DNF at 10%. The writing style feels very dense and is hard to follow. I think the premise sounds interesting, but the execution of it was difficult to get into.

DNF @ 43%

This book is infuriating. The main character seems to change her mind every other page, and I *hate* the implications of the romance. I was curious about this book because of all the discourse, and wanted to give it a fair shot, but I just cannot imagine finishing this. I can see the possible appeal of this book, especially if you are really into female-rage-y main characters, but I could not balance the MC's (justified!) rage with her burgeoning feelings towards *her colonizer*.

I was losing interest in the storyline and had a hard time picking it back up. Decided to DNF because of this.

This certainly has potential. The world building was interesting and captured my attention, but the prose seemed Stunted and repetitive. I love the idea of this book, not so much the execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced e-copy.

The premise was super interesting and I wanted to be hooked from the beginning. But the writing was incredibly repetitive. Ruying restated the same sentiments over and over again, dwelling in these thoughts that created no action. She valued honor and hated her own gifts and wanted to hate Antony, but couldn't bring herself to, over and over and over again. Antony was a slimeball from the beginning and I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to root for him to be with Ruying. It was incredibly slow and I found myself counting down the minutes until I finished each chapter.

The world building was interesting but also confusing. I liked the idea of pitting science against magic, but there wasn't really enough practical examples of either to make it feel like a big plot point.

I was disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this one.

I actually thought about DNF-ing this book when I was reading the ebook. The chapters are LONG and the story was very slow to start. I ended up getting the audiobook from the library and I enjoyed that much more.

My villain romance loving heart wanted more romance in this story but I feel like this first installment isn’t about the romance. It’s much more fantasy and political world building driven.

I would read the next book in this series but I’d definitely want to listen to the audiobook. I highly doubt the writing style and long chapters will change book to book.

I’d also read more from this author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An interesting world with interesting magic. I think the author might have overreached with the colonizer relationship theme. It is uncomfortable the entire time but also sometimes feels too painful as well, which is certainly the point, but not the most palatable. I'm tired of these sorts of romances being enemies to lovers tagged, a power dynamic difference of this magnitude cannot make them enemies, nor true lovers.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods promises a dark, high-stakes fantasy rooted in rebellion, divine powers, and vengeance—but unfortunately, it struggles to deliver on its potential.

The premise is intriguing: a colonized people under divine oppression, a protagonist burning for revenge, and a world filled with ancient gods and political unrest. There’s clear ambition here, and Molly X. Chang shows flashes of lyrical writing and compelling ideas. The themes—resistance, trauma, and reclamation—deserve space in fantasy.

But the execution falls short. The pacing is uneven, with long stretches of dense, confusing exposition followed by abrupt bursts of action. The worldbuilding, while creative, is often hard to follow and lacks grounding details that would make it immersive. Characters feel distant, especially the protagonist, who is often more of a vessel for rage than a fully realized person. Emotional beats don’t land as deeply as they should, and the story’s tone stays so grim and severe that there’s little room to breathe.

There are some striking visuals and a few powerful moments, but overall, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods feels like it’s trying to be mythic and profound without fully earning it. Readers who enjoy intense, abstract fantasy might find something here, but many will struggle to conect.

DNF

I have a lot of complicated feelings about To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods and wasn't able to convince myself to keep reading it but I will make a list of the things I did like:
- I thought the world that was created for this book was a really imaginative mix of historical and science fiction with a little fantasy thrown in. The conflict between magic vs science and culture vs oppression was very interesting to read as intertwined as they were in this story.
- I really liked the FMC's death magic and the way she could feel people's Qi however the overarching system was not my favorite

The things I did not like were as follows:
- The magic system felt as though it was not flushed out and extremely restrictive as a magic user lost a little bit of themselves every time they used their magic until they die but the magic was also addicting so it seemed as though there was no way to avoid the magic.
- The characters, I did not like a single one of them and each of their driving forces felt very one note and in general they irritated me.
- The "romance" which wasn't a romance so much as a manipulation and pseudo Stockholm syndrome type relationship where the FMC felt behold the MMC because he was protecting her family in exchange for her magic which was very quickly draining her life, but there was almost no build up to it and the feelings just kind of appeared.
- The writing was also a lot of monologuing and telling instead of showing of feelings and thoughts.


Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately this story seemed like it would be perfect for me but the the writing was lackluster and the characters had no depth.

i heard about all the debates around this book, and at first I felt bad for the author since it's her debut book. but I couldn't disregard the colonizer romance... I'm so sorry I couldn't look at it from different angle. it felt wrong. couldn't justify it even after the fact that the author is POC and the story took the inspiration from her grandparent's experience. just no.

3.0

Overall, I enjoyed this book but I don't feel like it really compelled me to keep reading. I did feel like I had to push through it, especially at the beginning of the book.

The romance isn't... my favorite. I will say the world-building and the actual plot is unique, especially the main character's powers and the death magic. Generally, I like characters that are morally grey and I find it makes an interesting story. However, the main romantic interest, is just not up my alley. I found it strange how much the main character gravitated towards them and all of the things she excused. Because of that, I had a hard time believing in the romance and that she couldn't see past what he was doing.

Of course, the ending is what brought me back into the story and piqued my interest again. It definitely made me want to read what happens next! However, I'm undecided on getting the sequel due to my struggles throughout the beginning of this book.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book keeps you on your toes and I really enjoyed that. The world building was great and I loved the characters. The magic powers and fantasy were very easy to devour. I can't wait for the next book

I enjoyed this book overall, I love an enemies to lovers story however it lacked depth. This was pitched as a morally grey fantasy book where characters are making the best decisions they can in hard times and it fell flat for me. The fmc’s ability to overlook the mmc actions because he’s hot was worrisome and took me out of the story too many times. Th romance is barely there and overall I just wish there was more to this

3/5

As a 26-year-old fantasy lover (yay, I said it again!), I was drawn to To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by its stunning premise and promise of a dark, mythic world—and in many ways, it delivered. I've read books that I felt would be similar, at least in theme and cultural inspiration. Molly X. Chang's writing is lyrical and atmospheric, with some passages that truly shine. Note how I said some. The story has weight, and I appreciated its unflinching look at rebellion, identity, and survival in a brutal empire.

That said, I struggled to fully connect with the pacing and world-building. At times, the plot felt heavy and disjointed, and I found myself wishing for more clarity or momentum in key moments. I'm trying to piece together how to describe it - it was like a doctor giving me bad news, but they didn't explain anything surrounding that news. Does that make sense? No? The emotional depth was there, but it didn’t always land as strongly as I hoped.

Still, the main character was compelling, and I admired her resilience. While this one didn’t completely click for me, I see a lot of potential in Chang’s voice and will be curious to see what she writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

#NetGalley #ToGazeUponWickedGods

The language is beautiful, but the story falls flat.
I'm not a fan of females falling in love with their abusers. It's an ick factor I just can't ignore.
It's a trope that I feel just needs to go away and die.

I did not love this as much as I want to. I recommend it for those who love YA but I think it would have enjoyed it with more of the maturity of adult fantasy.

While the premise of this was fantastic and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it I've had to set it down multiple times and come back to it. It's just so difficult going through the story and having the fmc end up with the mmc who is the colonizer here. It just sits with me wrong. He literally tortures her. This is not an enemies to lovers that it's made out to be. This is romanticizing an oppresser/oppressed relationship.

I started this one a while back and set it down to pick up when the mood struck me. Somehow I never picked it back up again I might in the future, but for now it’s a DNF.

DNF at 10% due to other feedback and eviews. I don't read oppressor/oppressed romances.

Thanks to netgalley for the early arc.