Book Summary:

Gem Echols life has been changed forever. They were betrayed, which isn’t as shocking as it should be. More importantly, the decisions they made in the heat of the moment will resonate in their worlds forever.

Now, Gem and the remaining gods have two choices: find a way to restore balance (ideally without losing their lives in the process) or let everything (and we do mean everything) fall apart.

My Review:

Ahh! I’ve been both looking forward to and dreading Merciless Saviors. It’s the second novel in The Ouroboros duology, and I knew it would hit like a sledgehammer (spoiler warning: I wasn’t wrong).

So, I may have put off reading it just a teeny tiny bit. That was probably a mistake because Merciless Saviors is a fantastic read. It’s dark and disturbing, with a ton of character development and even bigger stakes.

As with the first novel in this series, I should caution readers to check out the trigger warnings first. Merciless Saviors, in particular, has a new set of warnings, including involuntary pregnancy (and loss), suicidal ideation, and child sexual abuse.

I don’t know how I expected Gem to wrap up the mess that’s been created out of both worlds…but I was pleasantly surprised by everything that happened here. Again, it’s dark and twisted, but I was expecting that. The solution is oddly elegant and, dare I say, human.

Highlights:
Second half of a Duology
Fantasy Horror
Mythology & Gods
LGBTQ+

Trigger Warnings:
Child sexual abuse (recounted)
Suicidal Ideation
Animal Death
Involuntary Pregnancy
Graphic Details

Merciless Saviors had me on the edge of my seat and excited to see the other world the gods came from. The best part of the book are the characters they are so complex but also grow and learn from themselves. I really appreciate the care that went into each character. H. E. Edgmon is an auto read author for me now. Each book I read is even more addicting.

This book was honestly so confusing. I got lost many times and I just wish I love this story more. A polycule and trans characters? It should've been up my alley. But unfortunately it was really hard to keep up and all the issues I had with the first book only got enhanced with the second. The romances still felt forced and the plot threads of what was happening in the god world was lost on me and I didn't really understand what was happening due to how flippant it was towards their human lives but then trying to instill what is god and what is human. I did enjoy how much more "The Mountain" was fleshed out in the story and she became the only enjoyable part of the story for me but unfortunately the rest of the story it was still too many characters to remember and their roles.

4.0 / 5.0

Just as intense and satisfying as the first book, Merciless Saviors end the duology nicely.

Until Next Time,
MC

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

Representation: Queer and nonbinary Seminole MC with mental health struggles, nearly all queer supporting cast, many of them also BIPOC.

Rating: 5/5 This absolutely blew me away. Godly Heathens was amazing, and this follow up just increased my appreciation of Edgmon’s writing. This is vicious and horrible and gorgeous. We see more of the gods, their domains, how those can influence the others’, and more of their true godhood, not just their mortal forms. I absolutely recommend reading this duology, but be ready for a lot of conflicting feelings and emotions all over the place.

10/10 . This book was so good that I had to purchase a physical copy. I wish that this series didn’t have to come to an end. The ending was beautiful. Realizing your power and who you are is such a beautiful experience.

AMAZING !!!
The author never disappoints this book is even better than the first book and the first book was excellent. The characters have so much emotional depth and complexity to them.

I believe this book is one that gets better and better every time it is read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC copy they provided.

I looked forward to this book with bated breath, but was unable to read it and leave a meaningful review before publication. I will definitely be reading Merciless Saviors some time soon, and leave a fuller, and more in depth review, but for the moment, I will still be waiting with bated breath for what is sure to be an exquisite finale to H.E. Edgmon’s Ouroboros series.

"**Merciless Saviors**" by H.E. Edgmon is a gripping and darkly immersive fantasy that delves into themes of power and betrayal with intense storytelling. Edgmon’s compelling characters and intricate plot twists make for a captivating and thought-provoking read.

This was a nice conclusion to the duology. I did get somewhat confused with the time jumps (life jumps?) and it was more gory than I expected.

I rated the first book three stars and finished wanting to find out what happens next, but this book left me unsatisfied. As the story went on, the characters became more and more unlikable. I think I liked the relationship between the side characters more than the main relationship. The sudden change in format felt unnatural and did not mesh well with me. I liked the moments of connection between Gem, their mother, and their grandmother. I wish we could have seen more moments like that. Overall, the concept of the book was well done but I personally did not finish the book with a love for the series.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

what’s it about? ⬇️

Picking up soon after the shockingly violent events that closed out the first book, Merciless Saviors focuses far more on the lives of Gem Echols (formerly "The Magician" in their world) and their counterparts in their godly forms as they return to and refamiliarize themselves with the home world they fled and abandoned centuries ago. But of course, things have changed back home, just as they have changed on earth, and the changes to Gem, Rory, and Enzo's surroundings are nothing compared to the changes that each of them are experiencing with their powers and abilities shifting and changing now that the balance has been lost.

All in all, Merciless Saviors is a tale of finding oneself in the aftermath of loss and change, and deciding through that discovery what sort of person you wish to become and how to keep going forward. That's as much as I think I can say without giving too much away because holy cow did this book come back hitting even harder than the first at some points.

my thoughts? ⬇️

While the first is still my favorite of this incredible duology, I loved so much of Merciless Saviors and the journey Gem/The Magician goes on to take on memories of their past both on Earth and in their old home world and to learn from those memories and traumas and still find a way to move forward. As a whole, this story was deep and cutting and touched on so many difficult topics in ways that still pull the reader far enough out of reality to make them more bearable to focus on. I related to so much of Gem's journey in this book, caught myself multiple times wondering what that said about me as a person, and then quickly chose to follow Gem and the others through to the end to see how things went for them. And I wasn't disappointed. Edgmon's characters took on even more life in this second part of the duology and almost became larger than life in a few ways, and having the story continue on from the first in the way that it did really helped to make the story feel complete and without gaps. Love love love.

trigger warnings ⬇️ (read at your own risk, some are pretty rough)

violence, death, gore, body horror, blood, torture, injury/injury detail, war, gun violence, fire/fire injury, self harm, suicide, suicide attempt, mental illness, panic attacks, ptsd, trauma, child abuse, sexual abuse, sexual assault, csa, rape, pedophilia, incest (attached to the previous), war, colonization, genocide, transphobia, animal death, terminal illness.

Fantastic and magical and traumatizing and confusing and heartbreaking and hopeful. This is the second book in a duology that is very much connected, so if you haven’t read Godly Heathens yet, you probably shouldn’t even be reading this review. Go read this and then come back.

This book was really hard for me to read. I actually started it in April as an ARC, got about 20% in, and was completely lost. I even thought the ebook I’d gotten from NetGalley might be corrupted because chapters were cut short and stream of consciousness and nothing seemed to flow. So I put it down for a few months, and then when I picked it up again next week, restarted from the beginning. Turns out nothing was wrong with my ebook - those quick shifts and fragmented chapters were an essential part of this story. A story of a child who was so terrified and traumatized by sexual abuse that they created magic out of air and a whole world in which they were in control, they were the ones deciding who lived and who died. Or at least that’s one way of looking at it.

Of course, there’s also the mind-bendy and confusing time-isn’t-linear and you’ve always been who you will be way of looking at it, and I’m afraid my mind doesn’t bend quite that far, because I can’t quite comprehend it. I’m not quite sure it even matters if the chicken or egg came first in this scenario, because in the end, we can choose who we want to be. Yes, we are responsible for our actions and must face the consequences of them, but our past character doesn’t define who we can be. You don’t have to be a bad person if you don’t want to be, especially if you have people who love and support you.

Gem struggles with self-hatred for so much of this book, and I think that’s part of the reason I had a hard time connecting with it at first. But when you realize that most of that self-hatred was instilled through abuse, it makes a whole lot more sense (and I want to give them a big hug and also punch some people with a fancy snake knife). I’ve never been through the things Gem has (and agree it’s bullshit to say going through those things somehow made them a better person), but I could feel their journey of pain and healing and self-discovery through every word of this book. I’m sure such personal things were difficult for the author to write, and I’m grateful he was willing to share them with us, especially those who have been through similar things.

As for the romance elements, the relationships at this point are more of a “of course we’re together, duh” because it’s so obvious how much they love and need one another. The true tension is whether they’ll allow themselves to be loved and supported by these people they clearly care about. There are some spicy elements, but I’d say only about 1🌶️/5 - but bear in mind that I absolutely cannot picture things in my head and they spent part of this book in their godly bodies, which were described in detail and I tried my best to picture and absolutely failed. So your mileage may vary, depending on your imagination and what you are into.

In a way, this book flips the first one on its head, but it’s less of a change of genre and more of a shift in perspective, or the adding of a 5th or 6th dimension. You have the surface fantasy of reincarnated gods on earth, battling to the death to return (or not) to their home. But beneath the surface is a personal and human story of trauma, regret, rebirth, and regeneration. I’m glad I stuck around for it.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

I will share my review after St. Martin's Press does the following:
1. Address and denounce the Islamophobia/racism from their employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how they’re going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to their BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

I said when reading the first book, that I struggled a bit at the story wasn’t for me. I am open to reading books with non-binary or queer agonist to help understand and inform. But a lot of the way these two books are written Make it inaccessible and uncomfortable for a regular reader just trying to get a glimpse. There’s a lot of anger and I had hoped after establishing the characters in the first story that part would go away, and we would get more of the godly backstory that I was there for. But at about 30%, I am giving up. I am not going to post a review anywhere because I did not finish. But I’m not someone who does books lightly.

The rating below is only because the system requires me.

I was really excited for this book, but unfortunately it just didn't captivate me as much as the first book. I think I should have read a recap of the first book because I was really confused for a while. I think it's very well written and a good book, just not as good as the first. Some of the gore was a bit too much for me.

3.5*

Merciless Saviors was a great follow on to Godless Heathens.

Edgmon continues to craft a fantastical story around a diverse cast of characters, bringing more of what readers loved from Gem's first book. As the stakes climb and powers grow, we're brought to the edge of sacrifice and self-worth.

I think that Edgmon is doing great work in terms of representation and diversity, and though I didn't love all of the themes in the book, I appreciated what they tried to achieve.

Very intense! Which was true of the first book also, but some of the body horror/gore in this one was tough for me (think Alien chest-burster scene but… more).
Overall, I thought this was a satisfying conclusion to the story and the narrative was gripping. I loved the relationship between Gem, Rory, and Enzo. It feels weird to say but I also appreciated the depiction of disassociation; representation of that experience is important.

When I read the first book in the series, Godly Heathens, I recognized I probably wasn't the audience the book aims for. However, I enjoyed it and this sequel. There are so many themes covered in this book and I loved that it was not a linear-time plot. It did make it a little difficult to follow but I've read other books by American Indigenous authors that are similar, and I've liked how they tie together with themes rather than dates. The end and epilogue were divine and I'm happy Gem had some resolution in their life. Definitely read the trigger warnings. However, all sexual scenes are fade-to-black, even the CSA thankfully. I would let my 16-year old read this but would not recommend it for younger due to the heavy themes. Maybe if read with a parent.

Having loved the first book, I was excited to dive into "Merciless Saviors" by H.E. Edgmon. The initial book set a strong foundation with its intriguing concept, even if the world-building was a bit sparse, particularly regarding the magical elements. I hoped the sequel would expand on this and fill in the gaps.

However, "Merciless Saviors" unfortunately shares the same world-building issues as its predecessor. While the plot is compelling and the stakes are high, the magical system remains underdeveloped and inconsistent. The story often leaves too much to the reader's imagination, failing to elaborate on why certain events occur. This inconsistency undermines the narrative's tension; one chapter establishes a rule about magic, only for the next to break it without clear reasoning. This "because magic" explanation feels cheap and lazy, detracting from the story's credibility.

Moreover, many action scenes fall flat, often ending in stalemates or resolving themselves within the fight, making their inclusion seem unnecessary. These scenes seem to exist more for visual effect than to drive the plot forward, and they aren't described vividly enough for the reader to visualize the action effectively.

The story follows Gem Echols, who now wields the power of the God of Air after being forced to use the Ouroboros knife on Zephyr. This imbalance in power wreaks havoc, leading to chaotic consequences for the pantheon of gods. As Gem, Rory, and Enzo strive to restore balance, they face new horrors that test their resolve and morality.

Despite its flaws, "Merciless Saviors" offers a gripping plot and complex characters that kept me reading. You still love and adore the questions; however, the inconsistency in the magic system and underwhelming action scenes leave much to be desired. If Edgmon can tighten these elements in future installments, the series has the potential to be truly exceptional.