This book has a lot to offer; Irish mythology, romance that would make you swoon, 1870s era and setting, historical romance, slow burn, amnesia leading to confusion. It is good however the pace was rather haphazard and the ending felt very abrupt.

Looking back on my reading experience of this book and what I think will likely happen for other readers as well, I keep coming back to “expectations vs. reality.” No one is done any favors when a book is set up as one thing, but then turns out to be very different. There are two primary areas where this happened: the marketing of this book’s genre and the book summary’s explanation of the romance.

So, first off, the genre expectations. This is marketed as a romantasy title. As we discussed in my subgenres post from a few weeks ago, this would mean the book is first and foremost a romance novel but situated within a fantasy setting. Now, the summary does explain that this book is also set in a particular point in history, so it can only be expected that an exploration of life in this place and time will make up a portion of the book. The problem here is that this actually took up the majority of the book! I got over the half way mark in this book before even remembering that this had been promoted as a romantasy…and other than a few throwaway lines here or there, there had been zero actual fantasy elements involved. I enjoy historical fiction, so it’s perhaps not surprising that I got as far as I did before this became apparent. But for readers who go in with the expectation of a romantsy novel, I think there will be disappointment.

Even on the historical front, I did struggle to really enjoy this book. There were a lot of ball room scenes and society scenes that simply began to feel repetitive, with many people behaving as the worst versions of characters from Bridgerton. Not only these settings, but the fact that every single time, these events would result in Rua making some “shocking” statements about how messed up all of these restrictions were. But more often than not, it just came across as Rua saying the most brain-numbingly obvious fact in the most abrasive manner possible. I think there are ways to write characters who defy societal expectations and thus draw attention to its flaws, but Rua was like a bull in a China shop in all of the worst ways.

The second problem came down to the romance and, again, how it is marketed in the book summary. As you can see above, the summary clearly pairs Rua with a character named Finn. Several paragraphs give us a brief overlay of their story together. But then I picked up this book and discovered, oh wait, it’s another love triangle and a character named Annette (who is NOWHERE TO BE SEEN in the book summary) is going to play a role in the romance. Again, poorly managed expectations don’t benefit anyone! Some readers really enjoy love triangles, but looking at this book description, they’d have no idea that this was a straightforward MF love story. Conversely, other readers (like me) don’t enjoy love triangles and try to avoid them. I know myself well enough to know that almost all love triangles set back my reading experiences fairly significantly, so I try to avoid requesting/reviewing those titles, as I don’t love writing critical reviews, especially when I know this aspect of it is totally subjective.

The story also struggles with its pacing. As I said above, the first half to 75% is largely focused on Rua’s experiences living in this society. But then the last quarter is a mad whirlwind, trying to wrap up all of the plotlines. It is here, too, where the fantasy elements finally really show up.

All of this to say, this book wasn’t for me, but that’s because I wasn’t the correct reader for it! (Well, I could get behind the historical stuff, but I just wasn’t expecting it as much when I went in.) I think there are readers out there who will enjoy this one, but I do think it would have been in this book’s best interest to be more straightforward about the romance tropes at its heart as well as the primary genre focus of the story.

Rating 6: Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. There was less fantasy than I was expecting, and I felt blindsided by yet another love triangle.

Link will go live on The Library Ladies on April 9

New York's Gilded Age, 1870's. Rua and Finn first meet at an Upper Manhattan party where both feel they've met before in another time. But have they?
Mixing New York's high society with Irish mythology The Gods Time Forgot is an exciting journey of two people forced to attend a life that doesn't fit them, looking for a way out.
Beautiful storytelling, a great cast of characters, some clean romance, a hint of time travel, set in wonderful surroundings. An absolute treat. Meadowsweet.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC.

I had the opportunity to read The Gods Time Forgot by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez through NetGalley, and I’m so glad I did! This book is a mesmerising blend of Irish mythology, high-society intrigue, and dark magic, all set against the opulent backdrop of 1870s Gilded Age New York.

From the very beginning, I was completely drawn into Rua’s story. She wakes up with no memories and is mistaken for a missing socialite—a setup that immediately had me hooked. Rua is such a fierce and witty protagonist, and watching her navigate the glittering (yet often ruthless) world of Manhattan’s elite was an absolute delight. Then there’s Finn—mysterious, brooding, and impossible to ignore. Their chemistry was everything I love in a slow-burn romance—full of tension, longing, and that irresistible “we shouldn’t, but we can’t resist” dynamic.

One of my favourite aspects of the book was how seamlessly it wove Irish mythology into the historical setting. The blend of folklore and high society drama felt fresh and unique, making the story stand out from other historical fantasies. If I had one small critique, it would be that the fantasy elements weren’t as developed throughout the book as I had hoped. Much of the mythology-heavy content was packed into the ending, and I would have loved to see more of that magic woven into the earlier parts of the story.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It’s beautifully written, immersive, and perfect for fans of romantasy with a historical twist. I’ll definitely be looking out for whatever Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez writes next!

This is an interesting book. Rau is a very strong character, and I love the fact that she defies standards that society kept trying to place on her. Finn is also fun. He wants to make it in society and knows how to do it, yet he keeps being drawn to Rau and he is not quite sure why. What held me up was the pacing of this book. The flashbacks/memories didn’t always seem to fit and took me out of the story. Just overall the flow kept me from enjoying this book as much as I truly wanted to. It also took such a long time for the flashbacks to truly affect the story and bring Rau and Finn closer to realizing the truth.
Thank you to Alcove Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

While I thought this was a great concept and a unique setting, the inconsistent pacing made it difficult to get immersed in. While not a long read, I struggled through the first ~60% to get into the action. I also would have liked to see more fantasy in this.

Thanks to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for a free eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a solid debut by the author. It's hard foraying into the publishing world, even harder to come up with a unique fantasy. This was a quick read - it was not bad but I kept waiting for more fantasy. The story was slower throughout and then quite rushed in the conclusion. I appreciated the Irish mythology, and enjoyed the MCs as character and their relationship. The story did have promise but unfortunately was not as tightly written to deliver on the promise.

2.5* rounded down.

I had a lot of trouble rating this novel. On the one hand, I read it and it wasn’t hard to finish. There was a story here and I was interested to see where it would go. On the other hand, it went nowhere interesting and I was left disappointed.

I expected a novel with depth; it draws on rich mythology and it weaves it in well. Then, it does absolutely nothing with it. It was disappointing. I was hoping it would be more than a romance with a bit of mythology background; I was expecting it to be more than that. On a positive note, the characters were written very well and felt alive.

We meet Rua when she crawls out of a hole in the forest and remembers nothing except her own name. There are flashbacks starting right at the beginning of the novel. Along with Rua, we get bits and pieces of another life. Yet, when she’s found, she’s assumed to be someone else entirely. She steps into that life to survive and tries to find out who she actually is throughout the novel. Except, it’s very obvious right from the beginning who she is; there are very few surprise details. I thought this was a plot device, so that the details of the real story would make sense as they emerge, but then there was only a a silly story that emerged that didn’t seem to have any depth; it was just a romance.

I have nothing against romance. I just didn’t think I was reading one. Perhaps, I misinterpreted the summary and my expectations were off. I wanted to know more about the mythology and there was just nothing there to share. I ended up reading a novel about a fish out of water trying to survive in New York’s high society.

There was a lot of time devoted to Rua, pretending to be Emma, trying to make friends and not anger Emma’s mother. She goes to parties, she gets fitted for a new wardrobe, she dances at balls. She is generally disliked because Emma had a poor reputation and there is nothing she can do to fix it. It dragged and it didn’t further the plot, just moved us forward in time.

The background characters are horrible socialites who play silly pranks all so they can catch the eye of a man. Said man, Finn, our love interest, is tall and handsome and wealthy. Yet, he is introduced to us as an undesirable immigrant from Ireland. He worries over-much about his reputation because he’s Irish and the Americans are racist. Yet, all the women want to marry him. He’s the catch of the season and his business partner is throwing his daughter at him. It’s confusing.

Finn is devoted to himself, but he can’t help but be drawn to Rua. It’s insta-love and he continues to court reputation-ruining disaster every time he steps out on a limb to help her. I rolled my eyes a lot. It’s nice that he’s decent and doesn’t want a young woman terrorized but it would be a lot better if I didn’t know he was yelling at himself for risking his reputation to do the right thing a lot. His motivations felt realistic, but when he goes against them because she’s gorgeous, it feels silly. Rua continues to be a jerk to him and everyone else and he is more intrigued by her the more she snaps at him.

The timing and transitions between the flashbacks and what is happening to Rua-as-Emma were confusing. I found myself flipping back to see if I’d missed something. All the society requirements dragged on and on and I kept hoping for less filler and more story. What about the flashbacks?
Rua starts out with few memories and ends with the memories we’ve been getting via flashbacks throughout the book. This seems simple and obvious, but you don’t learn anything new with the memories. You get various memories of the same general thing: Rua and her sister or Rua and a man that looks suspiciously like Finn. And then, finally, in the last chapter, you find out that’s all there was to know. There isn’t a big secret that shocks anyone; just an evil sister and a love that crosses all boundaries.

There’s no growth or change. It’s just the same person as she gets flashbacks and falls in love. This didn’t work for me. If you go in hoping for a romance with a bit of mythology for spice, maybe it would work better. I didn’t enjoy it.

I tried, I really did… I wanted to like this book so bad. The idea is great, the carachters are interesting and the setting is really different. But everything is so slow… the pacing and the writing of the author are great I was reading super fast and had barely realized time passing, I would start reading and 20% would fly easily, however every time it seemed like nothing was happening, the chapters were kinda boring and when I started getting excited about something finally happening it would be a giant twist for 2 or 3 pages and then back to the monotony of it all. I had with this book the same feeling I had when I read my first cozy fantasy not knowing what to expect and then finding it boring, but with this book I knew it wasn’t cozy so I was expecting at least a little bit of adventure or action. Even so I wanted to give it 3.5 stars because I liked the story as a whole, but close to the end about 5 chapters left things were not resolved in a way that scared me that this could be a series and I missed that information somehow, but noooooooooooo everything just got resolved very fast on the last 3 chapters and the very ending (like literally the last five paragraphs of the final chapter) was very anticlimactic and frustrating. Just because of the ending I decided to give it 3 stars…

Romantasy based on Irish mythology set in the guided age of NYC. Rua lost her memories trying to find answers to questions to help her figure out who she is - enter Finn who feels like foe some reason he’s know her forever.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC

I am one of the few that seems to enjoy the amnesia trope so I liked that part of the book. Yet I think I went in with too high expectations and was left disappointed. I expected more magic but felt there was only a small influence from Irish mythology and not what was promised. The romance was ok, but very slowburn. It was an ok book and had several good moments, like the historical setting which I loved.

This book had a lot of interesting things in the synopsis that had me wanting to take a chance on this book. I liked the fantasy/mythological aspects that were sprinkled in with the historical time period. I loved the banter between the two MCs and it was definitely a unique read from other historical romances out there now.

The main character is definitely morally gray with her decisions; she seemed angry (sometimes justifiably so, but more often it was closer to a dangerous rage where she wanted to inflict pain) and very selfish (I mean, not a lot of characters were super likeable though so somewhat understandable). I feel like the ending had some pacing issues and I wasn't super comfortable with all the deaths being justified because "they had wronged her" or "deserved it" and there wasn't a lot of remorse over the loss of human life (even if they were "bad").

The writing itself was good and, again, I appreciated the uniqueness of the story.

3.5 rounded up

—historical fantasy (you know, it's 1870s New York, but... magic)

—Irish inspiration

—closed door romance

The Basics:

When the influential Harrington family identifies amnesiac Rua as their missing daughter, she goes along with it for the sake of finding answers. The one person who does seem familiar with her is Finn, the mysterious Lord Donore—but he doesn't know exactly where they met before, either. The key is uncovering what happened to the missing Harrington girl. And they have no choice but to figure it out together.

The Review:

I see the vision here... in theory. Irish mythology is definitely having a moment in the fantasy/fantasy romance space, and I'm not mad about it. Additionally, it's fun to read a fantasy romance that's not only firmly rooted in a real setting, but in a real setting you frankly don't see a lot of in historical romance. The magic isn't super heavy, but it adds to the intrigue and mystery of the novel. Because it is kind of a mish-mash, blending romance, the fantastical, and a bit of a whodunit vibe.

Unfortunately, I think this could've used some tighter editing and less focus on getting swamped under the story and more focus on the romance. Though a slow burn, it is theoretically the emotional core of the book, and it was very... perfectly fine. I just couldn't get fully absorbed.

I do think it's important to note that this is closed door, which is going to be exactly what some of y'all want... and not for me. However, my favorite read of the year so far was closed door. That book compensated for the lack of sex on the page with truly intense chemistry and tension, which is a lesson I think a lot of closed door romance writers could learn from. This one didn't quite get me there with Rua and Finn. They had some lovely moments, they were cute, there just wasn't really a huge spark.

Conclusion:

Basically, I'm not mad at this one, but I don't think I'll remember it very much either. However, if you're interested in a nineteenth century NYC setting, Irish-infused magic, and a chaste love story, this could work for you.

Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Whoever he was, he must be important enough that his memory could ressurface in her otherwise unoccupied mind.”

I wish I loved The Gods Time Forgot because on paper it had everything I needed to adore a book: historical romance in Gilded Age New-York, strong heroine and Irish Gods, with time travel and amnesia. Unfortunately, I completely missed out on this book. I think I had too high expectations.For example, I didn’t like the writing style, as I prefer something more developed –and more descriptive– when it comes to historical romance or fantasy. I didn’t see any decors or character evolution and the plot felt sprinkled by too many coincidences. The memories, for example, always happened without the characters’ intervention –and almost always at a convenient time. I couldn’t make myself root for any of them, who mostly reacted to the event. Where we could have had true female rage, and a strong FMC, we had an explosive one who needed her knight in shiny armor. The mythology and “time travel” were also very discreet and in the end what predominated was a “historical romance love triangle” in a space that could have been anywhere, and with villains (the third part of the love triangle and the FMC’s mother) a bit caricatural that remained me of young Nellie Oleson and her mother. I also might be (I’m probably) too “haunted” by another version of Cú Chulainn from another book –which is completely on me but influenced how I’ve read this one.
It made me very sad because the premise was full of promesses, but in the end this book wasn’t for me at all.
That said, if you like a book very dialog oriented, axed on a love triangle and with discrete elements of fantasy/mythology then this book could be perfect for you.

Thank you to the author and Alcove Press for the eARC via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Rate 2.5/5

Like a fantasy version of Bridgerton in Manhattan 😍 There was just the right amount of drama and mystery, along with a splash of Irish mythology ☘️ I found myself swooning and kicking my feet over the flirty banter, and being hooked by the societal scheming. I loved slowly uncovering the mystery while seeing Finn + Rua fall in love.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this overall!! I liked the characters, was invested in the politics, and couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Plus, it’s SPICE FREE! 🌶️ There is one brief steamier kissing scene, but no s*x scenes.

I’d highly recommend this book if you love Bridgerton but want a little bit of fantasy ✨ The Gods Time Forgot releases on April 8th! 🗓️

So grateful to @netgalley @alcovepress and @kelsiesheridangonzalez for the advanced reader copy of this ebook 📖

--
I will be sharing to IG on @cocos.book.nook within the next week! :)

I can definitely see why the book comps what it does, and saw the author's pitch clearly within it, but overall the prose was difficult for me to stick with. A little overwrought without being lyrical. Still a solid read and will probably be a very enjoyable book for fans of histfic that yearn for that romantasy emotional core.

This was an interesting read and I don't quite know what to make of it. I think for some historical romance fans this could be a new favourite but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. The first 30-50% of the book was a little too slow with not enough progression for my taste, although if you like a slow burn then this might hit for you. The fantasy is very light which I don't mind but I do which it was explored more, it was all shoved in at the very end that didn't feel finished to me.

The relationship was good, although I think it should have been explored a little more, like is Finn just a mortal reincarnated? Is he now a true demi god again? Because I assumed that they needed to go back to wherever but now they don't have to? Why did Rua have some powers? It just didn't make a lot of sense to me, but that could also just be a me being nit picky or missing something. Also, I wish there was a solid female friendship in the book, it felt very isolating and mean on purpose to make the reader feel extra bad for Rua even though she is technically a morally grey character who murders people and I wish we got to lean into that more. I would have felt WAY different if Mara was a girls girl, helping Rua figure shit out, commiserating over not knowing what happened to Emma, and then Rua doesn't care if she lives or dies at the end.

Anyway, this is definitely for someone, it was well written, the characters feel fleshed out, I don't mind the world building and I definitely don't mind not knowing every nook and cranny about the fantasy elements, I just wish there was a little bit more exploration into what we were shown.

First of all, many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Well, I don't have many things to say about this book, unfortunately it wasn't a revolutionary experience for me and I was expecting much more, but it was still a good read.

I found the universe to be a bit creative and the writing is quite enjoyable, without errors or disconnected slang and quite consistent with a fantasy world. The characters are quite likable too, especially the male protagonist.

I think the biggest problem for me was the lack of connection. Despite many positive points, I didn't find the book as entertaining and it wasn't as unique as I expected it to be. At many moments I struggled to maintain my concentration because I really found the book a bit boring.

Despite all this, I am grateful to have had this reading experience and I thank you again for offering me this book.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book!

Unfortunately, this was a huge miss for me. I ended up not being able to finish it because there was nothing compelling me to do so in what I had read. Neither the writing style nor the characters worked for me and I found the aspects of magic and gods severely lacking.

As someone who was not a fan of Outlander (I know, I know father the pitchforks) but this was so beautifully done I was swept away within minutes. The atmospheric tone of this book absolutely captures you, the FMC/all ladies involved are so incredibly cool I just wanted to be their friends. And lastly, most importantly, this was a love story for the ages. I loved it wholeheartedly. I wish I could read it again for the first time.