Samia
I’ll give this a 2.5 it was honestly my least fave Emily Henry book and I have several reasons why.
Let’s start with the characters: While I understand that Hayden and Alice were supposed to kind of be cute opposites of each other (reserved and potentially broody versus super peppy) I felt like their characters weren’t really fleshed out as much as I would like. I couldn’t really get myself to relate for or fall for them. Their chemistry also felt a little sudden and weird and I don’t know if it would have helped to have Hayden’s POV or just something there to round them out - it felt like something was missing.
Margaret was probably the most interesting character up until the end and I won’t ruin it but I felt like her big reveal was so… mid. Like really? She did all this and waste two people’s jobs and careers ? Really selfish and stupid if you ask me.
The problems both characters face and their development felt short I feel like EH is usually so good at making the story about not just the love but the growth and it just fell short for me on this one.
Hope the next one is more to my liking but this wasn’t for me.
I’ll give this a 2.5 it was honestly my least fave Emily Henry book and I have several reasons why.
Let’s start with the characters: While I understand that Hayden and Alice were supposed to kind of be cute opposites of each other (reserved and potentially broody versus super peppy) I felt like their characters weren’t really fleshed out as much as I would like. I couldn’t really get myself to relate for or fall for them. Their chemistry also felt a little sudden and weird and I don’t know if it would have helped to have Hayden’s POV or just something there to round them out - it felt like something was missing.
Margaret was probably the most interesting character up until the end and I won’t ruin it but I felt like her big reveal was so… mid. Like really? She did all this and waste two people’s jobs and careers ? Really selfish and stupid if you ask me.
The problems both characters face and their development felt short I feel like EH is usually so good at making the story about not just the love but the growth and it just fell short for me on this one.
Hope the next one is more to my liking but this wasn’t for me.
eeeep I am so into soccer romances because of this one ! Asher and Scarlett are almost enemies at the start of this book because they have their own goals and pasts to contend with- but the attraction between them is eventually undeniable and that’s what fuels their relationship spark. What I really loved about this book was that even after one main characters get together and things get spicy, there’s still a really storyline to contend with. There is Asher’s goals to be at the top of his team and win a World Cup, but having to figure out why he’s so reckless becomes something that helps him grow. Scarlett’s fear of being on stage, of letting go of who she was when she was younger so she can blossom into who she is now - these still carry on as our couple learns to grow together. It made the story much more realistic and romantic in my opinion.
One start off just because I felt like there were some things that could have been fleshed out more - I would have loved to dive into Asher’s reckless streak more or maybe he went to therapy or something and explore Scarlett’s past a bit more too (how was she as a ballerina before).
Overall though I really loved it
eeeep I am so into soccer romances because of this one ! Asher and Scarlett are almost enemies at the start of this book because they have their own goals and pasts to contend with- but the attraction between them is eventually undeniable and that’s what fuels their relationship spark. What I really loved about this book was that even after one main characters get together and things get spicy, there’s still a really storyline to contend with. There is Asher’s goals to be at the top of his team and win a World Cup, but having to figure out why he’s so reckless becomes something that helps him grow. Scarlett’s fear of being on stage, of letting go of who she was when she was younger so she can blossom into who she is now - these still carry on as our couple learns to grow together. It made the story much more realistic and romantic in my opinion.
One start off just because I felt like there were some things that could have been fleshed out more - I would have loved to dive into Asher’s reckless streak more or maybe he went to therapy or something and explore Scarlett’s past a bit more too (how was she as a ballerina before).
Overall though I really loved it
3.5 stars!
This was a really nice palette cleansing sort of light hearted HEA sports romance! I really liked a cute love story and the unique way these two characters got together because initially she wasn’t into him at all which threw me off (in a good way). Some of the writing was tedious (how many times can you use masculine as an adjective to describe someone before it gets annoying?) but I overall needed a nice easy light hearted book to read!
3.5 stars!
This was a really nice palette cleansing sort of light hearted HEA sports romance! I really liked a cute love story and the unique way these two characters got together because initially she wasn’t into him at all which threw me off (in a good way). Some of the writing was tedious (how many times can you use masculine as an adjective to describe someone before it gets annoying?) but I overall needed a nice easy light hearted book to read!
This book had me feeling unhinged—in the best way. The hook is brutally clever: malevolent “antimemes,” predators you can’t remember, ideas that eat memory, identity, and reality itself. That’s the frontline Marie Quinn walks every day as director of the Antimemetics Division: a war you can’t record, can’t recall, and might already be losing. The novel leans hard into that paradox. Scenes slide out of reach, notes go blank, and the act of thinking about the threat is exactly what lets it touch you. I kept catching myself flipping back pages like, “Did I miss something…or did something miss me?”
Told mostly through Marie’s perspective, it’s a tight blend of sci-fi horror and paranoid puzzle box. She’s a fascinating lead—brilliant, stubborn, and quietly haunted—tasked with building protocols for an enemy you can’t even prove exists. The book makes thought itself feel dangerous: every memo is a weapon, every redaction a shield. The tension doesn’t come from jump scares; it comes from watching competent people try to out-maneuver an absence that keeps deleting the rules as they go. I loved how the narrative form mirrors the threat: chapters that click into place a beat late, reveals that feel like remembering a dream, and a handful of “wait—how long have we known this?” moments that are chef’s-kiss disorienting.
Beyond the mind games, it’s surprisingly humane. It asks what identity means if your memories can be edited, what leadership costs when you’re the last line of defense against something no one else can perceive, and how far you go to protect a world that won’t remember you did. It’s exciting, confusing, and addicting in the best way—my brain felt rewired mid-chapter. The ending landed a little sad for me, but it’s honest for a universe where forgetting is the ultimate camouflage and victory doesn’t always look like recognition.
If you crave smart, high-concept sci-fi horror that makes your neurons spark—and you like the terrifying question “How do you fight what you can never remember?”—this absolutely delivers. I would devour a part two yesterday.
This book had me feeling unhinged—in the best way. The hook is brutally clever: malevolent “antimemes,” predators you can’t remember, ideas that eat memory, identity, and reality itself. That’s the frontline Marie Quinn walks every day as director of the Antimemetics Division: a war you can’t record, can’t recall, and might already be losing. The novel leans hard into that paradox. Scenes slide out of reach, notes go blank, and the act of thinking about the threat is exactly what lets it touch you. I kept catching myself flipping back pages like, “Did I miss something…or did something miss me?”
Told mostly through Marie’s perspective, it’s a tight blend of sci-fi horror and paranoid puzzle box. She’s a fascinating lead—brilliant, stubborn, and quietly haunted—tasked with building protocols for an enemy you can’t even prove exists. The book makes thought itself feel dangerous: every memo is a weapon, every redaction a shield. The tension doesn’t come from jump scares; it comes from watching competent people try to out-maneuver an absence that keeps deleting the rules as they go. I loved how the narrative form mirrors the threat: chapters that click into place a beat late, reveals that feel like remembering a dream, and a handful of “wait—how long have we known this?” moments that are chef’s-kiss disorienting.
Beyond the mind games, it’s surprisingly humane. It asks what identity means if your memories can be edited, what leadership costs when you’re the last line of defense against something no one else can perceive, and how far you go to protect a world that won’t remember you did. It’s exciting, confusing, and addicting in the best way—my brain felt rewired mid-chapter. The ending landed a little sad for me, but it’s honest for a universe where forgetting is the ultimate camouflage and victory doesn’t always look like recognition.
If you crave smart, high-concept sci-fi horror that makes your neurons spark—and you like the terrifying question “How do you fight what you can never remember?”—this absolutely delivers. I would devour a part two yesterday.
Eeeeo this was sick!! This first book has a large cast of characters and sets the scene for what's going to unfold later. There's actually a lot of mystery surrounding our main female character, Ocean. She's a badass, sharp, quiet, yet had the biggest heart which we see through her actions. Her past catches up to her on some level, and her best friend Teo, and they're thrown into a space murder mystery where they're the villains in the galactic story. I found the book witty, well written, and when the action starts up it gets CRAZY!! I'm really excited for the second book because I think that's where we're gunna see all of the action unfold. Challenges have been made, fights have been established, and maybe love is in the air ?? Super hyped for the next one !
Eeeeo this was sick!! This first book has a large cast of characters and sets the scene for what's going to unfold later. There's actually a lot of mystery surrounding our main female character, Ocean. She's a badass, sharp, quiet, yet had the biggest heart which we see through her actions. Her past catches up to her on some level, and her best friend Teo, and they're thrown into a space murder mystery where they're the villains in the galactic story. I found the book witty, well written, and when the action starts up it gets CRAZY!! I'm really excited for the second book because I think that's where we're gunna see all of the action unfold. Challenges have been made, fights have been established, and maybe love is in the air ?? Super hyped for the next one !
This book was alright- it was very slow for me in the beginning and I didn't honestly understand the plotline for a while. I did find the second half of the book more interesting, the mirror world concept is very cool but i think i would have liked more information on the world and how it came to be - i also felt like some of the parts of the book were disjointed so even though i found it alright i dont think i would read again or anything. i didnt hate it but i didnt love it it just wasnt for me.
This book was alright- it was very slow for me in the beginning and I didn't honestly understand the plotline for a while. I did find the second half of the book more interesting, the mirror world concept is very cool but i think i would have liked more information on the world and how it came to be - i also felt like some of the parts of the book were disjointed so even though i found it alright i dont think i would read again or anything. i didnt hate it but i didnt love it it just wasnt for me.
4.5 Review.
So if I got by vibes only, Wild Reverence was a 5/5 for me. I loveee the dramatic writing, the angst of forbidden love, the complications of being a woman (and a goddess at that) in power, where politics is the only way to survive. I loved the magic system and how as powerful as the gods are, however immortal they will be, they are not necessarily safe from being exploited. The storyline is very dramatic and the set up for the characters begins from when they are children, which I liked because we as the reader see the adult conversations ensuing amongst the gods and leaders, through the lens of a child who comes to find the real meaning of these conversations as they get older.
I took off .5 stars because I wanted a bit more romance and the storyline to dive into that a little more, some of it felt rushed and while this is Rebecca Ross's first "adult" fantasy book, it's really not that much different from Divine Rivals in terms of spice and adult content. I think the fight scenes were pretty good and definitely more gory. The other thing I would have liked to see more of is an explanation or dive into the gods/goddesses' powers, especially as alliances shift and powers transfer- can some powers work together? What are the limits? Those sorts of things that would have been cool to see more of in the battles and interactions that required magic.
Overall I ate this up in like 4 days and really enjoyed. I look forward to more books by her where she explores more adult themes.
4.5 Review.
So if I got by vibes only, Wild Reverence was a 5/5 for me. I loveee the dramatic writing, the angst of forbidden love, the complications of being a woman (and a goddess at that) in power, where politics is the only way to survive. I loved the magic system and how as powerful as the gods are, however immortal they will be, they are not necessarily safe from being exploited. The storyline is very dramatic and the set up for the characters begins from when they are children, which I liked because we as the reader see the adult conversations ensuing amongst the gods and leaders, through the lens of a child who comes to find the real meaning of these conversations as they get older.
I took off .5 stars because I wanted a bit more romance and the storyline to dive into that a little more, some of it felt rushed and while this is Rebecca Ross's first "adult" fantasy book, it's really not that much different from Divine Rivals in terms of spice and adult content. I think the fight scenes were pretty good and definitely more gory. The other thing I would have liked to see more of is an explanation or dive into the gods/goddesses' powers, especially as alliances shift and powers transfer- can some powers work together? What are the limits? Those sorts of things that would have been cool to see more of in the battles and interactions that required magic.
Overall I ate this up in like 4 days and really enjoyed. I look forward to more books by her where she explores more adult themes.
