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!

So amazing to dive back into this world and see some of the before to Divine Rivals! I was hooked from the beginning! I absolutely love Matilda and everything that she is and does! She is strong and kind yet vicious when she needs to be. Her relationships with others were all so powerful and complicated and could be seen in everything she did and worked to overcome.

A beautiful, heartwarming love story. Returning to this world reminded me how much I had missed it and how much I had loved her previous books. Rebecca’s writing is absolutely beautiful. I was crying at times laughing at others. I found myself so emotionally invested in these characters. I especially loved the relationship between Matilda and Bade. And obviously Vincent was everything. Overall a wonderful story.

Wow… Rebecca Ross has solidified herself as an automatic buy. This book is beyond amazing and I devoured it within 2 days (and that’s not easy feat with a baby!). Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book early, it is a gem and easily one of my top reads this year.

4.25 stars

i absolutely LOVED divine rivals for the romance, the yearning, and the poetic writing. if these same characteristics describe what you loved about divine rivals and ruthless vows, then you will also love wild reverence. there is something so soft and tender about the way that rebecca ross writes love, and i feel like that’s hard to come by when a lot of romances are more passionate and tumultuous. even when there are scenes of romantic passion, there’s something quiet and calm about it, and i think it’s supported by the tiny, mundane details that ross describes and uses as metaphors for what love feels like to the main characters. i loved matilda and vincent together, though my only critique on the romance plot line is that i wish we had spent more time on the dreams and how they came to love each other through them. because it lacked that slow build-up that divine rivals had, there were times when the romance felt a little insta-lovey, which is not a trope that i particularly enjoy, but if you do then this won’t be a con for you.

i would also say that this book is a really “trust the process” type of book. there seems to be a lot of threads that are laid throughout the first half of the book that seem unrelated, and initially i was worried that this book was taking on too much in too little space. however, the way the the threads come together to weave the ending of the story is really beautiful and doesn’t feel rushed. some of the threads are a little underdeveloped (which i won’t name for now because they are spoilers), but not so underdeveloped that i was bothered.

i really enjoyed one of the main questions of this book, which revolves around fate and how much of your life is predetermined. it poses the question of if you could know your future would you? and then, if you do choose so and your future unravels exactly like how it was told to you, was that fate or were you subconsciously acting in ways that lead you down that path? i kind of wish that this theme was extended more throughout the book because it would have made this story even more compelling than it already is. another main theme/trope of this book is found family and this one was honestly the shining star for me. the love that matilda finds beyond just romantic love is so heartwarming, and adds complexity to this book in a way i really enjoyed. this was the plot line that made me the most emotional and sad, and while i was happy with how it rounded out, i wish there was more of a mention of it at the end.

again, rebecca ross is the QUEEN of love letters. i love how it was still incorporated into this book without being exactly like divine rivals, as i feel like the letter writing is the true magic in this world and series. i also would like to note the tiny details that rebecca ross pays attention to with the writing style, such as using “sinister” to describe the left hand instead of saying “left hand” as it really helps build this sort of medieval world despite being a very small phrase. the writing itself is also just so beautiful, it really draws you in. i read this when i was very stressed, but whenever i picked this book up the words felt like a warm hug and really pulled me in. there’s just this overall softness to this book that i really enjoyed.

overall, a very solid romantasy novel with stronger romance than fantasy elements that i would recommend to anyone, but especially if you like soul mates, found family, and the type of love that is soft, quiet, and strong.

also the epilogue!!!! if you know, you know.

thank you to st. martin’s press, rebecca ross, and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review! so grateful i got to read this before release date as a huge fan of divine rivals and ruthless vows <3

I truly enjoyed Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross. Having read Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, it was a delight to return to this world and dive deeper into its history. The story offers a satisfying mix of action and adventure, with a medium-paced flow that balances some of the slower, character-focused and world building moments. While this prequel can be read without prior knowledge of the series, fans will especially appreciate the added depth. A strong YA/New Adult fantasy with some romance elements.

This was SO lovely!! Absolutely everything you could want in a standalone and just what I needed to get me out of a reading slump. For anyone who loves gods mythology and wants something that has both romance AND character depth - this is the book for you. I loved how rich and layered the world became and how the relationships amongst the gods (and mortals) was delivered in such an original and compelling way. This really shines as a plot-driven and grounded story while also maintaining a writing style that is incredibly ethereal, vivid, and beautiful. I was totally hooked in a way that just never really connected for me with Divine Rivals, despite being in the same world. I HIGHLY recommend picking this up if you were a fan of Divine Rivals duology, but still also really recommend this for anyone who was not. This is going to be one of my top YA’s of the year!

5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is a beautiful stand alone.

Easy to understand world building and magic system.
Compelling plot and characters.
Slow burn romance (1🌶️)
I really enjoyed this writing, felt like I was along side these characters throughout.