A narrative told in a series of linked stories. This is the first of a series. These two things worked against each other a bit for me. If I have linked stories, I want the satisfaction of a complete narrative to make it feel successful. If I have a first of a series, I need to feel fully invested with a grounding in a focused single hero. Having said that, the author beautifully draws scenes and I enjoyed the way many of the transitions between stories worked.

I'm going to be brief here since I have a whole review on our site.
No Gods, No Monsters is an urban fantasy written as a series of vignettes. We follow a group of characters dealing with the aftermath of the world finding out that supernatural monsters exist. Gradually, we glimpse the character's stories, learn how interconnected they all are, which roles they have in the narrative, and so on. The narration is fragmented, the story split into these small impressions of the character's lives, which we gradualy learn about.

That can be a bit difficult to read, but it's also what makes this book interesting and different. The narration and narrator played a big role in my enjoyment but I'm a sucker for meta narration. However I also had some troubles because I forgot names of characters so I'm sure I missed some stuff.
The pacing is slow and the story is character-based rather than plot. It's all about who are the real monsters, about drug abuse, dysfunctional families, police brutality, grief, and regret. There are a lot of chilling moments, dread-filling situations, and deep seethed terror.
This book is a bit sad, a bit scary, and a bit depressing. But if you like stories that focus on characters, with a great queer and poly rep, monsters in urban setting, and narrator that will mess with your perception of narration, you should check this out.

This was such a good read. The author did a great job of setting up a rich world filled with unique creatures and secret societies, while still grounding their work in the very real racial/gender/social hierarchies that push people to fight for their rights to exist. The characters grapple with the right way to fight for acceptance and the right way to push against a system that does not recognize them. At the same time, the fantasy world is rich, full of relatable characters, and the story reveals itself to you in a satisfying way. Told through a series of short interconnected chapters, this book would appeal to those eager to explore a world of fantasy and lore but who don't necessarily need all the loose ends tied up in a bow. I'm hoping the author releases more books in their universe because I really enjoyed reading it - the world building gave me Neil Gaiman vibes.

This book was not for me - I will not be posting a review on any other platforms. thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy

i cannot understate how beautiful the writing is in this and how eager i was for how the book was constructed - it's initially presented as a series of short stories that connect at specific joints (for instance, a character visits a cult -> the next story is of a child in that cult), and it weaves this very very large tapestry of a story. the writing is stunning and the characters are well crafted and fun to read but the reason i've rated this a 3-star is that, ultimately, it just doesn't come together. the book constantly seems to promise that there's a web being woven and that ultimately the reader will understand what's going on, but, having finished the book, it now just feels like sequel-bait, because so little is resolved by the conclusion. too many characters are introduced with too many stakes that it's hard to keep track and, even after i gave up on remembering who was who, precisely, it was hard to enjoy reading it, as the story just became too large of a scale. the only characters i really remember of it all are laina, dragon, and the character that speaks in first person (which i was SO excited about - it felt so interesting to have a character watching over our shoulders like we were when reading the book, but, again, it just kinda collapsed in the end).

This I such a hard review to write. First, let me say how beautiful the writing is in this book. It's very poetic and conveys so much emotion. The concept is interesting and it did keep me engaged enough to finish. Unfortunately the numerous characters and abrupt changing of POVs kept dragging me out of the story. While I liked the book, it just wasn't the book for me.

In this genre-bending fantastical thriller, Cadwell Turnbull delivers a fresh and original take on your typical crime/murder mystery story. A wonderfully inclusive cast of characters (more of this, please!), Turnbull delivers a mythical mystery, introducing monsters, werewolves, and something that's pushing them out of the darkness and into the spotlight. An excellent setup for what is sure to be a thrilling series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for advance access to this title!

This book was interesting, and the writing style of the point of views makes it difficult for me to review it. The style of this book is best described as chaotic. The pieces still feel disjointed, and most of my questions were not answered. The representation is fantastic, and the overarching plot intriguing. But the execution has left me feeling like I didn’t read anything at all.
The body horror and gore in this book was well written, and fun to read (if you’re into that kind of thing). As individual stories, this book was incredibly interesting. If you like speculative horror, and urban fantasy with modern monsters, this book would be the one for you. I just wish the ending was a bit more satisfying.
Full review will be posted on August 30th, 2021.

Turnbull writes a visceral and complicated world of shapeshifters, ghosts, and dragons, all butting up and shuffling against the painstaking modern humanity, and the result is a delightful friction. The pacing is carefully literary at times, favoring worldbuilding over any single character, but No Gods, No Monsters, is a strong, thoughtful story about what it really takes to be human.

At first, this novel was very disturbing. I had trouble getting into the story, and the switching of point of view confused me more than anything... Until I reached the second half of No Gods, No Monsters. At that point, I started to understand that the 'random' events and stories occurring were in fact intertwined. However, they proved themselves to be so entangled that I ended up finding difficult to clearly tell them apart. Indeed, the multiple voices soon proves itself to be reunited by one voice and one mind.

The characters in No Gods, No Monsters were superbly written. The intertwining of their voices, thoughts, and points of view gave a sense of uniformity and gospel-like cast of characters. Eventually, it was almost difficult to tell one character from another since their voices were so perfectly well embedded together.

The horrific and gloomy mood of the novel really surprised me, though usually it's not my cup of tea. I adored Cadwell Turnbull's writing style, and his narration techniques were incredible. In the end, I think that the confusion that arose in me when I began reading was intentional. Cadwell Turnbull managed to make me feel disturbed, lost, afraid, anxious, sad and angry at the same time.

I think that Cadwell Turnbull's No Gods, No Monsters is a novel that I enjoyed no necessarily for the plot –although it was brilliantly built– but for the writing style and techniques. I am really looking forward reading more of Turnbull's novels.

I really enjoyed this book! Have in mind that this isn't the genre i typically like to read so I stared not thinking i'd like as much as I did. Oh boy, I was wrong.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book has received a lot of press in the months leading up to its publication. Unfortunately, I struggled with it and it was a DNF for me. I may come back to it later and give it another try.

"No Gods, No Monsters" was an incredible book that I actually sped through. The characters were relatable but inspiring, the writing kept me interested and racing through each chapter, and the storyline was unique, full of life and powerful.

I went into this book completely blind but I am so glad I NetGalley sent this my way in an exchange for an honest review.

On the surface, this is a book about monsters and their desire to be known. But as the storyline untangles, you can see the incredibly important themes of identity, trauma, oppression and family. It's a book that stops you in your tracks and will ignite conversations across book clubs!

This was my first time reading Cadwell Turnbull's work but I am eagerly waiting for what comes next!

"No Gods, No Monsters" will be released Sept. 7, 2021...so keep it on your TBR!

I absolutely loved this book. The writing was flawless, and the setting felt gothic and was absolutely spectacular. Turnbull clearly plotted this entire novel out very intricately, and all the characters fit together in the most marvelous ways, moments of intensity overlapping at very perfect moments. Also, I definitely connected to Laina, and I enjoyed her voice and viewing these events from her perspective.

I would like to thank Netgalley for sharing a copy of this book with me. While I was intrigued by the description. Unfortunately, I did not finish reading it. Soon after starting it I learned that this was simply not a book for me. While I could catalogue all of the reasons for my feeling, I respect that many people may enjoy this book but I enjoy my reading too much to spend time with a book that I so strongly disliked

What a wild ride!



When Laina awakes on an October morning with the news of her brother’s disturbing killing by a Boston police officer, we are left wondering, is this just another case of police brutality, or is there something more lurking in the shadows? With videos that are seen one day, and then the next are gone without a trace. And monsters. Monsters have come out of hiding and start to walk the streets adding to the impending chaos.



This book hooked me from the first line all the way to the last word. The jumping of time frames kept me on my toes and added to the suspense. This urban fantasy novel was amazing in every way possible. And when I saw it was the first in a series, I just about passed out! There’s more?! YAY! While I felt some characters were a bit under developed and lacked some, seeing it was the first book eased that disappointment. As with all great series, characters are constantly forming and increasing with personality. I cannot wait for the next book.

The structure of this novel hindered my ability to fully appreciate the beauty and depth of Turnbull's story. Every time I got attached to a person and their journey, I was snatched away and wandered lost until I regained my footing. Then, I was snatched away again. It was frustrating and limited my ability to connect.

"She sets the thought on fire and lets the smoke curl away to nothing before it can do any harm."

There are beautiful lines and there are deep, thoughtful concepts that could take several readings and different meanings depending on who's reading and where they are in their life experience. I predict this book will generate a lot of great discussions. It seems to me to be a classic-in-waiting for those with the patience to read through the disjointed narrative.

I'd have liked a little less Le Guin~ish societal lecturing (does anyone not know what a cooperative is and how it works?) and more time understanding the narrator's unique ability and purpose. I'm hoping the next book goes into greater detail about the secret societies and their politics. As it was, this felt like laying foundation for something much larger and awesome to come.

The powerfully emotional ending, though. Stay for that. And points for diverse representation. Love to see real and complex people in fiction.

"I can't change the course of history. I can't make it so that things work out. Every universe exists complete from the start. It's already happened."

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Stone Publishing for a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book takes place in a world where mythical monsters such as werewolves and ghosts have always existed, but have stayed hidden. Suddenly, monsters begin coming out of the shadows and committing crimes, including killing the brother of the protagonist, Laina. Suddenly the entire world starts devolving into chaos as people panic at this monumental revelation. Hate crimes and murders begin rising as more monsters come out of the woodwork, including monsters inside of people. All of this is a metaphor for our current world, where we "other" many people of different religious or ethnic groups, and the hate crimes that are perpetrated against them as a result of this hate and fear. You can easily see the parallels to the modern-day, but it doesn't get too preachy, which is good. It's a fun page-turner, even if it feels a bit overstuffed with too many characters and monsters to follow. But if you can keep up with the myriad characters, this will be a fun read.

You know, I wasn’t expecting this book. Like, I knew I had it, that’s not what I mean. No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull really just took me by surprise. It’s gorgeously written with a VERY intricate plot. I genuinely didn’t want to put it down at times, even as I was falling asleep (not due to the book, but due to have two children under the age of four).

Okay, so what is so good about this book? The plot centers around several disparate characters that are all a part of a massive secret: Monsters and Gods are real. The book starts with the murder of Laina’s brother in what looks like your regular old police brutality. But then, Laina receives a USB drive with the real, unedited footage of her brother’s death. Her brother was a monster. Then, shortly after, a pack of werewolves decides to make themselves known by standing in the middle of a highway and shifting. Weirdly enough, even though it was on national news, no one remembers how that actually happened.

There are secret societies trying to help protect monsters from humans. There are politicians wanting to come out as monsters and vie for their freedom. There are tons of different monsters coming to terms with the new world they live in. There are dragons, werewolves, seers, techmages, all working together to prevent a catastrophe. It’s so good.

HOWEVER, it is a bit confusing, especially if you don’t read it in a few sittings. It took me a couple weeks to get through it and it was hard to follow at times. I had to go back and look at characters and the like to figure out what was going on. So, my recommendation is to read this in as few days as possible (mainly because it is JUST SO DAMN GOOD).

4/5, 8/10

I highly recommend picking this book up on September 7th, 2021 at your favorite indie bookstore.

This was a fascinating and complex book. The changing perspectives was intensely well executed and fascinating, though it took about 25% of the book to get comfortable with it. The concept was interesting and the characters excellent. The deftness of the weaving together of all the narrative threads was wonderful. Once I got used to the pov switches and learnt which characters were which, this was an outstanding read.