Week 33 Review: What Monstrous Gods

From Goodreads:

Centuries ago, the heretic sorcerer Ruven raised a deadly briar around Runakhia's palace, casting the royal family into an enchanted sleep - and silencing the kingdom's gods.

Born with a miraculous gift, Lia's destiny is to kill Ruven and wake the royals. But when she succeeds, she finds her duty is not yet complete, for now she must marry into the royal family and forge a pact with a god - or die.

To make matters even worse, Ruven's spirit is haunting her.

As discord grows between the old and new guards, the queen sends Lia and Prince Araunn, her betrothed, on a pilgrimage to awaken the gods. But the old gods are more dangerous than Lia ever knew - and Ruven may offer her only hope of survival.

As the two work together, Lia learns that they're more alike than she expected. And with tensions rising, Lia must choose between what she was raised to believe and what she knows is right - and between the prince she is bound to by duty...and the boy she killed.

My Review:
I absolutely loved reading this book! I love her writing so much, and the synopsis of this book sounded incredible, so of course I had to pick it up the first opportunity that I got! It of course surpassed all my expectations, it was an incredible read! 

This world of the gods and their saints was really interesting, and really horrible to read. Right at the beginning of the book, was a list of the gods, and some information about them-like how their saints die. And there were some awful deaths there. 

I absolutely loved the dynamics between Lia and Ruven. She was raised to kill him, which she succeeds at. And now he's haunting her, as she's learning the realities of what comes after, and that the past that she so idolized, wasn't as great as she through. They were so tense with each other, rightfully so, and I just loved all their interactions! 

This really was a book about faith, and how much you're willing to give and sacrifice for it. Because Lia loves her gods, it's just that they're not great for the world. I loved watching the choices that she made, as things were building and building, it was all so great to read! And oh, that ending was incredible! Loved how things worked out!  

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait to read more by Rosamund Hodge! 

Author: Rosamund Hodge 
Read: August 13th, 2023
Source: Edelweiss 
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2023 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
Expected Publication: March 5th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars