I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounds intriguing, but, unfortunately, there were a few key flaws that I could not overlook.

First, the writing: Much of the point about Ruying’s purpose for helping the Roman prince was repeated ad nauseum, to the point where it not only slowed down the pacing of the book but also eliminated room to explore plot elements that would have been useful. Other aspects, such as how hot Ruying found Antony and how much she trusted him, were also redundant.

Second, the missing plot elements: 1) The world building is missing a lot of key elements, such as the backstory of the magic, how/why their gods were needed to fight to the Qin Dynasty, and more. We get pieces of this, but there are still many unanswered questions. 2) We skip over 6 months of time between when Ruying is captured and when she is knee deep in working for Antony. In that time, the two have formed a bond. Clearly, something changed in those 6 months that led Ruying to trust Antony and buy into his plan. But because we never see how that bond develops or why she becomes convinced of the plan, it’s really hard to understand their relationship.

Third, their relationship: As other reviewers have noted, it is really hard to understand how the two are supposedly in love. Ruying is clearly an unreliable narrator, but without those missing 6 months, it’s hard to understand why she came to trust Antony, let alone started to fall in love with him. Because of that, what we get suggests that it’s more lust than love. It also makes it incredibly difficult to understand how Ruying goes from hating all Romans (rightfully so as the colonizers who are destroying her home and people) to suddenly trusting and falling in love with a prince (literally) of the colonizers. And that’s not even getting into the basics why a colonizer love story is problematic. What’s even more frustrating is this love story wasn’t needed. With a bit more development in the missing 6 months, we could have been given more reason why Ruying started to buy into Antony’s plan and thus why she started to trust him. That alone would have been enough for the reveal at the end of the book to hit just as hard (if not more so) and explain why she went back to hating Antony. Indeed, the sudden love for a colonizer makes it both unsettling and unbelievable. It also made it that much more obvious that a giant betrayal would be revealed.

What’s frustrating is there are elements of a good book here. I saw another reviewer say they wish the book had focused on Baihu and I agree. Or at least, on Baihu’s angle. Instead of a romance, we could have gotten a story of Ruying pretending to trust Antony as a way of working towards undermining his plans. Then the romance as a ploy would have made more sense. The betrayal revealed at the end would have added more fuel to her fire and, revealing her plan to Baihu, would have set up some interesting possibilities for the next book. Sadly, that’s not what we got and I’m not even interested in finding out what happens next.

A few pages into To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods and it felt very similar to RF Kuang’s Poppy Wars trilogy. The stories are both based on the same historic events and the types of power, use of opium and invasion by a Western civilization and its technology. It was hard to read this book and not compare it to Poppy Wars.

I thought Ruying could have been a stronger character. Her power is death. But when she is forced to use it, she falls for the person making her kill.

I didn’t really understand how the Romans were able to invade this. Overall, I didn’t love the writing.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Balentine Books in exchange for my honest review.

I admittedly didn't finish this book. I only made it about 20% through before deciding that this just wasn't for me.
I really wanted to enjoy this one because the synopsis sounded so interesting. And I also want to support the author. I don't think she deserves all the hate she got.
I'm not the biggest fantasy reader so I found the world-building a bit too convoluting and confusing. But I can see how big fantasy readers would enjoy this

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods was a book that mostly lived up to my expectations. The plot was engaging and compelling, though there were some aspects I had mixed feelings about. The characters were complex and morally grey, for the most part. The writing was amazing, but it had some pacing issues. It’s a great novel, it sets up the series’ very well, and tells an important, and intriguing story.

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

Littered with poor sentence structure and several typos, To Gaze Upon Wickes Gods is a novel of wasted potential and abysmal writing on a technical level.

Where to start? Ruying begins the novel speaking of her hatred for Romans. They're all vile colonizers. None of them have any respect for humanity, they treat her people like dirt, etc etc. In fact she believes this so strongly that pages on pages are endlessly dedicated to expressing this sentiment. Which, of course, makes what follows so unbelievably stupid!

So persistent was this D-1 yapping that I found myself forgetting the main characters name for the first 50 pages. All I knew was that Romans were bad and her sister was an Opian user. We're introduced to Baihu and automatically I was wishing he was the main character.

I digress. She steals a Roman's money, only to find out is the prince of Rome. She's saved by Taohua, also a better candidate for MC. All of this eventually leads to her being captured, blah blah blah, here's where it gets extra dumb.

Ruying starts to fall in love with her colonizer!!! Yep!! Wow!!!! This is Stockholm Syndrome on a level never seen before.

Antony is the biggest piece of shit ever. Zero redeemable qualities. He's honestly a master gaslighter.

Watching this "romance" develop made me sick, angry, and ready to snap. And watching Ruying throw away all of her morals and love for her people to be his pet? Nothing has ever pissed me off so bad in a book.

Additionally, as mentioned in the first paragraphs, there are a handful of typos. Here are the ones that caught my attention the most:

1. Page 45, "The last time I saw hadn't seen Taohua since the New Year, more than six moons earlier."

2. "Creations of science that Rome didn't want us to existed"

3. Chapter 43's number title card thingy spells Antony's name like Anthony.

Before I write the last paragraph, let me be nice. I found the fact that her people are called "Pangulins" very cute. The sentences of Chinese sprinkled throughout were also a good touch. Okay, thats where it ends.

TL;DR: Horribly written colonizer romance with an insufferable MC. Wasted a pretty interesting world on the worst 305 pages I've read in a very long time.

I truly enjoyed the world building and the underlying themes throughout. Knowing this was based on past events, the atrocities presented landed more of an impact. Some of the phrases used are repetitive and Ruyings thought process for important decisions, was also quite repetitive from one to the next. Overall I did enjoy the story and the plot. Excited to see what is next in this series.

Title: To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods
Author: Molly X. Chang
Page Count: 368 pages
Time Length: N/A
Dates Read: 4/1_4/6
Format:E-book
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: This is an Arc supplied from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ruying is the main character in a world where Pangu has magic and Rome has science. Science is taking over the magic and controlling the people with weapons and opian.

Ruying magic is deaths magic that shaves time off of her life with each use. I love her character. She is strong-willed and sticks to what is right. She never falters from her goal to keep her family safe.

I felt the story was quite repetitive at times. The same things were mentioned way too often. The story was quite informative and you understood why things were the way they were. The world building was good. The twists and turns of who to believe and trust kept me reading.

This will be a reread for me. I need book two now!

TW: drug abuse, physical abuse mentioned, addiction, murder


Quote: "They said demons were from hell, but none of us could have guessed that hell opened from the skies above"

When I requested this book I didn't realize the huge amount of issues that would come along with it. Besides personally not agreeing with the content, I also am not interested in supporting any part of this.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc.

2.8 / 5.0

This book had great promise but did not deliver. The world building could have been better conceived with more originality. It could still be inspired by real history without using “Rome” as the colonial invader. There was a lot of disconnect between the real and fantastical, the magic system being one of them. This could be seen past if the characters were the main drivers of the plot but that wasn’t it either. They’re unlikeable in a poorly written way, which I don’t believe was intentionally done.

Overall, it was a slog to get through and I won’t be investing in this series. Not the worst debut but not the hype it received either.

Until Next Time,
MC

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC for review.

This book takes place in an alternate universe where some people are born with magic. Their Chinese-inspired world has been invaded and essentially conquered by Romans from another realm, masters of science and military warfare. The protagonist struggles with her powers of death and the oppression from the Romans, but is recruited by the Roman Prince Antony to be his assassin.

I was immediately hooked by the title and was interested in reading a Manchurian-inspired fantasy. The book started out strong, with good description of the harsh realities of colonization from the Roman Empire. The writing is very flowery. I liked how the author inserted sayings in Chinese text that the characters would use to describe a situation. The book was about 300 pages and read more like YA, so there could be crossover appeal. It does cover dark subjects like addiction, slavery, genocide, and torture. It's a quick read; I read the book in two sittings.

The author set up how bad things are under Roman occupation, that once we started getting to know Prince Antony and see Ruying working for him, the reader has no inclination to trust him and it seems dubious that Ruying would believe anything he tells her. She seems stupid for falling for his lies. The writing is a bit more "romantasy" than perhaps intended; a good portion of the book is Ruying thinking about how hot the prince is. Ruying's friends and family are only brought in for dramatic tension; I didn't feel a great bond between them even though Ruying is working to keep them safe throughout the book. There is a time-jump about halfway through the book that I wish had been fleshed out more. We went straight from Antony making Ruying murder people against her will to them cuddling after each assassination within pages.

If you are into dark romance, this book might be for you because the Romans do some terrible things and it is a colonizer romance, although it is unknown if they will end up together by the end of the series.

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods.

Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems with this book. The world building was lacking... which would have been fine if I liked the characters...but nope. I think I struggled to understand the concept of the portals and different planets thing. It didn't seem to fit the world and it was a bit jarring whenever they mentioned something randomly sci fi. I think part of that was the use of "Rome". Thinking of Rome puts an idea into my head right away that didn't work with the sci fi element of this book. I think the author could have made up a name and it would have made that aspect like 30% easier to grasp.

I couldn't stand the main character. Ruying has these wicked awesome powers. But is portrayed as weak and naive the entire book. I couldn't stand listening to her make excuses for Antony the ENTIRE time. It was like "oh, he's committing war crimes but he's kind of mysterious...". It was nauseating. He threatens to kill her family, has a bracelet on her that shocks her and steals her powers, and is experimenting on her people. But, he's the lesser of the evils so it's okay? ish? He talks about peace and has pretty eyes. Gag. She also spends the first chapters talking about how much of a traitor Baihu is and then becomes a total hypocrite (literally assassinating her own people) and still thinks she is better than him because she is (in her head in some screwed up way) doing it for her family's future.

We're supposed to think she cares for her family so deeply and the author really tries to make us think she cares, but then she does the exact opposite of what would help at every turn. She defends the colonizer over her sister (who we are supposed to believe that she would do anything for). She is incapable of making decisions without someone else's input and she is swayed by whoever she talked to last. She goes so long on empty promises without ever standing up for herself or asking the hard questions.

I feel like a lot of issues with this book were in the marketing for me. If the book was not marketed as romance, I think it would have gained a star. I'm also struggling with whether I think this should be YA or not. It had a lot of adult content from psychological manipulation to straight up genocide. The author does manage to keep dozens of assassinations off page (maybe because it's YA?) but honestly, I think that would have added a little excitement to the book and some more depth to Ruying's character. It feels like it is trying to be YA in some parts and adult in others.

Overall, I think this book should have cut the "romance" thing out and just gone for fantasy. I would have liked more depth to the characters especially Ruying's family and Antony's family. I would have liked to hear more about Ruying and Baihu's childhood together. I think the author should have made more clear choices in what they were trying to portray. And I think the sci fi element could have been cut entirely. Why do we need portals at all?

I see that the next book is titled "To Kill a Monstrous Prince" so that gives me some hope. I think there might be a chance for redemption if the main character can grow a backbone. But I'm worried that it will be a lot of Ruying going back and forth over whether he deserves to be punished for his crimes when everyone in her life says yes, he should. And I am really worried that his "love" for Ruying is going to result in some Antony "changing for her" plot line where we are supposed to forgive him because he's realized what he did is wrong or something.

2 stars.

Genre: fantasy
Rating: 2⭐
Diversity: Asian representation
Trigger Warnings: colonization, war, addiction, death

This was one of the books I was most excited to read, however, I was very disappointed. The cover is gorgeous and the author's note, in the beginning, explaining her inspiration for the book was compelling and made me excited for the book. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to like this book.

What I did love about the book was the magic system and the conflict is based off other civilization from another world through a portal. The writing was descriptive and beautiful.

What fell flat for me was:
- the colonial civilization was called Rome but they were modern with technology and clothing. Everything else is made up in the book with inspirations to Chinese civilizations or modern life. This may have been intentional for the author, so the reader can contextualize something familiar. It just didn't work for me.
- The FMC Ruying is not believable and unlikeable. I can chalk it up to being an unreliable narrator but I don't think it fits. Some of her actions and thought processes were inconsistent. For example, she was taught many things to survive and be politically savvy, but none of that shows. With all the references to what she was taught by her grandmother, I expected some Margaery Tyrell behavior and we did not get that.
- There were many repetitive phrases and thoughts by Ruying throughout the book that felt like the author was beating a dead horse. This might be something this debut author will work out as she grows in her writing.

This book is part of a series. I like the premise of the book and I think the themes of the story are important to share. I hope the author finds her stride in the rest of the books of this series. I wouldn't recommend this book as I found this wasn't an enjoyable read. If it wasn't a debut author, I would have DNF'd it. I pushed through hoping the climax and ending would be redeeming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

First off, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC! As a lover of Asian fantasies, I was happy to get a hold of this.

I think this was a very ambitious debut and a solid start to a series. I have to admit that I was affected by the previous marketing, but I went into it with an open mind as I figured out the flow of the story.

Starting with Ruying, I did not mind her as a main character, and although frustrating, I thought her being so headstrong in her ways was a given seeing the situation she was placed in. She plays the role of an unreliable narrator, so although as a reader, you're opposing everything she thinks and does, you have to go along with it. And to me, that was fine, everything was going to fall into place in due time.

I did find it a bit irritating that Antony would commit many crimes including the killing tasks that he gave her many times, but she drew the line at him experimenting on people which involved her childhood friend Taohua. Her seeing someone she knew being subjected to these horrors was the final straw, but also it was the fact that Antony betrayed her trust. With Meiya and Baihu in her ear telling her that he was not a good person and even worse than his brother, I held on to hope that she would understand.

As someone who despises the colonizer (as we all should), I never thought that Antony was 'one of the good ones' so every scene that he was in, I was not having a good time. Whenever he and Ruying would be soft with one another, I had to place the book down and take a break because it was a lot for me.

But I was so positive that the colonizer romance would be over soon because of Baihu's existence. I believed that the author would not portray him in such a way or mention specific details about him if he wasn't supposed to be the main guy, so I was relieved. His whole position with the Phantom, Ghosts, and being a spy was an aspect that I enjoyed.

Moving onto the technical aspects, I think the earlier parts of the book did more telling than showing. Since this world is filled with magic and science, I think that it would have painted a more vivid picture if it had been a bit more descriptive and tapped into the feelings of Ruying and how she responded to her environments. Especially since the book is told in first person POV.

I thought the idea of magic vs. science was very interesting as well. I think the details of magic and its origins are still in a gray area as the characters with magic didn't grow up with the ability to properly nurture it, but I'm curious to see where this goes now that Ruying has freed herself from Rome and has joined the Phantom.

All in all, I am wondering where the next two books will take the story and how this major shift in the main character's motives will spark that change.

I didn't finished this book completely. It was difficult to read, I honestly didn't like the writing style.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang is an angry book that doesn’t shy away from the horrific realities of a world and culture being overrun by a much stronger and technologically advanced one. While the protagonist is forced into a compelling and complicated situation, the plot spends too much time focusing inward rather than moving the story forward.

Pangu was a peaceful and magical country until a portal in the sky opened up to a world from another time. The Romans are a technologically advanced culture but live in a dying world, and the portal has given them access to an abundant country untouched by the destruction of war and pollution. Both worlds started with a peaceful treaty, but the Romans quickly gained power and oppressed the Pangulings in their wake. Ruying and her family suffer under Pangu’s oppressors but will do anything to keep them safe, including using her death powers to aid Antony Augustus, the Roman prince. While she reluctantly sides with the Romans, Ruying places her trust and heart in Antony’s hands in hopes of saving her people and the future of Pangu.

The tone of Wicked Gods is angry and despairing, and it’s paired with a clunky prose that loves to swirl inside Ruying’s head. The book’s plot is secondary compared to the page space dedicated to Ruying’s internal spiraling. Ruying cannot escape the horrors around her, so her internal monologue ruminates on the fear surrounding her family, the sadness of seeing her people brought so low, and anger at the Romans who treat the Pangulings poorly. Ruying has a lot of conflicting feelings about Antony, too. She wants to trust him and even falls for him, but still doubts his true motivations. This is an inward-facing story, and the reader spends way too much time inside Ruying’s head as the same sentiments are repeated page after page. I appreciate that Chang wanted the reader to come to terms with the violence and mistreatment of the Pangulings, but Wicked Gods reads less like a fantasy novel and more like a historical account of tragic events with commentary from Ruying.

The characters are not great in this story, especially Antony Augustus, an uninteresting edge-lord antagonist. All his threats and actions are over the top like he’s trying to overcompensate for something. Antony fails to be an intriguing villain because he lacks subtlety, and his “bad” side feels too in your face. An alluring villain is a little mysterious and leaves things unsaid, but Antony likes to paint Ruying a very detailed picture. The worst part is that Antony has secrets, but we know what information he’s holding back. Ruying constantly asks him about what Rome is doing to her people, and we get a conniving smile and silence each time. It’s so unsatisfying because we know the mystery we’re chasing, and Antony does nothing to lead the reader astray. Not only is Antony a bad villain, but he’s a terrible love interest. As Ruying’s oppressor, Antony is cruel and does absolutely nothing to spark intimacy in their unbalanced arrangement. It’s hard to believe Ruying would warm up to this man who represents everything she hates, and it’s even harder to buy into her feelings when he did nothing to earn them. I would go as far as to say this suggested pairing is problematic in its implications even if it’s just meant as sexy mindless fun for the reader. The power differential has too many horrible real-world allegories to be surmountable in any context.

Wicked Gods dances around some interesting themes that I wished would have received more page time. Ruying and Antony have strong, conflicting beliefs that could have created delicious, world-breaking tension. Ruying’s culture is steeped in magic and folklore, whereas Antony’s revolves around cold, hard science. Their perspectives clash hard, but Chang doesn’t force them to work through their immovable beliefs. We get hints that Antony is playing at god behind the scenes, and Ruying is compelled by her magic. Yet, so much worldbuilding is lost because we constantly get swept away by the emotional currents of Ruying’s mind. Her internal monologue limits Chang’s ability to familiarize readers with the world, so the technologically advanced Romans remain a mystery throughout the entire book, and the Panguling’s magical abilities are never understood.

I didn’t have expectations going into To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, and it still didn’t hit the mark for me. I struggled with the prose and was bogged down by Ruying’s constant inner turmoil. Her rumination dragged the story down and didn’t leave space for the world or plot to develop. I learned a lot about what an oppressed culture looks like, but I didn’t meaningfully connect with the affected people in the story which is a shame.

Rating: To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods - 1.0/10

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.

I have decided not to read/review this book as it seems that unless I gave it a glowing review I might potentially be told off. I'm not interested in reading a book framed as a 'colonizer romance' at this time.

I requested this one because the world sounded very interesting, and I was curious about the protag, Ruying. I love stories of badass women finding their worth and being amazing. And I did get that, though it took a bit longer than I personally would've liked, but then again, it is a series, so I don't want to judge it on that when there's at least one more book to flesh out the tale.

I found the world very interesting, and the magic system as well. I would love to learn more about how the magic works, and if possible see more stories like the myth Ruying tells about how her people have their powers.

The "romance," however, was questionable, and put me off a bit from the story. Not only was it rather clunky and awkward, the pairing was just a bit...uncomfortable. I enjoy a good enemies to lovers but I'm not sure "man who's the prince of the country that colonized mine" is a great pairing. With the ending, I'm hoping this relationship is not the endgame, and that the clunkiness and uncomfortable parts were meant to read that way, as to me, it really didn't read as a romance at all, and I mostly got the impression it was meant to be from the book description and things the characters said.

I'm looking forward to the next book, and did enjoy my time reading this one. I would especially love seeing her with her sister, I really like a good(or sad) sister dynamic.

This book got me out of my reading slump!

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods follows Ruying, a young woman who can wield death magic. When she makes some poor decisions out of desperation, she gets swept up into the empire trying to colonize her lands.

This is Molly X Chang's debut novel and I am blown away. She has a very poetic prose, dripping with luscious metaphors, and a character whose humanity shines through on the page. I really appreciate how Chang explored the psychology behind Ruying's choices as she leans into the darker side of her magic. The things Ruying does to survive and to protect those she loves are grimly realistic.

The ending had me in a chokehold and I can't wait to get my lil hands on the sequel!

This was a super well written book. The cover is gorgeous. That’s what I wanted to lead with.
This is one of the books targeted by an author who gave bad reviews. That author’s one star led me to this book.

It began as an interesting story with modern technology mixed with an ancient world. I loved that some of the people had magical gifts.

I don’t believe this author deserves any harsh reviews.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel!

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is full of magic and the things one will do to protect those that they love. Ruying has been blessssed with the gift of death. She can pull the Qi from someone's body and see the colors of their souls as they leave their bodies and enter into deaths arms.
Years ago her home of Pangu was prosperous and peaceful, then one day the skies rent open and everything changed. A civilization once thriving on their land, growing in their magic, powerful in their own rights were in one day conquered by the Romans that flew through the tear in the sky. Many saw them as Gods because of their science that seemed greater than magic, but many saw the Romans as the threat they were. Then in one day the Romans conquered them, defeating them with guns and science.
Years later now Pangu has been flooded with Opian a powerful drug that the Romans had promised could make Xianlings more powerful, enhance the magic they already had and in some awaken it if it lay dormant. Instead Opian killed many and brought the people of Pangu to their knees.
Prince Antony Augustus has plans for this world. He believes in peace and making it possible for his world and this other magical realm to co-exist but their are those that work for The Phantom that do their best to thwart his every move. At least until he by chance meets Ruying and convinces her the best thing for her people and her few remaining loved ones is to join him, to help Rome conquer Pangu.
Ruying only wants whats best for her grandmother and her Opian addicted sister and believes that maybe there is a way she can keep them safe even if it means giving in to her gift that she has been taught to be afraid of.
People with pretty faces can be sly and those that are course and cruel can be hiding a side that you didn't know existed. How do you know who you can trust in a game of war when no one is truthful? Can Ruying bring peace for her people or will she deliver them into the hands of their enemies and will her heart survive this war?

I loved #ToGazeUponWickedGods by #MollyX.Chang. There is a level of sedduction that is hard to resist even knowing that it is totally unhealthy. Antony and Ruying's chemistry is fantastic and brutal. I hope those that read this love and hate them as much as I have.
I want to thank #Neetgalley for the chance to read #ToGazeUponWickedGods by #MollyX.Chang in return for a fair and honest review.