Unfortunetly I couldn't get into this book. I didn't feel any connection with the characters or the plot surrounding them.

A Veil of Gods and Kings by Nicole Bailey is an excellent retelling of Greek mythology that focuses on Apollo and Artemis. I adore the way the author wrote the characters and the slow build of the storyline. Apollo and Hyacinth are both so dynamic individually but as a duo they are on fire! Also Temi is my idol right now and I totally want to be her bestie. She's an excellent character who is inspiring and fierce. The world building and lore behind the plot were great and I was immediately invested in the characters lives. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and am rooting for the coup[es to pull off their coup. This is a five star read that I would recommend to fans of Lore, Lore Olympus, This Poison Heart, and The Song of Achilles.

Thank you to the publishers, on behalf of Netgalley, for providing a copy of A Veil of Gods and Kings in exchange for an honest review.

I love Greek mythology. I love Greek mythology even better in fictional form, especially when you through in LGBTQ characters, enemies to lovers, and romance. A dash of intrigue just makes for a delicious read.

Reading the synopsis for A Veil of Gods and Kings, I was instantly intrigued. The only things I know about Apollo I got from either Percy Jackson or the WebToon Lore Olympus. But Bailey brings a different spin to Apollo and it comes across as completely original. Bailey is a new to me author, but I've been adding several books (including book two in this series) to be TBR. The worldbuilding is intriguing, the over-arching plot has me very interested, and I'm dying to know what happens with Apollo and Hyacinth.

This book was horrible. The writing was bad and the story was even worse. The characters really were not enemies to lovers at all and ugh. It not worth your time.

My Rating: ⭐⭐.5

My heart feels conflicted right now cause 2 stars feels maybe a little harsh, but 3 stars feels a bit too generous and once again I find myself wishing that Goodreads would implement at LEAST half star ratings. But I digress.

A Veil of Gods and Kings is simply nothing special. I say this without an ounce of hate in my heart because the truth is the book isn't really bad either - it's just not good. It lacks, particularly in story. While there was a bigger overall dilemma, it was sort of mentioned at the beginning and then that was it? I was not feeling the urgency in the situation. I did not feel like the actions of the characters really had much to do with that plot point and therefore I kept asking myself why I was reading.

It wasn't that the writing was bad either. It wasn't lyrical or lovely like the way we've perhaps been spoiled lately with greek mythology retellings from authors like Madeline Miller, but the writing style wasn't the downfall of this book. It really just came down to the lack of plot for me. I just didn't feel like anything was really happening to make me want to keep reading, I wasn't rooting for anyone to solve a greater issue because there wasn't one.

I realize that the overall conflict is Apollo's father, and I get how that could play a bigger role in the overall series, but this first book just left me no desire to pick up the second. That being said I'd absolutely give the author another chance with something new. I think there was absolutely potential here.

All of that being said, if you're looking for a story that's more centered around relationship development, then perhaps this book would be perfect for you. The characters are certainly loveable in their own regard.

After finishing A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, I was in the mood for another fantasy romance. So, I figured, why not pick this one up? It promised the same tropes and atmosphere, I expected it to be similarly amazing. Instead, I got something unremarkable and easily forgettable.

Really, the main problem with this was the characters. I just didn't buy them. Sure, Hyacinth tried his best for his kingdom, but he didn't know that poor people existed... Like, seriously. He had no idea that people begged on the streets of the city that he was RULING. And when Apollo shows him this, Cyn has a crisis. I know, i know, he was sheltered. But he thought he was doing such a fabulous job ruling his city. He thought he had it all figured out. He thought he was the very picture of a kind and generous ruler. He was just an idiot. And this act got old very quickly.

As for Apollo, he was even more irritating. While Cyn tried to be a good person, Apollo was a jerk. He jumped to conclusions. Constantly. He hated Cyn for a good half of the book because he was nice to Zeus...? He thought Cyn was arrogant and privileged? Again, with no evidence. This 'hatred' felt like it was there so this could be labeled as enemies-to-lovers. Honestly, this would've been more enjoyable if it were just two people stumbling into each other and falling in love. The enemies bit wasn't believable, because there was no reasoning behind it.

And now, we have the best (or worst) part. The unnecessary side characters. I take a minute now and ask, how many romances have you read with multiple POVs? Because I haven't read any. I don't think I've ever read a romance where the MC's sister has a POV. And I don't think I ever want to read one again. Pip wasn't a bad character, she just wasn't necessary. As soon as Apollo and Cyn would have a somewhat cute moment (they were severely lacking), we'd switch to Pip's perspective. In any other romance I've read, her romance would've been conserved for another book, instead of jamming it in.

Temi was a cute character, I actually really liked her. The plot twist surrounding her at the end had me intrigued, and was almost enough to continue the series (I won't be). Again, she was simplistic and unbelievable, but at least she looked good doing it.

After addressing all of the characters, there's not really much left over. The plot was severely lacking (if not nonexistent), so it's not like I can discuss that. The romance was pathetic and not what I came here for at all, so I don't feel like discussing that either. Basically, this is a book with potential that got nowhere near reaching it. Both a disappointing and a boring read.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

i love greek mythology and this book did a great job at retelling the story of apollo and hyacinth, i liked the multiple povs and the romance was really good too. cant wait to read the next book

Stunning book! I will update with the full review later but for now I'll just say: if you like mythology and retellings, this is a must read!

Stunning prose, beautiful imagery, characters and friendships you want to root for. I'm so glad this ARC was provided to me! I just got the sequel in the mail from the author today and I can't wait to continue on Apollo's journey!

I absolutely love Greek mythology so I read everything I can about it. I was really looking forward to this one unfortunately after +100 pages I could get into it and ended up DNFing. I do think it's a book that could be enjoyed by others, I think the way the characters talked as if it was happening in a contemporary setting threw me off a bit. Also the action takes a lot to start and I wasn't really looking forward to knowing more about the plot.

A Veil of Gods and Kings is a retelling of the Apollo and Hyacinth story from Greek mythology, and I really enjoyed the portrayal of the characters and their extended family dynamics. I did want more explanation on how exactly becoming a god happens and more detail on the world order because it was a bit vague and unclear, but for a character-driven story it fulfilled its goal of making me care about the situations and struggles everyone faced. It was a quick read that made me invested in what was happening, and made the myth seem fresh and entertaining!

This book was so good I really enjoyed it will definitely reread and recommend to everyone and be purchasing as well and maybe for a friend or two

This story was a unique retelling and I appreciated it for that. The pacing felt off for bits, and it really felt like more of a slow burn without the burn than I anticipated, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

SI TE GUSTA LA MITOLOGÍA, TE VAA GUSTAR ESTE LIBRAZO.
Es bastante introductorio al mito de Apolo y Jacinto, pero me gustó mucho. Si costó empezar, pero mientras más leía, las cosas tomaban rumbo propio.
Apolo es bastante normal, no quiere ser un dios en sí, pero Zeus lo esta apretando para que lo sea de una buena vez por todas.
Tenemos a Jacinto, que es un rey no rey. O sea, esta cuidando el reino cuando su papá no está. Ah, y nunca salió del castillo asi que no tiene ni la menor idea de lo que está pasando afuera. Re bien por suerte.
Apolo le va a dar una verdadera perspectiva de lo que está pasando.
Mientras que Temi (Artemis) es una capa, la amo. Es la hermana menor de Apolo y una bad ass af. Y ayuda a la hermana de Jacinto, Epifanía? a valerse un toque por si misma.
amando este libro.

I have always been a huge mythology fan, so I knew this book was one I HAD to read. I love Apollo, and I really don't see much of him in mytholgy books, so to have a whole book about Apollo and Hyacinth was great. I also love the fantasy romance aspect of this book as well. I feel like all of the characters were written acurately, which is important to me, and the story moved at a good pace. I never felt bored reading it. I would for sure reccomend this book to anyone who love the "romantasy" genre and mytholgy books/retellings.

Book: The Veil of Gods and Kings
Author: Nicole Bailey
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Review~
A Veil of Gods and Kings is based on Greek mythology. It is a slow burn romance, Duo pov, foxed proximity, and enemies to lover.

Apollo is a mortal who is being forced by his father to become immortal and become a god. He is forced to stay with Hyacinth and to hear all updates of everything is he is doing. But both Apollo and Hyacinth both dislike each other.

Overall Apollo and hyacinth romance is a beautiful love story. If you love read Greek mythology this book is for you. I loved the development of the characters and their storyline. I definitely would recommend reading this book if you love romance and fantasy.

Overall this is a good book and I’m intrigued to see where this goes but I think is was lacking in places and it just missed the 4 stars.

I think the main thing that needs to be talked about is plot. The beginning of the book and the end of the book felt like 2 separate books there was a sudden turn in the middle that just didn’t feel right. This book is meant to be enemies to lovers but I felt the enemies part was forced and out of place for these characters. Then when they do become lovers, it is like 2 completely different people. The last 40 percent of the book had better pacing than the first part and I really enjoyed the lovers part of this tale but I feel like the first part was slow and drawn out when it didn’t need to be.

The character I thought were well thought out and were all likeable (the ones we are meant to like), however they sometimes did things that seemed out of place. Like they did these actions just to forward the plot.

Overall a good book, I will be reading the next book and I hope the pacing in the plot is improved with how I think the next few books are going to go.

Welcome to my stop on @PrideBookTours’ release tour for A Veil of Gods and Kings by Nicole Bailey! To celebrate the release of this enchanting new adult romance, I will be sharing my review, but be sure to check out Pride Book Tour’s page for content from the other hosts as well!

I have not read many New Adult novels, given the recent creation of the genre, but when I saw that A Veil of Gods and Kings was going to be a Queer Greek Mythological retelling, I knew that I was going to need to give it a read! I generally quite enjoyed this book, though the pacing did have a few bumps for me. The romance between Apollo and Prince Hyacinth was delightful enough to make up for any other inconsistencies for me, though! I loved their rivals-to-lovers arc, which was just what I needed from this book. I will be interested to see what happens in the sequel, and I hope we get to hear more from this lovely couple!

My Recommendation-
If you love romantic retellings of myths, you should definitely grab a copy of A Veil of Gods and Kings! I would especially recommend this book to readers who have enjoyed Hades/Persephone retellings in the past, but who are ready to shake up their reading with a new mythological couple!

This was really hard to get into. I do not know a lot about Greek mythology, but the book's description sounded interesting. However, I really could not get through the first few chapters. It dragged on and really didn't get to the point.

A Veil of Gods and Kings is a Greek fantasy story with romance, I really loved the author's narrative, she has an addictive pen and unique characters and I was amazed at the story. The enemies and lovers are my favourites and this book shows it, the tension of the protagonists, Apollo and Hyacinth I love, and each character. I enjoyed the book very much. I recommend the book, read it.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC!!

This was a quick and enjoyable read that offered a fun twist on Greek/ Roman mythology. Apollo and Hyacinth are an enemies-to-lovers with a twist of godly parents threatening them if they are discovered. Apollo has all the classic godly beauty and arrogance with a fresh take of human fears, insecurities and the refusal of his godly destiny. The subplot with Epiphany and Temi is fun and offers insight into the role of women in the classical period, and I hope in the next book this plot continues to be explored and expanded upon alongside the threat of a godly war! The romance is quite fluffy so would be a great summer read for those looking for a mythology retelling.