I want to thank NetGalley and Dutton Adult for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed her are my own.
I will start by saying I did not finish this book. I just was not into it and was actually a bit board. This makes me sad because I really want to like this author but looking back at her other books that I've tried to read, I think I just do not like her writing. I read the first book in her Vampire Academy, twice, in the hopes of maybe having missed something (everyone loves them so much) but I just do not like it,.
For me, the writing style was monotone. I felt like the author was narrating the story but really didn't care about it all that much. I just could not connect. It made me un-empathetic to the characters and not interested in their story of the plot. It also made the pacing super slow. I had no draw to pick it up and read it. I also didn't understand the world. Actually, I felt like the world building just was not there and so I had no idea what it looked like. The characters did nothing for me, Usually I enjoy a dual POV because it helps me to truly understand the characters, their emotions, and how they see the story. It also creates a tension that I like, but I didn't get that here.
Overall just not my cup of tea.

Richelle Mead is one of my favorite authors, I will read anything this women writes with a smile on my face, she has a hook on me since The Vampire Academy and this book just reinforced why Richelle is amazing.
Gameboard of the Gods is about a military soldier Mae Koskinen and gambler of fates and solver of problems Justin March, I loved those two together, Richelle has a way of making her characters come to life and the chemistry between them was unreal.
Religion plays a major role in this book, is considered to be a true danger to society and is controlled by people called the servitors, one of them our very own Justin March.
I loved how RUNA is more close to an Utopia than a dystopian society, it brought a much needed change in the YA books released in 2013.
The only thing I didn’t enjoyed much was the murder investigation, it was a little bit messy and didn’t brought anything new to the table, it was painfully neglected at times serving only for Mae and Justin to work together,
But overall it was a very solid first book in a series, I will definitely be reading the next one very soon

I requested this several years ago and I don't think it's a book for me anymore. So I will not be reviewing at this time, but if I do read it, I will update this review. Thank you for the opportunity.

Gameboard of the Gods is about a world where religion is all but forbidden, after religious extremists almost destroyed all humanity. Mae and Justin need to work together to make sure a religious war won’t happen again. The premise holds so much promise, with a very strong woman, both physically and mentally, different mythologies, a gruesome murder mystery as well as family drama. I went into this story with pretty high expectations – I love the author, usually adore her books, and I really looked forward to reading an adult mystery with lots of mythology.

If I had read Gameboard of the Gods in 2013 when I first requested it, I probably would have loved it. I took the audiobook out from my library to listen to. Set in an alternate reality, it features Mae, a military super-soldier, and Justin who is in exile in Panama City. Richelle Mead is an amazing urban fantasy writer, and she has written some brilliant series. This one rubbed me the wrong way for several reasons. First, she is a white author who set her "wild west" in Panama City, where all the citizens are "outlaws." Second, Mae, based on alternate covers, is white and wears a mandarin style of dress. If I had continued reading this book, I'm sure I would have seen more cultural appropriation and racist ideologies. There was also an ageist comment about a woman being too old to giggle. I got about an hour into the audiobook, which was 7% of the way through.

Thank You for the opportunity to review this book. Sorry, I attempted to read this book. However, I couldn't get in to it. So, I was unable to finish reading and reviewing it.

This one fell so short for me. After The Vampire Diaries I was expecting more connection to the characters. I also expected more world building. I guess I just expected more of everything.

Ugh. SO disappointed with this book. And I'm surprised because I love Richelle Mead. But this one did NOTHING for me. I didn't like the cold, racist world. I didn't like the characters. The blend of religion and science seemed a little off. Actually the use of gods in this book just seemed off...

I like the idea of the Praetorians (I don't remember how to spell it) and wish it would have been more of Mae's badassery, but alas. Maybe a book about her friends who don't have sticks up their asses would be cool.

Eh.

This was a very hard read for me. I am a fan of the author and really didn't want to give up reading, although it crossed my mind many times. While I did finish, I can't say I would read any more in this series. It wasn't an easy read and to be honest I didn't care for the plot arc.

No review applicable as this title was not read or reviewed. I unfortunately lost interest in between the time I was approved for the title and now. My sincere apologies.

Sorry, could not get to reading this book on time - thank you for the opportunity to review!

My apologies; if I requested this book, it appears that due to family commitments I was not able to read it before the book was archived. I'm sorry it has lingered this long.

*Book source ~ NetGalley

What happens when, in a dystopian world where religion is strictly regulated, the old gods begin to return?

I had a hard time with some of the terminology and plot in this story. That’s not to say it isn’t interesting because it is. Religious extremists brought about The Decline, a dark time in the world’s history, so now all religion is strictly regulated by servitors. If they show any sign of gaining ground then the servitors find a way to revoke their license and shut them down. There is also policy in place to make people as genetically diverse as possible since having ethnic groups banding together against other ethnic groups also contributed to The Decline. The people are truly a melting pot. Except for the rich who were exempt from the mandates. Of course. Typical.

The story revolves around Mae Koskinen, a praetorian (elite military force), and Dr. Justin March, a servitor of some renown, who was exiled for mentioning the supernatural in one of his reports. But they want him back to solve a series of ritualistic murders and it’s during this investigation that things of a supernatural nature are brought to light, something the New World Order doesn’t want to believe. But the old gods don’t care what the government believes. They’re coming back and they’re pissed about being banished.

An enjoyable and interesting read, but I’m not chomping at the bit to continue the series. If that makes sense at all.