Everyone loves this book but I couldn't get over the fact that the author spent absolutely no time building this world.
We don't even learn about the religions and the only reason I can forgive that is that the mc doesn't believe in it. But omg the author had a scientist main character but we know nothing about the science or the project just a few tidbits of her doing experiments but no actual results. It just felt a bit lazy to me :(

Of Gods & Monsters is the first book in the Elysian Gods series by Zavi James. Dr. Quentin Scott is a biologist, fresh from achieving her PhD and brought in as part of the team of scientists tasked with studying all aspects of the Elysian Gods - psychology, physiology, biology etc. Quentin is assigned to Grayson, the god of chaos, vengeance and destruction. Grayson is the lone dissenter of the Gods and does not want to be part of the study. Quentin and Grayson share both an immediate attraction and an immediate enmity. But who can trust who when secrets and feelings start to emerge?

I read this book as part of a bookclub readalong and it was physically painful to put this book down at the end of my specified chapters. If I wasn't reading it as part of a readalong, I suspect I would have binged this within 24 hours. My first week notes include "Desperate to continue, I'm railing against my every instinct to binge this book!" To my surprise, I lasted until week 3, when I crumbled like a hobknob dunked in a cup of tea. The end of the week 3 chapter was literally too good and I had to keep going and finish the book.

I was immediately drawn into this book - it had Gods being studied for science, enemies to lovers, secrets and conflicts, and lots of sexual tension. I was definitely feeling the chemistry between Quentin and Grayson and the dual POV was perfect for this story. How Gray and Quentin developed as people and how their relationship evolved was just amazing. They aren't perfect people - they both have tempers, and pride and egos, so they're not paragons of virtue throughout this book. But it just felt more real that way and I was invested in their relationship and in the wider group of Gods. I absolutely loved this and it was agony putting down the book at the end of each section of the readalong.

I'm honestly surprised that there are so few ratings and reviews for this book on Goodreads, because it was absolutely incredible. It's an adult romantasy series with complex and interesting characters, an array of Gods, spice and an amazing plot, and it's basically a bit of an undiscovered gem. I'm so thankful that it was part of The Butterfly Book Club's subscription box (my first one with them by chance) not just because the Special Edition is gorgeous but mainly because I might never have discovered this book otherwise. While other book boxes purely focus on new releases, I love that this one highlights books that haven't had the attention they deserve. This isn't an advert lol, but just my enthusiastic joy at finding this book through this subscription box.

Both Of Gods & Monsters and the second book of the series Of Truths & Bonds is on Kindle Unlimited as it happens, so I can go and binge the second book to my heart's desire, since the first ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. And hopefully The Butterfly Book Club will release a beautiful matching version of Of Truths & Bonds, at which point I will binge both again physically I suspect until the third book is released! I just know that this is going to be a series I'll keep rereading over the years. Zavi James has instantly become an auto-buy author for me with this book and I definitely recommend this fantasy series!

Easily a 5 star for me.

The character development was awesome. Seeing Grayson soften throughout the book was perfect. His relationship with Quentin was exactly what they both needed. Matthew was a narcissistic sap and I am so glad he got put on his ass!! And was fumes with Charlie for picking him over Quentin!! I am looking forward to book two! Already in my basket on Amazon. Bring on some more gods!!

OH MY GOSH!!! This book was so good! I absolutely loved everything about it! I couldn’t stop reading! I read it in one sitting because I so desperately wanted to know what was going to happen next.

There were a few things I didn’t like about this story though. For example, how immature some of the characters acted (specifically some of the Gods). As well as the somewhat toxic behavior between the two love interests. I also found the plot twists to be somewhat predictable. Despite all of that, it was a really good story.

Overall, if you like gods and goddesses, forbidden love, romance and plot twists, then you’ll enjoy this book.

(I received this book as a free ebook arc on booksirens and I am willingly leaving an honest review)

The book started a bit slow for me but that might be because I had tried and failed to read two highly praised (on instagram) books that left me so frustrated and annoyed at how terrible they were. So having said that, the story of Quen and Gray did slightly hook me from the beginning and I wanted to keep reading. The *spicy* scenes were so hot, well written and not at all awkwardly place like other books and I could genuinely feel the connection between the two. I loved their hot&cold moments and yes they were exhausting at times but they were very real and the intenisty helped to build on for the next emotion and it had me chasing for the next time they come together again and back to each other.
I do understand some people might not like that but I think it suited them so so well as they are both strong personalities. It’s impossible not to clash but the fact that they always come back to each other and work it out makes it worthwile.

I did feel that at times the pace was not consistent going from things developing really slowly to so.much.action but it did keep me on my toes !

I also developed a sense of affection for the other characters like Erik, Sloane, Elva and Ig and I did want to find out more about their stories too.

Before I read the book I saw what others said about the cheating trope so it made me a bit skeptical but having read it, it didn’t actually bother me? Don’t get me wrong it doesn’t align with my values and it did make my heart shrink a bit but only because I somehow understand what Quen was going through and if we are being honest and realistic, love stories (esp intense ones) aren’t linear and I thought it fitted with their wider story. It also hints (to me at least) of the struggle of women in particular of trying to shrink yourself and ‘dimming your light’ in order to be ‘adequate’ for the realtionship you’re in because ‘on paper’ it’s best for you in terms of practicality and ‘he’s a good enough guy’. Especially for someone who has a history of losing people out of the blue, I understood that Quen entertained clinging onto her and Matt’s relationship because of the dread of being left again. Quen is a very resilient and strong character though and gets over that fear quickly and is able to recognize Matt was no good *phew* which for me at least meant so much. Yes, her and Gray didn’t quite go about it in the best way but I genuinely appreciated where it all lead and I am really looking forward to the next book.

Charlotte’s role did let me down for how she treated Quen after she opened up and I wouldn’t have made up with her so quickly and easy if I were Quen so that in my eyes remains an unresolved thing.

Zavi. Zavi. Zavi. I knew going into Of Gods & Monsters this would be my favorite book and series you’ve written and you have not disappointed me.

Let’s start with this cover. IT’S GORGEOUS. The ladies at @booksnmoods have created a masterpiece of a cover and I can’t wait to see the cover for book two.

Of Gods & Monsters is a fantasy, enemies-to-lovers, soul mates romance. The writing is excellent, I could not fault it even if I tried. The dialogue, the flow between scenes, and the pacing was perfect. The world-building was next level. The plot was intriguing and full of so many twists and turns that left me captivated. I found this book impossibly hard to put down.

Grayson and Quentin are so similar, they’re like two sides of the same coin. Both are stubborn, prone to temper tantrums, and have strong personalities. Their similarities and circumstances of their lives have caused them to have a small circle of people they trust and open up to. Their relationship developed gradually, and I loved the effect Gray and Quen had on each other.

Zavi James had developed a fantastic fictional world, with amazing characters, vivid descriptions, impossible situations, and an unexpected cliffhanger that has me wanting the next book ASAP. I HIGHLY recommend this book/series and it’s a must-read!

Rating: ALL THE STARS!!!!!

ARC kindly provided for the author in exchange for an honest review

WOW! I can't believe what [a: Zavi James |20673372|Zavi James|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1622263951p2/20673372.jpg] did with this book, the building universe is totally another level, the characters are amazing and the plot is full of twists and turns. I'm genuinely in love with this new world because it's something completely different from what I had read about her, but not losing that touch that makes it impossible for me to put their stories down.

One of the things I liked the most was how similar Grayson & Quentin are in personality:both have a strong personality, they get carried away by their emotions, particularly negative ones, they find it difficult to express their feelings, trust other people/gods and keep their close circle very small. But Gray is the God of chaos and destruction so he's also cocky, has little appreciation for humans, and takes their superiority very seriously, while Quentin is a girl who has had a complicated life, she loves her brother madly and works hard to achieve her goals.

These two have a very stormy and fun journey, their interactions are wonderful from the start. I really liked the progress of their relationship/non-relationship and their feelings, I was surprised and loved reading a Grayson that was tender, adorable, and able to recognize how important Quen becomes in his life Furthermore, the secrets he discovers are shocking and add an incredible dynamic to their relationship. I LOVED that Quentin learn to open up to Gray, to give hermself the opportunity to leave her past pain behind and her way of driving Gray crazy whenever she could, and of course, the constant sexual tension and desire that they have for each other makes their story even more interesting.

The plot was perfect, I'm not going to go into details because I think it would ruin the experience, but I have to repeat that Zavi James created a totally fantastic world, with many details about the Elite Gods of Elysia, descriptions that helped me imagine it all, and the best thing is that, true to his style, she intertwines Gray & Quentin's love story with many secrets about both, about this new world in which Quentin finds himself immersed and totally unexpected situations. And of course, another thing that characterizes Zavi's books are their secondary characters who always manage to steal my heart, Erik & Sloan were my favorites, but I also really enjoyed reading Ig & Elva, plus, the ending was totally unexpected and has me wanting to know what will happen to these characters in the new book.