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A review by read_game_stitch
Of Gods & Monsters by Zavi James
5.0
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!
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!