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.

I said in my review of Divine Rivals that I had hopes for this installment in the duology to make up for some of my unmet expectations. That was certainly the case here. My main disappointment came from my desire for more worldbuilding and fantasy elements in the first one, and it wasn’t even a large concern because the book still got over 4 stars from me. This one gave me everything I wanted and more.

I’m so late to the game with the hype surrounding this duology. I kept intending to read it, borrowed it from Kindle Unlimited multiple times and somehow kicked it down the road over and over again. Then I got an email offering for me to read Wild Reverence (releasing in September 2025) as an early reader. I said yes, knowing that I really enjoyed Rebecca Ross’s writing in her Elements of Cadence duology. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the new book is set in the world of Divine Rivals. So here we are, finally picking up a book I always intended to read eventually.

text

I read the first installment of this duology (A Letter to the Luminous Deep) last year, and while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t enthralled. I liked the worldbuilding and the letter-writing and journal style of it, but the pacing was slow and I had trouble with differentiating the numerous characters’ voices. The story was mysterious, a bit romantic, imaginative, and funny, but I had a few qualms.

This was a great finish to the Mistborn trilogy. I put off reading it for a while because Sanderson books take me so long to read.

This book was so much fun. It had some twists and turns with clues along the way. I try to be along for the ride with this type of book, but I couldn’t help but make some predictions. I wasn’t completely caught off guard by the ending, but I was surprised enough that I’m eagerly awaiting the second book in the series.

I think I liked this book even more than the first one, but here's the deal. I love the characters and this world, but I don't reach for the book. I'm not sure if it's a pacing thing, or just a "me" thing, but I feel like I read so long only to make very little progress. My experience was the same with The Final Empire.