My heart goes out to the author for the difficulties that she had with this book (and there were so many). However, I really recommend reading and watching BIPOC reviews/reviewers about this book. There is a lot of trauma associated with the historical events portrayed in this book.

This is a story that promised so much but unfortunately fell short of my expectations. This is set in a world that has been conquered by technologically advanced invaders. Ruying, one of the colonized people and our main character, possesses death magic—a power that both intrigues and terrifies her. When an enemy prince discovers her abilities, he imprisons her and demands that she become his assassin or he will harm her family.

Obviously, the romance was a HUGE problem. The anti-colonialism message (that I THINK was supposed to come through?) was completely overshadowed by the romance in this. The romance between Ruying and the prince feels forced and made me incredibly uncomfortable, especially given the author's note in the beginning. There were notes of romance between the two even when his actions were horrific. She kept thinking about how attractive he was even as he was threatening her and her family. Ruying's motivations and character development also feel inconsistent, as her actions often contradict her stated beliefs and desires. Another huge problem I had was the time skip. That portion could have been utilized to expand upon the feelings between the two characters and could have shown us how Ruying was being manipulated by Antony. It really only serves to confuse readers and disrupt the flow of the story. The world-building and character development suffer as a result, leaving the reader with more questions than answers.

I wish the author all the best and hope that she takes the criticism to heart in the continued series. I appreciate the copy from Netgalley and the publisher. This review is based on a complimentary pre-released copy and it is voluntary.

Young Adult Fantasy
Science Fiction
Asian Literature (Chinese mythology inspired)
Science vs Magic
Enemies to Lovers

This first caught my eye with its lovely eye-catching cover. I was honestly surprised that this was a science vs magic novel as at first I thought that it was purely fantasy. I loved that it went in that direction and I’m really excited to know more in the next instalment. For me, this book is well written. The main character’s internal struggle to make the best choices in the midst of manipulation and cultural conflict is well done. Definitely waiting for the next book.

With all the Discourse around this book, I wanted to love it... But, I absolutely could not get behind Ruying and her terrible decision-making, and the mental gymnastics attempted to make her into anything close to a Good Person. I really think that Molly's marketing campaign took a convoluted turn when she began to claim it as a Dark Romance/Zutara-esque story, because neither of those comparisons are actually true. It also feels like a very surface level approach with grappling incredibly heavy and dark history, which just isn't a good back drop for any type of romance...

I sat on my review for a while just trying to figure out my feelings & what i wanted to say about this book.
Every time i tried to read this book i kept finding myself confused or bored. I eventually had to write stuff down because the whole Rome, Roman names for the bad people shall i say kept throwing me off tremendously, i love mythology i saw where this book was based on Chinese mythology & the horrors the Manchurian people experienced. Which intrigued me so much ! Also the Chinese culture itself intrigues me. I kept finding myself lost at times, irritated with how dull the main character was she felt boring at times. The world building was very sparse to where it wasn’t easy figuring out & understanding the basics of what it looked like or how the people came to be.
The fact that this book was so dear to the authors because it was based on stories that her grandfather told her during her childhood that were all rooted from reality of what he experienced made me even more sad that i didn’t like this book, the authors note was so amazing , personal & touching to where i was expecting so much more out of this book then what i got.
I’m all for enemies to lovers, i actually really love that trope & I’m also a huge dark romance fan so there are a lot of things that don’t affect me , but something about our main character falling for her colonized her who was actually really brutal & awful to her just didn’t sit right me .

Now I’m rating this book 2.75 because there were moments that had me really intrigued. Ruying’s powers were pretty fascinating to me. Anthony’s story was also fascinating. I love a good background story of a character

I might end up re reading this book when her next one comes out just to see if i feel differently or if maybe this being her debut book it wasn’t the best she could do . I am all for giving authors second or 3rd chances so I’m not giving up on Molly yet. 🩷

Going into this book I pretty much dropped any and all expectations I might have had because of all the discourse online and I wanted to give this one a fair read. And honestly I had a fun time with this one. I thought the world was an interesting set up in this one with this blend of fantasy world where the book is set mixed with the science aspects of the colonizing world in the book. I love when books blend magic and science so that really worked for me.

I found Ruying to be a pretty interesting narrator. Seeing the plot through her eyes as she makes decisions and is manipulated gave an interesting view of what was happening and even when I disagreed with her decisions I felt like I understood why she was making those decisions.

And finally to address the colonizer romance aspect of this book as that is what is being blasted all over the bookish internet. So yes, the main character is from the colonizing nation and is actively participating in the oppression of the the female character's nation. I'm not going to argue that he is absolutely a colonizer. But in order for something to be a colonizer romance I feel as though there must be a romance. And straight up I would not call it that. It's just stockholm syndrome and manipulation and I thought that was pretty crystal clear while reading that the author's intent was not for it to be a relationship you are rooting for at all not did I ever think was the intent for it to be an end game relationship so i did not have an issue with it in this first one.

I will definitely be picking up the second book in this series!

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- this was not worth it. a story about a ecofascist colonizer romance with an idiotic protagonist who literally obsessed over him until the last TWO CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK?? the book lacked the nuance needed to handle such deep topics such as colonialism and unit 731, and literally had no emotional impact between the characters. all of them were brain dead expect for Baihu, who was the only one who had a brain apparently.

I’m sorry, but this was one of the worst reads. the writing style needed editing, as characters would monologue for an entire page, more than once. it was headache inducing, and while Chang has a writing style that can work, she needed to edit this a bit more. it doesn’t hurt to edit, i promise.

i might tune into the other books, only so i can see how messed up it gets from here, and if this is the only “colonizer romance” book of the series. if not, i will be very frustrated. colonizer romance should not be written to portray such shitty people as decent, morally ambiguous love interests. it’s not right.

While I did enjoy the overall story, there was a lot to wade through before I got to that point. It was frustrating at times waiting for Ruying to come to her senses and figure out the truth, but I did appreciate how she was able to walk back and understand just how much damage she was doing. I’ll probably read the second book out of sheer curiosity as to how this will end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the ARC copy they provided.

I regret that I wasn’t able to finish To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods before its publication date and leave an advance review, but life, as it often does, got in the way. I was able to read several chapters, though, and Molly X. Chang’s clean and beautiful writing style pulled me in immediately.

As did her storyline and blend of history with fantasy. There is culture and reality in the midst of the fiction elements of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, and this depth adds intensity to the story.

Though I was unable to read the whole book at the time of this review, I can say I already love To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods and look forward to reading it at my leisure for pleasure and not in the sense of “needing” to leave a review. There is a reason I kept seeing this book on most anticipated lists. I can confidently say you won’t be disappointed.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is an excellent example of why I don't like to look at marketing or reviews before diving into a book (being swindled by pretty covers is unfortunately unavoidable). I had zero expectations going in and can happily say, despite some rather annoying flaws, I had a good time with the book.

My review is based off of an early ARC so I hope that much of this has changed/edited down, but as the case with a lot of debut authors, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is very repetitive - particularly in how colonized and ruined Pangu is because of the Romans. I think at some point I mentally shouted at the page "OK, I GET IT." Despite that, I did enjoyed Ruying as a main. She's very flawed, misguided, with lots of low self confidence. Unfortunately this does make her the perfect victim. I do think this book should come with a trigger warning because of it. If you've ever been in an abusive/manipulative relationship this this book has all the red flags.

I'm also tired of assassin books where the assassin doesn't assassinate on page! I don't need x-rated violence but fade to black just seems kind of lazy.

Overall, I found To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods to be an OK read. I will continue with the series because 1) I am a sucker for a pretty cover and 2) I am curious to see how the author's writing improves and the direction of the story.

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think I can imagine who this book is for, and that reader is not me. The writing had high moments when I was very engaged; the worldbuilding had an interesting premise. The author's note at the beginning gave me compelling background I otherwise would not have understood, and prompted me to start correcting my lack of knowledge about the atrocities of Unit 731 that inspired the book. Unfortunately, the book itself didn't work for me on a number of levels.

The setting seemed somewhat straightforward at first, a sort of alternate history/fantasy version of China (called Pangu, or maybe Pangu is meant to encompass more than just China?) where some people are born with qi magic, which has in its recent history been invaded by alternate history/science fiction Romans through an interdimensional portal in the sky. The imperialist Romans have brought technology, brutality, and "opian" to lay Pangu low, and I dig fiction about the horrors of imperialism, so this felt like a promising beginning. But I never felt like I had enough information to grasp what Pangu had been like before, or how it was organized politically, or how the different parts of it that we see or hear about related to each other.

Then we've got our main cast: POV character Ruying, whose magic is the power to kill or incapacitate people by sucking out their qi; Baihu, her childhood-friend-turned-handsome-opian-dealer; Taohua, a childhood best friend who we're assured is important to Ruying but who rarely appears in the story; Ruying's sister (maybe twin?) and grandmother, who are to be protected at all costs; and of course Antony, the Roman prince who is Ruying's captor and then love interest. Let me say, I'm not opposed to "problematic" romantic tension, fucked up pairings, flawed characters making choices between multiple evils, or stories where people aren't heroes. All of those tensions are present in this book and could have been really heart-rending, sobering, and thought-provoking--but for me, the characters themselves are not fully fleshed enough to carry all that weight.

What results is a plot that is just too obvious for my taste. Stop reading now if you really don't want spoilers, but I honestly think the major plot points are laid out from the start: Ruying resists the charms of Baihu because he's working with the Romans but can't resist her own Roman meet un-cute with Antony, hates herself for the murders she then commits to protect her family and for her growing love for the enemy prince himself, then discovers (surprise?) that Baihu is a double agent for the resistance and Antony has been concealing the Romans' motives--experimenting on magic users to harness that energy for their own dying and environmentally trashed world. There was no point at which I wondered if Antony might actually be good, and no point at which I was rooting for this romance. The only surprise was when I thought the mysterious and magically strong Taohua might secretly be the rebel leader The Phoenix, but instead she was fridged on the page to prove to Ruying that all Romans are bad, including the prince she had been spending time kissing and killing for.

This makes it sound like a lot happened in this book, but at the same time very little happened. It ended with Ruying's decision to work for the resistance, so that finally, in the second book, the plot might go somewhere. I was left with the sensation that this entire book could have been condensed to background, or maybe a first chapter or two, for a more layered book about Ruying as a double agent. The murders, the hating herself, the desperate circumstances, the falling in love, all of that could provide a really fascinating backdrop for an SFF spy story! There are many interesting and difficult and nuanced themes that the author is trying to get at, but alas, they never come through with the strength or emotional effect I was looking for.

This book presents an intriguing premise with a mix of fantasy and political intrigue. The protagonist, Ruying, has a unique ability to control death, which offers a deep exploration of power and its consequences. The initial setup promises an engaging conflict between advanced technology and ancient magic, pitting two distinct cultures against each other. The story attempts to weave a complex tapestry of morality, exploring themes of duty, sacrifice, and the blurred lines between right and wrong. Despite its challenges, the plot provides moments of genuine emotional depth and character development, offering glimpses into the resilience and adaptability of the human spirit.

This story took me on a emotional rollercoaster. I didn't know whether I should root for or hate the main romance. I really appreciated the Author's note being at the beginning of the book because it framed the story in a whole new light. It was heart breaking to see the main character wrestling with impossible decisions. She was in a lose lose situation, either help and be branded a traitor or don't and die. At every turn I did not know what to expect. I wanted to fall in love with the MMC and find some redeeming qualities in him but it was so hard, especially after that ending. I had a problem with the power dynamic in their relationship and his love for her seem to appear out of thin air. I wished he had been someone who stuck to his promises and talk of equality. I am hoping that he either gets a major redemption or she gets a new love interest in book 2. This was a hard one to read but I will say that it had me engaged throughout the story. I am looking forward to the next installment.

I think this book had a really great premise but the execution wasn’t that great. It needed a few more read-throughs and edits, and I wouldn’t have minded it being 70 pages longer if we got more explanation of the world and the driving factor and more character interaction

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

DNF ~30%

I will not be rating this book on Goodreads or any consumer sites because I didn’t even make it past the fifty percent.

All I can say is I’ve suffered enough. It’s early in the book but I already get the feeling that the main character, Ruying, has no backbone. She is very woes me.

Also reading the preface about how this book was inspired by the occupation of Manchuria and Unit 731, I can’t simply set that aside and root for a colonizer romance because I don’t see how it wouldn’t end up being one. Anyway, I’m going to save myself the bandwidth and part ways with this book.

Dang, this had so much potential! What really ruined it for me was how proud Ruying was of her ability to kill people and how quickly she fell for the guy oppressing her entire people.

I tried to give it a real shot, but falling in love or lust with your colonizer, while flirting over who can kill more people, is just not for me. And it probably isn't for many people.

I received this book as an ARC!

The cover of this book is what caught my eye and made me want to read it! I really liked idea of magic and science being on opposite sites of a war and how they would evolve differently. The idea that one civilization would be so much more advanced than the other was a little hard for me to believe and the differences made it difficult to ascertain the time period this was taking place in. I found the magic system interesting, and liked the world of Pangu, but I felt that there could have been a lot more detail given about the world. I didn't find the love interest all that compelling, and felt Ruying as a character was hard to connect with. That being said, I did enjoy reading this book and would probably read the next one.

This was definitely interesting. It was intense and heavy, but it kept me interested and was different. I didn't love that the main love interest was a colonizer, and the pacing was a bit all over the place for me. This fell under my "average" rating where I give three stars because I did finish it, it was well written, and I can tell the author worked hard to write a unique and thoughtful story. But it wasn't something that grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

Sometimes survival is the only decent option. But when your entire society is subjugated by forces from another world who aren't concerned with your existence it's about all you can get. "To Gaze upon Wicked Gods" by Molly X. Chang slams magic against science in a conflict inspired in part by our world's messed up history.

Ruying can kill people by pulling their life out. Unfortunately use of the gifts burns away at the user's own life. Making her a weapon someone could wield if the wrong person learned about it. Unfortunately, her options become zero when a prince finds out and gives her few choices. Work as his killer, and hopefully make a more stable society for him to inherit and keep her remaining family safe or let his brothers have a crack at the throne with their records of violence. No good options, just have to make one and hope you can live with it.

Narrated by Natalie Naudus, got a bit dark there at the end.

Reasons to read:
-Made afterwards it's a good time to pick up a history book and learn some things
-What do you do when everything is stack against you, societal and cultural norms, family, the off planet invaders, the one gift you have also kills you. That's a real rough place to be
-Some folks need a slap
-Want to see how it will end

Cons:
-I remembered some historical events

Blessed by Death, Ruying tries to hide her abilities from the Roman invaders who have conquered her planet of Pangu.

However, after she accidentally reveals her powers during an altercation with a guard, she becomes captured by the enemy prince. She then is left with an impossible choice: to either become a weapon for the Roman Empire or die.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang weaves a confusing dark science fantasy that left me somewhat baffled.

At a sentence level, yes, the writing is lush and lyrical and I really liked Ruying’s death-based magical abilities.

However, it’s the worldbuilding that was hard for me to wrap my head around. For starters, the story itself is inspired by real-life atrocities (i.e. The Opium Wars and Unit 731), but it changes the perpetrator to a high-tech version of the Romans. Why not use a sci-fi analog of Imperial England or Japan?

Moreover, the huge technology gap between the Romans and Pangu (a Chinese-inspired planet) felt strange to me. The Romans here have guns, warships, and radio, but Pangu still hasn’t progressed beyond the invention of fireworks over the course of centuries (despite fireworks being a percussor for gunpowder and guns). There aren't any philosophical, religious, or logical circumstantial explanations as to why either. Their gods died. They had the land resources, and since magic is rare, limited in its abilities, and must be used sparingly because it shaves time off of the user’s life, it makes no sense for Pangu not to try to advance technologically.

There are so many arcanepunk stories like Monstress or The Legend of Kora that fuse magic and technology in interesting ways, so the whole magic vs science conflict here feels overly reductive and uninspired.

Maybe I’m too much of an overthinker and a history nerd, but I found that the world’s lack of believability kept me from being able to immerse myself in it.