Wild Reverence

This book has consumed me mind and soul. Is that too dramatic to say? Probably. Is it incorrect? Absolutely not. We all know that on this blog I am a Rebecca Ross stan. As I know many are after her Divine Rivals viral hit. So while yes this is in the same world, this is my gentle reminder to you that if you love the world of the Letters of Enchantment, but haven’t gone to read her backlog yet, you really really need to. However, you can 100% do that after reading this next. Because it is potentially one of my favorite books if not my favorite she’s ever written. 

I loved getting to see Oath in her eyes in an alternate kind of WWI with the trench warfare and yet magic all around. The world was rich and lovely and I did enjoy the more recent kind of history. However, I think that Rebecca’s world building doesn’t just come to life but explodes into that brain galaxy meme when we get placed back further in time, back before the “modern” and we get to see when the gods truly co-existed in the mortal realms of Wyndrift, Englewood and yes even a mention of the city of Oath. We are only in slightly familiar territory as the world changed over the hundreds of years between stories, but it allows us to see the true depth and craft of her writing. 

Ultimately, I fell in love with this story telling, because it is Matilda telling us her story. We are both living it, and being given insight from her later on at the same time. When you finish the story, you’ll know that this was not just an artistic choice, but integral to the plot. So we are blessed that even at moments when she wouldn’t have quite known what was going on if we had been fully in her head as things were happening, Matilda is able to tell us what happens from her very birth on. Forging bonds and setting us up for what comes later on in the plot from the very beginning, if you pay attention. Remember, Rebecca leaves nothing in her novels that isn’t necessary. 

So, watching this small child approach the world, learn the heartlessness of the gods and grow into a woman who has to learn her own power and realize how she can shape the world around her it was poetic, harsh, and enrapturing. From the odd chances of her birth, being both an Underling and Skyward, to her early connection to the mortal world she is unique in many ways—her otherness both looked down upon and desired—but also to me showed how while the gods are immortal and different, it is they themselves who shape the impression and actual cruelty in how they interact with mortals and move in the world. They are written with their own otherness, their difference from us, their own ways that they must interact with both each other and the world, and we with Matilda get to learn about them from their own homes. The most interesting point of view I think we could have been given. 

This deep dive into the world of the gods and mortals works so well to see how the difference between mortals and immortals work because of the amazing magic system. She gently weaves the story of the gods into the world we already know, and the masterful writing is an example of how folktales and history can be lost to time, and yet they still shape the world in ways we might not have known at first. I truly think that Wild Reverence is the best story out of the three set in this world, which if you read my Divine Rivals post you will understand how phenomenal that must mean this story is, and it is made all the richer coming to us now when we already know the world to see the easter eggs of things that we just took as “that’s how it works” in the duology, and instead we learn how it came to be in this story.

I am jealous of all of you who are able to read it for the first time. This was a story that when I read the first chapter I knew in my bones it would leave a mark on me. I was not wrong. Matilda, Vincent and the entire cast were so well rounded I felt as if I had known them for years. This is a story of inspiration, of otherness, of finding your place in the world. It is a story of learning when to be gentle and when to hold boundaries, and learning to know your own worth. It a tale woven with myths made real, pushy man-child like gods, and how love and kindness might even be able to alter the course of fate and death. I found a little of myself in Matilda and Vincent, I hope you do too. Please let me know if their tale sits in your chest after words, and leaves an ache in your bones. 

Looking to find Wild Reverence? Here you go:

Bookshop.org ~ Libro.fm ~ Goodreads ~ Storygraph

As a side note, this was originally given to my as an ARC by Netgalley for my honest review. It did not impact my thoughts on the book, which I have since gone and bought myself. Also, some of the links to Bookshop.org or Libro.fm will either provide me or an indie bookshop I support a portion of the affiliate sales if you use them to buy a book I recommend!