When I first started reading The Gods Time Forgot, I wasn't quite sure what type of story I was about to become immersed in. The book's described as a "romantasy," but personally, I feel a better description of the book is "historical romance with fantasy elements". And I think that so long as readers go into this book expecting that, they'll come away really impressed.

Before even falling for the characters or plot of this story, I'd immediately become immersed in the setting. The Gods Time Forgot follows Rua, a stifled woman living in gilded-era New York. She's plagued by missing memories and strange dreams, but cannot investigate them without being reprimanded, as her life is full of restrictions. I thought that the author did a fantastic job in making the reader feel just as trapped in upper-echelon society as Rua is. I also really enjoyed the author's writing style. I felt that the connection between the main characters was quite palpable. And finally, I really loved how this story wrapped itself up. The fantasy plot line, though more minor than expected, was incredibly engaging and really added a lot to the romantic plot.

My only major complaint of this book is the pacing. Many sections of this novel felt incredibly slow, and then the final chapter moved at lightspeed. But overall, I really enjoyed this novel. Despite some quirks, I kept reading this book because I really loved the world the story takes place in, both in terms of the glamorous New York setting, and the glimpses of Irish folklore we get. The romance and writing style are quite alluring. If you can get past the pacing issues, and let yourself slowly follow the plot instead of asking when things will pick up, I think you'll really love this story.

Thank you to Alcove Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this idea, of a blend of historical fiction and romantasy is combined! The writing style didn't draw me in though, and I had a hard time getting into it. Unfortunately this was a DNF for me, but I'm grateful for the chance to read ahead of release!

Rua wakes up buried in a cavern, with no idea how she got there or who she is. She's told her name is Emma, the daughter of a wealthy family that's trying to climb higher in society. They've been given a chance, but Emma's recent behavior has been troubling, and they'll have to do their best to hide it before the rumors spread.

When they move to Manhattan to make their debut, Rua is stuck between finding out who she really is, and behaving in a way that's expected of Emma, with the threat of being sent to an asylum hanging over her. She's sure at one point she'll have to run, and she's going to prepare to do so... until she meets Finn.

There's something about the man that draws her in, and she can't seem to leave. Finn, a wealthy Irish Lord, has come to carefully make his way in New York society, so that he can use his wealth and influence to help poor immigrants who are struggling. He's building a hospital and a partner in a hotel that will be sure to bring on even greater wealth. His business partner has a daughter, and a marriage to her will be sure to grant Finn the access he needs to everything he's working for. Until Rua comes along.

Star crossed lovers, both given another chance to be together. They'll have to remember their past, and make their choice before time runs out. A deal neither of them can remember, and their last chance.

This one was good, but a little slow. The backstabbing of the New York society was a bit grating for me, and it seemed so unnecessary to what our goal was in getting these two together. At times the story lost momentum for me, and I found myself putting this one down a little more often than I expected. I'm glad I tried it, and I'll give the author a shot in future books as well.

This book has quite the interesting premise and setting of New York City’s gilded age. However, I ended up DNFing about a quarter into the story. I think someone else would definitely find this enjoyable, but I couldn’t connect to the characters or story in the end.

This book is a good historical romantsy book. I enjoyed the characters and the story but felt it dragged a bit at times. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review this novel.

Rua finds herself blasted into Gilded age New York. Filled with old money, balls and scheming mothers. While trying to gain her memory back she meets a man, a man she just can’t quite shake. Everyone soon realizes Rua is not the same woman she used to be, she is no wilting flower.

This novel had everything I personally love in a fantasy romance. A fantastic setting, research clearly done on the era. Don’t get me start on the tension, not only between the characters but there were plenty of times that my heart was pounding not knowing what the outcome would be. The Irish mythology was the cherry on top!

If you are a fan of The Gilded age, Outlander and dual point of views, you will love this book!

3.5 (spoiler free)
Release date: April 8th

I loved the Irish mythology in this book! Rua and Finns banter and connection was also fantastic. I did enjoy the time period it was set in as it did feel Bridgerton-esque with the balls and high society. But the mystery and plot in the first half of the book moved too slowly and by the time we started learning more about the mystery I was no longer interested. The ending also felt pretty rushed.

Thank you Alcove Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

i’m so sad to say this one is hard to get into! i was beyond excited from the premise and have been following the authors journey on bookstagram but unfortunately i got about 30% through and do not feel connected to the story/characters and am dnf-ing for now. i would recommend for fans of bridgerton, though!!

The Gods Time Forgot follows Finn and Rua as they navigate the 1870s Socialite scene and trying to find out who they once were and who they are now. This is something unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I do think it succeeded in telling the story of its main premise. The book is full of mystery, romantic tension, and social politics. Yet, I did find myself yearning for more magic throughout the story. I found that often times magic was often spoken about but never shown, which made the book’s tone read more as a historical romance than a fantasy.

I think readers who are fans of bridgerton as well as the 2012 movie The Host would also enjoy this story.

Thank you to Alcove Press for providing this arc!

I had fun time reading this one! The first half of this book was quite slow, but when things finally picked up, I found myself enjoying reading about the high end society of Manhattan and the iris mythology. I haven't read a lot of Irish mythology, but even without earlier knowledge the book was quite easy to get into.

I was a bit disappointed that there weren't any close friend relationships for Rua, and most of the other characters besides Finn, were a bit two dimensional. This was also more of a historical romance, than fantasy romance, and I would have loved to see more of the fantasy elements earlier in the story as well. Still, I enjoyed this book a lot by the end.

If you want to read historical romance, set in the 1870 Manhattan, with little hints of Irish mythology this book is perfect for you!

This one was a slow start, but wow, the way it grabbed my attention after the first few chapters until the end.

The Gods Time Forgot was a beautiful mix of New York in the Gilded Age and Irish mythology that I didn't know I needed in my life until now. The story starts with lots of missing pieces so it can be slow at first, but it gradually picks up pace until we see the full picture and you can't let go until you get to the ending. I will say that the ending is only partly satisfying, and there are some loose threads I would have liked resolved. Maybe this leaves room for a follow-up?

The drama, the intrigue, the passive aggressive people masquerading as high society are all on point, and likely to have you screaming on behalf of the main character for all she goes through (some things more warranted than others). The romance is painfully slow burn, but does eventually move past the intense angst and will-they-won't-they.

Overall this was a great read. If you like intense romance stories for the ages, you'll love this one.

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

Unfortunately this did not work for me. I went in expecting a fantasy about a girl who accidentally switched bodies but it read more like a historical romance with a light fantasy element.

While the description made me request it, the writing flattened any interest I had in the story. The first chapters were difficult to make it through due to the repetitive choppy writing and the lack of character depth. The reactions to insane scenarios from characters were so flat and unbelievable.

This book would have a much stronger reception if it’s marketed as historical romance with fantasy and mythology elements! Not nearly enough fantasy to pull off such a promising premise. Hoping some editing was done before final publication.

This book has really fantastic potential. A very interesting concept. It felt like the climax/resolution came much too swiftly and without further explanation after we spent so much time in the buildup.

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I would rate this book 4.25 stars!!

I felt like the story started out very strong, with a super interesting premise: girl shows up with no memories and people calling her by a different name. We soon find out that our FMC Rua has been mistaken for for Emma Harrington, a well-to-do New Yorker with a meddling mother and a scandal she has inherited but does not remember. Rua is thrust into the world of high society New York circa 1870's, and must learn how to survive, while also developing an unexplainable connection to Finn, the local most eligible bachelor (and all around golden retriever, I love Finn so much!!). I wanted to give this book 5 stars SO bad, and at times I was confident it was a 5 star read, but what ultimately hurt this and lowered my rating was the last 15% of the book (see later section).

What this book did well:
The romance in this book? Oh my GODDD I loved it. I was giggling and kicking my feet so hard at the tension between the characters, and I loved that there were so many scenes that it seemed like something was going to happen between the two main characters, but they were interrupted. If there is one thing Ms. Kelsie knows how to write, its YEARNING! Did it seem a bit like a whirlwind romance? Yes. Did I care? Not at all (also, you learn later on why the romance seemed so fast, and it makes sense). The MMC Finn falls SO hard for Rua, but is his own worst enemy when it comes to talking himself in or out of wanting to be with her. I loveddd the romance in this book!

Also, the setting of 1870's New York high society was done so well in this book; you can tell that the author did her research, down to the description of historically accurate clothes and societal expectations. It was giving Bridgerton in the best way, and I felt myself eating up all of the petty squabbles and miniscule slights that the FMC committed that she was shunned for. I also liked how the remembering of both characters' memories was done, as the flashbacks in the middle of conversations or moments that reminded them of previous events added to the story line.

Where there was room for improvement:
I was okay with being a bit out of the loop and not knowing what was going on in the first half of the book, but when I still did not really know exactly what was going on with the flashbacks and fantastical elements by 85%, I was getting a little frustrated. All of the gradual memories we were receiving did a good job of building the story and mimicking how Rua was gradually remembering them, I just wished the main reveal would have happened earlier in the story.

The fantasy/mythology elements were very cool, and I loved that the author incorporated Irish mythology into the storyline, something I am very interested in, but did not know much about. However, there were certain details of Rua's backstory and the story of the Morrigan and Finn's historical counterpart (who I will leave out for spoiler reasons) that I would not have understood fully if I had not Googled and known some context. That's fine, I did not mind, but other may mind needing to do their own research. in order to understand major parts of the story I also would have loved to have seen the Irish mythology parts of this book flushed out even more, as I don't think that more of this would have negatively impacted the plot in any way, and would have added more context for the reader.

My biggest hinderance in giving this book 5 stars was the ending. I felt it ended very abruptly, and with very little answers. I am assuming they lived happily ever after, but idk because there was no follow up. Also, the event that they had been hinting at the entire last quarter of the book just never happened? I literally closed the book and went, "that's it?". Either this is setting up for book 2, in which case my rating may change and I may just be too early before the author announces a second book, or the ending was anti-climactic and just sort of...stopped.

Ultimately, I really did enjoy this book, and would recommend it to others! I would like to read more of Kelsie's books, whenever she releases more!

Wow! After absolutely flying through the latter half of this book, what a wild and well-weaved story! In the first half, it felt like all I was doing was accumulating questions. Who is Rua? Where is Emma? Who is Finn? How does he relate to all of this? Will Rua ever get her memories back?! I was truly impressed by how Gonzalez wrapped it all up.
I loved learning this about Irish mythology, I loved the aching tension and passion between Rua and Finn. And I love a gilded era story! There were so many enjoyable things. My biggest lingering question is, if and when will we get a book two!

Really enjoyed this book. It was a little confusing at first, since the FMC didn't know what was happening with her. However, all of the questions that are brought up during the story were answered. The ending left it open for a potential next book, but no cliffhanger.

The Gods Time Forgot as an intriguing take on Irish folklore with a bit of mystery and romance involved. This was a slow start that took me some time to get into, but once I understood where the story was going I needed to know how it ended. It was a fun ride following Rua as she discovers who she is and how she ended up in the Gilded Age in New York City, trying to stay away from Finn and trying to be near him all at the same time.

If you are a fantasy lover or intrigued by different retellings of folklore, this one is a great book to pick up!

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was captivated by this book from the very first chapter. If you like Bridgerton and Outlander, read this!

I enjoyed the fancy dresses and balls. It was fun to have a main character that spoke up and didn’t just cower at the mean girls of high society New York City.

Mixed with a little fantasy and Irish Mythology it was definitely unique!
I enjoyed the romance aspect!

The middle of the book got a touch repetitive and I would have liked a little more of the fantasy aspect added during that part, but I still enjoyed it over all!

(Will add my video review link soon).

2.5*

I was pretty disappointed in how this one turned out as it started off pretty interesting and the chemistry between the characters was so good. They had such good banter scenes and the slow build was well done. I just did not connect to the main character Emma/Rua and felt that the plot was clunky and did not flow well. There were pacing issues and the structure of the novel felt off to me, I would have structured it in a different way to have more emotional impact and more connection to the two main characters.

I received an eARC courtesy of Alcove Press and Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is more a Gilded Age romance between Rua and Finn than a romantacsy but no matter, it's still a good read. The promised Irish mythology takes a back seat to the historical fiction aspects.. Rua and Finn, however, have good chemistry (and banter). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fun,