I really enjoyed this book! It was a perfect blend of a modern alternate reality in a fantasy setting. I also appreciate that this book takes inspiration from China's Century of Humiliation. There is a lot of space in the story to explore the tensions between making bad choices for good reasons and the complexity of identity-based obligations. Watching the evolution of the main character's (Ruying's) stances was also interesting as she weighed her choices and made her decisions.

The story is mainly narrated by Ruying, with the exception of one chapter. I honestly did not like this perspective switch because it felt random, and like an unnecessary attempt to build suspense. A major aspect of this story is Ruying's struggle to determine who she can trust and who will deliver on their promises, and having a chapter narrated from another character's perspective breaks the effect of readers having only the same information as Ruying.

The pacing was mostly okay. I wish that some backstories had been more developed, particularly Ruying's childhood relationship with her sister, Meiya. During some of their interactions, it felt like I was missing some context or aspect of their history that would help explain why their interactions are the way they are. It also seemed that most of the book was Ruying thinking about her current state instead of things happening. Although there are some action scenes, I definitely wanted more of them because they were descriptively written and added lots of excitement.

Overall, this was a satisfying read full of morally gray characters who are doing the best they can with terrible options. I am looking forward to the sequel and seeing how Ruying continues to navigate the treacherous waters she is in. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historically-inspired fantasy, problematic relationships that are nevertheless alluring, and the journey for characters who discover their own strength when they decide to stop being a pawn for others.

"To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods" is Molly X. Chang's debut novel. I was really torn with this review for a few reasons. First, the book was not what I expected at all. The book is really heavy and deals with very deep issues, which I did not expect going into it. Additionally, I did not like the MMC or the romance at all. The relationship honestly felt very problematic and more of a controlling power dynamic. The ending did make me feel somewhat better, though. I enjoyed the author's writing style as it was very descriptive, but Ruying's thought process did feel repetitive at times. The world-building in the book is intriguing and unique. However, it can sometimes be challenging and could have been explained better/more. I am unsure if parts were left out due to the FMC not knowing it, and we are supposed to be learning as she does, or if it was just a mistake on the author's part. I will probably pick up the next book to see which direction the author plans to go with the series. In the next book, I hope we see more detail on the world-building and magic system.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Really, really heavy book. I think the cover gave me the false impression there was going to be more drama and action, and there was. Between the heavier content with no comedic relief along with the info dumping made it for a slower read. Granted, this novel is rich in detail, culture, and history. Loved the world building and how things tied together in the ending. I just wish that instead of info dumping, it could have been told through Ru discovering x, y, and z instead of it being Antony telling her everything. I also tried so hard to like Antony as a character, and sympathize with his background, but the way he was described with all the sneering and haughty attitude just made him hard to like. I liked this book and thought it was mostly well rounded, I just hope that a few edges can be ironed out before its release.

This is a pretty standard YA fantasy, that has a lot of common themes j have been seeing lately. But I still loved it and cruised through it.

What a great young adult work of fiction this is! And so very captivating. I read in one sitting desperate to know who is telling the truth! Chang has set us up for a series to be remembered I believe. Some books have all the world building in the beginning where this one is built as we read. I really enjoyed that approach. Because while we are learning about Rome, Phantom, and Pangu we are watching Ruying navigate how best to survive. Super great story!

I had high expectations for this novel, but it fell flat. The characters, particularly Antony and Ruying, needed more development, and the supporting cast barely appeared. I couldn't buy into Ruying's decision to abandon everything for a man with troubling beliefs and actions.

While we're told Ruying's powers have consequences, we never see them, and the magic system feels poorly explained. The romance aspect felt forced and unbelievable. Despite struggling through the repetitive writing, I couldn't find much to enjoy. And the alleged enemies-to-lovers trope felt more like a problematic power dynamic than genuine romance.

Overall, the book left me disappointed and craving a more engaging read.

4/5⭐️

I loved so many things about this book. The politics, the setting, and most of all the magic system. I loved the moral battle that ruying faces throughout the book especially love that there is a sequel!

Thank you to random house publishing for the chance to read the book early!

****THIS IS A NETGALLEY ARC REVIEW****

Honestly, I’m just kind of surprised. I thought I’d enjoy this book a lot more than I did, and I just couldn’t find a single thing I really liked about it.

I highly disliked the colonizer/colonized romance, and hated how Stockholm-syndromy it was. Like y’all are going to sit here, look me in the eyes, and tell me that this man with this abusive ass personality is someone I’m supposed to root for as the love interest? Be so for real.

Character-wise, I honestly couldn’t get behind anyone, aside from maybe the sister, but even then she was barely there. I felt like I could root for Ruying in the beginning, but she fell off so fast for me.

The writing just felt rushed. Like, super rushed. I felt like information was being thrown at me at random, and the pacing was super off and it felt like we rushed certain things and took too much time in others. The worldbuilding didn’t make a lot of sense and didn’t feel complete. The organization, in my opinion, didn’t make sense and there were a lot of chapters that I didn’t feel were necessary. Honestly, I just feel confused, so if this review reads like that, that’s definitely why. I just didn’t enjoy this book. I didn’t feel like it was written well, and I just, I don’t know. Do with that what you will, lol.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is at its core supposed to be a story about anti-colonialism. And while the themes are brought up pretty quickly right away, I wish the topic was handled a little bit more intricately and with complexity. It seemed only to be surface-level analysis, focusing instead on the main character's internal struggle, rather than Ruying's character dynamic in the context of the issues brought forth.

My primary concern with this book had to do with Ruying and Antony's relationship dynamic. I had a lot of difficulty sympathizing with Antony even though it is clear to us he is supposed to be the morally grey
The oppressor vs oppressed romance will always be tricky simply because of the power imbalance—add in actual torment done to the oppressed by the hand of the oppressor, it becomes almost impossible to root for. And if we're then made to believe the character dynamics can be reversed and develop into something akin to trust and even love, it's really hard to understand why that would even happen, especially with some weak character exploration.

I already have this book preordered. Just wow, Molly X. Chang has knocked it out of the park with this one. The world-building and characters felt as if they were coming off of the page in front of me and I couldn't get enough. I can't even begin to describe the feeling this book left me, all I know is I am now a fan of the author and I refuse to be anything else but that.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods Is a fantasy that mixes historical conflicts with futuristic science fiction. Inspired by imperial China and Roman oppression and steeped in magic.

The indigenous people are blessed with magical gifts bestowed on them by the old gods while their Roman oppressors used science and advanced technology to their advantage while also crippling the indigenous population with opium addiction. When a girl blessed with the power of death is captured by one of the Roman princes to be used as his weapon will she choose peace or to fight for the freedom of her people.

I thought this story was beautifully written and the world building was well executed. The story was well paced and builds nicely towards and ending that leave you excited for book 2.

I was really excited to read this so going into it my expectations were pretty high. Luckily this book didn’t disappoint! It ended up being a really great read, and I would love to read more by this author one day.

Unfortunately this book did not sit well with me. The world felt very under developed, while at the same time somehow over info-dumping the reader for the first 25%. I am not interested in another story of a colonizer/colonist romance especially with a love interested torturing and imprisoning our main character. I understand that these Romans have technology like airplanes but the world was so strangely built that when our main character is suddenly in a car, I was jolted out of the story and confused about the entire setting. The story was very much show and not tell and wasn’t unique or gripping enough to interest me in furthering the series. Thanks for the opportunity.

This book is something I was not expecting. I think there will be mixed reviews on this book and for good reason. IF you go into this book looking for a romance I think you will be greatly disappointed. This book is at its core about colonialism and the oppressed doing what they need to do to survive. The main character is not trying to save the world and is a scared 19 year old who has lived in a society on the brink of war. The way this book is advertised as a enemies to lovers really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I can't speak from a POC view but the "love story" is very imbalanced. Without giving anything away I think if people go into this realizing its discussion of what defines people at their core and no one is pure evil or pure good then you will enjoy this book. However there were some frustration I had with the magic system.
I felt like first off, if you aren't a fan of prose writing you will quickly get frustrated with this book. The author writes a lot of analogies and almost gives similar Rebecca Ross vibes. The two worlds that are conflicting are Rome and Pangu. I felt like using such a commonly known historical empire that people are going to confuse it with this version of Rome. This Rome is another world (I'm assuming similar to earth,) and had science and modern technology. While Pangu is similar to ancient China with some individuals who have the ability to do magic. This was confusing till half way through the book when they explained the random portal they talk about from the beginning. I appreciate that the author didn't try to info dump everything like a lot of magical systems do but a lot of the information I was missing was a distracting to me when trying to get into the world. I wish there was more of a emphasis on what happen before the characters time and maybe it will be explained in the next books.
Overall from my perspective its an overall good book. I just think if people want a love triangle or major romance you will be greatly disappointed. I appreciate the chance to read this ARC and hope to continue with the story when the second book comes out!

4 stars

Mild spoilers!

[Please mind the author's content/trigger warnings, including drug use, drug addiction, murder, war, and more.]

Pros:
I loved the concept of a clash between magic and technology, and a large scale isekai by way of invasion where our world is the villain! The author did an excellent job staying true to characterizations, motives, and plot threads - at no point did I think "that's out of character" for anyone, or ask myself "What about xyz, wasn't that a point of contention?" It's refreshing to see so much consistency, so much so that even though I knew how certain characters would react in a given situation, I was still dismayed or amused or indignant!

I really enjoyed how much I empathized with Ruying as the victim of wide-scale invasion and colonization, and the large and small ways that affected her as a Pangu person and as a woman. It also played a heavy part in her decisions throughout the book, and I really felt the agony over protecting her family versus betraying her people.

(Very small note, there were a handful of Taylor Swift references I really enjoyed!)

Cons: From the get-go, the author did a great job of making me suspect Prince Antony's motives, leaving me to feel an undercurrent of unease when Antony was on page. Unfortunately it worked too well, and I had trouble connecting with the romantic relationship between him and Ruying, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. The six month time skip didn't help in that regard; I felt there were too few scenes between them for me to really feel what Ruying was feeling for him when she started to feel it - BUT his single chapter POV really helped clear the way in this; honestly, I wish there had been maybe one or two other chapters from his POV, though that would've made a certain revelation pack a little less punch, even though I was waiting for it.

Overall: I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free digital ARC for my honest review!

Freaking PERFECTION. 10/10. This was just so so good. I couldn’t get enough of it and wanted a thousand more pages of this.

Pair this with IRON WIDOW and you'll have the perfect reading combo. Much like Xiran Jay Zhao, Molly X. Chang creates an anime-style world that mixes science and magic, trust and betrayal, and muses on themes of colonialism, patriarchy, and what lines we're willing to cross when our options are war or survival. Ruying is a messy, complex MC whose impossible choices felt real and relatable, and Antony felt equally layered, while also supremely manipulative and dangerous. Looking forward to the next one.

To say I was disappointed in this book would be an understatement. I am not a fan of oppressor romances and the romance dynamics were very off putting in this .

Thank you for the arc

Review publishes on April 10th, 2024

TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS is a collaborator's view of colonization, as a girl with the power to wield death agrees to work with a prince among the colonizers because he promises to use her in pursuit of lasting peace.

Ruying has been trying to keep her twin sister alive and their grandmother cared for even as everything else is falling apart. Their city is divided, literally, with half of it carved away for use by the Roman colonizers from another world who have held the city in their grip for more than two decades. The Romans brought a powerfully addictive drug with them, promising it would unlock the people's magic but all it has brought is pain. After losing their father to the drug, Ruying is trying to wean her sister off of it, bargaining away whatever possessions she must in order to keep her family together. Already in this precarious state, Ruying is unable to say no when a mistake lands her in Roman dungeons, faced with torture and death unless she agrees to help one of the princes with his dreams of peace through Death like only Ruying can wield.

Ruying is a fascinating main character. Normally I don't like characters who make terrible decisions when a better option is clearly available, but that's not quite what's happening here. There's an ongoing discussion of which definition of "better" should be applied. Ruying's choice might not be the one I would make, but I completely understand why she does what she does, and I don't know for sure if I'd actually disagree under the same circumstances. That tension makes for an excellent story, with Ruying fully committing to her choices once they're made, but then remaining open enough to reevaluate her situation as new facts come to light. At her core, her goal is to protect her family at any cost, and that drives her to a great many things which she would not otherwise accept. Ruying isn't the only one making such choices, early on she interacts with a sort of friend who has been collaborating with the Romans in exchange for access and power. She judges him at first, then comes to understand why he does so. Ruying finds herself in a colonized/colonizer romance, always aware of the coercion which is inextricable from her position. She cares for Anthony, but any safety she feels is always at his discretion. He might really love her, but there's no risk for him in that, not really. Whereas Ruying knows that if she loses his favor, she and her family could lose everything in an instant.

The worldbuilding is excellent. It focuses on the people, the language, and culture, frequently including passages and their translations. There are also frequent reminders of how the Roman invasion changed things, never letting the reader forget that it hasn't always been this way, even though for the reader, it has, because this is our first view of this world. As the first book in the series, this doesn't have to resolve any particular major plot point because it's still setting things up for later. Ruying makes an important decision towards the end in a way that serves as an emotional resolution/climax of the story, while establishing a new status quo for the sequel.

I had high hopes for this book purely based on the gorgeous cover and intriguing synopsis.

Unfortunately, that hope was short lived.

The concept of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is so good with the mixture of magic and science. It’s really too bad it took forever for the story to gain any momentum, partly due to the repetitive details and recycled emotions throughout the book.

I hope the follow up novel with make improvements as I do think the ending was a great reveal and look forward to seeing how Ruying will handle the news she is given.