This was a very cool read! I love when fantasies have their own magic systems, and having the story in a realistic setting made it even more intriguing. The inclusion of indigenous identities along with queer identities (and the fact they were included naturally rather than as some kind of showpiece) brought the book to the next level. This is a very strong start to the duology!

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the copy of this eARC for my honest review. All ratings and any reviews are opinions of my own.

This was not the book for me.

I'll be honest, I never finished this book. It's been over a year now, and over 3 tries - 1 reading, 2 audiobook listening - I haven't really been able to get into it. The concept seems cool and I loved the other books I read by this author, but this one is probably going to stay a DNF for me for a long while.

I will hopefully be able to finish it one day!

St. Martin's Press: Minotaur Books, Wednesday Books, St. Martin's Essentials, St. Martin's Griffin, and Castle Point Books are all under boycott.

Free Palestine. Speak up on your racist employee.

I will not be reviewing this title due to the boycott of St. Martins Press and its imprints. More information at @readersforaccountability on Instagram

God from another world? Reincarnation? Evil gods? All can be found in this novel. I just wish the characters had more depth and but-in for me to care about their journey. Overall though, a good read.

I wish I liked this more. For diversity, it gets a 10/10 but that's probably the strongest aspect. The last few pages were intriguing enough that I do want to know what comes next but not enough for me to want to actually continue on with the series.

Godly Heathens follows Gem Echols as they realize they and most of the people they know are reincarnated gods from a different dimension trapped in human bodies and that the sins of their godly past are catching up to them once again. This time Gem and their allies are trying to end the cycle of vengeance and suffering for good. Which is a very interesting concept, but the characters and world-building were too weak to land the execution.

The characters felt more like teens on Netflix than actual teens and, when they are awakened to their powers or when we see flashbacks from the other realm, nothing about their actions or demeanor conveys that they are centuries-old otherworldly beings. I also was not invested in Gem's relationship with Willa Mae at all because all of their chemistry and bonding took place mostly off page and decades before the events of the story. The central conflict is based around a series of betrayals that occurred when they were still gods in their original dimension and is revealed in pieces. However, I still don't understand what exactly happened before, the characters' motivations, or anything about the 1st dimension. As far as I'm concerned, they used to live in an empty void with just them and some caves. I can't imagine any other visuals, inhabitants, or the impact that the gods had on the realm.

As a Percy Jackson fan, I love modern mythological stories and was really hoping for more.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an early copy for an honest review!

H.E. Edgmon's Godly Heathens is a well-written and exciting tale with reincarnated deities. Although reincarnated gods aren't new, Edgmon crafted a story that felt fresh, unlike anything I've read.
3.5/5

Thank you so, so, so much to NetGalley and Wednesday books for access to an eARC of one of my new favorites in exchange for my honest review!

When Gem Echols wakes up one morning from yet another intensely realistic, horrifying dream in which they see themselves doing horrible things, they're convinced it's just more proof that they're 'not okay' in the head. And despite their struggle to separate the dream from their reality at first, they soldier on with their day, bolstered as always by a text from their long distance best friend and confidante Enzo. But their day only seems to get weirder when new girl Willa Mae--who just so happens to be the 'most breathtaking girl they've ever seen'--shows up at their table at lunch and apologizes for being late. It's just too bad that there's no way she's sane, acting like they've known each other for years and asking Gem where a *knife* is, of all things. Willa Mae gives them the shortest version of events possible, and the story takes a complete turn towards the outrageous. Because suddenly, Gem Echols isn't just Gem Echols anymore. They're *The Magician*, an ancient deity from a different world who has been reincarnated and become the person they are today. And they're...in danger? From other Gods? What!?

This book was an absolute roller coaster ride from start to finish and there wasn't a second that I considered getting off. The characters were fascinating and had me questioning more than once why I loved them so much when they were all *so* morally grey and did some of the questionable things they did. The use of rural Georgia as a setting for this story of an age old battle between Gods was *so* smart, as someone from Georgia. It lends this sort of closed-in feeling to the narrative that you really need when you're playing with concepts like repeated reincarnation and multi-generational family trauma caused by in-fighting between ages-old, all-powerful deities.

The way that H.E. Edgmon weaves such a beautiful, fantastical, *unreal* story by using so many extremely real elements--mental health representation in *multiple* ways, racial diversity, the struggles of indigenous peoples, identity struggles, trans visibility, gender-fluidity, lgbtqia+ representation, trauma, etc.--made for what I'm not shy to say was an absolute *masterpiece* of a contemporary fantasy.

This book was such an easy five star for me, and I've already sunk my teeth deep into the second book and am *so* excited to see where it takes me.

I had extremely high hopes for this book.
I enjoyed the authors other things, but this was very neutral for me.

I felt like the pacing was weird and the characters just didn’t do anything for me. I will try the next one, but I’m not super pumped about it.

Due to the SMP boycott I cannot post a full review of this book. It’s disappointing that the publisher has decided to stay silent and harm their BIPOC authors this way

The premise and execution of this story is incredible. Reincarnated gods as teenagers in small town Georgia is such an incredible plot and the way it played out was so engaging. I did have some issues with the pacing and overall progression, but overall I loved this book and cannot wait for the sequel.

I am a fan of books that give trigger warnings because they allow me to decide whether to read them. H.E. Edgmon included an extensive page of trigger warnings for GODLY HEATHENS, and after discussing the book with a few people who have read it, I went forward with it.

This book is so complex. It took me a few tries to get into it because I was not in a clear enough headspace. It had to be a low-pain day to read because I needed to be able to concentrate on the world-building, characters, and plot.

Once immersed in GODLY HEATHENS, the book moved quickly, leaving me with a cliffhanger ending I did not see coming! It left me wanting book two as fast as I could get my hands on it.

Content Warnings: (per author in the book) This story features a candid depiction of mental illness that, although based on my lived experiences, may make some readers uncomfortable. The main character grapples with managing their symptoms, accepting their own and a family member’s illness, some internalized ableism, and some ableism from others. There are references to self-harm and suicide. Other potentially upsetting content includes graphic gore and body horror; violence, including murder and torture; off-page sexual violence, including experiences that involve children; abuse, including child abuse and off-page domestic violence; mentions of transphobia and racism, including references to slavery and genocide; and animal death.

This was a very interesting and super unique book! It was confusing at times and read kinda like a fever dream, but I loved the queer and trans rep. I feel like I understood only 80% of it, so I’m definitely interested to see where the second book goes.

🌈Queer rep: nonbinary main character (AFAB) who is demi romantic, pansexual, and poly. Main relationships - NB/NB relationship, NB/M (trans guy) relationship, NB/M relationship. Secondary - All the gods are not cis! Trans guy, FF relationship, drag queen.

WOW, this was amazing, mind blowing and perfect. This book starts with a bang and doesn't let you go until the end.
I don't want to say much because this book is so much better if you go in blind and just knowing what is in the blurb and figuring things out at the same time that Gem is figuring them out. There were so many expected twists that kept me engaged and dying to know what was coming next.
I also truly appreciate how unapologetically queer this books is. I can't wait to read the next book (Merciless Saviors).

“None of them know what to think when they look at me. They can’t decide if I’m their god or their monster.”

Prepare yourself. There’s a rant coming.

I hate Gem Echols. I literally hate this main character so much that I DNF’d this book at 65% because I was about to throw my Kindle out the goddamn window. This character is the most selfish, rude, and disrespectful little brat I think I have ever had the bad luck of ever coming across. They are disrespectful to their mother, rude to their new friend and supposed soulmate, and they think of no one else but themselves. I know this book is YA, and the character is a transgender teen with a lot going on psychologically. But, there are many trans teens with a lot going on psychologically that are not selfish little twats. This character is insufferable, and reading from their point of view through their self-involved tunnel vision made me want to reach through my Kindle and give them the smackdown. The number of times they cursed their mother out and said whatever they wanted to her without suffering any consequences was infuriating. I don’t think it’s so much of what was said as much as it is this idea that a teenager knows more than a grown ass adult who has been through things. The freaking know-it-all stupidity rakes my fucking nerves.

The only character I actually liked in this book so far is Willa Mae, but they get turned into some kind of simp who’s lusting over Gem for whatever qualities Willa Mae sees in them. Whatever it is, it is either infinitesimal or it used to exist in a past life and Willa Mae can’t distinguish between the two. Willa Mae is a gentle giant. They are strong, understanding, and loyal, which are all great qualities they choose to waste on Gem for a reason I cannot fathom. It is almost like an unrequited love except for the fact the Gem seems to have feelings for Willa Mae but doesn’t want to.

I thought this book was going to be a fantasy about reincarnated gods on a mission to save the world, themselves, or something. But, it turns out this book is only about Gem and the games they play with the two characters they like. I hate romance, but I hate stories of chosen ones who are absolutely trash human beings more. For some reason, there is both a love triangle and a why-choose romance in this book that centers around this trash person who is undeserving of anyone’s love, including their own, because they can’t seem to see anyone else but themselves. I can’t even talk about what the actual book is about because there is just so much self-centered internal blubbering that I can't find one single F to give about anything else that’s going on in this book. This character is preposterous, and we should just throw the whole character in the trash and light the trashcan on fire.

I don’t know what it is about how teenagers are written in novels lately, but they get to talk to their parents any kind of way they want and suffer no consequences. If I spoke that way to my mother, I would never speak that way to my mother no matter how angry she made me. You can’t live in a house that you don’t pay for, eat food you don’t pay for, wear clothes you don’t pay for, and then get to disrespect the people who are taking care of your physiological and safety needs whenever you want and not pay for it. There are teenagers in the world today living on the streets because their parents care more about drugs or themselves to make their kids a priority. But, these characters think they have it so bad because their parents don’t understand them when they could be a child prostitute living on the goddamn street. That 💩 is ridiculous. And, what makes it worse is that the teens in these novels don’t even have to apologize after being dicks. I know that the kids are fragile, but quite honestly fuck their feelings if they act like ingrates. How is not teaching them consequences supposed to be good for them?!?!

I feel like I could go on and on about how much I hate the main character of this book, but I'm gonna end it here. I love Willa Mae. I loved Hank. F*ck Gem. May the Ouroboros stab them in the f*ckin chest.

I am definitely NOT continuing this series.

Rant over.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC! I am very grateful and happy to explore everything this author will write in the future as well!

I never had high hopes for this but it's pretty forgettable.
I found the main character whiney and insufferable and overall just a jerk to everyone around them. I think it’s for a redemption arc and growth for the end but I just didn’t think it was necessary to make them so unpleasant. I didn’t care for the love triangle either. I never do but I would’ve preferred if the POV was anyone else just because of how annoying and cringe I found Gem.

Why would reincarnated gods be going to school? I never understood that lol. That aside - the pacing was too slow and uneven and just the young adult drama was not for me. I wish this was more written for adults because it probably would've been better. I do appreciate the representation because I think that’s the strongest part of the book. That being said, I will not be continuing the series.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

This book was so well paced and creative. I loved the pantheon of gods and how trans it was! H.E. Edgmon is a master at weaving together intricate plotlines with complex characters. I cannot wait for the next one!