5⭐️

Oh. My. Heart. This book was everything! The writing was so beautiful it honestly felt like it was wrapping me up and carrying me through the story. Rebecca Ross just has this way of making words flow like music, and I swear I could live in her prose forever. The characters have my whole heart!! I laughed, teared up, and I just felt everything right alongside them. And I ate up every single detail of the way this book dives even deeper into the gods’ lore after Divine Rivals!! It made the world feel so much bigger and I didn’t want it to end. Rebecca Ross hasn’t written a single book I haven’t devoured yet and Wild Reverence just reminded me why she’s an auto-buy author for me. This is a story I’ll be revisiting over and over again, because it honestly left a piece of itself with me!

Thanks Net-Galley for the arc!!

3⭐, 0🌶️
Okay, so I wasn't the biggest fan of Rebecca's Letters of Enchantment duet, but I wanted to give this book a try, and getting to listen to a "sneak peak" with the first 17 chapters was a great way to 'test the water." You have time to get a solid introduction to the story line, the magical world of the plot, and some of the main characters. I'm not quite confident where/ if there is a romance angle coming in cause that wasn't introduced by the ending of the SP audiobook but it was still interesteing.

For me, the story wasn't gripping enough to say "i'll definitely be listening to the full book once its published." I may be waiting to see if readers with similar book tastes to mine read it in its entirety and enjoy it or not. Lastly, I know the world is similar/ the same s the Letters of Enchantment, but I had a hard time remembering a lot of the "world building" from those books and how it all filters into this book. But that's probably a me problem, because I am not a major fan of deeply enriched fantasy books.

Thank you NetGalley Macmillan Audio for a Sneak Peak of the Wild Reverence audiobook, in exchange for my honest review!

Love the narrator!
Just that there were some different words used than the ARC but not a miss
Thank you so much for the ALC opportunity and will buy full version of audio book too. Love every bit of this story

Oof, this is not going the way I hoped.

First off, the story itself is dragging. The entire opening section is just Matilda as a child (around 13, I think?), and all we really know about the male lead so far is that he’s the third son. Groundbreaking. The pacing feels nonexistent, the worldbuilding is bland (the Underling Realm is literally just described as “a hundred underground burrows”? really?), and it’s a lot of telling instead of showing. The writing is very “pretty words, no substance,” and I’m too bored to even appreciate it. Like girl, I wanted a prequel in this world SO badly, but this ain’t it.

Now, onto the audio: I think I’ve finally realized I am just not a fan of Hannah Van Der Westhuysen’s narration. When I listened to Wrath of the Dragons, I chalked my dislike up to that book’s weak writing—but nope. Wild Reverence is well written, yet the character portrayals still don’t work for me. They feel a bit too forced and dramatic, and instead of drawing me in, they push me away. The male narrator sounded more promising, but with only two super short POVs, it’s too early to know if he could save the experience.

Honestly? Between the slow pacing, the lack of connection with the characters, and narration that just isn’t clicking, this one is already fighting for its life..

Dual narrators!! Love the story and love listening to it even more! The audiobook actors are top tier!

The narration is amazing!! The story is amazing!! I'm so happy to be back in the realms of the gods. I have the book preordered but I may need to buy the audiobook as well.

My only complaint is that this was only a sneak peak and not the whole story. This is one of my most anticipated books of this year and I can’t wait for release day!

This story was a such a beautiful journey 🤯 So different from anything I have ever read before!
THANK YOU to NetGalley and Saturday Books for a an early copy of this magical story, it’s etched into my memory forever.
Wild Reverence follows a story about Matilda a young goddess from the under realm who forms a strong bond with a young mortal boy named Vincent through his dreams. In a ruthless world of Gods where they kill and steal each other’s power, Matilda’a journey starts when she is forced to leave the only home she has ever known.
Audio quality was clean and easy to follow.
I was very fortunate to have an advance copy of the book so I could continue the story.
6⭐️
🪽Immortal x Mortal
🪽 Childhood friends to lovers
🪽Angst and Yearning
🪽Found Family
🪽 Romantasy
🪽 Prequel to Divine Rivals

This sneak peek has me hooked! I had been putting off starting my arc and now I regret it. I had to pick it up immediately from where the sneak peek left off. The audio was great! I wish I had the rest to listen to right now. I’m so excited to see the rest of the story unfold!

WOW AM I sad I only got a sneak peek of this book! I am literally pre-ordering right now because the ending was amazing. I have never read a Rebecca Ross book before and am so sad it took this long. Her writing styles is so fun and detailed. I had a lot of fun listening to this book. The narrator was quite good as well.

I cant wait to see what happens next!!

Ekkk! I love a sneak peek and I love Rebecca Ross! This was so good and I cannot wait to finish the audiobook!

Book Review: Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross

Rebecca Ross strikes again with her signature mix of heartbreak and swoon in Wild Reverence. We follow Matilda, the youngest and least glamorous of the gods, who’s basically stuck playing divine mail carrier until she collides with a mortal lord’s life. From there it’s dream-sharing, fate-colliding, and a love story that manages to feel both tender and epic.

The romance is the shining star; (yearning, soft moments, and that delicious slow burn that makes you want to scream into a pillow. And since slow burns are my personal kryptonite, I was hooked. Ross writes longing like nobody else, and every stolen glance had me invested. The worldbuilding leans more on vibes than strict logic (the god politics definitely get a little muddled), but honestly? The prose is so gorgeous I didn’t mind. Ross’s writing has that lyrical, quotable quality that makes you want to underline half the book.

My only complaint is the ending, it felt a little rushed after all that emotional build-up, like someone hit fast-forward right at the climax. But the journey itself is beautiful, the emotions land hard, and it works both as a standalone and as a treat for Divine Rivals fans who love a hidden Easter egg.

Overall: lush, emotional, and perfectly dramatic. Expect to be left a little wrecked, a little in love, and very ready to gush about it over wine at book club.

Publication date: September 2, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy, this review is my honest opinion.

I told everyone I know to grab this sneak peek while they could, and Rebecca Ross absolutely delivered! I was especially stoked to see Hannah Van Der Westhuyzen as the narrator—her melodic voice is perfect for such a mythic tale. She brings Matilda, the last godchild born to any of the gods in the Divine Rivals universe, fully to life.

This story gives me the sweeping, larger-than-life feel of Greek mythology, but in an entirely original world with its own history and pantheon. The gods are divided into two factions: the Skyward gods (very Olympus-like) and the Underlings (beneath the surface, reminiscent of the underworld). But Ross doesn’t just rehash familiar myths—she’s built something wholly her own. And I love that you can read this without having finished Divine Rivals first (that one leans more WWII/contemporary).

The sneak peek spans the first 18 chapters, following Matilda’s childhood among the Underlings. Her mother—goddess of winter, fire, and cunning—teaches her to survive in a world where the only way to gain power is by killing another god. The tension is palpable, the family dynamics razor-sharp. And layered into all of this is a tender romance between Matilda and a mortal boy she only meets in dreams.

I can’t wait to read the rest of this book!

I absolutely love this already! RR writing style is just so good & I can’t wait to get my hands on the whole book!! This is definitely a highly anticipated read for me & is looking like it’ll be another 5 star read from her!

Thanks for the sneak peek of the audiobook. I was honestly having a hard time getting into it. I made it through the first hour and am still struggling to pay attention to it. I will try again, because I loved the first duology in this world.

The tale of the gods and the ones who changed it all. This audio sampler of Wild Reverence was beautiful. Matilda is an underling goddess separated from the mortal and skyward realms. Traveling only to those places to deliver messages. Her world is turn upside down when someone sets off a chain of events.

I also have the full e-arc. I will complete the review upon finishing. The narrators of this audio were perfection. The accents and character voice changes were well done. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced audio.

I loved Rebecca Ross’ beautiful writing style in the Divine Rivals duology & the same is true for Wild Reverence.

The narrator for this one has such a serene voice and I could listen to her talk all day.

This little snippet introduced us to the important characters and set up the story. While it was a little slow the first few chapters, I feel like that’s pretty normal for fantasy because we have to learn about the world.

I can’t wait to see where this story goes !

The narration for this audiobook is incredible, and the writing so far is stunning. The first 25% of any book (especially fantasy) is usually where I struggle the most to stay engaged, but this book has really hooked me so far and I can't wait to read the rest of it upon release.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC preview!

Thank you netkelly, and McMillan audio.

I also had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book and I really enjoyed this sneak peek. I can't wait to listen to the rest of the book. I really like the way the narrators sound and how they I told the story and paced everything so well, and it just sounds magical, and I can't wait

“Born ​in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land where gods often kill each other to steal power and alliances break as quickly as they are forged, Matilda must come of age sooner than most.”

As soon as I saw Rebecca Ross’s name on this book I knew I had to have it. This book is set in the same world as Divine Rivals and is kind of a “prequel” to both that book and Ruthless Vows. While I liked Divine Rivals, I have to say, I liked Wild Reverence more.

Honestly, I wasn’t the biggest fan in the beginning. The writing style is beautiful and prose filled, but it took me a really long time to get into the actual story. It was almost like the beginning of the book was one giant prologue and I wanted the book and the main story just to start.
Once it did though, I couldn’t put it down. This is an amazing story of the love between a Goddess and a mortal man, where soulmates can meet in dreams and experience a love that transcends time and space.

The characters are so deeply developed that you feel as if you know them, you begin rooting for them as you read. While there is an element of “found family” within the story, it’s almost as if the characters become your own found family.

This is not a book that you finish. This is a book that finishes you, but in the absolute best way.

A very special Thank You to NetGalley, SMP, Saturday Books, and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.