The Games Gods Play
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Liz
⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 Stars)
I am a reader who is here for the vibes, and this book had it. It was a twist between the show Survivor and Hercules. We had banter, challenges, twists, and the funniest 3 headed dog!
When we chose this book for our virtual book club we went in a little bit blind. There were mixed reviews on Goodreads but it sounded interesting and had a beautiful cover. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and enjoyable it was to read. I’m not sure whether I would call this truly a YA book The first three quarters of the book could definitely be considered as such, but the spice bumps it out of that YA category for me.
I have many questions that I hope the second book will answer for me otherwise they may just have to be written off as plot holes.
Overall I really enjoyed The Games Gods Play and I am definitely excited to see where this trilogy takes us!
Lib
⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 Stars)
This was so enjoyable for our first virtual book club! The melding of the modern world with Greek mythology was done in such a fun, unique, and thoughtful way. Many short chapters made for a pace that kept the story progressing with the same level of quick intensity that the games brought to the characters. I could definitely nitpick some of the writing intself, and struggled to establish the age-range it was written for initially, but overall, I’m entertained.
Maybe controversial... but I wasn’t in love with the MMC! There were a few too many red flags for me (and I love a morally grey man), but I’m guessing we are waiting to reveal more of who he truly is later. We do have two more books to go! I will most certainly be reading them when they release because the intrigue and curiosity is there, and the creativity is flowing. For sure recommend to any games and trials Greek mythology lovers.
Em
⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 Stars)
Listen, I did not want to put this book down! Are there flaws? Yeah for sure. Was it SO fun and really enjoyable? Also yes!
This is an easy read — it feels YA for the majority of the book, but does kick it up a notch 2/3 of the way through. The predictability was probably a 7 out of 10 — as in it pretty much went where I expected, and there wasn't necessarily a big plot twist that I didn't see coming. But there were several developments throughout that kept everything interesting, which I appreciated.
I am optimistic that we'll learn a lot more about Lyra in the next book. There were a lot of pointed references to things like her name not actually being Lyra and the gold in her eyes...her curse not being what she thinks it is, etc. that put me in theory mode. But not a lot of that gets resolved by the end of book 1, so I hope we get more depth in book 2 (which might be easier since I assume there won't be 12 different games and trials to cram in...12 is a lot).
I had some red flags with the romance in this one, but it was fun to watch our main character's relationship evolve. I did also feel like some of the scenes just weren't that realistic for a girl who's never been kissed much less anything else. I guess when you're opposite Hades, the god of the death, I can overlook it. But it kind of took me out of the story a little bit. Can I tell you though—this is the first book where there was mention of a bush during the spicy scene! In all of the vivid descriptions in romantasy books during those scenes, hardly any actually mention a girl with a bush. I appreciate the fact that this book at leasts mentions "soft curls"..haha!
Can't say Hades is in my top MMCs, but I appreciated his tender moments. He really was a possessive dick a lot of the time though. He did seem to develop as the story progressed, and I did really like Abigail Owen's take on the Underworld, especially exploring the weight of responsibility the King of the Underworld carries. That Hades takes that seriously and works hard to ensure that his souls are actually cared for — I liked that part of his character development the most.
This was so silly, but my favorite scene to imagine in my head was when Lyra walked into the kitchen and sees Hades making a smoothie in jeans and a t-shirt "that's seen better days that reads, 'Sure, you can pet my dog.'". I snort laughed when I read that. I really enjoyed the whole olympic gods in modern San Francisco setting.
------BEST QUOTES (in order of appearance, favs marked with 💜):
- "My mouth is going to get me permanently dead."
- "I may be cursed, but damned if I'm going to let it dictate who I am."
- 💜"Unfortunately for both of us, I have a good imagination—and a lot of opinions."
- 💜"Turns out beauty, even godlike beauty, turns ugly with nasty thoughts"
- "I'm a better partner than I am a puppet."
- 💜"Seems to me that love can calm storms, end wars, make fools of smart people, and bridge the gap between life and death. Doesn't that make it the most powerful?"
- "Cerberus is talking to me. In my head. Seriously, best day ever."
- 💜"I decided a while ago that I can go one of two ways in life. Become angry and bitter, or deliberately choose to look at each day as an adventure. I chose the latter."
- "Fear isn't debilitating. Not when you lean into it. Not when you listen to it for what it is. It's a warning, your body's way of telling you to live—to fight or flee or even sometimes freeze so that you survive. Fear is a tool."
- "Simmer down" — seriously I need to use this phrase more
- 💜"Life, emotions, humanity—none of that is remotely neat and tidy. We are, all of us, just trying to do the best we can, and f*** anyone who says otherwise."
- "After the Styx fix," — haha
- "You made me burn for you." The words come out not as an accusation, but as a harsh whisper of humiliation and bone-deep hurt.
- "Would it be unladylike to punch the god I love in the face?"
------Now...(SPOILERS AHEAD)...for our unanswered questions:
- What is Lyra's actual birth name? Is there more to her origin than meets the eye?
- Is there something significant about the gold in her eyes? That is mentioned several times.
- What is her actual curse? Being "unlovable"...doesn't really match up with the relationships she was able to build during the Crucible. But this is supposedly why Hades chose her? Because he knew about the sirens in Zeus' trial? I do not love that her curse wasn't explicitly explained in book 1 (maybe I missed it?), especially because she apparently no longer is cursed now that she's a goddess.
- Why didn't Lyra die when she fell into the River Styx the first time?? "No one could survive that except a demigod". And...[Cerberus answers "Yes, don't touch, or it could kill you." I frown. "I thought the waters that brought me here feed this river." "Yes." "Then why didn't they kill me before?" Cerberus makes a sound deep in his throats that sounds so much like a dog's version of "ruh-roh" that I almost laugh.] This feels cryptic.
- WHY did Hades fall in love with her — he says something at the end about seeing her with him in Elysium for a "long long time" (assuming this means longer than the month he's actually known her?? If that's the case, did he recognize her when he first met her in the temple?). Surely there's something we don't know yet about why he chose her, and/or why he fell in love so quickly other than "you're not afraid to stand up to a god" (eye roll).
- Who the heck is this oracle that Hades has apparently been talking to the whole time? I'm assuming several of his cryptic, cut off thoughts throughout the book refer to his conferences with this unknown entity. i.e. ["I should have found another way," he says. I should have listened to..." (46%)]
- Do we know why Hades' nickname is Phi?
- Do we know why he calls her "my star" yet?
- When Hades gave his title to Lyra, did he also give her all his godly powers too? And if so, was he briefly mortal?? (67% [I would have to transfer all my godly powers along with my title to a mortal in order to save them."])
- What is this "shimmering veil of mesh over Zeus' face" that is mentioned at the end? "fitted to his features like it's been painted on." — could Zeus not actually be Zeus??
I know book 2 comes out later this year, so maybe all will be revealed. But there was a lot of set up in this book that was left unresolved by the end, and in my experience, too many plot points left open tends to eventually lead to a lot of holes in the end. I really hope that's not the case because this first book was FUN and so enjoyable!