YIKES, I have not been having the best luck with ARCs this year. With magic, a warrior princess, romance, vessels, and gods, this book has so many of my reading buzzwords! But the actually story? It was a complete disappointment and I’m sad to say that I regret requesting this ARC.

The Living God follows three mages, Saran, Keleir, and Rowe as they try to overthrow their corrupt king, Saran’s father, and prevent the Oruke from taking over Keleir’s body and destroying their world.

First off, the pacing was hella bizarre in this book. The opening chapter is super intriguing and epic, but everything declines afterwards. The story continues into a slow middle where one of the characters stays stationary for the rest of the story (which is out of her control, but I still think she could have been more active). And then WAY TOO MANY things were jam-packed into the ending. My head hurts trying to remember what exactly happened.

Another thing that I struggled with in this book were the heavy subjects. There is a ton of torture, physical and mental abuse, hints of past sexual assaults, and an attempted suicide. But while these things are mentioned a lot, I felt as though the depths of these traumas aren’t properly explored with the characters (especially with the attempted suicide). I wanted to see how these things affected the characters, instead of just being continuously told about them.

And then there was the romance. When the book opens, Saran and Keleir have already secretly been together for a while now. While I liked them together, I lacked an understanding of why they were together. I wish the characters had been fleshed out more to make them memorable. Even a week later, as I sit down to write this review, I struggle to remember them outside of their most basic descriptions: Saran, a rebellious girl who doesn’t want the responsibilities of being a princess; Keleir, a vessel struggling to maintain his humanity; and Rowe, a supportive brother who wants to make amends for the past. And these sound like stereotypical fantasy characters, don’t they? They could literally be characters in almost any high fantasy book. They weren’t special.

And then there’s the worldbuilding. I felt like I caught glimpses of a lot of great elements, but I didn’t understand how they all fit together. I’m assuming everything will be expanded on in the later books, but I still can’t help but wonder if there’s too much going on in this book? Readers never see Saran’s kingdom outside of the castle, and there was three different worlds (Saran’s fantasy world, our world, and what’s essentially a destitute and futuristic, screwed up version of our world) mages could travel between?!? And a lot of the plot revolves around trying to prevent the Oruke (an immortal, evil demon/spirit) from taking over Keleir’s body and becoming The Living God, yet this seemed to only be a problem for Saran’s world? Ultimately, I couldn’t grasp the bigger picture here.

Honestly, I’ve already forgotten a lot about The Living God, other than that it wasn’t for me. This book had a lot of great ideas, but the execution wasn’t fulfilling. I would also like to address that while it seems like this book is labelled as YA, I’m pretty sure it’s New Adult (I’m like 90% sure the characters are in their young twenties). There are probably readers out there who will enjoy this book, but I can confidently state that I will not be continuing on with this series in the future.

Trigger Warnings: torture, physical and mental abuse, hints of past sexual assaults, attempted suicide, imprisonment, manipulation

The premise of this book intrigued me, so I picked it up. I am glad I did. While I was not always a fan of the characters, or thought that their feelings were delved into as much as I would like, I did like the world and the set up of the Three. I liked the idea of the Core and the almost religious significance it had, and how the core (or lack there of) affect the Three.

I do find myself waiting for the second book that I hope is to come.

STARTED OUT SO STRONG, WENT WAY SOUTH AFTER THAT

DNF at 75%

At the beginning of this book I was thinking 'wow, the writing is so beautiful and the idea is so original'. Sadly, the optimism I felt in the beginning could not carry me through the confusion and the boredom to follow...

THE THINGS I LIKED

Writing: The writing was so incredibly beautiful, so descriptive and flowery it really caught my attention. And, as opposed to most other novels, the writing did not falter throughout.

"Today the earth bent to time's will as limber as a young sapling."

Time magic: The first thing we learn about the world, that this book is set in, is the concept of time magic. Being able to turn back time. I thought that was such an interesting and original take on the fantasy genre. I was so excited to learn more about but sadly, the magic only figured on the very first page. Granted, I didn't finish the book so I can't say if it came back in the last 25%, but that still leaves 75% of the book that is without the most interesting thing it had going for it.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

Dialogue: Usually I like dialogue, even sometimes prefer it. And the dialogue itself was okay. There was just way too much of it. All talk, no bite so to speak. That makes for a boring story really fast.

Too many elements: Fantasy is great because you can push the boundaries and try new things. But you still have to draw the line somewhere and stop piling on. Here, there was no end to the fantasy elements. There were magic, parallel worlds, unexplained dead zones, prophecies, gods and goddesses, otherworldly spirits - you name it! It got really confusing.

Time magic: Should have been the focus of the story because it was, without a doubt, the most interesting part of this story. Sadly, it disappeared before it even had a chance to shine.

Well I can safely say I was not expecting to end up in the United States. It wasn't a bad twist though, just unexpected (although as some reviewers have pointed out, this makes it almost seem dystopian). Even with the dystopia elements (a genre I don't care for at all), it didn't harm my enjoyment of it.

This book was absolutely what I would call a page turner, and I finished it pretty quickly.

The Living God is a frustrating novel. Not because it is terrible or poorly written, it is neither of those things. It has an incredible opening and a great ending, but there is this massive chunk in between that makes the novel so incredibly dull. Moreover, the reason it is dreary is that there is a big problem with the pace here.
After an effective fast-paced beginning, the novel dives. The reader’s eye is pulled into multiple directions as it follows Saran and Kelier, and other characters as they set out to help the rebellion. This should be fast paced, the momentum to keep up with the opening and the ending, but it does not. It is appealing but drags, which is such a huge problem here because there are interesting bits in the novel. Some of those fascinating bits also serve as a disservice to this story. Platt devotes much time to history in this novel, and that history is far more interesting than the current story. It is so compelling that it makes this novel feel more like a sequel than the start of a series. The history between the characters, whom they were before meeting each other, would have made a more exciting novel because then that would have been the focus and then this story probably would have been allowed to flow better. Instead, this novel feels like Platt is trying to world build all at once, get the history in, and set off the series all in one go. It is not like that has not been done before, but here, it just did not work.

Another hindrance of the story is the science fiction aspects of the novel. This is an opinion but when one has set off a story or labeled it as an epic high fantasy, stay in that niche, do not go bringing in parallel universes and science fiction into the mix, at least not without the proper establishment. Another reason this novel feels more like a sequel. Platt is trying to incorporate science fiction here, but it is not working. It breaks the already slow pace of the novel and takes the reader out of the story. Once she begins to do that, furthering the world building, it twists the story up and no longer feels like the high fantasy story it is supposed to be. The reader cannot suspend their disbelief and lose themselves once Platt does this, or at the very least, she makes it challenging for the reader to be able to do that.

This novel would have worked out so much better had it been split into two. Then book one could have been character establishment and world building and then this novel wouldn’t have to focus so much on that and could just move along at that tension-driven pace because the ending is so good, it’s riveting in fact, but that vast chunk in the middle, it’s a strong deterrent because the pace is as slow as a snail crossing the road.

The living god was much to slow paced for my taste. It seemed to drag on and on. It contained very little worldbuilding and the magic system was completely unexplained.

I want to start out this review by saying I think this book either needed to be longer so it would fill in some of the past better or cut out some of the extra content that seemed unnecessary until you finished the book. I found the living gods starts out so strongly but then talks about past events so often without completely filling in the events it brings up. At times I wondered if there was a previous novel I missed from the holes in the middle. I also found it scattered the plot too much for 300 pages. Sadly this book almost became a DNF which is rare for me because I like to find out how stories end.
I wish I could like this book more since the characters were interesting enough. The author also added an excerpt from the next one that made me want to read it. I have a hard time recommending it to people based on the arc copy I read. If the finished one was fixed up in the places I found problematic then I would consider recommending it. I just feel like this novel had so much potential to be more.

The synopsis of this book drew me in, and I can honestly say that this book had a lot of great stuff going for it.

A headstrong princess who is unafraid to venture onto the battlefield is always attractive in a book. Saran is unafraid to make the choices she knows are right, despite them going against her own country, army, or people. Not respected by many in her court, Saran, a Time Mage, is also the "black sheep" of the royal family, which is refreshing for a novel with a royal protagonist.

This story is epic, everything you would expect from a fantasy novel. Magic, prophecies, royalty, and epic battles make for an exciting story. The characters interact within the story in ways that are unexpected, and for the most part, this improved the novel itself. However, there were some issues that I just could not see past with this story.

The beginning of "The Living God" did not hook me in at all, unfortunately. The excitement of starting in the middle of a battle was overshadowed by the fact that I had no clue what was going on, who was fighting, or (most importantly) WHY they were fighting. Where some novels can start in the same way and earn the reader's attention by giving the right details in the right way, unfortunately, this novel does not.

Although the story and characters were entertaining and exciting, it just didn't meet my expectations as a reader.

Saran is a mage in control of time, fighting a war her father the king insists on fighting. He wants death and destruction, and the rise of the Living God in accordance to old prophecies. Saran is conspiring against him with Keilar, a fire mage that has a demon known as an oruke inside of him. That causes fear as well as respect, as there are those who believe that Keilar will become the Living God of prophecy. Keilar just wants to be a fire mage, love Saran, and continue to fight against the king with the rest of the rebellion. When Saran's magic is locked away as punishment for defying her father, Keilar starts losing control over the demon. There is a lot on the line, and risk at every turn.

This is actually the start of a series, so its ending is fairly open to be continued on in other novels. There is a lot of political intrigue here as well as discussion of the different elemental magic styles, the two other alternate realities (one of which is our own) where magic was lost. I was caught up in the story, and the relationship between Saran and Keilar, as well as the push and pull of magic in this world. It was interesting to see how parallel universes played out in the prophecy and religion in this book, as well as the usual problem of avoiding prophecies tend to help make them happen. There were multiple betrayals throughout the novel, and right up to the very end were a few surprises regarding motivations and those you thought you could trust.

There are a lot of characters in this, considering we have the main kingdom at war, different rebels, the mages, and new names mentioned here and there from other universes. They all talk about events from the past, making it feel as though there is that much more weight and history for everyone here. I love touches like that in a book, especially if we're dropped in the middle of the action at the start of the novel, and the past events only gradually get referred to or explained later. I'm sure the next novel in this series will unfold in a similar way.

The story started off pretty promising. The cover is one that draws you in. It’s a story about tyrants, mages and destiny. The only thing is, it’s really slow. It at times felt like it dragged on and I couldn’t seem to enjoy the story because of it. All in all, I wasn’t super impressed. I’m not sure if I’ll continue on with the series.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions were my own.

I was immediately pulled into this book because the premise is promising and the cover is gorgeous. However., you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and that definitely applies here.

I was thoroughly confused reading this book. You’re immediately thrown into action, but I’m not really sure who is fighting or why. You’re just launched into the middle of a world with no background or map to at least give you a clue to what’s going on.

Saran is the princess of a tyrant and is magically tied to Keleir. They are able to sense one another through a special bond that they have. Saran controls time and Keleir controls fire. I didn’t much care for their relationship because it seemed so obsessive. Additionally, the characters seem incredibly one dimensional.

The pacing of this story is slow. The pages just seemed to drag on, and I just wanted the story to be done.

Thank you Inkshares and NetGalley for the eARC. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Other than the gorgeous cover, I really didn’t know much about this book when I placed a request for it on NetGalley. There seemed to be a lot of interesting magical tidbits peppered throughout the book description, so that was a point in its favor. But, unfortunately, none of those little tidbits added up to a book I enjoyed.

Saran is a Time Mage, and as the name suggests, she has the ability to manipulate time. She is also a princess and the daughter of a tyrannical king whose violence is taken out on his family and his country. Saran is joined in her fight for her country by her love, Keleir, a Fire Mage who has his own internal demons, quite literally. Together, they work to overthrow Saran’s father in a rebellion, made only more difficult when Saran loses her time manipulation abilities.

This was…a weird read. Not having a whole lot of expectations going in, it seems weird to now write that it surprised me, but somehow that’s still the case. Most of those surprises weren’t of the good variety, but I’ll start with a few things I did enjoy.

As characters go, I did like Saran and Keleir, though he could veer a little too far into overprotective at times. But, overall, they were both interesting and complex characters, each dealing with their own traumas: Saran, with the challenging tightrope she walks trying to pull off a rebellion under her vicious father’s nose, and Keleir working to contain a demon that lives within him and had, in the past, forced him to do terrible things before Saran saved him. I also really liked their romance (though some of descriptions of intimacy were awkward at best). It’s not that often that you come across a fantasy novel with an established couple at its heart, so I thought that read as a breath of fresh air.

But other than the basic outlines of those main characters and the novelty of the established romance, I struggled with this book. For one thing, it’s very slow. I’m often ok with slow books, too, so I feel like there was something in particular about this book that made this stand out to me. I think it comes down to two things. One, for a story about a time mage and a fire mage, after the initial first chapter of action, there’s a lot of planning and talking about plans and truly very little action. If action was never going to be at the heart of this story, fine. I can get behind a political fantasy. But this doesn’t feel like that, instead spending an inordinate amount of time talking about plans of action instead of carrying them out.

Two (and I think this is the real issue), there were a lot of references to past events that read as really important, eventful, and potentially more worth reading about than what we got in this book. It was really strange, to the point that in the second or third chapter of this book, I actually set it down and went on Goodreads because I was convinced that this must be the second book in a series, and I should check out the first one first, since man, it looks like some cool stuff happened there! But no. There was no first book and these awesome and important past events are just dropped in casually. I don’t know how to describe it or think of a time I’ve come across something similar. If anything, I think the author has a huge missed opportunity on her hands here as it seems that she missed out on writing a really cool book in lieu of writing a fairly bland one with references to said awesome, but nonexistent, book.

And then there was the sudden introduction of other worlds, including our own. This just hit me out of nowhere and not in a good way. Maybe it’s worth blaming the cover art, but I felt completely blindsided by this twist and it ultimately threw me out of a story that I was already either bored by or confused with.

I was really disappointed not to like this book more. Like I said, I can get behind slower fantasy fiction. Indeed, half the time I read fantasy, especially YA fantasy, I feel like the stories could benefit by being slowed down, giving more attention to fleshing out characters and worlds. But here it didn’t work out, mostly I think because there were so many references to really cool past events that we never got to actually see. And then the established romance was also a pro, but not enough to counterbalance these other issues. If you like slower-moving fantasy novels, you may like this. Especially if you go in prepared, unlike me, about the fact that this will read as if there should have been a prequel and yes, there are alternate worlds involved.

Rating 5: Why oh why didn’t we get a first book before this first book in this series?!

Slow to get into, but once I got into the storyline, I was intrigued and looked forward to being able to read it whenever I could. I'm very interested in the sequel and what could happen next if there will be one. Good plot twists throughout and at the end that surprised me!

The summary of this book made me really excited, but I have to admit that I was kinda disappointed in this one..
I really liked the beginning of this book, you are immediately thrown into the middle of an action scene. This was really confusing, but it was really well done, which made me really intrigued to continue on! I also really really liked the magic system in the beginning of the book!
As that sentence already implies, halfway through the book I wasn’t really liking the magic anymore. Not because it was not interesting, but it still was not really explained. Like why do some people have magic? Why are they all different? Who can do what exactly? I WANT to know!!
This is a really action-packed book, which in most cases I would say is a good thing! I really like an action filled book, but this book was literary action action action, and gave you no time to breathe or process what happened. Which might be the reason why I just got confused. Like who works with who? Why do we not like this guy? Why is he going running that way? So much confusion!
This is not a huge complaint but, I don’t understand why the summary focusses so much on the living god (and it’s even the title..), since yes it is important to the story but it didn’t feel like the biggest plot part. But I guess it might have a reason for the second book!
Now I complain a lot about this book, but the writing was good! I liked the characters! I would be interested in other works by her, but I’m not sure if I would continue this series!

This book really missed the mark for me. The premise was interesting, and I think there was the potential to be an interesting plot in there, but unfortunately it was overshadowed by dreadfully slow navel-gazing and a romance in which the two characters had no sparks. So much of the book was spent on things that just didn’t seem important. Basically, I got bored reading it, which, given how violent it is in places, is probably not a good thing. Not to mention. I love violence (I know, I know, this makes me sound terrible, but I am who I am.)

I’m gonna keep this short, rather than list everything that didn’t work for me. I think the world seems interesting, though I would’ve liked it a little better fleshed out, and honestly I want to know more about it. The writing itself was good, if a little—to borrow a word from another review—pompous in places. Too bad, because the description sounded interesting, and I got really excited when it turned out the protagonist had time control powers or whatever they were (they were not well-defined), and I thought the cover was gorgeous.

I dunno who I would recommend this to. At any rate, if you like high fantasy, and are a fan of star-crossed lovers, and don’t mind books that meander, maybe give it a try. I’ll probably keep an eye out for more books by this author, cause I do think she’s got some talent and definitely some interesting ideas.

Another great YA Fantasy is about to hit shelves! 

A headstrong princess fighting out on the battlefields AND has magical abilities? I think yes!

She's flung in a world full of immortals, demons, and magical elements. And immediately, I was captivated. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't as blown away as I thought I was going to be. Even though I was all-in during the first few chapters, the story began to slow down in a few parts once the world building was underway. There was a ton of character development, but the plot just felt a little below par. 

I really liked the forbidden romance. The unique circumstances led me to really devour their relationship, leaving me wanting so much more from them. The idea of the Mad King standing in their way was the perfect fantasy twist this story needed. 

I have mixed feelings with this book. In the end, I gave this one 3 out of 5 stars. I would've liked to see a bit more world building, but this could be something that we see more in the sequel. 

Overall, I think it was a decent start to a YA fantasy series.

The Living God follows three characters, Saran, a time mage who also happens to be the daughter to a merciless king; Keleir a fire mage with a demon inside him (is the former's love interest), and Rowe, Keleir's brother and lightning mage. Without wanting to spoil anything, this story follows all three characters in their attempt to overthrow Saran's father - King Yarin from the throne. But things happen that put a dent in their plans and they have to find a way around it in order to achieve their goal.

To be honest, the summary of the book is what initially caught my attention, I thought it sounded super interesting (which it was!) and that the plot was unique (again, it was!). The reason I'm giving this book a low rating has nothing to do with the plot/storyline, it was just that it read so slow! I felt like everything that happens, basically happens in slow motion in my head - even fight scenes. And while I'm always here for romance in books, I felt like the romance in this one just did not work for me.

I usually love love fantasy books and have read so many that I have an idea what is a great fantasy book. The cover is amazing- and would attract many readers but the plot was slow. I didn't finish the book, unfortunately.

The life of a princess is supposed to be filled with opulence, wealth, and filling your time doing good deeds and getting your hair done. Saran, daughter of the King of Adrid, lives in constant danger and violence. With the ability to alter time, she is used as a weapon and a pawn in his political endeavors. Along with her lover Keleir, she works to overthrow her father and end his cruel reign. But when she uses her magic to save a village, the King binds her magic leaving her feeling helpless and putting Keleir’s life at risk. Keleir is possessed by an Oruke, a demon that overtook his body at birth. Saved by Saran’s powerful magic, Keleir’s power over the demon is threatened after Saran loses her magic to the bind.
Together with Keleir’s brother Rowe, they race to find the key to Saran’s magical bind, overthrow the King, and save as many innocent people as they can.
This book is fast paced and action packed. I really enjoyed the author’s vivid descriptions of Saran and the others using their magic. Saran is an incredibly powerful and intelligent character and her loyalty to her people becomes the key to her survival. She is raised by her Healer after her mother’s death and even after years of her father’s abuse, she is able to focus on the people of her kingdom and protecting others. One of the more interesting aspects of the book is the setting. In this world, there are three worlds-The First, The Second, and The Third. Saran lives in the First, a medieval and magical world where mages rule. The First is very much like where we live currently. The Third is a world of death and destruction ruled by horrid rulers that steal slaves from the other worlds. Crossing between the worlds requires magical ability and meetings between important officials from the different worlds do occur. The ending definitely set up this up to be a series and I’m very curious if the next book will focus on the same characters but in one of the different worlds-or maybe new characters working with the old characters but in a different world? The possibilities are endless.
I highly enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone who loves, or wants to try out, fantasy.
Thank you the Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

The Living God by Kaytalin Platt is not a stand alone book. That being said, there is a lot of world building here. I feel like it does mess with the pace of the book at some points.

In this book there are three worlds. First is the main characters world - there is magic and kings and rebellions to had. Second is Earth - but I think we are a lot closer to dying. I mean Earth is running out of resources. The Third is a world that we don't really know that much about but it doesn't sound great from the tidbits.

Saran is a time mage and the princess. Also she is the daughter of a tyrant. She is magically bound to Keleir, an Oruke - someone who was possessed by a demon while still in the womb. He is a fire mage and he is boyfriend material...as long as he's in control. The demon is all about bloodshed. His younger brother is Rowe, a lightening mage. They are apart of the rebellion to overthrow Saran's father.

I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to others. There are some slow parts but just push through it and I think you'll like this book as well!

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.