A review by lcgerstmann
Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

3.0

When I love a book, it's easy to gush my praise in a review. When I loathe a book it's easy to spout venom in a review. It's much more difficult to arrange my thoughts when I only liked a book or I have conflicted feelings. With that said, I did like this book. I like the way Richelle Meade writes. I admire her for avoiding a formula, each of her series is so different from the last and Gameboard of the Gods is a very intriguing and original concept. I enjoyed the world building, which some have criticized, but this is not simply a dystopian future, this is a dystopian future that has supernatural interference, weird things can happen! I love that she wrote this as an adult novel; it was mature and sophisticated. I think what held me back from falling in love with this book was the characters, not the story or environment. Richelle Meade writes kick-ass strong girl-power characters that are smart, brave and not afraid of their sexuality, think Rose and Eugenie. She also writes hot male leads that are strong but endearing, think Dmitri, Adrian and Dorian. So, Mae and Justin are the problem, I can't love them. Mae is strong and brave but too frigid, Justin is just a jerk and their relationship is moving painfully slow. The good news is, this is an interesting story, these characters are going to grow and their relationship will develop, you know it's coming, and lets hope it's great!