I must say that I found myself confused a couple of times, and had to go back and read to a piece again once or twice, however, this book ended up on an excellent note. I allowed myself to get caught up in the moment, and then missed something minimal, but enough to cause the confusion. I am highly excited that I finished this book and am more than ready to return to the world for the second installment!

H.E. Edgmon has done an amazing job with world building in Godly Heathens, and also built the characters excellently as well. You can't help but get drawn into the world and the chaos with Gem, Willa Mae, and Enzo. All of the characters added so much goodness, but the three MC's were put together exceptionally well, and brought all of the feelings into reading their stories.

Edgmon has also done a fantastic job with representation and inclusion in this novel, also mentioning that "there are no cis gods" throughout the story! Amazing inclusivity, also including diversity in race and various sexualities as well. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves some wild fantasy with a beautiful world-building experience, and inclusion of all throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to St Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this beauty in exchange for an honest review. Easily a 4.5 star read!

When nonbinary teen Gem Echols discovers that they're a reincarnated god with a whole lot of enemies they can't even remember having wronged and a soulmate they've loved through multiple lifetimes, their current life is thrown for a complete loop.

In the past, Gem was a god known as the Magician, and the Magician wasn't necessarily a good god, and no matter how fast they run from it, a past they don't even remember is catching up with them.

Godly Heathens is a young adult contemporary fantasy about queer teen gods that is actually about mental illness, found family, and belonging. Chock-full of morally grey characters (and some plain horrible ones), this is also a book that explores morality, which seems to be a theme for Edgmon. I very much look forward to more.

Gem Echols is a nonbinary queer Seminole teen. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who’s a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn..that can’t help Gem. Gem has dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence. The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions. She seems to know things about them that has not been told to anyone. When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life. She offers some answers to Gem. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who’ve known and loved each other across lifetimes. In the past what Gem used to be has not always been the most benevolent deity. Both Gem and Willa Mae made a lot of enemies in the pantheon—enemies who will keep coming back. Why? What did Gem do?

The author has written a YA contemporary fantasy duology This is the first book of a duology. I can’t wait for the second book. Fast-paced and engaging, the novel addresses queer identity and mental health. The book is fast-paced and creative. I loved the characters. This book is horror and dark fantasy. I believe it’s a book you won’t forget.

This book is certainly a ride from start to finish, I’m just not sure what kind of ride it is.

Gem Echols is a nonbinary teen who has strange dreams… only to learn that they’re actually a reincarnated god. Not only that, but the god who’s been haunting their dreams is, well, a little bit more complicated than they thought. And so is their relationship.

This book ebbed and flowed for me. At some points, I was fully invested, but then there would be a long stretch where I felt the come to a complete standstill. I found myself more interested in Enzo (Gem’s friend who they have feelings for) than Gem themself.

I think that’s where my frustration and disappointment with this book comes down the most. The parts and people I was interested in weren’t the same ones that Edgmon wanted to tell. It’s not that this book isn’t great; it just definitely wasn’t for me.

I will, unfortunately, be abstaining from sharing my thoughts about this title until St. Martin's Press adequately addresses the current boycott and its claims and questions.

Love all the trans, non-binary and indigenous representation in this book!! At its core, this is a coming of age story. If I read this as a teenager, I would have enjoyed it more. I think because of this gap, I found it very hard to connect with the characters. And also probably why I found our main character, Gem, increasingly difficult to follow. Their young and sometime naive mindset had them come across as selfish, vein and sometimes, down-right agitating. It got to me a few times and I had to put the book down for fear of ripping the pages out in protest.

That being said, I loved how raw and open all of these characters were. We witnessed their trauma unfolding and watched as they collectively tried to piece themselves back together. Despite not enjoying Gem sometimes, I loved meeting all the different side characters and how they interacted with Gem. (Maybe not how Gem interacted with everyone else. But I digress)

I really enjoyed Edgmons writing and look forward to picking up some of their backlog books.

Overall I thought it was a good story, I liked the very diverse set of characters and more than once I was genuinely surprised, which I loved. The characters could have been fleshed out a bit more as they seemed a bit one dimensional for most of the book. The ending seemed kind of thrown together and the complete abandonment of that singular priority they held through the whole book at the last second with zero reason or explanation took it from what would have been a 4 to a 3.

Godly Heathens starts out intense and only gets more interesting from there. I read most of this book within a day as I just found it hard to put down. There are some great plot twists, some I saw coming but others that took me by complete surprise. This book does end on a cliffhanger, however, so readers be aware if that’s an ick for you!

The author does a great job of creating lively and lovable characters with great chemistry. Even the antagonists had some sweet elements to them that made me second guess which side I was rooting for. As a central theme of the plot, almost everyone in the book is morally grey, not really fulfilling the role of “good” or “bad” guy, which made the story all the more compelling.

The book is set in a small town in Georgia but flashbacks also show the reader brief glimpses of another world, called Ether. The magic system is well developed and unique for this genre. I was impressed that the author veered away from some obvious tropes for this setting and genre. I did expect the small town aspect to come more into play for the plot or to influence the character’s decisions more, but it wasn’t as notable as it could have been.

Godly Heathens is the first book in The Ouroboros duology. This was an awesome book for me to start 2024 with as it scratched a lot of itches I’d been craving. The story heavily features LGBTQIA+ characters and the main character’s identity plays a pivotal role in the story. I recommend this for readers who love nontraditional romance, exciting plot twists, and don’t mind having to wait a few more months for the conclusion of the series. Personally, I already have the sequel Merciless Saviors queued up and can’t wait to read what happens next.

Please be aware of the trigger warnings before reading as the book opens with an intense nightmare.

Gem, our main character, discovers that they are a reincarnated from an alternate version of Earth and if that's not complicated enough, they're also grappling with their own place in this world and their family.

This book is so queer and so wonderful. The fantasy world Edgmon has built is *chef's kiss*. The characters are almost painfully relatable at points, and this may not be intentional, but Gem is a brilliant unreliable narrator throughout much of the book. Both because they are just as lost as the reader in many places and because they refuse to reveal certain information to the reader until later.

Overall, I'm having a hard time sorting out my thoughts about this book. All I know is that you should read it right now, thanks <3

I adored the morally gray, chaotic characters in this book! The found family dynamic was amazing, and I can't wait for the next book in the series.

This book had a decently written first person. I enjoyed that it had minority representation and that there was variation in gender identity.

Another absolute banger from Edgmon! This is the kind of novel that I can't stop thinking about - well plotted with amazing world building and wonderfully terrible characters. I think this is my favorite YA of 2023!

I had very high hopes for this and it definitely delivered! I have been a fan of the author for a while and I am excited for this new adventure!

Incredible. Mind-blowing. Stay up all night to read the book in one sitting good! A fantastic story filled with adventure, horrors, and so much more.

dnf’d at 26% i don’t know, i just could not get into the characters and the mc is kinda annoying to me

i just rather not waste my time listening to this one if i’m not enjoying it

This book was queer and feral and I adored it. Gem's voice was so good throughout and it was strong. I loved and cared about every character in the book and read this all in one sitting. This is definitely a can't miss book that queer readers will feel seen in.

This was good! I don't know if it is weird to say, but one of the things I kept thinking as I read it, was "This would make a great anime series." Gods reincarnated as teenagers with complicated past lives, fanart-worthy character designs, epic elemental magic fights on off-school days, humor and sarcasm running on high. Just way more queer than any anime I know (It's Queer AF, btw).

Gem, the main character, is flawed with insecurities and mental health issues. They are painfully relatable as a human to the point where I even took a break for a little while.

This may also be weird to say, considering I do read YA, but this is a very Gen Z vibe book. Not just the pop culture and easy queerness that isn't that hard to find lately, but a way of thinking and vibe that I can't quite put my finger on, that made me clearly think - this isn't my generation.

And that's completely cool and didn't stop me from enjoying the writing despite a little disconnect. It's action-packed, emotional, and has a hell of an ending.

It took me longer than I thought to read this, but it was a very good book! There was a lot of information in this book, to include who the characters were at present, who they were in the past, and who they were in between... I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. Since they were gods, I expected more mature behaviors, and yet the typical teen stuff came out too and that made for an interesting dynamic in each of the characters and how they related to one another. The ending was NOT expected, and that made me very happy. I can not wait to find out what happens in the next book.

This book was a phenomenal story, and I really enjoyed it for the most part. However, I don't believe the characters ages were appropriate for it. In my opinion, this should have been a New Adult or Adult fantasy. The YA of it all lent some angst and conflict but it was honestly wholly unnecessary given the conflict throughout the story. I did enjoy the Buffy vibes throughout, and that will appeal to a certain crowd- but again I think that crowd is older than the target audience here. If the characters had been aged up just a handful of years I think we're dealing with a different story that could've focused more on the plot than the YA of it all. That being said- the plot was amazing! An original, well executed foray into a new magical reality in which <spoiler the Gods are constantly reincarnated and struggle through their innate humanity in the bodies they are housed within to find their true identities, cope with them, and pick up the mantle of their age old conflict. > I look very forward to the next book in this series, and will follow this author closely.

I was really drawn to this book because I found the premise so interesting. Godly Heathens is dark and violent, yet the characters feel very YA. But I really enjoyed this book.