The Gods Time Forgot by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez

TL;DR: Not a big hit for me, but it could work for others.
Source: NetGalley – Thank you to the publisher!!

Plot: A girl wakes up knowing her name but being told she’s someone else and has to find her history.
Characters: One of my big complaints is that this is a woman vs woman novel. Everyone in here of the female persuasion was after this girl and I hated that.
Setting: Early 1900s America, which I guess wasn’t a huge hit for me.
Mystery/Romance: I knew the ‘gods’ time forgot within 5 pages, and the romance was… something that happened.

Summary:

Manhattan, 1870. Rua knows only two things: her name, and that she has no memories. So when the wealthy Harrington family mistakes Rua for their missing daughter, Emma, Rua goes along with the charade, hoping for answers about who she really is. As she tries to blend into a society she doesn’t remember, she’s drawn to a firmly off-limits the Lord of Donore, a newcomer to Manhattan society who is somehow familiar to Rua.

Finn is new to this side of the Atlantic and knows that the best way to fit in as Lord of Donore is to make friends in high places and play by the rules of society. He knows he shouldn’t become involved with a mysterious, recently missing debutante, but he’s intrigued by Emma Harrington, and Finn has an uncanny feeling that this isn’t the first time they’ve met. 

With societal pressures mounting on both sides, Rua is determined to discover the truth about the missing Harrington daughter and her own past. But when her memories begin to return, they’re of a world far stranger than New York and traced in dark magic.

As ancient secrets unfurl in Rua’s memory, Rua and Finn are forced to uncover the mystery of their past and try to save their future. In this gritty and glittering romantasy, nothing and no one is as they seem.

Thoughts:

If you are at all familiar with Irish mythology this title is going to be a bit of an… annoyance? That could simply be me, but I expected something made up or something very vague and honestly even though this is targeted at a Young Adult audience I’m willing to met a good chunk of those reading this have heard of the Morrigan. That means that a big chunk of the ‘mystery’ in this seemed a bit obvious to me.

The setting was personally not my favorite but for what it’s worth I think our author did a decent job drawing it and the writing itself was nice. I also didn’t love that the entire premise of this was based around women vs women. There were some crappy dudes, yes, but the major ‘bad guys’ here were all women. Especially ones that should have been helping and taking care of Rua.

All and all not a hit for me. I can definitely see someone enjoying this with a bit less of a critical lens but I have to say the title and then the story immediately introducing a very well know myth (at least in my experience) put me back on my heels and bothered me a bit. Try it if you’re interested and perhaps know absolutely nothing about Irish mythology.