Godly Heathens

“huh? How did I finish it so fast? When is the sequel?”.
Edgmon has crafted a great piece that explores queerness, trauma and pain, mental health, found family and morally grey characters. It intrigues me how brilliantly woven our MC's indigenous background is interwoven within the story and it features a strongly diverse cast, each with their own characteristics and personality. This book is a brilliant piece of escapism that takes you away from page one, right up to the last page and you go “huh? How did I finish it so fast? When is the sequel?”. Reincarnation of Gods, Morally grey characters, Enough stuff happening to someone they turn to Villainy? Urgh I loved it. I look forward to seeing where the author goes next. It is a book that is very of its time, and certain references were slightly jarring at time. Overall, certainly a piece I will be recommending to those teens who have felt out of place, misjudged, abused by peers, or obsessed with mythology. I guess... Younger me's...

I received an ARC of this title through Netgalley. The thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Godly Heathens is the first book in a series, possibly a duology, about gods cut off from their home world, and in a cycle of reincarnation that keeps drawing together – largely to try to kill one another, using a magical knife. 

The main character is Gem, a nonbinary Seminole teen. (To give you an idea of the vibe, one of the chapters is There are no Cis Gods.) When we meet them, they're on the brink of discovery/remembering their divine identity. Those gory, but often erotic, dreams? Memories. They reunite with Willa Mae/Rory, with whom they've shared many lifetimes. 

We're told early on that the gods, even if they don't always consciously pursue one another, tend to end up in each other's lives, and so many of the people in Gem's life are, well, not people. Or not just people. 

Among the gods we meet is Poppy, who is a death job with a quirky fashion sense. Has that been done before? Yes. Do I still love it? Also, yes. Every lifetime she's a little more like an animated corpse, for reasons. 

Gem is a character dealing with a lot even without the whole god thing. They're battling mental illness, like their father, as well as a sex addiction. They were also preyed on by at least one adult. They want to be wanted/worshiped at all times. They're a teen, with all the hormonal stuff, and having a parent to appease. 

This is a YA title, and there's part of me that would have liked to see it as an adult title simply for the increased freedom and maturity. These characters are both formidable gods, and teens, which certainly can work but it makes them feel occasionally leashed. 

It reminds me of the scene in Buffy where Anya says, “For a thousand years I wielded the power of the wish. I brought ruin on the heads of unfaithful men. I offered destruction and chaos for the pleasure of lower beings. I was feared and worshiped across the mortal globe, and now I'm stuck at Sunnydale High! A mortal! A child! And I'm flunking math!” 

None of this is to say the book is tame. There's a lot of blood and gore. Murder and torture. Gem is promiscuous, and while not everything there is spelled out, we're talking at least PG 13. If it were an adult title, it might have been more explicit, but still these topics are mature and the author doesn't pull too many punches. TWs/CWs galore. 

These gods, even the ones we root for, have their villainous moments, and Gem in the events leading up to their arrival on earth was one of the most villainous of all. The gods connive, they plot, morality wars with expediency. I found myself initially less then thrilled at the (inevitable) revelation of a certain character, but Edgmon managed to win me over. All the gods have a point, even as they're trying to kill our main character. And Gem has a point in wanting to neutralize them. 

This is very compelling read, though. While I can nitpick some of the logic, or why characters didn't always due the logical thing, I was SO INVESTED! This book ends at a pivotal moment, and I need to find out how it shakes out. There's a god that allegedly is out of play, but are they really? 

I'm going to be recommending this title a lot! 

Also, for those of you like me who want to know if the dog lives: Yes, this time around, but it's an old dog. For all I know, the dog is a secret god, though. All bets are off.

another h.e. edgmon book that started off interesting but then I cared about it less and less as it went on