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A review by monarchsandmyths
Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon
thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review
I absolutely loved H.E. Edgmon’s debut duology, and while in many ways this book is wildly different, it feels like it fits into the piece of me reading it right now. I’ve been anticipating this book ever since I first heard about it, and yet I’m not sure what I expected going in, although I can definitely now say I was sufficiently surprised. It’s a little bit hard to talk about this book because all my thoughts are thoroughly wrapped up in the experience of reading it, it truly took me out of what I was doing for a day and into Gem’s world. The twists and turns kept me on my toes and on the edge of my seat, to the point that I stayed up just so I could finish the book (and then lament that I didn’t have the sequel already in hand). Something that Edgmon did so well in THE WITCH KING duology and dives even deeper into in this series is queer love and rage, and the ways in which they intertwine. The morally grey character is often lauded in fantasy, but what Edgmon captures is something indescribable about queerness in a society that doesn’t always want it, and makes it that much more satisfying to see these characters burn the world down.
In a lot of ways, I can’t directly relate to this book. Gem and I are so unlike one another (and frankly I can’t relate much to the other characters in the book anyway), and yet something about this book feels like it understands me. Maybe it’s that dream of escaping your Southern town to go to a city and live with your queer online friends, except I’m not a reincarnated god. I think what makes this book so good and so queer (besides the blatant queer stuff happening) is this feeling I can’t describe, the way Gem’s attraction works and feelings about themself, as well as all the others characterization just hits in a way that works. Sometimes that means the characters have elements of stereotype, but they become so much more because they’re not a character born from a stereotype, but a person (character) who is sometimes stereotypical because that’s how life works.
I could talk about the plot and the characters of this book all day. Death is a trans girl, War is a butch lesbian, and so on. When I tell you I almost threw my book across the room at one point after a particularly big plot twist, I am not exaggerating in the slightest. It’s a little hard to tell where the book is going at first, but then it absolutely explodes, making this more intricate fantasy than I often expect in YA without being confusing. Between the characters and the overall plotline, the story never slows down and ended up keeping me up just so I could find out what happened next.
Lastly, I can’t talk about this book without talking about queer love and rage. No matter how many times it happens, there’s something that’s always so special about seeing queer characters being loved (even if I can’t talk about it much without spoiling the contents of this book). Furthermore, the relationship dynamics, even outside of Gem, are so fascinating and so enmeshed in the characters in the story in such a stunning way. On the flip side, the queer rage is even more potent in parts than Edgmon’s debut. It is deeply satisfying to see a queer character be loved and appreciated and also take the world in hand and not always pick the right or ‘good’ decision. These characters aren’t role models, and it’s so much more compelling that way.
No matter how much I write about this book, it’s impossible to truly capture all my thoughts and feelings. It surpassed my expectations and I will be not so patiently waiting for the sequel to come out next year! If it’s not already on your TBR, I highly recommend picking this one up.
I absolutely loved H.E. Edgmon’s debut duology, and while in many ways this book is wildly different, it feels like it fits into the piece of me reading it right now. I’ve been anticipating this book ever since I first heard about it, and yet I’m not sure what I expected going in, although I can definitely now say I was sufficiently surprised. It’s a little bit hard to talk about this book because all my thoughts are thoroughly wrapped up in the experience of reading it, it truly took me out of what I was doing for a day and into Gem’s world. The twists and turns kept me on my toes and on the edge of my seat, to the point that I stayed up just so I could finish the book (and then lament that I didn’t have the sequel already in hand). Something that Edgmon did so well in THE WITCH KING duology and dives even deeper into in this series is queer love and rage, and the ways in which they intertwine. The morally grey character is often lauded in fantasy, but what Edgmon captures is something indescribable about queerness in a society that doesn’t always want it, and makes it that much more satisfying to see these characters burn the world down.
In a lot of ways, I can’t directly relate to this book. Gem and I are so unlike one another (and frankly I can’t relate much to the other characters in the book anyway), and yet something about this book feels like it understands me. Maybe it’s that dream of escaping your Southern town to go to a city and live with your queer online friends, except I’m not a reincarnated god. I think what makes this book so good and so queer (besides the blatant queer stuff happening) is this feeling I can’t describe, the way Gem’s attraction works and feelings about themself, as well as all the others characterization just hits in a way that works. Sometimes that means the characters have elements of stereotype, but they become so much more because they’re not a character born from a stereotype, but a person (character) who is sometimes stereotypical because that’s how life works.
I could talk about the plot and the characters of this book all day. Death is a trans girl, War is a butch lesbian, and so on. When I tell you I almost threw my book across the room at one point after a particularly big plot twist, I am not exaggerating in the slightest. It’s a little hard to tell where the book is going at first, but then it absolutely explodes, making this more intricate fantasy than I often expect in YA without being confusing. Between the characters and the overall plotline, the story never slows down and ended up keeping me up just so I could find out what happened next.
Lastly, I can’t talk about this book without talking about queer love and rage. No matter how many times it happens, there’s something that’s always so special about seeing queer characters being loved (even if I can’t talk about it much without spoiling the contents of this book). Furthermore, the relationship dynamics, even outside of Gem, are so fascinating and so enmeshed in the characters in the story in such a stunning way. On the flip side, the queer rage is even more potent in parts than Edgmon’s debut. It is deeply satisfying to see a queer character be loved and appreciated and also take the world in hand and not always pick the right or ‘good’ decision. These characters aren’t role models, and it’s so much more compelling that way.
No matter how much I write about this book, it’s impossible to truly capture all my thoughts and feelings. It surpassed my expectations and I will be not so patiently waiting for the sequel to come out next year! If it’s not already on your TBR, I highly recommend picking this one up.