NO GODS, NO MONSTERS is a profoundly experimental work featuring time travel, werewolves, tech wizards, witches, and gods all competing for space in a multiverse that reminded me most of the one featured in THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS by Karen Lord. Like much of Lord's work, Turnbull works simultaneously in quantum physics and the culture of the African diaspora, in monsters and gods and in science and politics. This is no surprise, as the authors share a similar cultural background -- while Barbados and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not the same place, they are close cultural cousins. Turnbull brings his own roots into this work deftly, using the narrator as a connector between storylines set in the northern climes of Boston, the hills of Virginia, and the island of St. Thomas.

The plot of this book revolves around very compelling current events, flipped on their heads. Laina, one of the main characters, starts the story examining the body of her brother, who has been gunned down by police. She was estranged from her brother because of drug use, and the emotional fallout from his loss would be enough to shake most people, but the mystery deepens when a disembodied voice offers Laina information on her brother's murder. Thus Laina is plunged into the world of magic. Notably, this scene parallels a storyline that appears later in the tale, where we learn that the narrator also had a brother lost to substance abuse who was gunned down.

The way loss functions as apocalypse, as unveiling, is a strong theme in the book. Not every character experiences it, but many of them do. What is revealed by the loss can be corruption, but can also sometimes be magic and community. Most likely, it is a mixture of both. Magic is not benign in this novel -- on the contrary, magic is treated as a force of nature. It can have benefits and joys, but is just as likely to cause grief. Sometimes, as with the narrator, it seems almost a neutral force -- but not everything is clearly visible in this book. There are layers within layers, each waiting to be picked apart.

For that reason, NO GODS, NO MONSTERS might be a hard read for some. While the various plots do ultimately connect, it does take some time to get there. This was fine for me -- I found each of the threads of the story to be ultimately compelling in their own way, and was happy to be along for the ride. It's a smart book, a puzzle in need of assembling. If that's the kind of thing you enjoy, this will be the book for you. That said, you won't get all the answers here -- the end obviously leaves things open for a second book. I'm excited to see where it goes.

To put it simply this book follows the lives of a few different characters, that are all connected in some way, as they try to navigate their lives after the existences of monsters is brought to light. However it is so much more than that. I think anyone’s who likes fantasy and dark fantasy will like this.

This is the kind of book that makes you think even after you’ve finished it. The plot is complicated and I found that I was confused at the beginning as to what was going on but not because it is badly written, it is beautifully written and the confusion came from the many different characters you get to know, their role in the story and how they are all connect to each other. I found that once I became attached to one character we jumped to another but as the book goes on you get used to it and it does get easier to read. Regardless of that I found it really interesting and have never read a book like it. I would recommend reading this book purely because of its uniqueness and how well it is written.

This is going to be an incredibly difficult review to write, because I do not want to trespass Spoiler territory but I really, REALLY, want to talk about this book in depth. And I’m pretty sure I can’t do both.

Let’s say this book is about monsters. Furry, four legged monsters who suddenly showed themselves to a world which was not ready for them. And two-legged monsters as well, but we already knew they existed, didn’t we? We see them every single day, trying to appear more human than what they’ll never be able to be.
Let’s also say that the monsters want to achieve some rights: Some of them just want to be left alone to roam the Earth and be happy with what they are. They’re asking for something that is basic for humans, and they feel partly human as well. However, the road to achieve this is not an easy one, and some of the other monsters do not agree with them. War is a possibility.
And let’s finally say that we, as the reader, don’t always know who the monster really is. This book shows us some people’s life in a messy, chaotic, real way, and we are the ones who need to gather the pieces and reach a conclusion.
But nothing ends. It bleeds.
And the pages of this book are filled with blood, with messed up lives, with pain so real and so well described one wants to enter the book just to hug a character (and maybe kick some other in the face. Hard.) This apparent chaos may repel some readers, but those who keep on will find an amazingly threaded story with unique and deep characters who don’t hesitate to spill their most profound fears and their most violent rage.
To close, let me just point that the writing is so beautiful one would like to re-read the story again and again and just underline passage after passage after passage. And then re-read it one more time. I really hope this isn’t the last time we are given passage to this world.

Unfortunately this was one book I was unable to finish. I found to many groups of people, too many plots and too many time changes. When one thing happened that would grab my attention that part of the story got dropped and I don't even know if it was finished. Sorry. I really wanted to like the book and the premise peaked my interest. It just didn't carry through for me. I guess the last page of the book describes it all when it says "Nothing ends. It bleeds." This describes my feelings of the various plots contained within.
#NoGodsNoMonsters#NetGalley

This concept is so cool! The beginning was a little hard to follow, because it hops from one character's perspective to another. Once I got used to the jumping it was a little easier. There was a lot of world development that kept me going more than the action in the book. It was face-paced mostly because you were following a variety of character's stories. I was confusion on some of the use of pronouns. The book was in third person at some spots but then it would switch to first. This made more sense after you learn more out about Calvin. I wish the different parts gave some direction about which character you were reading about. It was a big idea that did not have enough time to develop in the way I would have liked. I hope there are more books to develop the storyline.

Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF'ed at 50%. I really wanted to like this book, but the disjointed POV chapters made it too difficult to follow.

From what I could understand, each chapter is a different POV, some returning, some new, but most centered around an incident with a main character's brother being killed by the police. Turns out the brother was a werewolf. Al the POVs are affected by the incident in their own ways and we see society slowly changing to accept or reject the presence of supernatural creatures.

I do think it's a really interesting urban fantasy novel and it will definitely appeal to those who like the book's chaotic, but unique writing style. It's just not going to be for everyone, including me. It's also definitely more on the macabre and dark style tonally, so that will also not appeal to everyone.

Turnball clearly has mastered writing and character dialogue, but I think he just needs a bit more focus here to help piece the novel together. If you're interested in horror and urban fantasy and can handle unique writing choices, then this is for you.

No Gods, No Monsters by this new to me author Cadwell Turnbull, published by Blackstone Publishing is a full length, stand-alone, not easy to find the right genre for book. It's fiction, pnr story, fantasy, part non-fiction-ish, you get the picture.
The story starts out with a bang when Laina discovers her brother was kbc. What then happens is more than fantastic. I really liked the writing and the storyline, only at times I was overwhelmed. All in all an ok read, 3,75 stars.

WOW

Such an amazing book with such a rich and deep plot. It's one of those books that you can read over and over again and still not fully understand what is happening. There are so many unanswered questions in the book, but I almost feel as though it's fitting. That's the way life works. We don't have all the answers and we probably never will.

Please please please get this book when it is released. Hands down will be one of the best books in 2021!

I was really excited about the premise of this book, but I don’t think it ended up being for me, which is fine. I think a lot of people with love this book, but I am not and have never been an urban fantasy fan, so I was left with the impression that this book was just meh. 10 points for representation and 10 points for creativity. I hope this book finds its audience, but it’s audience is not me.

What a strange and frustrating book. I thought it was beautifully written with lovely prose and turns of phrases, but this was a convoluted mess in terms of characters and perspectives. It would change from one character to another without any real indication. I would be left confused as to which character I was following and who this new character was. Had they been introduced before? What had I missed? The author also messed with the timelines which added to my feeling of being lost.

I don't need my stories to be linear. I like adventurous storytelling, but this really need a strong guiding hand from an editor. There were too many characters and except for Laina, Rebecca, and Ridley, I didn't think I got to know any of them. Having all these disparate characters come together towards the end of the book gave me little pleasure. For such a long book, this felt very truncated. I don't know if there was an issue with my ARC or if the book just ends that way, but there was no resolution. It was over abruptly and with no indication that the end had been near. I kept trying to flip the page to see if there was more. I am assuming a sequel is planned otherwise this was a waste of time. I loved the premise of this book -- monsters coming out of the shadows and the world changing because of it, -- but this left me very disappointed.

This book had a really interesting premise, but it was really hard to read because the author kept switching up the point of view and it made it hard to follow. It might really work for some people, unfortunately I am not one of them.

My only complaint would be pacing. I really enjoyed the ride of the story but had to motivate myself to pick the book up between reads. I wish that the meandering was less. Thanks to the publishers!

"No Gods, No Monsters" by Cadwell Turnbull is an incredibly riveting novel that blurs multiple genres into one or successfully creates a unique genre of its own. Therefore, it's no surprise the story is written in a jarring, razor-edged cadence that creates an original narrative voice unlike anything else.

In this page-turning novel, multiple characters are witness to a world-changing event in which monsters are real and they want to be known. This causes a chain reaction of events that results in a growing tension of whether humans are ready to accept monsters exist and the dangerous consequences that may have.

On the surface, this novel seems like a simplistic fantasy novel that delves into secret underground societies, fantastical creatures, and government conspiracies. Instead, Turnbull draws upon a variety of themes that speak to a lot of issues society faces in the present time. Through the use of monsters, Turnbull creates a conversation about the ways in which humankind deals with oppression, fear, trauma, violence, family, identity, among many others. The story even refuses to focus on a single character as it becomes clear as the story unfolds that the events that take place are about community and society and how, as a collective, people are responsible for how they shape the world they live in.

This is going to be a novel people either love or struggle with. Certain readers have difficulty getting into a story that doesn't have a clear timeline, a well-rounded plot, or a specific character(s) to focus on. Even still, there is no doubt "No Gods, No Monsters" is a stunningly original novel that will spark a wide range of interest and create an important conversation.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing (Own Voices) for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Look for "No Gods, No Monsters" by Cadwell Turnbull on its expected publication date September 07, 2021.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC.
I can honestly say I’ve never read a book like this. The idea was great. Monsters are real. There are parallel universes. The writing style is gorgeous, I’ve never read anything like it.
Unfortunately, this book, for some, will be difficult to get through. It was for me. I truly wanted to love this book, and the diversity in it is great. What was such a let down was it was hard to follow.
The point of view shifts often from first to third. Because of this, it made it hard to keep track of who was telling the story and what was going on. I had to re-read a few parts over just to get my bearings.
There are also quite a few characters. Due to the large cast, it’s not easy to get attached to some of them and others suffer from not being able to be developed much. The messages and themes that were in the book were interesting and there is a lot for readers to enjoy in it if they don’t mind possibly having to play catchup once the pov shifts again.
There’s also gore and for some people that’s a turn off. There isn’t a warning about it.

I wanted to like this book so badly. The synopsis was so intriguing but it was a slow start to the book. I almost didn't finish it. The genre and writing is so unique, but did create quite a bit of confusion for me.

<b>Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the digital ARC of No Gods, No Monsters.</b>

I love the kinds of books where you feel like you're missing something vital to the story and then it all comes together at the end. No Gods, No Monsters was one of those books.

It opens (pretty much) with the death of Laina's brother, who has been shot by a police officer. That act is the catalyst for the unveiling of monsters to the world at large. Turns out, monsters and magic have been present and living peacefully beside us for ages without us being any the wiser. Meanwhile, two (or maybe three?) secret societies are in a battle of wills to control...something. The angle of the story? To keep monsters hidden? To eradicate the monsters? It really depends on the secret society, and honestly, even at the end of the book I wasn't sure what the different societies' goals and purposes were. It definitely felt like a book that had sequel potential.

But what I loved most was how many characters there were, and how they all slowly became interconnected and central to the ending of the story. Characters were also diverse, representing a broad range of gender identities, sexualities, and ethnicities.

Overall I was left wanting <b> more </b> . More of these characters. More of this world. More monsters, more gods.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for me (because we can only give full stars). Only because I didn't get all the answers I craved!

4.5/5 stars.

Trigger warnings: references to child sexual abuse, drug use, violence, gun violence, mild body horror.

No Gods, No Monsters is a fascinating story that starts off with the character Laina finding out her brother has been killed and spiralling into monsters and secret societies having to come out of hiding, and the fallout and chaos that follows this. Despite having a slow start, powering through the novel really pays off as Turnbull introduces multiple amazing dynamic characters, slowly revealing details and secrets about the world. It's evident that a lot of thought went into the story; the author keeps a lot of the cards close, and I wish that more of the details about the monsters and world were given sooner so that I spent less of the book in confusion, but nonetheless it had me on my toes trying to piece everything together.

It's an ambitious novel with a lot of characters and intricacies not meant for a casual read and definitely one you can be sucked into if you give it a chance. I look forward to rereading it in the future now that I have more knowledge about the world, and look forward to the next novel in the series.

it was slow to start, and did not quite get it's hooks into me right away, give it a change and you will not be disapointed

Did not finish; confusion and gore

I got around a quarter of the way through the book. After much confusion about who was narrating, slow movement of the plot, feeling more like an anthology, and gore that added nothing, I stopped reading. Although some of the writing was splendid, it wasn't enough to make up for the other weaknesses.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary advance reader copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull. The foul language with no purpose and the writing style really made me dislike this book. I do think others will enjoy it and thank you for giving me a chance with this book.