3.5 stars ! I really enjoyed reading this one. I loved how different it was from things I have read recently. The Irish mythology included in the book was really interesting. The back and forth banter between the two main characters was top notch. I loved their chemistry and pull towards each other. Parts towards the ending were a little bit confusing involving the explaining of the magic and then the ending was so crazy abrupt. I would have loved this book more had the ending been a little different. I do recommend giving this a try if you enjoy romantasy or period romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Gods Time forgot by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez is a time period fantasy that is fun, funny, as well as glamorous. Definitely recommended to fans for epic fantasy stories.

I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

Take the Gilded Age and Bridgerton worlds and add a cursed pool, accusations of witchcraft, a horrible mother, a twisted friendship, family issues, and 2 gods forced to see how deep their love truly is. Mix it up, add a slight love triangle, and you will have "The Gods Time Forgot."

First, I love this cover art; it is absolutely stunning and builds excitement in seeing what is between the spine.

The story was good. I had never read Irish mythology before, so this was a totally new cast of gods for me. The story fell a bit flat for me because I have no prior knowledge of the gods in this world. I struggled with the lack of information we get on the relationship between Rua and Finn, Rua and her sisters, and even Emma and her lady's maid. I think I need that piece to make me whole in this world, even though, as the story goes on, we find out hidden secrets. I personally needed more. The pacing was a bit slow for me; the cover gives the idea of action, action, action, action, but it was a bit slow.

This book could have been amazing if a little more attention to detail had been paid. However, I still enjoyed the read and am interested in what happens with Rua and Finn in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press, and Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez for providing access to this book's ARC.

This is a romantasy with Irish mythology influence that captured my attention from page one. I love the FMC Rua and how relatable she is. I laughed so many times at her inner monologue and her rebuttals towards other characters. The story took a little while to build up but once it did…WOW! I love the complexities of Rua and Finn’s “backstory”!

My favorite aspects of this story lies in the dialogue. The discussions between characters was so organic that I could vividly picture the scenes in my head. As an avid fantasy lover, this did lack some of the fantastical elements that I love BUT I was given enough to keep me interested throughout the book! A word of caution…this story leans more towards historical fiction and romance than fantasy. If you’re going into this thinking you’ll see dragons and goblins and such you won’t get it. BUT this doesn’t take away from the story AT ALL. I think it adds more depth and relatability towards the plot.

I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I have mixed feelings about this Irish-mythology meets the Gilded Age romantasy. For the first 80% of the book, I was hooked. Then the last 20% just... eh.

I'd heard such great things about this book that as soon as I saw it on Netgalley I wanted to read it. We have a heroine who emerges from a hole in the forest with no memories, except that she is definitely not the Gilded Age heiress that everyone thinks she is. The only one who knows something is up is her maid, who, along with the heiress, was deeply involved in worshipping a trio of Irish goddesses. Our FMC, Rua, is carted off to Gilded Age New York by the heiresses parents, who are determined to break into society (think diamond princesses, Vanderbilts vs. Astors, etc.). Our MMC is a young Irish lord with a mysterious past who is determined to make the right moves in New York so that he can continue to support the charities that are important to him. Rua threatens everything he is trying to build with her non-traditional behaviors and scandalous past. But they are both attracted to each other, and can't help but feel that this isn't the first time that they've met.

Sounds promising! And it was. The first 80% was great. I was invested in Rua and her mystery, her romance, and rooting for the characters to have a happy ending that you know was once denied them. The conflicts with New York society were interesting and you really felt bad for Rua.

And then the last 20% of the book happened. Suddenly the pace seemed weird, characters were making decisions that came out of nowhere in a way to move the plot forward, entire plot points were just... dropped, and by the end... I wasn't rooting for Rua and her romance anymore. In fact, I was pretty eh about both of our main characters. Their love was toxic, but I was unsure if that was what I was supposed to understand at the end of the book, or if I was supposed to continue rooting for these two people who I no longer cared for.

I fully appreciate that other people may love this book, and I can see why. But I admit that I was disappointed in the end after loving the rest of the book.

I was very excited to read this book because I love both romantasy and stories that intertwine mythology/folklore. Unfortunately, I was really let down by this book and felt that it could've been so much better.

To begin with the characters, I was constantly annoyed by the FMC. Waking up in the Gilded Age in New York, she is mistaken for the daughter of a high class family. It'd be understandable if she was confused and anxious about why she's in the situation she's in. Instead, she acts as though she doesn't really care to discover why and instead acts like a brat throughout the story. She makes no attempt to protect herself during social situations and is constantly lamenting about how she's not like the other women of the time. If the intention was for the reader to feel bad for the FMC, I definitely didn't and just found myself frustrated by everything she did. The MMC was interesting, and I did like how we got to read his POV.

But I really didn't like the insta-love aspect of this book. And I'm not saying that as an insta-love hater, some of my favorite romantasy books include fated mates and insta-love. But it really didn't hit right in this book. We don't really understand the history of the two main characters until much later in the story, so it's really just a guy immediately falling in love with a girl who's different from all the other girls. The romance between the two was written very much as telling and now showing, show it was hard to become invested in them and root for their relationship.

The plot itself was ok, but it definitely felt rushed and incomplete. While this book is supposed to be romantasy, the vast majority of the book is about the FMC going to parties and doing things that should definitely have ruined her reputation in her society. There is an aspect of the FMC regaining some of her memories and that's where the Irish folklore came in, but it was a very minimal aspect of the book and didn't live up to the expectations. The writing as a whole seemed very much like a bunch of info-dumps and felt much too telling and less showing. In general, I feel like the story could be so much better if the folklore was integrated into the book in a better way and if the FMC was almost completely different.

The ending of the book felt very rushed and as though the author just wanted to give the MCs a supposedly happy ending as quickly as possible while ignoring all of the conflicts and issues addressed throughout the rest of the book. If there's going to be a sequel, the ending might be a bit better, but even so, the ending was not great.

So incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to read this book! The Gods Time Forgot was such a unique concept and I was captivated the moment I read the blurb. The way Kelsie Gonzalez was able to paint such a vivid representation of the world she created was absolutely captivating and the twists and turns had me glued to my seat hurtling towards the end just so I could see how the story unfolded. I can't wait to see a copy of this on my shelves when it hits the bookstores, from the story, the characters and even the cover art - The Gods Time Forgot will be forever etched in my mind. Thankyou so much for allowing me to read this early!

I received an advanced copy of The Gods Time Forgot from Crooked Lane Books through Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.

When Rua wakes up with no memories except for her name, is mistaken for someone who she's certain is not her and has to figure out how to navigate a society she knows nothing about, all while trying to figure out who she really is, I had a feeling I would be in for a wild ride. The Gods Time Forgot was an interesting story, but it wasn't everything I hoped it would be. I did finish it, though after doing so, I almost wish I hadn't.

Rua was an unbelievably frustrating character. I cannot even begin to explain how many times she talked about having to fit in and not arouse suspicion, only to turn around and do precisely that. I get it, we can't have a female main character these days who isn't a bada** back-talking machine, who lives for violence and banter, but holy cow, did Rua make me want to tear my hair out. There were so many ways she could have navigated the situations she was in without causing a scene every single time, but that's exactly what she did. Then, she had the audacity to be surprised that people were saying mean things about her and didn't like her. I'm sorry, but you were well aware of the conventions of this society and how it operated. Welcome to the consequences of your actions. I had very little sympathy for Rua, if you couldn't tell.

As for the other main character, Finn was a wishy-washy mess, and I honestly have nothing else to say about him.

The plot was ... well, I'm not sure what the plot was. I thought it was supposed to be about Rua getting her memories back, but that gets stuffed into a corner on the opposite side of the mansion for three-quarters of the book. Most of the book was about Rua poorly navigating New York high society, and I couldn't determine what the point of it all was. The answers to all of her questions are literally standing right next to her, and she just doesn't ask. And when she does ask and gets a roundabout answer, she doesn't push. She doesn't try harder. I don't know. Seemed a little silly.

I have a whole rant about the ending of this book that I will not go into because of spoilers, but that ending was not it. When nothing had been resolved but I only had five pages left, I knew I wasn't going to like whatever happened, and lo and behold, I did not. It made absolutely no sense and didn't truly resolve anything. Maybe that's a spoiler in itself, but yeah. Ending = no good. ALSO! The title of the book is a spoiler. It made some of the "twists" utterly pointless because you already know because the title practically tells you. Ugh.

I could say more, but I think you probably get the picture. The Gods Time Forgot was not at all what I was expecting in both good and bad ways. I kept reading because I was curious to see where the story would go, but I was ultimately disappointed by everything. This was not the book for me, but if you're looking for a historical romance with a hint of magic, it might work for you.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me.
It is classed as an adult romantasy and for me felt quite juvenile and lacking in the fantasy at times. The plot didn't seem to really go anywhere and didn't engage me as a reader. The writing style itself was fine but the pacing is slow and fell flat. I came very close to DNFing the book and honestly by the end, I wish I had.
Thank you netgalley for my ARC copy in return for an honest review.

✨ARC Review✨

Things I love:

Mythology (Irish in this instance)
Gilded Age NYC
Star crossed lovers
An unhinged give-no-fvcks FMC
A gorgeous Irish lord with a moral compass

This book combines all of these things and I loved it. I really had very little idea what I was getting into when I requested this ARC. I saw Gilded Age and clicked request so fast.

Emma Harrington has been lost in the woods near her upstate NY country home when she finally emerges from what we’ll soon learn is a hellmouth.

The people who find her lead her back to her wealthy family’s home and she tries to tell them she isn’t Emma. She says her name is Rua. This is all she can remember, but she doesn’t get to share that much before she’s sedated by the doctor.

Her mother, Flossie, is an absolute nightmare - a grasping, clawing her way up the social ladder kind of person and she never misses a chance to punch down at Emma/Rua.

Flossie’s social climbing schemes require them to go to Manhattan to attend all the parties and events. It’s here that Rua, still pretending to be Emma, meets Finn, Lord of Donore. They have an instant connection and as Rua starts to remember snippets, she thinks she remembers Finn too.

This book does an excellent job of combining Irish lore, an amnesiac woman trying to remember anything, and all the goings-on of the wicked Four Hundred (Gilded Age society.)

I don’t want to go into too much detail because it was wonderful to learn alongside Rua and Finn and discover if they did know each other before and how.

I received this eARC via #netgalley and @alcovepress. All thoughts are mine alone.

#booksbooksbooks #historicalromance #historicalfantasy #irishmythology #gildedagefiction #gildedage #thegodstimeforgot #kelsiesheridangonzalez #bookrecs #bookreview

This book gave me serious Outlander vibes and I was here for it!

Set in 1870 Rua wakes up in Emma’s body with no memory of how she got there or who she is. Navigating society at this time is proving very difficult.

I really loved the chemistry between Rua and Finn and how they’re both trying to fit in.
I did find the middle dragged a little and felt a bit repetitive but the ending really hooked me, I liked how everything unfolded and Rua got her memories back.

I did finish the book with some questions and wonder if this will be a series to continue the story.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! In exchange I am happy to give my honest review.

OH. MY. GAWD!! This completely knocked my socks off in every possible way! When I saw that this story takes place in the 1800's, I was beyond excited. BUT THEN THE MMC IS AN IRISH LORD. I never stood a chance.

We start off with our FMC, crawling out of a tight hole in the ground and her only memory being her name, Rua. Covered in blood and confused, people surround her and inform her she is the missing Emma Harrington. After much fighting and confusion, she is dragged to Emma Harrington's summer home and thrown into this life of society and propriety. Struggling with her situation, she needs to find out her past and determine why she is here in the first place.

Our MMC, Finn, is a recently immigrated Irish Lord that has come to New York to make a difference. He is establishing himself in the old money community and everything he has dreamed for himself is coming to fruition. That is until a certain Miss Harrington barrels into his life, awakening a part of himself that had been dormant.

Rua and Finn are both shocked at the undeniable attraction to one another, finding themselves constantly pulled into each others orbit. Flashes of a past start to overwhelm them both and they need to decide what is more important to them. The life they are living now, or the past that haunts them both.

This was an absolute joy to read! It was new, refreshing and exactly the fantasy I was looking for. I cannot wait to suggest this to literally anyone that speaks to me!

4.5/5 stars

Note: I did have a chance to Beta read this, and it has changed in the best way possible in my opinion. I can tell a lot of work, editing, and time went into this final version of the book and I couldn't be prouder!

The goods:
- Rua's personality is honestly something I aim to achieve. While she's trying to figure herself out, she still has traits where she's true to herself.
- This book has a lot of yearning, which I fully appreciated. I loved the insight into the time period.
- I loved all the connections to Irish mythology.
- If you're looking for Bridgeton vibes, this book fits it. I felt like I could imagine everything clearly and felt like I was in every ball, carriage, and library scene.

The loss of a half star:
- I'm not 100% sure where the book will go. If this is a standalone, I feel like I was left with too many questions. If there's a series, I feel like I'd need to read book 2 to fully finish rating book 1.

Overall, if you're hankering for a book with yearning, myths, and high society settings, this should be your next read.

3 Stars:
Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an E-ARC of The Gods Time Forgot. This book starts off with us meeting Emma after being found in the woods. We come to learn that Emma is actually Rua and we do not know where the real Emma is or who Rua is. Rua has to pretend to be Emma in society and slowly regains bits of her memory. We meet Finn and an enemies to lovers romance begins. The two slowly learn that they are more connected than it seems. The idea of this book was cool with including Irish mythology but I feel like something was missing. It took me a long time to get into the book and overall was just an okay read.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me for a couple of reasons. For an adult novel, I found that it read a bit juvenile. While I didn’t dislike the romance, I felt like a lot of their chemistry was told rather than shown (but I feel that way for a lot of books). I found the plot to be lacking too. The main overarching plot was that the FMC doesn’t remember who she is or what’s going on and for most, if not all, of the book, it didn’t feel like she was really seeking answers, she was just along for the ride. A lot of her lack of knowledge could have been resolved by speaking with one of the characters who had an idea of what happened and it wasn’t very clear why she didn’t ask her. Most of the plot just ended up being Rua going along with the events presented by high society, which I did enjoy and I enjoyed the Gilded Age setting, but it just felt like there should have been a more complex way for her to find answers than she did. She would have random flashbacks and it wasn’t very clear why, so it felt like her uncovering the truth wasn’t very well thought out. I also found Finn’s character to be very underdeveloped because towards the end of the book, there are big reveals about who he is and how he’s related to Rua, but for the majority of the book we don’t really know much about his past or who he is aside from being a love interest. Around 80% of the way through the book, I felt like character motivations and decisions/behavior were a bit weird, as if the author was trying to create some kind of push-pull dynamic why things couldn’t resolve, but it didn’t really make much sense to me. I do like that this book was a stand-alone, but there were just a lot of things that didn’t work for me to make this a book that I’d really love.

Review of "The Gods Time Forgot" by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez

⭐ 5/5 Stars (can I give it more??)

It’s official: Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez has made me a fan of historical fantasy. From the very first page, I was hooked on Rua's mystery - who she was, where she came from, and what secrets her lost memories held. As she navigates the glittering but treacherous world of Gilded Age Manhattan, her chemistry with Finn crackles with tension, longing, and a deep, fated connection that kept me obsessed.

The way their love unfolds feels so natural yet utterly inevitable. The glances. The tension. Every piece of their past slowly slotting into place. It all built toward a romance that felt both timeless and unshakable. And the longing? Absolutely unmatched. Rua and Finn’s story is filled with that delicious ache of two souls meant for each other but kept apart by forces beyond their control.

Beyond the romance, I loved the story's pacing. The mix of present-day intrigue and flashbacks revealing their Celtic pasts kept me fully invested. Every revelation added another layer to the mystery, and I was just as desperate as Rua to uncover the truth. The blend of mythology, history, and love created a world that was both enchanting and dangerous.

This book is about love, destiny, and the hope that no matter how much time passes, some bonds can never be broken. If you love historical fantasy, fated romance, or just a story that will completely sweep you away, do not miss this one. I’ll be waiting with bated breath for every book Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez writes next!

I was generously provided an ARC by Alcove Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own ♡

Review posted on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7308491135
And StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/6bcd4552-8a36-469c-9fcd-4ba7c636b206

The blend of Irish mythology and 19th century New York society was such an intriguing and unique mix. This definitely leans into the romance aspect of the story and has more of a Bridgerton vibe mixed with myth and magic. The story did start to unfold slowly for me, but still the ending felt rushed and abrupt which was somewhat unsatisfying. I would have loved an epilogue to have a bit more closure, but the main storyline is nicely wrapped up. Despite the abrupt ending and slow start, I did really enjoy the story and its unique premise.

While I loved the premise of this book and adored the tension between Ryan and Finn, something about it just didn't hit the mark for me as much as I'd hoped!

(3.5 stars).

I enjoyed the premise of this book, which read like a (ya version of a) Mills & Boon/historical romance set in a fantasy world. The middle section was the strongest, as the author built the tension and romance between Finn and Rua well. However, I found the world-building in the beginning a bit clunky. For me, Rua knew too much about Manhattan, and the modern world for a goddess newly arrived from a parallel version of Ireland. Likewise, the novel's ending felt slightly rushed and confusing, but I am glad that it was predominantly happy. Furthermore, whilst I do like standalone fantasy books, I think that this story could have benefited from being a duology. The author would then have been able to base more of the story in Rua and Finn's home realm, and address/resolve the conflict between Rua and Madb upon Rua's return return.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Gods Time Forgot was one of my 2025 most anticipated releases and I'm super grateful I got an ARC for it. I'm a sucker for anything that's a retelling of any culture's mythology or mythology-inspired, so once I heard that this was 1870s New York City meets Irish mythology, I knew I couldn't pass it up. I feel like there aren't enough stories out there that are set during the Gilded Age so I knew this was also something I wanted to read about.

While I did enjoy some aspects of the story, there's also a lot that I felt was missing or I needed more of. The story felt very repetitive at times when Rua would go to a ball/social event with her "family," she acts out because she's the only person in the room with more than 2 brain cells and thinks that the customs and rules of NYC high society are stupid, everyone shuns her and gives her the stink eye, Flossie Harrington (ugh, I hate that nickname) threatens to send her to an asylum, her family gets embarrassed to then get her ass saved by Lord Donore and no one wants to disappoint Lord Donore because he's a rich, eligible bachelor that people want their daughters to marry.

There were parts of the story that seemed more drama-packed because of Manhattan's high society culture and lifestyle and Rua struggling to fit into a life that wasn't hers to begin with rather than the fantasy part of the romantasy (more on this later), but I personally didn't mind it at all because I like books where we get to sneak a peek at the happenings of the upper class and see how they live with their frivolous customs and mannerisms. They're so out of touch that I can't help but find it somewhat amusing to read about but I can see how people would easily get bored of reading about Rua going to another ball or going to the seamstress to get gowns made for her. The Harringtons remind me of the Featheringtons from Bridgerton if you've watched the show at all.

Now, my biggest gripe with this book is the fantasy portion, or lack thereof. I didn't feel like there was a whole ton of "fantasy" in the "romantasy" that this book was marketed as. There's aspects of Irish mythology woven throughout the story and it does tie in with Rua and Finn, but it didn't become a major aspect of the story until literally the last 20% of the book. I remember hitting the 80% mark and thinking to myself, "So...where does the fantasy aspect come in?" I know a big part of this is because Rua shows up with no recollection of her past life and has to impersonate Emma Harrington, the Harringtons' missing daughter, but once Rua starts finding out more about Emma's life, it all felt like a historical fiction book where a girl tries to fit in with NYC upper society by going to balls and keeping up with public appearances with a side of "she finds out that the girl she's pretending to be dabbled in the occult and witchcraft." Sure, there are brief flashbacks here and there once Rua starts to gain her memories back but they weren't long or frequent enough for me to feel like there was a prominent fantasy aspect in the story.

The entire ending of the story felt extremely rushed and ended abruptly. I feel like the author got so caught up in trying to have Rua fit in with society that she almost forgot to explain why Rua got there in the first place and how Finn ties into it all. I don't know if this is a new trend with books now because I felt this happened with 3/4 of the most recent ARCs I read or if this is just because I'm reading and reviewing the ARC so there's no guarantee that this is how the actual published work is going to end, but the ending felt as if the author tried to tie everything up in a nice little bow and used a ton of oh-so-convenient plot devices to make the ending feel complete. There was a lot more action in the last 20% of the book than there was in the first 80% but it also ended as quickly as it came which was disappointing, to say the least. (The reasoning behind Emma going missing is also really stupid, too. I won't say how or why but I couldn't roll my eyes any harder.)

The romance was definitely there, and there was a lot of drama to go with it, too. There is a love triangle involved so if you like love triangles more than I do, you might enjoy reading about Rua, Finn, and Annette. I don't like love triangles because most of them aren't really a true triangle per se and it's somewhat obvious who the main character and/or main love interest is going to end up with and this was one of those situations. This is NOT a spicy romantasy if anyone was looking for that, so if you read clean romance or like closed-door books over open-door, this might be the romantasy book for you! I don't mind either way, but I did like Rua and Finn's connection and that deja vu feeling they had with each other.

Overall, I would say I enjoyed it and I liked the writing, but I felt the fantasy aspect of the story could've been more prominent. It's marketed as a romantasy, and while both aspects were there and the romance between Rua and Finn plays a large part in the plot, the fantasy aspect of it didn't really play a huge role until the last few pages and then abruptly stopped. While I did enjoy the Irish mythology woven through the story and the decadence of the upper class throughout the story--this isn't a topic I know a whole ton about so I enjoyed learning more about it!--the lack of fantasy aspects up until the last bit of the story sort of offsets everything.