By the Gods of Babylon

When I first read the synopsis on this one I was excited to dive in. Despite the author's warning of religious sensitivity issues, that had nothing to do with my dislike for this one.

I enjoy historical fiction and the setting of this book had me intrigued BUT the delivery of said story fell flat. I assume the rapes, violence, and sex scenes that take place are meant to somehow shock and make you uncomfortable. I also assume the whole ‘be careful of the way religion is mentioned in the story' is also supposed to do the same.

Yes, to be sure, it was a tad shocking, then just boring and then over the top. I had the HARDEST time staying awake to even read this one. The story could have been cut by half and would probably still be too long. It's inundated with characters and dialogue that, to me, don't matter to the story itself and was seriously distracting. I had such high hopes for a well rounded historical fiction on this period in history and ended up sorely disappointed.

I appreciate NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.