Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is about Ruying, a girl from the Chinese-fantasy-inspired Er-lang Empire which has recently been colonized by the evil, science-wielding "Roman Empire" from another world. As a magic-user or "xianling," Ruying has the unique ability to drain people's life force with a touch, making her the perfect assassin and catching the attention of the Roman prince Antony. I found To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods severely lacking in many departments. I'm usually against the prescriptive writing advice "show don't tell," but good lord, this book Tells nonstop, to its great detriment. It makes for highly tedious exposition as Ruying tells the audience over and over that Rome is bad and has done bad things and is evil. I found the initial conflict—Ruying's struggle to supply/wean her opium-addict sister Meiya and keep her revolutionary activities a secret—far more interesting than the rest of the plot. I think there are really interesting elements and perhaps through editing these will become more apparent.

So disappointed. I don’t understand the hype around these colonizer x colonized romances. They just strike me the wrong way, so I can’t support the relationship due to the stark imbalance between them. The book itself has such good worldbuilding and a commendable portrayal of gray morals, But all of the good aspects are overshadowed by the principle of the relationship.

I cannot tell you how much I wanted to love this book. The description painted such a beautiful picture of Chinese folklore and intriguing fantastical magic that I couldn't wait to dive into this conflict filled world. And when I first started to read, Molly Chang's personal author's note about her inspiration's origin for TGUWG made me that much more anticipatory to read this book that promised to combine my loves for Asian mythology/folklore with the fight against the modern day struggles of discrimination and animosity that we see in today's world.

I was immediately fascinated and drawn in by the opening of the novel. Ruying, though she has the gods given power of harnessing Death to take the lives of others, can only try to keep herself, her sister, and her grandmother alive in her home that has been colonized and taken over by outsiders. I appreciated that I was quickly able to understand the magic system in the book yet it didn't feel lacking or too simple.

But after this introductory period, I thought that the conflict between the Er-Lang Empire and the Roman colonizers was odd. Not because of the premise of the invasion and colonization itself but because the Romans are described as having modern day technology and weapons with modern day concerns. I totally understand the comparison that was trying to be made between historical conquerors and colonizers with current issues, however this aspect of the book fell a bit flat for me. I feel that the same point could have been made without leaning so much on the aspect of Rome, or instead by not placing Rome and the Roman people in today's time period. Additionally, I was a bit confused by the portal that connects the worlds. It seemed very glossed over which made the Roman society feel even less like the super hi-tech type of people they're supposed to be.

Throughout the book, one aspect that I did really like was the underlying problem of the Roman people getting the Er-Lang people addicted to opian. That secondary storyline felt very true to history without being an in-your-face allusion.

However, getting to the aspects of the novel that I liked the least: the main character and the romance. Starting with Ruying, I was so excited for a strong and powerful female main character to be the lead in this novel. In my opinion, she wasn't. And if she wasn't supposed to be, because not all main characters need to save the world to be cheered on, I think that Ruying still would've been unenjoyable to read. It wasn't even that I wouldn't have liked Ruying if she was morally-grey, I love a good morally-grey character! It's that it felt like Ruying had no morals other than the ones that other people told her to have. Which were, leading into the second aspect of the book that I didn't like, often the morals(?) of Prince Antony, Roman prince and Ruying's slowburn love interest. I just could not get behind their relationship. I didn't really get any hint that Antony actually meant well for the Er-Lang people but Ruying just went along with it, killing dozens of people in the sheer hope that, if and when Antony were to become king, he might be a bit nicer to them. It also bothered me that the entire story was from Ruying's POV except for one chapter from Antony's POV (in the middle of their romance). This look into Antony's perspective did give me a bit of a better idea as to why he was falling for her, but I could find no other reasons for her to be falling for him other than a hypocritical love for the first man that showed any interest in her. Though there was an occasional romance trope to move their relationship along, nothing about their relationship was doing it for me.

To wrap up, I thought this book had a lot of potential to be one of my favorites ever but it missed the mark in some ways that were too important for me to ignore. In addition to what I've already said, I would've loved to see some other character's perspectives like Ruying's sister Meiya (honestly, I think I would've loved if this whole story was Meiya's story), maybe Baihu, etc. After reading this book I would probably read a second book in this series to see if the characters grow at all, however I would definitely be reading with some skepticism.

So,, the ending really made up for the story in my opinion. How did a story starting with the character hating her oppressors turn into,, basically falling in love with a main one.. It felt hypocritical? You spend the beginning making the main character shame her friend, the one she believes to have betrayed them,, and then does the same thing. She says she’s aware of her actions being bad,, but does them? Wack is all I’ll say about that!

The cover and the title of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods immediately caught my attention and I absolutely needed to read it. Shout out to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC! I was in the mood for fantasy and this was exactly what I was looking for. I really enjoyed my time with this book and I just know it will be one of the best covers of 2024.

I was so excited to read this book! I love Asian-inspired fantasy, and particularly fantasy that addresses colonialism and features rebellion. However, this book fell really short for me for several reasons.
The world-building in this book made little sense. This book seeks to address the colonial history of China, yet the invading force is called Rome. If the choice had been made for it to be called something that does not have a specific historical context, it would have made so much more sense for the story. Additionally, there is a setup of China having strong magical history and Rome having a strong technological history where Rome has access to helicopters and weapons of mass destruction. I typically LOVE reading about the clash of science vs religion or magic, but this seemed stretched too far. I believe that the point the author was trying to make was that the technology colonizers brought appeared to be so incredibly far advanced as to not really be understandable, but I think the point could have been made by describing and writing more about a pervasive sense of fear and worry or even perhaps awe instead of conflating multiple time periods and histories.

I did enjoy the ways that both of the main characters are morally gray, but did wish that they both had more depth. Their motivations were well-defined, but the way that they were written was repetitive rather than more fully fleshing out their thoughts and deep-seated motivations.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

I really wanted to like this book. The premise was initially promising, but I couldn’t get behind the romance. I was never invested in it and rather found myself rooting against it from the moment it was introduced. The continual mentions of the main love interest’s “softness” or “tender eyes” or speculation on potential hidden altruistic motives from the perspective of the MC felt unrealistic and incredibly inauthentic coming from the perspective of someone he has abducted, tortured, gaslit, and threatened into his service. As many other reviewers pointed out, it’s a colonizer romance. Even if in the romance established in this book isn’t the endgame romance/even if there isn’t a redemption arc in subsequent books (which I so badly hope there isn’t), it doesn’t change the pages upon pages of colonizer sympathizing and moral backflips done by Ruying to justify this love in this book.

I also had a hard time with the magic vs science struggle of the two sides. It felt jarring every time the plot point of the antagonists being from our world (orca version of it) was brought up, and the offhand references to modern things like Romeo & Juliet, Greek/Roman gods, and melting polar ice caps. (And not to mention the short chapter that felt like it was comprised of slightly reworded Taylor Swift lyrics?)

I really liked the different setting of the book, where it was more Asian inspired. I felt like this book missed the mark with some things and did other things well. I enjoyed all the different lore but there was a lot of Ruying’s inner dialogue which kind of got repetitive. I felt that the story didn’t really pick up pace until the last 25%. And I wish we could have seen more of her growing her power. The romance between the two characters had me confused since I felt like it was a little bit forced. The whole relationship is messed up, like this definitely has to be Stockholm syndrome. I will keep an eye out for the next book in the series cause the ending makes me want to know what will happen next.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received an e-arc in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Del Rey!

I really wanted to like To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, but something was just missing for me. I couldn’t completely buy into the romance, so the twist at the end, which is heavily foreshadowed if not explicitly stated, wasn’t shocking and I didn’t have the big emotional reaction I was expecting.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I will be picking up book 2.

Thank you NetGalley and author Molly X. Chang for allowing me to read an advanced copy for an honest review.

I feel that though this book had lots of potential it was difficult for me to get through it. The romance aspect was not really to my taste, and the pacing was a bit difficult for me because of all the information that was being unloaded and not ingrained as naturally in the story. For me romance is a big thing especially, so it made the book a bit more sour. I also did not enjoy Ruying, even though she was very passionate in the beginning of the story as the book progressed. Instead of seeing her as a troubled character that was faced with hard decisions, I found her very irritating, naive and unlikable.

I hope to read more books by Molly X. Chang for I truly do feel like her prose are very nice and her ideas are interesting, but I do not think for this series in particular if I would want to continue.

There are two worlds. One of science and one of magic. The world of science is ruled by the Romans. They have found a way to create a portal into the world of magic and have named themselves gods to rule over this world. They have brought nothing put chaos, hate, and persecution to the people of magic.
We follow Ruying, who has been born with the gift of death. Her goal is to survive and to keep her family safe. She ends up having to make a deal with the devil, a prince from Rome, to keep them safe.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. I devoured it. But there was a shift half way where we skip ahead in time and I just couldn’t get into the second half. Ruying couldn’t decide who she trusted or what she believed. The love plot in this wasn’t believable. There were a few instances in the second half where people would make a decision and it didn’t make sense based on how the characters were written. There was also a random POV from another character put in for only one chapter.
I had high hopes for the book based on the first half of the story but it lost me in the end. I’m giving it 3 stars because the first half was very enjoyable.
I will not be continuing the series.

3.5. There were some solid aspects to this book. I think the writing needs a bit of work but I do think Chang has promise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is about Ruying, a girl from the Chinese-fantasy-inspired Er-lang Empire which has recently been colonized by the evil, science-wielding "Roman Empire" from another world. As a magic-user or "xianling," Ruying has the unique ability to drain people's life force with a touch, making her the perfect assassin and catching the attention of the Roman prince Antony. Caught between her hatred of the brutal colonizers who are destroying her country and a desire to keep her sister and grandmother safe, Ruying is forced to make terrible choices.

As an extreme aficionado of the xianxia and historical fantasy genres, I had high hopes for this book! The premise is fascinating and I found the central conflict compelling and nuanced. The tense will-they-won't-they between Ruying and Antony might be just the thing for audiences who enjoyed the Reylo or Darklina ships.

Unfortunately, I am not one of those people, and I found To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods severely lacking in many departments. First, the clumsy prose—I know mistakes are part of the territory with ARCs, but this one seemed even more riddled with simple grammatical errors than usual, especially in the first 20% or so. Even in the latter part of the book, random changes of tense were a frequent occurrence. I hope these are fixed in the published edition!

The prose itself vacillates between purple and clumsy. Some of the purple parts are good, but the clumsiness is rough. I'm usually against the prescriptive writing advice "show don't tell," but good lord, this book Tells nonstop, to its great detriment. It makes for highly tedious exposition as Ruying tells the audience over and over that Rome is bad and has done bad things and is evil—like, we GET it, but we would get it on a more intrinsic, empathetic level if you would only SHOW us something! The constant repetition felt insulting to my intelligence as a reader, as if the author didn't trust me to pick up on even the most basic subtext unless it was spelled out in glaring neon letters. Every scene was a California scene and filter words abounded.

I wanted to invest in the story and root for the characters, but I found it hard when so many of the characters behaved inconsistently in service to the plot. The hand of the author was constantly visible in a way that took me out of the story. The best examples of this were Ruying's powers, which conspicuously and inconsistently worked or didn’t work as the plot demanded. Even more frustrating was how she would frequently cut Baihu off and refuse to let him finish a sentence that was obviously about to reveal game-changing information (silly Baihu! We have to save the game-changing information for Act 3.)

I found the initial conflict—Ruying's struggle to supply/wean her opium-addict sister Meiya and keep her revolutionary activities a secret—far more interesting than the rest of the plot, and missed that thread when it was dropped in order to focus on Ruying's collaborator-guilt and burgeoning feelings for the too-obviously-evil Antony. The latter conflict felt frustratingly predictable, to the point where I suspect I can tell exactly where the sequel is going.

Despite the critical tone of this review, I feel as though there's a tight and interesting story buried somewhere in this one, trying to emerge. But in the end, the best-written and most interesting part of TGUWG was its author's note (which got me interested in the horrifying history of Unit 731. If nothing else, I'm glad this story is being told so that it will spread awareness of that very real suffering of Manchuria!)

The book itself just wasn't it for me. In addition to its myriad other problems, it felt like a mere first act (to what I understand is a longer series) rather than a complete story. It's a shame, because on paper, the story is fascinating and has great potential! Here's hoping the next installments are better executed.

The book was all over the place there was very little worlds building you were expected to know what was going on as soon as you jumped into it

This book has so much potential and many rooms to improve. I finished this book in two sittings, I honestly was really curious how this book would continue.

My review might contain spoiler.

I actually really invested in the complex political and colonization situation in this book but some parts didn't sit right to me. The romance, frankly, was really bad. First, I thought the romantic plot was for Ruying and Baihu, but suddenly Baihu wasn't mentioned anymore and after the 6-month time skip Ruying and Anthony suddenly attracted to each other and in those 6 months Baihu didn't even try to find Ruying. I felt like it Ruying had stockholm syndrome since I assumed the only person she spoke to was only Antony, but I couldn't find any reason for Antony to like Ruying.

During those months, Ruying had killed around 49 people, which again I assumed all of them were high profile people, even though she made them looked as "natural" as possible, it was kinda weird that no one talked especially the Phantom. I really hope that we can get more story about the Phantom in the next book. I also found the Phantom was rather ambiguous. I knew that the Phantom wanted the Roman gone, but attacking Sihai guards and its people really confused me, shouldn't they stand with every Pangu citizens?

Ruying wasn't really a likeable character, she was too indecisive that she was easily swayed from left to right. Dear Ruying, please make up your choice! My favorite character was Sihai Emperor. He really was a wise one. I really enjoyed his interactions with Prince Feng, too bad his part was short. I hope Prince Feng will make more appearance in the next book, he was one of the few that actually stood up!

Overall I enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to book 2! Hopefully more explanation about Rome, more actions with magics because as far as I remember only Ruying, Taohua, and Prince Feng who showed their magic in this book, but I might be wrong, also maybe a new plot that doesn't revolve around a silly romance, because to me the conflict in this book is good and complicated enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for this ARC for in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of magic and Roman science. The story centers around a girl names Ruying who commands death magic and the sacrifices she is willing to make for her family and people to keep the might or Rome from crashing down around all of them.

This book ebbed and flowed for me. At times I really found myself into it, but more often then not, I was bored and just not interested in these characters. There were times I felt like yelling at the book, DO SOMETHING! but no they took the boring option. The pacing wasn't great either and found my eyes wondering at times. To the point where I put this book down for several weeks before finally finishing it. When I finished the book I read some say it was enemies-to-lovers and boy do I wish there was more of that, it more just goo-goo eyes and it was boring!

I had high hopes for this and was sadly disappointed. Sorry but I won't be continuing on with the series.

an entertainingdebut!! i found it quite faulty at times, i thought for the whole book that it was a YA read, it leans more towards romantasy YA books than an adult fantasy or sci-fi, some plots were quite unclear and the worldbuilding was a bit lacking, i found the romance a bit problematic since the colonizing aspects were very prominent and went a bit against the characterization of the lead character.
The cover is lovely though!

HEROES DIE. COWARDS LIVE.

I was promised an “epic fantasy” and even star crossed lovers but you know what I got? A COLONIZER ROMANCE.

The beginning started so strong. There were so many lines that had me giddy because I finally found another ARC that I could get into and was written well. Unfortunately, the threads of the story started to come undone around halfway through, and by the end, everything felt rushed and confusing.

We start with Ruying, a young woman in a setting that is basically medieval China (under a different name). She is very firm about (and repeats it every chapter) her willingness to do anything to protect her twin and her ailing Grandmother. Ruying also has powers like a small sub-section of her world, but no one knows where the powers came from or why each person that has them is unlike anyone else. Three people can have water powers, but one might have the ability to control bodies of water, one might control storms, one might be able to suck water out of the environment. Ruying’s power is Death as in she can suck the Qi out of anyone to the point that they die.

We kind of murkily also discover that her kingdom is actively being colonized by Rome (yeah, Rome, Rome. Why the author gave fantasy-China a different name and not Rome, I don’t know). But this version of Rome is set far enough into the future that they have guns, universal remotes, emergency room equipment, bulletproof glass, fighter jets, and nukes.

For 20 years, Rome has steadily invaded Ruying’s world through a portal we truly get no details on. It’s just a portal that showed up one day and never left; it just exists in the sky and is never mentioned again.

Anyway, Rome is colonizing book-China and exerting God-like authority over Ruyings people thanks to their “science” (a major theme is that the ever-lessening magical powers of this world can’t stand up to the “science” of Rome, aka progress/advancement/technology/weapons)

Ruying encounters a man named Antony (yeah.) that she knows is a villain, but surprise, he’s hot and she gets a crush while acting as his assassin under duress. The thing is, all the assassin-ing happens off page. We just hear about how randomly skilled she is for a 19 year old with no formal training or experience, but never really see it.

Things progress, betrayals are had, feelings go back and forth etc etc until some very predictable plot twists and a random chapter thrown in from Antony’s POV that spoils the whole “is he actually a bad guy? Or is he just misunderstood?” Question. Because honestly, for the whole middle part, I wanted to believe that he was secretly scheming for the good of both worlds in a way that would be revealed in grand fashion. But instead, it really is just a book about a girly falling in love with her oppressor. Even when he’s come close to killing her, forced her to kill people he admits are innocent, holds a gun up to her head,, tells her that he’s willing to sacrifice people for the “greater good” (which people’s greater good?) and only ever made weak excuses as to why he’s doing what he’s doing for his rickety-ass plan to “save the world.” She turns her back on the culture and people she says over and over and over that she’s wholly dedicated to and protective of.

My girl Ruying ignored every red flag that was slapping her in the face. She even occasionally snaps out of her lovesick puppy shtick, only to fall right back into it when Antony smiles at her with dimples.

I think this was an interesting (or at least a first, for me) examination of the messiness of interpersonal relationships under colonialism. Of the merits between honoring the past and those who have shaped history and forging forward for progress, but destroying your history. Of people trying to figure out if what they do as an individual matters in the grand scheme of things. If justifying some for the sake of the masses is justified. I also really liked the way Antony was a super villain but in a way that was carefully crafted; he didn’t just stomp in and crush people, he learned their culture and beliefs and language. To me, that makes him even more insidious because he knew exactly how to hurt people.

I just think it needs a few more rounds of editing, clearer and earlier world-building, and if you’re going to have the colonized fall in love with the colonizer just to have her be betrayed by him, it needs to be more drawn out and really soak in the feelings of disgust and confusion. And when she’s in that, keep her in it, harder to really drive the impact of the betrayal.

Another emphasis on needing more editing. I know this was an ARC, but there are lots of grammatical errors and the twist with the experiment gets ruined bc it’s confusingly accidentally revealed before the actual reveal of her name. And some of the dialogue was confusing in a way that it takes you out of the story. Things like characters supposedly in mideval times saying things like “is he going to be okay?” And “don’t paint me out to be the bad guy” plus their use of both gold coins AND pennies????

Things I wanted more of:
- Baihu!! He was a really interesting and complex character and I was much more interested in his espionage between worlds
- Ruying’s daddy issues; I wanted more about how they probably manifested in her speedy trust toward Antony; the need to belong and be taken care of!
- Baihu eating Ruying UP about her naivety
- The magic system. In this book, the only explanation for it that we get is “no one knooooows where it comes from! It’s just there!!”

Favorite Quotes:
“Heroes die. Cowards live.”

“To say Er-Lang Baihu was a villain would be a stretch. To say he was innocent was a lie.”

“Frustration was dark crimson. It tasted of ash when I tried to swallow, scorched my throat before clotting my lungs.”

“All heroes fail to pass the test of love.”

“I fear you the way mortals fear gods.”

“He pushed me away, loaded a bullet into the gun, and pressed it against my head this time.

‘Your power is exquisite—and you are beautiful. But there are plenty of pretty things in this world. Don't think for a second that I, Antony Augustus, am someone who sees a pretty girl and loses his head or grows soft. If I were like that, I would have been killed a long time ago, and Rome would never meet its greatest ruler.’”

“His eyes met mine, without fear. As if daring me to prove my words. I gripped the gun tighter. ‘Call off the snipers!’

‘Or what?’ ‘Or I'll show you how much of a killer I can be.’ ‘Do it,’ he whispered without taking his eyes off me, his body too close to mine in the confined space, his voice a taunting rasp.

‘Do it. Kill me. Pull the trigger.’”


Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a promising premise, however I did struggle to get through it.

Let’s start with the positives - the overall premise has so much potential. The world itself is interesting and I would love for it to be built upon more in the sequels. Chang’s descriptive writing makes me interested and invested in Pangu and what happens to its people.

The ending was enough for me to want to read the next book - I do want to find out what’s next, and the last 25% of the book was my favorite part.

Now, onto the negatives: the pacing is all over the place, particularly towards the beginning. I found myself struggling with the first 60% of the book. There were times were I wish the story would move along, but others where I wish we spent more time.

There was also a lot of tell, not show in terms of the Ruying’s motivations. She is billed as morally grey, but I just don’t see it. She has a relatively strong moral compass - only swayed by her feelings for Anthony, which leads me to my next point…

The romance is was a low point for me. There wasn’t a lot of build up, and I’m not entirely onboard with idea of falling in love with your colonizer. I find myself wondering why she wavers when she’s with him.

Overall, despite pacing issues, I do find myself curious to learn more about the world and how this story ends.

Thank you NetGalley and RandomHouse Publishing for an advanced copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

TGUWG

If you’re looking for YA version of The poppy war, where it’s less gory. To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is definitely up your alley. It’s very similar to The Poppy War but it has different magical elements. Female main character with lots of rage and resentment that’s been built up over time. TGUWG starts off very strong in the first chapter. It engages you right on the first page. I thought that it got a little slow towards the middle when talking about the politics in the book. It could’ve been a little bit more descriptive in the world building. Overall, I enjoyed it. 3 out of 5 ⭐️