Holy SMOKES this book was fabulous. It was terrifying and exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I tore through it. I couldn’t put it down!! Highly recommend.

This book is predictable, but well done, with Vic’s super-special brother Henry turning out to be … well sure, special, but not as special as she is. For the first portion of the book Vic isn’t fitting in because she has no magic, but she’s sticking around ostensibly to protect her brother but also to try to get closer to her mother, to the people who knew her, to the life her mother had before she had Vic. The life she kept secret from Vic. And it’s intriguing, and the world building is solid, but it’s also very predictable.

Vic is skilled at fighting, good with blades and hand to hand which is fine with human opponents, not so fine when the people she’s fighting have magic. Somehow she manages to impress them with her skills and her stubbornness, which is fine, but then why give her magic at all? If the point is to prove she’s good enough on her own without needing to be one of the special magic kids … why give her magic? It undercuts that whole arc.

I did like the fact that Xan was attracted to her before she found her specialness, though I did roll my eyes at the sex scene which destroyed a room and shattered windows. The scene itself is fine — you know, in a castle where monsters have been set loose and are busy eating the servants, but hey, a girl’s gotta get her O, right? And has to destroy something to prove it was just that good. Again, not badly written, just leaning a little too much into the tropes.

Xan is a man “too big, too much for modern society.” So … what, seven, eight, eleven feet tall? I think it’s nice that Vic isn’t constantly described as tiny or gentle or female or helpless, and Xan does have some personality of his own — mostly being a control freak who’s bad at teaching his people, too easily frustrated, too easily distracted by monsters to see his people as people — and together he and Vic have an adequate chemistry. Personally I didn’t feel them as a couple, but there was some rapport there, at least. Just not enough for me, or not in a way that I, personally, felt.

The writing is good, the pace is good, and the world building is fine. It’s not so much dark academia — almost everyone there save Henry are college graduates. And while there are classes, they’re mostly there for exposition and moments of light bullying. And just because it’s a magic castle where everyone gets a giant apartment sized set of rooms behind magic doors and has a dungeon doesn’t make it gothic. But that’s on the publisher and their attempt to tick boxes. On it’s own, I’d just call this a fantasy college.

This kind of felt more like Buffy being trained by Watchers with less snark and more sulking and insecurity than any shade of academia. Still, it’s an easy read. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book! 📚

3.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed the premise of this story, but there was just something missing for me. The book itself is on the shorter side, but it still felt slightly repetitive and slow. The writing style was great for me, and some chapters had me sat on the edge of my seat, while others just dragged a bit. I was craving a bit more relationship development between the characters, especially Vic and Henry. The entire focus of the beginning of the book was Vic’s determination to protect her brother, but then Henry essentially disappeared for most of the book.

What I liked:
The dark academia setting, the gothic, witchy vibes, and the elements of horror were great! Vic was a good protagonist. She was a strong willed and determined fighter who did not backdown from anyone standing in her way, but she was also extremely vulnerable which is so relatable and REAL. The author did a great job at creating the sense of dread and isolation that Vic was experiencing with her creepy and unsettling descriptions of the overall atmosphere at Avalon Castle. Then we have our tall, dark, and grumpy MMC - wielder of magic and.. other things 👀. Was he much different from our usual MMCs? No, but why change up the recipe to a dish that so many love? I also really enjoyed the humor and banter that the main side characters, Sarah and May, brought to the story.

Overall, We Who Have No Gods was a good start to this world. It wasn’t life changing for me, but I am interested to see where the story goes. If you love dark academia / fantasy settings, extremely slow burn romances, and witch politics - you will enjoy this book.

Review will be posted on socials closer to publication date as requested.

I had higher expectations for this novel, but it failed to hook me. The characters Vic and Xan were amazing, highly dimensional throughout the book. What fell flat for me was the world-building. The dynamic between the Acheron Order, the Brotherhood faction, and the human world just didn’t feel authentic enough. I can’t quite put my finger on what is missing here, but it lacked depth as if the rules of this fictional world didn’t have a solid foundation. At the start of each chapter, there were blurbs from archives and other sources from the world of the Acheron Order, and while this assisted in painting a picture, it was trying to do too much work in establishing the world dynamics. I think it would have been much more captivating to have more characters’ perspectives, maybe even from Henry, so that the contrast between each sibling’s experience at Avalon could have created a clearer understanding in the reader why Born vs Mades vs humans in general was such a point of contention between the Acheron Order and the Brotherhood that war resulted. For the most part, this book was just about Vic getting turned around in Avalon’s halls, attacked by Orcans within the same halls, and thinking through her mother’s death. There wasn’t much constructive space lent towards creating a clear picture of what the Order and Brotherhood stood for, and so to me, the ending was overly dramatic and fell flat. I wasn’t invested in the institution because the politics were murky.

I really did like the premise of this book. Magicals in modern day, fighting to protect the humans from these monsters from hell basically. The storyline though felt like it dragged on. The pacing felt very jerky, where some chapters it flowed beautifully and others felt incredibly slow. Down to its basics the plot is good vs evil where everyone thinks they're the good guy and fighting for their version of "perfect". Vic is one badass woman though and I'm here for her journey sticking it to the order. I'm excited to read the rest of the series and see where the storyline goes though.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for giving me the opportunity to read this early

I love good world-building, and that has just that!

My only qualms with this amazing book is the fact that the protagonist reads much younger than her true age, which can pull you out of the story from time to time. I think the author has a phenomenal writing style, but the pacing varied just a tad too much.

In all, this was incredible, a highly anticipated read for me, that is for certain. Especially following that wild cliffhanger.

dnf @ 5%

i skimmed through later parts before deciding to dnf in case it got better but no dice.

maybe this book just came to me at a bad time. i thought the name was cool and i'd take a chance on it. i didn't realize it was an urban fantasy, which i'm usually not a fan of. i don't know, it just didn't work for me.

i got through the first chapter then skipped ahead to skim through later parts. from the first chapter, the writing felt very dramatic and a tad wattpad-y. the fmc lives a normal life until she's nearly an adult and her parent disappears, leaving her to take care of her kid sibling who drops the ball on her that there's actually a magical underworld/secret society that is hunting for him. from the skimming i did, the characters seemed pretty flat. maybe i'm not the target audience. maybe the book is just derivative and unoriginal.

📚 Wow. This story is one that I genuinely could not put down! The first 100-ish pages were a little slow, but the amount of world building and character information it provided made up for it. As soon as the action picked up I was hooked and found myself fully immersed, not wanting to put the story down. Liza Anderson did a fantastic job with describing the events that unfolded and providing such detail that it was easy to imagine what was happening and how.

📚 I think Anderson hit the nail on the head with how she described the sibling dynamic between Vic and Henry. Vic is a protective big sister, it’s all she has ever known how to do, so the idea of Henry happily following a seemingly dangerous path keeps her on high alert. I appreciate that we see Vic’s internal struggles as the protector. It isn’t always as simple as being the boss, she feels guilt and sadness to see how their relationship changes now that Henry doesn’t “need” Vic anymore.

📚 My only critique is how the characters sometimes acted out of character without (initial) explanation. For example, May was fully ready to throw Vic out of the castle herself simply because of her existence, but then May voluntarily helps Vic and Sarah one night. I do think her actions were fleshed out in a good way, and I enjoyed seeing how she developed throughout the story. I just wish we the “why” behind her change of heart.

Overall, this is an amazing story that ended on a wild cliffhanger! I am so excited for it to publish and follow what comes next! 🤞🏼

Thank you to Ballantine Publishing and NetGalley for the amazing ARC read! 📚

3.5/5 stars

I struggled with making this a 2 or 3, but I actually liked the author’s writing style and the premise was promising for sure. The beginning was killer and instantly hooked me. Vic’s backstory is mysterious and I got excited with the possibilities for later on.

Vic is overall likable. The world the the author creates is soooo interesting with the different types of magic and the Orcans, the Order, and more. The dark, gothic setting reminded me of One Dark Window, which I loved. It kept me motivated to keep reading because I just wanted to learn more about the world.

My main issue was that I felt everything happened too quickly with Vic being allowed in the school. I understood her background was a huge reason, but there was no real catalyst for her to be allowed to stay. It was kind of random? For this reason, it took a little bit for me to be invested in her being there. I really got hooked when Vic entered the dream scene (I won’t say anymore!).

I did like some of Xan and Vic’s interactions and some of their banter, but it was a total missed opportunity to not involve Sarah even more. She could have played a bigger role having been a Made (the Mades plotline was genius, which is why I wish Sarah had played more of a role).

Overall the world building is what would lead me to a sequel (which I hope there is one because THAT ENDING).

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC!

Enjoyed the concept but the way the book is written, everyone sounds younger than they are, even though the protagonist is 25, everything about her reads like a 15-17 yrs old.

This book is like slow-burning emotional damage in the best way. We Who Have No Gods delivers soft rebellion, morally gray vibes, and quiet rage against a system built on fear and control — all wrapped in gorgeous, introspective writing. The main character gives peak “I’m just trying to survive but accidentally became the main character” energy. It’s not action-heavy, but the tension? Immaculate. If you’re into sad girl fantasy, complex feelings, and subtle world-building that hits harder the more you sit with it — this one’s for you.

This was astounding! Admittedly it started out a little slow and I was confused by the premise and where the author was going with the story but as it continued I was sucked in.

FMC: I always love when the FMC is strong and stabby! And Vic is no different! I also love that the author didn’t spend a whole lot of time and descriptions on how she looks. Instead there was a focus on her protective instincts of her brother , her crazy amazing fighting skills, and the emotional evolution she went through while dealing with grief and intimacy issues.

The Imagery: I have never read monsters with so much description- Very vivid
And there was a mystery to the magic that made me want to understand more.

Side characters: I am including the MMC as a side character- it really wasn’t about him. Dark broody shadow daddy, yes. But he didn’t overshadow the FMC.
Max was brilliant and we love a villain that will make us want to read book 2.

There were some plot holes where I felt like I had to reread a few pages to make sure I didn’t miss something - but
Overall the plot moved steadily, the action was intriguing and I found myself enjoying the twists and turns. I’m looking forward to book 2!

While the premise of a gothic dark academia fantasy with a secret order of witches was compelling, this was a slog to get through. This book might be enjoyable if you don't think about it too hard, but in the end it was not for me.

We’re repeatedly told one thing and shown the opposite, and the farther I got into the story the less I trusted that would change (spoiler: it didn't).

We’re told over and over again how paranoid the FMC is about safety - training with all these weapons and fighting styles and always moving around and looking over her shoulder - yet she blindly trusts strange witches and a secret order that she’s been running from all her life without question. We’re told how protective the FMC is of her younger brother, and yet she basically abandons him the moment they arrive at the castle to pursue her own interests, and then her recklessness frequently endangers him. We’re told the secret order is a frightening organization hellbent on keeping witches hidden for centuries, and yet they readily welcome a human into their midst and ply her with insider information without knowing her loyalties. We’re told the Sentinels are fearsome monster-hunting warriors, and yet they’re easily dispatched by a human with a gym membership.

I was confused by the magic system and worldbuilding, and that confusion did not dissipate. Is magic maternally inherited? Are only males Born witches? Why does the FMC need to protect her younger brother from a secret order that doesn’t seem very concerned with keeping secrets when their mother told him that he would be safe there to begin with?

The worldbuilding was largely “explained” in chapter quote info dumps (seriously, some of these were over a page long). Since it’s a university, I wish this information had been conveyed more organically through lessons, or at least scaled back to a few sentences.

The story just didn’t feel lived in. Despite it being a gothic dark academia fantasy, there was no real gothic ambiance other than a castle setting in the backdrop. I wasn’t convinced that the secret order of witches was sinister, or that the castle was dangerous, or that the stakes were that high, or that the FMC had real feelings for her brother or the MMC.

I struggled to connect to any of the characters. They fell flat and the sibling dynamic felt forced. The relationship with the MMC (Xan?? Is this a Fourth Wing ripoff minus the dragons?) left a lot to be desired. I don’t mind insta-lust if it’s accompanied by an actual emotional connection, and that was not the case here.

This book might be for you, but it was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this novel, unfortunately it left me frustrated and disappointed. I think partially that has to do with the advertising saying its 'gothic' and under the 'dark academia' umbrella, but that's a bit misleading. Other than the majority of the setting being a castle that's at a magic school with maybe two class scenes there isn't much else to contribute to the main themes of either genre. We Who Have No Gods leans more fantasy with an underdeveloped romantic subplot with very bipolar characters and clunky prose in some areas. Our FMC, MMC, and to some extent plot also bear remarkable resemblance to both ACOTAR and Fourth Wing which left a bad taste in my mouth for me personally. There's even an identical FMC orgasm = explosion scene that comes off awkward.

The plot surrounding Henry, Meredith, The Brotherhood, and the monsters didn't make much sense and neither did the actions of the characters. We have Vic who is supposedly this completely independent character who trusts no one so that she can protect her brother from the Order and yet is just okay being dependent on the witches who she doesn't like. The ending also had some holes of Vic getting lost in the forest despite mentioning it was snowing so she would have left footprints, or her standing and walking with her actual intestines falling out of her and saying Xan would rescue her (despite him continually telling her to leave for this exact reason).

Both Xan and Vic are--despite their characterization of being smart and competent--have poor logic skills and make a lot of 'no duh' comments. "Even Aren had turned his back on her...Aren could be responsible for this [attack]." Of course he did he's literally the bad guy and leader of an extremist supremacist movement and told her she'd regret her decisions against him. Another is "Xan never would have predicted Mann would single her out the way he had. The possibility that Mann wanted her, that he wanted to draw her away from the Order while they were distracted, rattled Xan." How...? He marked her so that she could use his magic? You knew about this! It seems pretty obvious he has plans for her to be a Made. Not to mention they have sex while people are quite literally dying around them in the school and on the battlefield in the random village.

I'll admit there are some good moments with May and Sarah, but they provide very little to the story and could have been left out entirely with almost no consequence to the outcome. I wish the reasoning for how and why the Brotherhood exists was fleshed out, why Meredith/Vic/Henry are important was more substantial. This novel is likely a first in a series as there are still so many questions left unanswered, but unfortunately this doesn't capture me.

3.75⭐️
This was a super unique story! With aspects of a training school, secret societies, human in a magical world/surrounded by magic, and a bad ass FMC
There was creepy, terrifying monsters with snippets of folklore. It added an eerie layer to an already stressful plot
The pacing was off in points; things would drag and then action packed scenes would be skimmed through too quickly. I wish the characters had more interconnected development; I felt the connection to characters’ relationships weren’t as strong as they could be
I still throughly enjoyed this book! It was unique and kept me on my toes

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and the author for this e-arc!

*Thank you to NetGalley for gifting this ARC audiobook!*

I don't think I am the right audience for this.
It's marketed and categorized as a contemporary fantasy/gothic horror, however I felt like it was a YA novel that had scenes written just for shock factor. Some scenes had no relation to the plot and I felt like they were written in as an attempt to shock you into reading more but it made me question the integrity of the plot.
Maybe I am too old for this?? Not sure...

Did… did I just read the future best gothic fabtasy of 2026?! If this book doesn’t take OVER the internet after its expected release next year, I will riot.

When Victoria and Henry’s mother disappeared 8 years ago, she instilled Henry with the knowledge he was special and that dangerous people would be coming for him because of it. All she left Vic was questions.

And one day, people do come for Henry, but with a proposition of helping him understand his magic and promises of protection. Unable to let her brother go, magic-less Vic comes along for a wild ride of witches, monsters, and an infuriatingly annoying (but hot) Xan, the man in charge of training the witches in hunting and killing the monsters. As Vic delves further into this world, she discovers that there is a war brewing, and her bloodline may be forced into its center.

I absolutely ate this book up. The monsters, or Orcans, were SCARY and were creatures of legends walking off the page. The romance element was there but not stifling and definitely let the fantasy elements shine. Vic’s character growth and motivations throughout the book never felt forced or departed from her convictions. And XAN?! That man is built like a Roman god and is constantly looking at her with “hungry” eyes… add him to the list of book boyfriends right now!

I need book two immediately.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Liza Anderson for an ARC of this book.

After the death of their mother Meredith, Vic has been the sole caregiver for her brother Henry, keeping him safe from an ominous threat Meredith warned them about. As it turns out, their mother was a witch and belonged to The Order, a magical group in charge of keeping us safe from monsters (or as they call them, Orcans). When a mysterious stranger shows up and tells them that Henry inherited his mother's gifts but Vic did not, she insists upon following him to the mysterious Avalon Castle to fulfill her promise to her mother to keep him safe. As an outsider to The Order, Vic must find a way to protect Henry while also unraveling the mystery of Meredith's death, all the while being surrounded by witches who don't trust her.

I really wanted to like this book. On paper, this is the perfect book for me.... magical witch school book meets horror monsters. It's categorized under contemporary fantasy/gothic horror but it didn't read to me like that at all. It felt like a very disconnected read, part of it was like a YA magical school story, then someone stepped in and added some random and unnecessary romance tropes into it, then a horror writer conjured up some quick and disgusting descriptions of bodies being mangled. None of it felt like the same cohesive story. If it were me, I would gear this to the romantasy girls. The insta-lust and banter was enough for me to not enjoy any of the story line with Xan. I felt like they had maybe two conversations and most of the time Vic was just thinking about how dark and broody and annoying and grumpy he was.

Another part that really bothered me was her relationship with Henry. She insists upon staying at the school to protect him but somehow always doing the opposite, she's never sitting with him or eating with him or keeping him safe. She's off exploring the castle (which is odd because she's an outsider and it's off limits but clearly she thinks the rules don't apply to her) and somehow scoring a teaching position in a place that hates humans. Henry wasn't present for the whole middle of the story and when her intention is to protect him, that makes no sense.

I feel like this story has such much potential, the magic system is somewhat unique and I loved the warring factions with The Order but it feels like it's trying too hard to be every genre all at once. It would be much stronger if it would lean in to one and go with it.

⋆｡°✩ 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 ⋆｡°✩

4.5 stars | a witchy YA dark fantasy with unique magic and monsters | 2.5/3 spice, 3/3 violence, profanity, no trigger warnings that I could think of | good pacing, easy-to-read prose, and some crazy plot twists


*:･ﾟ✧♡ 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 *:･ﾟ✧♡

Wow.
When I saw this was a dark fantasy, with monsters and witches and stuff, I didn’t have high hopes, because that’s not my thing at all.
But I was surprised by this book! In a good way of course.
The magic system was cool and mysterious; the monsters were so awesome; and the divide between magical, Made magical, and non-magical was done perfectlyyyy.
As I said, I adored the magic system. I love how Made witches gave regular humans hope, and how a hatred of the non-magical shapes the structure of the Order and the plot in general, tying in to real world problems and addressing them.
Also, the monsters??? Sickkkkkkk. Like, who expected a monster with half a human torso, huge wings, and dangling organs with an unintelligible name (menanaggon or something lol) to be so freaking awesome??!!!!! And like, the fact that there’s sooooo many different Orcans, all operating and killed differently; it just makes the whole world that much more mysterious, aka that much cooler.
Now: the romance.
Let’s be honest; I was rooting for Sarah x Vin in the beginning, but even I knew that wouldn’t last. However, Xan??? We love him.
Are his many similarities to Xaden from Fourth Wing a little sus? Do we care? No, because we love him.
We may hate him sometimes, but we always come back.
Now: that cliffhanger??!!! Diabolical.
The twist near the end but not quite there (which won’t be mentioned for the sake of no spoilers) was expected, then not expected, then expected when it was about to happen, and I like that. We got faked out; juked, and I’m here for it.
Then, the twist/cliffhanger at the end??!!!?!!?!?!?!??!
I. Can’t. Believe. It.
How could you do this to meeeee?!?! *sigh*
And now I’ll have to wait like two years for the second one because the first isn’t even out!!!
Such is the price of NetGalley. (Not in a bad way; I’m so happy to have gotten this opportunity lol)


‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.

The only reason this book wasn’t a full five stars was the fact that a few characters were very contradictory.
I can’t quote put my finger on it for most of the characters after-the-fact, but during reading of notice them to or say things that didn’t really match their personality up until that point. I’d say it’s not a problem if it was one character on purpose, but it was multiple.
Like, for example, Vic and Meredith.
In Meredith’s case, Vic’s description of her is happy and joyful and laughing but also careless and absent and unnecessarily mean.
In Vic’s case, she seems to blame her mom for a lot of her troubles, like her worry for Henry and how she grew up and being left behind and forgotten; all of which, I think, is warranted.
But Vic also loves her mom, more so than I would expect from how she thinks about her. Like yes, you can love someone despite what they’ve done, but this just felt different.
And these are just examples. There were a few other characters, which I can’t quite place right now if I’m being honest, that felt similarly contradictory.
While I just wrote a lot, I really don’t think this impacted the story too much. Yes, characters are important, but ignoring something’s and just enjoying the book is too.


* ੈ✩‧₊˚ 𝕨𝕣𝕒𝕡-𝕦𝕡 * ੈ✩‧₊˚

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, to my pleasant surprise. The world and magic were good, the romance was swoony, and the cliffhanger had me begging for more.
Though it pains me to know it’ll be a while, I’ll be very excited to read the next book in this series when it comes out!!!


⋆˚⚡︎˖° 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕖 ⋆˚⚡︎˖°

We Who Have No Gods releases January 27, 2026!!!


˙⋆.˚𐙚 𝕡𝕣𝕖-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 ˙⋆.˚𐙚

Thank you so much to the publisher, Ballantine Books, and to NetGalley for giving me a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
All thoughts are my own :D

thank you netgalley and the publisher for ARC access!

the premise for this book was so good, protective older sister finds out her brother is The Chosen One and follows him into a life of magic and mayhem to keep him safe. as an older sister I was so on board. except as soon as we get into the world of magic the main character completely forgets about her brother. shes suddenly obsessed with a hot giant man who's broody and big as fuck for no reason even though plenty of other warriors like him exist and are never described as particularly large. why this exist in random romance books. why is he so big and not even descended from giants like its a magic world make it mean something not just an aesthetic.

also am I crazy or do we just never acknowledge the fact that vic and her brother would need to have a dad of some sort. mom is the only one mentioned and we get two big maybe daddies and it is never even brought up by this grown adult woman like hey you knew my mom prior to my birth do you know who my dad was and was it you.

my biggest gripe though is the complete abandonment of the sibling relationship except when the book needed the main character to do something stupid Because Protection. side characters were very halfway fleshed out and incredibly underutilized and the cliffhanger needle drop was so predictable it didnt even feel suprising.

the horror element was really good, the hot man was hot, the actual writing itself wasn't horrible but i just think this book should have been about 100 pages longer and it could have had so much more depth.