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A review by fuyukko
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang
3.0
Honestly I don't really understand why people dislike this book so much. It's not bad, but it's not a literary masterpiece like The Way of Kings or something.
I don't know anything about the drama revolving Molly X Chang, except that she got Review bombed by Cait Carrain or something.
I also don't know how she promoted this book, enemies to Lovers or colonial romance or something? I just wanted to support a POC author.
I think the marketing might have done this book a disservice. I don't think this is enemies to lovers. In fact it felt more like a groomer and a victim. Antony is constantly grooming and manipulating Ruying into doing what he wants, into how he thinks. He justifies his actions and just grooms her in such a disturbing yet natural way. He touches her, calls her his love. And Ruying is a victim of abuse so of course she would run to the first sign of affection that even her own coloniser gave to her.
I get Ruying's inner turmoil, even though it can get a bit annoying after a while. I also get the other character's frustrations at her, but she doesn't know anything and no one would tell her anything until the very end so..
The side characters are all very flat. I couldn't care less about them.
I absolutely hated their dynamic. I felt disgusted everytime Antony touched her face or brushed her shoulder. All this felt like manipulative tactics to get Ruying on his side. And when the big reveal came, I knew it was coming.
The world is interesting, but why Rome? The name for opium became opian, the name of Pangu changed, so why keep Rome as Rome?
This feels like a more watered down version of The Poppy War, excluding the romance, and maybe that's because it's YA. The story was okay, it's the usual plot when it comes to YA stories, but I'm excited to see how the story plays out. I'm really really really hoping that Antony and Ruying don't get together, and instead Antony gets his due diligence. Fingers crossed.
Overall, not a bad book but the one part I hated the most was the romance. I'm excited to see how Pangu will take back their land from the Romans.
I don't know anything about the drama revolving Molly X Chang, except that she got Review bombed by Cait Carrain or something.
I also don't know how she promoted this book, enemies to Lovers or colonial romance or something? I just wanted to support a POC author.
I think the marketing might have done this book a disservice. I don't think this is enemies to lovers. In fact it felt more like a groomer and a victim. Antony is constantly grooming and manipulating Ruying into doing what he wants, into how he thinks. He justifies his actions and just grooms her in such a disturbing yet natural way. He touches her, calls her his love. And Ruying is a victim of abuse so of course she would run to the first sign of affection that even her own coloniser gave to her.
I get Ruying's inner turmoil, even though it can get a bit annoying after a while. I also get the other character's frustrations at her, but she doesn't know anything and no one would tell her anything until the very end so..
The side characters are all very flat. I couldn't care less about them.
I absolutely hated their dynamic. I felt disgusted everytime Antony touched her face or brushed her shoulder. All this felt like manipulative tactics to get Ruying on his side. And when the big reveal came, I knew it was coming.
The world is interesting, but why Rome? The name for opium became opian, the name of Pangu changed, so why keep Rome as Rome?
This feels like a more watered down version of The Poppy War, excluding the romance, and maybe that's because it's YA. The story was okay, it's the usual plot when it comes to YA stories, but I'm excited to see how the story plays out. I'm really really really hoping that Antony and Ruying don't get together, and instead Antony gets his due diligence. Fingers crossed.
Overall, not a bad book but the one part I hated the most was the romance. I'm excited to see how Pangu will take back their land from the Romans.