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The Games Gods Play

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The Games Gods Play

By: Abigail Owen
Narrated by: Piper Goodeve
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About this listen

THE GODS LOVE TO PLAY 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.

©2024 Abigail Owen (P)2024 Recorded Books Epic Fantasy Heartfelt

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This is a really great premise but the writing often felt too simplified. So much of the story was dedicated to the twelve labours that it felt like there wasn't enough development of the characters and their motivations and interactions. It's also really difficult to keep track of the champions and their gods, especially as they are referred to by their names and nicknames interchangeably and there are so many.
Hades was the best character but the way he was portrayed meant he wasn't really morally grey. There is a little spice which feels inevitable by the time you get to it and it's not really clear why they are attracted to / in love with the other.
Lyra's internal monologue often becomes repetitive and her character overall feels flimsy as there's not solid explanation for why she makes the choices she does. Her curse crops up occasionally as an after thought but isn't really consistent in how it is applied.
I generally enjoyed the narration although there were some interesting choices on pronunciation and accents eg I didn't realise the FMC is called Lyra until I looked it up as it is said as "Leer-uh", all the gods speak with British accents and there is an Australian character who if this was not expressly mentioned I would have no idea where she was from because the accent the narrator uses is really weird (at first I thought she was trying to do an Irish accent).

Raced through and loved parts

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Bit of a slow burn with an expected end romance wise. The res together story has some good twists and turns. Would have liked to have had a little more character development for the side characters but overall a good story.

TikTok hype was worth it

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The Games Gods Play is a fantastically written novel. I absolutely loved it.
I loved everything about it and omg I still can't get my thoughts together. It's great!

It's added to my favourite read of year! Thousand percent 5 stars for me.

The audiobook is narrated by Piper Goodeve and she brings it to life, she's fantastic.
I recommend picking this one up!

Fantastic

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I have been wanting to read this one since it came out, but it's still not come out in Kindle book in the UK yet and I can't justify over £20 for a book at present, hence I have gone down the audio route with this one.

I do love the books by this author and have read many series by her and I am always thrilled with what I have read. This book is no exception.

There is romance, intrigue, challenge, trials and a strong female who stands up for herself and for others, even if they are not nice to her.

Hades is a complicated character and to be honest we do not get to see enough of him as to know why he acts like he does even if we get some reasons.

I certainly had a few moments where the book had me crying, especially with Boon and really like how we got the background relationship between them and how he boosted her up.

I can't wait until the kindle version can come out and the paperback becomes more affordable. I shall certainly buy them when I can. Until then, I eagerly anticipate book two!

Captivating!

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I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator did an amazing job with all the different voices. Throughly enjoy it. The story is soo good I couldn’t stop listening to it. Can’t wait for the second one.

Addictive Story

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Loved the premise, great action and characters but it lost me with the explanations of motives. Very flimsy weird reasons !

Great narrator. Disappointing story

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I really wanted to enjoy this but the narrator was very flat and oftentimes lacked depth and emotions. The FMC came across as very immature and Hades not as intoxicating as he should have been.

The story itself was an interesting take on Greek gods and mythology but the writing felt too simplified for the world being created.

Good concept but failed on execution

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