There was a lot I enjoyed about this book. It was a unique idea and started off strong.
A pantheon of gods, forced out of their own world into ours by the machinations of some of their own, and now just wanting to live their lives (over and over and over apparently). The cast of characters was interesting and diverse. I would have liked some POV from some of the other gods, I think it would have given more depth to the storyline.

But some it just left me confused. Apparently Gem was meant to be a morally grey character. Were they though? Yes, they were conflicted, holding their teenage self and their (mostly unaware) god self inside them... but mostly they were, at least in my mind, a confused and angry teenager. Angry at their mom for taking them away from their father after his psychotic break and for trying to get them help when they are self harming and engaging in risky sexual behavior (yes, she made mistakes, but she was trying) angry at a small, southern town for not understanding them... feeling like they didn't fit in... but none of this is morally grey so much as pretty average teenage coming of age, figuring ones self out feelings. When Gem discovers they are really a reincarnated god, they still don't become twisty and dark, but have more an "aha I knew I wasn't like you" moment, but still want to carry on with teenage Gem's life plan.

And yet, the more Gem remembers about being a god, the more ridiculous and teenager-ey they seem to become and act. Like okay.. you have powers now... cool... but also more memories and knowledge? Shouldn't you be acting more mature and less conflicted and random? Though to be fair, all the teenage gods, even with past life memories restored, acted like this, so maybe this is just how gods from the ether are, no matter how long they live. Sorry, teenage angst and bad decisions, no matter how cleverly written and visceral, doesn't not equal morally grey, it's just angst.

But the ending did see a bit of a twist and maybe it's in the second book where we see that actual cleverness and darkness emerge!

And also, how do they always wind up the same age at the same time? Does no one get reincarnated until the last god's earthly body dies so they can always be the same age together (Definitely overthinking this one, but it started to bug me)

I could rant about this book for hours i loved it that much! Everything about this book worked for me. The characters were amazing and believability. The plot was dark and Edgmon didn't shy away from the darkness and the gore this book required. I was so in love with this book I couldn't put it down. I can not recommend this book enough!

I would like to thank NetGalley for an audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I did. However, there was a lot that I just didn't like and couldn't seem to get past it. But, I pushed through and the end validated my feelings about this book and made me realize it was exactly what I thought it was.

SPOILERS MAY BE IN THIS REVIEW. PLEASE CONTINUE TO READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

Let's start with the characters. I f*****g hated Gem. There's no better way to put it except that I hated Gem. From page one until the last chapter. Because, in truth, Gem is the villain. And the whole back and forth between *I'm a God* to *I want to be human* just irked me. However, knowing they are the villain helped with my perspective. But hot damn the whining just pissed me off. I get enough whining from my kids. I don't need it from my books. That being said, the mental health rep in this book was great.

I enjoyed the storyline of the gods coming here and being reincarnated. However, it's something I've seen done before and, personally, the only thing new that was brought to the table this time is that they aren't from out world. And their names are kind of lame. (Sorry, but the Mountain? The Magician? The Sun? Are they tarot cards?)

What I did really enjoy was the way the story unfolded of these gods and their conflict. But, more importantly, that moment when Gem embraces being the villain was *chefs kiss* perfect. And that? I loved it. What a way to end the book.

All in all, I do feel like this book just wasn't for me. That's not to say it wasn't a good book or that others wouldn't enjoy it. I think people would absolutely love this book. I just don't think it was for me.

There was a lot about this book that I enjoyed. I loved that the main character was a Non-Binary Native American. I don’t think I have ever read a book with a Native American MC before.

I did not however like the idea of Gods from another world & reincarnation. And why would they choose teenagers?

Unfortunately this book just isn’t for me.

I'm convinced at this point that H.E. Edgmon can do no wrong. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook preview of this and it was lovely, but please just do yourself a favor and pick this up somehow.

Gem Echols knows what it's like to not fit in. They are, after all, a nonbinary indigenous teenager living in small town Georgia. But it's fine, because their best friend, Enzo, lives in Brooklyn, and a year from now, Gem will be there, too, living their best life. Yet... Gem can't bring themself to even tell Enzo about the weird dreams that have been plaguing them lately, ones of violence and magic and ancient gods in another world. No one can know about those - not if they want people to think they aren't as crazy as their father. Of course, that's about when Willa Mae Hardy walks into Gem's life one lunch period, acting like she knows everything about them past and present, and proceeds to save them from someone claiming to be the... Goddess of Death? After Gem because they are the reincarnated Magician, a deity of questionable allegiance and morals but plenty of enemies.

This book is so important to me for so many reasons. For one, Gem is a precious mess of a lead character and I adore them for it. They try their damnedest to be good throughout the story, but there is something to be said in embracing that sometimes we will always be the villain in someone else's narrative. Arguably, there is no singular "good" character in the entire story. They all have tragedies in their histories, but they all get the chance to be terrible people about it. It is an entire book of feral queer teenagers raging against the system they've been placed in.
Another favorite of the story: Gem is allowed to be not okay. Being an ancient reincarnated deity doesn't suddenly cure Gem of the fact that they use their sexuality to cover their insecurities or mental health struggles.
Then, there's the representation. How often do we get to see T4T4T romance in a young adult book like this? Indigenous queer rep? It's amazing. As a teacher in an indigenous high school, having The Witch King on my shelf made students emotional, so I cannot wait to get this into their hands.

Now, I have Merciless Saviors already waiting in my NetGalley app, so if you'll excuse me...

This is a very dark, fast-paced, contemporary, queer romantic fantasy set in small town Georgia, with flashbacks to past lives in other places. The main characters are transgender BIPOC teens who discover that they are reincarnated gods from another realm. The book is surprisingly dark and violent right from the start, includes discussion of casual sex and substance use, and depicts serious mental illness, so proceed with caution.

Gem is an anti-hero who I sometimes struggled to like, but I could generally understand why they made the choices they did. They are surrounded by a quirky cast of secondary characters with murky motivations, which made the plot pleasingly unpredictable at times. I enjoyed seeing how their magical powers manifested and changed over time. I was somewhat frustrated by the ending, but I’m intrigued enough to want to read the second book in The Ouroboros duology.

The audiobook production was excellent, and Avi Roque’s narration enhanced my enjoyment of the story. Avi has good pacing and pronunciation, distinctive voices and speech patterns to suit each character, and the ability to convey mood and emotion effectively. The story works very well as an audiobook.

Recommended if you enjoy dark fantasy and queer romance.

I received a free advanced review copy of the ebook and audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

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

I know we’re not supposed to judge books by their covers, but I did, and I am glad for it. Godly Heathens- a perfect title for this book- is the cooler older sibling of Cemetery Boys and Percy Jackson. I will not explain myself.
Ok. Maybe I will. Just a bit.
The novel tells the story of Gem, an Indigenous, nonbinary teen who discovers they are the reincarnation of an ancient god. With no memory of their previous lives, Gem has to navigate this new reality which comes along with a lot of baggage of the life-threatening variety.
I really enjoyed this novel. The beginning had me a bit disoriented, but once I got to know Gem and their world, I was happy to go along for the ride. The characters were nuanced and likable (my favourites being Gem, Zeke, and Buck) and Avi Roque’s narration did a fantastic job of bringing them to life.
I also, after reading Iron Widow, asked the book gods (authors?) for more YA depictions of poly relationships, and the book gods provided. I can’t say if I totally think this particular relationship is all that healthy, but all I care about is if the characters are happy!
My only real qualm with the book is that I found the structure and pacing to be a bit off. There were points where I thought to myself, “This is the climax for sure!” only to realize there were still many hours left on the audiobook. However, this will not deter me from reading the sequel.
Godly Heathens tackles dark subjects compassionately, and while the list of content warnings at the beginning is lengthy, I would feel comfortable recommending it to students once I purchase it for my library.
I look forward to the next one!

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ALC!

- I really struggled with how to rate this one! It’s an incredible concept, and I love how Edgmon writes these detailed, raw queer characters. At the same, the pacing felt off and the worldbuilding was simultaneously a lot and not enough.
- I thought having gods reincarnated as teenagers is so interesting, but I struggled with how at some points Gem's mom and their school were such huge parts of their motivations while at other times they go unmentioned for large parts of the plot.
- I love having the book be set in the middle of nowhere in the south, and I think the idea of feral God teens running around wreaking havoc in a swamp in Georgia is such a fantastic backdrop.
- At the same time, I struggled with the audiobook narrator's Southern accent.
- This book had something that also frustrated me with Edgmon's first book, and that is how powerless the main character is. So much of the book feels like Gem is just experiencing the plot instead of actively participating in it, and that was more frustrating in this one where they are supposed to be the most powerful god.

I really wanted to like this but unfortunately it didnt work for me.

I wanted to DNF this book at least 4 times but I pushed through it. I did enjoy the characters, but there are a lot (luckily there is a character list at the end which was very handy to have).

The romance is where I think the story lost me. I didnt like the love triangle that was going, I just didnt feel like any of them really clicked together.

the story itself was okay, I wasn't a huge fan of the writing but it wasnt bad by any means.

thank you Netgalley for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I liked the trans, queer, non-monogamous, and indigenous representation. I thought the premise was really interesting: gods from another world escaped to Earth and are reincarnated every few generations into the same families and once they know they are gods, they get their past memories back. This has led to generations of feuding which continues in this book.

Gem, the main character, is the God of Magic and is responsible for the pantheon being on Earth, the atrocities that brough them there, and for keeping the "scales balanced," which would be a lot easier if they weren't in love with, and willing to defend, Enzo, a god who just came to Earth and who everyone else had fled here to escape.

There was so much I liked about the book, but Gem's blind devotion to Enzo, who doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities once he realizes he is a god, brought it down to four stars for me. Maybe the second in the duology will have more character growth and redeem Gem and Enzo.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

This book had so much potential, but it felt like it was so far from what I had expected that I had to mentally swerve and never truly caught back up with the actual plan. It might have been the discordance between the cover and the story, or something else entirely, but I had notions going in that just were not lived up to.

I think my biggest issue with the book was how predictable it was. Literally every big plot twist was something that I saw coming from a mile away. Which can be fun sometimes, but not with every single plot point in the book. My other issue was how much I disliked the characters. Gem was constantly annoying me, and maybe it was meant to be more of a morally grey hero type, but that was not well executed. I couldn't connect with anyone because I was just constantly annoyed by all of them.

The best part of the book is by far the representation. It's an extremely diverse book, and I loved "there are no cis gods." It does a great job of touching on homophobia/transphobia and weaving that into the character arcs. Not to mention the polyamorous rep and how this is the first big fantasy book I've actually seen that in!

This book might be much better for other people, but it just was not for me.

Godly Heathens is dark and violent, yet the characters feel very YA.

The book got off to a slow start introducing the world and characters, and the magic/main plot wasn’t introduced until later on as it’s very much a ‘learn with the character’ book. There were some interesting twists and turns, and it definitely picked up the pace in the second half.

I personally found the characters to be quite young - they were very teenage dramatic which makes sense for a YA book - and this felt realistic for some of them, but for others who remembered their past lives/hundreds of years of being alive, it didn’t necessarily make sense to me.

Overall, I think Godly Heathens was an interesting concept and would be well suited to teenagers looking for a darker/more horror twist on their fantasy.

thank you to Macmillan Audio and netgalley for a copy of Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon in exchange for my honest opinion. When I first read the description of this book I knew I needed it in my life and when I say this book didnt disappointed. This was so good cant wait to read the next book in the duology.

Thank you to MacMillan for the audio ARC, but I unfortunately cannot finish this book. First, the narrator's voice is grating, making the character seem dull. I tried to press forward to get a sense of our MC, Gem, and I couldn't get past how annoyingly Gem actually is. On top of that, there is so much rambling and unnecessary dialogue/train of thought, that I wonder why a better editor was not used. I lost count of how many times I heard the word "suddenly". And it is clear the editor never told the author to "show, don't tell".

I could tell this book was written by a man solely on how our female interest is described before I ever looked up the author. If you know, you know. How many times do we need to hear how small and petite she is?

The cover is beautiful, the premise of the story sounds wonderful, but the first 100 pages did nothing to pull me in. I had such high hopes for this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to an early copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon will be released on November 28th, 2023.

This book just didn't click with me. I was really excited to be approved for it and I loved the concept, but I think that this is one of those books that you need to actually read as opposed to listen to. I will likely give it another shot when it officially releases.

I would recommend it, it just wasn't for me.

I really wanted to like this book. The non-binary and queer representation in this book was amazing and it hooked me in with its raw and gritty take on what’s it’s like to be trans and non-binary while also battling mental illness. But where it lost me was about the halfway point and then was a dumpster fire from there.

All Gem wants to do is leave the little town they grew up in and move to the New York to start their future with the boy (also trans and a flamboyant theater kid) that they’ve been in love with for years. But when Willa Mae shows up and says Gem’s a reincarnated God and their soulmate? Shit hits the fan. What happens after is the biggest bunch of bullshit I’ve ever had the displeasure of listening to.

::spoilers ahead::
I loved Enzo up until the point where I started to get suspicious. He’s got absolutely everything going for him and gets jealous easily and not in a cute way. So when it’s revealed Enzo is the big bad they locked away in the ether I wasn’t exactly surprised. What I was surprised about was Gem’s absolute devotion to this creature. And they had absolutely no redeeming qualities. And yet Gem made excuses and refused to let anyone kill Enzo or “reset the scales” that Enzo so obviously messed up by killing the other gods. I was screaming at Gem like they were a real person and I was their mother. Because the relationship between Gem and Enzo was TOXIC AF. And still is. Because the book ended on a cliffhanger and no one is redeemed. You could say that Gem learned nothing in their lifetimes because at the end of the day, why should Gem be the one to change? I’m not continuing the series.

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon is the first book in a duo logy that I am currently more than obsessed with.
I was blessed with the opportunity to listen to the audio book rendition of this story alongside reading the ebook and I will certainly be buying a physical copy as soon as possible.
Why I fell in love with this book
-great pacing
-excellent dialogue use
-wonderful trans and nonbinary rep
-original pantheon that has given me a plethora of questions for book two

Who I recommend this title for

Godly Heathens will be an amazing reading experience for those who have loved the author's previous works and for those new to the fantasy genre looking for a fast paced entry point with interesting lore .

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of Godly Heathens by H. E. Edgmon in exchange for an honest review
This book had an interesting take on dreams and what really is reality. I've always had very vivid dreams and sometimes they feel more real than when I'm awake.

I just didn't find this book to be all that well done. I forced myself to finish it but I took issue with certain aspects of the story. They just seemed toxic. Additionally, the story wasn't all that engaging and hard to follow with such a large cast of characters. I can respect what the author is trying to do and love the attempt at bringing in other cultures and gender identities. I just feel like this fell really flat.

I will admit I can see many readers loving this book. It just wasn't for me personally.

"Godly Heathens" by H.E. Edgmon is a YA contemporary fantasy novel and the first book in The Ouroboros duology. The story follows Gem Echols, a nonbinary Seminole teenager residing in the small town of Gracie, Georgia. Gem relies on charm to hide the anxious mess beneath the surface, and their only confidant is Enzo, a trans kid living in Brooklyn.

However, Gem experiences haunting dreams of magic and violence that feel too real. Things take an unexpected turn when a new girl in town, Willa Mae Hardy, seems to know things about Gem that they haven't shared with anyone. After an attack by someone claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves Gem's life and reveals a shocking truth: both of them are reincarnated gods who have known and loved each other across lifetimes.

As the past catches up with the present, Gem discovers that their previous self hasn't always been a benevolent deity, making them the target of enemies from the pantheon. With the help of Enzo and the revelation of their divine origins, Gem must navigate a world where everyone has something to hide.

"Godly Heathens" explores themes of identity, love across lifetimes, and the challenges of dealing with a past that comes back to haunt you. It promises an intriguing blend of contemporary issues and fantastical elements within a YA narrative.