I personally did not enjoy the content of this book. I was never able to pick this book back up again and finish it.

along with reading too YA, i have a struggle with like master/slave dynamics so this just wasn't a fit for me as a reader.

Thank you so so much to Netgalley and Del Ray for allowing me to read the ARC of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods.

What an interesting read. This story has a very interesting magic system, and I thought the premise for the "occupation"(invasion) was an interesting note since *gestures broadly outside window*, and I really felt for Ruying, just trying to take care of her family and survive. I understand everyone's concerns on the romantic part and it being her oppressor, I'm not gonna lie, he had me in the first 3 parts and then I started to have my doubts.

I really loved all the Chinese references, and I did immersive read with the audiobook, I really appreciated hearing a lot of these new words in a new language spoken. I hope we have more of this in the next book too.

I will say this book left me wanting but not of the next part as much as just more of what we did get. I wish the author had given us more stories about the god. I loved hearing about Nüwa and how she created the mortals and Xianlings but I wish we had a story about Death or even more about the Dragons. I would have loved a little more backstory on our main character, or just a little more development. Some parts for repetitive and some parts could have used an additional story build or explanation.

Overall, I was hooked in, I had to know how it ended and I'll likely pick up the next one when it comes out this September.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Tropes
• Hidden Magic
• Rebellion/Political Intrigue
• Enemies to Lovers

First things first, can we talk about this cover? Literally ran (digitally sprinted, thanks NetGalley 🙌🏼) toward this gorgeous beauty with all the excitement of a girl who lives and dies by slow-burn romance.

And y’all already know: slow burn is my catnip. Seriously, give me characters who spend forever glancing longingly across rooms, avoiding their feelings, accidentally brushing hands, and dramatically declaring their annoyance for each other while obviously falling madly in love—I'm so here for it. Anthony and Ruying delivered all of that and more. Their tension was so thick you could practically slice it, put it on toast, and serve it for breakfast. The emotional build-up alone had me flipping pages faster than when I'm trying to reread all my notes before an exam. bout And friends, there were definitely moments of pearl-clutching tension, lingering glances, and the sort of frustratingly perfect hesitation that made me scream "Just kiss already!" more than once. No regrets.

Now, the world-building? Wildly ambitious. Picture ancient Rome somehow surviving into an alternate history where colonial empires are flying around in helicopters, casually dropping magic spells, and you’ve got the vibe. Sure, did I occasionally feel like I missed orientation day for this magical empire? Maybe. But honestly, points for audacity and creativity. Caesar with futuristic tech? Why not? Historical mashups keep life interesting. I really think this is so creative and UNIQUE, such a breath of fresh air. Just for that, I would recommend it. I adored that.

Admittedly, there were points where the pacing got a bit repetitive, and I had moments of "Wait, did I just read this?" But every time I started to drift, along came another juicy scene of Anthony and Ruying dancing around their feelings—those delicious, simmering, emotionally constipated feelings—and my slow-burn-loving heart was fully back in the game.

Also, shoutout to those emotionally charged scenes exploring manipulation and tough moral choices—they landed hard, folks. Fantasy with layers? Yes, please! Even if some magical explanations took their sweet time arriving, the drama more than made up for it. Despite these elements, I commend the author for the sheer originality and daring of her vision. Her prose, while occasionally meandering, often shone brightly, reflecting a genuine creative flair. I suspect my initial reading might have been ill-timed or influenced by my mood, for beneath the surface lies considerable potential.

Bottom line: maybe I wasn’t totally vibing with every twist at first (mood-reading is real, friends!), but I suspect this could be a slow-burn love affair between me and this book, too. It's the kind of story I can already feel growing on me with every passing minute. The foundation's there, the slow burn is exquisite, and my heart is already whispering sweet nothings about second chances. Who am I to resist?

Massive thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Del Rey for gifting me this ARC—I’m genuinely excited to revisit this lush, complicate

Love the cover, love the theme, this was an enjoyable asian inspired fantasy read! Easy read and the plot is definitely interesting in the sense the enemies to lovers and the slow burnnnnnnnnnn got me hooked

There are two worlds. One with magic, the other with science.
Pangu is a paradise where magic and humanity lives in harmony.
Rome is a world of another realm where science rules.
There was peace until there wasn’t.

This follows Ruying, a girl who is just trying to protect her sister and grandmother. No. Matter. What. No matter the consequences, no matter if it makes her a coward, she would do anything for them, even if it means helping the enemy, Antony Augustus, one of the Roman Princes.

This book did not go the way I was expecting. This book was rather dark, darker than I expected, and sad.

Ruying just wants to protect her sister, and I understand having a younger sister myself, I would do anything…and this story was a struggle to know whose side to be one.

No one was inherently good in this book. Everyone in this book has severe flaws and are very morally grey. Here I was thinking “okay Ruying is good”, or “Antony isn’t so bad, there’s more to him than meets the eye”, but no, neither of them or even The Phantom, were “good”. Everyone had their agenda and wanted something whether that was war and bloodshed, or take what doesn’t belong to them, or gain something for a greater good, but doing horrible things along the way.

So, I decided I was just along for the ride and would see what would happen. I didn’t get as emotionally as attached as I usually get because just from the start, Antony was sus, he has good intentions, but still, not a good guy, like everyone else 😆 and it’s like who should Ruying be with or believe? Whose side should she be on when both sides had ideas or wants that were so bad in my opinion that it’s like no wonder she struggled. The choice was to protect her sister, and that’s what she did.

I’m curious to know how or if there will be a romance. I mean I think there will be, eventually, but there will need to be some major redemption arcs for me to believe it. For everyone 😆

So, yah, this was a very well written book. Despite how horrible everyone is, and how messed up the world is, it was a very good book. I did like the characters, I couldn’t help but like them! Even the really bad ones! The way it’s written, it manipulates you into wanting to believe everyone and want to be on their side. It was very well done. It captured my attention and never let it go. I also really loved the idea of the world mixing science and magic. Who will be superior in the end? Who do we want superior or to win in the end?

I’m glad I finally read it. I’ve been wanting to read it for awhile and now I really want the next book to see how it continues.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF’ed at about 50%. I could not get past that the love interest of the main character was the colonizer. I also could not get past the writing style of the author. They skipped around too many important scenes and just summarized what happened instead. Overall, this was a poor read and am disappointed in how it turned out.

**I want to preface that this review was written prior to being made aware around the controversy of this novel**

I found To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods to be your average run of the mill fantasy novel. I found it to neither good nor bad. I found this book did struggle with the pacing but what this book does really really well, is vivid and immersive world building. It explores difficult and sensitive power dynamics with our FMC with the power of death working along side the powers that have controlled and colonized her home. This is a really difficult avenue to navigate. The romance felt a bit lack luster and undeveloped. However I’ve read worst! I wouldn’t say it was my favorite read of the year but I would be open to continuing to read and see how the author develops the rest of the series.

I was excited for this book, so I think I set my expectations too high. It is a good read, but nothing memorable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-book copy!

I was interested in the book due to the controversy surrounding fake bad reviews. I also held off giving my opinion as I ultimately did not enjoy this and had to DNF. I think this story had promise and despite many dubbing it a "colonizer romance" I just didn't get that vibe from it. I was confused about the worldbuilding and in turn, the story felt flat for me. I am open to giving this author's future work a chance but I am dropping off this series for now.

Technically a DNF for me, but thank you to the publishers for this eARC to review.

Unfortunately the pacing of this along with the narration of the MC was just not jiving for me. I gave it a try on a few separate occasions, but it just didn't work for me. I do look forward to seeing what the author publishes in the future.

My feelings about this one are so mixed it’s crazy. I think they can be summed up this way: the first half is horrible, the second half is amazing.

The horrible parts of this book are because they’re just so boring. I swear we passed the halfway mark and things were just barely starting to happen. Way too much exposition. Way too much musing. Way too much straight prose droning on and on. The author is quite wordy. I was reminded of this after I finished the book (which ends quite strong) and read the acknowledgements—she repeated herself many times, so much so that the acknowledgements were four pages long. That is how the first half of the book felt. I read a lot of the same thing without anything really happening.

The second half, though? Oh man. When things start happening, they get insane real fast. I don’t know that I would have ever called this a five star read as I’m just not that into fantasy, but the action and plot twists kept coming at every turn, until the very end. There was a time I thought I wouldn’t finish the rest of the series, but in the end, the book changed my mind.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room next: the infamous and alleged colonizer romance. Some spoilers may lie ahead.

My take on it? I think to call it a colonizer romance wouldn’t be incorrect. I mean, she falls in love with her colonizer. He falls in love with her. However, I do think that label wouldn’t leave enough room for how much nuance this story has. The colonizer romance raised the stakes for the characters, and raised questions for the reader: who can Ruying truly trust? Are characters as good or bad as they seem? It made the story truly interesting for me, as I wanted to learn the truth as much as Ruying did, which was being hidden on many levels. Above all, it makes the book a story about being deceived and betrayed. Chang wrote the book based on her feelings about real struggles her family and countrymen actually went through. While I’m not going to tell other Asian women who felt hurt by this narrative that they’re wrong—because I have no right to tell them what they are or aren’t allowed to feel about a narrative that is very personal for them—this is Chang’s story adapted from her own copings with generational trauma, and I find it a bit audacious of any of us to say she wrote about her own feelings incorrectly.

Even as I’m hesitant for the next book in the series because this one was so slow so often, I’m also so eager. Chang has set up an exciting premise that I strongly believe will deliver, especially for fans of fantasy.

I couldn’t bring myself to finish this book because I just couldn’t connect with either the characters or the world-building. The concept of blending a magic system with science had potential, but it lacked the depth needed to make it compelling. On top of that, the story relied too much on telling rather than showing, making it hard to get invested. The main character was particularly frustrating. She had immense power yet barely used it to fight for her people, which made her feel passive and uninteresting. Honestly, I found her sister far more engaging, to the point where I wished she were the protagonist instead. While the writing itself was solid, the plot just wasn’t gripping enough to hold my attention. I gave this book multiple chances, hoping it would eventually pull me in, but it never quite did.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods" by Molly X. Chang is not perfect, but I still loved it! The story follows Ruying, who lives in a society colonized and ruled by the "Roman Empire" after they stumbled into her world. While the book starts a bit slowly, Chang expertly uses this time to paint a vivid picture of a subjugated society, detailing how Ruying's people live under Roman rule and the various supernatural powers they possess. In this world, many people are blessed with such powers, and Ruying possesses the most feared one of all – the power of death.
The story takes a dark turn when Roman prince Antony witnesses Ruying using her power and forces her to become his personal assassin. Throughout the book, Ruying grapples with the horrible acts she's forced to perform, driven by her fierce determination to protect her family. Yet she finds herself increasingly conflicted about her feelings for the prince – the very man who threatened her family's lives and skillfully manipulates her in his quest to become the next Emperor.
The relationship between Ruying and Antony gave me emotional whiplash in the best possible way. I was torn between their tender moments and the scenes where his manipulation becomes clear. Until the very end, I struggled to decipher Antony's true intentions. Like Ruying, I kept hoping there was more to his story, that he would prove to be secretly good (though by the end, things weren't looking promising). It's a fascinating take on the enemies-to-lovers trope, where you're never quite sure if the "villain" is redeemable – or if he's willing to compromise his ambitions even for love.
While some readers have labeled this a "colonizer romance," I believe such criticisms oversimplify the complexity of the story. Real life – and good literature – often deals in moral ambiguities. Authors shouldn't be discouraged from exploring complicated narratives just because they make some readers uncomfortable. While constructive criticism is valuable, it should be offered respectfully, without attacking the author personally.
If you enjoy enemies-to-lovers romances and don't mind the possibility that your love interest might truly be the villain – one who won't abandon his agenda even for the heroine – then this book is definitely worth your time. Once the story picks up speed, it's absolutely engrossing, and I, for one, can't wait for the next book in the series.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang is a captivating fantasy that draws you into a world filled with rich lore, complex characters, and moral dilemmas. The story follows a young protagonist, who grapples with her desires and the consequences of her choices in a beautifully crafted realm where gods are both awe-inspiring and terrifying.
Chang's writing is lyrical, and she has a knack for vivid descriptions that bring each scene to life. The pacing is just right, with enough twists and turns to keep you engaged without feeling overwhelming. The character development is particularly strong; you genuinely feel for the characters as they navigate their challenges, making their victories and failures resonate deeply.
The themes of power, ambition, and the struggle between light and dark are handled thoughtfully, prompting readers to reflect on their own beliefs about right and wrong. It’s a thought-provoking journey that balances action with introspection, keeping you hooked from beginning to end.
Overall, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys immersive fantasy with strong character arcs and philosophical depth. Chang has crafted a compelling story that leaves you eager for more. If you're looking for a book that combines adventure with rich, thought-provoking themes, this one is definitely worth picking up!

**Review of *To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods* by Molly X. Chang**

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)

*To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods* by Molly X. Chang presents a rich fantasy world filled with gods, magic, and complex relationships. The premise is intriguing, and the exploration of power dynamics between humans and gods adds an interesting layer to the narrative. Chang’s writing is atmospheric, with vivid descriptions that immerse you in the world.

However, while the world-building is strong, the pacing felt uneven at times. The plot, while full of potential, occasionally drags, especially in the middle of the book, and I found myself wishing for more action or tension to keep things moving. The characters are compelling but not fully developed, leaving me wanting a deeper emotional connection with their struggles and motivations.

Overall, *To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods* is an enjoyable read for fans of fantasy, with strong world-building and intriguing concepts. It has a lot of promise but falls short in terms of pacing and character development, leaving it feeling like it could have been more engaging.

"In this magical epic fantasy, the gripping first novel of the Gods Beyond the Skies series, a young woman gifted with the power of Death must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country." That sentence and the cover caught my attention. The book couldn't keep my attention that well however. I did enjoy the book overall and am looking forward to the next one, but I hope the next book will be better. I got a little bored at the beginning. Some of the characters were not interesting, but I did like the main character. The world building and character building needs some work in the next book. I love the premise, but it didn't keep my interest.

I DNF'ed this at just past the 60% mark, i found i just didnt care about the characters and was reading out of habit almost

This was okay. I really didn’t care for the plot or characters or writing style which was a bummer. Not for me, but others might enjoy and appreciate it!

A girl with the power of death must fight alongside her world's colonizers in order to save her family.

This title had such a cool concept, with compelling world-building, powers, and characters. I am eagerly awaiting book two, which will round out a story which left me with so many questions. I especially loved learning more about this story's inspiration, the horrific human experimentation carried out by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1936-45. This was a topic I didn't know anything about and was glad to be enlightened.