DNF @53 percent.

I really was excited for this book. The pitch of two forgotten Irish gods that keep finding each other in every lifetime was quite gripping. Our main character Rua has lost all of her memories but she has an instant connection to our main male character, an Irish lord. They are physically drawn to each other immediately, a hint of this secret connection, but unfortunately there are no accompanying emotional stakes.

DNF at 25%

I really liked the concept for this: a historical fantasy set in The Gilded Age with mythology? Absolutely yes! However, I fear the execution wasn't what I'd hoped. The pacing was very rushed and I didn't feel invested in the plot or characters enough to keep reading. I'm also not a fan of the amnesia trope (which is my fault for requesting this) so if you're ok with that trope then you will enjoy this more than me.

The concept of this book was super interesting! I enjoyed it, though some of the execution maybe wasn’t what I’d hoped. The fantasy aspect felt quite “distant” from the story itself, as most of that element was found in dreams/flashbacks and really didn’t play a large role until the ending — which in itself felt a little rushed.

IMO the thing this book did really well was its setting: I haven’t read many (honestly, this might be the first!) books set in the Gilded Age, and the execution of New York City in the late 1800s was really immersive. It’s such an interesting time period for a myriad of reasons — it appears so dazzling at surface level, but the deeper you look the more complexities you discover. This book did a great job exploring the upper class life, while also making a point to not leave out what was happening to less privileged people, classes, parts of the city, etc.

I think this book will be best enjoyed by readers who are fans of both historical fiction and urban fantasy, with a touch of romance!

Honestly, it was a struggle to rate this but I think i'm going with 2.5 stars.

When I first requested the ARC for this, I was really anticipating it -- the description sounded like an interesting mix of mythology and mystery, plus a pretty cover! Especially as someone who doesn't know much about Irish mythology (despite being Irish), I was super intrigued! Unfortunately though, when actually reading it, many of the elements I was anticipating fell flat, and ultimately left me disappointed.

Most prominently, this is pitched as a mythology/fantasy story, but the fantasy elements were barely present until maybe the last 15% -- up until then it's basically just American Bridgerton with a few lines hinting at the mythological elements before everything gets thrown at you in the end. That's not to say that I don't enjoy high society-based historical fiction -- I just didn't anticipate so much of it here.

Additionally, I didn't care too much for the main characters or the romance -- I normally love the trope where characters find each other in every lifetime, but I didn't feel much of a connection to either of our protagonists, and the romance development in the main story (excluding the flashbacks) was very instalove/lust for me, which I'm not really a fan of.

I think I would have enjoyed this more if we were introduced to the mythology more from the start -- even just with a prologue or something -- so that the ending didn't feel so rushed.

Ultimately, I think I just went into this with the wrong expectations which made the book disappointing for me. That being said, it was a really quick read and I did find myself wanting to know what happens, so I think there are definitely elements that will be enjoyable for other readers, even if they didn't hit for me!

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

Not the vibes I was hoping for. DNF'd at 40% It might be for someone else though, it just wasn't the book for me

DNF ~30%

This story was just not vibing with me, The premise, while interesting, feels rushed. I also am not a fan of the writing style - a lot of very long, run on sentences and too much exposition. It feels like every time one of our characters enters a new room, we get two to three paragraphs describing the room, which really bogs down the story.
Rua feels like a one dimensional character - she seems to have no real concern for the fact that she can't remember who she is, but is also not at all committed to trying to fit in. Its giving a weird twist on the "not like other girls" thing. While I'm quitting fairly early, I have no real sense of what her motivations are. She knows that the maid has information, but appears to have no interest in actually figuring anything out?
The love interest and their set up is too insta-lust for me. While I think we are supposed to get the sense that they recognize each other somehow, it feels very flimsy. I am also a huge anti-instalove trope person, so if you don't mind it, it may not bother you as much.
This is being advertised as a romantasy, while there may be fantasy elements that come more into play later, it is set in a historical real-world setting. I think it should be billed more as historical fantasy, or historical romance with fantasy elements. In romantasy, while it doesn't necessarily have to be set in a different world that ours, I think there needs to be at least some strong magical elements, or hints of magic. So far, all we see in the first 30% is a potentially cursed stream (with literally no explanation, and again, our character does not seem to have any desire to inquire further).

The first time I read the synopsis for this book I was hooked - gilded age New York and Irish Mythology? How couldn’t I love it! Although the book went in a very different direction that what I had assumed (I definitely thought that the high immigration and number of Irish people in New York would’ve been the catalyst for this book, but it was not really a thing), I found the book leaned more into the historical fiction aspect that the mythology aspect and didn’t really integrate the fantasy - it wasn’t really a part of the story until the last book 20% of the book and was a bit rushed and incomplete (like how did this society lady and her maid get into the Morrigan with no hint of Irish ancestry?). I enjoyed the historical aspect and found that the interaction within the society, the balls and dinner parties interesting, and they carried the book for me. The tension between the two were well done and I enjoyed their flirtation and banter - and their romance really felt inevitable in all their interactions and inner monologue. I wish we got more of an expanded ending on the two of them and their relationship, the pacing felt off in this section and I felt it ended very abruptly.
I also was a little doubtful about this Irish Lord who was so staunchly pro-Ireland, helped Irish orphans and could speak Irish? When it was very much not historically based, and would draw far more attention than a strange marriage match! It makes me question how much research went into this aspect.

Ok, so I absolutely loved the romance in this book! I’m such a sucker for soulmates, it always works for me. I also loved the setting and the FMC, but the fantasy aspect felt like it was missing something. The ending also felt really rushed, which bothered me a bit (just a little bit, I promise!). Other than that, I loved everything and would totally recommend it! :)

A book with a very intresting premise. I liked the idea of it all to somehow blend the gilded age New York with Mythology. But topics that I find very intresting personally. It took me a while to get into it though. Some of it was due to the fact that our protagonist Rua has no memory therefore the readers gets to know stuff in the same way she does. Which at times took a bit too long for my taste. But once you get into it it gets intresting. I liked that we got an kind of 'inside' look into the upper class. I also liked the fmc her 'different' way of thinking and of course the romance aspect. Overall I Could've done with a bit more fantasy but this was nonetheless an intresting read.

The two things that I struggled with in this otherwise intriguing book were the pacing and the double romance.

As for the pacing, I really liked the first 100 pages or so where we as readers, together with Rua trying to fit into Emma‘s role, discover the world of the late 19th century‘s high society in New York. Rua attends several balls, meets loads of inconsequential and underdeveloped side characters with motives and aspirations that I couldn’t bring myself to care about, and builds a relationship with Finn, the lord of Donore. The next 100 pages are much of the same, so when I reached the 70% mark, I was very worried how the rest of the plot and an explanation of the whole magical system and Rua and Finn’s powers was all supposed to fit into a standalone book. The ending was extremely rushed, all the Irish Folklore background was info-dumped at once and I grew ever more distant to the main characters until I didn’t care about their fates anymore at all when the story was over.

Tying into that, the relationship between Rua and Finn was developed very well with great chemistry over the course of the several, otherwise repetitive, balls and dinners that they both attended. I was sad to see that the same was not true for Rua and Cú Chulainn, whose romance was based on „well, this all happened in the past and I’ll just tell you all about it in flashbacks so you understand that we‘re destined to be together“. To me, there was such a disconnect between the two couples that I sometimes even forgot that they were the same people. During the extremely rushed ending, they both just morph into these completely different personas without any differentiated character growth.

All in all, the book had such a great premise, good writing and an amazing atmosphere, but the second half of the plot should have been developed more slowly and thoroughly, in my opinion, along with at least some of the supporting characters - Mara‘s motives and relationship to Emma still aren’t clear to me at all, and why would Flossie not at least try to work with her daughter instead of against her?

3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove and Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez for providing me with an advanced reader copy. The below is my opinion freely given.

I'm not usually a Romantasy reader but I used to read a lot of Historical Romance's and about halfway through this book, I started to wish that is exactly what it was. Its so well done, the tension and restraint of the time, the innocent but somehow forbidden love stories. Very Bridgerton. I loved it and I wanted Finn to damn everyone, rescue Rua and take her off to a sprawling country home in Ireland.

The fantasy side of this felt like an after thought, like the author was told the original concept wouldnt sell but that fantasy was "having a moment". It felt disjointed and uninspired and the ending was poor. There was so much opportunity left on the table.

I won't go into deep detail for fear of spoiling the ending but it really felt phoned in. There are so many retellings and remainings of mythical stories right now, plenty of them are done amazingly well and are deeply researched. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat.
The author is however a lovely writer with a wonderful ability to put romance on the page.

3.5

The story is interesting and I loved the banter and the FMC but I can’t help feeling that something was missing. Especially at the beginning, it was difficult for me to connect with the book. I felt that there was so much focus on the FMCs perspective that the context or descriptions to make it feel more real were missing. That being said, it’s an interesting story, with strong points that I definitely enjoyed.

Thank you to netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars ! I really enjoyed reading this one. I loved how different it was from things I have read recently. The Irish mythology included in the book was really interesting. The back and forth banter between the two main characters was top notch. I loved their chemistry and pull towards each other. Parts towards the ending were a little bit confusing involving the explaining of the magic and then the ending was so crazy abrupt. I would have loved this book more had the ending been a little different. I do recommend giving this a try if you enjoy romantasy or period romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Gods Time forgot by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez is a time period fantasy that is fun, funny, as well as glamorous. Definitely recommended to fans for epic fantasy stories.

I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

Take the Gilded Age and Bridgerton worlds and add a cursed pool, accusations of witchcraft, a horrible mother, a twisted friendship, family issues, and 2 gods forced to see how deep their love truly is. Mix it up, add a slight love triangle, and you will have "The Gods Time Forgot."

First, I love this cover art; it is absolutely stunning and builds excitement in seeing what is between the spine.

The story was good. I had never read Irish mythology before, so this was a totally new cast of gods for me. The story fell a bit flat for me because I have no prior knowledge of the gods in this world. I struggled with the lack of information we get on the relationship between Rua and Finn, Rua and her sisters, and even Emma and her lady's maid. I think I need that piece to make me whole in this world, even though, as the story goes on, we find out hidden secrets. I personally needed more. The pacing was a bit slow for me; the cover gives the idea of action, action, action, action, but it was a bit slow.

This book could have been amazing if a little more attention to detail had been paid. However, I still enjoyed the read and am interested in what happens with Rua and Finn in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press, and Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez for providing access to this book's ARC.

This is a romantasy with Irish mythology influence that captured my attention from page one. I love the FMC Rua and how relatable she is. I laughed so many times at her inner monologue and her rebuttals towards other characters. The story took a little while to build up but once it did…WOW! I love the complexities of Rua and Finn’s “backstory”!

My favorite aspects of this story lies in the dialogue. The discussions between characters was so organic that I could vividly picture the scenes in my head. As an avid fantasy lover, this did lack some of the fantastical elements that I love BUT I was given enough to keep me interested throughout the book! A word of caution…this story leans more towards historical fiction and romance than fantasy. If you’re going into this thinking you’ll see dragons and goblins and such you won’t get it. BUT this doesn’t take away from the story AT ALL. I think it adds more depth and relatability towards the plot.

I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I have mixed feelings about this Irish-mythology meets the Gilded Age romantasy. For the first 80% of the book, I was hooked. Then the last 20% just... eh.

I'd heard such great things about this book that as soon as I saw it on Netgalley I wanted to read it. We have a heroine who emerges from a hole in the forest with no memories, except that she is definitely not the Gilded Age heiress that everyone thinks she is. The only one who knows something is up is her maid, who, along with the heiress, was deeply involved in worshipping a trio of Irish goddesses. Our FMC, Rua, is carted off to Gilded Age New York by the heiresses parents, who are determined to break into society (think diamond princesses, Vanderbilts vs. Astors, etc.). Our MMC is a young Irish lord with a mysterious past who is determined to make the right moves in New York so that he can continue to support the charities that are important to him. Rua threatens everything he is trying to build with her non-traditional behaviors and scandalous past. But they are both attracted to each other, and can't help but feel that this isn't the first time that they've met.

Sounds promising! And it was. The first 80% was great. I was invested in Rua and her mystery, her romance, and rooting for the characters to have a happy ending that you know was once denied them. The conflicts with New York society were interesting and you really felt bad for Rua.

And then the last 20% of the book happened. Suddenly the pace seemed weird, characters were making decisions that came out of nowhere in a way to move the plot forward, entire plot points were just... dropped, and by the end... I wasn't rooting for Rua and her romance anymore. In fact, I was pretty eh about both of our main characters. Their love was toxic, but I was unsure if that was what I was supposed to understand at the end of the book, or if I was supposed to continue rooting for these two people who I no longer cared for.

I fully appreciate that other people may love this book, and I can see why. But I admit that I was disappointed in the end after loving the rest of the book.

I was very excited to read this book because I love both romantasy and stories that intertwine mythology/folklore. Unfortunately, I was really let down by this book and felt that it could've been so much better.

To begin with the characters, I was constantly annoyed by the FMC. Waking up in the Gilded Age in New York, she is mistaken for the daughter of a high class family. It'd be understandable if she was confused and anxious about why she's in the situation she's in. Instead, she acts as though she doesn't really care to discover why and instead acts like a brat throughout the story. She makes no attempt to protect herself during social situations and is constantly lamenting about how she's not like the other women of the time. If the intention was for the reader to feel bad for the FMC, I definitely didn't and just found myself frustrated by everything she did. The MMC was interesting, and I did like how we got to read his POV.

But I really didn't like the insta-love aspect of this book. And I'm not saying that as an insta-love hater, some of my favorite romantasy books include fated mates and insta-love. But it really didn't hit right in this book. We don't really understand the history of the two main characters until much later in the story, so it's really just a guy immediately falling in love with a girl who's different from all the other girls. The romance between the two was written very much as telling and now showing, show it was hard to become invested in them and root for their relationship.

The plot itself was ok, but it definitely felt rushed and incomplete. While this book is supposed to be romantasy, the vast majority of the book is about the FMC going to parties and doing things that should definitely have ruined her reputation in her society. There is an aspect of the FMC regaining some of her memories and that's where the Irish folklore came in, but it was a very minimal aspect of the book and didn't live up to the expectations. The writing as a whole seemed very much like a bunch of info-dumps and felt much too telling and less showing. In general, I feel like the story could be so much better if the folklore was integrated into the book in a better way and if the FMC was almost completely different.

The ending of the book felt very rushed and as though the author just wanted to give the MCs a supposedly happy ending as quickly as possible while ignoring all of the conflicts and issues addressed throughout the rest of the book. If there's going to be a sequel, the ending might be a bit better, but even so, the ending was not great.

So incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to read this book! The Gods Time Forgot was such a unique concept and I was captivated the moment I read the blurb. The way Kelsie Gonzalez was able to paint such a vivid representation of the world she created was absolutely captivating and the twists and turns had me glued to my seat hurtling towards the end just so I could see how the story unfolded. I can't wait to see a copy of this on my shelves when it hits the bookstores, from the story, the characters and even the cover art - The Gods Time Forgot will be forever etched in my mind. Thankyou so much for allowing me to read this early!

I received an advanced copy of The Gods Time Forgot from Crooked Lane Books through Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.

When Rua wakes up with no memories except for her name, is mistaken for someone who she's certain is not her and has to figure out how to navigate a society she knows nothing about, all while trying to figure out who she really is, I had a feeling I would be in for a wild ride. The Gods Time Forgot was an interesting story, but it wasn't everything I hoped it would be. I did finish it, though after doing so, I almost wish I hadn't.

Rua was an unbelievably frustrating character. I cannot even begin to explain how many times she talked about having to fit in and not arouse suspicion, only to turn around and do precisely that. I get it, we can't have a female main character these days who isn't a bada** back-talking machine, who lives for violence and banter, but holy cow, did Rua make me want to tear my hair out. There were so many ways she could have navigated the situations she was in without causing a scene every single time, but that's exactly what she did. Then, she had the audacity to be surprised that people were saying mean things about her and didn't like her. I'm sorry, but you were well aware of the conventions of this society and how it operated. Welcome to the consequences of your actions. I had very little sympathy for Rua, if you couldn't tell.

As for the other main character, Finn was a wishy-washy mess, and I honestly have nothing else to say about him.

The plot was ... well, I'm not sure what the plot was. I thought it was supposed to be about Rua getting her memories back, but that gets stuffed into a corner on the opposite side of the mansion for three-quarters of the book. Most of the book was about Rua poorly navigating New York high society, and I couldn't determine what the point of it all was. The answers to all of her questions are literally standing right next to her, and she just doesn't ask. And when she does ask and gets a roundabout answer, she doesn't push. She doesn't try harder. I don't know. Seemed a little silly.

I have a whole rant about the ending of this book that I will not go into because of spoilers, but that ending was not it. When nothing had been resolved but I only had five pages left, I knew I wasn't going to like whatever happened, and lo and behold, I did not. It made absolutely no sense and didn't truly resolve anything. Maybe that's a spoiler in itself, but yeah. Ending = no good. ALSO! The title of the book is a spoiler. It made some of the "twists" utterly pointless because you already know because the title practically tells you. Ugh.

I could say more, but I think you probably get the picture. The Gods Time Forgot was not at all what I was expecting in both good and bad ways. I kept reading because I was curious to see where the story would go, but I was ultimately disappointed by everything. This was not the book for me, but if you're looking for a historical romance with a hint of magic, it might work for you.