Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a very refreshing YA read! The representation is top tier; the writing is very good as well. I loved the MC and how fleshed out the other characters were. I do think the pop culture references could be cut back on drastically. WOW at the cliffhanger ending! I really loved the concept of this book; however, the execution became confusing at times. I know this could just be a me thing as when you get into reincarnations and the like, it becomes a lot of working parts at once. This is not to say it's done badly, for me it was a little much to take in.

Godly Heathens follows a non-binary teen, Gem, who is plaugued by strange, vivid dreams.When new girls show up at school, claiming to know Gem and talking about their vivid dreams, chaos starts to ensue. Gem finds out they are a reincarnated god from a different world and made a damning decision for all the other gods in another life that forced them all to be on Earth. This book has a wild chaotic energy that is simpy addictive. All the characters are morally grey in the best way (not the "I did one bad thing ever, but I'm mostly good" morally grey). All of the characters have done questionable things, which I think makes them more real and relatable. I loved this book. The pacing of this book was the only issue I had. It had a lot of action, but after the action there was this lull of Gem just going back to school and talking to people at lunch like they were a normal teen, when clearly they are not. It seemed off.

Flew threw this! It was mad interesting and good, I loved the inclusion of a NB main character, it was so refreshing.

This is, honestly, one of, if not the best books I've read with a trans main character, yet.

Especially with a powered of a reincarnated God.

Gem is one of those kinds of characters that stick with you: They're thrown into a fantastic world that even they don't believe is true & also is trying to find their place in it.

H.E. has made each of the characters stick out & blend in as much as they could in this world.

The characters like Willa Mae, Indy, & a pint-sized Death, are a fantastic addition, as well as Gem's texting buddy (whose name escapes me, at the moment) all make this world believable & you really get to delve into the history behind the lead & Gem's own family which adds another wrinkle into Gem's life, which you see play out in the pages of the book.

I won't spoil much but, honestly, like the Duology series H..E. has also written, get this book, too, because, not only is it another hit on his hands, but, it's one of the most heartfelt books I've read in a while!

This book is grimy. It’s dirty. It’s dark, feral, queer, and just so good. It’s hard to decide if I actually like the characters or not- it’s so hard to pick who to root for. This is a book about trauma, choosing who you are, what you are. It asks you who the villain is, and it doesn’t quite anwser it. Do you believe Gem is in the right? Are they the villain? Is anyone actually in the “right”?

It’s about generational trauma, how the cycle can be reversed broken changed. It’s about how you choose to deal with that trauma, how you can conquer or succumb. It’s about being the villain, morally grey, and what that entails. It’s about the choices that are made to become the villain, how those choices are made. It’s about flaws, and how people choose to meet them.

This book is an overall gritty masterpiece questioning what it means to be yourself, and how you can come to terms with what that exactly means. It’s genuinely funny at times and I absolutely loved Gem. Maybe not their choices all the time, but they’re a very compelling main character and H. E. Edgmon brought them justice. I absolutely cannot wait until the sequel drops and I can dive into this world once more.

Thank you, St. Martins Press. H.E. Edgmon, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book. It is very dark, and I recommend reading the trigger warnings before reading. I had to stop halfway through the book for a break and read a different book. I loved the world they created and would love to deep dive more into the lore of it, maybe even get a prequel.

The one thing I did not care for was using parentheses. This is a personal thing that my college professor pointed out to me, and now it bugs me. My professor said that parenthesis is just a way to confident in what you want to say and to either not put that in your writing or write it and be confident. It pulled me out of the story several times when they were used.

I recommend this book, but please read the trigger warnings before reading.

If American Gods was written today, this book would be it. Mixing strong Indigenous, trans, and non-binary perspectives with gripping storytelling and compelling world-building this story grips you from page one and keeps you going right to the end. The twists and turns felt fresh and the characters were both believably human and compellingly god-like. My only complaint is that the story ends on a cliffhanger that left me wanting more.

I could say so much about this book but I don't need to. This book was the queer dark YA fantasy book of my dreams and there needs to be a book two. Right when I started to feel comfortable and cozy the story would surprise me. This book comes out in November 2023. Beware! The cliffhanger will leave you wanting more.

This book is an EXPERIENCE, and I have so many thoughts. I also want to share absolutely none of them, because going in blindsided is the best and only way to read Godly Heathens. It starts with Gem, a nonbinary Seminole teen living in Georgia and yearning to move to Brooklyn with their best friend/crush Enzo, a transmasc theater kid. Gem lives an ordinary--if confining-- life, but has vivid and horrifying nightmares of another world, where they are The Magician and are participating in various evil deeds with a demon/lover called The Shade. Gem's dream and real world combine when a girl named Willa Mae arrives at their high school, claiming to have known them and been in love with them in a past life...which sets off a chain of events that can only be described as WILD.

And that's about all I feel comfortable saying about the plot, because knowing anything else would ruin the amazing twists and turns that H. E. Edgmon weaves into the entire story. Honestly, it's been awhile since a book has truly surprised me, and this one did! I stayed up all night to devour it, because I just couldn't get enough.

The characters? Amazing. Morally gray. Queer AF. So funny and dark at the same time. I also LOVED the fact that the main trio was trans/nonbinary. The representation was top notch, some of the best I've seen in a YA Fantasy. I won't spoil anything, but you're going to love Enzo.

The lore? Top notch. I would read an entire book on the myths of various gods in Edgmon's pantheon. I cannot WAIT for Book 2 so I can delve back into these characters in their various incarnations.

The setting? So perfect. I love the way you can feel Gracie, Georgia as the backbone to this wild mythological battle, and it's interwoven so well.

I think the best way to describe this is if you took Rick Riordan books (especially the Red Pyramid series), threw in a wicked amount of horror (Claire Legrand-style), upped the representation, and dialed everything to an 11. I loved this book as a 20-something former PJO kid. I would have fangirled so hard for this book as a teen. Believe the early hype Godly Heathens is getting -- it actually is THAT good.

Thank you to NetGalley, H. E. Edgmon, and St. Martin's Press for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Queer Gods? Sign me up this book absolutely has so much representation and ties it into the plot so well. Bring blue to see non-binary pronouns used in a fantasy/sci-if book makes me so happy. The world building starts off simple and gets more and more complex which is nice because the reader does not have to remember everything at once. The main character is not a good or bad person, they are not the hero, they are not the villain. The main characters are complex and symbolize the contradiction of what really is good or bad.

I had such a fun time reading this. I can’t wait to continue the series and learn more about the plot twists.

Here’s some CW/TW ( please always check warning in case you are worried)
Cheating
Mention of homophobia/ transphobia (not a big scenario )
Self harm
Grooming (one scenario)

I have just finished the book.
The cover is an eye catcher, vivid and luring.
The book has a great start: Gem in a nightmare with the demons in their head, standing in the Garden of Death. Thus, setting the tone of something dark and sinister to ensue.
The nightmares continue throughout the book, blending reality and fantasy until the two merge. Marking the beginning of an epic battle centered around the Oroborous and the ultimate decision of destroying it or the Gods standing in Gem’s way.

The characters all complement Gem and fit perfectly in the storyline. Their descriptive past and how they all came to live on earth gives light to the conflicts between Gem and the others.
Particularly Willa Mae, Enzo, Poppy, and Marian.
As things unfold, a huge argument with Gem’s mom, leads them to their Dad. Once thought to be crazy, Gem soon discovers their Dad is of the Pantheon as He holds the sought after Oroborous.

A coming of age novel with an understanding of family origins, embracing one’s queerness, and realizing that through abuse and mental illness, in good and evil, you are still Heroic!

Book one was fulfilling and ended with a climax, setting up book two in the series.
H. E. Hedgmon writes vividly, giving you all the feels and thrills.
Looking forward to book two!!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing for a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy, for providing my honest review.

I'm torn with this review, I don't feel I can properly rate the book, and I think of this as a neutral rating.

I found the story highly intriguing with its twisted history and even darker present that I finished it within a few hours.

The characters are reincarnated deities ripped from their world to continue on in ours. Over the years, with each reincarnate, the characters become increasingly bitter and angry with their "life" and set out to destroy the spellcaster.

In addition, the story includes various LGTBQ+ characters, struggles with mental illness, and an abundance of violence.

Overall, it's an intriguing story, and I'll definitely be reading the next installment!

This modern day fantasy is unexpected in its telling. The characters are likable and unique. I found the story to be interesting and sometimes confusing in it's language. I'd be interested in seeing where the story goes next. Until next time Happy Reading!

This book was so much fun. Every character is complex and complicated; you never know who or what to root for. The protag is snarky, relatable, and challenging. Edgmon has created a world(s) that showcases queerness in all its messy brilliance and places it at the center of an equally messy and brilliant cast. The story is painful, humorous, dark, and sassy. It highlights how the absolute worst inside of us comes from the desire to survive, and more than that, live our dreams. I want to re-read this immediately.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am so grateful to have had the chance to review this ARC, but it just wasn't for me. Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon is a YA fantasy novel centered around a nonbinary Seminole teen. Gem constantly has dreams of magical powers and otherworldly beings. When new girl Willa Mae arrives into town, she reveals that she and Gem are reincarnated gods and lovers that have existed across lifetimes. Now, the Goddess of Death and other gods are coming after them, out for blood and vengeance. Will Gem and their allies be able to survive their new reality?

Here is a captivating excerpt from the opening chapter:

"So, I’m standing there, trapped in one of my favorite nightmares, discussing gender euphoria with the demon who lives rent-free in my head.
“None of them know what to think when they look at me. They can’t decide if I’m their god or their monster.”
Well, maybe not everyone’s idea of gender euphoria, but certainly mine. Boy? Girl? Unspeakable horror.
I call this place the Garden of Death, a field of dry brown grass and wilted flowers, with massive trees scorched and twisted as if struck by lightning one by one."

Overall, Godly Heathens is an #ownvoices YA fantasy that with plenty of LGBT representation. One highlight of this book is that it centers Native/indigenous characters, as well as non-binary characters. It's so rare to see these identities represented in the YA fantasy space, which was why I was so excited to read this book. I also thought that the idea of reincarnated gods a la The Wicked + The Divine was really interesting.

I did take 1 star off because Gem is such an unlikable protagonist. Gem constantly thinks about how they are a bad friend to Enzo but doesn't do anything to be a better friend. Gem also constantly fights with their mother. Then, Gem meets Willa Mae for the first time, they keep thinking about how hot but annoying she is. Needless to say, I did not enjoy being stuck in Gem's thoughts all the time. I took off another star because I honestly could not connect to any of the characters, which made the plot less interesting. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy, you can check out this book when it comes out in November.

The story starts with Gem coming across as a conundrum of attention seeking and solitary, pleasure seeking and never satisfied. You know right off that they will be battling extremes, stepping both sides of a sea-saw, wavering and seeking balance. As the characters were introduced and started to develop, I liked Gem more and more. Moody teenage humans who are really eons old gods holding grudges is the stuff of nightmares and I loved every minute.

This book is so well written. I enjoyed the way the back story unfolded as the current situation evolved. And the ending, oh my you better hold on tight!

I wanted to like this book. I tried very hard to like this book. The first chapter was so promising; it caught my attention immediately, and I was sure this was going to be a book for me. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

I want to start with the good. There is so much representation and diversity in this book, and that’s great. I think a lot of trans and non-binary kids will see themselves in the characters. I also liked the idea of a morally grey main character, and I do think this is one of the better attempts I’ve seen of getting into the mindset of someone who is actually morally grey.

That being said, I couldn’t stand any of the characters. I understand what the author was trying to do but it just didn’t work for me personally. There was not a single character I was rooting for. I found the main character Gem to be especially annoying and I FORCED myself to finish reading because I was so sick of being in their head. I didn’t see what Willa Mae or Enzo saw in them, but I also didn’t particularly see what Gem saw in either of them, too. I also felt like there were a ton of characters suddenly thrown at me in the second half of the book, some of whom had never even been mentioned in the first half, who were now important to the plot?? By the last hundred pages I just didn’t care anymore.

I also felt that this book really dated itself with its overuse of internet slang and pop culture references. It seemed a little goofy to me that these literal gods were in a discord server talking about Broadway, and when a character was described as wearing an Ouran High School Host Club sweatshirt, I almost put the book down for good. The outfit descriptions felt like I was reading an emo Wattpad fanfiction. With the rate trends change these days, I think these descriptions will feel cringey to readers in just a few years’ time.

I’m definitely not the right audience for this book, but I do hope others enjoy it if for nothing other than the representation.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. I will first start off with the fact that representation of non binary is really good! For me this book is out of what I would usually read but it is so interesting with the demons/monsters and our main character who’s also not a human but keeps trying to fit in even though the characters are Gods. I like our MC’s pov about dreams also it’s all really interesting. I like the friendship dynamic between Enzo and Gem and also Willa Mae. Wasn’t expecting stuff to be told as it was and I wasn’t expecting the little snippets of romance we got either. Godly fantasy like but also kinda very modern dialogue and descriptions I love that! Makes the characters kind of relatable. I enjoyed this a lot but I was confused at times of course because I’m branching out to new things in fantasy. Some parts were funny and some went over my head but I would recommend this book still to anyone who loves fantasy. :)

Godly Heathens was such a fantastic book! I really loved everything about it. The plot was awesome and super clever. The characters were the best, they were intriguing, intelligent, and scary as hell at times. I also was a huge fan of the author's writing style, it really worked for me. The whole Gods on Earth not knowing their past premise was really cool and I loved it when we find out more of their backstories and that some of them live in the town. I did call one surprise, I just had a feeling, and it turned out that he was indeed who I figured he was. The ending was nuts and I can't wait to find out what happens next. What a great story!

This book was a WILD ride! I loved H E Edgmon’s other books and so I was excited to get this as an ARC read from NetGalley, but oh MAN this is a much more serious, much darker book.

First of all, the representation was amazing! We had nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, poly, demisexual and so many other identities.

Second, the way this book handles mental health and mental illness could have been heat handed- but wasn’t.

All of the craziness with the gods and magic and fighting was fun to read but for me it was all about the queer friendships, relationships, and challenges they faced and had to overcome.