The Throne of Broken Gods: Deluxe Special Edition (Gods and Monsters)

Jessica

Heartbreaking Addicting Sequel, READ IT

"This review will also contain spoilers so proceed with caution if you have not read The Book of Azrael. I don't even know where to start, I didn't think Amber could top the first installment in this series but this book is a beautiful depiction of loss, grief, survival and betrayal. TTOBG's blew all my expectations for how this world was going to go, and while I was able to guess at a couple of the reveals that played out in this sequel, I can say for sure that there are going to be MANY more playing out in the books that follow. The world has only expanded exponentially, with so many characters to dive into now that we have introduced more POVS. I have cried so many times because of this book, my heart broke for Dianna, Samkiel and the Hand. Amber has put so much depth and life into these characters you will feel right along with them. It is worth the pain (For which you will feel much). If you enjoyed The book of Azrael, you NEED to pick up this sequel. You will break your heart doing it, but it will be so, so worth it. Dianna's story is heartbreak. That is one of the simplest ways I can describe her. She has experienced manipulation, torture, physical and emotional abuse, constant lies and loss. So much loss that you cannot think someone could come out the other side. Her story is one that could paint a villain origin story. "When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good...once." We pick up this installment at the breaking point. Dianna has lost her compass, her connection to her morality. Kaden who has taken so much from her has killed her sister and those she thought she could trust have all betrayed her. For most of this book we are experiencing Dianna's grief, her deep soul crushing grief. She is on the hunt, drowning in blood-lust and fueling her anger. Her soul goal is to destroy every single being involved in the death of Gabby, brutally, and without remorse. You can feel her rage, she's stuck in her rage, and the emotion that Amber is able to put into her character makes you FEEL so deeply for her loss and her rage. The way it is described, the connection of survivors guilt with grief, how they intertwine, how we can use rage, compartmentalization, to go on is done beautifully. I fully appreciated how Amber used imagery to express the concept of locking part of yourself away in order to move forward in times of trauma. Exploring mental health, trauma, the effects of self harm, suicidal ideation, bitterness, regret, sorrow and the act of pushing it so deep down that it becomes a poison to your soul is not an easy topic to show or express and can be pushed to the background because of the delicacy of such things. But this is the driving force of our FMC the entirety of the book. The utter, sometimes feeling as never ending moment of falling after so much trauma and the start of trying to find yourself with no quick fix in sight. Samkiel has so much more than just the weight of realms on his shoulders in this book. His strength and love is admiral to say the least. Not only is he fighting desperately with attempt after attempt to save Dianna, to bring her home, he has few allies on his side but the Hand. All while trying to hold his own slowly crippling mental health at bay. He has no breaks in this sequel. It seems like every turn there is something else, Kaden hunting for Dianna, and wanting to open the realms, his fracturing found family, celestials wanting to end Dianna for the chaos she has unleashed on Onuna. You see a whole new side to Samkiel, the King of the Gods, and his ever expanding layers to his character. His unyielding faith in Dianna is so damn admiral, never stopping holding out his hand to her, giving her a lifeline even when she doesn't want it. Like I said earlier, this book has multiple POVs, and I honestly think that it added so much to the world and was essential to giving a full idea of what was truly going on. It was so interesting to get takes from the Hand, and Camilla. Side characters I didn't truly originally appreciate for their found family and meaning to the future of the story. The one I was most surprised about receiving was Kaden's POV, where you gain a deeper understanding of how twisted and abusive he really is. His obsession and rage honestly just made me hate him that much more but was also fascinating to see his "motivation" and what drove him. The ending, we are left with another cliffhanger, in the middle of chaos and on the brink of feeling helpless for these characters. It was not as truly heartbreaking as TBOA but it was still heart breaking in its own right, leaving us in a precarious place for book 3. ["

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May 25, 2023 Verified Purchase

Taryn Jones

Intense journey that will leave you broken!

"The Throne of Broken Gods, the second installment in Amber V. Nicole's Gods & Monsters series, delivered another emotionally charged journey that had me both captivated and torn. Following the gut-wrenching conclusion of the first book, I eagerly dived into this one, fully prepared for an intense roller-coaster of emotions. And let me tell you, Amber did not disappoint! One of the standout aspects of this book is how it dives deep into the aftermath of loss and the relentless pursuit of vengeance. Dianna's descent into darkness, fueled by her overwhelming pain, was a gut-wrenching experience to witness. The way she locked away her morality and empathy to seek retribution struck a chord with me. It's a painful truth for those who've faced sudden loss - the struggle to confront trauma head-on versus seeking refuge in the blinding fire of anger and revenge. This book masterfully depicts the intricate dance between grief and guilt, showing how they often intertwine, and how, sometimes, you need that one person to help you navigate through them. Dianna's mission is an unapologetic rampage of blood and fury, her morality buried beneath layers of anger and bloodlust. She becomes an instrument of vengeance, leaving destruction in her wake without a second thought for collateral damage. While her actions were haunting, I found it refreshingly bold to witness a female main character embrace her dark side to such an extent. In this narrative, Dianna had to shatter her soul to find herself again, and it was a profoundly moving journey. The push-and-pull between Dianna and Samkiel was a joy to read. Dianna's attempts to avoid confronting her feelings for him were both frustrating and endearing. The insults she hurled at him, only for him to deflect them with flirtatious banter, made for a compelling dynamic between them. Samkiel's unwavering belief in Dianna's redemption, even in the face of her darkest actions, was a testament to his character. He is the embodiment of the cinnamon roll trope, and his determination to save her from herself was nothing short of remarkable. Samkiel's character development in this book was stellar. Juggling the weight of the realm and worlds on his shoulders, along with facing his past, he barely had a moment to catch his breath. Despite the chaos surrounding him, I loved that we got to see various facets of his character, particularly his emotional struggles. The romance between him and Dianna was a slow burn, raw and messy, and it took a long and tumultuous road to reach its peak. But when it did, it set everything ablaze, and I was here for it! Now, if I were to nitpick, the book did feel a tad longer than necessary at times, affecting the pacing. Additionally, the frequent shifts in perspective, especially through flashback scenes, disrupted the overall flow for me. As for the ending, it was a heart-racing rollercoaster of emotions, but it left me hanging with a heart-wrenching cliffhanger, leaving me impatient for the next installment. In conclusion, The Throne of Broken Gods continued to deliver an emotionally charged and enthralling narrative, exploring themes of grief, vengeance, and redemption. While it had its minor pacing issues, the story's depth, complex characters, and compelling relationships left a lasting impression. I'm eagerly anticipating what Amber V. Nicole has in store for us in the next book, and I'm excited to continue this captivating journey with these characters. ["

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October 4, 2023 Verified Purchase

Megan Bajorek

I AM 👏 HERE 👏 FOR 👏 THIS 👏 ENTIRE👏 DANG 👏THING!

"The sequel to The Book of Azrael, The Throne of Broken Gods is a surreal but overall satisfying and, dare I say, addicting ride. Every single page had me wanting to read more; putting demands on myself to read, comprehend and turn pages faster because use I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO KNOW [Fill the blank with any crazy hinted at twist and turn]. Picking up shortly after where the story has left off, Dianna has experienced significant and damaging tragedy and trauma. She is hurting so deeply that it is reminiscent of the self-loathing and pain experience by Samkiel in the opening chapters of the previous book. Her deep spiral into violence, chaos, pain and stubbornness is damn near sympathy trauma inducing to read at times leaving the reader conflicted between annoyance, wanting to shake the living hell out of both her and Samkiel and also overwhelming feelings of hope and commitment to seeing her whole again. Amber V. Nicole builds her world and characters in such a way that without realizing it, the reader becomes HEAVILY invested in not only the main characters but all of the surrounding ones too. The author's way of weaving the individual stories of characters and the universe together and then barely teasing the reader with a small word, comment, or reference to a deeper, darker and more twisted reveal that may be lurking around every page turn created an addicting and at times an enjoyable level of frustration experience. Dianna and Samkiel feel like familiar characters, reminding readers of many others within the genre, but stand apart due to their unique origins, powerful and emotional individual and collective journeys toward healing and love, and their full development into strong, passionate and resilient individuals. Samkiel takes the role of support in this part of the story; one could say similarly to a certain Shadow Daddy from that Court of blah blah blah series, in that he never stumbles in his support, trust, unwavering faith and commitment to Dianna no matter what she says, does or refuses to accept. Dianna hurts, BAD, for 90% of this book and for good reason as most of the life and world she has known and trusted in (even the truly evil and heinous parts she at least expects and trusts to be there) is completely ripped out from under her and then violently thrown into her face before imploding. She wrongly and stubbornly believes she is unlovable and has no one to trust (hence the enjoyable frustration and desire to shake her senseless) because of what she perceives as failures and weakness on her. This on some level, hopefully a smaller one without so much stabby stabby and murder, can be related to by nearly any reader. We've all been there when it comes to the shame, blame and self hatred. But naturally the truth comes out that there is one person whom will love, trust, and stand by her until the end...Samkiel. Many of the twists and reveals within the book are a true shock with very little clues or information being telegraphed in anyway which is startling but also makes for an absolute enjoyable read. The reveals that are a tiny bit obvious or predictable still lend significant complexity to the story as the way practically every event unfolds has feelings of familiarity with a dash (sometimes more like a full tablespoon) of "What the Damn HELL" thrown into the 5 course meal that is this book. I am so happy that I dug into this series shortly before the release of the third book because I AM 👏 HERE 👏 FOR 👏 THIS 👏 ENTIRE👏 DAMN 👏THING! Sprint, don't run, don't walk, and definitely don't crawl to this world and series as I truly believe you won't be disappointed by the truly thrilling and layered story, world, and characters created by Amber V. Nicole! ["

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July 15, 2024 Verified Purchase

freya.nightwolf

This book was intense!

"First, thank you Amber Nicole and Rose and Star for sending me the eARC. This journey put me through so many emotions, and I thought my heart will stop. This book has a lot of vengeance and grief... I almost need it to take a break, but I recovered quickly. It has a lot of action, a hell of plot twists, found family, spice, and a lot of grief. I loved the world-building in this book, we learn so much more of the kings and gods of the past, and I would've never thought that Kaden is... well, no spoilers, but wooow, simply wooow. Samkiel had a really hard job, I didn't think he will actually pull her from that path. I did suspect their bond is much stronger than what others will think, and when she found the file with her pest, I literally yelled at the book, being 100% about my suspicions. I just need it somebody to scream that to their faces so they can stop suppressing their feelings. I love The Hand, except for Vincent. I never liked him and now I really want to end him. When he made his appearance at the house with the cake, I thought he will poison them. At that moment I thought of him as a traitor. Now, back to The Hand. They remind me a little of the Rhys's Inner Circle and I loved their bond. They are family, blood or not, and I'm so happy that Didi finally accepted them. Now... The Order... I don't know how to feel about them after learning their history. I don't mean all of them, just to be clear, but certain brothers. I still hope somebody finishes Kaden off, but still... I feel a little sorry for him. THAT ENDING!!! For the love of the gods, why????!!!!???!!! THE EVENTS, THE PRICE!!!! THAT INFURIETING PROPHECY!!!! JUST WOW! The reason I gave 4 stars is simple: between the moment Samkiel caught her from the portal and the huge action from the ending, the action felt a little weird like you expected something to happen, but nothing. You can feel the tension, but some actions were repetitive, and I hoped that they would include Didi in their research. I understand the council didn't have to know her whereabouts, but the team should've included her more in their team. Not just for fun activities so she wouldn't stay alone in her head for long. And because of it, the pace slowed, but to the point that nothing was happening... only a few things in between. Overall, I can't wait for the next book because things can't stay like this. They have to find a way for that brainwashing Kaden just did and to know exactly how that price is going to affect them. ["

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May 30, 2023 Verified Purchase