
Member Reviews

I really enjoyed this book. An Apollo/Hyacinth book is something I've been waiting for, for a long time and this really scratched that itch.
The prose was good, the plot was explained well, and I really loved all the relationships in the book - be it the romance between Apollo and Hyacinth, the brother-sister one between Apollo and Temi, the friendship between Temi and Epiphany or the familial relationships.
In some places the book did feel a little lacking, the emotional hits didn't land as well as they should have, but they could easily be looked over.
4.5/5 to this book, I am very eagerly waiting for the sequel.

I like the plot of this story and I think it has a lot of potential, but I did find a few spelling and grammar mistakes. It would benefit going through another round of editing.

I was really excited by the premise of this book. Greek mythology is always a strong basis to rest a book on, but I was in a bit of two minds of this just because as a person who loves Greek myths, there was a lot here that didn't entirely work within each character's mythology. That can be overlooked though, especially because myths are meant to be told and retold in different manners, that's the whole point, but the most glaring thing that kind of drove me insane was the idea that Zeus and Jupiter are two different deities... They are essentially the same exact thing, so the idea that they both inhabit the same universe is kind of bonkers. Zeus handles all of Greece's thunder and Jupiter handles all of Rome? It just doesn't make much sense.
I also wish that I liked Apollo more as a character but every time he lectured Cyn on his own kingdom despite being there for two days, I rolled my eyes. Frankly, there's a stronger case to be made that the true love story of this is between Temi and Pip (who have vastly more interaction and chemistry than Pip does with her actual love interest. There was also a distinct lack of build up between Cyn and Apollo becoming lovers than I would have liked.
Overall, this didn't hook me the way that I really wanted it to, which was a bit of a disappointment.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Veil of Gods and Kings
by Nicole Bailey
I truly enjoyed this first book in the Apollo Ascending series.
Nicole Bailey really did a wonderful job with her writing style and I knew once I finished chapter one I was hooked.
This reimagining of the Greek myth of Apollo and Prince Hyacinth, a new enemies-to-lovers fantasy series that just rocked.
I can't wait for book two.
Victory Editing,
Thank you so much for this eARC.

Thanks, Netgalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
Really intriguing love story between Apollo and Prince Hyacinth and just as interesting representation of their characters. I really needed a deeper reason for them to begin as enemies. Different than some silly childish brawl. I wanted something harder to overcome to stand between them, But their friendship and the deeper relationship bloomed nicely. I particularly enjoyed the exploration of what it truly means to become a god. Overall quite an intriguing story and a nice beginning for future books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC of "A Veil of Gods and Kings" by Nicole Bailey. This book is the first in the Apollo Ascending series, based on a Greek retelling.
The story felt really natural and the way the author wrote the characters made them feel realistic and that they truly were more than just a book character. All the sex scenes were made to be interpreted which meant for a smooth reading experience and allowed me to feel much more comfortable with the story as a whole. I would happily love to read the next book by this author, Nicole writes in an amazing form.

I really love the whole premise of this book, it has Greek mythology, LGBTQ representation, and enemies to lovers! This is a great addition to Greek Mythology retellings that don’t usually follow this formula. For me, the plot was unsatisfactory. There are things that could have been explained with greater detail. I also would have preferred a slow burn enemies to lovers, not one page they are enemies and the next they are lovers. This book has the potential to be a great one but just fell short for me. I’d be interested to read a sequel if there is one.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just as good as it's synopsis. I was doubtful because it had A ____ of ____ and ____ title, and the cover looks like something I've seen before, but this was a unique, swoon-worthy book. It had all my favorite tropes and has so much potential for future books. I'm really just in love. This book is an Apollo/Hyacinth retelling. Apollo isn't a god yet but Zeus wants him to be. He forces him to spend a year with Hyacinth because he's the perfect son. Apollo doesn't want to become a full god yet because it'll take him away from his "mortal" sister Temi(Artemis). Temi is my favorite character but I also loved the enemies to lovers romance between Apollo and Hyacinth. I love the nicknames the characters had for each other. I really like how Ares was portrayed and hope we get a sequel showing the other gods/goddesses!

I want to say that the cover is so gorgeous and the overall premise is so original and creative, however there were DO many spelling mistakes riddled throughout. There was literally one on the second page.
Nonetheless, even though the writing was a bit lackluster and the dialogue even more so, I can definitely see the appeal it would bring after another round of tight edits