I love a pantheon with complicated relationships. Absolutely one of my favorite tropes in fantasy fiction. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Everyone in this book is terrible and I adore them all.

I don't know what I was expecting when I started this, but I was so invested by the end I was pacing my living room, anxious to see what was going to happen next. And that ENDING?!

The world building was effortless and I fully was in Georgia with Gem and this rag tag bunch of terrible, awful, messy, beautiful, queer gods. I bought all of this, hook, line & sinker and it was so refreshing to read a YA fantasy where the "bad" guys are quite literally everyone so it doesn't matter who you root for.

Gem is flawed and just- so absolutely lovely and stupid and angry and lost and perfect and I will fight for them. They're also hilarious and I was no expecting to laugh SO much. Everything about them just works and I want them being slutty and terrible and thriving.

H.E. Edgmon really said I support queer rights *and* queer wrongs, and I can't get enough. I need the second book, like, yesterday.

This book means something special to me that I don't see in other books. Good sapphic representation especially in fantasy. This is a book I've been waiting for and this book will be my personality for awhile.

This raw, queer, contemporary fantasy is near the top of my list for reads of 2023. This book was filled with interesting characters, a diverse cast, and a well developed plot that had me intrigued throughout most of the story.

The cover itself is the first thing that caught my eye, and is sure to pull focus in any bookstore, drawing a potential reader in to become a reader. This book was beautifully written, with many sentences that made me stop just to appreciate the craft that went into them.

When looking at this book through the lense of a young adult, I struggled with the worldbuilding. It faltered in some areas, and made it difficult to understand. I felt like the magic system (?) lacked some structure that would have made this a little easier to follow. And while I did love the characters, I did find the main character to be a little bit lacking in development.

However, overall this was a book that I did enjoy. It would have been a book that gay little teenage me needed.

It was a little hard for me to get into it . I loved the dreaming aspect of it but once we hit real world I got a little confused my brain couldn’t understand it was real world. But I will def be buying it when it comes out to give it a fighting chance maybe the physical copy will do it for me . I loved the cover it soooo stinking gooooddddd

Gem, nonbinary queer disaster, has always felt a call to the land through their native Seminole heritage. They've also always felt different than their peers, desperate for connection. They take solace in their relationship with Enzo, a trans boy from Brooklyn, who takes care of Gem in the best way he can from so far away. After a night of painful nightmares, Gem meets Willa Mae, who acts like she's met Gem before and has the answer to all of Gem's questions - even if she won't share them. Soon Gem's life makes more sense than it ever has, the only price is the perfect life he pictured with Enzo seems to fade to little more than a daydream.

There is no character currently popular in YA who holds a light to Gem. They are so human, and messy, and unapologetic in their choices. Even when I wouldn't make the same choices as Gem, I find myself rooting for them. Godly Heathens is wild, and all the characters even wilder. I would read any story with these characters. I will be desperately waiting for book 2.

I am going to be so annoying about this book, because it is so so good, and I need everyone to read it. The very first line made me stop, cackle, and send it to my partner so they could appreciate it too, before I could continue, and that really set the tone for the rest of the book.

Gem, as a protagonist, was amazing. I loved their voice and their anger and their bravado and their ruthlessness and their vulnerability, and I want nothing but the best for them. I loved all of their characters, and I loved all of the dynamics going on in this book, but Gem has to be my favorite because they're wonderful. I also really enjoyed their voice--they were funny, but the jokes in the narration (or the conversation) never detracted from the depth of feeling going on there. I felt everything Gem felt, and I recognized a lot of myself in them too, even though we're very different in a lot of other ways. I so wish my teenage self had this book.

I really appreciated the articulation in this book of the difference between "evil" that comes from a person's needs being in opposition to yours vs. evil that comes from the desire to set the world on fire to smell the smoke (I'm paraphrasing, but also, what an image!), people who hurt because they're hurt vs. people who hurt just because they can. I feel like I see a lot more of that now than I used to, and I'm so glad for it, but it was particularly centered here, which I'm extra glad for. I love that queer kids and trans kids are now getting to see that no, actually, they are allowed to be angry about the things that happen to them.

Also, that fucking ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the arc, and thank you to H.E. Edgmon for writing it.

The longer I sit with this one, the more I love it. It feels like a queer Game of Thrones meets Percy Jackson. It’s genius, it’s diverse, it’s entertaining. I’d pay to see people cosplay these characters.

I don’t think I will be continuing with the series, despite really believing this book is great. Though I do think this is a genius book and one I enjoyed, I don’t think this is for me. More of a different tastes thing than a quality thing.

But it doesn’t really need to be, because it’s PERFECT for my audience. I can’t wait to promote this for the queer bookstore.

This was a complicated read. I liked so many things about it; the unabashed queerness, the honest self-reflection, the cruel selfishness. I loved Gem as a character and everything they had to offer, I loved their journey and their thoughts, and the way they tried to fit the pieces of their life together. The side characters and relationships were also really strong, the themes came through so well, and I loved the feeling that the narrative left me with. That mix of sharp hurt and biting anger really hits, and the monstrous queer in me can't get enough of it. All of that being said, the pacing was very off. It felt like nothing was happening until suddenly everything did. The story unfolded in a very unnatural manner, there was something forced and almost manic about it, and I think it could have used some more polishing to ensure a proper flow. And sometimes the language felt incredibly dated; like I adore queer community speak, but it can also make the dialogue stilted and frozen in time. I just think the book wasn't as fluid as I had hoped it would be. I think I might also be the wrong audience, and someone younger or fresher than me might love it more. So if you're looking for a sharp, queer, and intense read, this one might be for you!

A rare treat for the YA genre. This novel is chalk full of representation I haven't even seen in adult novels. I absolutely loved Gem with all their flaws and feelings. My major gripes with the novel is that it is going break neck speed trying to fill you in on this multi-generational war between Gods. A lot of the characters outside of the main three (Gem, Enzo, and Willa Mae) are given a paragraphs worth of info that is centuries long. Despite having an enemy, this force is put on the back burner near the end for a rather unsatisfying antagonist. Despite it's fast pace, the three main characters and their dynamic are awesome. Also I will immediately be picking up the second book after that crazy whirlwind of an ending.

Godly Heathens follows Gem, a trans high schooler just trying to coast through life until they can get out their southern small town. Only they aren't just a high schooler, they're also an immortal god destined to reincarnate over the centuries. More and more gods come to the small town and Gem must face their past and reckon with their future.

I love the reincarnation trope, especially when the author shows the flashbacks of Gem's previous lives including their godly life back in the Ether where the gods have come from. I especially enjoyed how they interacted with the Shade and the Mountain across the years too.

I didn't so much care for the fight scenes in this story, mainly because everything went really fast and I actually missed a lot of things because it would be mentioned briefly one time and then never again until chapters later (legit missed when one character was killed off).

This is definitely an older YA novel mainly because while there is no on screen sex scenes, there are many allusions to it and this reads more for older teens up to college aged kids. Overall very enjoyable and the ending!!!

I’m not sure how to brief readers on this book. Godly Heathens is about a group of high school students that are actually gods of another universe reborn without their memories. But they remember at different times and not necessarily all at once. Most are at war with the main character because of things they did long, long ago. I’m not going to say anything else because there are a lot of reveals throughout the story.

This book is a little difficult to review. While I did enjoy it, I also encountered a lot of roadblocks that gradually wore me down in my reading. Let’s start with the good: There’s a varied cast, and each character does have a personality of their own to help separate them. There are several scenes of action. There’s magic. There’s a wicked love triangle. There’s the promise of more chaos and drama to come in future installments in the series. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger with possibly wild consequences. And, of course, there’s a lot of great trans, queer, and disabled representation going on here!

Now, for my roadblocks: Other than the main characters, I didn’t really like anyone else, including their lovers (especially the Shade, who came off as an ass more often than not – I did not understand the appeal there). A lot of the story revolves around stuff from the past that we haven’t seen and are only given scattered glimpses of; this made it difficult for me to believe the authenticity of feelings and motivations, including the love triangle. The pacing is a little off; I would go from wanting to read chapter after chapter to being bored for a while and wanting to read something else. All of the gods have multiple names, which was confusing at times. I get that they did magic, namely the main character, but I wanted more explanation on how that all worked. The Oroborous, for example, seemed lacking. Maybe it was explained better during one of the slow stretches where I was losing interest, but I generally don’t like when stories give us a weapon that is all powerful and needs to be destroyed for alternative solutions to be discovered. I also had trouble understanding some of the personal content; a little explanation in these areas would have helped.

I’m torn on whether or not I will read book two in this series. Like I’ve stated, I liked Godly Heathens but I also struggled with it. I may just wait and see what people are saying when the next entry is made available (which I’m guessing may be soon for reviewers since it already has a Goodreads page).

2/5

I really wanted to love this one - the cover is beautiful and there’s a lot of great representation. Unfortunately, this one fell pretty flat for me due to 1) the plot and 2) the characters. The plot seemed promising at the beginning of the book, but then the entire book turned into an introduction for all the other characters/gods and not much actually happened. I did like the characters at first (I love a morally gray MC) and I’m sure there will be more character development for Jem in future books. However, Jem just got increasingly more whiny throughout the book and the constant focus on the unnecessary love triangle really brought this one down for me.

This book was something I feel many YA readers would enjoy; the LGBTQIA+ rep was done tastefully as well as mental health rep. There was a few times where I tilted my head with things but besides those I enjoyed the book. It was a great way to modernize mythology in a different ascent than most do.

Reincarnated gods from another world collide in a story of love, betrayal, choice, revenge, and deciding on who they are and what that means.

This book is so compulsively readable. It's about making mistakes and righting them, and fighting for yourself and what you want even if that's selfish. It's so many things wrapped up in a contemporary fantasy bow that is delicious on every page.

DNF at Chapter 6/19(ish)%

received this arc and, while i won't be giving a proper review because i didn't finish the book, i do want to say that my reason for dnf-ing isn't the story itself, but the writing style. i've dnf-ed other books by this author for the writing style, but the plot of this one seemed interesting so i wanted to give it a chance. that chance didn't last very long. i am giving it 3 stars for this review despite dnf-ing it because it seemed interesting as a book, the writing style just isn't for me and won't ever be for me.

the plot, from the bit i did read, seemed very interesting. gem seemed to be an interesting character, and the other characters that had begun being introduced seemed like they had potential as well. if it weren't written in a first person pov, i'm positive i would have finished the book and enjoyed it, but first person pov is always so hit or miss for me personally and this one was a miss.

if you like first person pov writing, then i'm sure you'd like this book. it truly does seem to have potential to be good, i just won't force myself to read a book that i can't get interested in and dislike the writing style for because that would leave it with a less than positive review no matter how i felt about the book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC copy they provided.

What’s the best way to describe Godly Heathens?

OH MY F@#$ING GODS!!!

Like literally, that is going to be your reaction to SO many parts of this book as you read it. If you’re not prepared to scream at your screen (or actual, physical book, if you’re lucky enough to have one of those), you are not prepared for this book.

Where to start with this book… From beginning to end, Godly Heathens feels like a rollercoaster, the highs just setting you up for the sudden drops that make you want to scream. (And potentially throw your phone or physical book.) Everyone is mildly feral, has something to hide, and plays both hero and villain.

Rather like life, if you think about it.

To make things simpler, I’ll say the main character, Gem Echols, happens to be a god.

They just also happen to be a god everyone hates, and to be stuck in the body of a human teenager. The ultimate in existential horror…

The games begin early in the book with Gem plagued by intense dreams of an alluring demon and the bloody crimes they committed together. While still processing THAT, the goddesses of Death and War show up at Gem’s school with scores to settle and zero trust for the god they blame for destroying their world and their places in the pantheon.

Luckily for Gem, the goddess of Earth and the god of Things Forbidden just happen to love them for who they are, bloody hands and all.

And that is one of the points of this book I am extremely happy with. Almost every book that features a love triangle forces the characters to choose. Someone has to win and someone else has to lose. Godly Heathens has as little thought of choosing as Gem Echols does. Gem Echols loves both their god and their goddess, and they have no intention of picking just one of them.

The sweet and accepting polyamory is one of my favorite pieces of this wonderfully queer, and utterly undomesticated book where “there are no cis gods.” I was fully able to see myself in many of these characters, especially Gem, and that is a gift for any queer reader who has ever felt they were “bad at being human.” Too often when reading books by cis authors, queer readers can feel non-existent and unseen. Godly Heathens has none of that. Queerness permeates the pages, and I was so there for it.

In addition to the queer identities and sexualities being everywhere, Godly Heathens doesn’t fall into the trap of making every single one of its queer characters a saint. They are as real and multi-layered as any person on the street. No one is all “good” or all “bad.” They just are, and they play the villain in other people’s lives as much as they play the hero on their own.

That’s life, and that’s one of the major themes of Godly Heathens. “Sometimes evil is just a person whose needs are at odds with yours.”

When that “evil” is coming at you with every intention of destroying you and making you suffer for what you’ve done, it’s hard to remember the fact, but the fact is no less true. And if we’re not careful, we become “evil” to other people.

Gem figures this paradox out as Godly Heathens unfolds, and at the penultimate moment they make a choice that spirals the end of Godly Heathens off into the second book in the Ouroboros Duology, Merciless Saviors. I’m not going to say too much about what that choice IS, but you can bet it’s one poor choice and they’re going to be dealing with the consequences all through the upcoming book.

I very rarely pick up a first novel and find myself interested enough to read a sequel, but for Godly Heathens I’ll make an exception. I am SO looking forward to book two, and all the OH MY F@#$ING GODS!!! moments it’s sure to have.

One hundred percent recommend this book for anyone who loves queer dark fantasy.

This is an unbelievably rich and nuanced story that might be intense to read in parts but definitely worth it by the end. The queer representative is embedded deeply within the story and within the god characters themselves. This made it a really unique read. The duality of the characters as both gods and teens was expertly presented and well written. The plot might be seen as convoluted but it fit the characters and the way they experience the world.

ARC review

HOLY SHIT. This was great.

This was violent and funny and uncomfortable and sad and powerful and validating. A great representation of everyone’s teenage years - only we were all constantly reincarnating, grudge-holding, intensely powerful and dramatic gods.

I loved metaphors and parallels between gender, sexuality, and colonization, and coming to terms with being both yourself and an ageless powerful deity. I loved the stark descriptors and harsh truths. I loved seeing Gem battle with death gods and their curfew.

Dying to give this a second read in audio, and so looking forward to reading the next installment.

This was absolutely phenomenal and I am so happy I found this author! I wish they had been around when I was younger but this is top tier YA Fantasy. Gem is a trans, nonbinary, Seminole teen. Oh, and a reincarnated god from another realm who is slowly remembering their past lives. As the discover the truth through dreams and flashbacks they meet several other gods, some friendly others not.

-loved how fast-paced this was, I was fully engaged from start to finish
-the characters felt messy, realistic, and full of emotions
-this book was super queer and I loved every second
-Gems character arc, trying to figure out if they are the hero or the villain was gold
-morally grey characters for the win
-Edgmon's world building and engrossing writing style made this so fun to read

I just loved this so much, go read it!