This sequel is a doozy! It's two books in one. The first half is Dianna going around destroying and killing anyone who had anything to do with her sister's death. Samkiel spends the first half searching for her, hoping she will return to him. He finds the destruction she's caused and cleans it up.

In the second half, Dianna returns to Samkiel, and he helps her heal. They reconnect. I loved their reunion, of course. We get a lot more backstory into the world and a twist. This will be a re-read when book three comes out, or it needs a synopsis with all the reveals at the beginning. The world-building gets a lot more complex in the back half. Liam finds his true purpose, and it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. We also learn more about Kaden's origins and the rest of Dianna's gang.

I am seriously impressed with Amber Nicole's writing and storytelling abilities. This book is an epic journey with many characters and backstories. I can't wait for book 3!

This was an intense journey indeed. This book starts right after The Book of Azreal ended and it is dark, very dark. The shocking ending of the first book sets the tone for this book. The heartbreak, anger, grief,... we see and feel it all. Luckily there is some light in the darkness, namely the god that does not give up on her.

The first book was amazing and this one is even better! The enemies-to-lovers, the tension and spice are to die for! The grumpy MMC and badass FMC are perfect for eachother. As much as she tries to push him away, he does not give up.

“A thousand plus worlds he has seen, yet when he dreams, he dreams of you.”

Unlike the first book, this one has multiple POV's. Now we get to see parts of the story from the Hand's POV and others (no spoilers here). My favourite POV's are Cameron and Logan. We learn much more about their lives from before and the Hand's dynamic.

Just like the first book, shocking events at the end will have you at the edge of your seat. I cannot wait for the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and Rose & Star Publishing for the copy I received. This is my honest review.

I love love love fantasy books and this was no exception. Plot - 5/5
Spice- 3/5 J
/ Morally grey FMC
Forned proximity
/ Forbidden romance
Honestly, I would say this one is better than The Book of Azrael. loved how character driven it was, enjoyed the plot and the twists and turns. Really liked how Dianna's grief was handled. I appreciated that we are given a recap of sorts in the beginning.
"A thousand plus worlds he has seen, yet when he dreams, he dreams of you."
The star of the book is hands down, Dianna. Yes there was a moment when she irritated me a bit but considering her situation and what she was going through, it's something am willing to look past. Dianna is fierce, her powers are perfectly utilised and suits her personality.
Samkiel kind of took the backseat for me in this. Dianna just overpowered his presence in every way possible. But I loved how patient he was with her throughout the book. Believe me, she pushes him unreasonably and my guy handled it maturely.
Seriously tho, imagine a guy being patient, understanding and pushing for mature conversation, never making her feel unloved-that's Samkiel. Love him yet? O
The side characters provided interesting group dynamics. Kaden was...Kaden
" The thing about an amata was predictable, saw
it coming miles away but the rest of the plot twists were chef's kiss
The romance was angsty. The smut was juicy. Dianna and Samkiel's chemistry is HOT

Thank you to Netgalley and Rose & Star Publishing for this eARC.

Unfortunately this book turned out to be a DNF for me at 47%. I really tried to give it time as the story really appealed to me, and I enjoyed book 1, but I struggled to even get as far as I did, and put it down to read something else. I was going to come back to it but it’s now been two weeks and I have no desire to read another 400+ pages of filler (plus another three books).

The main reasons that I put it down are:

1. The constant flashbacks were too much - I like flashbacks when they’re used well, but they were basically in every chapter and kept taking me out of the story.
2. It was really frustrating that Dianna’s powers always just happened to be enough to get her through any issue (Mary Sue).
3. Connected to point 2 - the way everyone became obsessed with Dianna without her really seeming to do anything in particular to justify this response.
4. Too many POVs were introduced.

It’s a shame because the story has a lot of potential, and I usually like morally grey FMCs, but it needs a lot of editing to get rid of the unnecessary fluff.

This book was amazing. It was a little slow to get into but it picked up. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but if you liked book one, you would love book two even more, and now I literally CAN NOT WAIT for book three.

I rarely give a rating over 4, but this one gets a 4.5. This book made me laugh and cry, it broke my heart but also healed it. I couldn’t put it down and ended up with little sleep and a brain wondering “What will happen next?”.

This book is just far too long and drawn out - like the first book it could have been half the length and been much more interesting. As it stands, the first 60% of the book is just repetitive - I could have had a fine old time with a drinking game every time someone's silver eyes flashed or a lock on a door rattled.
What I did enjoy was the exploration of loss and grief and friendships, and the last 20% or so when the plot finally got going even though it still left me confused at times..
This ends on a cliffhanger and I presume there will be another book - please please please don't let it be another 800 pages!!!

This is the 2nd book of the Gods and Monsters Series. I love Samkiel and Diana. The banter between them had me smiling. If you love a good villain love story, this book is for you. I can't wait for the next book.

The Throne of Broken Gods, the second novel in Amber V. Nicole's Gods & Monsters series, delivered another emotionally charged journey that had me both captivated and torn. Following the gut-wrenching conclusion of the first book, I eagerly dived into this one, fully prepared for an intense roller-coaster of emotions. And let me tell you, Amber did not disappoint!

One of the standout aspects of this book is how it dives deep into the aftermath of loss and the relentless pursuit of vengeance. Dianna's descent into darkness, fueled by her overwhelming pain, was a gut-wrenching experience to witness. The way she locked away her morality and empathy to seek retribution struck a chord with me. It's a painful truth for those who've faced sudden loss - the struggle to confront trauma head-on versus seeking refuge in the blinding fire of anger and revenge. This book masterfully depicts the intricate dance between grief and guilt, showing how they often intertwine, and how, sometimes, you need that one person to help you navigate through them.

Dianna's mission is an unapologetic rampage of blood and fury, her morality buried beneath layers of anger and bloodlust. She becomes an instrument of vengeance, leaving destruction in her wake without a second thought for collateral damage. While her actions were haunting, I found it refreshingly bold to witness a female main character embrace her dark side to such an extent. In this narrative, Dianna had to shatter her soul to find herself again, and it was a profoundly moving journey.

The push-and-pull between Dianna and Samkiel was a joy to read. Dianna's attempts to avoid confronting her feelings for him were both frustrating and endearing. The insults she hurled at him, only for him to deflect them with flirtatious banter, made for a compelling dynamic between them. Samkiel's unwavering belief in Dianna's redemption, even in the face of her darkest actions, was a testament to his character. He is the embodiment of the cinnamon roll trope, and his determination to save her from herself was nothing short of remarkable.

Samkiel's character development in this book was stellar. Juggling the weight of the realm and worlds on his shoulders, along with facing his past, he barely had a moment to catch his breath. Despite the chaos surrounding him, I loved that we got to see various facets of his character, particularly his emotional struggles. The romance between him and Dianna was a slow burn, raw and messy, and it took a long and tumultuous road to reach its peak. But when it did, it set everything ablaze, and I was here for it!

Now, if I were to nitpick, the book did feel a tad longer than necessary at times, affecting the pacing. Additionally, the frequent shifts in perspective, especially through flashback scenes, disrupted the overall flow for me. As for the ending, it was a heart-racing rollercoaster of emotions, but it left me hanging with a heart-wrenching cliffhanger, leaving me impatient for the next installment.

In conclusion, The Throne of Broken Gods continued to deliver an emotionally charged and enthralling narrative, exploring themes of grief, vengeance, and redemption. While it had its minor pacing issues, the story's depth, complex characters, and compelling relationships left a lasting impression. I'm eagerly anticipating what Amber V. Nicole has in store for us in the next book, and I'm excited to continue this captivating journey with these characters.

For this is why I SO love to read!
I will say book 2 ends on another cliffhanger so if you are someone who doesn't enjoy going through stages of book-grief after reading "To be continued", then you may want to hold off until the next releases.

Lets tick off all the reasons this book was a smash hit.
- vengeance
- love
- grief and sadness
- betrayals
- book boyfriend loyalty and hotness (swoon worthy gals)
- spice

Now, lets tick off what ticked me off.
- length (Can we get a bit less fluff next time and more, "I refuse to live in a world without you"?)
- Diana's incessant need to draw out her ramblings
- Did I mention the length?
- I wouldn't be opposed to a bit more spice that slow burn was a bit excessively slow.

Overall a great follow-up to the first book and I can't wait to see what happens next.
solid 4 stars

NO REGRETS!!!!

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚘𝚍𝚜 𝚋𝚢 @amber.v.nicole
★★★★★/𝟻

"𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓. 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕, 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔. 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆."

Straight after finishing book one with that cliff hanger, I jumped into this one. Dianna was even more of a badass villian in this one. Kickin ass and taking lives. This one is very heavy when it came to these characters working through trauma but was so worth it in the end. I loved the witty banter. The tension. The growth. The found family in this honestly had me emotional at times. We get a lot of POVs from other characters and I was living for it. Cameron and Xavier are my babies and if anything happens to them throughout this series I will absolutely riot. I seen Amber post somewhere this was going to be a 6-7 book series and honestly I’m here for this journey. I can’t stop thinking about this story and these characters and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for them. It’s only book two and my bbs need a happy ending dammit😭

▪️enemies to lovers
▪️revenge plot
▪️found family
▪️ptsd, loss, depression
▪️spice with some ‘good girl’
▪️multiple povs

4 stars

Ok firstly, I just need to get it out there that this book was far too drawn out. It started off strong, because pure and unadulterated female rage and all, I loved it. But then, it just all went on for too long.

Don’t get me wrong, I love some flash backs and a soulful healing process, but not one that makes me feel like I’m reading the same thing for hours on end.

When we finally get our enemies to lovers moment, it was great, but it quickly got old when all we got was the enemies to lovers scenes, and long ones, might I add.

Secondly, I have to admit that I finished this book a little confused. The generals, the kings of Yejidin, the brothers? I have no idea what ended up being the truth because there was just too much going on.

Thirdly, I did thoroughly enjoy this book if you take our the slight confusion. The female rage, the found family, the healing and of course, the banter were phenomenal. It’s nice to finally have an enemies to lovers where there is real hate and they aren’t bonking within the first ten chapters.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I will definitely continue the series, but I hope I can get through the next one without feeling like I’m reading an extended version of the bible.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

<i>Throne of Broken Gods</i> follows Samkiel in his journey to bring Dianna back from her grief-stricken bloodlust as she wreaks havoc upon the world. Despite the protests he receives and the obstacles he must face, he refuses to give up hope that the woman he loves is hiding behind her pain.

Dianna is just as determined to prove him wrong.

With each encounter, Samkiel's reach gets closer and closer to her heart - to the scared and broken girl who wishes for love above all else. But as she finally succumbs to the light Samkiel is shining her way, evil forces reemerge to swallow the both of them, and they must face their worst fears together or risk their lives to try and fight for what they've finally regained.

Amber V. Nicole has written an enticing world filled with not-so-evil monsters and not-so-pure heroes that brings a dynamic contrast to the fantasy realm. Whereas other fantasy novels have focused on the enemies-to-lovers trope with a morally grey male, Nicole has succeeded all worlds with her feisty villainess, Dianna. A strong female lead who is willing to burn the world down for the ones she loves is inspiring, but one who is also willing to tear apart those she loves in order to protect them from herself is heartbreaking and tragic and everything a self-sacrificing villainess would do. Amber V. Nicole expresses realistic characters in an otherworldly realm shrouded in mystery, and I was compelled to read from beginning to end.

Her ability to write from the perspective of other characters brought forth a fresh perspective from all sides, including those of the antagonist, Kaden. Whereas I was content to write him off as a cold-hearted brute with no remorse, she was able to make me feel a sense of sympathy and relatability towards this evil creature in a way I didn't know I was capable of. My heart ached for Kaden along with multiple other characters such as Cameron, Xavier, Camilla, Neverra, and Logan. She gave each character their own voice, and that it truly to be commended.

If there were one thing I could change about this book, it would be the use of the word "power" whenever Samkiel needs to channel his energy to utilize his abilities. I wish there would have been a name for this power or these abilities rather than the generalized power that came from within him.

Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing! Absolutely flawless from beginning to end. I don't give 5 star ratings very often as I'm always looking for something to simply WOW me and force me into applauding the author, and this book was one the few that really shook me to my core. If you love fantasy realms with spice, pain, true enemies to lovers, and intricate yet easily followed worldbuilding, this is the book for you!

This book was such a good book,
Great continuation from BoA,
The slow burn in the book was so perfectly written
I need book 3 right now, That cliffhanger had me REEEEEELING!

Thank you Rose & Star publishing and netgalley for this E-ARC

I loved the second book of this series, and I loved this one even more! The FMC was a complete badass, the slow burn was beautifully done, sexual chemistry was off the charts, and that cliffhanger just about ripped my soul from my body. I give it 5 stars and 3 chili peppers. I seriously can't wait until book 2!

where do i even start? this book was a masterpiece, an absolute roller coaster of emotions, the most intense addictive ride. it was slow paced and pretty long (632 pages), but i never felt like it dragged. in my opinion, book 2 was even better than book 1, and i loved the book of azrael. but the throne of broken gods just took it to the next level. it was a character driven story, but it still had an engaging complex plot with action.

the best part of the book has to be dianna. the way the author explored and handled her feelings of grief, guilt and rage was so tangible. i felt for her so much and it was heartbreaking. her pain was relatable and her anger understandable. but also i was rooting for her throughout her whole female rage/revenge/villain era. she's such a queen. she went through all the stages of grief in this book and it was so beautiful and gut-wrenching to be on this journey with her. if you love morally grey female characters and enjoyed nesta's arc in ACOSF, you will love this. but instead of just lashing out with her words like nesta did, dianna also lashed out with physical violence.

i cannot leave samkiel (liam) out of this. he's literally the perfect man (god?). a grumpy thousand-year old god, the most powerful being in the universe, so polite and morally good but such a dirty talker and a flirtatious man who always has a clever and witty reply to dianna's hostility. he literally has the weight of the world on his shoulders and has so much past trauma, but this man only cares about his dianna. he would do anything for her. he never stops fighting for her and he never gives up on her, even when she keeps pushing him away. he loves dianna truly and entirely, including her every flaw and dark jagged piece. he's so loyal and patient. his devotion to her is unwavering. this man, I SWEAR.

the slow burn was SLOW and BURNING. like those two went through it. it was raw and messy, and there was a constant push and pull (especially on dianna's part). the tension between them was thick and the angst was heavy, but it was so rewarding in the end. the eventual intense and passionate spice was absolutely worth the wait.

something new that i enjoyed in this book was the found family aspect with the hand, samkiel's loyal friends and elite warriors. i particularly loved cameron and xavier's thousand-year-long unresolved feelings for each other (the angst aaaah). they all (we don't mention *******) welcomed and accepted dianna as their own even after everything she did, and that's exactly what she needed. plus they brought in some much needed lighthearted and funny moments.

the world building expanded and developed a lot in this book. the plot is thickening. and THE END! it was a plot twist galore with huge reveals and betrayals, emotional and heart wrenching scenes. it ended on a cliffhanger and i need book 3 right this second. amber, you need to pay for my therapy bills because you wrecked me. i will need a year (at least) to recover.

i would like to thank netgalley and the publisher, rose & star, for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Throne of Broken Gods was book 2 of this crazy series and I just finished it. Whew! I need a drink.
I’m giving this 5 ⭐️. The reviews were all over the place with this book but I loved it. It’s something I just couldn’t put down. I loved all the characters in this story. I think I held my breath through most of it.
It’s 600 pages which is generally too long for me but I loved it. It had great world building and I thought Dianna was kick ass! She was unhinged. Broken. Have you ever felt grief? The pains so deep that it’s all you can feel? I have. If an author writes an intensely, undying love story then I’m in! I recommend this if you like a long story with lots of feels. It was good. I’m excited for book 3. Gimme, gimme, gimme!
Amber V. Nicole you’re amazing!
Thanks IBPA via NetGalley.

OMG!!!! Awesome from the beginning to the end!
I read this book without reading the first one. Yes, I know, that's silly but I read the blurb and I just couldn't help it. Because of all the flashbacks it wasn't as confusing as it could have been.
I love your morally grey characters.... and I hope to read the first book (to have an even better understanding of some of the characters motivations) before reading the third one... because I need a third one.
Keep writing like this. Your style is great.

This book was a good sequel to The Book of Azrael and I agree with fellow reviewers that this will put me in a slump until further notice. The world building was amazing and I felt truly immersed in the world that she was building.

There’s nothing worse than finishing a book and feeling like it was a waste of time, especially if it's over 800 pages long and took five days to slog through.

The good moments from The Book of Azrael that sparked a little hope in this series were sorely missing from The Throne of Broken Gods. I know I read an ARC, but I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that felt so unedited in my life. There are maybe five things of importance in this book buried under hundreds of pages of inane and useless information. I’m not sure if Nicole is trying and failing to make the world bigger and more complex or if my current reading slump is worse than I thought, but I was not invested in almost anything that happened.

I strongly believe that the interesting and important parts of these two books could have been edited down into one very exciting and compelling book. By making it two and adding so much unnecessary exposition, I’m left here wondering why I’ve read almost 1700 pages with so little payoff. I want to like this series and these characters, but I can’t put myself through any more of this.