kellymacbrown's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely left me wanting more, already pre-ordered the next one. I wish it had been a little longer. A more chill read. Not a lot of action until the end. Pride and prejudice vibe romance. But my favorite relationship in this book is temí and Apollo’s. Their sibling relationship is so so good and I wish there was more of it after they reach the kingdom.
toodlebean's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC of this novel.
I absolutely adore the concept of this book. This retelling of a lesser known Greek myth has reignited my love for mythology and retellings. If you're looking for a story close to its source material, you won't find it here but it's a good story nonetheless.
Personally I did find the novel lacking a little overall. As a new adult romantic fantasy I expected a little more depth. The mature content of the book is enough to push it into new adult territory but the writing and character development feels more young adult. The promised slow burn, enemies to lovers relationship is not as expected. The initial excitement leads into a very monotonous mid section with an unsatisfying and abrupt conclusion. Hyacinth's sister Pip nabs quite a few chapters for herself with very little impact on the main storyline. As a character she isn't compelling and her chapters aren't exciting.
Hyacinth and Apollo are equally likeable as characters and their development into friends and lovers is quite believable. Temi is a great character and I love her strength and determination.
I did find one twist unexpected and honestly I think it's more because I'm so dense. It was a twist I should have seen coming and was already anticipating in a way. The actual unveiling had me feeling so incredibly stupid because really, it's so obvious. This may be the only "wow" moment I experienced.
Younger adult readers with an interest in retellings, M/M romance, Greek mythology and easy to read stories may find a lot of enjoyment here. I found A Veil of Gods and Kings didn't meet my own personal expectations but still believe it has its audience.
I absolutely adore the concept of this book. This retelling of a lesser known Greek myth has reignited my love for mythology and retellings. If you're looking for a story close to its source material, you won't find it here but it's a good story nonetheless.
Personally I did find the novel lacking a little overall. As a new adult romantic fantasy I expected a little more depth. The mature content of the book is enough to push it into new adult territory but the writing and character development feels more young adult. The promised slow burn, enemies to lovers relationship is not as expected. The initial excitement leads into a very monotonous mid section with an unsatisfying and abrupt conclusion. Hyacinth's sister Pip nabs quite a few chapters for herself with very little impact on the main storyline. As a character she isn't compelling and her chapters aren't exciting.
Hyacinth and Apollo are equally likeable as characters and their development into friends and lovers is quite believable. Temi is a great character and I love her strength and determination.
I did find one twist unexpected and honestly I think it's more because I'm so dense. It was a twist I should have seen coming and was already anticipating in a way. The actual unveiling had me feeling so incredibly stupid because really, it's so obvious. This may be the only "wow" moment I experienced.
Younger adult readers with an interest in retellings, M/M romance, Greek mythology and easy to read stories may find a lot of enjoyment here. I found A Veil of Gods and Kings didn't meet my own personal expectations but still believe it has its audience.
just_a_city_gorl's review against another edition
- I really like this so far. They both think the other is a dick which is funny. I like Temi and Ares. Epiphany and Emrin are cool too. Fuck Zeus.
- I’m a bit bored by Epiphany’s chapters. I though she was going to be sapphic with Temi, but she likes Velarian and I’m just bored by it. I like that Temi is aromantic tho, there’s not enough rep.
- I don’t really like how they’re constantly helping the poor because it feels like it’s done in a way to just show that they aren’t selfish and they’re really really kind and generous and it just feels a bit off. Idk.
- I like Apollo so far. I like his attitude. Kinda want him to kill Zeus but it obviously won’t happen.
- I also like Hyacinth and Temi’s really cool. I’m indifferent for Epiphany and I don’t really know any of the other characters enough.
- I know I’m not gonna really like this. Or I’ll find it boring/average so I’ve DNF’d it. I thought it was sapphic as well but it’s not and I don’t really care much for the main guys. They’re fine, it’s just a bit boring.
- It’s just average. I don’t have any, like, desire to read it so I just don’t really care.
- It’s not bad, just meh, I guess.
skylar_cr_wolf's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
. I genuinely like how Apollo is described so far and the take on Hyacinthus and Apollo. What did bother me a bit was the slight mixes of the Roman and Greek names, especially since this is inspired by /a retelling of a Greek (!) mythology. Other than that, it was not too bad.
slee907's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
florcis512's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
helllucifer's review
4.0
**ARC provided by Netgalley, all words are mine**
I quite enjoyed this book. An Apollo/Hyacinth book is something I've been waiting for, for a long time and this did scratch that itch.
The prose was good, the plot was explained well, and I really loved all the relationships in the book - be it the romance between Apollo and Hyacinth, the brother-sister one between Apollo and Temi, the friendship between Temi and Epiphany or the familial relationships.
In some places the book did feel a little lacking, the emotional hits didn't land as well as they should have, but they could easily be looked over.
4/5 to this book, I am very eagerly waiting for the sequel.
I quite enjoyed this book. An Apollo/Hyacinth book is something I've been waiting for, for a long time and this did scratch that itch.
The prose was good, the plot was explained well, and I really loved all the relationships in the book - be it the romance between Apollo and Hyacinth, the brother-sister one between Apollo and Temi, the friendship between Temi and Epiphany or the familial relationships.
In some places the book did feel a little lacking, the emotional hits didn't land as well as they should have, but they could easily be looked over.
4/5 to this book, I am very eagerly waiting for the sequel.
frauwonka's review against another edition
4.0
After reading Madeleine Miller's amazing books I thought "A Veil of Gods and Kings" would be another great modern take on Greek mythology - and I'm not disappointed, mostly.
Apollo and Hyacinth are basically your average romance enemies-to-lovers-story, except they aren't. Because in the cause of the book I found, that from all the romance books I read in the past I was so spoiled by HEAs that I didn't think at all that this book here might be different in that department. But suddenly I wasn't so sure anymore since Greek mythology is not incredibly popular for its HEAs. And that's what I really liked - that I couldn't be sure how it ended. That anything was possible with the two of them.
The two of them. If only... But it wasn't only the two of them; there was also the POV of Hyacinth's sister Epiphany and I am not quite sure why. It mostly interupted Apollo's story and didn't contribute much to it. It was a nice kind-of-love story with young adult topics like friendship, self-love, finding your own path etc., but it could (and should) have been a stand-alone story and both stories would have profitted from it. Because than Apollo's and Hyacinth's story (that's what we came here for after all) could have been told in a more even pace, in greater detail (and I am not talking about the vague physical scenes; they were quite good as was the intense tension between the two), so that their relationship could enfold before the reader's eyes. Especially towards the end the whole thing seemed a bit rushed. And a lot happened off page which was a shame since the story telling was really good.
I liked the development of the two main characters, I liked their banter and the atmosphere the author was able to create while using colour and smell. So, all in all I really liked her style and would definitely read another book by her! However, I stumbled over some things; for example the clicking and smacking noises nearly every character's mouth produced at some point and I even started thinking that maybe this was an ancient thing to do since it happened that often.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book - but I would have enjoyed it even more if the main story hadn't continuously been interupted by Epiphany's story.
I got an ARC from GRR and this is my honest review.
Apollo and Hyacinth are basically your average romance enemies-to-lovers-story, except they aren't. Because in the cause of the book I found, that from all the romance books I read in the past I was so spoiled by HEAs that I didn't think at all that this book here might be different in that department. But suddenly I wasn't so sure anymore since Greek mythology is not incredibly popular for its HEAs. And that's what I really liked - that I couldn't be sure how it ended. That anything was possible with the two of them.
The two of them. If only... But it wasn't only the two of them; there was also the POV of Hyacinth's sister Epiphany and I am not quite sure why. It mostly interupted Apollo's story and didn't contribute much to it. It was a nice kind-of-love story with young adult topics like friendship, self-love, finding your own path etc., but it could (and should) have been a stand-alone story and both stories would have profitted from it. Because than Apollo's and Hyacinth's story (that's what we came here for after all) could have been told in a more even pace, in greater detail (and I am not talking about the vague physical scenes; they were quite good as was the intense tension between the two), so that their relationship could enfold before the reader's eyes. Especially towards the end the whole thing seemed a bit rushed. And a lot happened off page which was a shame since the story telling was really good.
I liked the development of the two main characters, I liked their banter and the atmosphere the author was able to create while using colour and smell. So, all in all I really liked her style and would definitely read another book by her! However, I stumbled over some things; for example the clicking and smacking noises nearly every character's mouth produced at some point and I even started thinking that maybe this was an ancient thing to do since it happened that often.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book - but I would have enjoyed it even more if the main story hadn't continuously been interupted by Epiphany's story.
I got an ARC from GRR and this is my honest review.
chb_cabin6's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75