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jebecky's review against another edition
Graphic: Racial slurs, Torture, Drug use, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Racism, Misogyny, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Death of parent, Genocide, Death, Addiction, and Grief
readwithsophsx's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Deportation, War, Blood, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Death of parent, Abandonment, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Torture, Drug use, Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Medical trauma
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Drug abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Racism, Colonisation, and Drug use
Moderate: Child abuse, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
knlipke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
Is there a colonizer romance? Yes
Is this book a lovers-to-enemies trope? Also yes
Do with that information what you will
[Side note: this better stay an enemies to lovers trope or else I’m giving this review 0 stars]
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Colonisation
Moderate: War and Torture
kaylurzz's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
I'm so conflicted on this! There were parts and ideas I liked, and then parts not so much...
- I thought the world and magic system were interesting but why make the other world Rome? Why not another fictional place?
- The prose while beautiful at times just talked in circles and made it hard to follow.
- The time jumps were jarring and I wish we spent more time with Ruying AND Antony to see their "relationship" develop more.
Also
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Torture, Drug use, Genocide, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Gun violence
grace_b_3's review against another edition
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, and Drug use
bookboxbabe's review against another edition
Graphic: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Classism, War, Death, Drug use, Murder, and Racism
booksalacarte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Addiction, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Confinement, Gaslighting, Genocide, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, War, and Murder
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
- I had very high hopes for TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS. It met some of them - an inventive magic system and a great world full of hard choices and morally gray characters. Plus, the staccato style of the writing kept everything moving at a breakneck pace.
- Where it fell short for me was characterization. Ruying has practically only one personality trait, a drive to protect her family. And we know this because she states it every other page, along with other basic facts of the story, over and over again.
- There is also a six month time jump in the middle of the book. During that span, we miss what sounds like some heart pounding action, and also the entirety of the budding relationship between Ruying and her colonizer captor. We’re simply told that she’s drawn to him, but we skipped the parts where she learned more about him and built trust.
- The trust part in particular is was very difficult for me to swallow. It’s glaringly obvious that he does not have the good intentions he professes, and yet Ruying is ready to follow him to the ends of the earth (and therefore, the end of her people and her country).
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Addiction, Confinement, Medical content, Violence, Racism, Grief, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Colonisation
deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods was a solid start to a new fantasy trilogy! The magic system is unique (everyone’s is different and it feeds off your qi), and the worldbuilding is imaginative and a strong metaphor for history/colonialism (it’s the West bringing opium to China, where the West is still “Rome,” China is a different world altogether, and opium aka opian is a magic-enhancing drug).
I found the main character, Ruying, to be a breath of fresh air. She’s not a hero (at least, not yet in this book). She’s making morally gray choices to stay safe, stay alive, and keep her family fed and off the streets. I do think she’s tending toward chosen-one territory, but for this book, it was neat to spend time with an MC who isn’t focused on good vs evil, just survival.
There are a good number of reviews (mostly from early readers who were served, it seems, a different framing from the way this book was eventually marketed) calling it a colonizer romance. (Warning to skip the rest of this paragraph if you don’t want even the softest of spoilers.) While there IS a romance plotline in this book between Ruying and a prince of Rome, I thought it was pretty clear that he’s the Tamlin of this series (LOL). I guess we’ll see if that turns out to be correct, but just know he’s not her only option, people! Plus, she’s an unreliable narrator and probably has Stockholm Syndrome. TLDR, I need to read the second book before deciding if this feels cringey or not, because there’s a LOT of story left (at least two whole books!).
At the end of the day, I enjoyed this and look forward to the second book.
Graphic: Colonisation, Addiction, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Torture, Child abuse, and Murder