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A review by kaitrosereads
Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
4.0
Richelle Mead quickly became a favorite author of mine with the Vampire Academy series. Following up with the Bloodlines series that is almost just as awesome, I decided I'd read pretty much anything she writes. When I saw Gameboard of the Gods on Netgalley I just couldn't resist. Even though this is very much an adult novel, I thought I'd review it for you guys.
Gameboard of the Gods is both like Richelle Mead's YA stuff and also very different. Just like with her YA stuff, readers will be hooked with this story and the characters. Also like her YA stuff, things don't come easy for the two main characters but readers will root for them to end up together. I know I did. However, almost everything else about Gameboard of the Gods is very much adult. The story takes a bit of time to build and while I was hooked once I got into the story, it did take me a while to get to that point. I would say I was about 100 pages in before I really felt invested in the story and the characters. I know a lot of people give up before reaching that point but I would really recommend continuing with this one even though it's a little slow.
The story is an awesome blend of dystopian and mythology. At first I didn't see the mythology aspect but it does come out later in the book and it will play a very big role in the rest of the series if the ending of this book is any indication. This dystopian world isn't nearly as bleak as most YA dystopians but there is definitely some turmoil and things aren't nearly as perfect as they seem at the beginning. Readers don't get a whole lot of background into the government and society and I was a little let down by that but seeing as this is only the first book, I'm hoping those things might be expanded upon in the future.
The characters were not nearly as awesome as Rose and Dmitri or Sydney and Adrian but they grew on me. Justin, in particular. Justin is smart, that's for sure, but he's also very funny and sensitive. It's hard not to like him once you read about everything he has had to go through and everything he continues to go through. Mae was a lot harder for me to like. She seemed almost emotionless for a lot of the book. I loved that she was a strong woman but I wanted more to her than just that. She needs some serious development in the next book, that's for sure. Also, Mae's fellow praetorians and friends were almost nonexistent throughout the book. They seemed important to the story in the beginning but then they disappeared for most of the rest of the book. I did not like that and hope to see more of them in the future books.
Overall, Gameboard of the Gods was a little lacking in some instances but I enjoyed it and I think fans of Richelle Mead's books will too. Check it out if you're looking for something a little more mature than YA.
Gameboard of the Gods is both like Richelle Mead's YA stuff and also very different. Just like with her YA stuff, readers will be hooked with this story and the characters. Also like her YA stuff, things don't come easy for the two main characters but readers will root for them to end up together. I know I did. However, almost everything else about Gameboard of the Gods is very much adult. The story takes a bit of time to build and while I was hooked once I got into the story, it did take me a while to get to that point. I would say I was about 100 pages in before I really felt invested in the story and the characters. I know a lot of people give up before reaching that point but I would really recommend continuing with this one even though it's a little slow.
The story is an awesome blend of dystopian and mythology. At first I didn't see the mythology aspect but it does come out later in the book and it will play a very big role in the rest of the series if the ending of this book is any indication. This dystopian world isn't nearly as bleak as most YA dystopians but there is definitely some turmoil and things aren't nearly as perfect as they seem at the beginning. Readers don't get a whole lot of background into the government and society and I was a little let down by that but seeing as this is only the first book, I'm hoping those things might be expanded upon in the future.
The characters were not nearly as awesome as Rose and Dmitri or Sydney and Adrian but they grew on me. Justin, in particular. Justin is smart, that's for sure, but he's also very funny and sensitive. It's hard not to like him once you read about everything he has had to go through and everything he continues to go through. Mae was a lot harder for me to like. She seemed almost emotionless for a lot of the book. I loved that she was a strong woman but I wanted more to her than just that. She needs some serious development in the next book, that's for sure. Also, Mae's fellow praetorians and friends were almost nonexistent throughout the book. They seemed important to the story in the beginning but then they disappeared for most of the rest of the book. I did not like that and hope to see more of them in the future books.
Overall, Gameboard of the Gods was a little lacking in some instances but I enjoyed it and I think fans of Richelle Mead's books will too. Check it out if you're looking for something a little more mature than YA.