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enchaffin's review
5.0
Ready for a high stakes adventure that will burn your eyes from all the excitement!?!
There is no lie in saying that your eyes will be glued to the page as you read Golgotha by Angela R. Watts.
Set in a medieval world of warring clans and sinister factions, the story finds Moray and Finnigan, two princes of Buacach, searching for any way to keep their kingdom at peace. However, Moray takes a more sinister root than his younger brother when he relies on his powers as a wizard of Abaddon and uses dark magic instead of the wisdom of Elohai.
Due to his error in using such devious means, Moray is betrayed by another wizard and is sent into Golgotha, the land of demons and devils. Unfortunately for everyone, his betrothed Ama, Finnigan, and a mercenary named Gunnar are also casted into this hellish landscape. Now they need to learn to work together to survive and get back home. However, the four don't only have to fight bloodthirsty lizard men and undying skeleton armies; they also have to fight with their own struggles of faith in Elohai.
Watts has weaved a daring and frightfully beautiful tale of faith and how each person wrestles with it. Each character the reader meets shows a different side of how we all struggle in our own lives. This is NOT a fluff piece of how you can have a better life if you just believe in God. This is a masterpiece of how everyone struggles with trusting God, mixed in with monsters, adventure, magic, and the cutest lizard boy you'll ever meet.
TL; DR
Tanka is best boy and you should read this thrilling adventure novel right now!
There is no lie in saying that your eyes will be glued to the page as you read Golgotha by Angela R. Watts.
Set in a medieval world of warring clans and sinister factions, the story finds Moray and Finnigan, two princes of Buacach, searching for any way to keep their kingdom at peace. However, Moray takes a more sinister root than his younger brother when he relies on his powers as a wizard of Abaddon and uses dark magic instead of the wisdom of Elohai.
Due to his error in using such devious means, Moray is betrayed by another wizard and is sent into Golgotha, the land of demons and devils. Unfortunately for everyone, his betrothed Ama, Finnigan, and a mercenary named Gunnar are also casted into this hellish landscape. Now they need to learn to work together to survive and get back home. However, the four don't only have to fight bloodthirsty lizard men and undying skeleton armies; they also have to fight with their own struggles of faith in Elohai.
Watts has weaved a daring and frightfully beautiful tale of faith and how each person wrestles with it. Each character the reader meets shows a different side of how we all struggle in our own lives. This is NOT a fluff piece of how you can have a better life if you just believe in God. This is a masterpiece of how everyone struggles with trusting God, mixed in with monsters, adventure, magic, and the cutest lizard boy you'll ever meet.
TL; DR
Tanka is best boy and you should read this thrilling adventure novel right now!
thepurplegiraffe's review
5.0
"Faith will help us fight, and hope will carry us through."
In one word: EPIC.
In more words: I really loved this! I've never been disappointed by an Angela R. Watts book, and this holds true here.
I'm very much a character-driven reader (give me characters that I can love, and I'm sold), and these were some great ones. I got attached to all of them despite telling myself multiple times not to, and there's definitely something to be said for that, lol. Finnigan and Ama were my favorites, but I came to love Gunnar and Moray as well. (Also, as with most of Angela's books, the banter was top notch.)
It's definitely one of the more epic allegorical stories I've read. The fight scenes were on point, the feels were real, and I really enjoyed getting to see Moray's redemption arc come through.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! The threads of this first book were wrapped up nicely, but still leaving enough open to keep me intrigued for the next book. 4.5 stars from me!
Content warnings: Demonic activity, some mild language, one attempted sexual assault scene that is stopped before anything can happen.
**I received a copy of this book from the author. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.**
In one word: EPIC.
In more words: I really loved this! I've never been disappointed by an Angela R. Watts book, and this holds true here.
I'm very much a character-driven reader (give me characters that I can love, and I'm sold), and these were some great ones. I got attached to all of them despite telling myself multiple times not to, and there's definitely something to be said for that, lol. Finnigan and Ama were my favorites, but I came to love Gunnar and Moray as well. (Also, as with most of Angela's books, the banter was top notch.)
It's definitely one of the more epic allegorical stories I've read. The fight scenes were on point, the feels were real, and I really enjoyed getting to see Moray's redemption arc come through.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! The threads of this first book were wrapped up nicely, but still leaving enough open to keep me intrigued for the next book. 4.5 stars from me!
Content warnings: Demonic activity, some mild language, one attempted sexual assault scene that is stopped before anything can happen.
**I received a copy of this book from the author. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.**
merieshenanigans's review
3.0
Okay, so… where to begin?
This is the first fantasy work by Angela Watts I’ve read. I wasn’t sure what to expect, having only read her (pretty epic) post-apoc/dystopian novels before, but I did know there would be a lot of fight scenes.
There were a lot of fight scenes.
Golgotha takes you to a world of monsters. Right from the beginning, there is a grim atmosphere surrounding the story even before we’re actually introduced to Golgotha itself. The main characters’ homeworld, Mazzabah (did I spell that right…?), isn’t described in too much detail, since the bulk of the tale takes place in Golgotha, which is described in plenty detail.
So this book is kinda dark. It’s bloody. Main character Prince Moray dabbles in dark magic. That’s not something you see often in Christian fantasy, and to be honest, I’m still curious as to how dark magic differs from the Gifts in this storyworld other than one being evil and one being good, as neither were explained very much. Moray was pretty unlikable to me throughout most of the book, but he did become a lot more sympathetic after a certain event, even though I wanted to smack him upside the head while reading. A lot.
Finnigan was probably my second-favorite character. His POV chapters were my favorite, partly because he’s an adorable busy cinnamon roll and partly because he makes awful puns. Ama was… okay? I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t love her either? I feel like she was not as nuanced as she could have been. But Courage is the best. Courage is amazing. I want a Courage.
My favorite character was Gunnar, I think xD His banter with… well, everyone, to be exact is probably one of my highlights from the book. I’m sorry, but smart-mouthed mercenary dudes are just great. The best part is that I was expecting a suave roguish bloke who was going to sweep Ama off her feet or something, but noooooooope Gunnar is better than that xDxDxD Tanka was a big plus too!
The plot is, as Angela Watts’s plots are, quick-moving and unforgiving from the start. I read it through in no time (there’s just something about her books that makes them hard for me to put down!). While suspicious li’l me expected every other character to end up dead and every little plan to be disastrously overturned, I still enjoyed the ride. The journey through Golgotha was like watching battles and scary things happen on a screen before me. And did I mention there are a lot of fight scenes?
Now… this is the part of this review that’s gonna be hardest for me to write… because getting depressed while reviewing themes in a book is what I do. But anyway. Golgotha has strong good-vs-evil messages about hope (I mean like, these guys need a lot of it–they’re trapped in a some demon world and everything), redemption (because do you think I would be reading dark fantasy if it didn’t have any redemption?), and spiritual warfare (I confess I do not often read fantasy books focusing on spiritual warfare). The themes came across a little too strong for my tastes. I always enjoy a good light-vs-darkness story, but I was surprised by how much of it kept appearing in the story? In the Infidel Books by this author, the characters talk about, well, God and prayer and redemption and stuff so differently from the characters in this book. Don’t get me wrong–I am a huge fan of God and prayer and redemption and stuff; I’m all for it and everything, and I understand that the sheer darkness of some of the things in this book warrant a great need for light, but could it have been done more subtly? Probably. Or maybe it’s not so much the written portrayal of the themes as the way the characters’ portrayal. All I know is, that’s my biggest issue with this.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait for book two! (Especially after that epilogue… Come on.) I’m intrigued/terrified by what we’ll learn about the villain(s?) in the sequel, and I’m eager to see how these main characters will come into play in the future storyline. But until then… I guess we’ll all have to wait. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a YA dark Christian fantasy with characters who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty but struggle with the consequences afterwards set in a grim, foreboding world home to some really interesting creatures.
*I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. A positive review was not required; all views and opinions and expressed are my own.*
This is the first fantasy work by Angela Watts I’ve read. I wasn’t sure what to expect, having only read her (pretty epic) post-apoc/dystopian novels before, but I did know there would be a lot of fight scenes.
There were a lot of fight scenes.
Golgotha takes you to a world of monsters. Right from the beginning, there is a grim atmosphere surrounding the story even before we’re actually introduced to Golgotha itself. The main characters’ homeworld, Mazzabah (did I spell that right…?), isn’t described in too much detail, since the bulk of the tale takes place in Golgotha, which is described in plenty detail.
So this book is kinda dark. It’s bloody. Main character Prince Moray dabbles in dark magic. That’s not something you see often in Christian fantasy, and to be honest, I’m still curious as to how dark magic differs from the Gifts in this storyworld other than one being evil and one being good, as neither were explained very much. Moray was pretty unlikable to me throughout most of the book, but he did become a lot more sympathetic after a certain event, even though I wanted to smack him upside the head while reading. A lot.
Finnigan was probably my second-favorite character. His POV chapters were my favorite, partly because he’s an adorable busy cinnamon roll and partly because he makes awful puns. Ama was… okay? I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t love her either? I feel like she was not as nuanced as she could have been. But Courage is the best. Courage is amazing. I want a Courage.
My favorite character was Gunnar, I think xD His banter with… well, everyone, to be exact is probably one of my highlights from the book. I’m sorry, but smart-mouthed mercenary dudes are just great. The best part is that I was expecting a suave roguish bloke who was going to sweep Ama off her feet or something, but noooooooope Gunnar is better than that xDxDxD Tanka was a big plus too!
The plot is, as Angela Watts’s plots are, quick-moving and unforgiving from the start. I read it through in no time (there’s just something about her books that makes them hard for me to put down!). While suspicious li’l me expected every other character to end up dead and every little plan to be disastrously overturned, I still enjoyed the ride. The journey through Golgotha was like watching battles and scary things happen on a screen before me. And did I mention there are a lot of fight scenes?
Now… this is the part of this review that’s gonna be hardest for me to write… because getting depressed while reviewing themes in a book is what I do. But anyway. Golgotha has strong good-vs-evil messages about hope (I mean like, these guys need a lot of it–they’re trapped in a some demon world and everything), redemption (because do you think I would be reading dark fantasy if it didn’t have any redemption?), and spiritual warfare (I confess I do not often read fantasy books focusing on spiritual warfare). The themes came across a little too strong for my tastes. I always enjoy a good light-vs-darkness story, but I was surprised by how much of it kept appearing in the story? In the Infidel Books by this author, the characters talk about, well, God and prayer and redemption and stuff so differently from the characters in this book. Don’t get me wrong–I am a huge fan of God and prayer and redemption and stuff; I’m all for it and everything, and I understand that the sheer darkness of some of the things in this book warrant a great need for light, but could it have been done more subtly? Probably. Or maybe it’s not so much the written portrayal of the themes as the way the characters’ portrayal. All I know is, that’s my biggest issue with this.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait for book two! (Especially after that epilogue… Come on.) I’m intrigued/terrified by what we’ll learn about the villain(s?) in the sequel, and I’m eager to see how these main characters will come into play in the future storyline. But until then… I guess we’ll all have to wait. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a YA dark Christian fantasy with characters who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty but struggle with the consequences afterwards set in a grim, foreboding world home to some really interesting creatures.
*I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. A positive review was not required; all views and opinions and expressed are my own.*
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