I really enjoyed the book! The writing was beautiful. I loved how it tied into Divine Rivals at the end. It did go a bit long in my opinion, but I still read it pretty quickly. Matilda is a great character.

Wild Reverence was a 5/5 read for me and has become one of my favorites of the year. Thanks to St. Martins Press, I was able to receive this book as an ARC. Having read the Elements of Cadence duology, my expectations were high for another book by Rebecca Ross. I can definitely say that Wild Reverence did not disappoint.

I do tend to gravitate towards Greek myths and retellings, such as Circe, and while this book reminded me of them it was also completely unique. Matilda’s story was so fun to read and she was a breath of fresh air as a main character. She was cunning, brave, and strong. Even though she was a goddess, she felt very human all the same. I loved watching her evolve and learn to accept love in different forms from both Vincent and Bade.

Rebecca Ross creates such rich worlds and lore, which makes it easy to immerse yourself into the book. I definitely recommend this book and can’t wait to read more by her!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Wild Reverence.

Wild Reverence is like a YA/NA answer to Greek mythology. I felt like I was reading the Odyssey or the Iliad, except it was focused on a young girl/goddess coming into her own, working out what family and friendship means in a world where even her parents are a danger to her, and falling in love.

When I compare it to the Odyssey and the Iliad, that's not just because of the relationships between gods and mortals. The story goes from the protagonist Matilda's birth until her...30s? And there are plenty of times that Matilda gets whisked off on side-quests or that we see some incredible epic story happen to a side-character.

I adored the mythology that Rebecca Ross created, with the different worlds that the gods live in and their various types of magic. I also really enjoyed reading about her relationship with parental figures and how that developed.

On the other hand, I found most of the sections from the love interest's POV to be dull (especially the earlier ones), and some of the main villains to be a little 2D. But I can forgive the villains being 2D because of the type of mythology we were dealing with.

Rebecca Ross has such a gift for weaving magic, mythology, and emotion into her stories, and Wild Reverence is no exception. This is a beautifully written story where divine magic and mortal hearts intertwine. I loved the gods and goddesses, the rich mythology, and the humans who brought soul and depth to the tale. The slow-burn romance was tender and earned—one that quietly steals your breath. This book is for anyone who loves lyrical writing, stories of power and sacrifice, and love that grows in quiet, tender moments. I highly recommend!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing this eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

•𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰•

{𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆}

“𝚆𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚍, 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚗, 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚞𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚝.”

✨Release Date: September 2, 2025 ✨
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With how much I loved Divine Rivals, I had a feeling I would enjoy this book—a prequel to Divine Rivals—and I really did! The vibes were spectacular and the characters were highly intriguing, making for an immensely enjoyable story! The writing style that was used in this book was the type that immediately pulls you into the story and keeps you entertained for the entirety of the narrative. While I did find the pacing of the story a bit slow at times, and there was some content I disliked (see content notes below), the lyrical prose stole the show and helped temper the issues.

It all began with a dream—a young boy saved from his nightmares by a girl with fiery red hair. From that dream blossomed the relationship of Matilda & Vincent—a timeless love destined to span the ages. In a time when relationships between divines and mortals were doomed to failure, two hearts entwined, daring to defy fate and test the endurance of their love. I loved how Rebecca Ross took the time to portray Matilda’s young life in the beginning because it did wonders in giving her character so much depth and made her relationship with Vincent so much more intense!

I loved how we got to see a bit of background on Enva and Dacre’s doomed relationship in this book. I was especially fond of the scene where Matilda escorted Enva down from Skyward—it was such a touching moment, in my opinion, watching Enva’s last moments before being bound in matrimony to the lord of the Underlings.

The setting of this book was PHENOMENAL and visually STUNNING in my mind’s eye! I loved being in the depths of the earth with the Underlings—the foggy passageways and the jewel studded archways made for a gorgeous locale! And then there was the Skyward…filled with light, airy clouds; fruit-laden trees; and resplendent with color—it was definitely one of my favorite locations!

Content Notes:
• slight open door scenes (Chapters 67, 68, 84)
• some lgbtq content
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I received a complimentary arc from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All opinions expressed are my own.

Rebecca how do you do it?! She is the queen of heart wrenching fantasies!

I absolutely loved the last half of the book (especially the end 30%). The way everything tied together was truly a masterpiece + her writing was just incredibly detailed and stunning. The world building hurt my brain and the first part WAS slow ok but it’s so worth it, if you just hold tight. I loved the descriptive writing this book has, truly transports you to another world. The last chapter and epilogue had me in tears!!!! TEARS. I just loved Matilda and Vincent’s story. It was beautiful. I did want a tiny bit more tension and build up than there was but nonetheless

Thank you, St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books, for the glorious opportunity to read an early copy of WILD REVERENCE by Rebecca Ross in exchange for my honest review!

628.

628 is the number of times I had to pause, highlight, and allow my bones to settle in this beautiful story. There is something about Rebecca Ross's writing that truly resonates with me on a deeply emotional level. I became a fan of hers first with A River Enchanted and she quickly became one of my favorite authors. WILD REVERENCE felt like her most lyrical prose, holding serve with the Elements of Cadence duology, but set in the world of Letters of Enchantment.

I don't know if my simple words will remotely do justice to how masterful I found this book to be. I took my time reading this book, letting every sentence and syntax take root, and I'm glad for it. Each time I went to pick it up I was engrossed. Matilda and Vincent are such special characters that I will treasure along with Roman and Iris, Jack and Adaira, and Torin and Sidra.

While I greatly enjoyed the medieval world building, this is ultimately a love story. Everything else is just a bonus. The level of longing, yearning, and slow burn of forbidden love that Rebecca builds between Matilda and Vincent is unmatched. But, oh, is it worth every moment. I would happily read another 600 pages of this, and I can't wait to reread and reread this story again.

Finally, the epilogue was such a sweet connecting point to the Letters of Enchantment duology. It made my heart so happy. It also makes me want to reread Iris and Roman's story immediately.

infinity stars.

Another masterpiece by Rebecca Ross. Wild Reverence had me sobbing! Matilda and Vincent's story was absolutely beautiful. I was expecting this to be third person narrative like the Divine Rivals series, but this is first-person and dual pov, and I truly have no preference, Rebecca Ross writes both narratives beautifully. And though this is a different tone of voice it still feels ethereal and elegant and has the same essence as Divine Rivals. I am in awe at how she's able to transport me into a story and draw out so much emotion. Even when we were in a slower part, I still found myself anxious at a lot of moments. I yearned to be part of this world.

I loved the characters, they had so much depth and were developed perfectly. Matilda is strong and so complex. Vincent is thoughtful and sweet. And I didn't expect to love Bade as much as I did.

The epilogue is probably the best I've ever read, it was perfect.

Wild Reverence
By Rebecca Ross

I cried as I finished Wild Reverence—honestly, I knew I would. Divine Rivals holds a special place in my heart, and I wasn’t ready to let go of Matilda and Vincent’s story. Their journey is a breathtaking tapestry of love, sacrifice, and loss, and this conclusion was nothing short of heartbreaking and beautiful.

Rebecca Ross writes with a kind of quiet magic that draws you in and never lets go. Her world-building is rich and immersive, with a magic system that feels both ancient and alive, full of wonder and danger.

In this book, Matilda is revealed to be more than she ever imagined: born a goddess of both the Underlings and the Skywards, a feat that has never happened before. Though she only holds the power of a herald, she can move between all three realms, Underling, Mortal, and Skyward. But she must tread carefully; in this world, gods can steal each other’s power through death. And within her lies a hidden strength even she cannot yet comprehend.

As a child, Matilda finds dream-scrolls left by Alva, the goddess of dreams and nightmares. Through these, she meets a boy named Vincent in his darkest dreams—and she saves him, again and again, without understanding why. Their fates were already entwined.

Vincent has always dreamed of a girl with red hair who would save him. After the tragic loss of his father and brothers, he becomes the Lord of Wyndrift. But as his grief grows and his life is nearly taken, he calls for her only to have her disappear. Until years later, when danger returns, so does she.

There are so many stunning, emotional echoes between Wild Reverence and Divine Rivals—themes of destiny, connection, and sacrifice that linger long after the final page. I gave Wild Reverence 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read this unforgettable story.

Rebecca Ross, the queen of longing and divine yearning.

Last things first: the epilogue left me with my mouth open, staring into the middle distance trying to manage my feelings. I had not expected this.

Matilda is a goddess and a messenger, Tristan is a human and eventually a hardened Lord.
What connects them are letters, dreams and prayers.

Their intertwined lifes are told in Ross's unbelievably good prose, guiding the reader through the three realms - divine and human.

If you liked the aspects at the gods and goddesses in the Letters of Enchantment dilogy, you will just love this book.

It's not perfect pacing, and at times I wasn't sure what the story at the core was - but just trust the author and get into the vibe and join the yearning.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the eARC!

#WildReverence #LettersOfEnchantment #Netgalley #Bookstagram

This story is a prequel of Divine Rivals .
Before Iris sat down and started writing at her grandma typewriter and before Enva sang her song and the war started.

This book is so magical and poetic in its own way. It’s about Love but not just about love in a romantic way but it’s about the different shape of it.

It’s about a goddess and a human and how a letter changes everything. It’s how a person can change the entire outcome of a war and how that person is willing to risk everything for just one person.

If you fall in love with Iris and Roman you will love Vincent and Matilda. You get to see so many hints from divine rivals and the epilogue is something we have have already seen but seeing familiar faces was everything ☺️

This book was everything. If you have got an hangover from Divine Rivals go straight into this no question asked

Thank you to @beccajross @saturdaybooks for the arc

❀.•.✿ ~ Wild Reverence ~ ✿.•.❀
by Rebecca Ross

Set in the same universe as the Letters of Enchantment diology, Matilda is the youngest of the gods and their herald. Everyone believing her weak, she tries to navigate through the intrigue that is part of the gods' world, but her connection with Vincent, a mortal, may be her undoing.

Since I haven't read the Letters of Enchantment diology, I was worried that I couldn't connect to the book, but this was absolutely not the case. Rebecca Ross described the story of Matilda and Vincent with such beautiful words, that I was mesmerized from the beginning and couldn't put the book down. Everything was well explained and I wasn't struggeling much to keep up with the world, without knowing the other two books.
I completely loved and don't get me started on the yearning... Vincent was so beautifully written and I can't stop thinking about him and his actions, as well as Matilda and her sacrifices.
The ending was also really satisfying and I think I will appreciate it even more after finishing Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows.

So I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, I’ll be real I hadn’t read Divine Rivals yet. Mainly for the reason that I am a heavy mood reader and sometimes I just have to be really excited to read a book. I saw the cover of Wild Reverence was instantly itching to read it. Between the cover and the UK cover along with the synopsis I knew that I was going to love this book. The plot of Matilda who for the most part has been a sheltered herald to the gods was something that I found very interesting because just the idea of a god being sheltered but visiting these different realms is kind of a juxtaposition. But along the way she finds herself visiting the dreams of a mortal and forms a friendship with him.

From start to finish I couldn’t put this book down. It felt like I could reach out and touch this realm that Matilda was apart of it was lush and just oh so perfect. I found it riveting how these gods interact with mortals and each other. You really couldn’t trust anyone because of the gods want for more power. The magic system with how stars are used and given between the gods is so vastly different than anything I have seen before, and it adds a new complexity to an already interesting world.

For the romance aspect of this story I loved how it evolved. I don’t want to give too much away because I think that you need to experience it for yourself and find out what happens but I loved every minute of it. Seeing how it starts to how it ends I couldn’t have asked for a better romance to the plot. When it came to the ending I was sobbing but I also couldn’t have came up with a better ending than what we got, the ending also makes sense to what Divine Rivals sets you up with, there really was no part of this story that hadn’t had some level of thought put into it and it shows.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a hard copy of this book and I will now be reading everything ever written by Rebecca Ross. She for sure is a new auto buy author if this is what I can expect with every book!

I feel like this took me forever to read but only because it's such a well-written story that I didn't want to miss a thing. I usually skim very detailed descriptions and I don't think I did that once. I absolutely loved the world-building, the characters, the love story - all of it. Admittedly, I was skeptical when it started off with Matilda as a child. But that was such a necessary part of the story that I'm glad I stuck with it. And it wasn't as if that part wasn't also well-written! It was a precursor to everything that developed and the entire story would have been less if it had been omitted or told only in flashbacks. Also, it's no small thing that this is a standalone fantasy novel. I was sad when it ended, but also entirely satisfied. Highly highly recommend!

Wild Reverence is the epic tale of Matilda, a goddess, born as a messenger between three realms. Her mother is of the underworld, the goddess of winter. Her father is a skyward god. In between is the mortal realm. When she is young, a mortal boy dreams of her and she travels those dreams with him not knowing how truly entwined their lives are.

From beginning to end, this story had me in its hold. The story spans an entire lifetime and ends with such a satisfying tie that I simply will not spoil for you. Everything that you would hope for is included here—love, conflict, magic, suspense, betrayal, devotion, and more.

This is what sublime storytelling looks like. Rebecca has delicately built these characters molecule by molecule with care and consideration. Each character has a purpose, each storyline is relevant, everything feels fully realized. There will be no disappointment here for her fans.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Saturday Book, Rebecca Ross and NetGalley for the digital copy for review.

the way I dropped EVERYTHING for this book the minute it was read now again and it delivered everything I needed in a book.

“But if we were doomed, then let us fully embrace it.”Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross was my first arc. I was lucky enough to receive it while it was on read now on Netgalley, and it also was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Rebecca Ross is one of my favorite authors. How she writes is absolutely beautiful and she knows how to stir emotions within her readers. I’m happy to report that this is everything I hoped it would be. I was truly immersed into this story! The world building was captivating. I got so attached to not only the main characters, but some of the side characters too. I will be thinking of this book nonstop for the next couple of months!

i loved this so much more than divine rivals!! this was very reminiscent of her other work, particularly my favorite book “a river enchanted” and her writing never fails to me stun me. i sat and finished this in two solid sittings and already wish we had more of vincent and matilda!!!

4.5 ⭐️

okay sooooo wild reverence absolutely swept me off my feet and then gently punched me in the chest—in the best way possible.

rebecca ross really said “what if i made yearning into an art form” and then proceeded to emotionally wreck me with every single chapter. this book is ethereal and dreamy and absolutely soaked in divine longing. i devoured it like i was starved for poetry and pain.

let's talk about matilda. matilda is a goddess (literally) but also in the sense that she’s elegant, mysterious, and deeply lonely in a way that hurts to witness. then we’ve got vincent—sweet, hurting, mortal vincent—who once whispered a prayer to her when he was young and desperate, and that moment lowkey changed both of their lives. like. excuse me??? that setup alone had me in a chokehold. they don't even meet face-to-face until way later but the tension??? the soft, aching, dreamy tension??? i was screaming internally the whole time.

the writing?? rebecca ross's prose is just pure vibes. it’s lyrical without being too much, magical but grounded in raw emotion. you don’t just read this book, you float through it. it’s like if yearning were a forest and grief were the wind and love was the quiet light through the trees—yeah. it’s like that.

the worldbuilding also slapped. the whole goddess-messenger thing, the different realms (skyward! under! mortal!), and the politics between the deities made everything feel so much bigger than just one love story—though the romance was still very much the soul of it all. i was definitely lost a few times trying to track all the divine drama and ancient grudges, but honestly, i didn’t mind. it just made the universe feel ancient and textured and real.

also: the epilogue. i’m not okay. i thought i was fine. i was wrong. it was so quiet and powerful and perfect that i legit had to sit in silence and stare into the void after finishing.

so yeah. 4.5 glowing, starlit, reverent stars from me. would’ve been 5 if the pacing hadn’t dipped just a bit in the middle, but that’s me being picky. if you’re into dreamy mythology, aching hearts, and prose that reads like a spell, wild reverence is 1000% your next read.

run don’t walk.

I truly don’t have words or complete thoughts to express how much I loved this book but I will try my best! I absolutely adored every aspect of it. From the characters, the setting, the magic system, and everything in between had me enamored the whole time. I found this to be some of Rebecca Ross’s most lyrical and rhythmic writing and it only added to the whimsical atmosphere of this story.

We follow Matilda, a god, and Vincent, a mortal, from adolescence into adulthood. We learn and watch as their lives become intertwined with one another’s. Every choice and journey that they endure is to get them to where they are meant to be.

As a lover of the Enchanted Letters duology I found that the gods were not my favorite within those pages but, Wild Reverence has truly changed my mind.

This is a story about power, choices, dreams, love, found family, existence, and so much more! It was truly a gift to watch this story unfold. The depth that Rebecca Ross was able to capture within these pages of this standalone will always baffle me. It truly had it all. My heart yearned, broke, and pieced itself back together over and over. I feel whole after finishing this book. A love story that’s written among the stars ✨ this book will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thank you to Saint Martin’s, Saturday Books, and NetGalley for this eARC and the opportunity to review honestly.