Book 1, Gameboard of the Gods: Age of X

I love Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series and her spin off series Bloodlines, so when I heard she was writing another adult series away from her normal topics I jumped at the opportunity to read it. I like the book, I can not really wait for the second book in the series, my mother is reading the book this minute and one minute she likes it and then she hates it. I was gripped almost from the start of the book.

This book is a typically fantastic Richelle Mead book. The characters are my favorite kind - flawed people who do the best they can with what they know or have.

A warning to urban fantasy or previous Richelle Mead series fans: this book is very different than her previous series or any urban fantasy novels. It is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel with lots of world building and character introduction.

Richelle Mead fans will love this new series. No vampires or sucubi in this one, but you don't seem to miss it. A colourful earthly world of mysterious religions and 2 great new central characters. I eagerly await the next instalment.

Once again Richelle Mead created multifaceted characters who are very interesting and have problems that people can relate to. I loved the interactions between them. The world building was very interesting and unique. It was an interesting take on the gods. At the end I was left with many questions but I know that was purposeful for the rest of the series. From me this gets a 4.5 rating instead of 5 because I felt there were a few parts in the book where it felt like it dragged a little. However, I somewhat expected that since it was the first book in the series and the author had an entire new world to create. It maybe would have been benefited by a bit more dialogue in certain parts? Other than that I loved it and thought that the action scenes were great too. I LOVED the ending of the book (I won't spoil it). It set it up so great for the next book in the series and I will definitely be buying book 2.

This was incredibly well thought out and meticulous in context building. The tapestry of action, romance, mystery and spirituality was woven tightly. This was a hard book to put down. I've read many of Meads books and been impressed, but this was remarkable enough to get a review. Thanks for giving us something to really sink our teeth into. This is so rich, I can't wait for another foray info the Age of X.

Absolutely loved the previous Richelle Mead novels I've read (haven't read her YA stuff yet), but was a little hesitant about this one because of the one-star reviews. So glad I decided to give it a try anyway - great world-building, excellent plot, and loved the characters (Justin, Horatio, and Magnus are a hoot)! It was next to impossible to put the book down. Can't wait for the next one!

This was a very captivating read. Richelle Mead hooks you with this mysterious plot and you as the reader are just as caught up in trying to uncover the truth about what is going on as the main characters in the book!
Can't wait for the sequels!

http://theinkgobbler.blogspot.hk/2013/07/book-review-gameboard-of-gods-by.html

For some reason or the other, I'm a sucker for retellings. Or at least, for stories that take something old and transform it into something totally new and original. Richelle Mead's "Gameboard of the Gods" was released sometime last month, and after reading that it has to do with mythical gods from legend, I knew I had to check it out. Much to my dismay, I found my Kindle an increasingly distant companion as I read the book. There's just something about the characters and the story that just didn't do it for me.

Mae Koskinen is a praetorian, a soldier of the military's most elite and terrifying tier with enhanced reflexes and skills. Justin March, having failed his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims, only longs to return to the Republic of United North America. When he and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger, where unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering, unseen, around them, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely pieces on their gameboard.

One of the main things that really caught me off guard was how old the main characters were. After assuming that "Gameboard of the Gods" was the first book of a new YA series, I was a little disoriented when I found out that Justin and Mae are around thirty-years-old. Which also meant that it amped up the maturity of the whole book, something I found out when they ended up sleeping together in, oh, the third chapter or so. That was when I decided that this is definitely more of a New Adult novel. Not that I really have a problem with a book being a part of the NA genre--it just completely altered my expectations of the characters and their priorities. For example, instead of having a gradual development of romantic feelings toward one another (or the typical YA love at first sight stuff), Mae and Justin's relationship began slap-bang with some flirting and then the bed. Despite this, I think Ms. Mead did a pretty good job with developing their romance post-supposed-one-night-stand, as both Mae and Justin struggled to come to terms with their feelings toward one another.

The characters themselves were fairly interesting to read about throughout the novel. First, you have Mae, who's a butt-kicking praetorian who seems to be perfect in just about every single way. Then, you have Justin, the incorrigibly flirtatious, devil-may-care exile who, at the same time, has some genius skills of deduction. Plus he has a couple of crows in his head that talk to him. Yeah. These two characters were generally interesting, but I don't think I became entirely invested in what happened to them and what they were feeling since Justin seems to be kind of a douche who somehow ends up with a different woman in every chapter, and Mae is a little stagnant as a protagonist in terms of character development. The other, more minor characters, like Teresa and Leo, are more likable--Teresa definitely grows as a character as she adapts to Gemman life, and Leo's attitude is pretty endearing as well.

Now remember when I talked about how much I love retellings? I felt like "Gameboard of the Gods" really fell short of doing the gods and their myths justice. Admittedly, the concept about the golden apple of discord, as well as that of gods choosing a human as their `game piece', was compelling and intriguing, but I felt like Ms. Mead could've taken more advantage of the whole idea. It just seemed as if half the time, she was somehow undermining her own retelling of the gods in the human world by expounding so much on the different religions and how full of bullpoop they are in the RUNA's eyes. Or maybe that's what she wanted, to show the conflict between humans and the gods. Either way, it just didn't really do it for me. More mythical gods and a little bit more magic would've been more dynamic and compelling.

Overall, "Gameboard of the Gods" is a fairly interesting start to the "Age of X" series, but it ultimately does fall short of its potential. Things did pick up towards the end, but most of it was pretty slow and not as compelling as it could be. A little disappointed with this one, in the end!

Rating: 2/5

Richelle is one of my favourite authors, original stories and very well written, but I think this story is not my genre, that said, I would still continue reading the stories just to see how it turns out.

**Anyone, who bothered to read the synopsis regarding this book was told EARLY ON(LIKE A YEAR AGO) that this was Mead's 1ST ADULT BOOK************************
This book is Amazing. I mean the research, character development and the story itself, must have taken an enormous amount of time. This story is so different. You have a Hot sexy really smart guy JUSTIN..who works for the government(he can "read" anyone), bangs everything that walks, and drinks booze like a fish. Mae~whose a super beautiful sexy soldier, with a really bad attitude, sexually charged all the time, and has an implant that allows her to be stronger, faster and kill better then a normal human. and a variety of other back drop characters. Now normally I loathe the entire voices in my head, I'm possessed, yada yada(think THE HOST-UGH!) but Justin has TWO entities living in his head that speak to him, and basically are characters on their own, plus they are easy to follow, you won't get confused.
I will say this book is a dystopian, murder mystery, romance, sci-fi--basically this book has something for everyone. The world has changed, religion has changed(although not really that much-that's probably just my sarcasm talking)genetics have been altered, and lots more....don't want to give TMI. This is Richelle Mead's 1st ADULT BOOK, so it has language and SEX(yay!) This is going to be a intense and exciting series....I just want more...NOW!

**Anyone, who bothered to read the synopsis regarding this book was told EARLY ON(LIKE A YEAR AGO) that this was Mead's 1ST ADULT BOOK************************
This book is Amazing. I mean the research, character development and the story itself, must have taken an enormous amount of time. This story is so different. You have a Hot sexy really smart guy JUSTIN..who works for the government(he can "read" anyone), bangs everything that walks, and drinks booze like a fish. Mae~whose a super beautiful sexy soldier, with a really bad attitude, sexually charged all the time, and has an implant that allows her to be stronger, faster and kill better then a normal human. and a variety of other back drop characters. Now normally I loathe the entire voices in my head, I'm possessed, yada yada(think THE HOST-UGH!) but Justin has TWO entities living in his head that speak to him, and basically are characters on their own, plus they are easy to follow, you won't get confused.
I will say this book is a dystopian, murder mystery, romance, sci-fi--basically this book has something for everyone. The world has changed, religion has changed(although not really that much-that's probably just my sarcasm talking)genetics have been altered, and lots more....don't want to give TMI. This is Richelle Mead's 1st ADULT BOOK, so it has language and SEX(yay!) This is going to be a intense and exciting series....I just want more...NOW!