To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is a science fiction clash of cultures. The Romans, a science based culture, have basically destroyed their world so they decide to conquer Er-Lang, a magic based culture.

Ruying has the magical power of death. Desperate to save her family, she enters into a bargain with Antony, a Roman prince. Both the revolution and the prince want her to work for them. Can Ruying chart a course that she can live with while she is being pressured by everyone she knows?

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what this author releases in the future.

2.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Del Rey for this advanced copy! You can pick up To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods on April 16, 2024.

This book had all of the elements I love in a high fantasy book: a mythology-inspired world with a complex magic system, powerful main characters, and an enemies-to-lovers romance. Unfortunately, despite the incredible premise, the execution of these elements didn't hit home for me.

Within the first few pages, I was confused by the extreme info dumping that happened within the two characters' dialogue. That quickly became a theme throughout the rest of the book, with heavy-handed parts of the world explained to the reader in long, chunky paragraphs. Sometimes these paragraphs were all in the main character's head, and sometimes they were literally spoken aloud, by two characters who definitely already knew all this information.

I sympathized with Ruying's struggles, especially her moral conflict in helping her enemy. But so much of this book we spend in Ruying's head as she ruminates on this dilemma over and over again. Personally, I prefer more action in my high-fantasy novels to break up the contemplative moments, but these were endless tirades about how what she was doing was wrong, but she had to do it to survive.

I think this author's writing style just wasn't for me, as she used a lot of short, declarative sentences that repeated the same sentiment over and over again. For example, “The end of Er-Lang. The end of us. Apocalypse, as Antony had called it.” It was a bit too dramatic for me, but perhaps these moments hit more emotionally for other readers.

Overall, it felt like not much happened plot-wise? I really wish there'd been more pivotal moments to move the book along, aside from Ruying's constant internal dilemma. Don't get me wrong, I love a morally conflicted character, but these thoughts never led to any true growth for Ruying. She tended to repeat the same arguments to herself over and over again with no change or resolution.

And lastly, there was the enemies-to-lovers romance. Except they weren't just enemies, they were colonizer and colonized. I fully support the fact that the author chose to incorporate elements of her history into this book, but the whole time reading it, I just got a massive ick from the main "love interest." I really hoped we were getting a Darkling situation, where we weren't supposed to support the relationship, and the MC would realize the person was wrong for them by the end of the book. But we never really get that closure???

I think that's all I have to say. While I love the cover and support the author on her debut journey, this book really just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy!!! I love a good destroy the people in "charge" story and this has the slow burn to start that up with the potential to see other worlds. A fun mix of sci-fi and fantasy. I can't wait to see how this continues.

I am obsessed with this book, and I will be ordering it the moment it comes out! Let's just cover the basics of this book...
-Enemies to lovers
-EXTREME slow-burn
-THE MAGIC SYSTEM!?!
-World building is perfection
- Chinese cultures and myths
-love triangle
and literally so much more! This book is in my top five of best books I have read in 2023 and I sooooo highly suggest it for whomever may be reading this review. I cant wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book and also to read the second book when it comes out! Instant favorite!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ruying has been feared since the discovery of her gift, although Ru considers being blessed by Death ANYTHING but a gift. When the second oldest prince of the invaders learns of her powers, Ru must make the ultimate choice: fight for the enemy or lose her family.
Ignoring the obvious flaw (romance between colonizer and oppressed), I enjoyed the fundamentals of this book! The magic, and the price of magic, was super interesting. The timeline was a tad confusing but the time jumps made sense. Definitely needs editing. The different POV or narration chapters seemed out of place; they didn't happen frequently enough and only really happened to pass time or give explanation to the reader.

*projected release date: April 15th 2024*
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Balantine for the Advance Reader Copy

I rate this book a 3.5 stars

This book really delves into the grey areas of the human experience. Is it ok to watch as others suffer for the sake of the few? Is it ok to throw caution to the wind in a sense of justice even if it means sacrificing the people close to you? Should you go against your beliefs in order to survive or is there a point where you have put your foot down and fight back, whatever the consequences may be?

I loved how this was something Ruying struggled with constantly. I love how she had to choose what bravery meant to her and if she was willing to be brave. However, she very quickly became attached to Antony despite hating him and thinking him a monster without us really seeing the progression of her change of opinion. While the writing made sure to state that she never fully trusted him, The switch between hating him to defending him to her sister and everyone close to her and being genuine about it was too fast. The jobs that she had been given to kill which led to her becoming attached to him was glossed over.

I feel like since we are reading this in Ruying's POV we need to also experience what she did so that we can also be right there with her defending Antony and feeling conflicted when the people we care about view him as a monster. I never felt attached to him because I never was given the chance to be, like the book says Ruying was, because it was skipped over. Instead I always thought of him as the enemy.

I like how much this book reminded me of other works I've read or watched before. It was interesting to see morally grey motives at work, it really makes you think what you would do in a characters shoes.

I would have greatly appreciated a map of some sort to understand how the world was laid out. There are too many places to keep track of what is being talked about. A bit confusing for me to follow. Outside of that the book kept pace well, it was easy to read.

I'm not sure I quite got it, is Ruying the Girl Blessed by Death? They didn't say it nearly enough times. Some parts were reminiscent of The Hunger Games.

About half way through the book Meiya says something like "mama would have been ashamed of you" like how would you even know?? I don't get the whole tension between the twins. Meiya is an addict and blames Ru for everything? Excuse me?

The will they won't they between Antony and Ruying kept me on my toes. I was weary about Antony (as we the reader are supposed to be) I wanted so badly to believe he was doing this all for peace. In a way he reminds me of Light Yagami from Death Note, the death note being Ruying.

The Phantom reminded me of Amon from Legend of Korra, I needed something similar to make it feel real because for a majority of the book it didn't seem like Phantom was a real thing until they were attacking Ru and Antony.

This story while set in a magical world has themes that are ever present in our society, drugs, colonization, plays for power, even genocide.

For all the reasons people are dragging this book I think it just highlights what is happening in the world, what happens when people who have power take advantage of those they're oppressing. The romance is disturbing in a disturbing world. That's the point right? It's supposed to make you uncomfortable. I will say toward the end when Antony is trying to explain why he's done what he's done I almost didn't finish...it was a bit much.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

An intriguing start to a series, the plot was easy to follow. I loved the morally grey characters. The world building was captivating and vivid. Looking forward to more from this author.

I had some difficulty wrapping my mind around parts of this book's setting. I get precolonial China but with magic. I get scientifically advanced Roman empire. I even make it so far as these two worlds being connected through a hazy portal in the sky. Then, I get a little lost at how the two cultures have interacted since then.

I can see how people have interacted, but the cultures do seem to stay separate, even as the Romans infiltrate Er-Lang, subjugate its people, and build a city in their own image. They raze half of Jing-City for their gated community. But they also prefer to hang out on the other side of the Fence because it feels less empty. The natives know basics about guns and tech, but they understand so little about it, even though they've been in such close proximity for years.

But I digress. I found this book fascinating, and I like Ruying as a character. She isn't a martyr, she knows and feels the moral consequences of her actions. But she stays true to her original directive of protecting the ones she cares about. That is consistent through all her choices, though protecting everyone she cares about gets complicated when she grows to care about Antony.

It makes sense. Only like 3 people have ever been good to her. Her twin sister is pretty awful. Her father was awful. All the people her age shunned her after she accidentally killed a boy who was Trying To Drown Her. But Meiya still had friends, and people saw her as strong and brave and good because she and her gift were the opposites of Ruying and hers.

Because she's received so little kindness in her life, Ruying clings desperately to anyone who shows her affection. Anyone who even attempts to understand her. Antony respects her power and intelligence. He quickly finds that she will do anything for her family - even become a murderer or possibly condemn her world to eventual destruction. She just wants to keep them safe as long as possible.

On the other hand, the Phantom and rebels have only ever shamed her for being a coward or a traitor. Even as no one has ever actually offered her any help or alternative. There are reasons Ruying feels like she has no choices. No one tells her anything.

I'm interested to see where this series goes and will definitely pick up the next installment at least.

Heroes die, cowards live. Daughter of a conquered world, Ruying hates the invaders who descended from the heavens long before she was born and defeated the magic of her people with technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen.

Blessed by Death, born with the ability to pull the life right out of mortal bodies, Ruying shouldn’t have to fear these foreign invaders, but she does. Especially because she wants to keep herself and her family safe.

When I read the synopsis for this book I was really excited to read it, but it unfortunately fell flat for me. The story was hard to get into as it was slow-paced and needed more world-building. As for the romance, I did not really see the chemistry between the characters and felt that it was more forced.

I love love love this book. I have read Six Crimson Cranes and The Daughter of The Moongoddess. I’m not exaggerating when I say this book is written just as beautifully and whimsically. This author immediately went on my buy list. Anything she writes, I plan on buying.

A YA Asian mythology story perfect for fans of Elizabeth Lim and Axie Oh. I devour teen girl assassin stories like they're candy, and this one was no exception. Ruying is basically Hades reincarnate and uses her powers to defend her family and home from invaders. When she has to make a deal with an enemy prince (a swoonworthy storyline!) that involves using her godly powers, the twist is that her powers actually harm her too. The lore of this new series is intricate, but still accessible to teen readers exploring this genre. Ruying reminds me of teen girl heroes like Kim Possible and Celaena Sardothien from the "Throne of Glass" series. I can't wait to see her develop her powers more as the series goes along!

Beautifully complex debut novel.

Story grabs you right away and drags you in this beautiful world of magic and traditions, This book deals with some harsh subject matter and a lot of political subjects. Which I normally don’t like but it wove in beautifully. The world building and magic system was so interesting I was so impressed with the concepts. I would recommend this book to fantasy lovers… can’t wait for book 2 !!!

I had a hard time gathering my thought into a coherent thoughts. As I was reading I took notes, but after finishing I left the review unwritten. But coming back to it I still couldn’t write. MC not a villain, just a victim. I’m not a fan of this troupe. A lot of inner dialogue and exposition makes scenes feel long. Long dialogue dumps/chunks. Repetitive, same information, makes story slow. Not a fan of the female main character, she gives up so much just to listen to her sister and everyone complain and belittle her. Male main character is an awful person, if the author was trying to make him more likeable, hard miss. Themes like racism and sexism is approached but put in a poor light.
The ending was too little too late for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for ARC. I received my copy in exchange of an honest review.

To Gaza Upon Wicked Gods is the first book in a new Dystopian Fantasy series which contains:
Enemies to Lovers
Science Vs Magic
Slow Burn Romance
There is just One Bed!
Shatter Me Vibes
And Asian history inspiration.
When I requested for this book, I didn't know anything about it. I just saw a gorgeous and stunning cover and a title that below my mind. So I sent my request and thankfully my request was approves.
Our heroine is Ruying, a yung girl who can control Death. She can kill a man just with moving her fingers.
Ruying lives in a world that is conquered by ruthless invaders from another world. One day, a portal opend up in the sky and then those invaders came from it with their flying machines based on scince, A thing that is unknowable for people who lived their entire lives with magic and supernatural powers.
Now, in this war between since and magic, and the war between invaders and those who lost their homes and land, Ruying must decide how to play her role in all of this...
This book was different from all the fantasy books I read before. I really enjoyed the plot line. Those differences between this two world's cultures, religions and believes.
My heart get broken when I read about the people who their world, their land and their homes were got conquered by foreigners but they couldn't do anything. They must kneel and obey the rules cause their hands was empty and the enemies hands was full of guns and bombs.
But, is there "A life on the knees a life at all" ?!
I liked our main characters, Ruying and Antony. Despite all the monologues that Ruying was saying throughout the story and reminded me of Juliet from the Shatter Me series. Oh, come on girl. Stop that. You are too much talkative -_-
After all of this, I really want to say that I enjoyed reading this book and I absolutely want to read the next book ASAP.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang🪐

You’ll Like This If You’re Into:
1. Slow plot movement with lots of internal monologue 💭
2. Enemies to Allies to lovers…(?!?) 🔪
3. Dark and twisted themes
4. Asian inspired worlds


This Wasn’t for Me Because:
1. World Building 🪐: The premise of this book seemed promising, but it left me feeling disappointed. It felt like a rough first draft that needed more characterization, depth, and refined world-building.
2. Info Dumping 📖: The excessive info-dumping and reliance on "telling, not showing" made it challenging to immerse myself in the story.
3. Off Page Action 🎥: The action often felt summarized or occurred off-page, leaving me wanting a more immersive experience.
4. Character Motivations 📜: The character motivations needed further development, especially given the importance of family in the story.
5. Bland Romance 💔: The romance felt bland, lacking the depth and trust-building required to make it believable.


Character Chemistry: ★☆☆☆☆
Plot Progression: ★★☆☆☆
Writing Style: ★★☆☆☆
Memorability: ★★☆☆☆
Overall: ★★☆☆☆

I really wanted to find something to appreciate in "To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods" by Molly X. Chang, but it proved to be a slow and repetitive journey. The protagonist's constant dwelling on themes and emotions left me unengaged, and I struggled to find any likable characters. The story's potential could be better realized in an adult novel, as the mature themes hinted at aren't explored deeply enough for a teen audience. The world-building, though intriguing, lacks depth, and the conflict resolution between the two cultures appears bleak. This novel seems uncertain about its identity and feels unoriginal.

I was initially excited about this book, drawn in by its intriguing concept of magic versus science and its exploration of environmental themes and moral dilemmas. However, the execution fell short for me. The writing was decent, but the initial info-dumping might be off-putting for some readers. The main character, Ruying, came across as naive, and her unwavering refusal to kill, even in life-or-death situations, hindered my engagement. The romance was unconvincing, and the characters felt ill-suited for each other, with trust developing too quickly. Overall, I see potential in the story, but I'm uncertain if it will come to fruition. I am unlikely to continue reading the next book in the series.

Rating: ⭐️2

The premise of this book was exactly something I should have loved and devoured....except I ended up being so disappointed in this. I don't say this lightly, but this very much felt like a first draft that needed a few more rounds of edits to add more characterization and depth and to make the world-building and plot more seamless.

The info-dumping was atrocious. I normally don't mind info-dumping but even this was too much for me. There was also frequently a lot of "telling, not showing".

So much of the action and events felt like they were summarized or happened off-page instead instead of having the action unfold on-page. And there were quite a few times where RuYing would explain away some info she knew or some talent of hers as "something her Grandmother taught her" instead of taking the time to explain. Perhaps using a flashback of her being taught, or inserting a personal annodcate would have help. Doing that could have also helped make the readers care more towards RuYing's family. For the character being all about family, the readers sure aren't given any crumbs from them to endear them to us. They weren't developed at ALL and seem to only be served as a vague reason for the MC to obey/ work for Anthony. I needed to feel her terror for her family and for her life, but instead I felt nothing. I think the motivations behind the characters need to be developed more and expanded upon because a fantasy book can't hold up with something this philmsy.

And don't get me even started on the romance. It's bland. It gives nothing!! She's so quick to trust him just because he "comforts her" after she kills somebody....and that seems to be it? He's given no personality besides being a colonizer that is using her so I truly can't fathom the ending or why she decides he's trustworthy....

A fun read with a unique story, this novel was one that I didn't want to put down. Ruyang is a very likeable character and it's very easy to sympathize with her as she's forced into making life-altering decisions. We definitely spend a lot of time in her head - learning how each side works/thinks, the internal struggles she faces as she tries to do what she believes is right. While I enjoyed the story, and am interested in reading the sequel, I wish more had happened. I understand the need to explain the world and set up certain events but I feel like more could've happened story-wise. This book is nearly 400 pages and there was so much filler that there wasn't any more space for plot. Again, definitely enjoyed it but it fell short.