This book was not my cup of tea. I felt a deep disconnect to all the characters and didn't really find any of them likable.

Sooooo I don't know how I feel about this book. Like, I enjoyed the representation but I felt the plot was a bit lacking. It was a bit too slow-paced in the world-building. I felt confused at times. Just needed a little more clarification and a steady pacing.

This was an okay read for me. There were times where I was completely hooked on what was happening and times I found it went on and on. It was missing that balance of action and information and instead drowned out the best parts by following up with word vomit. Overall, I did enjoy it but I will not be continuing on with the second book.

I honestly really wanted to love this. The concept is cool and the relationships have some of interesting potential. Unfortunately, the writing, pacing, character development, etc. really don't bring this book to where it could have gone.

Godly Heathens was INCREDIBLE!!! While reading it, I kept describing the story it as one part The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas and one part Wildefire by Karsten Knight, but add in a much more honest look at queer sexuality and how that would look to a pantheon of Gods.

How do I even begin to express my emotions? This was filled with so much action from the very beginning and I was gooped and gagged the entire time!

The story centers around Gem: your regular every day non-binary indigenous teen living in rural Georgia who after being attacked by one of the school’s new girls and saved by another, finds out that they’re the reincarnation of an otherworldly God. 🤯

There has been a fight going on between all powerful Gods stuck in the bodies of mortals that has spanned millennia with each of them killing each other and coming back in the body of their descendants. And all of this is because of something that happened over a thousand years ago… can we talk about holding a grudge?!?

I loved The Witch King by HE Edgmon, so I knew I’d be reading this ASAP! I just didn’t know how much I’d love it.

And did I mention how INCREDIBLE the audiobook is?? Avi Roque was amazing and I immediately recognized their voice from so many of my favorite books, including Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. 😭 SO GOOOOOOOD!!!

I’m sure I’ve peaked your interest, but I hope I’ve don’t enough to make you want to buy it as soon as it comes out on November 28th. I need to talk to people about this book and I need to do it IMMEDIATELY!!!! 😭🤯

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of the book!

I loved the concept of this story so much. No one was more confused by my lack of enjoyment in it than me.

I wonder if I would have liked it better if Gem didn’t constantly annoy me? Maybe it’s the YA part of this story that didn’t work for me.

Sorry to say I put this one down and didn’t pick it back up.

That cover though! Gorgeous.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the eARC in exchange for review!

"Godly Heathens" by H.E. Edgmon presents an intriguing premise, blending contemporary fantasy with themes of reincarnation and queer identity. The protagonist, Gem Echols, a nonbinary Seminole teen in rural Georgia, discovers they are a reincarnated deity entangled in ancient conflicts.

The novel's strengths lie in its diverse representation and exploration of complex themes such as identity, mental health, and the search for belonging. Edgmon's portrayal of Gem's internal struggles and the dynamics of their relationships, particularly with Willa Mae and Enzo, adds depth to the narrative.

However, the execution occasionally falters. Some readers may find the pacing uneven, with certain plot developments feeling rushed or lacking sufficient buildup. Additionally, while the incorporation of past life memories enriches the story, the transitions between timelines can be confusing, potentially disrupting the narrative flow.

Overall, "Godly Heathens" offers a fresh perspective within the young adult fantasy genre, commendable for its representation and thematic ambition. Yet, inconsistencies in pacing and narrative clarity may affect reader engagement. It's a promising start to The Ouroboros duology, leaving room for further development in the sequel.

I forgot to leave a review for this when I first read it. When I first finished this book I had to lie face down on the floor for several minutes to recover.

H.E. Edgmon books are feral and they make me feel feral. I really appreciate that both the world and the characters are chaotic, grimy, raw, and really REAL feeling. This isn't some clean shiny fantasy world, nor is it grimdark for the sake of being dark. This is such a unique worldbuilding and it was so compelling to discover and read on. Absolutely love the characters, I can't think of any comparisons and that's a great thing: they felt like real people, unique and varied and complicated. I LOVE how queer everything was, utterly soaked in queer everywhere you looked. The diversity rep was a delight and honestly totally makes sense for gods. Can't wait for the next installment of the series, I want to learn more about the world and keep watching the journey of these characters!

This book was absolutely sick as fuck I'm so excited for the sequel. Probably going to read everything HE Edgmon writes. The story was so rich and while it had elements of things I've read before I think this is a whole new take on awakened gods.

I loved this book! It has great trans and non-binary representation and is full of teenage angst that so many can relate to. The world building was done superbly and I didn't want to put this book down! The mythology aspect was so fun, and I could see teens who read Percy Jackson in their younger years gravitate toward this as they get older. I would highly recommend!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Is it safe to start this review with 'What the fuck just happened?' They were finally working together towards the end, and then Gem just goes, you know what? You want to make me the monster? Cool. SAY LESS.

I mean, yay? I'm speechless at the moment and not sure what to write here exactly. Also, I need the next book as soon as possible because I'm not sure how I'm going to recover until I find out what is going to happen next.

Betrayal. Romance. Teenage Gods/Deities. What more could a girl want? Peace would be nice, but I feel like that's not going to be everyone's cup of tea after that ending. Maybe after the next book? I have no idea, but I definitely need more. I really enjoyed the concept of them regaining their memories and becoming reincarnated deities. That being said, I still have some unanswered questions and would like to learn more about them in the next book.

All I'm going to say is that I definitely enjoyed the audiobook of this and can't wait to dive into the sequel. I hope it's equally enjoyable.

The representation in Godly Heathens was truly top notch and I really appreciated that the characters felt natural and relatable as they were. The main character struggled with depression and I felt that the depiction of their mental state was incredibly raw. I also really appreciated that the author pulled no punches with their personality traits. The main issues that I had were with the storyline. I thought that the plot was incredibly chaotic. I felt almost like I was being jerked around on an amusement park ride, while simultaneously make out faces of individuals standing still along the perimeter. The setting was also certainly unexpected and I think a big reason why it took me so long to make it through this book. After reading the synopsis, I could not have been more surprised that the majority of the story took place in a contemporary high school. I had severe difficulty relegating these extraordinarily powerful Gods to high school students playing football and being worried about being accepted into NYU. The way that the characters bounced back and forth between begrudging student allies/classmates to mortal enemies was extremely confusing. I also grew to dislike Gem following his treatment of Willa Mae (Rory.) While I can imagine that it would be difficult finding your fated mate after already having formed feelings for someone else, Gems complete disregard for their feelings on the matter really bothered me. The way that they would beg them back after disrespecting them again and again with Enzo brought me back to a dark time of my life and I could not bring myself to respect Gem after that. While I think there were several really cool elements in this story, unfortunately as a whole, it was not for me.

I really liked the concept of this book as I feel like it hasn’t really been done before — a fantasy with gods being reincarnated as teens in a small town in southern USA, super interesting set up!
I quite liked the fantasy elements in this world as well as the cast of characters, even the characters we weren’t supposed to be rooting for were fleshed out and well rounded.
The writing style was really enjoyable and I think it’s very important to be telling stories with queer
characters— especially in YA.
I quite enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see what else this author has in store.

Godly Heathens begins as an unsettling look at the mental health of an indigenous trans & non-binary kid, and then blooms into a fantastical tale of reincarnated teen gods at war among themselves. It's a story about pain, trauma, found family, and grappling with mental health challenges, but also about being your truest self.

You know when you have a really cool dream, wake up, and think about how that would make a great book. But then as soon as you try and explain it you realize it doesn't make sense and is kind of garbage?

That's what this book feels like.

Applause for concept
Tomatoes for execution

This was such a unique take on what I would call a YA magical realism novel. I enjoyed how the author was able to weave the average teenage experience into a book about gods and magic. I was entranced by the magical scenes. I thought those were especially well done. I was hooked and needed to know what would happen.

The characters were also great. I like how there was a variety of representation. I found the poly relationship especially interesting.

The one critique I have is that at times the characters seemed like they weren’t worried about the imminent threat they were facing. While I lied those scenes on their own, they did kind of mess with the overall pacing of the story.

I’m excited to check out book 2 when it comes out. I’m hoping with pre-established characters we will be able to dive more into the gods/magic.

I know they say do not judge a book by its cover, but seeing this cover made me want to read it so bad. This YA fantasy was full of trauma, found family, mental health, lgbtq characters. I also love that the characters were all sorts of not normal. There was something with everyone. I did have to reread some things because I wanted to make sure I read it right. I think everything that makes us questioning what is going on, is leading up to something much more bigger for sure. I swear if I had this book when I was younger this would have been my go to book.

This is a great story. I really enjoyed the way the gods reincarnations were influenced by their powers, it was particularly interesting as they remembered more of their pasts. The setting was well done and worked well with plot well. I also particularly enjoyed how the characters were written it was interesting to see how their godly selves intertwined with this cycles mortal lives. This was most relevant with the main character Gem but all of the gods were influenced by their mortal lives to some degree. It's such an interesting twist to everyone's motivations and actions, it helped keep the twists coming. I did find some of the pacing a bit off, some areas felt rushed but otherwise I really enjoyed this book.

I purchased this book after reading it and appreciate the opportunity to do so. I have to admit though I didn't love it. The characters were honestly annoying and the plot was too convoluted. It could have used some more editing.