Wow. Just wow. The description sounded good, and I loved the title and cover, but it blew me away. I'm not a huge fantasy or speculative fiction reader, but it got its hooks into me early and never let go. I'm more impressed than I expected to be.

I love the world-building and the lore of this story. Honestly, I don't want to spoil too much about it. I feel like it's better to uncover it yourself, peeling back layers as you go. I will say that the description actually undercuts the story a little. The plot is so much more in-depth and complex than I think the description gives credit for. There is a bigger story lurking in the pages.

Mona, the main character, is deliciously flawed in all the right ways. She's absolutely fascinating and, thankfully, is a dynamic and changing character. There will be moments that you want to grab her and shake her, don't get me wrong. But that's the point! She's realistic and imperfect. She is not always likable.

I will say that I think this might be more at home as a New Adult book than YA. There is enough innuendo, alcohol, and sexual content for me to think that it toes the line. Honestly, it's nothing that most teenagers haven't already been exposed to, but it's a little more than I'm used to seeing in YA... or was used to seeing back when I was the target age group. Not overly graphic, but some parents may want to give it a once over in advance if some of these topics are sensitive.

~I received a copy of Divine Mortals from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~

I think what caught me most off-guard of the characters of Divine Mortals is their vulnerability. In the YA/NA genre its easy for characters to have poorly written struggles or emotional turmoil, but Amanda Helander gives a very realistic portrayal of the ways that guilt and grief can manifest themselves in a young person. Our main character is flawed from the beginning, but becomes more and more whole throughout the story as she navigates her own experiences, her past and the need to move forward, even though its against her own will.

The story develops nicely and the world building is solid. I finished this one pretty quickly, and I’m excited to see where the world goes after this.

I was hooked in the prologue, where the action begins immediately with a character’s death, setting up for the rest of the book. Two worlds full of magic catapult our heroine into an adventure that requires her to conquer her fears. The salty sassiness of Mona and watching her develop as a character was fully appreciated. The plot twist at the end sets up successfully for future books.

Interesting premise and magical world, well-developed characters and fun to read. I wished it wasn't an obvious beginning to a series, however.

The formatting was broken on the kindle version. I was not able to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney for the ARC.

I absolutely loved that I checked out the author's GoodReads before diving in, and I love how she combated the publisher's claims that this was perfect for fans of SJM & RY!!! Amanda earned major points from her post!l ;-) l I personally love content warnings! I've added them below! This book has Fantastic World Building! Mona is a wonderfully developed character, and the writing was superb!






"Below are some content warnings for Divine Mortals. Please be safe with your brains.
• Violent death/murder
• Dead bodies
• Self-mutilation (one scene, not in a self-harm context)
• Chronic and terminal illness
• Mention of cults and mass suicide
• Mental illness stigma
• Sex/masturbation"

I truly loved this book. I do wish it was longer because I felt like some much needed world building wasn’t added in but hopefully it’ll come to light in the next one.

A very promising book and start of a series that really captures an eerie, somewhat mysterious atmosphere. I loved the pacing but there should be more work put into the character building as well as a few inconsistencies throughout the book. Overall, good read.

This is an exciting new series! I loved this book. I am looking forward to reading more and seeing where it goes.

THE GOOD: Excellent world-building, including a sense of pure menace. What fun! I love the dark world feeling that I got from the writing and characters. It gives off a similar vibe to Uprooted, though it is very different. I loved Mona as a character, she's clearly suffered and been taken advantage of, and more of the other characters want to use her for various reasons. I liked the conflict Mona experiences because of her visions, and how we see her fear shaping her. I loved her friendships, particularly with her reluctant coconspirator, and I like how much Mona doubts herself but comes into her own.

THE EH: I hesitate to call anything bad, just because I liked this book so much and most of what didn't work for me was immaterial. I felt the pacing dragged in places, and I found the romance between Mona and Delmar to be a bit one-sided. I would have wanted more yearning from him, and more of an actual relationship between them other than just sexual tension.

Overall, this is very promising and I'm interested to see where it goes!