Elysium Girls is a western dystopia along the lines of Mad Max: Fury Road! Bad ass women, ghosts and the desert!

I thought the setting, a Mad Max steampunk western fantasy, was super clever and unique and I really enjoyed the characters (and that the romance didn't go at all where I thought it would!). I did find the ending a little peculiar, with a ton crammed in the last 5-10%. The shifting of POVs took me out of the scene too.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

A book about a badass witchy girl gang and their daemon friend who fights to save an apocalyptic desert town from certain death from dust soldiers?? Sign me up! This did not disappoint!

This book was not even on my radar because it’s I’m not into westerns or stories typically set in the past. I only had this added because my friend was raving about it and I am so glad I decided to pick it up!

While it had western it was a much smaller part of the story then I thought it would be, it was more fantasy and magic! I especially love that is a stand alone so your not making any long term commitments to a series! The characters were entertaining and I felt well fleshed out. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it!

ELYSIUM GIRLS is quite unlike anything I've read before, especially in regards to premise! There were so many different components to this world that I feel could have come very close to not working, and yet: it just did. Such a unique world populated with intriguing characters and a plot that kept me reading long after I meant to set the book down for the day.

As I was reading this, I was thinking of it as kind of a weird mash-up of Libba Bray's Diviners series and, like, Mad Max. Goddesses Life and Death have a competition in an alternate version of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, where they create what is basically a gameboard in Oklahoma and the surrounding area. In the middle is the town of Elysium, a community at the center of the game. If the citizens of Elysium survive and have put aside a specific percentage of their stores for ten years, then Life wins the game and everything keeps on keeping on. If they fail, Death wins and everything is destroyed. What made this really compelling for me were the character development and world building. The main character, Sal (Sallie) is an outcast who learns that she is a witch and is taken on by the town leader (Mother Morevna) as her successor. She teams up with Asa, who is actually a daemon sent by Life as a wildcard in the game, but disaster strikes and they get kicked out of the settlement into the terrifying desert beyond. A huge focus on strong female characters with a diverse cast and a pretty fast-paced dystopian story with a satisfying conclusion.

I love the steampunk/dystopic aspect of this book! It felt a little slow going at first, but the story picks up pretty quickly. It was a little jarring trying to figure out the background behind the dystopia, but the story was still very satisfying.

Couldnt not download this onto my device hence i could not read it. It was not compatible with my device. My sincerest apologies!!

I enjoyed reading several aspects of this book! The pacing was wonderful, characters were well drawn, and the reading experience on the whole was delightful.

“And it’s not like you, the strong, patient, ingenious girl I know, to bow before something as insignificant as fate.”

Elysium Girls is a story about a dystopian Oklahoma remade by two Goddesses: Life and Death. The two sister Goddesses decide to play a game after a bad dust storm nearly wipes out the population in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

We crept out of our shelters, those of us who had found shelter, and what we saw terrified us. Our fields were gone, our farms were gone, and in their places was nothing but desert, gray dunes stretching over miles immeasurable.

The goal is to “win” the game the sisters have placed out for them. However, the people aren’t exactly sure how to win or what to do. The people try offering sacrifices and using witches to predict the future and assist with keeping them alive. But, each sister (Life and Death) have their own wildcard to help shake things up, and no one knows who is the wildcard, and who is on whose side.

And then there’s Elysium. Elysium is a protected section on The Oklahoma Panhandle in which they have a female witch ruler and she uses her magic to protect the people. Inside of Elysium there are racial/gender conflicts as well as conflicts concerning hunger. Outside of Elysium are strange and dangerous creatures as well as violent, sexist gangs.

Elysium Girls follows Sal, our main character who has been dealing with visions of rain for several years and is not distrusted by many of her people. However, one day she is chosen by the leader of Elysium to become her second and she accepts until one day something goes horribly wrong and she is banished outside of the walls. There she meets a gang of mechanical horse riding, witch-girls and befriends them.

This story could be described as either a fantasy or a dystopian and can honestly be a little confusing at times. While I appreciate that the story seems to be have wrapped up in just this one book, I wish that the story would have been fleshed out a little more and been a duology. A lot of cooler elements were glazed over, mostly the creatures out in the wild, and more of the witch gang riding on horses. A lot of the plot is based on the politics of Elysium and setting up the complex world.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and read it in a matter of three days. I think the formatting of my e-arc was a little messed up, but I imagine that will be fixed later on.

If the cover doesn't draw you into Elysium Girls, the synopsis definitely will. This is pitched as Mad Max meets Caraval and there's witchy girl gangs and demons and metal horses and WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED.

I was immediately intrigued by the first chapter and from there it only got better! This was such a different mashup of topics and I really enjoyed the uniqueness. The Dust Bowl and Great Depression setting with a town that has been thrust into a ten year battle with Life and Deaths supernatural army. I thought the world building was superb and pretty well drawn out. Kate Pentecost has such a great way of shaping a world it was hard to not be drawn in!

Our MC is Sal who was set to take over as leader for their town but events unfold and she finds herself exiled out into the unforgiving desert with a demon who longs to be human. The only way for them to survive is to join up with a gang of witches. Sal was a pretty good main character. She was easy to connect with and I love a main character that grows and finds herself throughout the book. The witchy girl gang was amaaaazing and one of my fave parts. They were so diverse and fun and a terrific addition to the story.

His heart was human now, through and through. And humanity, true humanity, he realized, was sacrifice.

I found this to be an overall very enjoyable historical/ dystopian/ fantasy read! I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

Elysium Girls is a weird book, and I don't think that's a bad thing: The novel reimagines the Dust Bowl as an epic battle between Life and Death. The town of Elysium has survived by building walls and working together, but they know a reckoning is coming. Sal has inherited some of her late mom's witchy powers, which should secure her safety, but when a human-obsessed demon shows up in town, one mistake gets Sal and her new friend kicked out of the safety of Elysium and into the wilds beyond. As it turns out, though, there are people just like them in the wilds, including a girl gang who know what's been really happening in Elysium. Sal teams up with new allies to return to Elysium and save the town from ultimate doom. This is a little bit Westworld, a little bit Deadwood, a little bit Mad Max, and a whole lot of fun if that combo sounds appealing to you. I mean, it's a lot: witches and alternate Great Depression history, and feminism, and demons, and steampunk, and marauding girl bandits, but somehow it all comes together into a pretty satisfying story. And there are some things I love: With their futures at stake, the town lets a woman take over, and what do you know, all the racism and sexism we associate with the 1930s is gone. There's tons of foreshadowing setting up plot twists that still surprise you, and so many of the characters are genuinely likable. I dug it. Maybe you will, too? I found a lot of interesting connections between this book and some of the conversations happening around social distancing right now, which made it even more interesting.

This story supposedly had it all: goddesses playing a life and death game with humanity as the pieces, witch magic, dustbowl setting, a daemon made human and the gorgeous steampunky horses on the cover.

The story revolves around Sal, a mis-fit girl, ostracized by the cursed town that has become a gameboard for the goddesses Life and Death. She is always trying to do the right thing, no matter how horribly or unfairly she is treated. Of course, she has magic. She eventually gets kicked out (unfairly) to die alone, but joins up with an outcast girl gang.

These girls were the predictable group of orphans who had found each other as a substitute family. Each was so devoted to one other that none really differentiated themselves, other than the big one, the small one, the mechanic, the cook, etc, and were otherwise pretty much interchangeable.

The story was meandering with long stretches where nothing of substance happens. Like, seriously, what was the point of the Laredo Boys? Totally added nothing to the story except to try to show how bad-ass the girl gang was? Except that didn't work, because they had to be saved by the male daemon, so...

Speaking of which, Asa was the only interesting character in the whole story, and the only one who showed a spark of personality.

So Sal and the girls return to the doomed city, which had left her to die, to save them from annihilation.

I did not feel tension in this book, no rush to find out what happens next. Some aspects of the world were not fleshed out. I'm still not clear on why the goddesses set up the game (just they like to gamble?), the magic itself is not explained, the mob-mentality townspeople were horrible racists not worth saving and the overarching feeling of the book is dusty despair. And those awesome horses were just a cursory side note. I could not get immersed in this story, nor did I care about the characters, so the story fell flat for me. 2.5 stars.

I did not get the chance to read this ARC prior to the book's publication, but we did end up buying it for our library collection.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed this one!

I thought it was both really enjoyable and really original! The writing style was extremely readable so I blew through this one pretty quickly!

The world building was absolutely wonderful and I love the amount of care taken to the details of it, especially in setting description. It really helped to bring this world to life!!

This was the best kind of romance, due to the fact that it was present and definitely not completely understated, but didn't take away from the plot, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in books.

The LGBTQ+ representation was really wonderful and I really loved seeing W/W, since it is really underrepresented in literature, especially YA literature.

I was honestly shocked to find out that this was a debut, since it was so well written! The prose was just so lovely and all-encompassing in the best way possible.

The characters were also really great! There was a diverse cast of characters who were a pleasure to get to know.

The plot was so cool and usually one to see plot twists coming, I was gobsmacked by this one and I absolutely loved it!

This is not one to miss!! I can't wait to buy myself a hardcover when stores open back up again!!

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

**4.5-stars**

Ten years ago, the Goddesses of Life and Death decided to play a little game. Their game board, a settlement town called Elysium, set amidst a stark desert landscape. The inhabitants, the game pieces, scurrying around like the ants in A Bug's Life, trying to gather up enough sacrificial materials to please the Goddesses once the ten years are up.

Within the settlement, an elder witch, Mother Morvena, seeks her replacement. She is nearing the end of her life, and as the settlement's unofficial leader, someone needs to take over her duties. Sal Wilkerson has never quite fit in. She's different than the other girls and has few friends. She lost her mother to the Dust Sickness and has found it hard trying to make it on her own.

She knows she is meant to be a leader, but getting others to see her as such will be a battle. Her recurring false visions of rain aren't helping matters. But when Mother Morvena selects Sal as her successor, things change. Sal begins to see how she can truly contribute and discovers her powers as a witch.

Her new found celebrity is dimmed, however, when a new man arrives in town. A magician named, Asa, who happens to be a Daemon in disguise! All the townsfolk are completely enamored with him and constantly after him to perform tricks. When a magical duel between Sal and Asa goes horribly wrong, the entire fate of the game has been ruined. Blamed for the catastrophic result, they face excommunication and Asa disappears.

Now alone, Sal is tossed outside the border wall and forced to survive in the desert, where cannibals are said to lurk. When all hope seems to be lost, Sal finds her salvation. A badass group of girls, the leader of which was also kicked out of Elysium for bad behavior. The group takes Sal in, along with Asa, who just couldn't keep away from those darn humans. They form a beloved found family that was an absolute delight to read. Together they plan to get back in the game and save all of Elysium from the clutches of Death.

Y'all this book was so much fun to read. Super unique and absolutely full of action. I loved the setting, a sort of magical Deadwood meets Mad Max: Fury Road, and if that isn't reason enough to pick it up, I'm not sure what is. I loved both Sal and Asa, as well as many of the side characters. They were full of grit and fun to follow. I really started rooting for this girl gang. They were smart, tough and never afraid of a fight. The giant mechanical horse on the cover is in the story as well, so there's that!

The whole way through I was so into it. Thinking all along, this is a 5-star read, but then, the last 20% sort of lost me. I found it confusing, it was going so fast and there were multiple twists thrown in right at the end. I still don't really understand the conclusion. I guess if I would have had more information on the world outside of Elysium, it may have solved some of the uncertainties.

With this being said, this is still a highly enjoyable read. One that I can treasure for its magical narrative and captivating setting. I would urge anyone who finds the synopsis interesting to pick it up. I do not think you will be disappointed.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Book Group and NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I had so much fun with it and look forward to seeing what Kate Pentecost dreams up next!

'Elysium Girls' is an amazing new YA fantasy that is like nothing I've read before. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from the description. There are so many different variables that sound like they shouldn't match up right but I was very pleasantly surprised. Everything about this novel was incredibly well done - from the writing to the characters, the story line to the setting, and everything in between.

Sal was a strong main character for the story and I connected with her right away. She's kind of the town outcast who's an unwanted burden to most. She puts up with a lot of crap from other people but tries to take the high road, stay out of trouble and be invisible. I found her to be incredibly realistic and I was definitely rooting for her throughout the story. She has her strengths - she's a gifted witch, she's smart, strong, brave, determined, and honest. She has her flaws like everyone else though - she doesn't believe in herself and her potential for one thing. I loved getting to know her throughout the story and seeing her character change and grow.

One major plus for me was the writing style. The author wrote the book in the first person point of view - from Sal's perspective. This is by far my favorite writing style and I love that the book was done this way. We really get to know Sal on a deep and personal level - the kind that only this writing style can provide (in my opinion). We're privy to her innermost thoughts, hopes and dreams, fears and uncertainties, memories, and everything in between. I can't emphasize enough how much I love that the story is written this way.

The plot was fantastic and an interesting mix of several genres. There's fantasy, paranormal, historical, and western. It doesn't seem like they should fit together but the author did a wonderful job of interweaving them and creating something completely fresh and original. I'm really glad I gave this one a chance and will definitely be re-reading it again soon. Very highly recommended for fans of all genres and readers looking for something unique and exciting.

Imagine if the Grapes of Wrath had played out under Stephen King's The Dome, with sprinkles of steam punk and Mad Max, and you'll envision an approximation of what Elysium Girls is all about. The goddesses Life and Death have set up shop in Oklahoma in the 1930's, and they refuse to let go of the survivors for ten years. During that ten years, the goddesses play a game for dominance as the people within suffer. Within the bounds of Elysium, Mother Morevna leads the people. They sacrifice one-third of their crops to maintain survival, all the while being afflicted by agonizing dust sickness. One day, a mysterious stranger named Asa shows up at the wall, and that sets in motion a chain of events that heralds a collision of magic, mechanics, and hope in a fight for survival during the last days of Life and Death's game.

What I really liked about Elysium Girls is the intricacy of its setting and idea. Mixing history with unique lore and a fun mix of magical machinery, the world-building was enjoyable and the characters sold the suffering they were going through. Additionally, the fact that the goddesses were judging the people brought some nice flavor to the proceedings. The "will they or won't they" aspect of the proceedings was interesting. After all, the characters could survive everything only to find that society had failed to meet the goddesses' expectations, which would mean the end of Elysium. If nothing else, what definitely sells this one is that at some point a girl gang of witches gets involved, and there's very little cooler than that. What you should do now is get your yee and your ha and giddy-up to read this book!