To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods thrusts readers into a world where Ruying, wielding the power of death, faces a daunting choice: become the prince's assassin or defy a futuristic Roman empire. Molly Chang weaves a tale rich in moral complexity, as Ruying navigates her loyalty to family amid Rome's oppressive rule. The enigmatic Antony, a master of manipulation with ambiguous motives, adds depth to their relationship, evolving from enemies to lovers in a slow burn that explores power dynamics and emotional turmoil. While dense at times, the narrative expands gracefully, delving into themes of colonization and personal agency, offering a fresh perspective on familiar tropes. To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods captivates with its intricate character dynamics and thought-provoking exploration of morality, promising an engaging read that leaves a lasting impression.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this book.

This was merely OK. I liked aspects of it such as the magic and Ruying's internal struggle between helping and protecting her family and becoming a tool of the Roman invaders, but I also found it somewhat repetitive in writing style and thus a little long, though still lacking a few crucial development points. We get plenty of setup and Ruying's moral dilemma. but then there is a six month time jump where she is working as a covert Roman assassin, and we don't get much info about what she's been doing, how she's been dealing with it mentally, and most importantly, how working with the enemy prince Antony has made her feel some sympathy and attraction towards him. Her almost Stockholm syndrome really isn't fleshed out well, so she and Antony don't have a lot of chemistry. He tells her his sad backstory, and suddenly she thinks he isn't such a bad dude? He fools her into believing he has noble intentions, but we don't get to see any of his supposed inner turmoil -- we don't need to follow his POV but he just tells Ruying what he is trying to accomplish and she is all, oh yes, of course he is right and I guess he must like us (apparently he likes her, but not enough to see he really is wicked). I would have liked more introspection on Ruying's part, and her seeking answers, about whether or not she can trust Antony, what the Romans really want, what sort of secrets are being kept from her, etc. She is really incredibly in the the dark and just doesn't seem to recognize it or acknowledge it.

Also, why Rome? Why not some made up place? Weird.

This book was just.. alright. The premise was intriguing, but ultimately fell short for me. What did work for me was the magic system and complex characters (and their relationships to one another). It was also interesting to read about the characters struggling with what is right and wrong vs what they are, or aren't, willing to do to achieve their goals.

As for what didn't work for me - I wasn't expecting a future "Rome" to be the invaders in this historical, fantasy based version of China. The modern technologies mentioned, and use of weaponry and machinery, felt awkward to read about and out of place in the world. I also found myself skimming through parts of the story as the main character (Ruying) would go off on long-winded, repetitive internal monologues that would be pages long. In fact, I really didn't like Ruying at all. I found her to be hypocritical, cowardly, and naïve - to the point where I was literally rolling my eyes at some of her words and actions. With this only being the first book I'm sure this was intentional to show Ruying's growth, however, her "growth" so far at the end of this one was negligible. And it only happened when someone she cares about became involved. Outside of this I did enjoy reading about her interactions with her sister and would like to see more of their relationship. Really, I am interested in how all of the characters (Baihu, Antony, Meiyu, etc.) will progress in the next book, and to learn more of their backgrounds and motivations.

Overall, I feel like the bones of a good book are present in To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, but the execution fell short. I did get through this rather quickly, and the parts that I did like kept me from rating this below three stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Extremely turned off by the premise, especially with a romance at the heart of it. Gorgeous cover though.

This book might have some of the most morally gray characters I have ever seen, and I may or may not be rethinking my taste in book characters...

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is a YA fantasy novel reminiscent of R.F. Kuang's Poppy War series in that it deals with themes of oppression and loss of a cultural identity. I've seen a lot of people arguing over whether or not this is classified as a "colonizer romance," which I'm not sure about yet. The story has the potential to go that way (and it really is set up for that), but the title of the next book suggests that maybe situations will change.
Ruying is a girl who has power over Death and who catches the attention of Antony, a prince of the invading country (Rome). He demands that she work for him if she wishes to survive, and so Ruying becomes embroiled in politics and a war she never wanted to be involved in. Most of the story revolves around Ruying's struggles with her morality as part of her wants to protect her country, and the other part has fallen victim to Antony's manipulation. The pacing wasn't incredibly fast, but I read the book fairly quickly, and the ending sets up for an intriguing book two.
I think the thing about this book that turns people away is that none of the characters are really "likable," and I'm not sure that they're supposed to be. Ruying makes questionable decisions to ensure the survival of herself and her family, and while the reader may not agree with her, I saw it as a fairly realistic portrayal of a girl that isn't a "hero," she's just a girl. Antony is kind to Ruying, but mostly because he wants to manipulate her. His actions regarding characters besides Ruying are despicable (which is why this book has so much controversy with the perceived "romance" between the two of them). Baihu and Meiya also have flaws that seem to dominate their personalities, and while this makes the story interesting, it also makes it difficult to find someone to root for.
Filled with questionable morals, rich magic, and beautiful writing, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods promises an intriguing YA fantasy series about the costs of oppression.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.75/5

*I received an e-arc from the publisher via Netgalley for review. Thank you for the opportunity. All thoughts are my own*

I thought this was a solid debut from Molly X. Chang! I truly appreciated her author’s note which made me aware of what she was trying to do with this book before going in. Definitely read it before reading the book. Trigger warnings: drug addiction, grief after loss, executions, and experimentation

“Heroes die, cowards live”. Ruying will do ANYTHING to keep herself and her family safe. I’m making this brief, as I don’t want to spoil anything, but I enjoyed watching Ruying grow from start to finish. I am excited for the next book in the series and anxious to see what happens next!

There is no romance in this book. I don't know why it's tagged as a romance but it most certainly is not.

I don't have a problem with that though. I didn't come to this book for romance. I wanted to read about a protagonist with death magic, trying to stem the tides of war and that's what I got.

I would recommend this book to people who like Ursula K. Le Guin, that's what this book reads like. Because there's some sci-fi, some fantasy, a little bit of action and world building but it's VERY introspective and heavy on exploring themes. I think if you love The Left Hand of Darkness, you'll love To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. Although this book is WAY faster paced than The Left Hand of Darkness, and that's a good thing.

The prose is very lovely. In fact, the narration is so good that sometimes the dialog just fell flat by comparison.

This also read like a psychological thriller to me because the manipulation was A LOT. When she started to catch feelings for the prince, I was like "girl, run!" With the prince's every word, it feels like he's trying to trap her in an abusive relationship. I hate it and I hate him.

My main criticism is that there aren't trigger warnings for this book. There's violence, drug abuse, child abuse, child death, medical trauma, needles, and while there's no romantic relationship between Ruying and Antony, it FEELS like an abusive relationship. So anyone who could be triggered by reading about abusive relationships should also steer clear.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC!

Honestly. Only got to 30% until I DNF'd. Apologies but this book did not keep me interested. Not sure if it was the characters or the writing or the plot. But it was something. So, it's a 2 star for me.

I could not finish the book. This book's writing style was really hard to get through and there was not enough in it to keep me interested otherwise. DNF at 10%

I earnestly hoped to enjoy this book and to be able to show it some love in the reviews after the author was victimized by the negative review-bombing fiasco several months ago. I tried to read as little of the synopsis or subsequent reader commentary as possible so as not to influence my expectations or my experience. Unfortunately, I've tried picking it up so many times, but I'm just not connecting with this book. I think it has a lot of potential, and the author has lot of talent, but this book just isn't captivating my attention the way I hoped, and I ended up skimming large portions rather than reading deeply, and I ultimately DNFed. My review only pertains to the portion that I read.

The prose is very lyrical and descriptive, which I felt skilfully complemented the setting and themes, however it might have been employed a little more judiciously to balance the tone and heighten its impact. The storytelling was not as effective or engaging as I hoped, and I found myself struggling to sustain my interest in the characters or the plot. A more diligent editor could have made a big difference, and I feel the author was shortchanged in this regard. The main character is messy and unlikeable (which are not necessarily cons in my opinion, depending on how well the author can execute it). She has a terrifying power, but she is trapped in a terrifying situation, so she makes terrible decisions, which can be both frustrating to read and still (hopefully) part of her character growth. My main issue is with the dynamic and the romance with the other (completely awful) main character. Without weighing in on the politics of it, which feels outside of my lane, I will say that for me, enemies-to-lovers, especially with villain characters, have to be executed extremely thoughtfully to not give me the ick, and this one was not. It felt gross even factoring out the colonizer aspect. Stories like this rarely work for me because I hold onto grudges like nobody's business, and if a villain did some unforgivable shit I'd be plotting his painful demise, not swooning over his smile.

Your mileage, of course, may vary, but after reading other reviews I feel comfortable that DNFing this book was the right choice for me.

I'm thankful to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley for providing me with a free advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

****** Thank You Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey and Molly X Chang for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review ***

Mini Review:
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang was an good read. I enjoyed how we progressively see the main character become corrupt out of the need for survival in a very unforgiving world. Ruying's character development was slow but worthwhile.
I enjoyed that it wasnt your typical Fantasy world but one inspired by Chinese Myth. Not to mention, the complexity of the characters we meet. It's one of the first books I have read in a while in where the love interest is a true villain in every sense of the word, not just morally grey. And while I usually am rooting for the villain, in this case, I cant say I liked him too much. By the end of the book, I was rooting for his death.

All in all, I give this book a 3/5.

I requested this book because of all the drama with the negative reviews and wanted to give the author some love. However, I just couldn’t get into this story. I was hopeful for this book and am sad that I just didn’t connect with the story or characters. I loved the forward from the author but then felt a little let down when reading the story and trying to connect the author’s motivation for writing and the end product.

What a let down.

I requested this book after the big controversy earlier this year revolving around this novel and a couple others who were victims of review bombing by another debut author who shall not be named. Because of this, I wanted to get the book to support the author and read more diverse stories. Unfortunately... this one just wasn't that good.

The concept is great: a girl is able to harness the power of Death but doesn't use it against the Empire who is basically committing genocide against her people because she doesn't want the repercussions to fall to her family. However, almost nothing is executed properly and leads to very clunky storytelling.

First, how did the Romans discover a portal in the sky that leads to Pangu (aka an alternate realm version of China)? This is never explicitly discussed, and we also aren't told too much about their time period in the other universe (cars and guns and planes exist, but I'm not sure whether these are early models or present day models for us). It's all very confusing and we could have used a lot more backstory to develop a reason for the current plotline.

Second, Ruying is just so annoying. She's worried about keeping her family safe but does nothing to actually keep them safe. She never really takes action and instead just kind of falls into different positions. It seems like all decisions are made for her, whether she realizes it or not.

Third - the romance. YUCK. Not only is it not believable in regards to the timeframe, but it's also unbelievable that a girl would fall in love with the ruler of the Empire who is fighting to kill all of her people. People mentioned that this story reminded them of Zutara from Avatar, and while I never shipped them, I could at least see chemistry between those two. These two have nothing?? He smiles and she fell in love - that's it. She's also supposed to be used as his court assassin, but we only see one instance where she does ANYTHING and there's no real action to it.

Overall, this book is a dud and I'm not interested in continuing the series. Was it the worst book I've ever read? No, not even close (hence the two stars), but it definitely isn't something you should waste your time with.

It almost was there! The romance was not it and at times the writing felt as though the author didn't trust us enough. Ruying was not my favorite. The historical aspect was awesome and I do think the author did a great job of demonstrating how and why a ruler may make the decisions they do in war. Would read the sequels!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the arc!
What a stunning cover?! I had to grab a copy of this when I saw this cover. This is an absolutely epic fantasy based on Manchuria with magic, villains, and a pretty good enemies to lovers arc.
I was initially drawn to this book because of the fall in love with the villain trope and it did not disappoint! This type of trope is meant to be messy and complicated with The themes of good and bad pretty prevalent throughout the story. The corruption and intrigue in the story are definitely worth checking out!

Compelling story with an execution that was lacking. The writing was super repetitive, which was exhausting, and the romance was quite horrifying, though I’m sure it’s meant to be. I found the characters had a lot of potential, and I’m not one who needs to like the main character which is good because Ruying is pretty unlikable and often makes terrible decisions. But also who’s to say in an impossible situation, any of us would make better ones? It felt pretty realistic in that way. I don’t like that the book did a lot of tell instead of show. Like saying Ruying was smart when she really doesn’t ever come off that way. I don’t love all the editorialising about war in general and justifications for violence but that’s just a me thing. I found blending history with fantasy pretty fascinating and based on the intro, I went into a pretty deep dive about the devastating Manchurian history that helped shape the narrative. This is a debut book, so I’m hoping future books have tighter writing and better development and world building and less repetition. Again, it was an interesting enough story that I would definitely read the next book in the series. Solid 3-star read.

If you mean it when you say you want the main character to fall for the villain, this book is 100% for you! There's a bit of an info dump at the beginning, but ramps up into an expanded world fairly quickly after that. The characters are fully developed and keep you interested the whole way through, even if they're a bit unpleasant. Overall, this was a good time!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

I think this might be my problem, but I couldn't get into this book. The world building felt really cool but so big and confusing that it put me off and I didn't pick the book up again. I do want to give this book a second try later, maybe if I'm in a fantasy mood I'll click with it.

I was excited to read this but due to the discourse with the author as well as other reviewers this has given me a bad taste in my mouth and maybe I would enjoy it more If i didn't know those things but i could've cared less about the characters and the romance was gross.

"To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods" is a captivating read with an intriguing plot. Ruying's moral dilemmas are compelling, though some plot twists felt predictable. The mix of magic and technology is engaging, but the pacing occasionally drags. Overall, a solid but uneven fantasy.