Member Reviews
Reading this book was a beautiful, emotional, cathartic experience — but listening to it elevated it to completely unprecedented heights. Prepare yourself to cry in the car! The shower! While you're washing dishes! As you're brushing your teeth! Spice up your mundane tasks by crying, swooning, and kicking you feet along to this one, y'all.
The narrators knocked it out of the park, nailing the specific character nuances in tone, style, and vibe, and as someone who's very, very picky with her audiobooks, I absolutely cannot wait for the next few to release so I'm able to exist in the beautiful world Sheila's created for just a bit longer.
If you haven't read this story before, prepare for the most delicious, epic book hangover of all time upon finishing this one. STORIES LIKE THIS ARE WHY WE READ ROMANCE BOOKS. And the emotional depth the narrators breathe into the story makes it extra punchy, extra satisfying, and extra painful. In the BEST way.
The Lost God has all of the hallmarks of the best kinds of fantasy romance:
- A cool magic system, of which our FMC dabbles in ALL elements, but specializes in memory
- A years-long quest to unlock magic for all of the witches in their struggling, constantly-threatened-by-war-from-their-asshole-neighbors kingdom
- Handsome soul bonded guardians
- Mysterious handsome strangers who bring her roses and dessert
- Handsome, meddling gods
- And most agonizingly: a love triangle of epic, angsty proportions .
This one is SPICY, romantic, and written so beautifully that you could fill a composition book with all of the highlighted quotes. It also feels like an entire trilogy in one book, with heaping piles of plot alongside the romance. You'll laugh, you'll blush, you'll cry, and you'll theory spiral in text messages to friends.
Truly a beautiful book, and an equally lovely, moving audiobook.
This isn't just a book about gods, it's a book with a story like a mythology one.
And I loved it.
It brought in so many details from the mythology, from complicated romances, deals with the gods, challenges and sacrifices, but it also went beyond that by bringing in characters who want freedom, recognition and a sense of belonging.
The characters are very well written, with personalities that adapt to the moment but are conditioned by the problems and traumas of the past.
The book surprised me page after page, I never imagined the turns it would take, and I was sceptical about some of them, but the book managed to turn me around and I loved every bit of it.
I loved the magic and the whole system of city life that involved the lives of the characters, the atmosphere created from the royal life in the castle to the camping on the forest.
I was really impressed by the detail of the writing and the careful way in which it guided me through the book.
And in this book, I believe, and warn, that all things are there for a reason, so don't dismiss details, because they will be connected and create the whole plot. And it's fantastic to see that happening. It's like having the rug pulled out from under your feet.
The narrator did an excellent job of giving strength and personality to the various characters and evoking their emotions. The whole book is from the protagonist's perspective, but at the end we get to hear the voices of her two lovers, and count me in for the next audiobook in the series!!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Audiobook ALC Review
Narration: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Difficultly: 🏹🏹
Narrated by:
Caitlin Kelly
Will Damron
Tim Campbell
It is no secret that this series has become my all time favorite fantasy series. Rarely does a day go by that I don't think about some aspect of this series. So when I heard that they were getting audiobooks I was ecstatic. And then to learn that the series got not 1 or 2, but FOUR narrators! I couldn't be more excited.
This book is, for almost its entirety, narrated by Caitlin Kelly, and she does an absolutely remarkable job. She captures Cecelia's big feelings and unending hopefulness with so much raw emotion. There were parts of this book that, while already emotional, were made so much more viscerally real due to Caitlin's performance. I truly could not have imagined a better Cece. She also did a fantastic job giving each of the other characters their own voice. It's truly so well done.
Just for clarity for those who haven't read the series before, The Lost God (book 1) is single point of view, with a small multi POV epilogue. So while there are 3 narrators listed, Will Damron and Tim Campbell only narrate a small portion each at the very end of the book.
But that's only true of this book. The series shifts to multi point of view with 3 POVs in book 2. So while we only get a small taste of Will and Tim's truly delicious voices in this installment, have no fear, they will be back with much bigger parts in the next book. (And then we will get a fourth narrator in books 3&4!) And please know that my reaction to Will Damron's voice at the end was low-key embarrassing. 😂😮💨
Overall, I absolutely LOVED this audiobook and I think it is a great way to read or reread this series!
Review of first read of this book below
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️
𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎.
Oh my goodness I LOVED this book. The lore, the meddling gods, the magic system. It was all fascinating and hooked me immediately. I was so interested in the bonded witches and guardians and was immediately curious how it was going to play into the romance of this book.
This is a very romance heavy plot and I was into it. This book has a love triangle and I was initially a little concerned because love triangle is not my favorite, but this was done so well.
Cecelia is a fantastic FMC. She has the weight of the world on her shoulders and that pressure only increases throughout the book. I felt for her with every new twist and I loved her growth in this book. She has a difficult choice to make when it comes to her love life and I'm fully invested in the outcome.
I'm not usually a fan of friends to lovers in romantasy but I was so interested in the bond with Rainer and how it would affect any other romantic pairing. The connection Rain and Cece have is so sweet and it's honestly really hard to root against them. But Rain is also a bit infuriating in parts of the book so it made it hard to root FOR them as well. They are in a very tricky situation.
Xander brings the spice very early in this book and I was loving it. I'm a sucker for a nickname so I was swooning real hard. His relationship with Cece is hot and heavy, but it also heats up really fast and it made me a bit anxious. He's got that possessive MMC thing going and definitely has some secrets so I'm curious how things will play out.
I am fully invested in where this story is going and I will be reading The Memory Curse very very soon.
𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚... 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.
I loved this book so much and the audiobook did not disappoint one bit!! The narrators did a phenomenal job with portrayal of each character. I can’t believe I get to relive this world again through them!
Excellent fantasy book. Love me a good love triangle lol. The characters are lovable, relatable and fierce. This one has a strong female league character, which was refreshing. I definitely recommend if you like Romantasy as much as I do!
The Lost God audiobook is spectacular. I was so happy to be able to experience this book again as an audiobook, and I was thoroughly impressed. The narration was stunning. She gripped me throughout the whole book, and I felt all of the emotions come through. I loved the additional POVs at the end and can't wait to see how they continue in the series. Thank you for the Advanced Listening Copy. I will be recommending this to all of my audiobook loving friends!
The Lost God By: Sheila Masterson
Audiobook rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️4/5 | 🌶️3/5 | Ancient Magic | Gods & Goddesses | Forbidden Romance | Possessive MMC | Love Triangle | Court Intrigue
LOVED! This is a romance heavy fantasy novel in a world where magic, witches, guardians and Gods coexist. I love stories that have meddling Gods because they always make things a whole lot more interesting. The mortals in this world consists of royals who hold court, hunters, and guardians who are bonded to witches. Fascinating! This is a VERY easy fantasy read since its plot is romance heavy, and the world building is done very gradually that won’t overwhelm any reader. I was engaged in the story the entire time!
We have very strong MCs here who are relatable in many ways. Let me just say for those who abhor love triangles - this was done perfectly well!
I felt the weight of the world on Cece’s shoulders learning about who she is, her history, and her capabilities. This is a coming of age story for Cece in the figurative sense. She learns how to find her voice and make decisions for herself and not for what is expected of her. She is already a strong FMC to begin with who is driven by love and not power, but she leans into it more as her story develops and I’m definitely intrigued to see where it goes.
Rainer is OMG infuriating in probably 70% of the book. He’s a stickler for the rules and is overshadowed by the need to prove himself despite being the best at what he does. I started to soften on him when we learn more about an event that shifted how he viewed his relationship with Cece. God, the longing just absolutely shattered my heart. I love his relationship with Cece so much - there is such a purity and gentleness to it.
Xander - okay, i dont know what to make of this man. First he was so sexy and swoony. I cheered him on as he slowly won Cece over. But then, theres this seed of doubt about his character because he seems to know the right things to say all the time plus the nicknames were a little cringy but made sense later on. He’s sweet, sexy but borderline possessive and overconfident. I have a feeling he is a ticking time bomb.
My heart broke more than once reading this novel! I loved how there were plenty of pivotal moments that lead to the character development for Cece & Rain. Theres will be lots of beloved secondary characters here but we only get glimpses of them and hopefully more in book 2!
This was a fantastic fantasy romance story, that I devoured! The story line and narration kept me invested until the very end. The author has created a unique world and characters, making it easy for the narration to come to life.
Overall, highly recommend this audiobook, well written and narrated.
The Lost God Audiobook Release/ Review
You all know my love for The Lost God series, and having the audiobook bring these characters to life brought that love to a whole new level!
I fell in love all over again with Cece’s fierce determination and desire for choice and freedom, Xander’s desire to be seen and accepted for who he is as well as his determination to give Cece the control she so desperately craves, and Rainer’s protective and rule following nature (as long as those rules make sense to him)!
One of my favorite things about audiobooks is picking up on all the little things I have may have missed when reading the first time through. And this includes all the foreshadowing that I can now recognize for what it is!! Look at Sheila being all sneaky…
The narrators did a fabulous job invoking a wide range of emotions as CeCe, Rainer, and Xander go on quite the adventure. The book is primarily from CeCe’s POV, but you get a little snippet of Rainer and Xander at the end and with the next books in the series being multi POV, I cannot wait to see it all come together. Already bracing myself for the tears that I know will soon be flowing!
Thank you @sheilareadsandwrites, @dreamscapemedia, and @netgalley for the ALC!!
#thelostgod #thelostgodaudiobook #audiobook #thelostgodseries #sheilamasterson #fantasyromance #bookishlove #bookseriesilove
A memory witch, a guardian, a hunter, lost gods, a quest, and a love triangle?! Yes. I very much enjoyed this audiobook. Caitlin Kelly does an amazing job as usual. But if you’re going into this thinking there are gonna be more POVs with the 3 narrators listed, you will be disappointed. As the 2 male narrators only have one short chapter each right at the end. Not a fan of that. A bit misleading. Boo. Hopefully book 2 will have more povs.
Anywhos, the story is neat. Had to trudge through the instalove, as it’s not a favorite of mine. It made the relationships not believable to me. I needed more substance in the forbidden romance and love triangle. But she’s a memory witch! And he’s a guardian! And he’s a hunter! Love that. And the side characters are cool. I’ll read the second book.
ALSOOOO! I needed more groveling. Sorely let down by the lack of groveling.
3.5 ⭐️
✨𝒜𝐿𝒞 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌✨
🎧: The Lost God (The Lost God, Book 1)
🎙️: @caitlinkellyvo; Will Damron; Tim Campbell
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘊𝘦𝘤𝘦.”
I was beyond thrilled to see one of my all time favorite romantasy books adapted into an audiobook! You can find my full book review on Amazon and Goodreads 💻
The Lost God, book 1, follows a courageous memory witch and her bonded guardian as they embark on a dangerous quest to release an ancient power to their kingdom on the cusp of war.
A charming Hunter, meddling gods, and heartbreaking betrayals make things infinitely more complicated. But all magic requires an exchange. Is Cecilia willing to pay the cost?
Tropes:
⚠️ Love triangle
🚫 Forbidden romance
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Found family
🛏️ One bed/🐎 One horse
🗣️ Banter
🏰 Court intrigue
🪩 Masquerade ball
🧠 Memory magic
🌶️: Open door
“𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘊𝘦𝘤𝘦. 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦.”
The narrator effortlessly and expertly captures Cece’s fierce spirit and all the raw emotions from our MCs. Every emotion came surging back as I relived this incredibly moving story and soul-stirring romance through this audiobook adaptation. Cecilia is forced to confront and reconcile difficult truths and her fate. When faced with impossible choices, what will she choose?
The relationships Cece has with Rainer and Xander is deeply complex. I would be remiss if I did not mention how each intimate scene was so deliberate and intentional, exploring the characters’ vulnerabilities and advancing their emotional growth and relationships.
In The Lost God, Sheila brilliantly layers elements of forbidden love and interwoven fates tied to choices and memories. This is an absolutely gorgeous adaptation and I cannot wait to listen to the rest of the series!
Huge thanks to the author, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for the ALC opportunity! This is my honest and voluntary review.
Absolutely LOVED this book and narrator! I was so immersed in this story I couldn’t focus on anything else!
I am not an audio person, but I love this series so decided to give it a shot and the narration was fantastic.
This book has love triangles, secrets, meddling gods, and magic! I love the writing in this book and the magic system. Definitely had some twists that I was not expecting and excited to see how the story continues and see the relationships between the character continue to grow.
There was so much tension in this book. And so many feelings. The push and pull between the different characters and what they were feeling for each other. Rain just has a feeling of home even though I wish he would just say what he feels. The flanter between Xander and Cece brought a smile to my face. Had to get over the instalove but Xander definitely grew on me throughout the book. Sheila does an amazing job of really making you feel for the characters and I just have this gut feeling she plans to devastate us in the future.
Wow! Absolutely loved this audiobook! There’s a huge love triangle in this book and I can’t choose what side I’m on. Both of the MMCs have their flaws but so many pros that it’s hard to pick one. This book makes me want to jump into book 2 asap or spoil the series for myself but there’s not much info on the internet for this series, which is bewildering, because I enjoyed it so much. I saw 3 narrators on this audio book so I thought there would be more male POVs, but the male POVs are only one chapter each at the end. I’m assuming there might be more in book 2, so I found this a little disappointing, since I like breaking up the audio with the deeper male voices, instead of having the female narrator lower her voice for the male dialogue. But I still enjoyed it and can’t wait for book 2.
4.5⭐️
I listened to the ALC of this as it has been on my TBR some time and I absolutely loved it! I am a sucker for a love triangle and this book absolutely delivered. I honestly can’t decide if I’m team Xander or Rainer but Xander is winning currently. It also absolutely delivered the feminine rage vibes I need right now as the FMC fought to determine her own future as a woman rather than do what she is expected to do.
The audiobook was excellent and I really enjoyed the narrator!
I can’t wait to find time to continue this series!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!
This book started out sort of slow, but gradually picked up. It sucked me in by the 25% mark. The MFC is strong and stubborn, as we all like to see. The MMCs are both kind, caring, and plot twisty! Which we all love. The story follows our MFC as she journeys through not only a true journey, but also her bid for independence and love. THe spice isn't too spicy. I listened to tit on an Audiobook version and LOVED it. The narrator was spot on. I think it would have been a touch better if she either altered her voice a bit more for the male characters, or if a male narrator had been included. Overall everyone should read this!!
I very much enjoyed listening to this audiobook, I had seen this book on Goodreads a while back and had added it to my tbr. The trio of narrators went so well together. I’m someone who likes to listen on a higher speed and I was still able to stay in the story. Instantly fell in love with the characters and plot of this story. The magic system being based on memory is so unique. There was so much about the idea that Celia’s power dissolved as soon as she finished the trials and would be made to marry. Even though I thought her being the lost god was an obvious plot line I was shook by Xander’s reveal. And the events that unfolded after 50%
The spice was also very good especially giving I don’t know this book has spice going into it. I usually am not a fan of love triangles but damn… I’m team Rainer.
Looking forward to continuing the series on audio. Especially seeing how Celia’s character will develop .
Thank you to NetGalley and dreamscape audio for providing this arc in return for my honest review
Cecilia is a memory witch bound to her guardian Rainer since childhood. The pair have grown up together and in recent years come dangerously close to crossing the line that keeps them from being more. Their final adventure together before Cecilia returns to a provincial married life takes a drastic turn when they collide with a hunter. The road to freedom has more obstacles now but Cecilia is determined to take control of her life in any way she can.
The Lost God is a romantasy with a pretty good balance of romance and fantasy, and it’s incredibly fast-paced, so a good option for readers who struggle with drawn out world building and journeys. In saying that, I am always more invested in the fantasy end of a romantasy and the fantasy elements were underwhelming in this book. As mentioned, the plot moves very quickly and the story suffers as a result in my opinion. I love the concept and any fantasy books about old or dead gods impacting the world, so I needed to know more about them. The world was also minimally described and the author really relies on you filling in the gaps yourself.
The romance is a mess, I was just perplexed the entire time I was listening to the audiobook. We have a love triangle HEAVY on insta-love (which admittedly I don’t care for) which again made it feel like the book was taking place over the span of 10 minutes? The whole time I just wanted to say ‘girl be for real’. The author was clearly trying to imply tension but the tension was non-existent. The main relationship didn’t feel organic, but I actually did like the chemistry between the other pair in the triangle. It’s giving Katniss and Gale if Katniss was an idiot. Outside of the romance dynamic, I didn’t like Cecilia as a FMC very much, she just constantly made dumb decisions and failed to put two and two together, it was exhausting. MMC has the charm of a wet sponge. The side characters were the most enjoyable among the cast and did provide some great moments.
Also cringey smut.
Very little about this book worked for me, but I do think if you ready romantasy for the romance and don’t care much for the fantasy elements, AND you enjoy the tropes included you would probably like this book/series. I don’t plan to continue.
This book takes you on a whirlwind of adventures and emotions and the narration makes it 3629382 times better! I laughed, I cried, I RAGED. I cannot wait to hear the rest of this series! By far my top favorite!!
This was an amazing audiobook!
Kingdoms at war, meddling gods, forbidden romance, love triangle, forced bonds, magic, spice, hidden identities, adventure, plot twist, betrayal . It has it ALL!
Shelia has created an amazing unique magical world that you can’t help but get entrapped in. She has created characters that you love and feel for deeply.
The narrators did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life and truly added to the experience of this book.