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.

Hmm. So I am excited, I was super excited to read this and i was still pleasantly surprised! Like Ruying I was really hoping for Anthony to surprise me but like most men i was left dissapoint. However it set up the sequel nicely, I am excited to see Ruying have her Rin moment and go totally badass on her colonizers. I am equally excited to see how Ruying and Baihu’s relationship develop. I have a little theory about him so i am exciting to see if it comes true in the next book. I love a good romance side plot and if these two don’t blow up their slow burn i might scream, Bathurst was my favorite character he’s very mysterious but also kind and a gentle soul so i am excited to see him show his true BA self as well, The book set up an interesting world and I’m excited to see more of it explore and the characters we don’t really see a lot of characters about from Ruying and Anthony, so I’m exciting to see more of her sister and grandmother, I also hope we get more POv we had one different pov chapter and it was fun to see things from a different point of view. So here’s to waiting for the sequel in the meanwhile ill be rereading.

WOW! Such a stunning and complex read that I will be thinking of for years to come! It had yearning and passion and a fierce girl who I rallied behind. I am so looking forward to where this goes next.

A heroine that controls death.
A conquered world. Magic and science.
A bargain with an enemy prince.

This book has so many great elements and it delivered for me!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved how the author showed the main character's struggle with morality and doing what needs to be done to survive and protect her family. I would describe her has morally grey or maybe as someone with a good heart but makes grey decisions.

I am still unsure of what to think about the love interest but I absolutely loved the moments that the two did share. "ONE BED!!!
and " He would start wars to keep her safe" Honestly, that right there was all I needed.

I loved the mix of magic and science that was woven throughout the book. This magic system was unique and intriguing. Coupled with the influence of folklore/mythology, I really enjoyed this story/world that Chang created for us.

The pacing was a little off for me and I initially had trouble with the beginning of the book. I would have loved more descriptions throughout the book to better craft the world in my head- descriptions about the setting, clothes etc. Despite that, this was a solid read for me.

I am already looking forward to the next book!!

Disclaimer: There's currently a lot of discourse about the morality of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods & the love arc/romantic plot line present in this book. Personally, I cannot really weigh in on how it impacts the AAPI community as I'm not a member of this group of people nor am I a descendent of those who were impacted by Japan's Unit 731. The only thing I'll say about this is that mass-review bombing a book because it has immoral plotlines or triggers for certain groups of people is a slippery slope. However, on the other side of the coin, it’s also reasonable to not want to read a book with a romantic lead who commits genocides based on real historical events. With this is mind, I think it’d be in the Publisher’s best interest to provide a TW list to readers on page 1.
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods was an AMBITOUS debut novel and sadly, I think it might’ve been a bit too difficult for the author’s current ability. My biggest gripe was the world building itself. Chang sets up two distinct cultures in Wicked Gods: (1) The Pangu People – the oppressed who use ‘magic’ and (2) The Romans – the oppressors whose skill set is aligned with ‘science’. On the surface, this probably sounds fine to readers except for the fact that there’s a very distinct line between the two civilizations and who can use what. This is unrealistic, in my opinion, because after being colonized for over 20 years, I would expect some merging of cultures or at the very least. Like are we really supposed to believe that Pangu still hasn’t figured out how to use science and none of the people there are capable of emulating Rome’s technology? I think that the author could have shown more eloquently the impacts of colonialism through her world-building if her world was well thought out (e.g. something like Babel). Outside of these two distinct culture explanations, there basically no other world building done (apart from the impacts opium [a drug] has had on the Pangu people). The world just felt incomplete.
Furthermore, ala world building, I didn’t even realize that Rome & Pangu were on two different planets until like 75% of the book? I think Chang should have dedicated more time & space to world building in the beginning of the book rather than shoving it all in towards the end, after the reader likely already has an image of the world in mind. What world building is there from the beginning is sadly part of the let me tell you rather than the let me show you school of writing. This is SO ANNOYING. I know it’s more difficult, but dang does a reader get a bigger impact when the worldbuilding is introduced via scenes playing out inside their brain rather than just being told ‘oh it’s like this’ repeatedly.
Speaking of repeatedly, THIS BOOK IS SO FREAKING REPETITIVE. Really, the writing and prose was probably the underlying cause for a lot of other issues. How many times does the reader need to be told that Ruying’s (the FMC) Dad died from an opium overdoes and that her sister is currently addicted? Like yeah, we know, thank you for repeating it for the tenth time in this chapter alone. Part of this is honestly because the book is essentially a long internal monologue with very little character interaction or on-page action. Basically all action, romance development and somehow even conversations are off-page?
Shifting this review to the romance/character development issues. The publisher has marketed To Gaze as an enmeies-to-lovers romance. However it’s truly a colonizer and colonized romance – like Ruying was doing the WORK to justify Anthony’s (MMC) actions. For this section of the book, Ruying is basically just telling the reader over and over again that Anthony has to be a good person (even though he runs experiments on the Pangu people that are basically a direct copy & paste of Japan’s Unit 731 experiments) but cannot provide any evidence of this. He seriously kidnaps her, locks her in a cage, tells her that he must do what he says or else he’ll kill her family…but she still falls in love with him? Then there is a six-month jump in time, and Anthony & Ruying are all over each other, so Chang just basically skipped over their whole romance? And beyond on that point they basically don’t even interact with each other afterwards? Like there was no chemistry buildup. And we as the readers are just supposed to believe that they are madly in love. I honestly think that Chang was trying to set up a darkling situation (Shadow & Bone) and it just wasn’t well executed?
BOTTOM LINE: To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods has the potential to be very cool story. However, the world-building, character development & romance present in this book are all under-developed. This was an ambitious task, and the author wasn’t really ready to present such a complicated tale – I want to reiterate that this book has the potential to be very interesting, but the book just could not grapple with the complex topics and themes that were taken on.
Thank you to Net Galley, Molly X. Chang & Del Rey Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and after the Cait Corrain debacle, I was more inspired to support this debut!

Now that I've read it, I have mixed feelings.

As a debut, it has a fascinating plot and the potential to really explore nuance with morally grey characters. There were some lovely metaphors and bits of writing I really liked. The choice to label the colonizers as Rome was...a choice. I just kept picturing Roman aesthetics and gladiators lol and I really wish we got a better explanation for where they came from. What do you mean they're aliens? Pangu is a whole new planet? Where are we?? Details like this were missing throughout that let me down when it came to worldbuilding.

Another jarring aspect is the time jump that happens. You mean to tell me after this major plot point happens where Ruying steals money from Antony, almost murders a guard, and gets blackmailed into working for him, we suddenly jump six months later and they're close now?? No no no, you've got to tell me HOW this happened, because WTF???

And that brings me to my last and most concerning point: the colonizer romance accusations have ground...and no one is more disappointed than me!

If this was a critique on colonialism and unhealthy relationships/power dynamics, I didn't see where the critique came in. It left me with a disturbed feeling, especially learning that the author drew inspiration from Unit 731. And the proposed love interest in this "Zutara on steroids" romance is in charge of the experiments in Unit 731!?!? I felt sick. What's worse is that there is never enough pushback in the book on this. There are many passages of swooning and longing instead. I know this will be published as an Adult fantasy in the States, but apparently it's being released as YA in the UK? While I think adults are capable of seeing this for the toxic relationship that it is, I'm concerned teens won't recognize how awful this actually is.

It's stories like this that decide to use the Zutara label that give that fandom such a bad name. Zuko was a child that was also harmed by the Fire Nation, abandoned, and oh yeah, never murdered anyone!?!? It's actually this character trait of mercy that caused his family to scorn him. ANYWAY. I hate how misrepresented Zutara is by those who clearly just want to use the ship name to market something.

In my opinion, there is no redeeming this book unless Ruying kills Antony in the next book. But I'm uncertain I trust this author enough to do that. I'll reserve judgment until then, but To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods on its own is a weak debut due to this problematic and unchallenged dynamic.

Note: I’m aware that there is a discussion about 1 star reviews being considered bullying. That is not true. Now if someone leaves a bad faith 1 star review that doesn’t really critique the book and is just mean, that’s one thing. But genuine reviews with 1 star are not bullying. I also know this author has been sent death threats and was the victim of Cait Corrain’s review bombing campaign of BIPOC authors. None of that was okay. I’m also aware of apparent doxing happening with reviews of this book. That’s vile. Onto the review.

Review made possible thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

Okay, now. This is going to be a long one.

I received an eARC of this book and it was one of my most anticipated reads. I love stories based on real life events. Not historical fiction per se but books that are flavored by things that have truly happened.

At the beginning of this book the author tells us that it is based on the stories her grandfather told her. And how she learns of Unit 731, which I was completely ignorant of. I’ve learned about it before reading and think everyone should since the education system in the US is obviously lacking.

Now, this book takes place is an alternate Manchuria / China. And it seemed to me like it was taking place after the first opium wars. I say that because the invading colonizing power, Rome (we’ll get to that one later) has introduced a fantasy version of the drug called opiun to the population.

The people who live in Pangu worshiped their own gods. And some of them were blessed with magic because of their old gods previous existence. The gods are gone now. Our MC has the power of death. But she hates it.

When the Romans started giving people opiun they said it would make their magical abilities stronger, said it would give them longevity. Obviously, it didn’t do that. It made them addicts and killed them.

Our MC’s family is her, her sister and her grandmother. Her father died due to his own opiun use. Our Mc’s sister also has a power. She can enhance the powers of others if I remember right. Honestly this book took me forever to read and I don’t remember that detail too clearly. But basically she can boost other powers. Our MC has been pawning off things of value they own to buy the drug for her sister so they can try to ween her off it. She controls it so her sister doesn’t just do it all.

And the sister infuriates me. She blames her sister for not doing enough to stop the Romans. Because she has death magic, her sister thinks she should be using to help the rebel group and their country. Even though her sister has told her it takes some of her life. I swear that conversation happened and then the toll of her magic isn’t brought up again until far later in the book.

Anyway, her sister started doing the drug even though she watched what it did to her father. She thought it would make her stronger. She berates and belittles her sister for not using her magic all while saying she thought she would be the exception to the addiction. At no point is she hearing anyone else. And on the one hand, I get it. She’s enraged living under a colonizer’s presence. But girl, come on.

The person our MC gets the drug from is her former childhood friend. And she judges the absolute crap out of him. Oh my god. He’s just doing what it takes to survive, her thought. And she judges him for it. Calls him a traitor. Also says she’s just trying to survive as well but doesn’t extend that grace to anyone else.

Now, the whole Rome thing.

The worldbuilding in this book is incredibly weak. It isn’t fully fleshed out, there are massive questions left behind every time something is explained and nothing makes sense when you think about if or more than a second. For instance, Rome is the invading colonial power.

They came to Pangu from a portal in the sky. With planes, guns, weapons of mass destruction. And I thought it was based on the time period around the first opium war, remember? So they very well could have had planes and everything I just listed. But then they have cars that are described as sleek and shiny. And elevators. And cameras that are so small you can’t see them. Alright…how? Nothing is really clearly described. It’s just odd.

Also, when it comes to the worldbuilding, the Romans are from…a different planet? Y’all I’m not kidding. It’s said they came from another world. And Antony, the colonizer love interest, says their planet is dying. They polluted their planet and have come to Pangu (which is also a planet? On another planet? It’s never made clear) to find a way to save their planet. Antony’s brother wants to use it as a dump and exterminate all the people. Antony apparently doesn’t.

So our MC ends up stealing money from Antony and almost killing one of his guards. She’s then captured in a raid a night later and locked in a cell. Gets a wound, it gets infected. And Antony takes her form her cell. After proving her worth to him, she’s freed under his command. Romans have tech that allows them to prevent the magic of the people in Pangu.

What does Antony want her for? To kill his enemies so he can become emperor because his plans for Pangu are better. He’s not as bloodthirsty. He doesn’t want to exterminate her people. And so, she’s forced to become his assassin because he has her family hostage, essentially.

What he says is he’ll keep them safe as long as she does what he wants. And she’s angry at him but then justifies her actions by saying she’s doing it to keep her family safe.

Then there’s this huge time skip of like six months and she’s already killed like almost fifty people! And she and Antony have grown close.

Here comes the biggest thing that people were talking about: the Colonizer Romance.

Now, the power dynamics at play here are : he’s holding her family’s safety over her head, she has literal chains around her wrists that can stop her magic at any time. Her life is in Antony’s hands.

A healthy romance cannot come from this. And Antony says all the right things even though it just comes off as him being nice. You know, sleaze ball. “I see you. I’m not afraid of you. You’re meant to be a god.”

And her former childhood friend literally says she’s falling for him because he was the first person to be nice to her. Which, no lie, I laughed at because yeah. She is. There’s a large portion of the book where Antony is just gone. We don’t see her with him. Or them interacting. He’s just not there.

But somehow they’re closer? We didn’t see that. We also don’t see these “ways he has of making me like him” as she says because uh, for a bit he was gone. Now, when he is on the page, the biggest focus is on the romance. And it’s pushed hard.

There’s a point where her former childhood friend tells her you wouldn’t feel like this about him if you knew what he was doing and she says “I don’t give a damn.” Now, we know as readers, the horrors that are supposed to be in this book are supposed to be based on Unit 731 and their unforgivable, inhumane actions.

Now, regardless of what she does or doesn’t know, she knows he’s a colonizer. She has seen what his people have done. He is complicit. He is still actively involved in everything. And she says she doesn’t care? Yeah, I was kind of disgusted. I can’t put it any other way.

There is no defensible way to say you don’t care when you’re also HELPING HIM. Oh but he says he wants peace. Then literally tells her they were experimenting on her people with the opiun and she just…let’s it go? Like he didn’t just say it?

It’s awful. The romance is pushed hard and there is not enough push back to make this feel like anything else but a colonizer romance.

Especially because toward the end of the book we see some of the experiments that Antony has been responsible for.

Our MC had another friend who was taken captive when she was an Antony promised he’d release her. Well he didn’t and she’s in a big tube having the blood drained from her body while she screams in rage and agony.

You know what our MC cares about in that moment?

That Antony lied to her. That he said he’d free her friend and he didn’t. She doesn’t even react to the fact that this has been happening to other people, her people. She doesn’t care that it’s something vile. Just that he lied.

And I’ll be real honest, it wasn’t written as if it was something vile. It wasn’t written with the kind of language that would make the reader understand that these experiments are evil. That what’s happening, and this is just one thing, is wrong. Nope. She’s mad the liar is a liar.

It wasn’t handled well. None of this story was. There’s a point where he wants her to kill the empower of a neighboring land. And she says no, he’s kind yadda yadda. And that’s when she kind of pushes back.

During this portion of the book they want him to die before he signs a treaty with Rome so that the son will sign it and uphold it as his father’s last decree due to filial responsibility. Except he was already going to sign it so…it makes no sense.

Things go wrong and she and Antony go into hiding. She’s hurt, he nurses her back to health. They kiss.

The kiss is important because earlier in the book she asked him if he would betray his grandfather if he ordered him to start a war with Pangu. And he tells her straight up NO. He will not betray him.

So all this talk of him wanting peace and not wanting to be like his grandfather means nothing because he has told her, if given the order, he’ll do everything he says he’s against. And she got mad for like, a few sentences. And then the story moved on and later they kiss.

I hated it. Reading it made me so uncomfortable because this is someone who will destroy her world, who is having her kill her own people, and she’s been falling for him. We don’t see anything other than the chemistry they have which should not exist. I hated it.

Also, if you don’t want it to be a colonizer romance, don’t give us a chapter from his POV where he literally thinks about how much he cares about her and doesn’t want her to hate him for the things he’s done. Because that’s not helping the whole “oh he manipulated her” line.

Plus the writing is painful. Everything is so redundant it’s just metaphor after metaphor. Literally the same thing will be said over two to three sentences but with different metaphors. It’s exhausting. You could delete a few lines from most pages and the story not change because it’s all just redundant language. This book needs to be shorter. It’s far longer than it needs to be.

I cannot recommend this book. It’s just not good. And it’s getting 1 star because that’s the rating system. I didn’t enjoy it. It was painful to read and I wish I could get my time back.