Where on earth to start with this book??

In the M. Night Shyamalan movie "Signs", there is a scene that creeped out a generation. The footage is a shaky, handheld style rendering of a kids' birthday party. Everyone is running to the window. The footage looks out the window and you're looking at an ordinary yard and then BOOM a weird grey alien appears in an alleyway, looks directly at you, then runs away, and everyone starts screaming. It's not big flashy Hollywood CGI - we're talking a 2002 film here. But that's precisely what makes it so creepy - it feels REAL. It feels like it could really be some dad's handycam footage from an average lounge room. It makes you think - omg imagine if that were real?? - in a way that smooth shiny footage wouldn't.

That's what reading this book felt like to me. I would not consider this fantasy, not even urban fantasy. It's more like a kind of speculative near-future realist dystopia that just happens to feature werewolves and a dragon. It's not fantastical. It's CREEPY. I admit I almost put it down fairly early on - the disembodied voice, a child eating hands... it was almost too creepy for me to handle. And yet there was a curiosity I couldn't shake, so I kept going.

The way the book is told feels more like a series of somewhat interconnected vignettes than a truly cohesive narrative. Just as you're getting to know one character, it switches drastically to a different person and story. It requires quite a lot of patience. It's... fractured.

It's so fractured that it's hard to even pin down a short synopsis. Essentially, a video emerges one day in the near future of werewolves shifting back into humans. Suddenly the world is alerted to the existence of things that have lived in the shadows. But then the end of that video disappears from every copy of it worldwide. All evidence of the shifting is gone. Those who didn't see it on live TV think that people let their imaginations run wild. Those who did see it start to question their own memory. But there are shifts happening beneath the surface of things, monsters are being pushed into the light. By whom? And why?

The emergence of that video is known as - The Fracture.

There is a strong thread of social commentary that runs through this novel. Because I'm woefully uneducated on such things, I had no idea that the title was a play on an anarchist slogan - "no gods, no masters", meaning that no human should be held above another. Once you realise that, you see how incredibly clever the title of this book is - "no gods, no monsters", a call to equality, that no one should be held either above or below another. There is an open relationship, characters of varying gender identities and sexualities and races, a few discussions and representations of cooperatives and socialist-anarchist type communities. This book is the very antithesis of a heteronormative, default-white novel and it feels very authentic.

This is a novel that pushes the boundaries of the way things have always been done, and so the structure of it is only fitting, in my opinion. It's not a standard novel because it doesn't WANT to be a standard novel - that, in fact, is the whole point. It's subversive - it wants to challenge you and the way you think things "should" be done, just because they've always been done that way.

There is an omniscient third person narrator who increasingly becomes part of the story. It is quite disconcerting at first. Imagine you're just reading along a seemly standard third person narration, when suddenly one of the characters starts addressing the narrator, a non-physical presence. It's jarring, although it does come together a bit more towards the end.

Speaking of the end, it finishes somewhat abruptly. The whole book is a very slow build up, to a kind of climactic scene, but then it finishes in a way that is still very unresolved. Goodreads suggests this is part one of a "Saga", so I guess there's more to come. Still, it was an unsatisfying ending after such a long, slow book - especially if you're unsure if you can stomach another whole book of this weirdness.

I saw a review that invoked Gaiman's American Gods and that definitely feels like an apt comparison to me, in vibe if not content. There's an eerieness to it all, a sense of mild horror. Have you ever looked up into the night sky and imagined what it would be like if suddenly gravity stopped working and everyone fell off the earth and was burned up in the stratosphere?? The absolute horror of it, the helplessness, the vastness of a universe that doesn't really give a crap? It probably is a little weird that I have, but that's exactly the feeling this book gave me.

I would not recommend you pick this up if you're expecting standard fantasy. This is not it. If you want to read absolutely different from anything you've ever read before, something a little weird and experimental, give it a try. And don't say I didn't warn you :-P.

Trigger warnings include sexual abuse of a minor, domestic abuse, mild body horror, drug addiction, police shooting of a Black man, an active shooter scene.

This book was really hard for me to read. There were no trigger warnings despite it being a very heavy book with extremely triggering topics. With that put of the way, the book was really good. It was solid with really good development of plot and characters.

I started reading this book and nothing was connecting, so I stopped. I decided to go back and try it again, and it’s just not for me. The storyline is not clear and doesn’t flow, so it’s difficult to understand what’s going on and who’s who. DNF for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced eARC

Full disclosure the 2 star rating means nothing because the book defies rating, I based the rating on how I felt at the end of the book. This book may be pure genius as its undertones reflect the state of society right now or it could be a word salad of epic confused proportions. The synopsis does not reflect the book at all and you need a pad of paper to take notes on just to keep everything straight. There was very little character development which made it hard to connect with one character to follow through the story. I also think the book should end where it does, I don’t see how this can keep going as a series. Kudos to the author for creating a thinker, if anything else this book did make me think.

Overall this is a great book, but it is written in a way that I found really difficult to follow. There are some fantastic ideas in this and it's quite genre-bending... but it was a bit too convoluted for me. I had some trouble keeping up with such a non-linear plot. That being said, it's extremely well written and I'm sure that many people will love it.

Thanks for the ARC.

I was really excited for this read after how enjoyable I found Cadwell’s previous work, ‘The Lesson’, to be, and I wasn’t disappointed but I wasn’t overly amazed either. At times the pacing seemed a little strange/slow and the writing in certain moments just wasn’t my cup of tea. But, that being said, this is the first in a series which I will definitely be keeping up with and reading the future books as I did still find many elements of it thoroughly enjoyable, and I recognise the issues that arose for me may have just been ones that came with having to world-build for future novels in the series.

A narrative told in a series of linked stories. This is the first of a series. These two things worked against each other a bit for me. If I have linked stories, I want the satisfaction of a complete narrative to make it feel successful. If I have a first of a series, I need to feel fully invested with a grounding in a focused single hero. Having said that, the author beautifully draws scenes and I enjoyed the way many of the transitions between stories worked.

This was such a good read. The author did a great job of setting up a rich world filled with unique creatures and secret societies, while still grounding their work in the very real racial/gender/social hierarchies that push people to fight for their rights to exist. The characters grapple with the right way to fight for acceptance and the right way to push against a system that does not recognize them. At the same time, the fantasy world is rich, full of relatable characters, and the story reveals itself to you in a satisfying way. Told through a series of short interconnected chapters, this book would appeal to those eager to explore a world of fantasy and lore but who don't necessarily need all the loose ends tied up in a bow. I'm hoping the author releases more books in their universe because I really enjoyed reading it - the world building gave me Neil Gaiman vibes.

This book was not for me - I will not be posting a review on any other platforms. thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy

This I such a hard review to write. First, let me say how beautiful the writing is in this book. It's very poetic and conveys so much emotion. The concept is interesting and it did keep me engaged enough to finish. Unfortunately the numerous characters and abrupt changing of POVs kept dragging me out of the story. While I liked the book, it just wasn't the book for me.

In this genre-bending fantastical thriller, Cadwell Turnbull delivers a fresh and original take on your typical crime/murder mystery story. A wonderfully inclusive cast of characters (more of this, please!), Turnbull delivers a mythical mystery, introducing monsters, werewolves, and something that's pushing them out of the darkness and into the spotlight. An excellent setup for what is sure to be a thrilling series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for advance access to this title!

This book was interesting, and the writing style of the point of views makes it difficult for me to review it. The style of this book is best described as chaotic. The pieces still feel disjointed, and most of my questions were not answered. The representation is fantastic, and the overarching plot intriguing. But the execution has left me feeling like I didn’t read anything at all.
The body horror and gore in this book was well written, and fun to read (if you’re into that kind of thing). As individual stories, this book was incredibly interesting. If you like speculative horror, and urban fantasy with modern monsters, this book would be the one for you. I just wish the ending was a bit more satisfying.
Full review will be posted on August 30th, 2021.

Turnbull writes a visceral and complicated world of shapeshifters, ghosts, and dragons, all butting up and shuffling against the painstaking modern humanity, and the result is a delightful friction. The pacing is carefully literary at times, favoring worldbuilding over any single character, but No Gods, No Monsters, is a strong, thoughtful story about what it really takes to be human.

At first, this novel was very disturbing. I had trouble getting into the story, and the switching of point of view confused me more than anything... Until I reached the second half of No Gods, No Monsters. At that point, I started to understand that the 'random' events and stories occurring were in fact intertwined. However, they proved themselves to be so entangled that I ended up finding difficult to clearly tell them apart. Indeed, the multiple voices soon proves itself to be reunited by one voice and one mind.

The characters in No Gods, No Monsters were superbly written. The intertwining of their voices, thoughts, and points of view gave a sense of uniformity and gospel-like cast of characters. Eventually, it was almost difficult to tell one character from another since their voices were so perfectly well embedded together.

The horrific and gloomy mood of the novel really surprised me, though usually it's not my cup of tea. I adored Cadwell Turnbull's writing style, and his narration techniques were incredible. In the end, I think that the confusion that arose in me when I began reading was intentional. Cadwell Turnbull managed to make me feel disturbed, lost, afraid, anxious, sad and angry at the same time.

I think that Cadwell Turnbull's No Gods, No Monsters is a novel that I enjoyed no necessarily for the plot –although it was brilliantly built– but for the writing style and techniques. I am really looking forward reading more of Turnbull's novels.

I really enjoyed this book! Have in mind that this isn't the genre i typically like to read so I stared not thinking i'd like as much as I did. Oh boy, I was wrong.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book has received a lot of press in the months leading up to its publication. Unfortunately, I struggled with it and it was a DNF for me. I may come back to it later and give it another try.

"No Gods, No Monsters" was an incredible book that I actually sped through. The characters were relatable but inspiring, the writing kept me interested and racing through each chapter, and the storyline was unique, full of life and powerful.

I went into this book completely blind but I am so glad I NetGalley sent this my way in an exchange for an honest review.

On the surface, this is a book about monsters and their desire to be known. But as the storyline untangles, you can see the incredibly important themes of identity, trauma, oppression and family. It's a book that stops you in your tracks and will ignite conversations across book clubs!

This was my first time reading Cadwell Turnbull's work but I am eagerly waiting for what comes next!

"No Gods, No Monsters" will be released Sept. 7, 2021...so keep it on your TBR!

I absolutely loved this book. The writing was flawless, and the setting felt gothic and was absolutely spectacular. Turnbull clearly plotted this entire novel out very intricately, and all the characters fit together in the most marvelous ways, moments of intensity overlapping at very perfect moments. Also, I definitely connected to Laina, and I enjoyed her voice and viewing these events from her perspective.

I would like to thank Netgalley for sharing a copy of this book with me. While I was intrigued by the description. Unfortunately, I did not finish reading it. Soon after starting it I learned that this was simply not a book for me. While I could catalogue all of the reasons for my feeling, I respect that many people may enjoy this book but I enjoy my reading too much to spend time with a book that I so strongly disliked

What a wild ride!



When Laina awakes on an October morning with the news of her brother’s disturbing killing by a Boston police officer, we are left wondering, is this just another case of police brutality, or is there something more lurking in the shadows? With videos that are seen one day, and then the next are gone without a trace. And monsters. Monsters have come out of hiding and start to walk the streets adding to the impending chaos.



This book hooked me from the first line all the way to the last word. The jumping of time frames kept me on my toes and added to the suspense. This urban fantasy novel was amazing in every way possible. And when I saw it was the first in a series, I just about passed out! There’s more?! YAY! While I felt some characters were a bit under developed and lacked some, seeing it was the first book eased that disappointment. As with all great series, characters are constantly forming and increasing with personality. I cannot wait for the next book.