"Monsters in flesh. Destined to ruin."

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods was a heart wrenching and poignant tale about colonialism and the generational damage it inflicts on the innocent. I was met with a roller coaster of emotions, whether that was rage, devastation, curiosity, or hope. You may have heard of the controversies with the character of the protagonist as well as the way the book is advertised. Remember: Ruying is not your average hero. She is a survivor, which provides for an even greater reason to witness her tales. Do not go into this novel with romance being the driving force of your interest because this book is NOT that. I understand that TGUWG has been advertised as a "what if Zutara happened" and while I have not watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, I do not encourage lovers of that troupe to drive into a story with genocide and colonialism as the main focus. I picked up TGUWG for its exquisite cover (so beautifully drawn!!) and its promise of Chinese stories. Which is why I can't emphasis enough why readers should not finish with the idea of romanticization between Ruying and Antony. At the end of the day, it is still a complicated relationship detailing an oppressor and the oppressed. NOT ENEMIES TO LOVERS GUYS.

What I liked about TGUWG was the incorporations of Chinese sayings that I have heard growing up. but never got to see in English literature. And I found that here. But again: It's a compelling tale that brings forth your morals and values, You know those stories where you read to escape from reality? This novel is most definitely not it. While I am so not comfortable with the romance? and some of the writing in this book, I gave it a chance because I believed that it really is supposed to be overwhelming and to drag your heart down. I was reminded of the horror stories that I have been taught growing up and so the state of reading this book was a constant eye watering moment, which is why it doesn't make sense to have Ruying and Antony's relationship to be anything but knife against throat (again, NOT in a yess enemies but loverss! way).

Personally, I thought that To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods provided a descriptive atmosphere for envisioning the circumstances of the story and Ruying has bought me to tears many times with her monologues. She is a character worth reading. Questionable at times (very) but a character worth analyzing. When magic and science interweaves, the results are imaginable. Thank you to Netgalley, The Ballantine Books Group & Del Rey Books for the arc.

The first 60% was a solid 2 stars for me and I was tempted to DNF (which I rarely ever do) but the last 30-40% kept me going. This is a story with so much potential and the idea behind it is so unique and intriguing.

What irritated me and made me want to stop reading was the constant repetition; it took focus from anything else in the story. It seemed like every other sentence was how awful Rome was over and over or of how Ruying “comes from a long line of generals” and a great strategist of a grandmother; I understand the point the author is trying to drive home but it doesn’t need to be shoved down our throats again and again.

I am not one who enjoys a tremendous amount of tedious world building, but it was almost non-existent. I would’ve liked to read a little more about the world(s) and a lot less about the same things we’ve already been told. It feels more like the book is intended to make you hate the Romans instead of being about fantasy. The main focus for the majority of the book seems to be more on showing us how horrible the Romans were and the destruction of the Er-Long empire, and less about the actual fantasy or plot. I understand that the author wants to convey the harshness and the horrible atrocities that really did happen, but sometimes felt more like historical fiction than fantasy.

That all being said, I may still read the next book in the series when it comes out solely based on the last 20% of this book. I’m hopeful that all the repetition is out of the way and we can get more magic and action with a progressing story. Like I said, the premise is so unique and I really wanted to love this.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an E-Arc of this book. The following is my honest opinion *

3.5 ⭐ out 5
Read: 4/9/2024-4/16/2024

If you are a fan of Judy Lin's Book of Tea series and Kerri Maniscalco's Kingdom of the Wicked series (specifically the vibe of the main characters), this book might be for you.

It was an interesting read for me. The parts that had the magic system in it made this book more enjoyable and made me want to read more of the book to get further explanation on it. What threw it off for me was the "portal in the sky" and the very modern technology. (I do understand why the author did it this way. I do wish it had been more fleshed out.)

I am interested to see where the story will go. Definitely recommenf

I really wanted to like this book, but it just had too many issues. While the world built was interesting and mysterious, and the plot was intriguing, the style was shallow and the pace slow.

Aside from the MC, the characters are shallow and flat. In contrast, the endless inner monologue does give us layers for Ruying, but there is so much repetition in what she ruminates about. The romantic plot relies almost entirely on physical attraction and is otherwise baffling. Even with all the lengthy descriptions of the world and its politics and history, there are still so many questions left unanswered.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Ruying’s world, dominated by a magic that affects all aspects of life, was invaded through a portal in the sky by Rome, a science-advanced civilization. In the decade since they have arrived, Rome has taken over much of Ruying’s home controlling and weakening them with opiates and other advanced technology. When Ruying is captured by Roman Prince Antony for her magical powers over death, she enters a situation where there is no positive outcome. How can she save her family and world without sacrificing too much? Is peace just a tale used for manipulation and control?

I enjoyed this novel. The idea of an advanced civilization finding a parallel world to exploit is not a new concept but the way the author has constructed her story is unique. The journey Ruying takes emotionally as she navigates truths from lies is the heart of the story. That struggle is well written and not too overwhelming. The novel does end semi abruptly with a plot switch so just be prepared to be left wanting the next book. 4 stars.

Review based on a digital Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group/Del Rey and NetGalley. Thank you!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods follows magically gifted Ruying as she must navigate an impossible deal after being captured by the people who have invaded her home planet.

There's a lot to unpack here, and so much of it is incredibly complicated. First and foremost, I think it is important to keep in mind those who found the story presented in this book -- especially the romance, which seemed to be centered heavily in the book's early marketing -- offensive or exploitative of their history and culture. Additionally, I do want to acknowledge the author's role as someone who is also a part of the history and culture she writes about, and whose family was directly affected by the historical events which inspired this narrative.

Others have already said their piece about this being a colonizer romance, and I do think that bears repeating, though I will keep it brief. This book does involve a substantial amount, on the main character's part, of excusing the villainous behaviors of the apparent love interest. This in itself isn't necessarily a crime -- especially as Chang has come out to clarify that the arc of this relationship does not involve these two as endgame -- but the hurt of it stems from the actions of this character being specifically inspired by a group of people who committed heinous crimes against a minority population.

I do think, at least for me, the vibe was there in the book that Ruying's blind trust of Anthony was misguided and that she would eventually realize he was as much her enemy as any of them, but I'm not sure whether vibes are sufficient to overcome this kind of narrative presentation, especially when coupled with the early marketing that drove home the whole enemies-to-lovers-with-a-dark-prince thing. Beyond that, I have been thinking a lot about the responsibility of narrative in this kind of situation as well, and I can't help connecting these thoughts to the continual presence of Darkling apologists on the internet. Is it enough, in book two, to say surprise, this man is actually pure evil? After you've spent an entire book excusing his actions, hyping him up, painting him in a positive light? I'm not sure.

Beyond the romance issue, which is the hottest topic of conversation with this book, I'm on the fence about how I feel regarding the rest of it. In general, I think the balance of the story was off. In a world rife with war, drugs, magic, interplanetary portals, etc., it started to feel kind of frustrating just how much time we spent on the romance over everything else. I think plot-wise there were several opportunities for significantly more compelling story moments that were sort of brushed to the side in order to drive home the Ruying-is-blinded-by-love thing. At least some of this also comes down to character development, which seemed to be the least of anyone's worries for any character who wasn't Ruying or Antony. At the sentence level, the writing wasn't my favorite, and as a whole, I didn't find the construction of the story incredibly intuitive or organic.

At the same time, I do think this world and these characters have a wealth of potential. There's so much to explore thematically that book 1 has barely scratched the surface of, and I'd be really interested to see what this story would be in a more lived-in world with more complex and nuanced characters. I'll likely pick up book 2 when it comes around, out of sheer curiosity, but I do understand why this book has been such a controversial topic and not everyone's cup of tea.

⭐️⭐️.5
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Happy release day! 💗💗💖
Sadly this book just wasn’t for me.
We start the story with our main character Ruying who is living in a world on the borderline of war with the enemy, Rome.
Rome terrorizes her lands and brings a drug Opian, which supposedly enhances the powers of those who are born with them.
Ruying was born with the gift of death.
Now this book just wasn’t for me because I felt like it wasn’t on topic a lot, the author wrote a lot of world I feel like she just never used, and I would have loved to see all of her brilliant ideas fleshed out better!
I also felt like it was more of a tell and not show, and I definitely need show. Ruying also just didn’t feel real as a character to me, her motives were never clear and where her loyalty lies, no one knows.
And the romance…I just can’t get behind it, the love interest has just done too much bad and some of the things he says to Ruying are…but also he’s just not a good person and I’m sorry but he can’t be redeemed in my eyes.
But aside from that, for a debut the writing wasn’t bad, I had fun reading it, especially the end when I was very invested, I am hopeful to see where the story goes and if it can get better.

You’ll love this if you love…
- Chinese fantasy
- Burn the world if anything happens to her love interest
- No spice/ clean romance
- Unique magic concepts

Ruying girl...

This book had me in my feelings with the dedication, knowing that this story was taken from stories told by Molly's grandfather of war. Whew!

The time taken to build the world and give the main characters such personality and depth was great! I felt I was watching a movie as I read. In spaces dealing with Ruying's gift, I found it interesting how she had the ability to take life but thought long and hard about doing so. I saw the love triangle situation coming a mile away, it angered me but, I saw it coming.

There is so much I wish to say but I can't keep from giving spoilers! I am so glad I got to read this early, it is worth the hype! AND ITS A DEBUT NOVEL!?!

The emotional conflicts, the love, the growing up, the remembrance of past teachings, the history, the realness in fictional situations! I can't wait for book 2!

Ruying.....GIRL!

GET THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!

DNF @ 44%

This book was supposed to be my favorite of the year. I was so excited to request it and to see how awesome it would be. Boy, was I disappointed.

The most disappointing aspect of this book was how it was marketed. It’s marketed as an enemies to lovers, which it really is, but it also romanticizes colonization and has the main character fall in love with her oppressor. These aren’t two worlds at an equal war, there is a huge disadvantage between them and the oppressor is terrorizing just like any colonizer would. Having the main character fall in love with not only her oppressor that forces her to kill people for him but for him to be active in the murder of her people is disgusting.

Not only was the romance a true bother for me, but the worlds themselves. Our main character lives in a world with magic and the oppressors come from another world that is basically our world but not. There isn’t a good explanation as to why there is the inter-dimensional gate or why the main character’s world has magic but is incapable of using it against Rome. Judging by the other reviews I’ve read from this book, the issue doesn’t get resolved.

For being a debut novel, the writing isn’t horrible. I have hope that Chang will improve and I hope to enjoy something from her in the future. However, this book was just not for me.

I overall enjoyed this book, it’s adventurous with a reluctant heroine and an uncomplicated magic system. Usually the introduction of the love interest makes the story falter for me but this time, I was pretty invested. Worldbuilding was fairly solid but establishing a time period/era felt incomplete. Being that it's a start to a new series, hopefully this gets rectified.
From the hip, rating on vibes and entertainment: 4.5/5

Solid debut and start to the series, but I feel too old for this book, whether it's me or the writing/content, I am not sure. Either way, I wish much success to this series and tysm for the ARC.

I am unsure how I feel about To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. While the concept was interesting it was a drag to read. It was not terrible by any means, just I was not able to follow as smoothly as I wanted. There was more telling than showing and in terms of worldbuilding I was told how it would look and not shown. It wasn't until almost the end when all the action happened. I would have like to see it spread throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey, and Molly X. Chang for the advanced digital copy of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods.

Plot Summary: Ruying, blessed by Death, is able to pull the life out of others. She lives in Pangu, a separate world full of magic and blessings from the gods. The Romans came from a different world, took over her country Er-Lang, and want to continue to dominate Pangu. Ruying wants to keep her family safe at all costs. When a Roman prince learns of her powers, she must decide whose side she will be on.

Overall, I found this story fairly compelling, but there were some qualms. I found some of the world building lackluster, and I am still a little confused about The Veil and how everything works with “Science”.
I also really struggled with some of the romance, because it felt incredibly icky at times and cringey at times.

I did really like the ending of the novel, and now can see where some of the things I disliked fall into place with the potential plot of the next book. I plan to continue the story to see what happens next!

This story is so much history of warring groups fighting with science versus magic. Ruying has the power of death and can take your life just by looking at you, and both sides want to have that kind of power. Ruying is torn between which side she should be on and there may or may not be love interests on either side? ;) It gives me Shatter Me vibes and I loved Shatter Me. I felt as though there was a lot of potential in this story, and I absolutely loved the Chinese interspersed throughout which really pointed to the importance of culture in life and war. I understand this to be a trilogy and I will for sure read book 2. For the not so positives, I felt as though the dialogue between characters was extremely long and detailed at times and struggled to follow at times because of that. It was also a very slow start and I didn’t feel like it started picking up until about 70% mark. I am going to assume this means that book 2 will start with a bang!

Wow! This book was incredible! Hooked me from the first page and that ending has me begging for the next book!

The story follows Ruying, a girl gifted with the power of Death, as she tries to survive in Roman occupied Er-Lang. Ruying just wants to keep her head down and protect those she loves, but when she steals from the wrong person everything gets turned upside down. Now she has to choose what side will she fight for: the Romans, Er-Lang, or a rebel group led by the Phantom? Ruying also has to reconcile with some tough questions like, how much evil can be justified in the name of the greater good? Is the safety of those we love worth betraying our country and our people? As well as tackling difficult topics like being a powerful woman in a patriarchal society, colonialism, drug addiction, and abuse.

If you like political intrigue, no spice slow burn romance (that will have gushing over holding hands!), TRUE enemies to lovers, morally grey main characters (both FMC and MMC), magic, and lore, I HIGHLY recommend this book! Molly X. Chang's writing style is so poetic, immersive, and beautiful it reminded me of Laini Taylor. This book was one of my favorite books I have read recently and I cannot wait for the next book!!

My only criticisms of this book: the invading country being called the Romans, I understand the imagery the author was going for but somehow Romans coming from the sky invading a fantasy world took me out of it initially. My only other complaint is that the entire book is written in the first person narrative except for the Antony chapter which seemed odd and a bit jarring. Otherwise absolutely adored this book!!

5 ⭐️
0 🌶️
2 🤭 (infrequent cussing not including the F word)
⚠️: violence, abuse, drug addiction, torture, death

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine/Del Rey, and Molly X. Chang for the ARC! 💕

I’m going to be upfront about a few things:

First, had I known this was going to be a series I wouldn’t have requested it. I wasn’t looking to get invested in a new series and there was no indication this was book one in a series (or duology? IDK) when I requested it. Point of fact: There’s still no indication on NetGalley, Amazon, BookBub, or Goodreads. So if you were interested in this book because you thought it was a standalone (like I did), it’s not (or, if it is, I’m very confused).

Second: I can’t pinpoint exactly why I liked this book so much…but I did. I liked it a lot.

Since the plot of this book is complex and it’s not a standalone as I initially thought, this review is going to be on the shorter side. This also has to do with the fact (see above) that I can’t really hone in on why I liked it so much, so all I can do is tell you I was resonating with this book on a whole frequency that let most of the flaws I saw in it slide on by with little notice until I finished and sat with it for a minute (most of this “minute” was largely spent being very confused about how I didn’t know this wasn’t a standalone).

The blurb for this book waxes eloquent about the romantasy element of this book, but if you’re looking for a romantasy-heavy book this isn’t it. The romantasy element really only comes into play in the third act and it’s all very chaste and proper (partially due to the FMC’s beliefs and partially due to constant changes in circumstances). What’s more important in this book is the complex feelings and responsibilities regarding family, very quick and shuffling political intrigues, the evils of colonization, and complex moral dilemmas.

So yes, it has its issues, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless. If you’re looking to get into a new series I highly recommend it.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Book Series/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/Forbidden Romance

Molly X. Chang’s debut novel is a captivating, beautifully woven tale of colonialism, strong roots of culture, resistance, and courage. I was absolutely captivated just a few chapters in by the unique magic system and world building. This story centers around Ruying who is a young woman with the power of death attempting to fight for the survival of her family while Rome is holding her empire captive. There is so much heartbreak next to so much hope, characters that are so well developed and easy to connect to and love, and an immense amount of growth seen in Ruying by the end of the novel. The end of this book suggests a sequel, and I absolutely can’t wait to see how Ruying’s story turns out!

May or may not read this at some point. Torn after starting to hear/see reviews from fellow content creators that I have matching taste and trust with.

I really wanted to like this.
I was super intrigued that it was loosely based off of real events.
But how could the main character just turn a blind eye to and forget that the person she is working for is the one who kidnapped and enslaved her, threatening her life, the lives of her family, and her entire world, and just go along with whatever, eventually “falling in love” with her captor?
She spent the first bit of the book trash talking someone she grew up with because of the choices that she thought that he made and then turns around and becomes much worse in the span of six months.
It also ended Super abruptly.
I don’t mind cliffhangers, but this kinda just Stopped.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I was so excited when I received an ARC of it. I love reading fantasy from debut authors and couldn’t wait to start this. However as I started reading I found myself struggling to want to continue reading. Our main character, Ruyling, is in a tough situation. Her country has essentially been invaded, her parents are dead, her grandmother needs to marry her off, and her sister is addicted to the same drug that killed eventually killed their father. Oh and did I mention she can wield death?! There is so much potential here but at 36% I decided to DNF for a few reasons. The world building was taking entirely too long. At 21% I thought “wow when are things going to happen? It feels like nothing has happened.” World building is so important to a fantasy novel but naming an invader Rome kind of pulled me out of the fantasy world being buoy. Another sticking point for me was our main character being utterly “woe is me. Woe is us” constantly. The situation sucks for sure but with this attitude I don’t have enough faith that Ruyling is going to turn it around to endure another 64% of the book. I also felt a bit of the ick when I realized that we were potentially going to have a relationship between Ruyling and one of the Roman princes. I am all for enemies to lovers but I can’t get down with a romance between someone actively engaging in the destruction of the other love interest’s land and people.
I really wanted to love this book and appreciate the opportunity to receive an ARC early.
Due to not finishing the book I will not be leaving reviews on any site as I do not believe it is fair to the author.