*DNF*

Let me just start off my saying that the writing in this book is incredibly beautiful. There is no doubt about that.

Now, I can see fantasy lovers, or even anyone who loves supernatural beings, be SO into this. I could see them eating it up and enjoying and hanging onto every word of this story.

But, unfortunately it just was not for me.

I am not the biggest fan of fantasy to begin with, and I would almost lean this more towards supernatural (which I do enjoy, sometimes). And the synopsis of this book intrigued me, took me in, made me want to hurry up and read the book. That’s why it saddens me that I just did not vibe with it the way I wanted.

As a woman of color I love the inclusion. But my biggest problem, I think, with the book was the execution of the pov’s. It switched up a lot and went into third and first person pov so frequently and unwarranted that I didn’t really know what was going on, who was speaking, who was what or who. And maybe that was the authors point, in some way I could see why they would do that on purpose. But it just didn’t register with my brain very well.

That being my only complaint, this is not a bad book, the premise is amazing and author’s talent does shine through with each detail. I just simply did not vibe with it, unfortunately.

But, as I said, I do believe others will surely love this and find the story quite riveting!

This book was not for me. I couldn’t stand the narrative shift between first person and third person. It was so distracting. I found the writing tedious and hard to follow. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. This book dealt with a lot of important/difficult topics such as drug use, sexual abuse of a minor, racism etc. but I didn’t think the topics were explored enough and seemed to be just a device to move the story forward.

Laina's brother is dead, but nothing is at it seems. Tape from police was really disturbing. What is this creature and where it come from?

Monsters are real, parallel worlds collide.

Exciting read.

𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 - 𝙽𝚘 𝚂𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜

𝑵𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅𝒔, 𝑵𝒐 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 by Cadwell Turbull

𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎
“Everything is connected. Every imagined world is real. all the underworlds and all the heavens. All the worlds within us and without.”

𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜
368

𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎
~4 hours

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎
Adult Fantasy

𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢
𝑵𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅𝒔, 𝑵𝒐 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 follows the stories of multiple unique individuals. Some with stories of trauma and triumph. Others with stories of confusion and capture. A mysterious being floats through these stories watching and waiting for the moment to emerge. On the horizon waits protests, death, looming war, and most of all monsters. Monsters live among us all, are we ready for the possibilities?

While is it hard to wrap of the insane breadth of this book, I can say that the above mentioned quote truly is how expensive the narrative becomes.

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝙴𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍
Literally everything so I will try to be specific.
-Reading this felt a little bit like I was browsing through a dream state. It was incapsulating and intoxicating.
-The representation and diversity in this book is on point. It has racial diversity, sex diversity, gender diversity, and relationship diversity. I appreciate that this is not a token moment within the book but just part of this world because diversity is a part of our world.
-I loved that there were affectionate platonic relationships between both men and women in this.

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝙴𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝙼𝚞𝚌𝚑
-There wasn’t a trigger warning with the book. There are many triggering topics touched on in this, and it would be helpful and needed for many readers.


𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐
★★★★.5
I did not rate this a full five stars only because I think that trigger warning is really needed in this book.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝗼𝐮 𝐭𝗼 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝗼𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝗼𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝗼𝗼𝐤.

𝚃𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜

𝐒𝗼𝗺𝐞 𝗼𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝗼𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝗼𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝗼𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝗼 𝐬𝐩𝗼𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝗼𝐮 𝐝𝗼 𝐧𝗼𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝗼 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝗼𝐧’𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝗼𝐮 𝐝𝗼, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝗼𝐰.

Cursing, sex, sexual abuse towards a minor, drug use, physical abuse, gaslighting, blood, violence, attempted suicide, completed suicide, mass shooting

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book!

This book starts by introducing us to several characters, one of which is Laina who has been asked to identify a dead body. Her brother has been shot and killed by police, and while it appears that this was a case of police brutality, a video unearths a much larger issue at play. The video reveals that monsters are real, and are walking among us. The question of who is a monster, and why, is raised multiple times as the author introduces the reader to new characters and new storylines.

I enjoyed this book! It tackles a lot of rather intense themes and concepts, but the author, Cadwell Turnbull, does so in a contemporary and unique way.

I felt a bit overwhelmed by the amount of characters and stories that were introduced in the book, and I did feel that we didn't need so many new characters. I would've liked to learn more about fewer, rather than less about more. With that being said, each character brought their own powerful perspective to the themes within the book.

This is a great book, and I'm definitely expecting this will be received well once published!

I got an ARC copy from Netgalley after reading about how this was one of the most anticipated books of 2021. I love the premise of this book-it essentially examines the age-old question of who is the real monster? And, what makes a monster? And all this is told through a contemporary lens with characters of many ethnicities, and across the gender and sexual spectrum.

The world is built over an anthology of interconnected stories. We find out how these stories interact with each other as more characters are included, and they're either related, work with, or are involved with the others.

I think horror fans will love this modern perspective on these monsters. But I felt that the book was overlong, and hence struggled to connect some of the characters and their backstories. Some stories are in there just because of an incident that is pertinent to the plot. They were thin on plot, character development, and even world-building. I wished those stories had been eschewed for the more compelling ones-characters like Laina and Rebecca had great voices and fleshed out characterizations. I wanted more of them and how they navigated this world, instead of Melku and Dragon.

I hate gore, so there were chunks of some stories that I skimmed. I don't think we needed those.

Honestly, given the climax of this story, we deserved a build-up that was more relevant, topical, and allegorical. The fanciful stuff just didn't interest me, because those stories felt like they were painting over a much more interesting facade.

For a new age and diverse look into a favorite genre, this book is a recommended read. But, keep in mind that not all the horror is to many readers' liking.

First and foremost, this is a book you have to pay attention to. Yes, it’s a casual read, but the subtext is almost its own character in this one. No Gods, No Monsters is the kind of book that almost demands a re-read upon reaching the final page. It’s just that powerful.

Most blurbs and reviews say that this books opens with Laina discovering the news that her brother, Lincoln, has been shot and killed by Boston police, but that’s not really where the book starts. No Gods, No Monsters starts with the introduction of two characters: Calvin and Tanya. As the story progresses, we discover that one of them could possibly be very very important.

Next comes the beginning of Laina’s lament and the big reveal that monsters are real and some of them are ready to go public.

I don’t really want to say much more about the characters or the plot of the book because I think it would steal a piece of the magic from potential readers. What I will say is that No Gods, No Monsters really pushes the boundaries of the classification, or lack thereof, of inclusion and acceptance. Never would I have ever thought it possible to braid together a tale of life, love, the constant struggle and non-Newtonian physics. Yeah, you didn’t read that wrong.

Seeing each section unfold with the inter-meshing of characters and situations is what really sells this story. Mr. Turnbull leverages science fiction and fantasy to show the rawest of “human” emotions in an incredibly deft way, and it doesn’t take long to be fully sucked in.

My single complaint is that it’s now over: I reached the end and that’s it. I do hope Mr. Turnbull revisits these characters and situations because what is not said, and what is not resolved, presents an incredible craving for this reader.

No Gods, No Monsters hits shelves in September 2021, and I guarantee it is going to make some waves. It would not surprise me in the slightest to see it on any number of book of the year lists. Do not sleep on this one.

ARC provided by Netgalley

This book had a promising start and storytelling style which remind me of American Gods (Neil Gaiman) and Cradle and All (James Patterson).

There is a lot of character, but maybe a little too much. I really like some of them (Dragon is my fav, such precious boy) but I couldn't dive into the rest. Maybe it was the lack of description or backstory. So I had to cut the stars. It was 3.5 for me.

Overall, No Gods, No Monsters, is a good book with interesting premise. If you are looking for dark suspense book with a hint of fantasy, and don't mind a lot of characters, you can try this one.

As like the king of authors said: “ Monsters are real and ghosts are real, too. They live inside us,sometimes they win.”

This story starts with a dead body! Laina opens her eyes on early October morning to learn the new tragic news about her brother’s brutal killing by Boston police officers. Is this just police brutality or there is something more vicious, blood thirsty and extra violent hidden behind the incident? But there is one reality that no one can ignore: MONSTERS ARE REAL! Mythical creatures stop hiding behind the shadows, freely walking around to bring out the chaos!

We’re also introduced to the professor at the first chapter who resigns from his job to go back to his hometown, following the traces his missing friend left behind which also drags him into a secret society, the same place a young boy with super powers uses its safety net, keeping his own dark secrets.

This is a riveting, urban fantasy page turner with lots of characters. But quick time jumps between past and present are a little disturbing. We want to know more about their back stories. There are so much rich materials to be used at more than two books. So I wish there were less characters but more detailed, elaborated life stories, less flashbacks.

But overall I am fan of this genre! This was quick, gripping, interesting, capturing, action packed and thrilling ride that I was truly excited to experience!

I’m giving werewolfish, mythical creatures, blood thirsty, shocking, horrifying four stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for sharing this super exciting reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

No Gods, No Monsters was a book with an interesting premise and themes. There was plenty to love about the concept and the messages the author was trying to convey, and overall the story was entertaining and moved as a reasonable pace. There were quite a few characters, though, and because we were swapping back and forth all the time, I felt some were less developed than I would have liked, because we didn't have enough page time to truly get to know them, and this made it harder for me to care deeply about them and their personal struggles outside of the overarching plot. Still, this is a fresh read and in a different style from most urban fantasy out there at the moment, so if you are a fan of the genre, I do recommend checking it out. For me, it was a 3.5-star read.