Messy LGBTQ teens with godly powers clash in a cycle of love and war built on centuries of reincarnated drama. Visceral, enthralling, and needle-sharp, I loved every angsty, over-dramatic drop.

Gem was a believable teen protagonist and their struggles with mental health, especially in light of the fantastical things happening around them, felt true.

It feels like the elevated version of a chosen one story you’d scribble into five separate notebooks over the course of high school, complete with godly identity, true love, and high drama, but somehow Edgmon pulls it off and I loved it.

Would highly recommend for the angsty queer teens with too much power and too many feelings lashing out against centuries of baggage. Great stuff, it’s criminal how long we have to wait for the sequel.

This young adult story was one that I enjoyed. The non-binary cast of characters was an interesting thing to read as I haven't really read a lot of books with this as the LGBT theme. That being said I will most definitely have to check some more of these out. I loved Enzo and Gem and just everyone in this story. I do think that it could have gone a tad darker with the plot but overall it was still great for middle to high young adult. This story was complex and amazing and I can not wait for book two. I am not going to go into the story itself because I don't want to spoil anyone. This is one of those books where you are better going in blind on.

"Godly Heathens" by H.E. Edgmon is a remarkable LGBTQIAP+ Fantasy novel that brilliantly intertwines themes of identity and mythology. Set in the captivating realm of Teens & YA, the book introduces readers to a world filled with magic, adventure, and self-discovery. H.E. Edgmon's storytelling prowess shines through as they navigate the complexities of their characters' lives, weaving a tale of empowerment and acceptance. "Godly Heathens" is a must-read for those seeking an enchanting blend of fantasy and LGBTQIAP+ representation that resonates deeply with its audience.

Fun YA fantasy romance with great representation. I don't usually read YA, but I liked this one's worldbuilding and creative touches.

There were a few plot holes I found, HOWEVER, I loved this story. I loved the representation, I loved the characters. I'll definitely be buying a physical copy

GOD REINCARNATED AS TEENAGERS. What a fucking treat this was. Single handedly dragged me out of a months long reading slump.

Thank you so so much Wednesday books for an early copy of this one!! I loved the story and the representation we get!!! Amazing!

Oh my god.
Reincarnated Alien Gods all in mortal bodies in Gracie Georgia some are wanting to get back, some just want to end the Magician.
Absolutely wild and such a fun ride.
Some of the pacing was a little off to me. But overall so queer and so magical. Villain origin story we all want especially YA reader will enjoy this.
I shouted Oh My GOD out loud twice whilst reading this.
So good.
When is the next one????

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an eARC.

I felt this was a very good YA book, I will definitely be putting it on the to-order list for the high school library I work at.

Godly Heathens is a fast-paced, queer, and thought-provoking tale of gods reincarnated into humans. Holy cow, how do I start this review? I was hooked from the first chapters of this book. I loved the way we see Gem struggle and react to changes in their life. The author made their struggle feel real and their choices difficult. Who doesn't love a morally gray main character?

I loved how Gem didn't always make the right choices; how they struggled in that in between stage. It was a refreshing change from most YA books. The MC doesn't always do what's expected of them and you find yourself wanting to pull your hair out but at the same time being like, hm, maybe they're right about this.

This book has so much humor, self-deprecation, sarcasm and tomfoolery that you'll find yourself sucked into the world. It addressed hard issues and pushed our societal norms and I cannot wait to see what the author does in the sequel.

4.75 Stars
I don't know where to start with this book. I read so few books with nonbinary mc's, and nonbinary mc's written so damn well. There is not a single instance of misgendering or deadnaming in this entire book, which is a beautiful thing sometimes. You can tell me it's not realistic, but it is fantasy, and anything can be true when you put your mind to it.
Morally grey characters are another big thing to me, and this book has done it so well that I'm still conflicted on how I feel about every goddamn character in these 400 pages. It is usually easy to find who is the hero in a story, but there is not a single one in this book.
My only big critique is the action. I struggled with this in H.E. Edgmon's other duology as well. While there are only a few action-packed scenes, they're important ones that drive the story forward. I get lost in it all quickly. The details and so many characters at once get hard to distinguish, especially when each character uses 2-3 names, as they did in this one. I am not great with names as it is, and this made it harder.
This story will continue to sit with me as I wait for its release and eagerly anticipate the sequel coming in April 2024.

I hate this word, but I've got to be honest. There's not another word that encapsulates the feelings that this book gave me. GODLY HEATHENS is freaking EPIC.

H.E. Edgmon has to be one of my all time favorite writers. I am always obsessed with with how they think, the way they craft worlds, the way they craft stories. They have such a unique perspective and voice that feels so similar to me that I'm convinced that every book they write is specifically for me.

I think my favorite thing about GODLY HEATHENS and H.E. Edgmon novels in general is how much LIFE is put into them. I always feel so exhausted after finishing a book by Edgmon because I've lived several lives throughout each novel. And not only that, but I always have so much fun while reading anything by Edgmon. And in a world where a lot of books feel like work to get through, having fun is so important to me.

GODLY HEATHENS might be hefty, but Edgmon knows exactly when to add the perfect amount of levity. Like I said earlier, GODLY HEATHENS is fun and also pretty freakin' hilarious. It's an epic fantasy of teenaged gods, all fighting for some sense of normalcy, but wow, it'll make you laugh, too. Even more so, it'll make you feel the entire spectrum of emotions. It'll also remind you of how beautiful that feeling is.

And that ENDING? Talk about a cliffhanger, my god. But I am sooooooo intrigued now and SO ready for book 2! GODLY HEATHENS is one of my favorite reads this year.

The world building, craft, and voice in this were impressive and engaging! The character development, especially in the slow unraveling of what the dreaming meant, were spot on from the start. Thank you so much to the author and the publisher for this eARC!

I keep having high hopes for H.E. Edgmon's work, and something just stays... off about the execution. GODLY HEATHENS has such an interesting premise, and Edgmon writes queer characters with such an attention to fluidity and expansiveness, but I kept having to push myself to return to actually reading it.

What I enjoyed: unlikeable characters, characters revealing their identities (to themselves and others!) causing more chaos!, "There are no cis gods," messy complicated feelings from teenaged characters.

What I struggled with: inconsistent pacing, SO MUCH backstory introduced without being fully integrated, sometimes the ways characters were introduced and described felt like an attempt to check off characteristics or identities off of a representation checklist rather than a holistic approach to characterization.

I think this book will suit readers looking for darker, messier YA, who are more invested in engaging characters than a consistent plot. It wasn't the book for me, but I think at this point I may just be bouncing off of Edgmon's writing style.

The premise of this book sounded absolutely amazing. Gods from another world reincarnated, and a cast filled with BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ characters?!?
However I found myself extremely bored with a lot of the story. The pacing was off, the world building and characterization were extremely flimsy.
Our characters are supposed to be Villains. While I do agree they all do bad things. The story didn’t do anything to make me feel characters so I could root for them. They were all just extremely unlikeable. Trust me I love a story with morally grey characters but this just wasn’t able to deliver.
There were some exciting twists and turns throughout that did surprise me. However the pacing just felt off and there were a lot of moments where I had to really push myself to continue reading.
I personally wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this one and I won’t be continuing with the series. However I will definitely check out this author again. I’ve read their other book The Witch King and The Fae Keeper and loved them.

OMG.
This book is everything.
I'm going to be honest; I read The Witch King and the character, it didn't strike me the same but Gem? Gem. I love Gem. And Enzo. And Willa Mae. And you left me on a cliffhanger? OMG. H.E. Edgmon? I will not forgive you for 1. making me wait for this book to come out and 2. for making me wait for the sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this eARC!!

I would like to start by saying that this book, through no fault of its own, was a DNF. That's truly not on the author or book at all, but rather on me for not checking CWs before reading!! The book is wonderful, however, and I will be reviewing the 24% that I read!

Having never read any of H.E. Edgmon's books, I was delightfully surprised by how rich and illustrative the narration was. Gem's voice was raw, honest, and left an immediate and inescapable impression of who they are. The worldbuilding drew me in and held me there, the representation was refreshing and much-needed, and the characters, twists, turns, and morality were a delicious mix of all the best things.

If you don't mind your fantasy on the darker side and (like me) enjoy deities and loveable characters who sometimes do horrible things, I'd strongly urge you to pick up this book!

I was excited about this one based on the cover, early reviews, and the premise…but I felt like it was a repetitive mess. The world building was haphazard/fairly nonexistent, especially after Gem discovers who they are. I only cared about Gem, Enzo, and Rory; other characters (especially gods) came and went too quickly. The writing style was quick and Gem’s voice seemed authentic, but those good qualities weren’t enough to carry it. Some mature content, but nothing to prevent it from being on shelves. Good representation.

This book does start off slow with world building. With the length of the book it felt like information was just getting thrown at me so it got a little confusing. It took me awhile to get hooked in the book. This book has intriguing characters and plot. While I didn’t like any of the characters I could understand them and in a way understand their perspective. I really enjoyed the flashbacks but it did make me want to see all of their lives that they’ve lived. While I didn’t necessarily like the characters I was invested in their relationships and wanted to see those outcomes play out. Just as I was so invested and couldn’t put the book down it ended! And it ended on a cliffhanger! If I was reading a physical copy I would have thrown it. I also loved the message of this book that sometimes you are the villain. There are just plain bad people and sometimes there are people who make bad choices. And even lose themselves in those bad choices.

My first experience with this author was to give a book 2 stars, but as I could see the heart and promise in The Witch King I decided to give their work another shot, and I was overall pleasantly surprised. I think this author has grown a lot in their character building and gotten out some of the angst that led them to writing The Witch King, though the characters still have an edgy teenager vibe here.

Godly Heathens is a book of villains: reincarnated gods who have to handle both the whims of their teenage bodies and the knowledge of their millennia of existence. This creates a very interesting dichotomy and I think it is overall represented well. Sometimes the characters make youthful mistakes, but they are informed by the lives they’ve lived.

Throughout the book all of the characters reckon with what it means to be both human and divine and what the right thing to do with regard to their omnipresent feud is, and the ending has a decent amount of twists and turns to it. One of the best parts of the book is the characters’ unapologetic queerness and how the author usually doesn’t hold your hand explaining it. In that way it is a book for queer people.

Where this book struggled most was the world building. I don’t think the author planned it all out in advance, and there were definitely a few convenient situations that were akin to magically writing yourself back out of a corner just because the reader didn’t have enough information to argue with you. I found the world building interesting, but not groundbreaking and I definitely had a lot of questions.

Finally, I’m not really sure where this book was trying to go with its discussion of mental illness. Some was explained away as the behavior of gods, while the main character’s father seemed to be legitimately struggling, where his illness was disappointing to the main character because they hoped it would be actual information for them instead. Either way, it was the characters’ parents and families that got the bum deal in this story, and I don’t think they deserved it.