Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon

7 reviews

readingwithkaitlyn's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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kharlan3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Gem is a nonbinary teen living in small town Georgia, and things have never felt quite right- especially that their best friend lives all the way in New York City. This not-right-ness comes to a head as disconcerting things start to happen and Gem learns that they're a reincarnation of a god from another universe, in the midst of a generation-spanning war for the lives of their fellow gods and the world they left behind. 

I completely adored this book. Gem is complex- I rooted for them, but they make bad, messy, heartfelt decisions left and right. The thing that this book did the best was Gem's inner life- the combination of their mental health issues and the memories of their past lives flowing together, the all-consuming yearning that can't be contained to a single object of affection, the coping skills they try to use but aren't quite enough. I haven't seen quite this point of view on trans-ness, gender, mental illness, and growing up in the rural south anywhere else.

This book ends on a cliffhanger, and I can't wait for the next one- H.E. Edgmon hasn't disappointed me yet!

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krisalexcole's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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lycangrrl's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Another stunning book by H.E. Edgmon. It took a little bit for me to get into it (you're kinda just thrown into everything without a lot of explanations and books that start like that are often a bit difficult for me because I get frustrated not knowing what's going on) but once I got a few chapters in, I was completely engrossed. 

Gem is a nonbinary teen living in Seminole, GA. They are unabashedly queer and are always charming their peers. Underneath however, they are an anxious mess. Not least of all because they worry they are losing their sanity. They have visions of being a god called the Magician and helping another god, The Shade, murder the other god in the pantheon. Gem's father is mentally ill and they worry that, as much as these seem like visions or memories, they are actually hallucinations. Their only true confidant is a trans boy named Enzo who lives in NY. 

A girl named Willa Mae comes to their school and we find out that she is one of the gods, Gem is the Magician, and they actually sent all the still living gods to this realm a long time ago and they keep being reborn and will continue to do so unless Gem is killed with a specific weapon which will allow the gods to return home. It is slowly revealed that other teens in the town are reincarnations of the gods and they are all slowly remembering what has happened to them. Some new girls come to town and begin going after Gem to try and kill them, all eventually leading to a final confrontation with Gem, Willa Mae, and Enzo against the gods who want to see Gem destroyed.

An amazing story with many twists and turns that really drew me in. I was in love with Enzo immediately and love where his story ended up going. And that cliffhanger ending! Can't wait for the second book to see how everything unfolds.

ARC provided by NetGalley

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thedragonqueen's review

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this ebook for review consideration. All opinions are my own. 
 
H.E. Edgmon is one of the most talented authors I have ever read. Godly Heathens had me hooked with the best first line ever written. Gem is neither a hero nor villian in this gripping tale of quite literally escapng the Goddess of Death, a gaggle of Gods stuck in a different world, and your not so average love triangle. I loved that the book was full of representation of trans and non-binary individuals as well as a very diverse cast of Indigenous and Black characters. I need every book Edgmon has ever written. 

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ezwolf's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Gem Echols is a trans high school student just trying to make it out of their small town to be with their maybe love interest in college. That all changes when they meet Willa Mae who reveals that the dreams Gem has had are actually memories of a previous life and they are the reincarnation of a god. 

I thought that Gem was pretty funny at the start of the book and I was on my way to being endeared to them. But somewhere along the way I realized that I didn’t really like them. Or Willa Mae. Or Enzo. I love morally grey characters and they don’t have to do good things but I do need to like them on some level. 

But there are a lot of good things about this book and I think a lot of other people will like it. It's got good trans representation, Native representation, discussions of colonization as well as mental illness. 

I still look forward to reading the author’s other books and would recommend this to people, it was just missing ~something~ for me. 

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

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traeumenvonbuechern's review

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dark emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

[The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] 
 
CN: mental illness, trauma, (internalized) ableism, references to self-harm and suicide, graphic gore, body horror, violence (including murder and torture), off-page sexual violence (including experiences that involve children), abuse (including child abuse and off-page domestic violence), mentions of transphobia and racism (including references to slavery and genocide), animal death, vomit 
 
“For anyone worried you might be the villain in your own story. Maybe you are. I think you deserve a happy ending, anyway.” 
 
Oh. My. Gods. This. Book. 
 
I knew from the first page that this was going to be a five star read, but I never expected that I would love it this much. 
 
“The Witch King” used to be my all-time favorite book, and I still absolutely adore it, but “Godly Heathens” is on another level. I already know I’m going to reread this book at least once before it comes out in November, and many, many times after that. 
 
If you’re looking for a book with… 
 
· villainous main characters 
· reincarnated old gods 
· a t4t4t non-monogamous love triangle 
· a trans- and Native-majority cast 
· amazing mental illness representation 
 
… then “Godly Heathens” might be the perfect book for you. It’s definitely the perfect book for me, and I will probably try to force everyone I know to read it as soon as it comes out. 
 
I’m trying so hard to write a review that does this book justice, but I literally have no coherent thoughts right now, so please just trust me when I say that this book is absolutely incredible. 
 
Please pre-order “Godly Heathens” or request it at your local library if you can! 

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