To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang

By Kate     date 31st July 2024

Published: 18th April 2024

Rating:3.5 out of 5.0 stars3.5

Genres:  Fantasy, YA, Romance 

Age Rating: 12-17 Years

My Review

Hi everyone! I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a book review, but it’s time to jump back in. I’ve been super busy lately, but now that it’s Summer, I have much more time. So much time that I managed to finish the book in a couple days. I’ve also decided to do a new format which I hope you enjoy. Anyway, that being said, let’s dive into the book review!

What’s it about?

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang is a science-fiction, fantasy novel for teens. The book is about a girl called Yang Ruying and she lives in Er-Lang which has been occupied by the Romans since they mercilessly defeated her people. The Romans brought advances in technology and science, military, corruption and violence. Life is dangerous. However, she has a gift. She is the girl blessed by Death and can pull the life out of people. 

But when the Roman prince, Antony Augustus, discovers her gift, he makes an offer she can’t refuse. He’ll protect her family if she becomes his private assassin and eliminates any political enemies. 

But can she trust him? Can she trust the Roman prince who promises a better life and whose smiles make her pulse quicken? Is she really working towards the greater good, or is she just betraying her nation for those she loves?

Why this book?

I saw this book in my local library and it immediately caught my eye. Not only is the cover colourful and beautiful, but the premise is something I’ve not heard before. I love history and am currently fascinated with the Romans and ancient history. I was very intrigued to see what role the Romans would play in this novel and how it blends with fantasy and inspiration from Chinese history, which is something I want to learn more about. I’ve also been wanting to read more books about Asia in general, as that is a gap in my reading selection and I wish to rectify that. I was also drawn to the hint of romance in the blurb, as who doesn’t love a bit of that?

General thoughts?

I picked up the book for the reasons discussed above and it didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed reading it as it was a little different from what I’ve read before but incorporates some of my favourite things to read about. The book was nicely written and well paced. I enjoyed the language used and learning about the backstories of the characters, which developed as the book progressed. I also enjoyed seeing the differences between the two lands and it was almost dystopian. I really liked the premise of it and liked how the idea of the Roman occupation was done. It was well done and it didn’t feel like I was missing anything that would help me understand the current situation of the characters. 

I also liked that the book does touch upon some real life issues, one being addiction. Opian (opium), which was traded in ancient China and is in the novel, played a big role in the book and the addictions of people like Ruying’s sister, Meiya, as well as how that affected the people around them and the things people will do to acquire it and the corruption it can cause. 

I also like how the dialogue was written and enjoyed the relationships between the different characters. Each character was thoroughly explained, the relationship to the main character was well written and never felt like it was a stretch or unrealistic. I also liked the way the main character’s backstory was built and how it contributed to the events of the novel. 

Now, let’s discuss the romance of the book. There is a romance between Antony Augustus, a prince of Rome, and Yang Ruying. The relationship is first built on the agreement between them which benefited both of them, but was more risky for Ruying. Their relationship starts off rocky (as it would) and gradually becomes something more. It is clear that he begins to care for her and she knows it. She feels conflicted as she thinks she also has feelings for him, but also feels that she is betraying her friends and nation in order to benefit herself and her family. It is a forbidden romance, as they are from different worlds, but they don’t let that stop them and he falls first. I did like the romance between them and particularly enjoyed some of the dialogue exchanged from Antony to Ruying. 

For all of the things I liked about the book, there is going to be something that isn’t quite my cup of tea about it. I did like the story, the writing and the characters, but it wasn’t really exciting, as I thought it would be. The book maintained a steady pace, not too fast and not too slow. Sure, there were some moments that left me shocked and I tore through those pages, but there wasn’t much of that. The ending, I feel, wasn’t as tense or ramped up as I usually find in a novel. Nonetheless, the ending was a good one and did have a twist which I thought was pretty good. However, the slower pace did sometimes make it a drag to get through when some of the text wasn’t necessarily the most important to the novel’s development. 

Characters?

As already said in this article, I did like the way the characters were written and I was rooting for them, while hating others. 

My favourite character was Yang Ruying, as I felt her character was interesting and a strong female character. Yes, she has a gift, but it’s not one that she likes. In fact, she hates that she has it and is terrified to use it. She also cares more about her sister, Meiya, and her grandmother than what happens to her, which is admirable and drives the plot forward. Her mother named her Ruying because she wanted her to be brave, and she certainly meets those expectations, in my opinion. She is brave, cunning and intelligent, the qualities needed to survive in her world. I also enjoyed her romance with Antony and the questions it brought up about herself. I felt she was a somewhat relatable character and enjoyed reading about her adventures and the past experiences that have shaped her into the person she is. 

Antony is also another character that I was wary of, liked, and then became wary of again. At first, I didn’t trust him as he was part of the family responsible for the mass killings of Ruying’s people. However, my opinion of him started to shift when he made the offer and their relationship developed. I honestly thought that the romance between them was sweet and nicely done by Chang. I also began to trust him and was genuinely concerned about what would happen to him. However, as a twist at the end revealed, he may not be the character everyone thought him to be as he was hiding a secret that made people turn against him. I was enchanted with him for part of the story and then hated him again. His character was interesting and one I enjoyed learning more about. 

Other notable characters of the book were Baihu (Ruying’s old childhood friend turned enemy), Meiya (her sister), Valentin Augustus (1st prince of Rome) and Taohua (Ruying’s best friend). I have mixed feelings about Baihu, as I can’t quite decide whether I like him or not. There are qualities that I dislike about him, especially at the beginning of the novel, but he changes as the story progresses. I mostly feel sorry for Meiya as she is an Opian addict and like Ruying, has been dealt hard cards by life. She is resentful, mean and cold towards Ruying at times, and understandably. However, I also felt that she was being unfair at certain points, even though she didn’t know Ruying was doing this for her at first. Yet, she is still dependent on her older sister. One character that I hated was Valetin Augustus, but we’re meant to as he is a cruel, corrupt and unfeeling prince of Rome who only cares about politics and power. He is even cruel towards his brother, Antony, and shares a massive secret about him towards the end of the novel. Finally is Ruying’s best friend Taohua. I liked her character because she was kind and intelligent; not judging Ruying for a gift she never asked for. She is also strong and hardworking, traits I like to see in any character. I was genuinely concerned for her throughout the novel and was saddened when I read her outcome. 

I think that my top three characters are Ruying, Antony and Taohua as they were the most interesting characters for me personally to read about and I enjoyed their character arcs and development throughout the novel. 

Favourite quotes?

“Our hearts are all separated by the skin and flesh of our individual bodies.” – Antony, page 161

“It is with the luck of three lifetimes to have met you.” – Antony, page 216

Final thoughts and rating?

Overall, I enjoyed the book and all the characters and elements of it, but found the pacing a little slow and it lacked excitement or intrigue for me at certain points. It’s definitely not a bad book and I did enjoy my experience of reading it, but it’s not the best thing I’ve read. For this reason, I’m going to give it 3.5 stars.

Ok, that’s my review of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think about the new format and if there’s anything I can do to improve it. Have you read this book? If so, what did you think of it? 

Have you read To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods?

If not, don’t forget to add it to your TBR list.

Happy reading!

Kate x