Wild Reverence by. Rebecca Ross | ARC Review – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Wild Reverence (Letter of Enchantment, #0)

Author: Rebecca Ross

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 544

Publication Date: 9/2/25

Publisher: Saturday Books

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Series, Prequel

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Saturday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

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. She may be known to carry words and letters through the realms, but she holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest of allies to ensure her survival. And to complicate matters . . . there is a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met in the waking world.

Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life―begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. When his request went unanswered, Vincent moved on, becoming the hardened, irreverent lord of the river who has long forgotten Matilda. That is, until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him.

As Fate would have it, Matilda and Vincent were destined to find each other beyond dreams. There may be a chance for Matilda to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, but at immense sacrifice. She will have to face something she fears even more than losing her magic: to be vulnerable, and to allow herself to finally be loved.

Content Warning: death, violence

+ I love Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows so when I saw this was a prequel to the series, I was intrigued! Wild Reverence is a story about the gods, and one in particular, Matilda. The storytelling is exceptional, beautiful, and poetic. It’s definitely what I come to expect from this author. She has a magical way of telling a story and I am always entranced by her books.

+ Matilda is such a fascinating character. She’s born to a Skyward father and and Underling mother, but Matilda wasn’t gifted any godlike powers that made her a threat to anyone. She was just there, just a nobody, but her character goes through a lot and being able to cross into realms was one of the most powerful characteristics she had – she just doesn’t know it until later.

+ I really enjoyed learning about this world of Gods. The world building as expected in a Rebecca Ross book is done so well. We even get a glimpse of how Enva and Dacre (the gods at war in Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows), and a hint of how their story begins. I love how we get a real sense of gods being all powerful, and caring about the human world really. And vice-versa with humans, some worshipping them, and some indifferent to them, not wanting to bend their whole lives to worshipping gods.

+ The romance starts off with Matilda and Vincent in their younger years. And the romance really doesn’t take off until later in their adulthood. It’s a sweet romance filled with yearning, longing, devotion, loyalty – a love that spans realms and time. I was rooting so hard for them.

+ Love the epilogue and how it ties into Divine Rivals!

~ I’m not sure why but the beginning of this book did not hook me right away. It was a slow build and I think I was looking for Enva and Dacre and not focusing on Matilda, who didn’t seem significant until her character grows. It took me a few days to really get invested in Matilda’s story but once I did, I could not put the book down.

~ Speaking of Enva and Dacre, I actually did want to see more of them in this prequel. I feel like they remain such a mystery still.

Final Thoughts:

It took me a few days to settle down with this book, the world-building is about Gods we have never heard of (except for Enva and Dacre really) so there was a bit of information and building to do. But when it finally clicked in my head I didn’t want to put down the book. We get to see this different realms, and learn of different Gods, learn about Matilda who seems insignificant at first but becomes one of the main Gods who’s impact is greatly seen in Divine Rivals. I loved Matilda’s journey from nobody to someone to reckon with – all while she stayed good and not power-hungry. All she wanted to do was lead a simple life with Vincent, the mortal man who she had a connection with as a child and now as an adult. I was rooting for their love story across realms and time – it’s heartbreaking and beautiful. Overall, this is a beautifully written prequel to the Letters of Enchantment series.