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the_b00kreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
In this book we follow Gem Echols as they realise their life is not as it seems. Gem is the reincarnated God of magic...this may seem pretty cool until they also find out that the other gods have a few deep-rooted grudges against them.
I was vividly entertained throughout the entirety of this book and found it to be a pretty swift read.
The plot in itself was really well drawn up and executed with plenty of thought going into it. The characters were really well developed and had dimension.
The only character that fell a little flat for me at first was Enzo, he was a little predictable.
I loved H.E. Edgmon's depiction of the gods and their home world, the Ether, although I will admit I'd love to know more about it and feel as though, in the next books, I might be able to do just that.
Being inside Gem's mind was certainly an experience. They had so many conflicting emotions when it came to making some of the greater decisions and I feel everything was portrayed splendidly. I cannot wait to see what comes next for Gem and the others but I can only guess it is not going to be an easy journey.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book!
I was vividly entertained throughout the entirety of this book and found it to be a pretty swift read.
The plot in itself was really well drawn up and executed with plenty of thought going into it. The characters were really well developed and had dimension.
The only character that fell a little flat for me at first was Enzo, he was a little predictable.
I loved H.E. Edgmon's depiction of the gods and their home world, the Ether, although I will admit I'd love to know more about it and feel as though, in the next books, I might be able to do just that.
Being inside Gem's mind was certainly an experience. They had so many conflicting emotions when it came to making some of the greater decisions and I feel everything was portrayed splendidly. I cannot wait to see what comes next for Gem and the others but I can only guess it is not going to be an easy journey.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Death, War, Bullying, Torture, Genocide, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
ezwolf'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
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Grief, Gun violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content, Self harm, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Transphobia
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