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ramsfan1963's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? No
4.0
A short and quick urban fantasy, a murder mystery involving gods, magic and mystical creatures. The mystery was twisty enough to keep my attention, but it's really the two lead characters, Justix Tharros and the roguish demigod Andy, that makes the story compelling and would bring me back for the next adventure.
gayathiri_rajendran's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Serial Box for providing me with a review copy. The below opinions are my own.
Gods & Lies is a quick read of an urban fantasy with a bit of romance. This book follows two POVs Andy and Iris who come together to investigate a murder. This book is influenced by Greek mythology a bit but nothing is stated outright. It had several twists along the way and at times they felt rushed with less attention to details.
The writing style was good and the imagination of the author is to be commended. However the book was too fast paced and the characters felt stereotypical. I wish this chapter was a bit longer and more fleshed out.
Gods & Lies is a quick read of an urban fantasy with a bit of romance. This book follows two POVs Andy and Iris who come together to investigate a murder. This book is influenced by Greek mythology a bit but nothing is stated outright. It had several twists along the way and at times they felt rushed with less attention to details.
The writing style was good and the imagination of the author is to be commended. However the book was too fast paced and the characters felt stereotypical. I wish this chapter was a bit longer and more fleshed out.
gayathiri_rajendran's review
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Serial Box for providing me with a review copy. The below opinions are my own.
Gods & Lies is a quick read of an urban fantasy with a bit of romance. This book follows two POVs Andy and Iris who come together to investigate a murder. This book is influenced by Greek mythology a bit but nothing is stated outright. It had several twists along the way and at times they felt rushed with less attention to details.
The writing style was good and the imagination of the author is to be commended. However the book was too fast paced and the characters felt stereotypical. I wish this chapter was a bit longer and more fleshed out.
Gods & Lies is a quick read of an urban fantasy with a bit of romance. This book follows two POVs Andy and Iris who come together to investigate a murder. This book is influenced by Greek mythology a bit but nothing is stated outright. It had several twists along the way and at times they felt rushed with less attention to details.
The writing style was good and the imagination of the author is to be commended. However the book was too fast paced and the characters felt stereotypical. I wish this chapter was a bit longer and more fleshed out.
reianb's review
3.0
Fun and Fast-Paced.
In fact, maybe a little too fast. Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am too unfamiliar with the way Serial Box audiobooks works, but I know they come out in episodes (hence SERIAL box). It might be just how the way these stories are supposed to be paced, but I felt like everything was too rushed.
First, it lacked a strong world-building to where characters were spitting out terms associated to this unfamiliar world while simultaneously being a reveal to the mystery. This made me confused at times. It made it seem that the "twists" and revelation of information was just pulled out of nowhere since we had nothing to refer back to and be like "oh yeah, that makes sense because this and that."
Next, the romance. Look, I LOVE romance. I am a hardcore hopeless romantic that is in desperation for a boyfriend. BUT the development of the romance was just out of nowhere and too rushed. Not sure if this is supposed to be a series, but if it is, then the author should have made it more slow-burned.
I think that there were just so many things happening with the main plot and the romance sub plot that the author didn't get the chance to really commit to introducing to the readers basic introductory information. It also did not help that this book was quite short.
I really enjoyed the idea for this world, though, and I might consider reading the sequel if there comes one. I would recommend this for those fond of gods and mythology stories.
In fact, maybe a little too fast. Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am too unfamiliar with the way Serial Box audiobooks works, but I know they come out in episodes (hence SERIAL box). It might be just how the way these stories are supposed to be paced, but I felt like everything was too rushed.
First, it lacked a strong world-building to where characters were spitting out terms associated to this unfamiliar world while simultaneously being a reveal to the mystery. This made me confused at times. It made it seem that the "twists" and revelation of information was just pulled out of nowhere since we had nothing to refer back to and be like "oh yeah, that makes sense because this and that."
Next, the romance. Look, I LOVE romance. I am a hardcore hopeless romantic that is in desperation for a boyfriend. BUT the development of the romance was just out of nowhere and too rushed. Not sure if this is supposed to be a series, but if it is, then the author should have made it more slow-burned.
I think that there were just so many things happening with the main plot and the romance sub plot that the author didn't get the chance to really commit to introducing to the readers basic introductory information. It also did not help that this book was quite short.
I really enjoyed the idea for this world, though, and I might consider reading the sequel if there comes one. I would recommend this for those fond of gods and mythology stories.
marshdr's review against another edition
4.0
I recently received a copy of this as a Goodreads giveaway.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The characters were interesting and well-developed, especially for such a short story. It was a quick read and I'm looking forward to the next installment!
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The characters were interesting and well-developed, especially for such a short story. It was a quick read and I'm looking forward to the next installment!
dlsmall's review
3.0
I don’t know. Feels like a lower stakes 21st century tech and culture take on Gaiman. I have a feeling that the audio version (full cast?) is quite a bit more engaging...still...not too shabby.
gmzzn's review
4.0
Gods & Lies is a fun, quick-paced murder mystery with a hint of romance, and it was a really enjoyable read. The book follows two points of views: Iris, who serves the goddess Themia, of Justice, and Andy, a demi-god who she has met before and has conflicting opinions about.
Iris is called to Wind God's Aestros' temple, after being called by Themia, to visit a crime scene. Andy, at the same time, visits after being hired by a human family, to get in touch with their daughter, Pippa Marwol. They find the corpse of Pippa, killed and changed into a bird inside Aestros' own temple, and work together to solve the mystery of who did it, and bring justice to the dead girl.
Iris and Andy are great characters - Iris follows the truth and justice, while Andy is dealing with having to do things by himself instead of messing up and being punished by his Mother -, and I felt like they complimented each other well; at first I didn't quite feel the connection between them, and I wish we could see a bit more of their past meetings, but deeper inside the book they just got so tender and caring for each other I was rooting for them at the end, even if it felt like the start of a fragile relationship, instead of a true love thing (which I do hope gets developed in a following season/book!).
For the most part the murder mystery kept me going; I was curious, and the confusing hints the characters discovered added to the desire to learn, along with them, who killed Pippa and what were their connections to the deities. It was really interesting to see how gods and goddesses were around the world so easily, fitting well in every part of how the characters interacted and lived, especially Iris, since she's a human, but I wanted to get a bit more of worldbuilding, a bit more of information on how the worship came to be, how normal people (outside of Iris' job as a Justix, outside of Andy's personal issues) dealt with all that.
The ending wasn't as satisfying as I hoped for, but it did make me more excited for a possible sequel/next season, so I hope we get more of Iris and Andy's relationship and all that!!! I really enjoyed reading it.
(received a free digital copy through netgalley!)
Iris is called to Wind God's Aestros' temple, after being called by Themia, to visit a crime scene. Andy, at the same time, visits after being hired by a human family, to get in touch with their daughter, Pippa Marwol. They find the corpse of Pippa, killed and changed into a bird inside Aestros' own temple, and work together to solve the mystery of who did it, and bring justice to the dead girl.
Iris and Andy are great characters - Iris follows the truth and justice, while Andy is dealing with having to do things by himself instead of messing up and being punished by his Mother -, and I felt like they complimented each other well; at first I didn't quite feel the connection between them, and I wish we could see a bit more of their past meetings, but deeper inside the book they just got so tender and caring for each other I was rooting for them at the end, even if it felt like the start of a fragile relationship, instead of a true love thing (which I do hope gets developed in a following season/book!).
For the most part the murder mystery kept me going; I was curious, and the confusing hints the characters discovered added to the desire to learn, along with them, who killed Pippa and what were their connections to the deities. It was really interesting to see how gods and goddesses were around the world so easily, fitting well in every part of how the characters interacted and lived, especially Iris, since she's a human, but I wanted to get a bit more of worldbuilding, a bit more of information on how the worship came to be, how normal people (outside of Iris' job as a Justix, outside of Andy's personal issues) dealt with all that.
The ending wasn't as satisfying as I hoped for, but it did make me more excited for a possible sequel/next season, so I hope we get more of Iris and Andy's relationship and all that!!! I really enjoyed reading it.
(received a free digital copy through netgalley!)
madelyn91's review
4.0
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly, I love good retelling. Gods & Lies is exactly that. Gods and Lies is an urban retelling where the gods of old are still alive and well and people go out of their way to gain their favor. Gods and Lies does a lot with little. It is a fast-paced mythical murder mystery with lovable characters, Iris & Andy.
You wouldn't think that ritualist murder, Gods and Demigods, and romance go well together but Gods & Lies it did well. I didn't see the ending coming which is a huge plus for me. If you are looking for a fun, well-written, quick-read, Gods & Lies is a great choice. Would recommend!
Firstly, I love good retelling. Gods & Lies is exactly that. Gods and Lies is an urban retelling where the gods of old are still alive and well and people go out of their way to gain their favor. Gods and Lies does a lot with little. It is a fast-paced mythical murder mystery with lovable characters, Iris & Andy.
You wouldn't think that ritualist murder, Gods and Demigods, and romance go well together but Gods & Lies it did well. I didn't see the ending coming which is a huge plus for me. If you are looking for a fun, well-written, quick-read, Gods & Lies is a great choice. Would recommend!
zoes_human's review
If you enjoy the snark of formula fiction rooted in the interplay between a friendly, roguish archetype and an abrasive cop on the scene, then this may well suit you. I, however, find it tiresome. The characters are two-dimensional and, typically in these types of stories, do not evolve. The mystery portion doesn't particularly intrigue me and solving it appears to be a matter of talking to other stock characters.
justjaqueline's review
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this to me!
First of all, this book reads like a tv series which is uh, amazing?
The style keeps you engaged with the story, which is very fast-paced and action-filled - just an heads-up for whoever's looking for characters driven stories, really.
Not to say, however, that characters are not well developed. Au contraire, we get a backstory and motivations for both of our protagonists, without having to sit trough exposition. We also get notions about the world in this "show, don't tell" way, which feels natural and doesn't slow the plot down at all.
I could do without the inkling of romance (which is minimal, really), but that's just me.
Hope to see more things set in this universe!
First of all, this book reads like a tv series which is uh, amazing?
The style keeps you engaged with the story, which is very fast-paced and action-filled - just an heads-up for whoever's looking for characters driven stories, really.
Not to say, however, that characters are not well developed. Au contraire, we get a backstory and motivations for both of our protagonists, without having to sit trough exposition. We also get notions about the world in this "show, don't tell" way, which feels natural and doesn't slow the plot down at all.
I could do without the inkling of romance (which is minimal, really), but that's just me.
Hope to see more things set in this universe!