Office Gods

by Catharina Octorina

Gods, demigods, and true romance?  Office Gods , based on the hit webcomic, is an addictive rom-com set in the corporate HQ of the Olympians themselves! 

Iris, a young human woman, is swept into the world of divine bureaucracy when she's recruited to work in the office of the gods, in the department of Hermes. The gods and goddesses may be beautiful beyond human comprehension, but she quickly learns that they're every bit as petty and quarrelsome as they were thousands of years ago. Can she survive Eros’ antics, Aphrodite’s temper, and getting caught between a love triangle with the demigod sons of Athena and Hades?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Manga, Romance, Fantasy, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Manhwa

240 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[Cande · Rating 1 out of 5]

Am I... the first one star of this book?

Like objectively, I get that this one was not for me and I get what people enjoy. But the more I sit with my feelings, the angrier I get because what the actual fuck?. It was tropey, it was flat, it was boring. It was full of misogyny and the blandest romance that I've seen in a while. Let's not talk about the no thoughts, just vibes world-building.

[Sana · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Still... I'll give 100-- No, 110% to this job. Because that's the least a human like can do.'
'Yesss! Keep at it, fellow oppressed!'

Rating it 4 stars purely because of the fun I had reading it since the plot and the characters are pretty trope-y and worth a solid 3 stars. The ridiculousness of it all had me cracking up on more than a few occasions, though and that's always a plus in my book.

I love a good chaotic main character who takes no shit and Iris is exactly that. Dante is obviously suffering from some daddy issues seeing that Hades is his dad. Meanwhile, Orion is the artistic and silent type. I see the appeal of both the ships but definitely drawn more towards Iris/Orion even if I like the banter between Dante/Iris.

Eros kinda got annoying after a while because he just had this one shtick and couldn't take no for an answer. His OTT personality also didn't help. Shout out to Shira for being hot af, shutting Eros up and being the best boss to Iris in general. However, I wasn't a fan of the demigoddesses at the office trying to go after Iris hard since it felt a bit not-like-other-girls. Dante and Orion suddenly caring about that kinda stuff was a bit unrealistic, too since they're supposed to be arrogant assholes. Well, at least Dante is.

Iris's favorite goddess being Artemis is so valid. Love that for her (and me since I'm very 👀 about where it's gonna go).

The art fits so well with the story especially the chibi versions were so entertaining and cute to look at, heh.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Office Gods Vol. 1 was an enjoyable opening volume in a new fantasy romance graphic novel series. The novel was visually pleasing and I enjoyed the story as Iris began her quest to navigate her new admin role in an office full of gods and goddesses. It's reasonably predictable, but that didn't spoil by enjoyment as I read through it, as the tropes were part of the fun. Perhaps this isn't a series I'd race out to buy, but it's one I could see myself continuing to read if the opportunity arose. I was interested enough by the final page to wonder what would befall Iris next. As such, I am giving it 4 stars. If you like fantasy romance that's trope-filled but fun, it's worth taking a look.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Emma (littledollreads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

The story was ok, not that interesting or that well constructed. But the thing that really bothered me through my read was the art. I just did not like how these people were drawn, and for a visual medium, that is kind of important.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artemis, Aphrodite, and Eros, oh my! This is a really adorable mix of Fruits Basket and Lore Olympus. The illustrations are beautiful and the somewhat classic romance story of a human trying to fit into the realm of higher beings never gets boring.

[J MaK · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.2) Despite the obvious love triangles and mismatched personalities this was quite an enjoyable read. As expected, the humor and romance tropes are over the top, but the author delivers with aspects of Greek mythology paralleled by the human condition to keep the reader interested.

[librariSAM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, cute but very typical love triangle where the female lead is clumsy but also a bit of a Mary Jane

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more bookish opinions, visit my blog: Craft-Cycle

Picked this up at the library on a whim. I haven't read the webcomic and wasn't sure how I'd like it as I don't tend to gravitate toward romance and drama. But from the beginning I was pulled in to the workplace culture of Olympus.

Iris has landed a spot at the coveted Olympus, a 1000-story office building. She's one of the few humans who work there. Now she must navigate office politics, avoid a pair of demigods after an awkward encounter, and stay on the good graces of the easily-offended Olympians.

A fun read full of silly tropes. It was very entertaining and I liked learning about the workplace dynamics between the gods and goddesses, demigods, and humans. There are some truly hilarious interactions.

Sweet artwork that really leans in to the humor of some of the tropes. Gorgeous colors.

Definitely intrigued by this series. Looking forward to Volume 2.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars rounded down

This was kind of all over the place and felt more like a draft.

[Aniela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eros is annoying af.

[Mehsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book from Edelweiss/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

This one sounded really fun and I loved the idea of gods/demigods/humans all working together in an office. The cover looked really nice and while I am not a fan of a love triangle I was kinda looking forward to it here, haha, gods vying for the hand of a human, sign me up. But well, I didn't have fun with this one. Not just because the font in my ecopy sucked (it was blurry), but also because I just wasn't a fan of how Dante and Orion just kept on fighting/getting in arguments/getting petty jealous. Aphrodite was the worst along with her clique of sad demigoddesses who went so far to spike someone's food. Eros should just for once learn NO is no, and that he should just stop with all his crap. I wish that Hermes had been honest to what our MC's job was. Also I get that she is not allowed on each floor for many reasons, but hello, she is mailroom girl? Instead of a demigod just being there for her when she needs it she needs to search for peeps or just get lucky someone is near. WTF. Also why are the gods/demigods doing office work? I mean if I was a goddess I would definitely not do something boring as office work.

What I did like was the MC's best friend, Shira from work (and I guess Jessica, that was her name right? as well). There were some funny moments. I liked reading more about the gods. The art was nice and I had a laugh at some of the facial expressions. I liked that there is a mailroom filled with mail, and I am so curious about the correspondence of the gods.

[A Broken Zebra · Rating 2 out of 5]

EDELWEISS & Andrews McMeel Publishing eARC

- Humanoid artwork is meh, nothing awful, but nothing amazing. Honestly has an uncanny valley feel to it, like the faces are AI generated or something. Same for the backgrounds and random items. However, the flower art is lovely. But there is a lack of flow/connectedness

- Glad the demigods etc are taller, as they should be.

- Found at least one contradiction with Shira about helping Iris on first day; refuses to assist the new girl but then asks Iris if she wants to be shown around...

I adore the concept, truly, but lost interest about halfway through. Characters are almost flat, the romance lacks explanation. And the inconsistency with choosing which swears to show or edit was a bit puzzling. As such, I will not be continuing this series.

[bookrantswithj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid start. Not a lot of chemistry/tension tho between the love triangle. Wouldn’t even know they were the love interests if they weren’t on the front cover lol. Iris the fmc was kinda annoying and stupid ngl.
Hoping the next volume has a little more depth.

AND WHERE TF WAS THE ADORABLE LIL CERBERUS ROTTWEILER!? I FEEL LIED TO. WHY PUT THE TINY LIL CREATURE ON THE COVER IF THEY’RE NOT EVEN GONNA MAKE AN APPEARANCE!?

[Yolotzin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5. Interesting take. I thought it was a stand-alone. My girl's a little stupid, but she's got the spirit. Gods, ofc, are stupid, what's new. The demi's were so mean and toxic. Lots of misunderstandings. It does get annoying. The romance was barely there. Like I see the makings, but idk that I really ship anyone.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Andrews McMeel and Edelweiss for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Judging by some of less than favorable reviews, I imagine they've not picked up manga before or even heard of the likes of Tapas and Webtoon... It's not supposed to be that serious lol.

The whole point of the first chapters/novel/installment is usually to establish 3 things: the protagonist, the setting, and the potential love interest(s). This first installment did just that and also managed some decent world-building, gorgeous artwork, and characters I already want to know more about. What I love in particular is my apathy towards the romance; if it happens, cool, but if it didn't, I probably wouldn't mind or even miss it. I really like Iris as a MC and her personal history with the gods; I'm so intrigued to see how everything will play out with Artemis, especially. And Shira!! God love her (pun only kind of intended), I adore women that want to punch gods in the face lmao.

Needless to say, I'll definitely be picking up the next one! 4.25 out of 5 stars.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeing as how the latest round of Goodreads awards have made the bonkers decision to ditch graphic novels for something called "romantasy" (or some such unearthly neologism), they're welcome to this as a stop-gap – a full-colour manga of a young woman starting out at a mahoosive office place staffed by and run for the Greek gods. Our girl is in denial of what she needs, as she's lived lusting after one guy and recently seen him on the arm of a superior model to her, but only a week after drunkenly making awkward scenes with some gods, she's now working for them. And Eros for one is too interested in her to make it nearly comfortable. Cue office romance pastiche, comedy of embarrassment, whatever you want to call it – it's actually not too bad, and that said as a disliker of manga. I'd still prefer something that was nowhere near this bloodless and sexless, and not just the yacky argument after yacky argument we get here, mind.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you looking for a gorgeously illustrated romcom set in NYC? Then you picked the right title to read. Iris somehow has acquired the job of mail girl at the Olympus Corporation - the company that is owned and staffed by Greek gods, goddesses, and demigods/goddesses. And Iris has landed in the midst of a feud between demigod Orion and the first human VP in Olympus history Dante. Add in Eros as a meddler, his mom Aphrodite as a maybe villainess, maybe over-protective mom, along with Hermes and Artemis and you have a full crew for the first volume of this webcomic appearing in print. More fun is sure to follow in subsequent volumes!

I want to thank Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me an eARC of this title!

P.S. My wife has discovered the webcomic and let me know that there is a lot more fun awaiting Iris and company!

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.75

Themes:
Greek Mythology
Human Girl
Workplace Romance
Workplace Drama

I initially picked this up on a whim from the library without having heard about this series before. In an effort to prove that Lore Olympus is not the best Greek mythology romance graphic novel out there, I’m eager to pick up graphic novels / manga with similar themes.
A lot of the reviews here are pretty lacklustre and to begin with in the story I saw why, but the characters grew on me by the end of this volume. This really gives me Fruit Basket vibes, especially the dynamic of the main trio / pending love triangle that I can see growing in future volumes.
Iris = Tohru | Orion = Yuki | Dante = Kyo

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly really loved this I love the art and iris's character and how she truly wanted to do things herself and proved she belonged at Olympus. Orion is also SO SWEET and even Dante was nice eventually. I felt so sorry for iris when everyone was making assumptions about her that really weren’t her fault and she has to pay the consequences for men who don’t listen and aren’t respectful. I really adored the ending where Aphrodite helps iris and Orion talks to her in the car and tells her she needs to show them she’s not how they think she is. I can’t wait for the next volume and I hope this is a long series

[coury · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel is lowkey giving the same vibes as True Beauty if the setting were an office instead of school and the male leads were demigods. I love the grumpy and caring Dante and the calm and thoughtful Orion. The art style is very cute too, especially the funny parts where the fMC turns into pink sludge when she's embarrassed. Eros was lowkey giving Lord Farquaad energy and it would be super interesting if Aphrodite becomes a third love interest (although the likelihood of that occurring is practically zero). Too bad there's no volume two out in a physical form, but I will be searching for this series online to continue it.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun story. Iris is one of the few humans working in the office of Greek gods and all kinds of demigods. Her job is to deliver letters, which brings her to contact with most of them. It leads to all sorts of misunderstandings and conflicts. And there are two interesting men in her new job too, bad-boy Dante and office heart-throb Orion. But all Iris wants is to meet her idol Artemis. Unfortunately, things don’t quite go her way.

I enjoyed the first volume and would read more. Illustrations were lovely.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Office Gods Vol. 1 was an ok opening volume in a new fantasy romance graphic novel series. The novel was visually pleasing and I enjoyed the story as Iris began her quest to navigate her new admin role in an office full of gods and goddesses. It's predictable, but that didn't ruin my enjoyment as I read it. Perhaps this isn't a series I'd go out to buy, but it's one I could see myself continuing to read when I get the chance. I was interested enough to wonder what would happen to Iris next. That's why I am giving it 4 stars. If you like fantasy romance that's fun, you might enjoy this.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although it was an easy and overall fun read, I couldn't get attached to any of the characters and the world building didn't really work for me. I would love to have gotten some more information about why the gods wanted to be involved with mortals in the corporate sense. I could see it coming up more in future volumes, but at least for this one it didn't seem like there was much thought behind it beyond getting the characters to interact within this specific setting.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up on a whim and ended up really enjoying it.

It was really funny with all the hijinks and the misunderstandings. I like Iris because she's so determined and willing to believe that things will work out. That can come across as being really naive, but it didn't bother me.

It does seem like a love triangle is going to happen in this story, and I usually hate them, but I'm willing to give this story more of a chance.

Can't wait for volume 2!

[Ember Moto · Rating 5 out of 5]

this graphic novel was a very comforting read, was it trope? yes but that's not a bad thing. the tropyness I thought was done well and provide me with a nice fun read. The world is not the most flushed out, but I get the sense that that's on purpose as the main point is the characters. To that point I enjoyed the characters and the interactions they had with each other. I am looking forward to reading more volumes of this and seeing where the characters go from here.

[Warren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Innocuous, but maybe a bit too much so. Resilient human in a world dominated by gods, attracts the attention of some super high ups and plenty of misunderstanding and hijinks. Leans a bit too heavily into the hijinks and is really just the starter for an ongoing series so it is really all just character setup, with more exposition than actual plot. Probably a classic love triangle but it's really early times in vol 1.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice intro to what seems like the main characters in this storyline, Iris, Orion, Dante with good supporting characters too.

This book was a fun light read with comedic relief. Not a lot of depth to the office drama yet... more like your usual petty jealousies and people wanting to out do the other, be they gods, demi-gods, or humans.

Interesting enough to want to keep going...looking for book 2 next.

[Anna McDonald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing. The author appears to be heavily inspired by Rick Riordan’s books and appears to have a deep genuine love for mythology but there are just too many things missing. The main character is a basic self insert with no depth or personality, there does not seem to be a central plot, and the illustrations are clean but copy pasted. The book itself is aesthetically please and easy to read, but it lacks substance.

[Shyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Iris
I also really like Orion and Dante
Eros reminds me of Tamaki Suoh so I really like him too
Actually this whole thing reminds me Ouran
Probably why I liked it so much and now will go binge as much of it online as I can.
Thanks Edelweiss for allowing me to read and review this arc and for exposing me to a new addictive series