"The Deer and the Dragon" by Piper CJ is an enchanting start to the No Other Gods series. Narrated by Luna Rey, the audiobook captivates with a compelling blend of fantasy and adventure that pulls you right into its rich world.

Rey’s narration is engaging, effectively bringing the characters and their emotions to life. The plot unfolds with intriguing twists, and the character development is strong, making it easy to become invested in their journeys.

I’d rate this audiobook 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a fantastic beginning to what promises to be an exciting series, perfect for fans of fantasy. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy; all opinions are my own!

#NetGalley #PiperCJ #TheDeerAndTheDragon #NoOtherGods #TantorAudio

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tantor Audio, Tantor Media Inc., Sourcebooks, Bloombooks Publishing Inc., Piper C.J., and Luna Rey (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of The Deer and the Dragon in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: The title The Deer and the Dragon is more symbolic than anything. This isn't a dragon fantasy romance, if that is what you seek. On another note, this novel is for an adult audience with adult themes and scenes. I would say it is "low spice," for those expecting something more erotic. There is a great deal of religious push by the narrator's parent, and there are many dealings with both angels and demons. The series title, No Other Gods, implies the existence of multiple deities, though there isn't room in Marlow's life for more than one, and that would be the Prince of Hell.

Marlow's Struggle with Reality
Marlow has lived with her family's passed down gift her whole life: the ability to see both angels and demons. This unsettling reality shows that there is truth to calling upon gods, but those whoa re called are not always the ones who return with an answer. Haunted by visions of angels and demons, including a dark figure that has shadowed her throughout her life--from the guise of a fox to a handsomely devilish man--she convinces herself that her experiences are a sign of madness. The fear of embracing her inherited gift, which she perceives as a curse, hangs heavily over her daily musings. However, her life takes a dramatic turn when a fae from the Nordic pantheon reveals that the dark entity she has known is actually the Prince of Hell, who has mysteriously vanished.

Entangled in Myth and War
As Marlow delves deeper into the complexities of her existence as one who has been close to the Prince of Hell all her life, a man she gives the name Caliban, she finds herself ensnared in an ancient conflict among powerful deities from various mythologies. This cosmic battle draws her into a world of legendary figures (some of which may sound familiar to the reader), where the outcome may rest on her shoulders. Amidst the chaos, Marlow also confronts the concept of love, something she has never fully embraced. As she navigates through this perilous landscape, the stakes rise, and her decisions could determine not only her fate, but the fate of the godly beings that have become woven into the tapestry of her existence.

Final Thoughts:
Marlow is also a best-selling fantasy author who uses a pen name. I enjoyed this aspect of the novel as she uses writing as an outlet for what she perceives as madness, yet is inspired by events and occurrences that she actually sees and experiences. Making money off of her own fantasy-reality: what more could she ask fore? Her previous job being a female escort, she certainly has quite a few experiences to work with, though when it comes to romance, she doesn't even have the precision to see her own fall for Caliban, before she accidentally banishes him away....yikes...

I also enjoyed Fauna as a secondary character. She was both irksome and charming at the same time. She offered this guidance to Marlow as she tries to figure out her place in this great godly war she has found herself immersed in.

The writing craft is good. It wasn't overly complicated, nor was it over-simplified. It was just the right blend for a romantasy reader seeking something easy to read. On the other hand, the themes are more complex and some of the ideas being portrayed may take more thought, especially when looking at the character's experiences with both angels and demons and how that affects her as a person in the present compared to the past. Overall, it is a good novel (albeit looong) that any low spice romantasy reader will enjoy.

Oh my gosh, yes! The Deer and the Dragon by Piper C.J. is the amazing first installment in the No Other Gods series. Okay, normally I'm not a fan of fantasy with a big focus on religion but I absolutely love how the author created the religious system for this world. You can really tell how well studied in folklore the author is. This is perfect if you're looking for a fantasy book with gods, angels, and demons. The main character is an absolute badass. The plot is engaging and full of twists. The audiobook is narrated by Luna Rey and her voice is a great fit for it. I can't wait for the next book in this series to release!

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ALC of this book

This is a book that I found hard to get into, the first 20% I did not care about really but after this it picked up a little and was able to keep my interest. Unfortunately, I did not like this book because I felt like with the main character a lot was going on and also the more the book goes on you see that she has been through spiritual, religious and physical abuse in her past and also before its kind of explained you think this woman is insane or has she. Other personality disorders.

The story for me was a mixed bag and I didn't care for her journey really, also I think this was not written great and bounced as fast as it could from scene to scene to keep interested... now do I see this as a read will love YES... I see this as a book that ticks a lot of boxes
*Fantasy
*Dark Atmosphere
*Romance suggested mainly
* Paranormal
* A female Who Acts Love Sick

And Other things as well but I cannot ignore the underlying of what I mentioned above the abuse spiritually. Religiously and hinted at physical abuse ... this is what made me see the story from a new angle and I could not look at it differently afterwards no matter what was done with the story.

I give it 3.5 stars for being a fast read and also for the voice acting being good in the audiobook I listened to for the characters and how it brought the story more to life but is it a book I would recommend to family or friends in my life no but I do recommend it to others and see what u think of it.

(Everyone sees things differently- so you may love it where I couldn't).

I never listened to it because my NetGalley app wasn't working properly. So I had to uninstall it and then all but two of my audio books were gone.

I’ll admit I didn’t really vibe that much with the narrator for this audiobook, though I really enjoyed the story itself. I’d probably pick up a physical copy instead

4.5 ⭐
spice level - 🌶 (1 pepper, maybe 1.5 peppers: you get two full spicy scenes, one at the beginning and one at the end)

Just a heads up that there are NO dragons in this book but there are themes of Christian fundamentalism, in which "dragons were used as imagery for Satan, Leviathan, Hell, and Evil, in the Hebrew Bible (Job and Isaiah), the New Testament (Revelations), and again throughout the renaissance period, symbolic dragon imagery was prevalent in paintings and iconography as a stand-in for the devil." (I found this on Piper CJ's Instagram)

Marlow is a human sex-worker turned author (and has been very successful because of a certain mmc) who believes she is crazy and banishes the Prince of Hell, Caliban, in order to live a normal life. Well, she wasn't happy with the immense loneliness she faced once he was gone and decides she wants him back. She later finds out that she has actually known Caliban for many human cycles (thousands of years) and they are soul mates (think of Elena and Damon from The Vampire Diaries).

Another beauty that just made this story absolutely wonderful is Fauna. I freakin' love her! I want to see more of her in book two.

At the end of book one, we are left on a cliffhanger, and hopefully we will find out more in The Fox and the Falcon in 2025!

Thank you to NetGalley, Tantor Audio, and Piper CJ for the opportunity to listen to an Advanced Listener's Copy (ALC) in exchange for my honest opinion/review. I will be talking about this book more in-depth in a YouTube video, so stay tuned for the link.

Thank you RB Media and Netgalley for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, this one did not work for me at all. The only really nice thing I have to say is that the cover is pretty. Otherwise the writing isn't great, it feels juvenile, with a lot of telling vs showing, the world and characters feel flat, and the elements are so generic, in the nicest way possible- it feels like it was written by someone who spends a lot of their time on the internet. For a book where the romance is such a big plot point, the relationship building happens off screen before the book starts for some reason. Which means we didn't get to see the foundation and I didn't feel any chemistry or the desire to root for them to be together because aside from some flashbacks (in which deep feelings are already expressed) there's nothing there for me to root for.
The worst part for me though was our main character, Marlowe. She's super judgmental and it rubbed me the wrong way. It especially was a little ironic when she was talking about listening to poorly written audiobooks for inspiration because she knows she writes better than those authors….. 👀 the call is coming from inside the house lol. It's been a while since I've disliked a main character this much, not only is she annoying but she's also a b* and rude for no reason to everyone. Caliban tells her he "marked" this dude trying to kill her (basically sentencing him to death) to protect her since he could not physically kill him himself. And it works, his action literally saves her life. And she gets mad at him!! Saying he left her for dead! Like girl, he’s the only reason you got saved, he didn’t personally kill the dude but he's the only reason that other dude saved your ass! The way she reacted to that situation was beyond frustrating and I wanted to reach into the book and shake her. He also told her *multiple times*- don’t send me away if you don’t mean it/ don’t make decisions like that rashly, because if you do, I won’t be allowed to see you. And yet she does just that, saying go away/ never want to see you again/ leave me alone, and the NEXT DAY she's like “he has to come back, I’ve got so much to say to him” and she waits for him, getting pissy that he doesn't come back. When it’s all her fault! I can't believe she has the *audacity* to say that HE's wounding HER. YOU sent him away! How can you be mad when by magic rules he can't disobey your order???? Especially when he told you that beforehand, that whatever you tell him he will do.
And maybe I'd be more lenient if she was only rude to Caliban, but she's nasty to everyone. She calls psychics/ spiritual mediums and then looks down her nose at them for their beliefs when she's the one who contacted them. She calls one stranger and when she picks up thinking Marlowe is their child's daycare, she gets snippy with this stranger (who she's about to ask for a favor mind you) and snarkily asks her if daycare would be videochatting. Just so unnecessarily rude. As a character girlie, I just can’t get over the annoying characters and the rest was generic enough anyways that it didn’t put up much of a fight

Really enjoyed this audiobook. I like the Norse connection (I am a sucker especially for anything Norse mythology related) and the way the story plays out. Also liked the narrator

The Deer and the Dragon by Piper C.J.
5/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

Completely captivating and absolutely brilliant, The Deer and the Dragon follows Marlow - a former FS worker and NYT best selling author. Since she was young, she has always had a guardian angel. He has always been right where she needed him until she accidentally banishes him. In order to get him back she must — quite literally — go to hell and back. With a nymph bestie and a cast of supernatural characters, this book will have you hooked from the start and willing to bond a demon in order to obtain book 2.

Read this book if you like:
-Nordic mythology
-god is the bad guy
-Princes of Hell
-demons 🤝 fae 🤝 angels
-original urban fantasy concepts

The Deer and the Dragon is out NOW and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
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Special thanks to Tantor Audio for sharing a free copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

I loved this book, i couldnt stop listening once i started and cant wait to read the next one in the series

*E-audiobook provided by netgalley for an honest review*

2.5*

I wanted so much more from this book. The premise sounded awesome and I know the author has a degree in folklore so I was super excited for this book. However, it was kind of a let down. The book definitely has pacing issues as the first entire half of the book is the main character convincing herself that she is has schizophrenia. She finally realizes she is not seeing things and finally embraces her ability, however I felt this came way too late much or how long the book is. I also felt the religious trauma was waaaaaayyyy too heavy handed and it was brought up too often. The book ended on a cliff hanger which felt kind of cliche but whatever. However, if you can get through all of that, then the side characters are freaking awesome! Fauna and her bf (sorry can't remember how to spell his name) are the best and I loved their scenes.

Audiobook voice actor was okay, nothing special but also nothing terrible.

The premise of this book sounded so exciting, but my poor rating ultimately boils down to the author trying to do too many things, and not doing any of them well.

Marlow is an extremely unlikable character, maybe on purpose, but above all, she is a terrible friend. It seems like her one-sided friendships were just included to further the plot along.

I will not be picking up book two.

I follow Piper on IG and think she's funny as heck and have been waiting for this book for a while. However, something just felt off about it-it was missing something. I hate not giving this book a 5 star rating because Piper is weird/hilarious/entertaining person to follow. I would read another book from her but again this book was just missing something.
(I still bought it at B&N because of the edges)

I listened to this via audiobook, and it had everything going for it. The narration was fantastic. The premise was unique and interesting. By all rights, I should have loved this. Alas, not so.

It started just by feeling like the story was taking too long to start. The crux of the plot doesn’t feel like it kicks off until you’re already a third of the way though. This definitely could have been redeemable if it had picked up after that. But instead the narration continues to languish in gratuitous backstory without making any new points or character developments. It really had me rolling my eyes and thinking “okay. I get it. CAN WE MOVE ON NOW??” It’s disappointing in so many ways given that the fantasy setup had potential. if we weren’t busy using that time to go over the same backstory piece over and over it could have been explored in really cool ways. Again, alas, oh well.

This was unfortunately an exercise in frustration for me. All vibes and not enough plot.

Unfortunately this book was not something I enjoyed as mmuch as I thought I would have. I was interested in seeing what the hype was about and it didn't live up to the expectations in my head. I knw it will finnd the audience that it is designed for but I dont think that is me.

Absolutely loved this read. Was already sold when it was marketed as Hazbin Hotel meets Crescent City. The narrator was perfect, the plot was compelling, the smut was HOT. Loved.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️.5

🦌Urban Paranormal Fantasy
🐉Trauma Healing
🦌Mythology and Folklore
🐉Angels and Demons
🦌Heaven and Hell
🐉 Found Family
🦌 some spice
🐉Religious Trauma

Thank you RB Media and NetGalley for the ALC.
The narrator was amazing! Absolutely would listen to anything by this narrator!

The first 30 percent was a little bit confusing and took me a while to get into. The religious, paranormal, and fantasy creatures/beings mixing was a lot to take in. Fae, dark entities, demons, angels, and ect. When we get to the point after she gets the tattoo the story picks up to a more understanding pace.

Chapter 20 was intense. Real eye opener about the FMC’s childhood. The mom is a real piece of work.
I did like the premise of the story.
The FMC is “cursed” with a gift that allows her to see demons, angles and dark entities. She is thrown in to a centuries old war while looking for the Prince of Hell whom is missing. He has always been with her but she banished him. The journey she goes through to find him is wild.

The final 10 percent was a boost in rating. Learning about their past lives was sad and informative. The scene at the clinic was very well written! I would read the second one because I feel all the back story has been done in the first. I do want to know what happens next.

3.5 stars. I think I enjoyed it more because of the audio book. I think if I would have read the physical it would have been harder to follow. This is the first book I have read by Piper CJ. I do own The Night and it’s Moon.

The writing is good. The descriptions are detailed. The friendships were my favorite.

Prior to picking up The Deer and the Dragon I had not read any works by Piper CJ, but had heard of her online as being an author who wrote spicy fantasy novels that built into more epic style series. As such I was very interested when I saw that she had a new novel to kick off a new series releasing, and even more so when I heard it would be being based off mythology.

As such it was a small shock to go into this novel and it be significantly less spicy than I was expecting and more based of Demons and Angels then anything else. Despite those two small shocks the novel was enjoyable and I can definitely see how the authors books could become a touch addictive with all the plot twists and turns she lead us down.

I would add a word of caution that this novel deals heavily with religious trauma, and sexual awakening. As someone who has quite a mixed relationship due to my own experiences growing up I found those sections of the novel relatable and at times a touch overwhelming. The book has a large section of its plot dedicated to sexual awaking and the experiences of Marlow when she had been an acting sex worker and her own mixed emotions around sex work and the men met through it.

Marlow herself is a bit of a mixed bag, framed as a highly independent woman who cares deeply for her chosen family, yet the novel sees her acting in opposite of this time and time again. In many ways she was one of the more frustrating elements of the novel as she would believe one thing about herself deeply and then not care at all about how she was behaving in the opposite direction of the belief or if she hurt her own life and career she built while perusing a man.

I would recommend this novel to those looking for:
- A Spicy romance novel with more plot than spice
- A world with Demons and Angels
- Religious Trauma processing 101
- A new shadow daddy to fall in love with
- Side characters that hold their own in the plot

I received an advance review copy of this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.