Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon

9 reviews

alexlynx's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

5.0

Instantly bought the second book. This is so unhinged in the best way, I am almost unsure if I just read a real book. The most fascinating part of all of this was (without giving too much away) that the main character has many versions of themselves and the writing style changes according to that. It adapts over time as well and it is hilarious, exciting, scary, marvellous. Can't wait to read the second part.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Death, Grief, Animal death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Slavery, and Self harm

mirandyli's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.0

This was a fantasy YA novel with a nonbinary, trans, Indigenous, polyamorous main character. I was really excited about the diversity. But somehow the book still missed the mark a bit and it took me a while to finish.

How are most of the reincarnated gods all located within the same tiny town in the middle of nowhere Georgia? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Misogyny, Cursing, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia

pm_me_book_recs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

 

I held off on reviewing this until I read the closing sequel. I do like the sequel better than this first one, mostly because a ton of questions get answered and the character growth is a big deeper.

Godly Heathens showcases a ton of conflict, much of it saturated in teen angst and edgy one-liners. The dialogue was too try-hard for me, it felt like an adult assuming how queer teens talk? And this cast! The whole main cast is Queer, Trans/ Non-Binary, Native, Black, Latine, and some neurodivergence as well, and none of it is the target of harassment or bullying. We get to see Queer joy, Trans empowerment and normalization, all amongst a very stressful gods-coming-to-earth setting.

My biggest issue was remember who everyone is, the cast was so massive. There is a list of characters in the back, but unfortunately with audiobook... that doesn't help much. I wasn't a fan of the narrator at first, the cadence was hard for me to get into, but once I got their style is speaking it was fine and aided a lot in the characters. I did not like the demon's voice though, idk why, it was just so off. I listened to this via Libro.fm, which at the time was an ALC.

Some steamy make out scenes and daydreams, some references to sexual assault, lots of fantasy violence, lots of big emotions and meltdowns, scary moments with mental illness, and suicidal ideation.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Torture, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Colonisation, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Car accident

robbin_bobbin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this is by far my favorite book of the year. it feels like a big step up from Edgmon’s first series and they feel more comfortable in here (not that the first one wasn’t good!). i found myself relating to the main character in so many ways and i would root for them and their loved ones no matter what. this book will haunt me with its amazingness and ill gladly let that happen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Violence, and Cursing

Moderate: Mental illness and Body horror

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

ctara2123's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Violence, Mental illness, and Cursing

Moderate: Self harm, Homophobia, and Adult/minor relationship

caseythereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the free copy of this book.

 - Wow, this book. GODLY HEATHENS is H.E. Edgmon leaning into his full talent as a writer of angry, messy, queer af kids desperate to find their place in the world.
- The mythology here is so cool, and so detailed and tangled I could believe it was real. And the "real world" people and plot threads felt messily real, too.
- This book mashes together queerness and small towns and mental illness and thousand year old gods and it works beautifully. I can't wait to see what happens next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Sexual content, Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

fromthefoxhole's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Dear whoever approves Netgalley requests for St. Martin's Press, I hope you get a raise and both sides of your pillow are cool for the rest of your life. you're my hero. Thank you SO much to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and H.E. Edgemon for the ARC. All opinions are my own of course.

Out of the gate, this book is FAST. The pace set from the jump was enough for me to regularly flip back and make sure I hadn't missed any crucial details. The good thing here is that it matches with the emotions of Gem, our 17 year old nonbinary protag.

You see, Gem is struggling with vivid and violent dreams and hallucinations, just like their father. They've never felt quite at home being a person, wrestling being queer and mentally ill in their swampy, backwoods small town. Their dad went fully off the deep end some time ago, leaving Gem with a well intentioned but ultimately clueless mother. Luckily, their bff Enzo is also trans and has been monumental in keeping Gem off the ledge. Unfortunately, he lives in Brooklyn, some thousand plus miles away, and Gem has to graduate high school before they'll be able to create a future together.

After another terrible dream, Gem feels like their grip on reality is shifting, waiting just beyond a fog for Gem to catch it. This is made significantly worse when they are accosted by a new student, Willa Mae, who claims that they are soulmates. Oh, and gods from another world. 

Things snowball from here, building towards something Gem cannot remember or name - something that places everything and everyone they love in danger. 

The pace, while honestly breakneck, really helped me slip into Gem's shoes as they tried to navigate through their new reality. I was trying to connect the dots right alongside Gem (if you know the Always Sunny whiteboard meme, you have a sense of the complexity lol). I do think that the language was almost painfully gen z at times, but also I don't know that I love the idea that all books have to exist in this timeless vacuum either, so I'm tabling that complaint. 

The characterization here is what really sold Godly Heathens for me. Gem oscillates between "good" and "bad", often landing in the morally grey camp, which is understandable. All of their intentions and insights make sense, especially for a 17 year old going through what I can only describe as a uniquely traumatic situation, who also has pretty severe trauma from their past. Edgemon doesn't shy away from frank conversations about Gem and their father's struggles with mental illness, or the coping mechanisms Gem has adopted along the way. It all feels very genuine and believable. I am a little sad that it's single POV, though. I look forward to book two, and hopefully seeing more of the pantheon as Gem reveals more about the other gods and their reasoning. 

For all that I initially balked at Willa Mae's character, by the end I was cheering her on and hopeful for the romance between them and Gem. I had no reservations doing the same with Enzo, and could honestly probably make the case for an entire harem, lol. Gem talks a lot about keeping parts of themself hidden and being a sort of chameleon, so seeing them truly vulnerable and open made my Grinch heart grow.

Also, I have never felt as seen by a character as I do by Gem. I can't tell you how much of this ARC is annotated by my "relatable" highlighter.

The plot is revealed in halves - the past in the Ether told through hazy memories and dreams, and the present, racing toward some unknown destiny. I'm not usually a fan of that kind of storytelling, but it works here, for some reason. 

I really, REALLY enjoyed this book. I laughed, I cried, I gasped so loudly my boyfriend had to check on me. I am also foaming at the mouth for book two, this cliffhanger felt like I had been punched. Phenomenal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Self harm, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Death

Moderate: War, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault

ladykyuuketsuki's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Ableism, Colonisation, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

krisalexcole's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Mental illness, Death, Gore, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Vomit, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Animal death, and Body horror

Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, War, Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Racism, Transphobia, and Cursing