I have spent a lot of time with H.E. Edgmon’s Godly Heathens book and the audiobook. I love some of the characters and loathe others. I was half way through the book when the pub day came so I immediately bought the audiobook and started listening to it from the beginning. At a certain point in the audiobook, I found it difficult to picture the characters, who was speaking and what exactly was going on. I have aphantasia and I blame that. After finishing the audiobook and questioning my sanity, lol, I went back to the ebook and everything made more sense to me in the written form. At one point in the book I again questioned a specific plot point, “why is this happening because (to me) it doesn’t make sense.” It’s considered Fantasy for reasons! I am going to continue the duology with Merciless Saviors to find out what happens to Gem Echols and the rest of the crew. Thanks to Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press, H.E. Edgmon, and NetGalley for the ARC. I received an advance review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the eARC. This is an honest review.

**I will be holding this review**

Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen navigating the complexities of identity and belonging in a small Southern town. Edgmon masterfully portrays Gem's inner turmoil - anxieties masked by charm and humor, deep yearning for connection and acceptance, and mysterious dreams mingling magic and horrific violence. Enter Willa Mae, a mysterious newcomer with an uncanny knowledge of Gem's past and dreams. As their fates intertwine, a startling revelation unfolds: they are reincarnated gods, burdened by the legacy of their previous lives. This revelation unlocks a Pandora's box of enemies and challenges, thrusting Gem into a world beyond their wildest imagination.

Edgmon's prose is both lyrical and poignant. He crafts characters who are deeply relatable, their emotions leaping off the page and resonating strongly. Gem's struggles with acceptance are particularly moving, illuminated through the lens of magic and metaphor. The body horror elements add a fascinating dimension to the narrative, something that Edgmon continues to excel at. Edgmon's skillful handling of these elements is both disturbing and strangely beautiful. Its nuanced exploration of relationships truly sets "Godly Heathens" apart. Even amidst the drama and action, there's space for open communication and genuine connection. We witness the deep bond between Gem and their long-distance friend, Enzo, and the electrifying chemistry with Willa Mae. This makes the story all the more engaging and beautiful.

The ending, however, is a gut punch. Unexpected and ambiguous, it left me reeling with emotions and begging for more. Here I am, left contemplating the characters' fate and the complexities of their futures. I cannot wait for the next one! Overall, "Godly Heathens" is a captivating and thought-provoking read. Its compelling characters, a unique blend of magic and reality, and poignant exploration of identity and relationships, it's a story that stays with you long after the final page.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

I was immediately hooked from the first sentence. it’s got all of my favorite things. A dark fantasy with great world building, gods, magic, reincarnation, complex characters, and everybody is queer. Would definitely recommend and cannot wait to read the next book.

Godly Heathens was absolutely delicious. As soon as I finished, I found myself taking to Google in search of the release date for the sequel, because I refused to leave Edgmon's carefully crafted world for long.

This book was a tour de force! I was blown away by the writing style and the representation! Looking forward to more from this author

This was by far one of the best books I’ve ever read. I had to sit on it for months to try and decide the best way to review this one. I’ve still come up empty. Read it!

Godly Heathens is about a high school student, Gem, who discovers they are not actually human, but a reincarnated god. Life as a trans teenager just wasn’t hard enough for Gem but throw in some nightmarish dreams and a sudden influx of new students at their small town school and everything becomes absolute chaos for our main character. This was a pretty enjoyable book! I do love a solid fantasy book but urban fantasy tends to be my least favorite. Some of the positives is the large amount of representation this book has. It’s very sapphic and I couldn’t tell you if any of the characters are actually straight. Throw in some polyamory and we’ve got a whole spectrum of sexuality! The thing I will always critique books for is their use of slang/real world trends. The discussions taking place on discord or talking about other social media platforms can date a book tremendously; along with certain popular slang words. Using this in your text makes the book really only accessible to the time it’s written and the generation it’s written for. I do love the characters and really the entire cast of them is fun in one way or another. I love seeing the growth of each character but really wish there was a bit more back story to explain some of the relationships a little further. Overall I would say this is a solid 3.5 stars! Enough for me to want to read the second one. Also, can we talk about the GORGEOUS cover?!?! I have stared at it longer than I’d like to openly admit.

Unfortunately, this story isn't for me. Please do not deter you from reading it. You may enjoy it more that I. Thank you, NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read in advance.

Queer reincarnated gods?!

The idea and concept are great, but I found it difficult to form an emotional connection with the characters, which hindered my investment in their journey. I wanted the characters to be more complex and multidimensional, with layers that add depth to the story. Also, the pacing was a bit uneven. Overall, an okay read.

***Thank you to NetGalley, H.E. Edgmon, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

I started reading Godly Heathens and didn’t couldn’t put it down until I finished. If you liked the Percy Jackson or Magnus Chase books you will also like this. If you’ve ever wished that either Percy or Magnus was non-binary and morally gray, you will LOVE Godly Heathens.
I can’t wait for the sequel!

I really had a good time with this book! I thought it had interesting concepts, and I loved learning the lore bit by bit alongside Gem. I really liked the writing, it was easy to read and hard to put down (which is a great combination).

I loved meeting all the reincarnated gods, and I did love Gem's POV even though they were a little MESSY. I loved how this book is YA but still included some darker themes and angst. I think the inclusion of some heavier issues like mental health issue and transphobia was well done and not too much for a YA audience. If this book had come out when I was a teen, I would've been obsessed for sure.

The pacing and writing were both great, there were no real lulls in the story and also there didn't feel like there was too much filler. I do hope that in future books we get more of the lore of the old world bc I feel like some of that was missing, and while I do think the magic was cool I don't necessarily understand all of it.

THE ENDING though??? I absolutely did not see that coming, and I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

Thank you to SMP and Wednesday for this ARC.

I really wanted to love this because I love the premise of reincarnated gods, but there are things that I just didn't care for in this book. I haven't had much luck with contemporary reads.

I wish this book was aged up even a hair, I think this book could've benefited from being even freshman year of college/uni age, instead your reading about teens in highschool, with god complexes lol There's so much teenage angst it's kind of cringey at some points.

The plot of the story involving the knife and chain were held up really until the last 10-15% of the book and it felt rushed, once it got to it. I know Gem and everybody had to gain their memories back and all those good things, but idk it felt like nothing was happening at some points of the story. A lot of this story is told through flashbacks, which leaves like this weird connection between characters. Idk, it just didn't work for me. (Also the mention of social media so much, just threw me out of it lol)

Otherwise, for an angsty, teen fantasy with queer and indigenous rep, I say give it a go! It's fast and sometimes to the point with writing (sometimes Gem can go on and on about some things), it's easy to read and understand. The world isn't overly complicated. And, to be fair, there's a good bit of fighting and gore happening in the story.

I will submit my review after SMP/Wednesday books addresses the harm their employee has caused and meets the demands of the boycott.

H.E. Edgmon has done it again. This is beautiful, memorable, and all the queer goodness. I love a messy MC.

I felt it could have been a bit shorter as it dragged in some parts but overall I enjoyed it.

absolutely fascinating! Gem is so nuanced and unapologetic. The kid is wild in a I wont take your crap kinda way. The best thing about Gem is they wont let anyone tell them who to be even after *wink wink*. Gem and co bring to light knowing where you belong even if its with the people you least expect. Really am ready for Merciless Saviors

This was really not for me, but I know some people will really enjoy it! I don’t do well with a ton of on-page violence, and I found the writing a little over-the-top.

I really enjoyed H.E. Edgmon's new YA contemporary fantasy where gods from another realm are reincarnated as trans teenagers in rural Georgia. ("There are no cis gods")

This story is both a fantastical tale of gods fighting to their death and an inner reflection on being your truest self while growing up Indigenous queer and trans nonbinary in rural Georgia. It also tackles big topics like mental health challenges, psychosis in a parent, racism against Indigenous communities, and growing up queer and trans in a small conservative town.

I would have loved this book as a teen!

Read if you love:
- found family
- morally grey characters
- very queer YA contemporary fantasy
- small town Georgia setting
- trans rep
- some gore & violence & death

Gem has never felt like they belonged in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. The only other person who he feels safe with is Enzo and they are thousands of miles away. except Enzo doesn't know about the dreams or the strange new girl who seems to know every corner of Gem. Godly Heathens wraps mythology with the question of who are you. While the premise is nothing new, feeling like an outsider and finding out you are a god/another being. Edgmon takes it to another level by making the character's moral compass grey. As an introduction to the world and history, a lot was packed in, and a ton of characters. So much so that the reader may get overwhelmed with the characters and their past lives.

Gem, a nonbinary Seminole high schooler living in a small Georgia town, does not have an easy life. They don’t feel a genuine connection to anyone at school; their mom constantly worries about their mental health; and they are plagued by graphic and disturbing dreams. The only true connection they feel is with a long-distance friend who lives in New York.

Gem is counting down the days until they can apply to NYU and escape out of their small town, but those plans get upended when two strangers both show up the same day. One wants to help them, and the other wants to kill them.

And as it turns out, this is a cycle/dance/battle that they go through every few generations. Gem is a reincarnated god from an alternate version of Earth, and those other gods from that alternate version? Well, most of them aren’t happy with Gem.

There is a hefty set of trigger warnings listed at the beginning of the book, and I recommend heeding them. As I mentioned before, the book is intense. There are graphic depictions and descriptions that I had a visceral reaction to, and—fair warning— it opens with a vivid and stomach-churning nightmare.

Fantasy aspects aside, once I was past that first nightmare sequence, Gem themself piqued my interest, and as the fantasy pieces began to be layered on top of what I was learning about Gem as a character, I became more and more intrigued.

There are certainly gruesome and grotesque moments throughout the tale, but what I found most interesting was the way in which some of the god's grappled with the aspects of their humanity in their current incarnations.

Please note this is the first book in a duology.

Narrator Avi Roque is well cast as Gem, and their voice for the demon is super creepy. Their vocal choices for the character Buck Wheeler are my favorite in the audiobook. There are several characters in this book, and Roque maintains different voices for each one.

I received an advance copy of the ebook from St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Gem is the sole non-binary teen living in small-town Gracie, Georgia. He rarely lets anyone in except for Enzo, who lives thousands of miles away. Except Enzo doesn’t know about the strange dreams of violence and magic. When a complete stranger arrives at Gem’s school claiming to be the Goddess of Death reincarnated, she offers Gem the explanations he’s longed for but reluctant to believe.

This book serves up a lot of representation most books for teens are missing. There’s same-sex relationships, non-binary characters and even prominently features a polyamorous relationship. By virtue of the excellent representation, I’m positive this book will end up on banned book lists shortly. Perhaps that’s the 2023 sign that you’re doing something right.

What was odd about this book was that it could have been bigger. The teens are gods incarnated from an alternate universe, yet somehow they never manage to leave the tiny town of Gracie. It felt like there what they were doing should have been bigger than the primary focus on their past and present interpersonal dramas. I was looking to save the world vibes. This just felt like they were saving themselves, and specifically a version of themselves with unimpressive powers? I wanted something otherworldly and I was a bit disappointed when this didn’t quite land.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing a copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.