I will, straight up, read anything that H.E. Edgmon writes. He has been one of the nicest, friendliest authors I have ever interacted with - and the kindness he has shown my students has won him a special place in all of our hearts. Just, putting that out there to start.

Godly Heathens was one of my favorite reads of 2023. Nonbinary representation among a whole host of other queer rep, indigenous rep, and a story of teenagers being allowed to be terrible people. It was artful. Merciless Saviors, meanwhile, is a whole different kind of beast. It ramps the fantastical elements of the first book up to eleven as we leave Georgia - and humanity - behind. If the last book was a story of teenagers sometimes doing terrible things, then this is a story of what happens when that humanity is stripped away. It's violent and horrifying and none of these characters are particularly likable - certainly not Gem, the lead - but it's made all the better for that, and the ending all the more rewarding.

Genuinely the only real downside is the rapid epilogue and a bit too much discussion about timelines (is time linear or does everything happen all at once?) for my taste.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm just going to dive into this fresh off of my read. I enjoyed the first book in this duology, Godly Heathens, and it ended in a way that made me desperate for the sequel. I was very happy I was able to get my hands on an early copy and find out what happens next. Ultimately, this just didn't work for me. The formatting and jumps between scenes and times and worlds just became too much for me. None of it was smooth enough and overall I just really struggled to comprehend everything. (Though here I will admit it was a quick read, the language and style made it very easy to fly through in a few hours.) While I do still love our main three, the side characters fell apart for me here. They really became just set decoration which was sad because they had some of my favorite scenes in the first book. I also feel like we lost a lot of the humor that was in the first book in this one.

The lyrical writing in this remains impeccable though. H.E. Edgmon is capable of penning some really truly beautiful lines and that plus my fondness for Gem, Enzo, and Rory really saved the book for me. I'm a little conflicted now because I was planning on purchasing the beautiful Illumicrate set that was announced but now I'll have to think on this. I will continue to look forward to any work H.E. Edgmon writes because I do really love their writing, this one just wasn't quite for me.

Picking up directly from the previous novel, Gem's enraged decision to murder another member of their pantheon and assume his powers has had dire consequences. Now everyone's abilities are corrupted by this perversion of the balance. The only thing holding Gem together is the fierce love of Rory, god of the land, and Enzo, god of the forbidden. The rest of the gods are either vengeful or deranged. Whatever they do to fix the chaos they've wrought on two worlds, it's going to hurt like hell. More recapping and less POV switching would have made the plot a lot easier to follow. Those trigger warnings aren't kidding around.

Merciless Saviors is the conclusion to the Ouroboros duology. I really liked Godly Heathens and this book picks up right after the cliffhanger. It took me a few chapters to reorient myself in the story but I really enjoy the writing and characters created by H. E. Edgmon. I like this theme of surrealism and experimentation we see in this novel. It’s a little weird but it kept me coming back to the book.

Gem, Enzo, and Rory are the focus this time around as their powers go haywire, the magic is out of balance and their friendship and alliance are tested.

One of the main plot points that stands out to me is Gem’s identity struggle. There were many internal battles in their head and that’s prevalent throughout the whole book.

Much of the story and focus is very confusing here unfortunately. One issue I had was the jumping of timelines and places. There is very little to no world building or descriptions of surroundings and how characters are moving about. Looking back at this as a whole, it’s a coming of age story but also learning to accept their gender identity.

The narration by Avi Roque was engaging, I felt like they showcased each of the characters’ unique personalities. The delivery was clear and able to evoke emotions for the protagonist.

Thank you Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. A great follow up to Godly Heathens! This book really extends the intensity of the first one! I love the in depth look at trauma and how that can factor into someone’s life. Especially when looking at concepts like good and evil. Some tough topics so definitely something to think about before reading but H.E. explores them in a respectful and careful manner. With that there is a lot of character depth and it will definitely have you feeling the feels! Absolutely recommend checking this one out!

This was a good second book for the Ouroboros duology. While I don't think it was as captivating as the original, I think that this book tied up some nice ends. I think this may have benefitted from a third book, to add more drama and battles, as this felt sometimes both as filler but also a bit rushed in some aspects (or at least I wanted more information about some things). I think this is a fascinating premise, and these books do the concept a decent amount of justice. I definitely will pick up other books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really enjoyed Godly Heathens, so I couldn't wait for the sequel; however, I didn't have the same excitement for this book.
Merciless Saviors by HE Edgmon picks up immediately where Godly heathens leaves off and it doesn't pull any punches. I respect the commitment to the body horror and the trauma, I usually don't love body horror, but there is something about Edgmon's prose that does it for me. It's the perfect balance of the grotesque and biting wit.
I also found that I had a hard time following the narrative, and found myself a bit lost jumping between the humans and the Gods perspectives. I think that might be what made me less excited about this one. Gem and the gang all knew they were Gods and had access to their memories. They mystery wasn't there. I really enjoyed the discovery and the stumbling around in the realization of the first book- it was very grown up, queer Percy Jackson. The characters knowing they were Gods and knowing eons of shared history took some of the fun out of it for me.
I know I said that I needed more poly relationships in YA since reading Iron Widow, but this was not what I wanted. I could not get on board for Enzo. Enzo as a villain? Sign me up! But Enzo as Gem and Rory's boyfriend? Ugh. I don't know why. I cannot explain it.
Overall, I am not mad I read the book, and I am very content with the epilogue, but I can't help but feel a little let down after how incredible book 1 was. I give this 3 out of 5 stars.

HE Edgmon is a fantastic author. Great follow up to the first book. No spoilers from me! I am absolutely satisfied with this as a sequel and think people will love it!

"The stunning conclusion to the Ouroboros series, a contemporary fantasy duology in which a teen, Gem, finds out they're a reincarnated god from another world.

That day at the First Church of Gracie changed everything for Gem Echols, and not just because Marian and Poppy betrayed them. Forced to use the Ouroboros knife on Zephyr, who had kidnapped their parents, Gem now has the power of the God of Air.

While for any other god things might work out okay, the Magician - whose role within the pantheon is to keep the balance - having the power of another god has thrown everything into chaos. The Goddess of Death can now reanimate corpses; the God of Art's powers are now corrupted and twisted, giving life to his macabre creations; and, while the God of Land has always been able to communicate with creatures of the Earth, now everyone can hear their cries.

As Gem, Rory, and Enzo search for a way to restore the balance without sacrificing themselves, new horrors make them question how far they're willing to go. In the end, Gem may be forced to fully embrace their merciless nature and kill off their own humanity - if it ever really existed in the first place."

I like that the God of Art is giving off some serious Dorian Gray vibes.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Merciless Saviors by H. E. Edgmon is the conclusion to YA contemporary fantasy The Ouroboros duology. Gem, Enzo, and Rory now have to deal with the aftermath of Gem taking the powers of another god and throwing everything out of balance. More than that, they might have a chance to return to their former dimension, the Ether.

I was really excited for this book because I loved Godly Heathens so much. Gem, Enzo, and Rory’s polyamorous relationship continues to develop over the course of the story and their feelings for each other are given weight and complexity.

Gem is struggling with some parts of their past they aren’t ready to confront while their powers go haywire.

I wanna say smart things about this book, but everything smart I have to say occurs in the second half. There’s some really interesting ideas and discussions of themes that will resonate with readers young and old. I’m glad readers of YA have books like this.

Content warning for mentions of CSA and gore.

I would recommend this to fans of Godly Heathers, readers looking for fantasy books with Indigenous protagonists, and readers of YA fantasy searching for polyamorous romances.

Unbelievable that HE Edgmon continues to get better and better. I loved this even more than the first one in this series!

Merciless Saviors was even more than what I wanted as a wrap up to The Ouroboros duology. It was exciting, fantastical, and simply everything that make a great queer fantasy book! Picking up STRAIGHT from where Godly Heathens left off was such a fun way to kick things off that I personally haven't experienced in a book and I actually went back and reread Godly Heathens before continuing Merciless Saviors. Edgmon's writing is genuinely some of my favorite in YA, and the relatability of Gem sometimes hit too hard. There were several recent pop culture references scattered throughout that made this book such a fun and easy read, and I'm looking forward to purchasing it on it's release to complete the duology on my shelf!

I loved and adored the first book. However I did not really re read the first one before diving into this, which is my fault.

While there are a few spots where the book helps you out, this is obviously not the recommended way to read the book. There were periods I was confused and lost. But again, that's my own fault.

Past the confusion of my own making, some of the book broke down for me about halfway through. I'm not really sure what wasn't working for me, but it just wasn't. I wanted to love this.

I think this author is amazing and I'll keep reading their work. Honestly, I'll probably re read book one and then retry this book at a later stage.

I was attracted to this title for the following reasons: It is the sequel to one of the first NetGalley books that I reviewed. I adored Godly Heathens and wanted to know what would happen next as soon as I finished the first book. I requested it before the Boycott of Saint Martin's Press. The cover is amazing and captures that same otherworldly air that the first cover did.

I cannot currently provide a review due to the Saint Martin's Press boycott as we await a public statement against racism and assurance of safety for reviewers information. I will be more than happy to provide more feedback and a proper review once the boycott is over.

Review of Merciless Saviors:

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.75 Rounded up. My only critique is the pacing. Sometimes the pages would drag on and other moments I wanted to stay further in.

I've been waiting for the second installment of this duology since I devoured the first book Godless Heathens. Merciless Saviors starts right off where the first book ended. The book throws you in without a safety net and while there are moments of explanation in case you forgot - for me the first book and this one will be very difficult to forget. There were moments where I thought I was lost in what I was reading, which made sense once I got through that section. It really showcased the confusion that the MC, Gem, was going through during that time.

I highly recommend checking out the trigger warnings that are listed at the beginning of this book as Merciless Saviors dives deeper into the issues more than Godless Heathens. The gender commentary is not as prevalent in this book as it was in Godless Heathens, which did not detract from the impact of it. The first book had it as the forefront where now it goes to the back and is more subtle in its reveals. This book focuses on the trauma and healing of that keeping in mind the logic and emotions of what teenagers feel, no matter how messed up.

Ultimately, the duology and this book in particular are a love story. A story of self-love, looking into yourself and figuring out the jumbled mess of gender and sexuality while finding those that you can be yourself: the good, the bad, and the ugly. And they still love you because of how utterly human you are.

I love this series! So we begin again with Gem, Rory, and Enzo, battling it out on earth. They go through so many tribulations and I am so here for it.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of how mean Gem was when she got “home” but she recovered.
Enzo and Rory is a relationship I don’t quite understand and I’m okay with that.
There was so much drama in this story and I really hope we get another. I will be here waiting!

4/5 stars! Recommend to folks who love gods, self-discovery, love, maybe a sprinkle of magic as well!

**Thank you to NetGalley for proving a free review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am still trying to figure out how I feel about this book.
I was *so* excited for this book. I loved the first one. The second one felt... messier. There was a lot of time distortion lines. It was hard to follow past/ present/ not present. It was hard to follow the names of the humans vs the god names; I felt like I missed a chunk of the story. Maybe I didn't remember the first book as much as I should have, maybe it would have helped.

I sometimes wondered if this was supposed to be one solid book. Maybe it would have flowed better.

Despite my feelings, I very much love the characters. I love Enzo. I want more of Gem. I recommend.

Gem’s life completely changed last year when they learned that they’re actually a reincarnated god. And after using the Ouroboros knife to kill a different god at the end of the year, now everything is out of balance. Because in addition to their original powers, Gem now has the power of the god of air.

Now it is up to Gem, Rory, and Enzo to put things back in balance. The tricky part will be figuring out how to do that without any of them sacrificing their lives–or their humanity. As new dangers start popping up, they have to decide if their godly powers are worth it.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Merciless Saviors by HE Edgmon to review! I was hooked by the first book in the duology, Godly Heathens, last year, so I was excited to read the sequel. And it did not disappoint! If you enjoyed the characters and the driving plot from the first book, you will be just as hooked in the second.

Where Edgmon excels in this book is the character work. Gem, Rory, and Enzo are complex, interesting characters, and their relationships reflect that. There’s an underlying theme of found family all throughout this book, which is absolutely one of my favorite tropes. And such an important theme for queer characters as well, whose own families might reject them for who they are.

Plot wise, the beginning of the book is stronger than the second half of the book. The plot loses itself a little towards the end, but Edgmon is still able to bring everything full circle by the time the book is finished. And it is an overall satisfying ending for these characters that you’ve come to love.

I wish more series were just duologies because I think they work so much better than longer series (for the most part). Edgmon is excelling at creating dark fantasy worlds, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

An amazing conclusion to a beautiful duology. The pacing, the story telling, character development and representation had me flying through this read. Merciless Saviors was an emotional rollercoaster and an impeccable read.

Merciless Saviors is the sequel to Godly Heathens. I liked the first book and felt as though I had some idea of what to expect going into reading this one. Overall, I liked the characters, plot and world building. The pacing was good, but there were times when I would get a little confused about whose perspective I was reading so I felt a little lost. It wasn't terrible but it was noticeable. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.