Scan barcode
justinekorson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
EDITED TO ADD QUOTES AS OF 4/23/24
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
*I'm going to edit this later to add quotes to my review for the examples I'm about to give. I don't want to put the quotes now though because I'm not sure what I'm allowed to share since this is an ARC and the quotes may or may not have changed so I will compare them to my physical copy when it arrives.*
I'm sure many of you (If you follow Booktok/Booktwitter closely know about everything that happened with Molly and that other author I refuse to mention who was incredibly racist toward Molly but I'm not here to talk about that. What I do plan to talk about is what happened after. I've followed Molly for a while (even before that author debacle) because I'd heard about her publishing deal and the story sounded great! I was hyped for it and emphasized with her when everything started to go down. To my surprise, not long after what I'm sure was a completely terrible experience for Molly, I saw a lot of criticism over her novel being thrown her way.
Most of this criticism centered around the main characters Ruying and Antony. People were discussing how Molly had written a colonizer romance (Antony is a Roman and has come from a different world to enslave/decimate the Pangu people using drugs and weapons) and how this narrative was very harmful towards the Asian community, (as well as other communities that have also been colonized by white people). Molly ended up writing a few tweets about how her story is NOT a colonizer romance and the context of the story would show this. I couldn't find the tweet I was looking for to backup my point (so unless I dreamed it) but I remembered reading a tweet from Molly that said something along the lines of, "The next story in this saga is called To Kill A Wicked Prince. Do with that what you will." (EDIT: I HAVE FOUND THE POST SHE ACTUALLY SAID THE NEXT TITLE IS "To Kill A Monstrous Prince" which further solidifies my review in my opinion). So with that tweet in mind, I decided to go into the story with the mindset that Ruying DOES NOT love Prince Antony and that she is a victim of her circumstances. Because of this, I saw the story so much clearer.
Ruying does not love Antony and I say this with my whole chest because I watched Antony manipulate her over and over and over until she felt like she was safe with him. But a false sense of security does not equate love. I can not blame her for seeking comfort in him and his empty promises. Antony threatened her family from the very beginning and Ruying mistook his money and his protection as anything other than another way to control her, to keep her living with the fear that it could disappear. Meiya and Baihu argued with her over and over that she wasn't doing this for peace of for her family but for herself. "So what if I am? There is no sin in wanting to live, in wanting a better life for those I love." Who wouldn't fall victim to Antony though? Especially after the manipulation tactics he applied to make her believe he was going to save her and her people from destruction.
Ruying was also clearly terrified from the beginning of what it would mean to be on the other side of Rome's attention. If she wasn't Antony's guard then she was nothing more than something to be discarded. She is in constant turmoil with herself over what she's doing, struggling between wanting to trust Antony and knowing that she CAN'T trust him because he doesn't fully trust her. "His words were like sweet lies. I wanted these melodies to sing true. I wanted to linger in the world he painted so badly. But Antony couldn't make me a hero. If I stayed loyal to him, I would never be a hero to my people. Not after what I did." There was very little romance between them. Lingering gazes, and small touches barely mean anything. The two of them only kissed once and it was so brief and short it was barely there and Ruying's immediate thought afterwards was, "When tomorrow came, we could never be this close again. Because Antony Augustus was my people's enemy. Nothing could ever change this." Those are not the thoughts of someone head over heels in love. The only reason she's conflicted is because she wants to believe he's a good person even though she knows he's not.
Ruying wanted to believe Antony's lies so bad that she tried to convince herself that killing for him was better than fighting for herself, fighting for freedom for her people. She wanted to live and wanted to help her family and I think a lot of people in her position would find themselves in the same situation as her. "I thought I had to do this for them. For us. For survival. But if I was really doing this for them, I wouldn't fight on the side of our enemy."
I don't know if it was because I went in with the mindset that I couldn't trust Antony, but I didn't believe a word he said the entire novel. Especially after Taohau was never mentioned again I knew that something bad happened. I knew the other should would drop and Ruying would finally see him clearly and be able to shake herself free of him. Nobody should believe this is a colonizer romance after Antony gloats TO HER FACE, "You almost can't blame my people for what we are doing" about the genocide of her own people! She had a very bad visceral reaction to this. Ruying hates Antony she just can't show that to him. Even in Antony's own POV I hated him (there's only one chapter of it) and it didn't endear me to him at all. If anything it made me hate him more because of how he talked about Ruying.
Anyways, this was longer than I anticipated. Overall I truly enjoyed the story. I really liked the magic and the world building. It was like a fantasy world crossed with futuristic one. I'm interested how Rome managed to dimension hop(??) and if that will be explained in the other installments. I'm also curious to see if this mysterious third younger brother will make an appearance in the story. I wanted to see more of Meiya but what we got of her was brilliant. The angry, younger sibling (who will probably not make it until the end of the series judging on a few factors) who wants to save the world is always a fun trope! I also truly think Ruying's real love interest will make an appearance in the second novel. (It's either going to be The Phantom or Baihu himself.) I think the next novel will show more of Ruying trying to break free from Anotony and trying to help her people and I can't wait!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
*I'm going to edit this later to add quotes to my review for the examples I'm about to give. I don't want to put the quotes now though because I'm not sure what I'm allowed to share since this is an ARC and the quotes may or may not have changed so I will compare them to my physical copy when it arrives.*
I'm sure many of you (If you follow Booktok/Booktwitter closely know about everything that happened with Molly and that other author I refuse to mention who was incredibly racist toward Molly but I'm not here to talk about that. What I do plan to talk about is what happened after. I've followed Molly for a while (even before that author debacle) because I'd heard about her publishing deal and the story sounded great! I was hyped for it and emphasized with her when everything started to go down. To my surprise, not long after what I'm sure was a completely terrible experience for Molly, I saw a lot of criticism over her novel being thrown her way.
Most of this criticism centered around the main characters Ruying and Antony. People were discussing how Molly had written a colonizer romance (Antony is a Roman and has come from a different world to enslave/decimate the Pangu people using drugs and weapons) and how this narrative was very harmful towards the Asian community, (as well as other communities that have also been colonized by white people). Molly ended up writing a few tweets about how her story is NOT a colonizer romance and the context of the story would show this. I couldn't find the tweet I was looking for to backup my point (so unless I dreamed it) but I remembered reading a tweet from Molly that said something along the lines of, "The next story in this saga is called To Kill A Wicked Prince. Do with that what you will." (EDIT: I HAVE FOUND THE POST SHE ACTUALLY SAID THE NEXT TITLE IS "To Kill A Monstrous Prince" which further solidifies my review in my opinion). So with that tweet in mind, I decided to go into the story with the mindset that Ruying DOES NOT love Prince Antony and that she is a victim of her circumstances. Because of this, I saw the story so much clearer.
Ruying does not love Antony and I say this with my whole chest because I watched Antony manipulate her over and over and over until she felt like she was safe with him. But a false sense of security does not equate love. I can not blame her for seeking comfort in him and his empty promises. Antony threatened her family from the very beginning and Ruying mistook his money and his protection as anything other than another way to control her, to keep her living with the fear that it could disappear. Meiya and Baihu argued with her over and over that she wasn't doing this for peace of for her family but for herself. "So what if I am? There is no sin in wanting to live, in wanting a better life for those I love." Who wouldn't fall victim to Antony though? Especially after the manipulation tactics he applied to make her believe he was going to save her and her people from destruction.
Ruying was also clearly terrified from the beginning of what it would mean to be on the other side of Rome's attention. If she wasn't Antony's guard then she was nothing more than something to be discarded. She is in constant turmoil with herself over what she's doing, struggling between wanting to trust Antony and knowing that she CAN'T trust him because he doesn't fully trust her. "His words were like sweet lies. I wanted these melodies to sing true. I wanted to linger in the world he painted so badly. But Antony couldn't make me a hero. If I stayed loyal to him, I would never be a hero to my people. Not after what I did." There was very little romance between them. Lingering gazes, and small touches barely mean anything. The two of them only kissed once and it was so brief and short it was barely there and Ruying's immediate thought afterwards was, "When tomorrow came, we could never be this close again. Because Antony Augustus was my people's enemy. Nothing could ever change this." Those are not the thoughts of someone head over heels in love. The only reason she's conflicted is because she wants to believe he's a good person even though she knows he's not.
Ruying wanted to believe Antony's lies so bad that she tried to convince herself that killing for him was better than fighting for herself, fighting for freedom for her people. She wanted to live and wanted to help her family and I think a lot of people in her position would find themselves in the same situation as her. "I thought I had to do this for them. For us. For survival. But if I was really doing this for them, I wouldn't fight on the side of our enemy."
I don't know if it was because I went in with the mindset that I couldn't trust Antony, but I didn't believe a word he said the entire novel. Especially after Taohau was never mentioned again I knew that something bad happened. I knew the other should would drop and Ruying would finally see him clearly and be able to shake herself free of him. Nobody should believe this is a colonizer romance after Antony gloats TO HER FACE, "You almost can't blame my people for what we are doing" about the genocide of her own people! She had a very bad visceral reaction to this. Ruying hates Antony she just can't show that to him. Even in Antony's own POV I hated him (there's only one chapter of it) and it didn't endear me to him at all. If anything it made me hate him more because of how he talked about Ruying.
Anyways, this was longer than I anticipated. Overall I truly enjoyed the story. I really liked the magic and the world building. It was like a fantasy world crossed with futuristic one. I'm interested how Rome managed to dimension hop(??) and if that will be explained in the other installments. I'm also curious to see if this mysterious third younger brother will make an appearance in the story. I wanted to see more of Meiya but what we got of her was brilliant. The angry, younger sibling (who will probably not make it until the end of the series judging on a few factors) who wants to save the world is always a fun trope! I also truly think Ruying's real love interest will make an appearance in the second novel. (It's either going to be The Phantom or Baihu himself.) I think the next novel will show more of Ruying trying to break free from Anotony and trying to help her people and I can't wait!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Classism, Violence, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Sexism, Addiction, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Genocide, Grief, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, War, Misogyny, and Murder
devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Murder, Addiction, Death of parent, Genocide, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Violence
Minor: Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
abception's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Death, War, Drug abuse, Genocide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Drug use
Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, Confinement, and Gun violence
paracosim's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Whew, so first off all this book has caused quite the commotion. At this point in time I’m unable to add a review to Goodreads alongside my Storygraph review, so for now it’ll be just here.
There have been more than a few misconceptions about this book, the most pressing being the issue of marketing. I’ve spent many years in the publishing world and can tell you as someone who knows the ins and outs, that Molly X. Chang had no decision in marketing this book as an enemies to lovers romance. It should never have been marketed that way, but this flub should never fall on the author. Authors have very little choice in the matter; they don’t even get a say in their own book covers, or sometimes even their titles. This was not a mistake on the author’s part. I have no idea what the marketing team was thinking, but they definitely messed up on that front. It should have been marketed as a dark, taboo villain romance. This book is not enemies-to-lovers. In fact I hope Ruying snaps Antony’s neck.
To Gaze Upon Wicked G-ds is set in the fictional world of Pangu, more specifically in fantasy China. It’s also an alternate universe version of our own history, where the Roman Empire never fell but instead survived until modern times. There’s even a reference to Julius Caesar. The emperor of Rome discovered a portal to a new world (Ruying, the main character’s, world) and realized that Rome could escape climate change and human disaster by creating a new home in Pangu…and bringing more human disaster. So that’s where we’re at. This has been yet another big misconception of the book online, of people thinking Chang had created a fictional land named the Roman Empire. Nope, it is genuinely the Roman Empire tumblr likes to celebrate every Ides of March. (Or, well, we celebrate Caesar’s death. Bit of a difference there.)
The story concept is good, it’s based on real events in human history, the cover is beautiful, and there desperately needs to be a content warning page at the start of the book. I’m fazed by very little but for those whose lives have been touched in any way by addiction, be cautious.
The writing itself is a little juvenile. Chang is a young debut author and relies too heavily on short, choppy sentences framed in their own paragraph to make a point. Many young writers do this; she’ll grow out of it. Her side characters are barely present and don’t have much going on, which I’m hoping will be fixed in the sequel. Her pacing was good.
I can’t personally speak on the colonizer aspect in regards to China, because I am not Chinese. I am part of a group of people who have been colonized, forcibly expelled from our homes, experimented on, and more. The colonizer romance didn’t bother me because it’s clearly intended not to be end-game, but a form of trauma bonding.(She sees the light at the end, which gives me hope for her snapping Antony’s neck.)
Overall, this was an okay book. I was somewhat relieved when it was over.
Whew, so first off all this book has caused quite the commotion. At this point in time I’m unable to add a review to Goodreads alongside my Storygraph review, so for now it’ll be just here.
There have been more than a few misconceptions about this book, the most pressing being the issue of marketing. I’ve spent many years in the publishing world and can tell you as someone who knows the ins and outs, that Molly X. Chang had no decision in marketing this book as an enemies to lovers romance. It should never have been marketed that way, but this flub should never fall on the author. Authors have very little choice in the matter; they don’t even get a say in their own book covers, or sometimes even their titles. This was not a mistake on the author’s part. I have no idea what the marketing team was thinking, but they definitely messed up on that front. It should have been marketed as a dark, taboo villain romance. This book is not enemies-to-lovers. In fact I hope Ruying snaps Antony’s neck.
To Gaze Upon Wicked G-ds is set in the fictional world of Pangu, more specifically in fantasy China. It’s also an alternate universe version of our own history, where the Roman Empire never fell but instead survived until modern times. There’s even a reference to Julius Caesar. The emperor of Rome discovered a portal to a new world (Ruying, the main character’s, world) and realized that Rome could escape climate change and human disaster by creating a new home in Pangu…and bringing more human disaster. So that’s where we’re at. This has been yet another big misconception of the book online, of people thinking Chang had created a fictional land named the Roman Empire. Nope, it is genuinely the Roman Empire tumblr likes to celebrate every Ides of March. (Or, well, we celebrate Caesar’s death. Bit of a difference there.)
The story concept is good, it’s based on real events in human history, the cover is beautiful, and there desperately needs to be a content warning page at the start of the book. I’m fazed by very little but for those whose lives have been touched in any way by addiction, be cautious.
The writing itself is a little juvenile. Chang is a young debut author and relies too heavily on short, choppy sentences framed in their own paragraph to make a point. Many young writers do this; she’ll grow out of it. Her side characters are barely present and don’t have much going on, which I’m hoping will be fixed in the sequel. Her pacing was good.
I can’t personally speak on the colonizer aspect in regards to China, because I am not Chinese. I am part of a group of people who have been colonized, forcibly expelled from our homes, experimented on, and more. The colonizer romance didn’t bother me because it’s clearly intended not to be end-game, but a form of trauma bonding.
Overall, this was an okay book. I was somewhat relieved when it was over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Torture, Colonisation, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Police brutality
michela_wilson's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
2.0
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods was a book I could not wait for. I thought the plot sounded fascinating and death magic is always so interesting when done well; but unfortunately, I could not have been more disappointed while reading this book. In fact, I almost DNF'd it because of how uncomfortable I got towards the middle when the romance officially began. Let's break down why this book gets a no from me.
The first thing I want to mention is that this is a colonizer x colonized romance. While I am all for enemies-to-lovers, this was a Stockholm Syndrome dark romance disguised as YA enemies-to-lovers and it was frankly just abusive. There was no equal footing between Ruying and her love interest so instead of an enemies-to-lovers plot it turned into pages of watching a woman get tortured and brainwashed by her abuser. It made me think that this was trying to be a dark romance book for a younger audience and that really rubbed me the wrong way.
The romance itself was also extremely underdeveloped and it made me think that it wasn't even in the original draft of the book. To be honest, I think I would have loved this book so much more had the romance not been in there at all (and as a romantasy girlie that shocked me).
The worldbuilding also suffered because the romance took precedence, leading to multiple pages of lore dumping that interrupted the pacing of the book entirely. The world itself was fascinating and I did love the sci-fi elements, but I began losing interest when the book focused more on telling me how the world works rather than showing me how the world worked.
The writing itself was very choppy and repetitive (especially at the beginning) and it felt like there was no trust put in the reader to follow along with the world Molly X. Chang built. However, several later chapters felt extremely well-written and had beautiful prose and I am just sad that it did not carry throughout the rest of the book. Again it felt like Molly X. Chang was forced to put more explanations into a wonderful world of resistance, and I hope that she was not forced by the publisher to dilute her original story.
Then there is the main cause of my disappointment, the execution of the magic itself. The magic of the Xianlings is the coolest part of this book. The Qi and folklore explaining how magic works were fascinating and the death magic Ruying holds was why this book was my most anticipated read of the year! However, the moments when Ruying learned to wield her magic were skipped over in a time jump. There was also so much promise at the beginning where Death speaks directly to Ruying multiple times while she wields her magic and then Death does not speak again until the end of the book. Exploring Death's magic would have been a great way to tie the world into Ruying's story while also exploring why Death chose Ruying to give his gift. Again I felt like there was a lot of lost potential here, which makes me disappointed.
That being said, the last chapter did change a lot of things for me and I am hopeful for the next book and the next chapter of Ruying's story. I hope that the romance gets left behind and the world and magic become more prominent as this series continues. Molly X. Chang has the potential to be an incredible YA fantasy author with this series and I hope that the lost potential from the first book is explored in the later ones.
Thank you to Netgalley and Molly X. Chang for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The first thing I want to mention is that this is a colonizer x colonized romance. While I am all for enemies-to-lovers, this was a Stockholm Syndrome dark romance disguised as YA enemies-to-lovers and it was frankly just abusive. There was no equal footing between Ruying and her love interest so instead of an enemies-to-lovers plot it turned into pages of watching a woman get tortured and brainwashed by her abuser. It made me think that this was trying to be a dark romance book for a younger audience and that really rubbed me the wrong way.
The romance itself was also extremely underdeveloped and it made me think that it wasn't even in the original draft of the book. To be honest, I think I would have loved this book so much more had the romance not been in there at all (and as a romantasy girlie that shocked me).
The worldbuilding also suffered because the romance took precedence, leading to multiple pages of lore dumping that interrupted the pacing of the book entirely. The world itself was fascinating and I did love the sci-fi elements, but I began losing interest when the book focused more on telling me how the world works rather than showing me how the world worked.
The writing itself was very choppy and repetitive (especially at the beginning) and it felt like there was no trust put in the reader to follow along with the world Molly X. Chang built. However, several later chapters felt extremely well-written and had beautiful prose and I am just sad that it did not carry throughout the rest of the book. Again it felt like Molly X. Chang was forced to put more explanations into a wonderful world of resistance, and I hope that she was not forced by the publisher to dilute her original story.
Then there is the main cause of my disappointment, the execution of the magic itself. The magic of the Xianlings is the coolest part of this book. The Qi and folklore explaining how magic works were fascinating and the death magic Ruying holds was why this book was my most anticipated read of the year! However, the moments when Ruying learned to wield her magic were skipped over in a time jump. There was also so much promise at the beginning where Death speaks directly to Ruying multiple times while she wields her magic and then Death does not speak again until the end of the book. Exploring Death's magic would have been a great way to tie the world into Ruying's story while also exploring why Death chose Ruying to give his gift. Again I felt like there was a lot of lost potential here, which makes me disappointed.
That being said, the last chapter did change a lot of things for me and I am hopeful for the next book and the next chapter of Ruying's story. I hope that the romance gets left behind and the world and magic become more prominent as this series continues. Molly X. Chang has the potential to be an incredible YA fantasy author with this series and I hope that the lost potential from the first book is explored in the later ones.
Thank you to Netgalley and Molly X. Chang for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Xenophobia, War, Toxic relationship, Racism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Genocide
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
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
*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.
TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS is a collaborator's view of colonization, as a girl with the power to wield death agrees to work with a prince among the colonizers because he promises to use her in pursuit of lasting peace.
Ruying has been trying to keep her twin sister alive and their grandmother cared for even as everything else is falling apart. Their city is divided, literally, with half of it carved away for use by the Roman colonizers from another world who have held the city in their grip for more than two decades. The Romans brought a powerfully addictive drug with them, promising it would unlock the people's magic but all it has brought is pain. After losing their father to the drug, Ruying is trying to wean her sister off of it, bargaining away whatever possessions she must in order to keep her family together. Already in this precarious state, Ruying is unable to say no when a mistake lands her in Roman dungeons, faced with torture and death unless she agrees to help one of the princes with his dreams of peace through Death like only Ruying can wield.
Ruying is a fascinating main character. Normally I don't like characters who make terrible decisions when a better option is clearly available, but that's not quite what's happening here. There's an ongoing discussion of which definition of "better" should be applied. Ruying's choice might not be the one I would make, but I completely understand why she does what she does, and I don't know for sure if I'd actually disagree under the same circumstances. That tension makes for an excellent story, with Ruying fully committing to her choices once they're made, but then remaining open enough to reevaluate her situation as new facts come to light. At her core, her goal is to protect her family at any cost, and that drives her to a great many things which she would not otherwise accept. Ruying isn't the only one making such choices, early on she interacts with a sort of friend who has been collaborating with the Romans in exchange for access and power. She judges him at first, then comes to understand why he does so. Ruying finds herself in a colonized/colonizer romance, always aware of the coercion which is inextricable from her position. She cares for Anthony, but any safety she feels is always at his discretion. He might really love her, but there's no risk for him in that, not really. Whereas Ruying knows that if she loses his favor, she and her family could lose everything in an instant.
The worldbuilding is excellent. It focuses on the people, the language, and culture, frequently including passages and their translations. There are also frequent reminders of how the Roman invasion changed things, never letting the reader forget that it hasn't always been this way, even though for the reader, it has, because this is our first view of this world. As the first book in the series, this doesn't have to resolve any particular major plot point because it's still setting things up for later. Ruying makes an important decision towards the end in a way that serves as an emotional resolution/climax of the story, while establishing a new status quo for the sequel.
TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS is a collaborator's view of colonization, as a girl with the power to wield death agrees to work with a prince among the colonizers because he promises to use her in pursuit of lasting peace.
Ruying has been trying to keep her twin sister alive and their grandmother cared for even as everything else is falling apart. Their city is divided, literally, with half of it carved away for use by the Roman colonizers from another world who have held the city in their grip for more than two decades. The Romans brought a powerfully addictive drug with them, promising it would unlock the people's magic but all it has brought is pain. After losing their father to the drug, Ruying is trying to wean her sister off of it, bargaining away whatever possessions she must in order to keep her family together. Already in this precarious state, Ruying is unable to say no when a mistake lands her in Roman dungeons, faced with torture and death unless she agrees to help one of the princes with his dreams of peace through Death like only Ruying can wield.
Ruying is a fascinating main character. Normally I don't like characters who make terrible decisions when a better option is clearly available, but that's not quite what's happening here. There's an ongoing discussion of which definition of "better" should be applied. Ruying's choice might not be the one I would make, but I completely understand why she does what she does, and I don't know for sure if I'd actually disagree under the same circumstances. That tension makes for an excellent story, with Ruying fully committing to her choices once they're made, but then remaining open enough to reevaluate her situation as new facts come to light. At her core, her goal is to protect her family at any cost, and that drives her to a great many things which she would not otherwise accept. Ruying isn't the only one making such choices, early on she interacts with a sort of friend who has been collaborating with the Romans in exchange for access and power. She judges him at first, then comes to understand why he does so. Ruying finds herself in a colonized/colonizer romance, always aware of the coercion which is inextricable from her position. She cares for Anthony, but any safety she feels is always at his discretion. He might really love her, but there's no risk for him in that, not really. Whereas Ruying knows that if she loses his favor, she and her family could lose everything in an instant.
The worldbuilding is excellent. It focuses on the people, the language, and culture, frequently including passages and their translations. There are also frequent reminders of how the Roman invasion changed things, never letting the reader forget that it hasn't always been this way, even though for the reader, it has, because this is our first view of this world. As the first book in the series, this doesn't have to resolve any particular major plot point because it's still setting things up for later. Ruying makes an important decision towards the end in a way that serves as an emotional resolution/climax of the story, while establishing a new status quo for the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Confinement, Murder, Kidnapping, Classism, Death, and Colonisation
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, War, Gun violence, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Child death, Sexism, and Drug use
Minor: Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Abandonment, Rape, Medical content, Trafficking, and Alcohol
quakinginmybooks's review against another edition
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
4.0
First things first, I requested Molly X. Chang's "To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods" after hearing about it from the review bombing scandal. I generally don't read YA and probably wouldn't have paid attention to the book otherwise. That said, I'm glad I read this book and I'll eagerly await the next in the series.
Chang built a fascinating world divided between magic and technology; a fictional magical Manchuria suffering under colonization and Roman colonizers fleeing a world they polluted to death. As a xianling, someone capable of using magic, Ruying possess a terrifying power. She's able to pull another's qi from their body and release their souls; at the cost of harming her own qi.
Likable and despicable at turns, Ruying makes morally grey choices in a morally grey world. Ruying is both victim and villain, hero and coward. Willing to kill or do whatever it takes to protect her family, but afraid to face the problem of colonization head on. She desperately wants to live out a dream of peace, falling for Anthony, one of the two Roman princes despite herself.
I don't always care for romance, especially not spicy tiktok books, but this "enemies-to-???" was well blended in and didn't become an annoyance. The paranoia and distrust I felt for Anthony was quite fun, trying figure out his deal. And what a "deal" it was.
As someone learning Chinese, I enjoyed the bilingual bonus. The inclusion of Chinese hanzi (characters) and chengyu (idioms) delighted me, especially puzzling them out before the provided English translation.
There were a couple spots where some editing could be done, but I read an ARC copy. This book is very much a set up for the rest of the series, a ton of world building and the main character overcoming the "refusal of the call to adventure." That's not to say it's boring, the story kept me engaged and interested. I want the next part of the story and absolutely look forward to reading it.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Genocide, Colonisation, Trafficking, Death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Violence, Racism, Addiction, Slavery, and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Bullying, and Confinement
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
A complicated set of lead characters set against a science vs. magic backdrop. Feels like a lot of pins being set up to be knocked over in future installments.
Thoughts
First off, be aware the genre is science fantasy. A giant portal opened up and people with missiles and smart phones came out of it. Calling it straight fantasy is going to set up some wildly wrong expectations. The "science vs. magic" thing has never been of interest to me, but I really like checking out debut novels, and the cover was too good to ignore. The verdict? Still to come! A lot of this book is scene-setting for future installments, which promise to swing a lot harder, so I feel like I can't accurately decide how I feel until I see how it ends. But for now, let's break down what we do have. Ruying is, by her own admission, a coward, and her navigation of an impossible situation is probably the most realistic incarnation I've read in a while. Her sister is more the "hero" type, and in another book in another world, she probably would be the fearless protagonist. I liked the choice to focus on a very un-heroic MC and the choices one has to make in a space where there are no correct moves - only moves of varying levels of wrongness. I also enjoyed the multiple plot threads running at the same time with various political bents.
The romance is where this series is going to be the most divisive. Falling in love with one's captor is a tale as old as time, and in this case it feels ill-advised. Antony pragmatically presents himself as the least of many evils, and he's probably right. That doesn't mean dating has to be on the table, and despite the fact that a chapter from his POV indicates his feelings are genuine, I'm still not a fan. That being said, the ending is a major turning point that promises some big moves in future installments. I shall have to wait patiently until then.
Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
A complicated set of lead characters set against a science vs. magic backdrop. Feels like a lot of pins being set up to be knocked over in future installments.
Thoughts
First off, be aware the genre is science fantasy. A giant portal opened up and people with missiles and smart phones came out of it. Calling it straight fantasy is going to set up some wildly wrong expectations. The "science vs. magic" thing has never been of interest to me, but I really like checking out debut novels, and the cover was too good to ignore. The verdict? Still to come! A lot of this book is scene-setting for future installments, which promise to swing a lot harder, so I feel like I can't accurately decide how I feel until I see how it ends. But for now, let's break down what we do have. Ruying is, by her own admission, a coward, and her navigation of an impossible situation is probably the most realistic incarnation I've read in a while. Her sister is more the "hero" type, and in another book in another world, she probably would be the fearless protagonist. I liked the choice to focus on a very un-heroic MC and the choices one has to make in a space where there are no correct moves - only moves of varying levels of wrongness. I also enjoyed the multiple plot threads running at the same time with various political bents.
The romance is where this series is going to be the most divisive. Falling in love with one's captor is a tale as old as time, and in this case it feels ill-advised. Antony pragmatically presents himself as the least of many evils, and he's probably right. That doesn't mean dating has to be on the table, and despite the fact that a chapter from his POV indicates his feelings are genuine, I'm still not a fan. That being said, the ending is a major turning point that promises some big moves in future installments. I shall have to wait patiently until then.
Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Medical content, Murder, War, Torture, Child death, Classism, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Child abuse, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Confinement and Kidnapping
More...