Wild Reverence
Thank you to NetGalley and Saturday Book for the digital review copy of this book in advance. It hits shelves on September 2.
Set in the same world as Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, this is another stunning novel from Rebecca Ross. This one can be read without reading the other duology as it shares a few characters but actually serves as a prequel with events occurring far before those of the other books.
Matilda is the youngest of the goddesses. The product of the Underling goddess of winter and a Skyward god, known only to her mother, she belongs in both realms. She is a herald, always meant to roam between spaces. While still young, the goddess of dreams and nightmares begins giving her dreams to read, and Matilda is surprised to find that she’s been a character in those of a mortal boy her own age, Vincent. Vincent and Matilda encounter each other once outside of dreams, but tragic events in both their lives keep from them one another for the next 13 years. When, at 26, they meet again they find their fates are intertwined more than they could have imagined.
The fantasy elements and worldbuilding was much more intricate than the DR/RV duology, and I found myself so interested in the way the pantheon of gods in both realms interacted with one another and the mortal realm. I appreciated nods to the duology, with Enva and Dacre making appearances, eithrals showing their scales, and the origin story of the enchanted typewriters being told.
There was action and movement throughout the entire novel, though I did feel the pacing lagged just a tiny bit in the middle. I think this could have been my own experience with the first-person dual point-of-view. Because it moves from Matilda to Vincent’s perspectives, I sometimes found myself wondering what the other was doing and also frustrated that these two were kept apart for so much of the novel. I wish there had been more moments for them to converse outside of dreams and battle.
The dedication reads: “For anyone who has ever had to let go of someone they love” so I should have had a clue about how this might wreck me. I dove in anyway. There were quite a few themes I picked up on throughout (fatherhood, loss, etc.) and events that I predicted, but even so, my premonitions did not protect me from the reaction my heart and tear-ducts had. I cried through the ending of Act Four into the beginning of Act Five, knowing full well that I could trust Rebecca Ross to put my heart back together. At this point I’ve read enough of her novels to know this.
Overall, I loved this, would reread it, and thought it brought so much depth and heart to an imagined world I already adored. I gave the DR/RV duo 5-stars as a duo, but I definitely loved this one as a standalone even more.
A few favorite quotes:
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While the duology set in this world is classified as young adult, this one fits in the new adult category. It contains 3 very brief and vaguely descriptive intimate scenes. They are more on par with Ross’s Cadence duo (written for adults). The scenes are easily skipped, but I found them tasteful and not overly graphic.
This book is available through Book of the Month Club. Join with my referral link, and get your first monthly selection for $5. Then add this one to your box for $11.99.
