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emilyparagraph's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
DNF'd at 60%. D+/C-
Not as bad as booktube is making it out to be, but very boring. I think Chang shows a lot of promise with her prose style, but she needs to learn how to self-edit better and/or surround herself with people who will not let her get away with so much unnecessary repetition. Revision and copyediting suck to do, but they're always worth the effort.
Not as bad as booktube is making it out to be, but very boring. I think Chang shows a lot of promise with her prose style, but she needs to learn how to self-edit better and/or surround herself with people who will not let her get away with so much unnecessary repetition. Revision and copyediting suck to do, but they're always worth the effort.
macmannwood's review against another edition
3.0
I couldn't quite get into this book. I can see how it would be fascinating for other readers, and encourage folks to read for themselves, but this one wasn't for me.
kelsie17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kaelstrom's review against another edition
2.0
I almost dnf’d this one. There’s a lot of ideas that I want to love. The execution just doesn’t deliver.
I think it was a mistake to wait until the last quarter of the book to make it explicitly clear that Rome is the same Rome of our Earth. There needed to be more to make me believe that a modern version of that empire was making portals through space to other worlds.
The magic is interesting but at the same time sits in the background unless Ruying is using it.
There was not enough of a foundation between her and Antony to believe their relationship at all. We skip through 6 months of time after the first quarter of the book was detailed set up.
Antony’s character suffers tremendously for this. None of his personality was clear and the intent to make him morally grey just made him wishy washy.
I
This story was a disappointment for me.
I think it was a mistake to wait until the last quarter of the book to make it explicitly clear that Rome is the same Rome of our Earth. There needed to be more to make me believe that a modern version of that empire was making portals through space to other worlds.
The magic is interesting but at the same time sits in the background unless Ruying is using it.
There was not enough of a foundation between her and Antony to believe their relationship at all. We skip through 6 months of time after the first quarter of the book was detailed set up.
Antony’s character suffers tremendously for this. None of his personality was clear and the intent to make him morally grey just made him wishy washy.
I
This story was a disappointment for me.
stitchesmcgoo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
annakinsun's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
What a let down.
I requested this book after the big controversy earlier this year revolving around this novel and a couple others who were victims of review bombing by another debut author who shall not be named. Because of this, I wanted to get the book to support the author and read more diverse stories. Unfortunately... this one just wasn't that good.
The concept is great: a girl is able to harness the power of Death but doesn't use it against the Empire who is basically committing genocide against her people because she doesn't want the repercussions to fall to her family. However, almost nothing is executed properly and leads to very clunky storytelling.
First, how did the Romans discover a portal in the sky that leads to Pangu (aka an alternate realm version of China)? This is never explicitly discussed, and we also aren't told too much about their time period in the other universe (cars and guns and planes exist, but I'm not sure whether these are early models or present day models for us). It's all very confusing and we could have used a lot more backstory to develop a reason for the current plotline.
Second, Ruying is just so annoying. She's worried about keeping her family safe but does nothing to actually keep them safe. She never really takes action and instead just kind of falls into different positions. It seems like all decisions are made for her, whether she realizes it or not.
Third - the romance. YUCK. Not only is it not believable in regards to the timeframe, but it's also unbelievable that a girl would fall in love with the ruler of the Empire who is fighting to kill all of her people. People mentioned that this story reminded them of Zutara from Avatar, and while I never shipped them, I could at least see chemistry between those two. These two have nothing?? He smiles and she fell in love - that's it. She's also supposed to be used as his court assassin, but we only see one instance where she does ANYTHING and there's no real action to it.
Overall, this book is a dud and I'm not interested in continuing the series. Was it the worst book I've ever read? No, not even close (hence the two stars), but it definitely isn't something you should waste your time with.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this book after the big controversy earlier this year revolving around this novel and a couple others who were victims of review bombing by another debut author who shall not be named. Because of this, I wanted to get the book to support the author and read more diverse stories. Unfortunately... this one just wasn't that good.
The concept is great: a girl is able to harness the power of Death but doesn't use it against the Empire who is basically committing genocide against her people because she doesn't want the repercussions to fall to her family. However, almost nothing is executed properly and leads to very clunky storytelling.
First, how did the Romans discover a portal in the sky that leads to Pangu (aka an alternate realm version of China)? This is never explicitly discussed, and we also aren't told too much about their time period in the other universe (cars and guns and planes exist, but I'm not sure whether these are early models or present day models for us). It's all very confusing and we could have used a lot more backstory to develop a reason for the current plotline.
Second, Ruying is just so annoying. She's worried about keeping her family safe but does nothing to actually keep them safe. She never really takes action and instead just kind of falls into different positions. It seems like all decisions are made for her, whether she realizes it or not.
Third - the romance. YUCK. Not only is it not believable in regards to the timeframe, but it's also unbelievable that a girl would fall in love with the ruler of the Empire who is fighting to kill all of her people. People mentioned that this story reminded them of Zutara from Avatar, and while I never shipped them, I could at least see chemistry between those two. These two have nothing?? He smiles and she fell in love - that's it. She's also supposed to be used as his court assassin, but we only see one instance where she does ANYTHING and there's no real action to it.
Overall, this book is a dud and I'm not interested in continuing the series. Was it the worst book I've ever read? No, not even close (hence the two stars), but it definitely isn't something you should waste your time with.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
thirs's review against another edition
adventurous
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
sophirv19's review
4.0
"Antony Augustus was not a religious man, but he would worship at her altar, kneel for her until the stars perished, until both of their worlds were nothing but forgotten particles lost in the universe."
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods presents a delicious mix of fantasy and dystopia alongside a pinch of magical realism of which are all blended to perfection. Yang Ruying, otherwise known as the Girl Blessed by Death, is inducted into the personal guard of Antony Augustus, the adopted Roman prince, to kill at his will by taking their qi.
This book was gorgeous, reminiscent of She Who Became the Sun and The Poppy War series. It did fall fault to telling us what we should be reading and associating things with but this potentially didn't bother me as much as it would others. I did love the way the world building was done, it was rich and colourful which just sucked me right in.
Huge thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this eARC.
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods presents a delicious mix of fantasy and dystopia alongside a pinch of magical realism of which are all blended to perfection. Yang Ruying, otherwise known as the Girl Blessed by Death, is inducted into the personal guard of Antony Augustus, the adopted Roman prince, to kill at his will by taking their qi.
This book was gorgeous, reminiscent of She Who Became the Sun and The Poppy War series. It did fall fault to telling us what we should be reading and associating things with but this potentially didn't bother me as much as it would others. I did love the way the world building was done, it was rich and colourful which just sucked me right in.
Huge thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this eARC.
krboaze's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
kindlemecozy's review against another edition
- 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
This book was breakingly beautiful. The magic, the oppression, the fight to stop a war (maybe) and young girl finding the courage to do whatever is necessary to save her realm. This book is action packed & touches on real world issues in a modern fantasy world. I truly enjoyed this book and will be waiting impatiently for the next book in the series.