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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: (provided by the author) hunting, animal sacrifice, misogyny, a father hitting his adult son, blood, death, sexual assault mention, deaths in a fire, strong language, sexual content
A Veil of Gods and Kings by Nicole Bailey is book one in the Apollo Ascending series. This is a NA romance reimagining of the Apollo and Hyacinth myth. I have been loving retellings lately, and this one gave me The Song of Achilles vibes minus all the tragedy.
We get POVs from Apollo, Hyacinth, and Epiphany (Hyacinth's sister). Each character, including Temi, Apollo's sister, struggles with their lot in life vs. what they actually want. For Apollo, he is destined to ascend as the sun god, but wants nothing more than to stay on earth with his sister. Hyacinth is destined to become king after his father, and struggles with the pressure of duty and trying to be with the one he loves. Epiphany is constrained by the patriarchal laws that make it so she must marry or have male patronage, when all she wants is freedom.
The enemies to lovers between Apollo and Hyacinth is so wonderful! I love all the witty repartee and the "gods I hate him, but can't stop fantasizing about him." I had very "just kiss already!" Vibes the whole time lol. I loved the friendship between Temi and Pip! Temi is aroace and is not here for all the patriarchal bullshit and encourages Pip to do what she wants despite what is proper. Temi is absolutely my favorite character. She's me, except I'm allosexual lol. As Nicole said, definitely a Sagittarius 😆.
I'm not usually a huge fan of NA romance, mostly because a lot of enemies to lovers in this genre read as abusive, but Nicole doesn't do that! This was a sweet relationship with plenty of steamy moments that were not gratuitous, but loving. I'm impatiently waiting for June to come so I can have the next book to see more of Temi's story.
A Veil of Gods and Kings by Nicole Bailey is book one in the Apollo Ascending series. This is a NA romance reimagining of the Apollo and Hyacinth myth. I have been loving retellings lately, and this one gave me The Song of Achilles vibes minus all the tragedy.
We get POVs from Apollo, Hyacinth, and Epiphany (Hyacinth's sister). Each character, including Temi, Apollo's sister, struggles with their lot in life vs. what they actually want. For Apollo, he is destined to ascend as the sun god, but wants nothing more than to stay on earth with his sister. Hyacinth is destined to become king after his father, and struggles with the pressure of duty and trying to be with the one he loves. Epiphany is constrained by the patriarchal laws that make it so she must marry or have male patronage, when all she wants is freedom.
The enemies to lovers between Apollo and Hyacinth is so wonderful! I love all the witty repartee and the "gods I hate him, but can't stop fantasizing about him." I had very "just kiss already!" Vibes the whole time lol. I loved the friendship between Temi and Pip! Temi is aroace and is not here for all the patriarchal bullshit and encourages Pip to do what she wants despite what is proper. Temi is absolutely my favorite character. She's me, except I'm allosexual lol. As Nicole said, definitely a Sagittarius 😆.
I'm not usually a huge fan of NA romance, mostly because a lot of enemies to lovers in this genre read as abusive, but Nicole doesn't do that! This was a sweet relationship with plenty of steamy moments that were not gratuitous, but loving. I'm impatiently waiting for June to come so I can have the next book to see more of Temi's story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood and Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault
irlchaosdemon's review
adventurous
emotional
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
(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review)
A Veil of Gods and Kings is a reimagining of Apollo and Hyacinth set in a fantasy world inspired by Greek mythology.
A Veil of Gods and Kings is a reimagining of Apollo and Hyacinth set in a fantasy world inspired by Greek mythology.
The characters are the driving point in this book, and I love them all dearly. Still, I would have loved to see a lot more worldbuilding, as the places and culture felt kinda flat :/
The book also has little to no plot, focusing mostly on Apollo and Hyacinth’s hate to love story, as well as Epiphany’s (Hyacinth’s sister) life as a princess wanting to escape her life. Though the end strongly implied that we’d see more action in the next book so I can’t wait to see the story continue in the sequel!! (I’m also crossing my fingers for a Temi pov in it)
If you’re a fellow Greek mythology fan and like character-driven books, I highly recommend A Veil of Gods and Kings!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal death, Physical abuse, and War
anntharai's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-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
3.75
With thanks to NetGally, Victory Editing, and the Author Nicole Bailey for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.75 overall
When you take two gorgeous and powerful men with secrets, each repressed in their own way, and force them together for a year … you get sparks.
This is a fun story and the writing is easy to read, additionally the plot is an interesting take and you really do start caring about the characters quickly.
The relationship between Cyn and Apollo is remarkable, Bailey has managed to fold doomed romance/real love/destinies aligned tropes into a multifaceted relationship that genuinely pulls at your heart strings.
I’d have loved to spend more time with Temi. I adore her. And I want to be her. And the whole *spoiler* thing? Yes. Love it. I am hoping that she is the primary focus of forthcoming books.
Great and accurate inclusion of content warnings by Nicole Bailey, major respect for them there. Low level spicy scenes, they’re on page but I wouldn’t call them graphic.
Overall A Veil of Gods and Kings is a great New Adult read, I will be excited to read the series as it unfolds.
My only two issues:
The authors note references the fact that while this is a Greek myth retelling the world building is new, and to expect unrealistic and unhistorical aspects like ancient Greeks saddling up their horses. Which is fine. I like that they gave you a heads up, but it wasn’t the saddles that got me it was the acutely modern turns of phrase like “grab a shower” and the king wearing ‘shorts’. I don’t expect accuracy from mythological retellings but I would like consistency within the confines of itself. The things that broke my immersion were subtle, and I genuinely believe would be easy to change (‘grab a shower’ to ‘bathe quickly’ for example), wouldn’t change the story, and would elevate the reading experience.
I did find the time bleeding a little, and the character chapters were sometimes difficult to tell apart especially at the beginnings of chapters. Eg, occasionally “few months’ would be used to reference the time left together, then reference spending a year there. Or when swapping from Apollo to Cyn, I’d have to check the chapter title to make sure I was attributing the actions to the right character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, and Domestic abuse
pagesofnay's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Cursing, Sexual content, and Misogyny
Moderate: Blood, Animal death, and Physical abuse
izzymannellasbookshelf's review
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.0
If you like slow-burn enemies to lovers, multiple POV, Greek mythology retellings, and lots of LGBTQ representation, you'll really enjoy this NA fantasy book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, I thought this book was good. It didn't totally wow me, but it was definitely a fun, entertaining story. I especially loved the Epiphany and Valerian forbidden-romance subplot, being one to absolutely DIE for the "commoner falls for the royal" trope.
As for the main plot, I thought the romance was a bit stereotypical, but that isn't always a bad thing. The world-building is super unique and interesting, because while it's based off actual Greek mythology, the world is entirely original. There's a bit of a modern twist to it as well. The characters feel very 21st century, which I find refreshing.
The book is almost entirely character-based, so don't go into it expecting an elaborate plot. The stakes aren't that high at all, but we get to see the characters grow and embark on their own personal journeys. I definitely found the characters to be well-developed and intriguing.
The story centers mainly around Apollo, who in this version is not yet full-deity. Zeus, his raging and hateful father, is forcing him to "ascend", or become full god. If Apollo ascends, he will be forced to reign from Olympus, away from his mortal sister and closest confidant, Temi (an original twist on the goddess Artemis). Apollo wants nothing more than to be human & to live freely on earth with his sister, but once he ascends, he won't be able to stay on earth for an extended amount of time without feeling sick.
So, Zeus offers him a deal. He can ascend now, or wait one full year, during which time he must let the snarky, full-of-himself Prince Hyacinth mentor him. Naturally, he chooses to live another year as a half-mortal on earth, thinking he can at least live a little and experience the world for a bit longer despite having to do so in the presence of an insufferable royal.
As the year progresses, he finds he might just enjoy the prince's company a bit more than he expected to. And vice versa. Hyacinth finds that there might be more to Apollo than just being the arrogant, impulsive deity that he pretends to be.
All in all, I enjoyed this story. It was fun, entertaining, and lighthearted. I could visualize the scenes and the characters impeccably well. Excited for it to hit the shelves.
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, I thought this book was good. It didn't totally wow me, but it was definitely a fun, entertaining story. I especially loved the Epiphany and Valerian forbidden-romance subplot, being one to absolutely DIE for the "commoner falls for the royal" trope.
As for the main plot, I thought the romance was a bit stereotypical, but that isn't always a bad thing. The world-building is super unique and interesting, because while it's based off actual Greek mythology, the world is entirely original. There's a bit of a modern twist to it as well. The characters feel very 21st century, which I find refreshing.
The book is almost entirely character-based, so don't go into it expecting an elaborate plot. The stakes aren't that high at all, but we get to see the characters grow and embark on their own personal journeys. I definitely found the characters to be well-developed and intriguing.
The story centers mainly around Apollo, who in this version is not yet full-deity. Zeus, his raging and hateful father, is forcing him to "ascend", or become full god. If Apollo ascends, he will be forced to reign from Olympus, away from his mortal sister and closest confidant, Temi (an original twist on the goddess Artemis). Apollo wants nothing more than to be human & to live freely on earth with his sister, but once he ascends, he won't be able to stay on earth for an extended amount of time without feeling sick.
So, Zeus offers him a deal. He can ascend now, or wait one full year, during which time he must let the snarky, full-of-himself Prince Hyacinth mentor him. Naturally, he chooses to live another year as a half-mortal on earth, thinking he can at least live a little and experience the world for a bit longer despite having to do so in the presence of an insufferable royal.
As the year progresses, he finds he might just enjoy the prince's company a bit more than he expected to. And vice versa. Hyacinth finds that there might be more to Apollo than just being the arrogant, impulsive deity that he pretends to be.
All in all, I enjoyed this story. It was fun, entertaining, and lighthearted. I could visualize the scenes and the characters impeccably well. Excited for it to hit the shelves.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Physical abuse
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