading. Mathilda is endearing and her powers are incredible. I loved how she meets Vincent and what they live together, how she is attached to mortals. The secondary characters are the strength of the book for me and I now dream of knowing the story of Bade. Now, I'm going to reread Divine Rivals because I'm not ready to leave the universe. I pre-ordered the book and I can't wait to receive it. Coup de cœur ❤️

"Once, my mother told me to never run from a
god. They are drawn to those they cannot have, by those who fear or loathe them. And while they enjoy a good chase, a vigorous hunt to stir up the color in their cheeks and the fire in their ichor, they will only grow angry and dangerous should their prey prove themselves faster, slipping away

How often have I broken my mother's
advice?

Many, many times."

From the first page, I felt like I wasn’t just opening a book, I was trespassing into something sacred. Mortals are not meant to know the secrets of the gods, and yet Rebecca Ross lays them before us, each word a key to a door we shouldn’t be able to open. I didn’t feel like I belonged in the pages, yet I couldn’t turn away. I was an intruder in a divine world, watching power and passion play out as if from the shadows.

The emotions in this story didn’t come softly, they struck like lightning. Frustration that curled in my chest and anger that burned behind my ribs. Intrigue that pulled me deeper. Pain that sat heavy and unyielding. And love.… a love that felt alien and yet achingly familiar.

The gods do not love as we do but Matilda shattered that truth. Her life, her birth, her choices, they broke the mold. She is not the damsel to be rescued; she is the white knight, the one who wields the sword and holds the line. Seeing a heroine written with such strength and agency was not just refreshing, it was exhilarating.

Then there was Bade.

From the first moment Matilda speaks of him, I was gone: heart, mind, and soul. He was more than a mentor or guide; he was the father figure she didn’t expect to care for so deeply. Her journey truly begins with the task she takes for him, and through every trial, his presence remains a quiet anchor, out of all the characters, he’s the one I still think about, the one who lodged himself into my heart.

Vincent’s story unfolds in parallel to Matilda’s, and in him, I saw a different kind of strength. We watch him grow, just as we watch her rise, but we also witness the weight he carries; the pain, the loss, the devastation that should have broken him but didn’t. For a mortal, he is unshakable, and I understood instantly why a goddess might see something in him worth loving.

Rebecca Ross doesn’t just tell a story, she weaves constellations into it. She takes the stars and scatters them across the pages, shaping them into magic so tangible I could almost touch it. This book doesn’t just sit in your memory; it lodges itself in your bones. I know people will talk about it for years to come, and I’ll still be here, turning over her words like prayer beads, feeling the echo of the divine.

Fully 10 out of 10 loved this book!

A story of greed, deceit, scheming, war, and love.

The story starts with a young Goddess, Matilda. Born among Gods who only care about power, she doesn't have many friends until she meets a mortal boy in his dreams. As they grow, they keep thinking of the other until an event brings them together. It's up to them to change a fate that has been woven and along the way, unlock a power Matilda didn't know she had. This power puts her life in danger from the other Gods who kill for power.

First, thank you thank you thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Rebecca Ross has some sort of magical powers that allow her to weave together beautiful stories of love filled with every day magic and elements of fantasy. This was no exception. Matilda and Vincent had such a wonderful story. Every time I put this book down I was thinking about the next opportunity I would have to read it. I am so excited for this to come out so I can recommend it, and continue to recommend Divine Rivals, to literally everyone I talk to.

DNF

I think that rebecca ross might not be for me. I was so excited to read this book but I couldn’t get into it to save my life. Maybe I’ll try again when the audio comes out.

In Wild Reverence, Rebecca Ross crafts a breathtaking, emotionally resonant story that bridges divine mythology with raw human emotion. Following the entwined lives of Matilda, a goddess born in the Underworld, and Vincent, a mortal dreamer, the novel spans decades of longing and love. From their first encounter in childhood dreams to their reunion later on, Ross explores the deep currents of connection that defy time and distance. The narrative also uses dual POVs, which enhances the intimacy of Matilda and Vincent's story.

Ross’s lyrical prose shines, as it does in her other novels, delivering a story that is both epic and romantic. Her gift for character development is on full display, particularly with Maltilda. If you loved Divine Rivals, you will love this even more. Wild Reverence is easily one of Ross’s finest works—powerful, immersive, and deeply felt. It’s a book you’ll never quite let go.

4.5 rounded up. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC.

I’ll be honest in saying this book feels a little special to me. The timing of reading this, on top of several things throughout the text, felt like a sign from my sweet angel beyond. For that alone this book will hold a special place in my heart.

The prose in this story were absolutely gorgeous. It is honestly ridiculous how many highlights I have in this ARC. I’m excited to get a physical copy and tab it up.

The story and writing feel reminiscent of Rachel Giligs The Knight and the Moth, and Leigh Bardugos The Familiar. Elegant writing, historical setting, fantasy elements, and some hauntingly beautiful moments. This reads like medieval folklore and I loved it.

My only real critique is pacing. This story reads a bit slower and can drag a little at times. But I loved it nonetheless.

Bravo Rebecca Ross.

Omg this book was amazing! I’m so happy to be in the world of the divine rivals again! It was a slow start, but once the action started, I couldn’t put it down!

I can't even put into words how incredible this book is. I will read anything by Rebecca.
Full review to come.

I went into this book hopeful, especially with its connection to the world in Divine Rivals. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me.

The pacing felt extremely slow, and the prose leaned so heavily on description that it often stalled the momentum of the story. I found myself struggling to push through certain sections. I never truly connected with Matilda or Vincent, which made it difficult to connect to their characters.

That said, I can see how readers who enjoy lush, descriptive writing and slow-burn storytelling might find this appealing. The mythology and world-building are clearly crafted with care, and fans of Ross’s style may appreciate the attention to detail. For me, though, the combination of pacing, heavy description, and lack of character connection made this a tough read to finish.

I have quite literally NOTHING negative to say about this book.

The writing is poetic, magical, and full of elegant whimsy. This story gripped me from beginning to end.
It tugged my heart strings, shredded them, sewed them back together, all to repeat the cycle once more.

It is emotional, enrapturing, and impossible to put down.

The FMC is likable, the messages regarding humanity and love are admirable and inspiring.

The characters are well rounded, each adding something to the storyline.

The plot is absolutely GRIPPING from start to finish. Gods? Magic? High stakes? Romance? This book has it all.

If you like pining, invisible string theory, & found family this book was made for you.

The twists are so well written, seamless, and effective.

This is a refreshing twist on a classic tale of love. The ending was perfect, so perfect I didn’t want it to be the end. So perfect I was screaming in to the ether for more as if I hadn’t been fed a feast.

An absolute MUST read if you loved divine rivals. This book weaves a story that can stand ten toes down on its own, but is so beautifully intertwined with the original duology.

Rebecca Ross if you find my jaw on the floor please mail it back I have yet to pick it up off the ground.

I think the beauty in Rebecca Ross's writing lies in her ability to slowly immerse you into the world she's created, and then all at once pull you in so completely into everything that you are just compelled to continue reading until the entire story has unfolded. Wild Reverence is an adult novel, perhaps falling in the romantasy classification, about a goddess and a mortal. It's hard enough being a woman, but try being a woman who is a goddess, who is fighting for her place in a world where everyone kills each other to take each other's powers. I loved Matilda, the main character, and loved seeing how she grew over the years from an innocent child, to a perceptive, strong young woman, but also appreciated that we got a dual POV with Vincent. What I loved about this book was that while there was romance, the other parts of the story: the struggle between Vincent and his uncle's army, the challenges of growing up as a divine, were very much there. I think a lot of times books that are marketed more towards the romantasy angle are like 90% romance, 10% fantasy, but this is a FULLY fleshed out story. Loved this book and would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to an early digital version of this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rebecca Ross, and St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books for allowing me to read this as an e-ARC.

This novel was a touching testament to the enduring power of true love and the journey to love and believe in yourself. Our FMC, Matilda, is a goddess born in the Underworld who meets our MMC, Vincent, who is mortal in one of Vincent's dreams when they are just children. Matilda continues to appear in Vincent's dreams for years, until one day she is forced to flee the Underworld for the Skyward world, unintentionally cutting off contact with Vincent for the next 13 years. When they finally meet again, Matilda promises to help Vincent in a familial battle for inherited territory to rectify what she feels is her failure to help Vincent in his time of need. What follows is a fake marriage and our main characters finally being forced to come to terms with their feelings for each other, years after they last met.

This book was so beautifully written, poetic without being flowery, and powerful in its delivery. The author's usage of dual POVs for Vincent and Matilda really made this book so much more impactful; the reader has a much better grasp of each character's feelings even though they try so hard to deny them from each other for so long. Matilda is a fantastic main character--strong, determined, intelligent--but is consistently underestimated by others because of her youth and because they believe is a low-level powered goddess. However, Matilda is so much more than she appears at face value and her resilience throughout this novel is inspiring. And Vincent? Oh my god, this man is the definition of YEARNING. I don't think I've ever wanted a couple to finally drop pretenses and admit their feelings for themselves more than I did in this novel. The difficulties they have to navigate just to be with each other are heartbreaking and it makes you admire their resilience and belief in each other. Their love is so beautiful; Rebecca truly knows how to write an epic love story. Vincent's love letter to Matilda is probably my favorite part of the story. Authors like Rebecca are the reason women would rather have book boyfriends than IRL boyfriends. Every woman deserves to be loved the way Vincent loves Matilda.

I absolutely adored this book and would definitely recommend this book to a friend. This is a book I definitely will come back to again and again; there's just so much here that can't simply be explained in a review and that you need to experience first-hand to really appreciate the world Rebecca has built here. I'm so glad I was able to read this ARC and review it. Five stars for me :)

5⭐ (Bookstagram posts will be posted closer to publication date)

Wow. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC, but the GREATEST thanks to Rebecca Ross for creating an absolute freaking masterpiece.

The moment I read the dedication of "For anyone who has ever had to let go of someone they love", I knew this woman was about to give me the uppercut of a lifetime. And that she did. And I thank her profusely for it.

To me, this book was WAY better to her Letters of Enchantment Duology, which is saying a lot, considering they were wonderful books. Reading these stories about these deities and the political strategies they employed to keep their powers were such a unique magic system, in my opinion. This book really had it all; yearning, love of a lifetime, political intrigue, gods/goddesses and main characters to root for.

And speaking of main characters, Matilda is THAT bitch. She was written to be the low-tier messenger goddess, easy to have been forgotten by people, but Rebecca Ross created such a revered and powerful main character, and you couldn't help but keep reading about her journey. Vincent taught a class on yearning. I'm convinced. And that man wanted her BADDDDDD. However, Bade was my favorite character though. There is no question about this and I will take no opinions on this.

I feel like this review really didn't do too much justice, but I have just finished it, and I'm still processing. It has been a while since I've read a fantasy/romantasy book this good, that it rendered me speechless. One of my favorites of 2025, no doubt!!

Wow wow wow. This story was absolutely stunning. The depth of these characters made me feel like I was sitting right there experiencing every emotion with them. I am so happy we got this book to further explore the incredible world she created in Divine Rivals. Wild Reverence is truly a beautifully written romantic fantasy novel, I was completely immersed in the vivid setting. Rebecca Ross’s writing always has such a profound impact on me (she does in fact make me cry every time). Her ability to weave words together and evoke such strong emotions is truly magical.

6 star top tier book right here!!! Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.
If you loved Divine Rivals you will love this book even more! Rebecca Ross has outdone herself once again and dare I say has written her best book yet. From its first page the book captivates you and has you wanting more, the writing and plot is uniquely its own and the way it told Vincent and Matilda ’s story was done so good.
Also learning more about the Gods from Divine Rivals was fantastic, I loved how even though they were divine beings they still went through the betrayals and trials many mortals do. Will always recommend this series of books to anyone.

4.5- This book was fantastic and made me want to read DR again and move on to RV! I loved Matilda and Vincent’s Story. My only issue was the going back and forth between realms got a bit disorienting at times. A romantic and bittersweet story. Highly recommend.

I'm so thankful for an e-arc of this book. I absolutely enjoyed reading it so much! I can't wait to get my hands on the physical copy of the book when it comes out...going directly to trophy shelf!

Genuinely one of the best books I’ve ever read. The magic system is beyond unique and is eternally beautiful. My breath was taken from my lungs so many times, lingered in suspense. I could not recommend this book enough.

Wow, this book was so good!! I loved everything about it. Before picking this up I did not know it was a prequel; such a pleasant surprise! I loved the political intrigue, system of divine strength, and fated romance. I loved all the jumps through time and the pacing never let up. Despite being broken up into 5 parts, I read this far too quickly. This book also hit on so many fantastic, unexpected tropes.

Wild Reverence is a perfect addition to the Letters of Enchantment universe. The epilogue was just fantastic. I wish I could live in this world forever. Finishing this made me want to immediately reread the original duology, especially Ruthless Vows, for all the divinity tie-ins. So happy I was able to read this a month before release; thank you Rebecca Ross, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley!