This book wasn't what I had anticipated going in and whilst I'm sure a lot of people will love it, it unfortunately wasn't for me.

The focus on religion and faith is not something that personally appeals to me and being as that is a large part of the story with this book it just didn't capture my attention. I also felt everything was a bit rushed, everything seemed to happen right at the start and the characters throughout the rest of the book seemed to lack depth or development. This applies also to the world building and the plot seemed a bit all over the place which made it confusing at times.

Unfortunately for these reasons I've had to rate 3 stars.

This book was different to what I had read. Everything I thought was going to happen, happened really fast. Like within the first four chapters and than I was left wanting to know how the hell the rest of the book went.

It was a beautiful YA tale which included all the tropes we know and love like, a girl on a mission to save her kingdom, a 500-year old sorcerer, magic, gods, and of course a forced proximity situation. But this book is not about the romance. It was such a good story, with everything that the characters did surprising me - which is a good thing.

What Monstrous Gods is a standalone fantasy novel and I highly recommend it for all that love YA Fantasy and want something different to the usual.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I think the world building and the religious concepts explored are genuinely interesting. I think Lia and Ruven's relationship has potential and I think there was some interesting character development.

However. Lia's fanatical, obsessive head is often a nightmare to be in with her holier-than-thou attitude and dismissive nature. She and Ruven's relationship goes from murderer and murderee to love way, way too fast. The blurb sort of teases a love triangle but sadly for Araunn, he was never in the running here. Ruven and Lia have interesting debates and conversations, but the insta-love was too much, I really wish more time was taken to build them into something believeable because they do have potential.

Lia is devout, and like I said fanatical, but ditches her lifelong beliefs the moment her life is in danger, which sees unrealistic to me. She then continues to worship her terrible gods even after learning the truth <spoiler> personally, this felt a little too god-loving for me. With the level of awfulness these gods inflict, I would much rather Lia go sorcerer-mode on them </spoiler>. Ruven's background is hinted but never truly explained, even his original curse is never really given an explicit purpose or aim.

The other religion in the book is portrayed as essentially a metaphor for Catholicism, and it is interesting, but also I think it's sort of obviously written to be the "wow perfect" religion. I wish it was explored more, and I almost wish we could meet that god as well.

The book was entertaining and does raise interesting religious quandries, but I think the execution was not ideal and could have been improved. 3 stars.

I really really enjoyed this book!! It was super interesting and I loved Lia - such a perfectly flawed character!! Didnt expect to like Ruven but I so so did.

This was quite a story.
Everything is told by Lia, the main character, a girl who wants to become a nun, a girl whose destiny is to kill the sorcerer who cursed the royal family. She's an interesting character. A strong heroine in the right sense of the word. She struggled a lot with her emotions, with feelings of inferiority and powerlessness, but she overcame everything. She could do miracles, but not without help. I appreciate that.
The royal family was not what I expected but I'm not complaining, it was done well.
Ruven, the sorcerer, was well.. I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll just have to read the book.
The romance could have been a bit slower, but never mind, it was lovely. The ending surprised me a lot, but I'm glad it ended that way.
I think the book would have benefited from being extended into a series - everything happened very quickly.
The inclusion of Christianity was also interesting (I think the author is Catholic).

I highly recommend this book and I can't wait for the author's next works.

I struggled with this one. It felt like it had too many ideas all crammed into one book. The thing is, all the ideas were so good and inventive, I almost wish this was a duology so we had more time to go on the journey with the characters!

Despite the interesting premise, I found this book to be severely different from what it promises.

The characters had an interesting personality on page but there was so much disconnect and 0 chemistry between them. I liked the world but the vague religious undertones and harsh commentary made no sense. And as we start with the main female protagonist successfully completing her quest, it all felt really quick and unsatisfactory. I didn't understand the weird direction the plot was taking, and it took me out of the story multiple times. Overall, this left me wanting so much more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-arc!

A fantasy high stakes adventure, mixed in with mythology and lore with Kylo-Ren vibes? Sign me up! Loved every second of it!

Rosamund Hodge’s latest novel is distinguished by its inventive blend of fairy tale motifs and expansive mythological lore. This standalone novel cleverly reimagines the classic elements of Sleeping Beauty within a richly conceived world where gods and sorcery intertwine with the fates of kingdoms.

The story unfolds with Lia, a young woman graced with a miraculous gift and burdened with a formidable destiny: to slay the heretic sorcerer Ruven, who has cast the royal family of Runakhia into a centuries-long enchanted sleep and silenced the kingdom’s gods. Upon completing her quest, Lia discovers that her challenges are far from over. Now she must integrate into the royal family and bind herself to a god, or she will face death. Moreover, Ruven's spirit haunts her, blurring the lines between friend and foe, as she struggles with her duty and her conscience.

Lia’s journey is not solitary; she is betrothed to Prince Araunn, and together they embark on a pilgrimage to awaken the ancient gods. This quest deepens the story, revealing the true nature of the gods—far more formidable and capricious than Lia had ever imagined. The pilgrimage is fraught with moral dilemmas and the peril of ancient, untamed powers, compelling Lia to make choices that weigh personal belief against the harsh realities of a world in flux.

The novel excels in its detailed and vibrant world-building. Each deity is crafted with distinct characteristics and lore, enriching the narrative and providing a backdrop that feels both mystical and ominous. The depiction of divine beings reflects the complex relationship between mortals and their creators, a theme that resonates deeply throughout the story.

One of the novel's compelling aspects is its romance, which is intricately woven into the main plot without overpowering it. The relationship between Lia and the supporting characters evolves from duty-bound to deeply personal, exploring themes of loyalty, destiny, and choice. This romance adds a rich layer of complexity to the characters’ interactions and decisions, enhancing the emotional depth of the narrative.

Despite these strengths, I felt this book leaves a somewhat ephemeral impact. While the journey through its pages is undoubtedly engaging, the retention of its intricate details and emotional resonance diminishes shortly after completion. This might be attributed to the novel’s pacing or perhaps the breadth of its scope, which, while ambitious, may not allow sufficient depth of character exploration to leave a lasting impression.

The story had great potential. Unfortunately it all happened too quickly.

This should have been more than one book or at least longer to really delve into the characters and what they were going through. I just couldn't connect to any of them and I didn't feel any emotions while reading this book because it all happened too fast.

It's a shame as I could see me loving this, if the pacing was slower and we got to know the characters more and really got to delve deeper into their relationships with each other and the gods.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3,5
This was fun and easy fantasy.
Easily read and digested as ya should be, although it was sometimes a tad too melodramatic for my tastes.
But I enjoyed it :)

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Harper Collins/Magpie for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: religion, body horror, torture, death, violence, plague

I raced through this book, finding it to be the kind of dark YA with strong world-building and morally grey characters that I love. Five hundred years ago, Runakhia was shattered and the gods vanished when the heretic sorcerer Ruven trapped the royal family in an eternal sleep behind an impenetrable briar of thorns. In the years since a plague has run rampant through the kingdom, leaving hundreds orphaned. Lia has spent years raised by a convent of nuns dedicated to the worship of the goddess of healing, she’s incredibly devoted and because she was born with one golden eye, she is destined to climb the briar and kill Ruven to bring the royals- and the gods- back. However, seven failed before her and the world around them now has little love for the old ways. Lia succeeds in killing Ruven despite making a connection with him, but is disturbed to discover that she can no longer become a nun: she is forced to marry into the royal family and forge a bond with an uncaring god or be executed. Things worsen even further when the ghost of Ruven begins haunting her. Sent out alongside Prince Araunn, her future husband, Lia discovers that the gods she’s worshipped all her life was in fact cruel and violent, especially after her beloved goddess refuses to forge a bond with her over her murder of Ruven. Driven to extreme measures Lia swears herself to the goddess of death and turns to sorcery, aided by Ruven’s ghost, in order to save her own life. As things grow more tense and the gods return, Lia is forced to choose between her faith- and the kind man chosen for her- and what’s right, even if it is from the man she killed.

I loved this book and found myself swept away by it from the first page. The world building and religion is so detailed and powerfully written while all of the characters- especially the nuns- are morally grey. Lia is a wonderful main character, fiercely devoted but forced into an enormous crisis of faith when her goddess rejects her for killing Ruven. Her experiences impact almost every aspect of her life and as she gradually realises how cruel and unkind the gods they follow are, Lia’s character really develops as she’s forced to turn to sorcery to fake the miracles required of her even if that means depending on Ruven. This is a brutal world and one that I would have loved to spend more time in, especially because I loved these characters- Ruven is such a fun “villain” and I adored his scenes with Lia as they clashed over religion and morality. This book won’t be for everyone, it’s less about romance and more about putting personal belief aside for the greater good, which is probably why the ratings are low. I really enjoyed it and I’m definitely going to read more by this author.

There's potential and it's well written but I found it quite slow and more romance than fantasy. Entertaining but not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book, while the prose is beautiful, is not for me. It did give me a microscopic detailed look at how a devout person is and it's truly admirable. I, for one, will probably never feel attached to any god and I know I could never be on the same page as Lia. I do know real-life people like her exist. Her character is well-written, and she lives a lot in her head.

I like books that go on adventures and there's action and twists and what-nots. There's very little of that in this book. I also did not like the instalove.

I really enjoyed this book a lot.
Again a think I love is imperfect characters, characters that make mistakes. Not the perfect heroes.
I loved the romance and how it was written and developed.
The idea that we don't completely know who are the bad guys, which side to be on.
Pretty sure this is a standalone but I'd love to read more from this world :).

What Monstrous Gods has an insane amount of potential but ultimately was disappointing. I loved the exploration of theology but the whole plot was so messy and confusing. It seemed like more editing was needed as the story was not focused and nothing made sense and if it did, it was boring.

The whole character exploration was good but not enough to follow along with the plot. The first half was good with Lia set into motion of killing Ruven but after 50%, the plot lost track of where it was going. The romance was okay, but needed to be developed further.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

So while I realised quite early on that this book was not going to be for me, I was still interested enough to keep reading on and find out how it turned out.

I did read the synopsis but I went in thinking this would be more about the Gods and the mortals, but it ended up being more about religion and faith. That's fine as I'm sure many people can relate but as someone who isn't religious, I wasn't the target audience.

The main protagonist is Lia, who is morally grey, but I've finished the book thinking that Ruven possibly should have been the protagonist because he is the more interesting character to me. Being honest, I always felt like my attention to the story was coasting along until he would pop up again.

There really wasn't much romance and it felt like it was a little forced unfortunately.

These are just purely my opinions and I wanted to love the book, but maybe I just went in with my expectations too high.

3⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the advance reader copy.

I went into this with little to no expectations as I hadn’t read anything by this author before and I still feel a little disappointed.

The romances are forced and rushed so when they’re spoken about in the story it feels weird.
The characters are one dimensional and also of a weird indeterminable age.

Add in a lot of catholic rhetoric and yes there is an expectation of religion in the book based on the title and blurb but the characters relationships with religion was confusing.

Overall, I think if you want to read a theology book dressed as a fantasy then this is for you.

Ever read a book you wished you never laid your eyes on? Yeah, this was it for me.

Truth to be told, I did come into the novel knowing both the author controversies and their rather problematic stances on certain aspects, as well as that the religious aspect will play a big role in the plot. I was not, however, prepared for just how mind numbingly bad the book is. There's a significant disconnect between what this book promises and what it actually delivers.

It’s just… hard for me to put into words how frustrating and badly written I found this book without methodically slandering every aspect of it. Overall, this is one of those 'I wish you did not exist' books that I will work really hard to forget. If I could give this book lower than 1 star, I would.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you for the eARC, NetGalley and HarperCollins.
I really liked Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge, so I was looking forward to What Monstrous Gods.

I wish I'd liked it more, but it wasn't my cup of tea, sadly. Part of it is probably due to how much it focused on religion and belief. There were some interesting points on that, but there were just too many discussions between the main characters about their religions, and how one is better than the other.

The plot didn't really hold my attention, and I don't feel we got to know the characters enough, or that they had enough reason to fall in love.

It reminded me a bit (a lot?) of Wicked Saints by Emily Duncan. I think readers who liked that and maybe The Wolf and the Woodsman (more in terms of vibes and focus on religion) will also enjoy What Monstrous Gods.

Overall, I didn't think it was bad, it just wasn't for me - 2.5 stars.