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A review by ellieee_004
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang
4.5
(I received an arc in a raffle from a House of YA x Waterstones event last year)
(REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS)
I think enjoyed is the wrong word to use to describe this book, the events are inspired by the author's own family experiences in Manchuria so there are many rather harrowing scenes throughout, however, this book was an eye-opening and wonderfully written read.
There are some reviews that seem to be confused on who the love interest is in the book and this colours their review, however, the author has only ever described her work as 'childhood friends to enemies to lovers' (also just look at the title of the second book and it is obvious that Antony is not the love interest). This very much seems to be like the reception of Shadow and Bone, where there is a villain which manipulates the female main character in order to use her power for his benefit and in order to more easily control her. Ruyang was only ever manipulated by Antony, he is the coloniser of her world and their entire dynamic is based on the power imbalance between them, despite his attempts to say otherwise.
The story is very morally grey, none of the characters can be described as unconditionally good. Ruyang is a young girl put in an impossible situation, can you honestly say you wouldn't make some of the same decisions as her if you were in her place?
(REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS)
I think enjoyed is the wrong word to use to describe this book, the events are inspired by the author's own family experiences in Manchuria so there are many rather harrowing scenes throughout, however, this book was an eye-opening and wonderfully written read.
There are some reviews that seem to be confused on who the love interest is in the book and this colours their review, however, the author has only ever described her work as 'childhood friends to enemies to lovers' (also just look at the title of the second book and it is obvious that Antony is not the love interest). This very much seems to be like the reception of Shadow and Bone, where there is a villain which manipulates the female main character in order to use her power for his benefit and in order to more easily control her. Ruyang was only ever manipulated by Antony, he is the coloniser of her world and their entire dynamic is based on the power imbalance between them, despite his attempts to say otherwise.
The story is very morally grey, none of the characters can be described as unconditionally good. Ruyang is a young girl put in an impossible situation, can you honestly say you wouldn't make some of the same decisions as her if you were in her place?