Rebecca Ross’s Wild Reverence revisits her Divine Rivals world with a new 600-years-earlier love story of gods, messages, and regret.
A romance built on ancient gods and old wounds is getting fresh attention. with Rebecca Ross returning readers to a world many associate with Sarah J.. Maas.. Her September 2025 release. “Wild Reverence. ” is an adult stand-alone romantasy that goes back 600 years before the events of her New York Times bestseller. “Divine Rivals.”
“Wild Reverence” focuses on Matilda, the herald of the gods, whose unusual gift shapes her life from the start. Born able to take messages between immortal beings—and to traverse places where other gods cannot—she grows up amid divine power, yet her world doesn’t center on magic for long.
A human boy named Vincent enters her story in a way that stands out from everything around her. Even when Matilda is surrounded by gods as a child, it’s Vincent—someone she visits in dreams—who becomes the emotional gravity of her life.
When Matilda finally meets Vincent in person, the shift is immediate: he makes her feel more seen than any god ever has. But the connection doesn’t last long. A tragedy tears them apart almost as soon as they meet, breaking what might have become the beginning of something lasting.
After that separation, Vincent’s understanding of what happened turns bitter. He believes Matilda abandoned him, both as a friend and as the goddess tied to him through those dreams, and that belief reshapes him into an adult who grows faithless, focusing only on keeping his people afloat.
Matilda, however, carries the memory differently.. She never forgets Vincent, thinking often of the boy she knew while she comes into her own power.. Her perspective. formed by distance and duty. sets up the central emotional engine of the book: what each character believes. and what was actually lost.
The story pivots when Matilda is tasked with delivering Vincent a letter. Determined to right the wrong version of events he remembers, she steps back into motion—not just to fulfill an errand, but to challenge the story Vincent has been living inside.
For readers looking for romantic. adventure-driven fantasy with emotional momentum. “Wild Reverence” positions itself as a must-read for fans of “A Court of Thorns and Roses.” The appeal here is twofold: it promises romance and action. while also reframing devotion. fate. and forgiveness through a history set long before “Divine Rivals.”
Rebecca Ross Wild Reverence Divine Rivals romantasy A Court of Thorns and Roses fantasy romance