DNF @ 33%

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Gods Time Forgot pairs a synopsis that promises so much with a story that doesn't deliver almost any of it. Romantasy, historical settings, and the amnesia trope are all things I love to read. All these can be found in the book, but the balance makes them hard to appreciate.

"Romantasy" seems to have gathered quite a few definitions, but every single one acknowledges the fantasy element. When reading this book, it was easy to forget that fantasy was supposed to be part of this story. What could've been an interesting use of magic was left behind so the romance plot could be pushed forward. I'm sure this would be a great way to introduce someone to fantasy, but it's not what I'm looking for.

The other issue I had with this book was the multi-POV element. While several POVs in one book was something I didn't love before, it's grown on me over time. However, the POVs in this book feel so similar that it was hard to tell there was more than one. Whether a book is in first person or third, different characters POVs should always feel a little different. I didn't get that in this one.

I also found that a lot of the dialogue felt stiff and unnatural. It was hard to stay in the story with how forced it seemed sometimes.

On a more positive note, the descriptions in this book were beautiful. Outside of the dialogue, there is prose that hooked me. I just wish I had found the actual story as wonderful as the descriptions.

Although I didn't enjoy this book, it isn't one I'd never recommend. I know there are so many specific things that bother me that plenty of other people love. The historical setting was fantastic and I'm sure so many people will love this romance. If you're new to fantasy, or if you like romance-heavy romantasy, this is still a book I'd tell some people to read.

Review on Goodreads (sophreadingbooks https://www.goodreads.com/sophreadingbooks) as of 4/10/2025
Review on Instagram (sophiesreading https://www.instagram.com/sophiesreading/) as of 5/1/2025

The Gods Time Forgot has the kind of synopsis that captured my attention immediately.

I liked the story, and Rua and Finn had the best banter. I enjoyed their chemistry and growth, and the romance in this book really shone through for me.

I did find myself struggling a bit with the pacing, there were long stretches of time that were a real lull in the story. The whole book was building up to an epic conclusion, which was definitely epic, but also seemed to be over very quickly. I would've enjoyed it if it were paced a bit better, and not ending so abruptly.

I enjoyed this read, and I appreciate the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC.

I was so excited to get an arc for The Gods Time Forgot so thank you thank you! I’ve been following Kelsie’s journey on tik tok for years now and I’m so happy to say she did not let me down. This is one of the strongest debuts I’ve read in a while not just in plot but the setting. I find that the Gilded Age is such an underrated time period in fiction so to have a fantasy romance in New York in such a vibrant sliver of history was so refreshing. As a lover of time travel in all forms of media that is where this book sort of lost me but it was more solid as I kept reading! Rua was so easy to fall in love with and root for even if sometimes I wanted to crawl through this book and shake some sense into her myself. Although I’m not an expert by any means on Irish mythology I really enjoyed that aspect of this and it truly felt like the story’s backbone. It was so rich and immersive I ended up on an online deep dive into Irish folk stories so thank you Kelsie for giving me a new hyper fixation. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

The synopsis intrigued me with its mention of Gilded Age meets Irish mythology, with hidden/secret identity and memory loss. It definitely delivered on the Gilded Age and I did like being thrown into this era - I have a love/hate relationship with historical fiction but I did like how this was written.

I did find the book slow paced, I didn’t really get into it until about 75% as we spend so much time following Rua attending balls, not fitting in and being a very un-Gilded Age woman and the minor mentions of Irish mythology felt fairly out of place as they were too open ended. Annoyingly I didn’t find her character that lovable either because she just kept going with it and kept her rebelliousness secret. The interactions with Finn I didn’t find that engaging and I did find his character quite dull. Thankfully I did persevere with the story and from the 75% point the plot and pace really picked up. I did feel the romance quite lacklustre but towards the end the reveals of the mythology kept me much more engaged and then more invested in the couple too.

Overall I gave this book a 3⭐️ rating, I enjoyed the general setting but the slow pace and lacklustre romance had me not engaged in the book for the majority. The ending also just felt a bit rushed and I’d have liked to have more than what felt like the final 5% of the book have any real oomph to it.

In this unique and fascinating historical romantasy novel, readers arrive in Manhattan in 1870, where Rua gets mistaken for the Harringtons’ missing daughter Emma and must step into her life as a society heiress in a world she does not understand. Supposed to stay away from the newly arrived Lord of Donore, Rua has no idea why he seems familiar and can’t seem to avoid him, while Finn, Lord of Donore, wants to play by the rules to get by. As Rua discovers what really happened to Emma and why she keeps running into the Lord of Donore. Inspired by Irish mythology and weaving in some classic romantasy elements into this unique and high stakes historical fantasy novel, readers will love the mix of high society politics, magical mysteries, and forbidden romance. The characters are interesting and complex, and the many motivations at play really immerse readers in the novel because the different storylines are so complex and mysterious. Well-written, intense, and exciting, the world-building in this novel is absolutely fantastic, and the characters’ complexities and relationships really help bring this story to life. A great read for historical fiction and fantasy fans, the mix of magic and mystery will pull readers into this brilliant new novel.

This was both what I was expecting based on the synopsis and not what I was expecting at all, in the best way. I was so sucked in from page one and was just along for the ride. It did take me a min to get my bearings in the beginning but once I got a clear understanding of what was happening. I really enjoyed the characters, I liked Rua and found her to be a formidable lead in this twisty tale. Even the characters that we are meant to hate were written in a way that I still liked them for what they leant to the story. This will probably be a book that I will reread down the line as I feel like i may have missed a few things here and I would like to see what I can pick up on a second pass.

I felt like this story lost the plot a bit. I enjoyed the atmosphere and bits and pieces of the story but as a whole, not the easiest story to enjoy. very rarely do I think stories would enjoy a sequel but I think it would have helped flesh out parts and characters a little more.

This book was an easy read. I felt there wasn't anything very new. The romance was the focus of the story and the characters were very likeable. I do however as a personal preference don't enjoy plots where *spoiler* the characters loved each other in a previous life. The writing was good I just did not feel as invested

I actually really liked this book. I enjoyed the premise and wanted it to keep going. The mistaken identity and intrigue this book had in it was like nothing I’ve read before. Without giving too much away that maid is a piece of work. I love hating her!

I had really high hopes for this book. Not to say I was completely let down but I do feel as though there was a lot of repetitiveness along with other things that just didn't live up to the excitement I felt.

Pros:
*I thought the interactions between characters was well done. The conversation felt very of the time period.
*The book, for the most part, was easy to follow along with. I was never really confused which can happen easily with fantasy books if you aren't paying close attention.
*I did enjoy the FMC and MMC separately.

Cons:
*I don't think the character development progressed along with the small amount of storyline there was. They went from one end of the spectrum to the other. For example: The MMC was drawn to the FMC but kept fighting it all the way until the end of the book when, miraculously, he decides he absolutely has to be with her regardless of if he can fully trust her or not and no matter what could happen to his carefully laid-out plans.
*I felt like the dynamic between the MCs was off. There were moments where I loved them together and then other times when I didn't understand what was going on.
*The one scene at the brothel. I don't understand how it escalated that quickly. Maybe that's just me though.
*I felt as though the middle of the book dragged on and there were events that didn't help build up the storyline.

Overall I don't regret reading it, but it wasn't one that was exceptionally memorable.

Thank you, Alcove Press, for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: Irish Mythology, second chance romance, memory loss
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Rua wakes up not knowing where she is and the only thing she remembers is her name. She meets Finn, and she feels an instant connection with him, as if she has met him before. She needs to figure out who she is and where she comes from, and how to get home.
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Overall, this was a fun book if you like historical fantasy. I liked Rua, but it took me a little bit to get into the story!

I struggled to write this review because while this book was fine, it was also nothing special. Therefore, I have little to say about it.

The romance is basically the entire story. I liked Rua and I liked Finn, but I don’t know that I cared about them being together that much. The romance is flat, and I didn’t feel the chemistry. I’m also not a huge fan of when characters fall in love because they loved each other in a previous life. It feels like short hand for explaining why they fall in love in the present. I want to believe they love each other because the story depicts that, not because the story tells me they love each other.

Most of the stakes in the story aren’t about the fantasy, but instead focus on the stress of trying to fit into high society without knowing all the implicit rules. This left me a little bored because the author doesn’t know enough about the society they’re writing about to make this interesting. They know enough to set a fantasy novel in it, but not enough to have the historic setting be the main focus. The fantasy felt barely there and wasn’t focused on until the last third of the book.

Overall, this book was okay. The prose was pretty fine, no notes. I probably wouldn’t read it a second time.

I never knew I needed a book based on Irish mythology until now! This was super intriguing and the romance was perfection.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an E-Arc of this book. The following is my honest opinion *

3⭐ out 5

I give this book a neutral rating. When I saw this arc, what drew me in was the part that said, "...perfect for fans of Outlander and A Fate Inked in Blood." I am a fan of Outlander and Fate has been in my TBR for some time. I felt like this book would be something I would enjoy. With that being mentioned, I think I might have not been in the right mood for this. I didn't enjoy as much I thought it would. I was not gripped to really find out what happens to the characters/plot for the most part. I would love to pick this up at a different time and see if my perspective changes.

I would recommend this to others. Just because it wasn't my favorite cup, doesn't mean it won't be yours.

rua only knows two things: her name, and that she’s lost her memories. when the wealthy harrington family mistakes rua for their daughter emma, she reluctantly goes along with it. she has no means to get away from the harringtons, and hopes this charade will buy her time to figure out who she and emma really are. soon, she finds herself drawn to the lord of donore, finn, who is somehow familiar to her. as rua and finn work to uncover their shared past, rua is determined to find out what happened to the real emma.

i’m starting to think there are certain tropes/story elements that i only care for in fanfiction. i would normally consider myself a fan of the memory loss and (leaving out the second one since it could be a spoiler) tropes, but this is the second book i’ve read in the past month with those two elements that i really didn’t care for. unfortunately, for this book, not only did the plot not do it for me, i also didn’t absolutely get swept away by the romance, either. this did contain elements of irish mythology, though, which i did find cool, especially since i don’t see that in books very often. overall, this was just an okay read for me.

The Gods Time Forgot was a book that grabbed my attention based on the title and the summary unfortunately this one fell a little flat for me.

Rua is our fmc and the way we are introduced to her is through the fact that she is being rescued by the Harrington family who believe her to be their missing daughter Emma. Rua goes along with this hoping to get some answers around who she really is and why she is where she is but she never really fits. When she is introduced to the Lord of Donore, a newcomer to Manhattan society, she is weirdly drawn to him and finds him familiar.

Finn, the Lord of Donore, is new to Manhattan and he knows to fit in he will need to have connections in high places. He also needs to avoid the mysterious, yet intriguing, Emma Harrington. For some reason Finn has the feeling that he knows Emma and this isn't the first time they've met and he is determined to figure out why.

As these two continue to find themselves drawn together and Rua determined to figure out what is going on, Society creates continued challenges for both of these characters and the question is whether magic and the secrets they hide will be revealed.

As I mentioned, the summary made this one sound interesting but the execution fell a bit flat for me. I didn't really connect with any of the characters as Rua just seemed really confrontational and combative and Finn just seemed to care about what he could get from those around him. Don't get me started about Rua's mother and Annette - both were just horrible. Also, the ending felt rushed to me.

In the end, I'm not sure I would have finished this one if I didn't have to review it but if any of what I mentioned sounds interesting, give it a shot.

Any book set in New York immediately piques my interest, so I was excited to get an Arc of this book, but unfortunately it took me a really long time to actually finish it. The idea of star crossed lovers appeals to me, but the connection between Finn and Rua felt flat. The plot was confusing at times, and I didn't feel drawn into the story the way I wanted to be.

The concept of this book, that it is two people who were from Irish mythology who meet again in 1870s New York, and feel drawn to each other, sounds good. Problem is, for at least 80% of the book they are frustrated, going back and forth with feeling the draw, and doing nothing about it, except, touching hands, or gasp, perhaps a kiss.

I kept waiting for the big reveal, because otherwise it was just a typical Victorian romance with a young lady that didn't fit in with her peers. And the reason she didn't fit in was because she wasn't who they thought she was.

So, if you go into this, realize that this is more a typical romance with hint of the supernatural, more than anything. This was not what I expected from the book, but I kept reading, in case it got better. It did, but it took most of the book to get there.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This novel started off strong with an intriguing concept. The main character, Rua, finds herself in unfamiliar surroundings in the late 1800’s. Those around her believe she has amnesia, but she is convinced she is not who they all think she is. She navigates this new life while trying not to make mistakes that will negatively affect her “family”. As she tries to recover her memories and solve the
mystery of who she is, an undeniable attraction draws Rua and the Irish born Finn over and over again even though he knows he should stay away. The interaction and romance between the two is satisfying to read and I was invested in the outcome of where their paths would lead, However, just as the final arc tension was mounting the story ended. It felt abrupt and frustrating. I truly expected more of a battle between the characters, as if the final chapters were missing. Had the ending gone a little further into the story I would have given it 4 stars.

I LOVED this book so much! The world building is so good. I loved the characters and some of the characters I hated!! UGH- the MOM (iykyk). I loved the slow heat of the sweet romance was really enjoyable as well.