Angie Cox's Reviews > The Throne of Broken Gods

3.5 ⭐️ A good addition to the Gods and Monsters series


"When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good ......once."


About:

After the devastating events of The Book of Azrael, Dianna is hellbent on revenge. However, the one person standing in her way is her lover, the God King. Samkiel refuses to believe Dianna is truly a monster and will do everything in his power to save her from herself.⁠ But can he reach Dianna before her thirst for blood and revenge consume her?
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WHAT TO EXPECT:⁠
✨ fantasy romance
✨ gods and monsters
✨ morally grey heroine⁠
✨ cinnamon roll hero⁠
✨ forbidden romance ⁠
✨ forced proximity⁠
✨ 3/5 🌶 (open door/explicit) ⁠
✨ found family⁠
✨ revenge plot
✨ grief/healing journey⁠
✨ betrayal⁠
✨ shocking twists⁠
✨ action-packed⁠
✨ cliffhanger ⁠
✨ multiple POV⁠


My Thoughts:

While I didn't love this story as much as The Book of Azrael, it was still a good addition to the series that dove deep into the characters and expanded on this fascinating world. I truly believe that Amber Nicole is such a fantastic writer with a unique ability to share a captivating tale and evoke strong emotions.


What I liked:


The flashbacks were a great way to give us more insight into Dianna's past. We finally learn exactly what happened to Dianna all those years ago when Kaden changed her, and some shocking revelations. I think including these flashbacks were a brilliant way to expand on an already established character's history and world building without feeling like it's an info dump.


I LOVE the overall story. While most of this book deals with Dianna's grief and healing journey, there's a lot going on in the background concerning Kaden and his plans. Even though we don't really learn much till the end of the book, I love this mystery aspect woven throughout the story because it always keeps me guessing.

The last 20% of the book, specifically, was fantastic. It was an emotional and action packed ending with so many twists and turns I did not expect! And of course, that cliffhanger of an ending (not as bad as book 1), has me so excited for book 3.


The Hand - Xavier, Cameron, Imogen, Logan and Neverra. I adore all of these characters! We were introduced to them in book 1, but it was so wonderful getting to know them more throughout this story and even getting some chapters from their POV.


The spice. Okay, so it takes a while for Samkiel and Dianna to finally do the deed, but it's pretty great once you get there. There's a kiss at 33%, a few sex scenes between side characters throughout, and then finally filthy Samkiel and Dianna smut around 75% and on.


What I didn't liked:


Dianna's actions and reasoning didn't really make sense to me. I understand why she would be upset after the ending in book 1. I even condone her going on a rampage to kill everyone who was involved. However, here's what I didn't understand.

- Dianna killing people not directly involved/innocents.
- Dianna sleeping with everyone and pushes Samkiel away.
- Dianna fighting Samkiel and believing he was her enemy and would stand in her way of revenge, even though he says he is on her side and will destroy all those who hurt her.

All these things, Dianna did to (in a way) prove she's a monster, when all she really did was punish and hurt herself. This was self destructive behavior, and yes, I get that her behavior aligns with the fact she is a monster underneath, BUT I don't know . . . it felt a little too dramatic, even for Dianna.

Dianna wasn't very likable in this book and honestly, it really pissed me off that Samkiel and everyone else ended up justifying Dianna's killing and behavior. The only person who didn't (and I agree with) was Vincent: "You think she is the only person who has ever lost anyone? Cry me a fucking river. People hurt all the time. They don't kill." Fucking preach! What makes Dianna so special that she gets to act like a psycho when something terrible happens? And the fact Dianna suffers no consequences for her actions pissed me off. It felt like I was being lead to believe that because Dianna is the MC, we have to excuse her behavior, but I fucking can't. I may understand why she did those things, but I don't agree with them and could never justify them.

Also, Dianna's transition from being a raging killer who pushes Samkiel away to being in love and not wanting to hurt him was very jarring, and again, doesn't make sense. I guess she was tired of being hateful? This change also only happened when she was powerless so I guess she just gave up being the bad guy? The push and pull between them drove me insane. I felt so bad for Samkiel the entire story. He didn't deserve this.

Side Note: Dianna calling Samkiel, Sami, as a nickname, which came up a lot during sex, was not for me.

Everything about Dianna and her journey EXHAUSTED me, and since this took up almost 60% of the story, I found it easy to put down and I ended up skimming some parts.


The language used by The Hand (who are super old, respected warriors) was sometimes bizarre. They would say things like a teenager in our modern world and it would totally take me out of the story.


Random, unimportant characters would say really insightful things about Dianna's current emotional state, which was very unrealistic considering they don't know her at all. I'm specifically thinking about the guy she almost kills in the warehouse. I think the author did this to reinforce certain notions about Dianna's emotional well-being or perception by others, but having a random character give this insight was strange and unnecessary; especially when Samkiel and others who know Dianna better end up doing this during their POVs.

To the point above, there are A LOT of repetitive monologue type speeches, both internally and externally done by Dianna and Samkiel. There was just CONSTANT insight into their current thoughts and feelings about Dianna being sad...Dianna being a monster...saving Dianna. And while I get these conversations/thoughts should happen to drive home certain points and set up the emotions of the story, it lost its impact after the first few times. Because of this, I ended up skimming whenever this happened.


The pacing was just off for me. Dianna’s revenge plot and healing journey went on and on and on to the point I sort of felt like we were running in circles and after a while I lost interest. And unfortunately, for this 800+ page book, Dianna’s journey takes up about 60% of the story and the last 20% is where most of the plot happens. Because of this, I found myself skimming whenever Dianna had her repetitive revenge thoughts or sad thoughts about Gabby, or when Samkiel skirted around his feelings for Dianna and his pain. I think if this had been 200 pages less of Dianna’s shit this would be perfect.


Overall, the story is good, however, I do think cutting half of Dianna's emotional journey and expanding more on the Kaden plot would have kept me more invested.



Thank you Amber V. Nicole and Rose and Star Publishing for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.


Favorite Quotes:

"I always thought of myself as a monster, and now I suppose it's true. You have no idea what I have done. All I will do. I used to hate that part of me. I didn't realize how freeing it would be just not to care and fully embrace it."
_______

"You have taken someone from me with your actions - someone very precious to me. And now you have helped a lunatic corrupt her already damaged heart, shattering it into a million pieces. They are pieces I will pick up and fix, but what you have done is unforgivable. I plan to make you suffer for that transgression. Death would be a kindness, and you deserve none."
_______

"They wrote stories about us. Me, the Ig'Morruthen, and you, Samkiel, the World Ender. Two creatures destined to spill each other's blood until the cosmos bleed."
_______

"I am a creature born of chaos, born to destroy you. You are the protector of all twelve realms and every dimension in between. Shall we be what we were always destined to be, lover?"
_______

I knew it in my soul. She was Dianna. My Dianna.
_______

"You, above all, should know that even monsters love something."
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"A thousand plus worlds he has seen, yet when he dreams, he dreams of you."
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"It is the highest law not to touch anyone in my court or what I consider mine. That act alone is punishable by death, and she is mine. It will be you end."
_______

"Look at that. Gods do know how to bow."
"If you wanted me on my knees Dianna, all you had to do was ask. You know that."
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"Death is death. If she is a monster to you, then so am I."
_______

"Death takes no sides. Death does not discriminate or hate. It just is and has remained since the first living being existed and will be here long after."
_______

"We can do this dance until this world burns and the next takes its place, but I will still choose you."
_______

"Do it." I angled the tip of her blade above my heart. "If you are truly gone, I refuse to live in a world without you, so you'll have to angle it farther to the right. That's where a god's heart lies, and mine already belongs to you, so do with it what you will."
_______

"I ruin everything."
"Well, lucky for you, I am here to fix it."
_______

"I would turn mountains to sand to find you. I've reduced worlds to desolate wastes before, and I'd do it again for you."
_______

"I'd still choose you. It will always be you, Dianna."
"Destiny be damned?"
"You are better than any destiny."
_______