Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book is hard for me to review. I *wanted* to love it so much more than I did. There *was* plenty to appreciate about it - the writing style, the enemies-to-lovers trope (my favorite), and the fact that the author did not pull punches when it came to some of the darker themes and aspects explored here. Not Disney-fied, which I appreciate. That said, I found myself reading small chunks of the book at a time, and never quite became fully immersed or invested in either the story or characters.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars. I look forward to seeing more from this author, who I believe has talent and promise.

OOHH this one was FUN!
We follow a young girl blessed by death who has to find a way to survive and protect her family in a world that does not want her or will not protect her. Magic in a world invaded by those who use advanced sciences.
We follow our heroine as she decides what role she will play; will she be docile, will she risk everything, or will she play it safe?
Personally, I loved it. The story was really compelling and the writing was really easy to follow. At the beginning, the world building was kind of clunky, and there was some information I feel could have been communicated more naturally, but it wasn’t horrible to get through. I loved the characters. I loved how Ruying made the perfect unpredictable narrator, she was naive and just trying her best. She was forced into a horrible situation and was forced to make ugly calls because of it. She has all the naivety that comes with being young, I need her to succeed.

That’s all I can say without spoilers. I loved this book!
4 ⭐️


Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for a copy of an eARC!

To start off, that cover and title are absolutely stunning. I am not ashamed it is the initial reason I clicked to request the ARC. The cover drew me in, but the premise hooked me.
I enjoyed the Rome invading Er-Lang aspect and I'm very curious to know exactly what timeline the Rome plot is taking place. Maybe I missed that. Maybe its not a big deal, I'm just curious. Is it current Rome had it not fallen? It can't be historical Rome with all the guns and ships. Yah, I'm a bit hung up on that.

Ruying. I like her. I like that she's morally grey but only because her family is her whole world and she's do anything to protect them, even serve her beloved world up on a platter. She's indecisive and an overthinker. The only thing I didn't like was the repetitive inner monologs.

Antony. You want to believe what he outs out, but there's just something missing. Too good to be true. And then when you find out....yikes. Oh Antony, not that I was rooting for you, because you're still an oppressor from Rome, but I thought you'd be better.

I'd like to see more of Ruyings sister and the Phantom in the next book. Maybe some POV from her would be a delightful mix to the story line. I didn't hate the one Antony POV chapter we got and maybe a few more sprinkled in instead of the same internal battles Ruying went through would add more to the storyline for me.
I'm excited to continue on with what looks to be a trilogy.

The premise had a lot of potential, but the execution unfortunately fell flat for me. The heroine wasn't morally grey enough for my taste, and I found her to be very inconsistent and indecisive. The love interest and their dynamic did not interest me either. The bloated writing style slowed down the pacing even more. However, I can see the real historical events that inspired this world, and there are certain other characters I'd like to see more of. Overall I think this book could've gone through another round of edits, but the potential is there, and I wouldn't be opposed to picking up the second book if the aforementioned elements are improved.

Thank you @netgalley for sending me an ARC of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods!
Ruying is a young woman from Er Lang , a conquered world dominated by Romans. She has the power of Death and when her power is discovered by Anthony, a Roman prince, she must become his private assassin to keep her family safe.
This is a very interesting and complex novel! You never fully know wh you can trust and several characters make good and bad points.
Ruying is a little frustrating at points. I understand why she had to become Anthony's assassin, but at the same time, I don't understand why she eve trusted her colonizer! Like, it's obvious that , even though he wants peace, he wants her world to submit to Rome. If he was secretly in the rebellion that would be a different story, but he's not. In fact, he lied to her several times. Joining the rebellion is the only way to free herself and her family from their opressors. After all, Anthony has threatened her and she still manages to fall in love with him.
I'm very interesting on the Xianling's powers and how their qi-cells work. I hope the next book dives further into this plot.
The ending made me hopeful that Ruying will join the rebellion and avenge her country. I hope she stops believing all of Anthony's lies and breaks free from him.

Tw:war, torture, mentions of prostitution, drug use, murder.

did not finish. the intro was very slow, and when i finally got to the main point, i didn't like the trope the romance dynamic was going to end up as (oppressor x oppressed). he is the son of the emperor that stole their land and kills the citizens with powers (the fmc).

Woo ok so I have some thoughts...first off, the cover design is gorgeous. I know plenty of people have mentioned it in their reviews, but this is seriously beautiful.

As for the content of the book, I enjoyed reading Ruying's struggle to come to terms with her feelings about what she is being forced to do and how her mind was always pulled in two different directions. It was a good look into her headspace as she was being manipulated by her captor.

I enjoyed how devoted Ruying was to her family and how her justifications for her actions became murkier as the book went on.

I especially liked the note this book ended on and it made me upset to know I'd need to wait to read the sequel.

As for any criticisms, I have a couple. For one, I felt this book had a bit of a problem with repeating itself at times. There were several points in the book where I would read one thing and then it would be repeated within several pages in either similar or the same wording as before. Some monologues from Ru dragged on a bit longer than necessary with repeated information especially in the first half of the book, whereas I would have liked to have seen that extra wordcount go towards extending a few of the scenes in the last third of the book as they felt a bit short to me.

Overall, I am excited to see where the story goes and will likely be picking up the sequel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing/Del Ray for the ARC of this book.

I really wanted to like To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, but I struggled so hard. I ended up giving up around 48% just because I didn’t connect with the characters at all, and while I thought it was a cool concept the pacing also didn’t work for me

DNF - Between the typos and the inability to connect to characters, I gave up at 50% (especially empowered after reading similar complaints on earlier reviews)

Plot: 4 -- had potential, I was ready to be hooked
Characters: 2
Writing Style: 3
Cover: 5
Enjoyment: 2

⇉ 4 parts, first person POV, historical fantasy
⇉ Main character is Ruying who is either 19 or 20, we're told both. Learn on the first page she wields Death magic; she's a twin and orphan.
⇉ Typos in the form of tense changes were frequent and made reading a little jarring
⇉ Inner dialogue was just far too repetitive

I really wanted to like this book. The world is beautiful and the premise is interesting, I wanted to fall in love with the heroine and feel the struggle as she walks a dangerous and morally complex path. Instead, I got a wishy-washy girl who couldn't seem to make up her mind about anything. She constantly would seem confidant about a position, but then turn around and feel the exact opposite. There was a lot - I mean A LOT - of repetition. Certain words and phrases were used constantly by all the characters, and while they sounded cool and compelling the first time, after a while they lost their punch. Additionally, time was handled in a weird way. Our heroine is imprisoned for a time, and it's written in such a way that it feels like she's been there for months. SHE talks about it like she's been there longer than she can comprehend, and while time does get strange when you're not able to track it appropriately, it still ought to have been much longer than the 6 days it ended up being. Then *spoiler* after she agrees to become an assassin for her captor, it immediately skips ahead 6 months. We don't get to see or experience her fears, struggles, frustration, and sorrow in the role she's filling, she just tells us about it in hindsight. I'd heard others express concerns about the "colonizer romance," but it was something we were told not shown. Despite the warm looks and genuine smiles, I never felt real chemistry between the two main characters, and she is genuinely given nothing to make her believe he cares for or respects her. We do get a chapter towards the end from his point of view, so we as the audience know he DOES actually love her, but they have had no interactions that justify or build that love organically between either character. Additionally, he maintains an explicit power dynamic over her that sullies any affection he may feel. All of the characters had the potential to be interesting, dynamic, and compelling. The story itself doesn't really need to be changed at all, the plot is decent. I just want our heroine to own the agency she does have, even in this corrupt system, to act instead of being acted upon. She loves her family and her people and that's supposedly her motivation to do what she does, but it's only in the last chapter that I start to feel any true conviction from her to drive her actions. When our heroine finally is explicitly told what we've deduced for half the book, her appropriate fury drives her to make the first interesting choice she's made the whole book, only to have it be the end. I'm certain they're setting up for a sequel, which I might try to read, but I was so frustrated by so much of this book we'll see how it goes.

What will you sacrifice to protect the ones you love? Whom will you trust when one misstep means death?

Ruying's world teeters on the brink of an apocalyptic war, invaded by beings who descended from a portal in the heavens two decades ago. They defeated the magic of her people, using technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen.

Born with the powers to pull life from anyone, she should be a force to be reckoned with. Yet, to protect her family, she keeps her head down. However, when an enemy prince uncovers her gift, he proposes a deal: her family's safety in exchange for serving as his personal assassin, claiming it's for the greater good of both their worlds.

Wow. Just wow. Molly X Chang pulls us into a beautifully woven world, lush with lore, magic, deception, and science. She crafts a haunting story of oppression, family, trust, and the discovery of one's true strength.

I could not put this book down, and it still leaves me reeling after finishing it. Ruying wants nothing more than for her family to be safe and is willing to sacrifice herself, to become a traitor to her people, hated by her sister, just so she knows that her family will be safe.

“We are all wicked. We all do what we must to survive.”

Ruying is being pulled in different directions, with everyone trying to manipulate her for her powers and only being given half-truths. She has to decide whom to trust in a dangerous game of power.

I really enjoyed following Ruying and how she struggles with the decisions she is making. Decisions that she hopes her family will understand one day but might just damn her to hell anyway. Her internal struggle is well-crafted. Her pain is palpable. Ruying makes a compelling character because she is not a clean-cut hero setting out on a quest to save her family. She is a young woman, gifted with powers she never asked for, trying to make the best of her situation to ensure the survival of her family.

The pacing of the book was great. I never felt like it was too hurried or too slow.

I have never seen a world just like the one Chang constructed. While there are books centered around ancient China or contemporary fantasies set in the Roman Empire, “To Gaze upon Wicked Gods” stands out by seamlessly blending sci-fi and fantasy. The Romans, equipped with advanced science, tear through the fabric between worlds, introducing guns and fighter jets to a realm untouched by the pollution of our modern era, yet enriched with magic and steeped in lore.

The first half of the book is information-dense, but not in a way that makes one feel like you’re studying or wanting to skip parts. Every detail serves a purpose and is seamlessly woven into the narrative as the story unfolds.

A significant theme in the book revolves around the colonization of Ruying's world, drawing parallels to the British occupation of China. The narrative even mirrors historical events, with the colonizers introducing a drug to maintain dependency on Rome in a way reminiscent of past colonial tactics.

Molly X Chang's books evoked a range of emotions as I read, and my admiration for Ruying as our heroine grew even stronger after completing the book. Reflecting on the exploration of colonization within the fantasy setting, I find that it is an essential topic that needs continuous discussion and examination; those who don’t know their history are bound to repeat it. Fantasy settings provide a unique and imaginative way to explore complex issues like colonialism. This allows readers to emotionally connect with characters, understand historical injustices, and encourages critical thinking. Such exploration sparks meaningful reflection and discussion compared to traditional history books.

First things first, I requested Molly X. Chang's "To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods" after hearing about it from the review bombing scandal. I generally don't read YA and probably wouldn't have paid attention to the book otherwise. That said, I'm glad I read this book and I'll eagerly await the next in the series.

Chang built a fascinating world divided between magic and technology; a fictional magical Manchuria suffering under colonization and Roman colonizers fleeing a world they polluted to death. As a xianling, someone capable of using magic, Ruying possess a terrifying power. She's able to pull another's qi from their body and release their souls; at the cost of harming her on qi.

Likable and despicable at turns, Ruying makes morally grey choices in a morally grey world. Ruying is both victim and villain, hero and coward. Willing to kill or do whatever it takes to protect her family, but afraid to face the problem of colonization head on. She desperately wants to live out a dream of peace, falling for Anthony, one of the two Roman princes despite herself.

I don't always care for romance, especially not spicy tiktok books, but this "enemies-to-???" was well blended in and didn't become an annoyance. The paranoia and distrust I felt for Anthony was quite fun, trying figure out his deal. And what a "deal" it was.

As someone learning Chinese, I enjoyed the bilingual bonus. The inclusion of Chinese hanzi (characters) and chengyu (idioms) delighted me, especially puzzling them out before the provided English translation.

There were a couple spots where some editing could be done, but I read an ARC copy. This book is very much a set up for the rest of the series, a ton of world building and the main character overcoming the "refusal of the call to adventure." That's not to say it's boring, the story kept me engaged and interested. I want the next part of the story and absolutely look forward to reading it.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ruying is a 19 year old xianling whose magic taps into Death and can pull the qi out of others. She has avoided her magic ever since an accident led to its discovery. Her world, which is rich in magic but not technology, has been overrun and colonized by the technologically advanced Romans who came through a rip in the sky with their fighter jets, their guns, and decimated their resistance in a traumatic one-day war. While her sister struggles with her opian addiction, Ruying is desperate to find a way to survive. In a desperate and angry move, she impulsively steals a pouch of gold from a Roman - who it turns out is one of the princes. She asks herself the most important question of all, not who will she live for? No. Who will she kill for?

In some ways, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods reads like a prequel/backstory. There's a lot of set up to establish the setting and stakes. I do feel like the pacing of the first part of the book is a little too slow and the middle feels too short, but I tend to prefer books with quite a bit of momentum, which the end delivered on very nicely. Sometimes the mention of Roman technology - so like our own - threw me out of the setting, because I don't think I've read anything that's fantasy and climate fiction melded together quite like this (not a bad thing! I appreciate that it's a new take on it & I always love that when reading)

This was enjoyable and the momentum at the end means that I'm going to pick up book 2 and I'm curious to see how the story evolves as well as how Chang evolves as a writer!

TWs: death (including child & parent death), assassination, drowning/attempted drowning, drug addiction, allusion to rape (in the past, not to a known character, mentioned as a risk of being a woman without a man during war time), indentured servitude (not sure if that's the best way to label Ruying's situation), kidnapping/abductions, <spoiler>secret experiments on humans, exsanguination, romantic & sexual relationship/feelings with a power imbalance</spoiler>

I immediately moved this to the top of my to read list after seeing what had been happening in Book-World, and I'm glad I did. I greatly enjoyed To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. Chang did a wonderful job of showing how Ruying was being exploited, without actually coming out and saying it. Ruying has a lot of growth, going from naïve and hopeful, to stepping into her own and realizing how she has been used and manipulated. Chang cleverly implies these as the story goes, but it isn't until the end when it really hits.

I actually don't think this needs a sequel. The ending is powerful enough on it's own that I feel a sequel would actually do a disservice to the story, but I will still read it. I don't want to spoil the book, but I will say, a lot of what other reviewers took issue with, I don't think was read into deep enough and that was the point.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The above is my own thoughts.

<i>To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods</i> definitely had some good things going for it. The world itself was intriguing and had a lot of influences from Western Colonization and the Opium Epidemic in China.

The writing was beautiful with long descriptions, and when I say long descriptions, I mean LOOOOONG descriptions. There are just so many metaphors and different figurative language uses, even Chinese idioms, throughout the ENTIRE book. The main character, Ruying, has these mile-long monologues in her head that really tell you EVERYTHING. Multiple Times, in different ways. To be honest, this kind of just made the book feel a lot longer than it was, in fact I was surprised when I looked up on goodreads that this book is only like 350+ pages. It almost felt like the author was trying to reach a word count minimum and a lot of the story just didn't seem to be moving because we were sitting in these monologues for so long.

I do agree with other people's reviews saying that the love interest being a colonizer is very disturbing. There do seems to be reasons for this decision of a love interest, however I felt that it could have been executed better (I won't go into spoilers about that but if you've read to the end, I can see what the author was trying to show). I failed to see how Antony, the Prince of Rome, really had anything that convincingly made Ruying attracted to him, besides being handsome(?) Although I don't really remember much talk about his good looks except for his eyes in this story. It felt very forced, and I couldn't really tell if I was also supposed to start liking Antony at some point, as it wasn't really happening.

The story itself, however, did really catch my attention. I am curious as to where these characters might go and I'm mainly more interested in seeing more of Baihu. For a debut, this isn't bad, and I think that this author does have potential.

This was a gripping read - and a particularly powerful one given the current political landscape. Themes of settler colonialism and extractive colonialism were some of the core drivers of the narrative and I appreciated the nuances of illustrating both types of colonialism through the various members of the Agustus family, as well as the final note that at the end of the day, no matter how pretty the words used to describe it are, colonialism does nothing but take, slaughter, and destroy. The conflict in this book is both currently relevant and deeply rooted in history, giving the political, moral, and ethical stakes a strong grounding in reality which lends the narrative extra weight. However, given that, I did find the Earth-esque world being called Rome to be a bit on the nose for my taste.

Ruying can be a frustrating yet relatable protagonist throughout most of the book but her flaws are necessary for the satisfaction of her overall character arc. I think some readers will find her harder to understand than others, or at least be less sympathetic to her choices, but I think that Ruying is powerfully human in her motivations and weaknesses. I did find the romance to be a negative addition, though; while I could understand how complicated feelings could grow in this situation, it didn't play out in a believable enough way to work for me.

Overall, I was enthralled by this book, from the world-building to the narrative, and am very excited to read the sequel and see where Ruying's story goes from here. Thank you to Del Ray and NetGalley for this ARC!

Pangu is a world rich with magic. Rome is a world full of science. The Romans invaded Pangu and ruled it with guns for over twenty years.

Yang Ruying is blessed / cursed with death magic but she is exchanging time of her life with each use of the magic. Basically her life is getting shorter with each use. She is struggling to keep her family safe, her sister is addicted to opian, a drug the Romans are selling that is supposed to make the magic stronger. She lost her father to this drug and is determined not to lose her sister.
Her childhood friend / almost first love is now serving the Romans against his own people. Selling his dignity and identity for power and riches.
Her best friend is serving the country but also fighting the revolution.
A prince find out about her power. He tracked her down and forced her to submit and work for him.

We follow the story where a nation is suppressed and treated like a lower breed. We can feel the humiliation, injustice and rage as the story unfolds.

We witness the characters being cornered and having no option but to choose between two evils. I can relate to each character and understand the choices they made. Now I understand fully the meaning of ‘Everyone is the hero of their own story. Everyone is a villain in someone else's story’.

The plot twist at the end of the book is mind blowing! I have so much to say about the book but I want my review to be spoiler free.

The devastating truth is that the cruelty of humans where a race is suppressing another for merely existing isn’t just in books and stories.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC.

Ruying, born under the shadow of defeat and blessed with the chilling touch of Death, walks a tightrope between vengeance and survival in this captivating fantasy. Torn between loyalty to her conquered people and the seductive promises of a foreign prince, her Gift becomes a double-edged sword, promising safety for her family at the cost of her own life force. Can she navigate the political minefield, wielding her deadly power against corrupt foes, or will love and ambition blind her to the true price of salvation? This compelling tale of sacrifice, power, and impossible choices promises to keep you on the edge of your seat, questioning who deserves to live and who deserves to die. Get ready to dive into a world where death is a bargaining chip, and loyalty itself hangs in the balance.

This book was hard. It is very bleak.

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to like it. But, I almost hate it. Almost, but not quite.

The beginning chunk was hard to get through. (It took me twice.) Ruying ruminates on the bleakness of her world, the hatred, the suffering. All of this, and learning that Ruying has a twin sister, who her friends are, and how she meets Antony could have been handled in a chapter or two. Instead, we get Ruying repeating herself constantly for the first 20-30% of the book.

And just as it finally starts to get good, it ends. With no closure. No hope. (But it is a pivotal moment for Ruying and Antony.)

Many folks don't like the hint of enemies to lovers. For me it worked. It's subtle, the changes the characters are going through. Antony is doing some terrible things. But, there are signs that his feelings for Ruying is changing him. At first, she's the means to an end. An assassin. A grudging respect grows to affection. Could he still be using her? Maybe, but I want to believe his character has more depth to him than that. Otherwise, what is the point of him even caring for Ruying? For saving her? For the change in his character? Will he have a redemption arc? I hope so.

Just as the story finally gets moving, it abruptly ends. If the sequel was available now, I'd pick it up just to have closure. To see what happens between Ruying, Antony, and Baihu. Who is the Phantom? Can there be a happy ending where both worlds are saved? Can Antony make good on his promise, can the sacrifice by the one emperor bear the fruit he hopes for?

And because I want to know what happen next, I'm giving 4 stars instead of 3.

Thank you so much to Del Rey and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review of one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. It pains me to rate and review To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods this way, but it must be done. I was SO excited for the release of this book, and when it became evident that the writing would not be living up to my expectations, I tried my hardest to adjust my expectations. Even then, I could not get behind the writing or the characters. There was a lot of talk. The characters were not memorable or even enjoyable to read. It dragged most of the time; the characters and the plot felt like they had no sense of direction and were just there because that's what the author liked. This book was in severe need of editing... everywhere, and I had to force myself to finish it at a certain point. So much has gone into this book from the marketing to the gorgeous cover and the first edition glam that the publisher is putting towards this book and it just... didn't live up to it. Gorgeous book, though. I just wish everything in it was better.

2.5 stars.