Overall a decent debut novel! The storyline is great and easy to connect with characters, but the pacing was a bit slow for me. I feel like the author did a great job worldbuilding and setting it all up, but it just needed to move a bit faster. I'd definitely read future books in the series though!

I’m a sucker for a story of gods & mortals & this sweet romance didn’t disappoint. Whilst I wouldn’t say it did anything vastly unique & won’t be changing the genre I enjoyed every step of it & delighted in the soft sentimental romance. I would happily read a continuation of this story as a cozy curl up novel when I wanted a little bit of action, romantic tension and mystery.

A great debut novel into a series that is a play on greek mythology. Also I loved the M/M aspect and was drawn in with the unique retelling. Certain parts didn't feel necessary but I stuck through it and was happily surprised with how much I liked this book.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me.

It wrote well enough but the pacing just wasn't fast enough for me - whilst the worldbuilding was great, it was just too slow. I didn't find myself appreciating what was happening and I just wanted things to get moving.

Whilst the foundations for the worldbuilding and the relationship building between characters was there, it just didn't rock my world and felt a little bit too forced to push through.

Thank you Netgalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Personally the writing style wasn't for me so it did take me a bit to get through it. I loved the story though.

<i>"The stars had appeared, glittering out destinies, sparkling with whispered wishes. I didn’t know then that those stars were already gone. They were only light remaining, a memory of what once was. Like we one day would be. And I didn’t know that yet, either."</i>
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A Greek Mythology retelling of a half-god Apollo and a human Prince Hyacinth along with some banter, pining, forbidden Romance, hate to love, forced Proximity and a declaration of love to melt for? SIGN ME UP!!
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My Rating : 4.5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
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This book follows our two main characters: Apollo, who is a half human- half diety and is a focal point of a Prophecy & a human Prince Hyacinth, who has to prove his place as a soon-to-be king among people who underestimates his authority. I absolutely loved the way both the characters were written and how they brought out the best and worst parts of each other as they grew as characters. All the characters were so perfectly flawed, vulnerable yet strong in their own ways that you feel all the emotions they go through. Especially Apollo and his dilemma between his duty and his heart.
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<i>Because the reality ached through me. If everyone hated me, they didn’t get close to me, and they couldn’t get hurt.</i>
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The story and the world gives you a lot of plot line to follow, and every character introduced in the book makes you want to become like them. I absolutely loved Temi and her friendship with Epiphany!! It was so pure and adorable I melted. The character and story development was really good, and the pacing was quite good ( expect towards the end). I am expecting a lot more to happen with Valerian and Epi and I cannot wait for their side story in the next book !
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Even though this book had it's strengths, there were things I wasn't happy with also. (It's a series so I'm hoping we'll get more answers in the upcoming books, but still... ) I felt like the last few chapters were rushed a bit and I didn't have time to absorb that declaration and the truth finally coming out and the twist. The plot builts up so much, and suddenly it just crashes.. Maybe it's just me, but I wanted a big climax moment. I still loved the ending and I CANNOT wait for the next book! The cliffhanger was not nice (honestly! please I want to know more!)
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Overall, it was a retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It might be a bit cliched and simple, but I loved it. And if you are a fan of all the things I've mentioned above, then go pick it up !!

DNF

Struggled to connect with this book. The writing style just wasn't quite it for me and while I was hoping the romance would make up for it, I didn't fall in love with that either.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I love reimagining and retellings, especially related to the Greek mythology, so I was excited to read ‘A Veil of Gods and Kings’. The book has an interesting set up and promise, and both Apollo and Prince Hyacinth are interesting characters.

While those aspects have initially drawn me to the story, I felt like there was something missing – characters and the story needed more developing, at moments I found myself to not be entirely interested in the outcome of Apollo’s trials, even if the overall book and story was enjoyable.

I enjoyed the most Apollo’s relationship with his sister and generally the friendship developing among numerous characters throughout the story.

thank you to netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with this ARC!

While I enjoyed this book overall, it was a little slow at points. A retelling of the story of Apollo and Hyacinth, we get a beautiful story of self discovery and an enemies to lovers romance. Apollo, forced by Zeus to go and learn from Hyacinth, discovers a connection and grows to fall in love while expanding Hyacinth's view of his kingdom and people.

While the main story line was Apollo/Hyacinth, I found I enjoyed the second story line more - Temi and Epiphany, and their friendship. Both strong women, we get to see Pip come into her own and find her voice with Temi's help/encouragement.

This is the first in a series and I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops!

I liked this book but I didn’t love it! I found some of it to be hard to read and it dragged at times for me. I still give it a solid 4 stars.

I really enjoyed this take on the Apollo myth. It has wonderful representation of the LGBTQIA community and I really look forward to see what comes to be in book 2.

honestly i went into this book expecting something completely different but wasn't disappointed! the biggest thing for me was how well rounded and clear the characters were portrayed i loved Apollo's strong character thorughout the book and his dynamic with hyacinth was just a bit excellent!! thankyou for the arc!!!

I loved the new take on the Apollo myth. And I enjoyed (most) of the characters. But I found Pip's chapters to be difficult to get through, which significantly impacted my enjoyment of the story. I also wish there was more world building.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It is an adult fantasy romance from multiple perspectives. This story mainly focuses on Apollo and in this one, he is still technically mortal and does not want to ascend to be a full god, but his father Zeus has plans and a prophecy that Apollo is a part of, so he has no other choice but to see through. This was an interesting take on the tale of Apollo. In this one, he has a lot more admirable qualities and is not portrayed as the selfish, arrogant pretty boy that he usually is, but still can be a complete jerk when he wants to and at times, I liked his character and others he was so insufferable. The romance in this story is a hate-to-love trope and while there were spicy scenes here, they were very tame and some things were a bit glossed over, so if you don't want a deep dive into an erotic novel this might be a good one to pick up. His love interest in this story was great. He was honorable down to earth, and I liked reading from his perspective. I absolutely loved the Character of Apollo’s sister as well. She was so badass and questioned everyone and everything and she was just amazing. That being said, while I did quite enjoy several aspects of this story, I found that too many scenes were glossed over or taken out and just mentioned briefly and I thought it took away from the story and the building of romance and relationship. Some ideas felt like they were just added at points for convenience, but I do think that others will enjoy this take on Greek mythology and it was still fun.
Trigger warnings: animal sacrifice, blood
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

I loved this book!

I found this to be a really enjoyable read that was interesting and kept me happy throughout.
The world building was pretty good and the characters were likeable and relatable!
The chemistry was good and the plot was amazing too!

Overall i think that this was an easy read and it was enjoyable but i do think that there could have been a bit more world building

While I’m sure this book will work for some people, I just found I couldn’t connect with the characters or plot line whatsoever.

The mark was missed on this, the mark was indeed missed. I am indeed disappointed because I was quite excited for this book but alas my hopes were not fulfilled. The book itself wasn’t awful, just painfully mediocre and I really can’t say I enjoyed reading it. It was all a bit of a slog to get through. In terms of plot, I do not remember the plot because I simply could not bring myself to care. In terms of romance, the two main characters were so annoying I could simply not bring myself to root for them. The writing itself was stunted and It just didn’t flow and I felt the actions and the tone didn’t match the time period. The mannerisms felt out of place and it brought me out of the experience. 2.5 Stars.

An exciting series starter with a new take on the Apollo myth. Apollo here is not yet ascended to his immortality, and to delay that (and spend one more year with his beloved sister, the in-universe mortal Artemis), he is sent to observe Prince Hyacinth, ostensibly so he can learn from his example. What follows is a slow-burn enemies to lovers story that sees the two begin to trust each other despite their initial misgivings and misreading. An enjoyable book, I look forward to the sequel.

There is something so special about Greek Mythology that has appealed to me since I was a young teen. I have never felt more represented by a book than when I read the Song of Achilles in 2016. There are not enough retellings that champion queerness. That fact is especially hard to swallow considering Greek myth, and Ancient Greece, were very queer. I was a babbling mess after finishing the Song of Achilles, and desperately wanted more. I emailed Madeline Miller, and she responded, and gave me a list of myth recommendations. I asked her if she would ever write a book about Apollo and Hyacinth – my favourite myth – and she said the word that has plagued me for years – maybe.

I have been waiting for a retelling of Apollo and Hyacinth. When I first heard about this book, I did a double take. The exact thing I had wanted for years was finally being published and I couldn’t request an ARC quickly enough. I was immediately engaged by the crisp writing and enjoyed the brilliantly constructed atmosphere. I really loved the early chapters of the novel which is a testament to the strength of the sibling relationship between Temi and Apollo. I felt so much anticipation during the lead up to the boys first encounter. Apollo and Hyacinth start as rivals, both with an intense dislike for the other. This book was labelled as enemies to lovers. I think a lot of books recently have been mislabelled with this trope. I wouldn't describe this as enemies to lovers. It's more dislike to lovers, or at a stretch, rivals to lovers. I love when characters are forced to question their perception of someone and realise that they have projected an image onto that person that was never true. Watching a relationship unravel at the seams, and then be built back up from nothing, is always a joy.

There was a moment where Apollo and Hyacinth stumbled upon a little rabbit that reminded me of my favourite queer film, Jongens. It was those gentle, quiet moments where this book really shone. The moments where hands touch and their entire souls light on fire, were wonderful. I was able to enjoy the writing and the beauty of their relationship. Stolen moments of intimacy always thrill me. My favourite passages of the book were those that described the fleeting moments of passion. For the most part, if I focused on the relationship, I really did like this book. I think the romance could have developed a little slower, but it wasn’t a huge deterrent.

I read this book over the course of a few months. I flew through the first 40% and then fell into a slump somewhere near 50%. The reason why I did not fully connect with this book is something I recognise to be more of a me problem. I sometimes struggle with alternating POVs, especially if there is a character I do not enjoy. I started the novel expecting to fall into the rhythm of Apollo and Hyacinth’s relationship and loved following both of their thoughts. I was not expecting to read so many chapters from Pip’s perspective, and I just couldn’t connect with the character. I personally was not really interested in what was going on outside of Apollo and Hyacinth’s storyline but recognise that the novel is about more than just their relationship. I think I would have just personally fallen more in love with the story if it only followed those two. Her chapters were the primary reason it took me so long to finish this book. The synopsis didn’t give any indication that Pip would be so pivotal to the story, so I was expecting something different.

The underlying plot was interesting, but not as engaging as I wanted it to be. I enjoyed the appearance of Ares toward the end of the novel, and the emerging threat of war. I wish the build-up had been more fluid, and that sense of danger had been present throughout, as it heightened the stakes of their relationship. There were a few twists at the end which I saw coming – particularly the one with Temi – but I still enjoyed them. Zeus was not the domineering, terrifying villain I craved, but I see room for him to become that as the series continues.

I’m sure that fans of Greek Mythology and queer retellings would enjoy this, so definitely give this a try if it sounds like something you would enjoy!

Thank you to Victory Editing and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.