DNF. This book, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly Chang, sounded so good, and it had an amazing concept, but it was not well executed. One the major problems I had with this book was the inclusion of technology and advanced civilizations. This would havd been so much better if it were more high fantasy than dystopian fantasy. I also was expecting this would connect more to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria than the Romans colonization of Middle Eastern and Asian countries, as that is what was alluded to/mentioned in the authors note at the beginning of the novel. I also not not particularly enjoy the colonizer/colonized romance dynamic. On top of all of that, the pacing and worldbuilding seeming really rushed and horribly put together. Enough about the negatives though. A few positives about this book include its writing, and that stunning cover. It's a shame I didn't like this, because I would love to display it on my shelves.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am going to be truthful, I did not like this book. The world building was very subpar, almost none. The characters were not like able, even the main character. It was really a struggle to get through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book.

I was provided with an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

DNF book. As excited as I was to read this book, I can Review a book where there is controversy that Reviewers are being harassed and doxed.

Thank you to NetGalley and DelRay for this e-ARC.

Unfortunately, I DNF’d To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods at 15%.

Molly’s opening note and the personal message in it was touching and appreciated. The story is there, I can see it. But the writing is exceptionally hard to read. I don’t know how else to describe the prose other than just “weird.” I had to reread several paragraphs over and over again to understand what I was reading. I love intricate, rich story telling, especially in fantasy — but this felt a little.. try hard?

My hope is that these issues get ironed out before the book is published — I’ll be giving it another shot then because I desperately want to support Molly.

This book is now in my top 5 for the year of 2024. That’s how good this book is.

The characters are well written along with the world, background, and plot of the story. Every chapter draws you in and you don’t want to stop. There’s one thing that I love about this book is that there will be Japanese writing in it, with English translations and to me, that really drew me in. I love when books have quirks like that.

Overall, this book is fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone!

The only issue I had is that Chapter 16 was missing…

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the e-ARC!

I want to begin this review by saying that this was a highly anticipated book for me. I fell in love with the cover and thought the premise sounded promising. I was more than disappointed once I started reading and had finally come to the decision to DNF at 50%. The overall plot of the story wasn't bad and I think the magic system could be really interesting but the thing that really killed the entire book for me was the writing style. From the first chapter, there was major info-dumping that made it hard to dive into the world that was being created. The narrative also felt extremely juvenile which hurt the overall likeness of the main character. The clunkiness made the story so hard to get through especially when there was no redeeming elements from the characters or romance.

Arc received by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Molly X. Chang and Ballentine.

I am sorry but I cannot get passed 'Rome' in a made up fantasy world. Colonizer romance is already borderline weird enough without the colonizers being named after a real-life empire, now I don't 100% believe this will continue being the romantic interest but the marketing has been unfortunate. I could not root for this romance at all because even thought I generally have no qualms about enemy empire prince romances our mmc Antony was just an awful person. and to top it off our fmc Ruying becomes an assassin for our him. Btw spoilers, but he is not some misunderstood prince like other colonizer-esque romances where they're secretly <i> NOT </i> doing heinous shit instead he is fully, with full agency, committing actual war crimes lmao. The think that is worrying even with the direction the ending/plot twist took is that marketing the book as a "romantasy zutara on steroids/enemies to lovers/double villain/love-triangle" etc adds the potential of Antony getting a redemption arc. Had the book not been marketed the way it has I would have looked at the toxic relationship as exactly that toxic and not a potential end game serious love interest-- which is a part of what affected my enjoyment (the other part was how much Ruying's actions angered me, I wanted to shake her or slap her out of it so many times. She does however have immense potential to grow in the future??? Ultimately I do not think this was a bad book by any means and if anything I liked it enough to consider reading the sequels.


ALSO I AM SORRY, AGAIN, BUT EVEN WITH THE AUTHORS DISCLAIMER ABOUT NOT JUDGING RUYING TOO HARSHLY BUT I AM AND I WILL... she's also incredibly stupid. Anyway unless she outright sticks a spear through Antony's throat and heart in the next book I'm not so sure about this series.
I will maybe look into if book 2 somehow redeems this book.

Thank you, Random House for offering this digital e-ARC via NetGalley.

I have mixed feelings about this. The cover is beautiful, the setting intrigues me and I like the story idea and the type of magic found within the novel. I have no complaints about the technical aspects of the writing.

However, the negatives outweigh the positives. There are way too many long passages of the MC conveying character backstory and world set up. And there are too many interruptions in the conversations filled with paragraphs of her thinking and going through the process of making decisions. I don't think it served the story because it made it drag to the point that I wanted to skim through scenes.

So, interesting idea, technically good, but the writing style made it difficult for me to immerse myself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advanced copy of this book for review!

1.5⭐ I unfortunately had to DNF this book at 40%. I tried to finish it but I found myself losing interest after 10 min of trying to read. I think the idea is fantastic and the cover art is breathtaking but the execution of the story left much to be desired. I couldn't get myself to be invested in the plot or the characters at all and it kind of throws me off that this book is technically a fantasy but the antagonist group is the Romans/Roman Empire that have guns and tanks and other machines. Overall, I think the pacing was also very slow considering I stopped reading at 40% and only one significant thing happened. I truly wanted to love this book but in the end, I just was not able to continue.

I am not able to post my review on Goodreads due to ratings and reviews being limited. The book's idea is actually interesting, but the way it was brought to life was what I did not like. The story was extremely slow paced with nothing happening in the first 25% except characters ranting about the same things over and over and over again. The conversations were odd as rants would be inserted when characters were asked a simple question; I attributed this to the author's personal views being portrayed in the story. After the 25% mark, the story picked up pace which made me interested in the plot, but the writing was filled with endless descriptions and lots of telling instead of showing. I ended up skimming many long-winded passages and the never-ending rants since they brought no relation to the story except repetition of things already stated back in the first chapter. I also was not a fan of the colonizer romance, or it wasn't really a romance, more like an infatuation mixed with a drop of instant love. I understand that a layer of manipulation was involved, but for a main character who absolutely abhors the Romans (and tells us this through endless rants), she instantly becomes attached to Antony and becomes gullible to whatever he says. Thank you NetGalley and Edelweiss for an ARC.

It's really a solid debut from Molly x Chang. Creative, lush prose, beautiful writing and characterization. A solid, if complex romance and a good set up for what comes next.

Thank you NetGalley for an early reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Overall: 3.50-3.74 ⭐️ (rounded up)

Ruying is living in the dark aftermath of a world conquered and subjugated by Romans, people who have used science and portals to access their world. The odd meshing of sci-fi, fantasy, and mythology aside the storyline has a lot going for it. A world and people ravaged and torn apart to save another that sees a chance to literally off-load and use others for their own gains. It felt apart by trying to wedge in a love story - honestly, it didn’t need it and felt so awkward - and attempting to merge too many concepts together. Again, it has a lot of merits and I loved the beginning and end, plus the simple yet richly varying magic system. As one of the books I was most excited for this year it was a bit of a “huh” when I got mid way through and had to keep pushing until I got back into the grove of the story.

Edit: I edited my review to add some more details and also because when I was re-reading it, I didn’t like the tone that was coming across. But it is essentially the same review, now just more helpful to fellow readers I think.

I really wanted to love this, I thought the story sounded really interesting, I love Chinese fantasy, and the cover was gorgeous, so it was a highly anticipated read for me. I really did give this my best shot. And through the first third of the book, I can say I was enjoying it (I had a couple of issues with the writing style but that wasn’t a deal breaker for me, I just ignored the issues). But I unfortunately ended up DNF-ing at about ~50%.

My biggest issue, and my reason for DNF-ing, comes from my growing annoyance with the main character. And that annoyance is kind of in two parts. One being the actual character herself and the other comes from the writing style. Those two things blended together until I just got a bit of the ick and couldn’t make myself finish.

So, my issue with Ruying our MC. I think a good part of this comes from the author letter/note at the start of the book leading us into thinking Ruying is a morally grey character that will be doing bad things. I’m down for morally grey characters, they are really interesting, so I was actually excited for this and excited for the book to explore darker themes because of that. However, I can’t really describe Ruying as morally grey because at every chance she gets she just resists using her power to kill people. She gets in multiple situations where either she is personally at threat of death or her family is being threatened and yet she still holds back. That became very frustrating because she was made out to be someone who would do anything for her family (we were told this) but then when it comes down to it, she won’t actually act as she needs to. This just really annoyed me personally.

The other aspect related to this, is the writing style. The author very often tells instead of shows and has lots of monologues of the characters thoughts. So as the actor acts in an annoying way to me, the writing then further reflects on that a lot. It just got really annoying for her to be constantly thinking about how she doesn’t want to kill anyone, not kill someone, and think about it again. If the writing style were different, I think I could have gotten over my annoyance with this character. Or if the character had been more morally grey and acted on it, then I could have gotten over my annoyance with the writing style. But the combination was just too much for me.

I will say though, that I was really intrigued by the other characters like Baihu and Meiya. They were characters that clearly had faults but they were interesting faults, whereas for me Ruying’s faults were annoying. So that is to say I think the author can write interesting, dynamic characters I just unfortunately didn’t like the main one and because it was the main character, that prevented me from continuing to read the story. I would however, give future books by this author a chance, although I do hope for better editing in the future to help with the writing style issues (the telling instead of showing, and the choppy sentences to add drama which was too frequent).

Some other things I want to point out about the book. I was intrigued by the world and magic system and I think those could be really strong aspects of the series depending on how they develop throughout the books.

This book, wasn’t for me, but I hope my review helps people determine if it’s a good fit for them. I truly believe some people will enjoy this book and I hope it reaches those people. I also hope people stop sending hate to the author because that is just vile behavior and should not be accepted. The author poured love into this book and doesn’t deserve to be met with hate.

This was a highly anticipated book for me. So I really appreciate getting a chance to read this. Thank you netgalley, the publishers, and the author for the ARC I received.

Ruying is a young woman blessed (or cursed) with the ability to literally pull the life out of people. Her ability to kill people without leaving a trace makes her a valuable commodity. Despite this gift, her world is in chaos- the kingdom she resides in, rich with magic, has been invaded by another kingdom, one based in science and technology which stronger and more powerful, her people are being slaughtered, and her family is not safe. Ruying is offered a deal by an enemy prince- if she assassinates his rivals, he will spare her life and ensure her family is safe. As they work together, they slowly start to develop feelings for one another.

Most of the story is Ruying coming to grips with her power and the responsibility she has to use her power for the greater good. At the start, Ruying does what she has to do to stay alive and keep her family safe and she doesn’t apologize for it. The fact that she was upfront about this strong held belief was incredibly humanizing. To her, her world is her family, not the wider population. This conviction makes her journey over the course of the story even more powerful. By the end, Ruying decides she needs to make a stand, that she needs to be brave and defend her people, but the royal family sure isn’t up to the task. The ending sets up a compelling storyline for book two.

I look forward to the developing relationship between Ruying and Anthony in book two. I have so many unanswered questions and am not entirely convinced his feelings for her are genuine. He appears incredibly manipulative during all most all their encounters.

I highly recommend this book for fans who enjoyed “The Hurricane Wars” or are looking for an edgier version of “A Court of Thorns and Roses”.

I truly wanted to love this book because upon reading the description, it seemed to tick all the boxes. The premise was interesting, the magic system seemed like it would be fun, and the main character blessed with Death powers made this right up my alley. I think the story had incredible potential, but unfortunately, for me, it fell spectacularly flat. I’d first like to comment that this book is based on real life war crimes committed in Manchuria. I applaud the author for writing something inspired by such a heart wrenching situation.

As for the story itself, the world-building by and large was superficial and practically nonexistent. We’re told some things about the world in which the story takes place, but it always felt like the bare minimum and seemed to leave important details out.


Normally I often see a trade off, when the world building is a little lax the characterization makes up for it, but I didn’t find that with this book. The internal monologue wasn’t well written and the dialogue reminded me of a bad TV drama, where everything was told and never shown. Typically I adore a morally grey protagonist, but there wasn’t any character development at all in any of the already superficially written characters, so I can’t even say this was particularly done well either.

Lastly, a romance between a colonizer and one of the oppressed peoples does not sit well with me and was an incredibly uncomfortable thing to read about.

Though I can say the cover was beautiful and the idea could have created a fantastic and exciting story, unfortunately I think this fell short in the execution.

This is one of my biggest disappointments of the year. This review will be a mess, much like the book.

To begin, the marketing. What went on with marketing of this book should be studied in what not to do for years to come. I've seen this called enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, childhood-friends-to-lovers, romantasy, romantic fantasy, ya fantasy, ya romantic fantasy--what is the truth??? I still don't know. They seem to have stuck with "romantasy" which I think is an issue, I'll touch on that in a bit. The trouble is I don't really know who the main romantic pairing is and not in a good plot sort of way. More like, the author is potentially trying to do a gotcha? I truly don't know.

It's honestly not written particularly well? The main character Ruying has an internal monologue that is so incredibly annoying, not for characterization reasons but for what feels like a lack of editing. Let women be annoying! But! Let the writing be good enough to support her.

While there's a few aspects of this book I feel I'm not necessarily qualified to speak on (ie colonizer/colonized romance as a whole) I know an enemies to lovers when I see it and while so far it certainly fits the bill, within the framework of "romantasy" there is a relative expectation of a happy/happy enough ending. I just don't think in this particular set up, there can be a happyish/happy enough ending with the two characters who are allegedly the main couple. I want Ruying to kill Antony? I feel that will be the only way to truly satisfy this relationship trajectory as it stands.

I'm interested in where this will go for sheer nosiness sake.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine/Del Rey for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yang Ruying lives in the once great country of Pangu, a fantastical, alternate history China, where people can be blessed by the gods and given gifts. Ruying herself has been bestowed the power of death, the ability to pull qi/lifeforce from others. But Pangu has been invaded by multidimensional travelers from the dystopian, futuristic world of Rome. Magical gifts like Ruying’s have quickly been overshadowed by guns, missiles, and modern warfare technology. Addictive, modern drugs have spread from Rome into Pangu as well, weakening them even further. Both worlds wait in an uneasy state of peace, while both prepare for an inevitable war. Pangu wants freedom from its cruel invaders. Rome needs something only the citizens of Pangu can provide.

"When you see someone in trouble, you draw your blade and help.
But what was a blade against a bullet?
What was magic, against science?"

With her family’s legacy destroyed by war and poverty, Ruying can barely support herself, let alone her opian addict sister, Meiya, and her elderly grandmother. When one of the young princes of Rome, Antony Augustus, discovers her power over death and offers her the position of his personal assassin, Ruying is forced to accept to save her family. Thrust to the front lines of the looming war, Ruying must decide what boundaries are worth crossing, and how far she will go to save the people and country she loves.

“'Will you lead me astray, my prince?'
'I will lead you to glory. I will lead you to the life you have always wanted. I will lead you to a better tomorrow. Not just for my world, but for both our worlds.'”

While the premise of this book is extremely enticing, I found far too much of the story stuck in Ruying’s spiraling inner monologues. What could have been philosophical and provoking was instead redundant and– I hate to say it– boring. Her internal debates fell flat very quickly when no progression ever came. The thoughts that plagued her in the beginning of the book remained with her until the very end, without her ever making up her mind or coming to a single conclusion without it being made for her. The exciting storylines of political intrigue and assassins and forbidden love are superficial, barely staying afloat atop the bloated mass of monologues that comprise the majority of this book.

The world building was paper thin, a dissatisfying attempt at window dressing rather than actually fleshing out the worlds of Pangu and Rome. Ruying’s understanding of both worlds was frustratingly inconsistent. Despite only being exposed to futuristic Roman technologies from a well guarded distance, she is familiar with toilets, hidden cameras (with and without audio recording capability!), fighter jets, melting polar caps, and black holes. Simultaneously, she is baffled by the concepts of surgery, cooking stoves, and electricity.

“They buzzed with a low current of science…”

“Their water was boiled by machines and their fires were instant.”

The characters were created in a similar way, bare skeletons given personality by repeatedly slapping the same adjectives on top. Repeating how intelligent/cunning/strong/insert-descriptor-here the characters were instead of giving them any time on the page to SHOW it killed my interest very quickly. It was akin to watching cardboard cutouts be propped against the storyline, rather than actual characters pushing the story forwards with their conflicts and actions. This includes the lackluster inclusion of romance, which I would not have known was romance if I wasn’t explicitly told, due to the impressive lack of chemistry (many other reviewers have touched on the weirdness of this abusive colonizer relationship, and while I have nothing to add I do agree with the general consensus of ew why?). I will give credit to the author for coming up with very good ideas for characters, but to see them wasting on the side lines made it even more difficult to enjoy this book.

For example– Ruying’s grandmother was the most brilliant strategist of her generation, who taught Ruying sword fighting and parkour and war tactics. Having lost her husband and children and reputation, she is left to fiercely defend her two young granddaughters and prepare them for the brutal reality of war. Imagine my disappointment when her only valuable contribution to the storyline was forcing Ruying to get married against her will and then crying off page for the rest of the book. This same blockage of showing vs. telling, and the subsequent mismatch of traits, happened with every single character. Shared backstories were brought up in clunky expositional dialogue. The characters (even the supposedly smart and secretive ones, or ones who have no reason to trust Ruying) are constantly revealing their entire life story and thought process. Motivations were spoon fed (or in all honesty, tube fed) to the reader and the attempts at moral ambiguity were clumsily ham-fisted.

"To say he was innocent was a lie. He existed somewhere in between: the gray between black and white."

In summary, I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Molly X. Chang’s debut novel, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. It promised a fantastical new world brought to life through morally gray characters on the brink of war. While the ideas and potential of this book are captivating, comparable to the Avatar and Pocahontas films, I was disappointed by their execution. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am the audience for this book, though I’m not sure who is.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Yeah… I didn’t even get past the first couple hundred pages… I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

I commend the author for the book concept and beautiful cover but this is so so boring. It is all straight up word vomit and monologue. All telling, no showing. The author just straight up tells you EVERYTHING. There is no room for imagination, it all just gets so boring and convoluted. This is the first book i’ve ever DNF’d after being very adamant that I would never do so… so that says a lot.

★.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the chance to read this book. This is my honest opinion.

It's a jumbled mess. Things kept happening but it seemed to be circling around and going nowhere. It took me until the end of the book to understand the world and it wasn't intentional she states things here and there but doesn't flat out explain why there are two different worlds in the one area. It is confusing and the characters are good but their interactions are meh. The FMC repeats the same inner monologue and it starts to being tedious that I'm like okay I get it. The side characters are interesting. I like where the plot was trying to go but it took a long way to get her statement across with a few thrown in small romantic moments which I didn't really think were necessary. It kind of seems forced. I would honestly give them more a 2.5. it gives me immortal longings vibes while reading it.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is an Asian inspired young adult romantasy. I wanted to like it. I should have. Its own voices, dark romance, things I like. But the prose is too often purple, there really were no shades of gray. I’m sorry, but this was painful to read.