The Games Gods Play

Article Written By: Lindsey

Disclaimer** This review may contain spoilers and is firmly based on my opinion**

Title: The Games Gods Play 

Author: Abigail Owens

Publisher: Red Tower Books (Entangled Publishing, 2024)

Category & Genre:  Adult Fantasy

Page number: 592

Tropes:  Greek gods modernization, fight to survive, trials & tribulations

Synopsis from the book jacket:

The gods love to toy with us mere mortals. And every hundred years, we let them…

I have never been favored by the gods. Far from it, thanks to Zeus.

Living as a cursed office clerk for the Order of Thieves, I just keep my head down and hope the capricious beings who rule from Olympus won’t notice me. Not an easy feat, given San Francisco is Zeus’ patron city, but I make do. I survive. Until the night I tangle with a different god.

The worst god. Hades.

For the first time ever, the ruthless, mercurial King of the Underworld has entered the Crucible—the deadly contest the gods hold to determine a new ruler to sit on the throne of Olympus. But instead of fighting their own battles, the gods name mortals to compete in their stead.

So why in the Underworld did Hades choose me—a sarcastic nobody with a curse on her shoulders—as his champion? And why does my heart trip every time he says I’m his?

I don’t know if I’m a pawn, bait, or something else entirely to this dangerously tempting god. How can I, when he has more secrets than stars in the sky?

Because Hades is playing by his own rules…and Death will win at any cost.

Why did I choose this book to read?

Simply put, I fell victim to judging a book by its cover. In all fairness, it is beautiful, with captivating cover art, sprayed edges, and detailed endpaper art. It even has a mini-map, and if you have read any of my past book reviews, you know I love an aesthetically pleasing map. Typically, I would do some research first. I usually look across social media to see if it was highly publicized and, of course, find out some information, such as its release date, but I did not follow my routine this time. I dove right in and threw caution to the wind.

What did I like about The Games Gods Play?

I enjoyed the modernized concept of the Greek gods and how they choose who sits on the throne as King of the gods. I also enjoyed the most prominent tropes in the book, especially trials and tribulations. The trials of The Crucible were well thought out and very creative. The trials were cruel and meant to push the champions to their limit, and the author did a great job at coming up with trials that lived up to that expectation. 

Where did The Games Gods Play go wrong for me?

While the trials were engaging and filled me with terror and even dread, I had clarity issues during the most action-packed moments. I had to reread specific passages to better envision what was going on. This wasn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but it did get frustrating at times of great intensity, and it even lowered the intensity. I had to disrupt myself and reread because I was confused about what was happening, but I was enthralled when I did. 

I couldn’t connect to the main character, Lyra, as I would’ve liked. She is very contradictory within herself, making her character feel poorly executed. As the reader, I don’t get any sense of a need to help others or that she has a heart of gold by any means, yet she does those things throughout the novel. I felt like her character lacked emotional growth and development. Getting to know her personality was challenging, but as soon as I felt like I’d piece together some traits of hers, she’d do something to contradict it completely, and I found myself back at square one with her.

Here are some of my favorite quotes…

“Quitters never win, and winners never quit. But survivors change the game.”

“It turns out Hades’ voice is growly in the mornings, and a little bit grumpy. And the fact that the terror-inducing god is not a morning person is…kind of cute.”

“We’re not butterflies to you,” I whisper. “We’re eternity.”

My character connection…

Hades carries this book, that is for sure. He has good character development and an actual reason for participating in The Crucible; as stated in the novel, this is the first competition he has partaken in since its inception. He fiercely protects Lyra and puts her first, which I greatly appreciate as a love interest. Finally, his overall lack of interest in the approval or love of others, particularly from his fellow gods, is something I not only envy but applaud.

Star Rating: 3 stars

Spice Rating: 3 stars

Final Verdict: 

This had some of everything in it: love, humor, danger, heartbreak, death, etc. I was hooked very quickly and read through it within three days. I couldn’t rate it higher star-wise, as there were some fundamental issues with it that lowered its value, but it was a light-hearted fantasy read that I enjoyed immensely. It reminded me of The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson as if they were spliced together.