Oblivion's Hymn

by A.J. Peterson

In a world where magic is ruled by bargains, how much would you pay for the thing you want most?

Echo’s shapeshifting has been a curse all her life. The secret police hunt her for her magical blood, and the rest of the world believes she’s a monster. To prove them wrong and escape capture, Echo bargained with a god to become a famous bard. But when she didn’t uphold her end of the deal, he took her singing voice away. Now the police are closing in, and her childhood friend, Rhienne, is the only one loyal and reckless enough to help get her voice back.

But Rhienne’s lust for power has her in trouble of her own. Her mother is dead, her scheme to steal magic from the head of the secret police failed, and time is running out before the gods come to collect her soul. If she can’t resurrect her mother—who has a history of finding contract loopholes—Rhienne belongs to the God of the Void forever. Using Echo’s innate talents might be Rhienne’s last chance at freedom.

Echo and Rhienne will search continents and dimensions for power strong enough to thwart their enemies and undo their mistakes. But the gods have their own plans to maintain balance. One way or another, they always get what they’re owed.

Genres: Fantasy

458 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2025

Reviews

[AndaReadsTooMuch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys. GUYS. This book is a must read. You hear me? MUST READ. This is everything that fantasy should be and is, and it’s beautiful, and I’m typing this through tears because IT IS BEAUTIFUL. It broke my heart and put it back together with threads of gold. I..don’t know how else to describe this. I adored the characters, the world, the gods… oh, the gods. The way they toyed with the humans, and the magical system was just… chef’s kiss.

I needed this book right now. I needed to believe in the power of more than one. I needed to see found family as more than a trope. I needed it to be strength. And this had everything of that and more. Anyone that feels like they are less, or just not enough, that they are the sum of their mistakes, you need to read this. You need to read this and feel the truth of being more whole than you realize. You need this. (This goes triple if you are a musician of any type. Trust me.)

And that this is the first book in a series? SIGN ME UP FOREVER. A. J. Peterson, you just got yourself a fan. 10/10. No notes. Not a single damn note.

Oblivion’s Hymn hits shelves Oct 28. You do not want to sleep on this one.

Thank you to author A.J. Peterson and The Nerd Fam for the gifted eARC. #oblivionshymn #thenerdfam

[Brandy Pompey · Rating 3 out of 5]

☕✨ Review ✨📚
Reading Oblivion’s Hymn by AJ Peterson felt a little like joining a D&D campaign that’s already in progress—you might feel like a quiet observer at first, but once the quest unfolds, you’re drawn right in.
The world-building was truly beautiful. Peterson’s writing made each setting feel alive, like somewhere I could curl up with a cup of tea and stay awhile. The characters—especially the strong, morally grey women—brought such depth and grit to the story. While I did find myself wishing for a little “more” in some parts, once the journey found its rhythm, it carried me along with it.
✨ A slower start that blooms into a rich, atmospheric adventure. ✨

[Geraldine Basically · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read this as an ARC, and I enjoyed the concept, but I found the book a bit lack lustre.

The characters were fine, I was a little confused to begin with about Echo and Rhienne, as I thought when it said they had broken up that it had meant they had been in a romantic relationship,
but it turned out it was more a family bond. I enjoyed their dynamic; their ride or die mentality.

What bothered me was that there wasn't really any clear explanation for Mishara. Why was she a lead inquisitor using blood magic? What led her down that road? Her character felt unnecessary, as she just wanted revenge on Rhienne for using her, which felt like teenage drama reasons for someone who was higher up in the untold leadership chain. Then, she died in such a simple and sort of boring way.

I also felt like the police/untold weren't very well explained. Why are they called the untold? What does that mean?

The bracelets at the beginning of the book weren't explained very well, like how did Echo escape the alleyway with the untold closing in on her? How did she get to Rhienne so quickly and easily, if she was running away from the untold and contemplating using the bracelet herself for help, how did she just suddenly manage to get herself out of that situation and into a worse one? She then had no trouble getting herself and Rhienne out of the catacombs with much more untold than she was facing in the alleyway. It didn't make sense.


Nearer the end of the book when they were trying to form the tapestry of light to join the origin, their father just appearing didn't make a huge amount of sense, like how did he and the townspeople get to same place as rhienne and the crew.

I also felt that there was an emphasis on Rhienne and potentially Echo using the dawnglow to solve all their problems, then when they found some, it was quite anticlimactic. When they used it, I was throughly underwhelmed. I was expecting more from this supposed amazing magic.
Tash had a fair bit of dawnglow, so why didn't they use that later on when things got bad?

In summary, I didn't hate the book, I just felt it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

[Chelsea-anne Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echo and Rhienne are found family that separate to travel their own paths. But re-join as they have both made deals with gods that have not went to plan. This is a strong debut, I loved our FMCs they were interesting, complicated and they were just trying to survive which made them compelling to read about. I loved this world, the author has cited DnD and Treasure Planet as comparisons and I adored that. This is a vast fantasy world where we have many magical beings, from mimics, dream walkers, gods and more. We have beings called the Untold who hunt magical beings, I wish we found out more about the untold as they intrigued me. What happened to drive them to that path, where they born that way or did they choose dark magic and slowly wither away. This shows you how detailed the background characters are that I started to want more and more. My favourite part was the airship and the crew aboard it, they all had complicated relationships with the gods and I wanted to just spend a book with them, how did they get together, what adventures have they been on. Don't misunderstand me, I know its sounds like I just wanted more of everything but thats because I loved this world and characters. I cant wait for the author to hopefully write more in this universe. This story abut Echo and Rhienne was fantastic, the pace is medium which lets you sit with their decisions without it dragging. I loved it, I think this is a really strong debut that many people like myself are gonna adore.

[Ana Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐ rounded up because that ending was beautiful.

**I've received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author!**

This was a very interesting, original and compelling story. I really enjoyed how ride-or-die these two FMCs are and how their beautiful friendship was the base of the story (and I'm a huge fan of romance, but we did get some very nice romantic -and what a healthy romance- scenes as well). They are both very very flawed people who have made lots of mistakes... Yet individually, each one has a lesson to learn, and it all matches beautifully with the end of the story.

Yes, the book has flaws, but the magical aspect of it makes you forget about them and keep reading, so I highly recommend it to people who enjoy friendship stories, a little quest, deities and soft magic systems. Perfect if you enjoyed The Tainted Cup.

--

❗Beware for spoilers below❗

My favourite part was the gods! Bastion was like a big kid; on one hand, he seemed slightly mature, seeing the beauty in the mundane, and yet still childish at times. But Exodus was, by far, my favourite character 🔥 He was fun, sassy, and with an array of emotions that screamed "I'm human" more than some of the other characters. His love and appreciation for Echo made him even better, and that has me excited for what the next book will bring. Now their descriptions were some of the most wondrous I've ever read! I won't even spoil them, you have to see it for yourself. This pantheon of deities is one of the best I've encountered in fantasy.

Now, this wasn't perfect by any means. It started strong, but then the magic system became too complex without proper explanations, which could be a me-problem because I prefer hard magic systems (properly explained), but there were lots of things that didn't make sense and had me wondering "how TF was that possible?!" too many times. There is a lot we missed here, especially about the Untold and, how come the Gods let them be? How do they siphon magic? How does blood magic work? How do deals work? How do mimics and immortals have magic and yet Echo still needed the mandolin to get hers? And if there are gods here, what is "hell" and are there "demons" too?

The plot felt slow at the beginning as well, and there was a lot of focus on the friendship and these two characters emotions, that we ended up too much inside their heads and not enough enjoying their journey and other characters. I completely understand why though, but it made the story feel way too slow at first, and the fun bits were way too quick afterwards.

As for the writing, while I enjoyed the descriptions, worldbuilding and character development, the writing itself felt a little wonky. At times (especially towards the ending), it felt like "white room syndrome" because I couldn't picture the surroundings, or how some things just happened (how did her dad get there?!), and some things didn't fully make sense. However, I feel like I need to state I have a 16 month old and sometimes, the brain is not braining properly, so this, too, could be a me-problem.

"When I couldn’t see another way forward except to… not go forward.”

I'm a sucker for mental health depictions in fantasy, and I feel this one tackled two things that I've experienced myself too: the lack of purpose, and the lack of will to go on (to say it nicely). And with that ending, this book was a masterpiece to me.

"They’d wanted to see what she could do, see what she truly was. Well, it was all out on the table. A monster at worst, a copy at best, with nothing to say that hadn’t already been said, nothing worth noticing."

The world is an absolute gem, original and creative and inspiring, making me want to go and work on my own stories! It felt so fresh and new, that not having enough of it made me a little upset. That ending was beautifully written, with the Origin and her descriptions and how it felt, so whimsical and magical that it's a great reminder of why I love fantasy stories.

And yet, the best part was how the characters changed, let go of their fears and wants to embrace their needs... a tale so old, we all live through these things over and over in our lifetime, but seeing it so clear in a book always hit differently. People see us as less, as not worthy, as monsters... to the point that their voices mingle with ours, making it hard to see who we really are. Being in the Origin and the concept of opening up to show who you truly are, how people influence that too, as a way to connect with the "thing" we're constantly looking for, it was just... wonderful.

"Everyone here was a collage of who they’d met and where they’d been. That didn’t make them monsters, or frauds, or anything other than who they were."

That Epilogue was absolutely SAVAGE! It made me really excited for the next book because it feels we're going to get a lot more worldbuilding, and not just this world but the pantheon, and perhaps other realms?! Can't wait 🙌🏽

[Siavahda · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s nothing wrong with this one, but nothing especially ‘right’ either – the prose is fairly plain, the characters don’t feel very vivid, there’s nothing really special about the setting. There’s a D&D flavour to it that some readers will love but that I always find a turn-off. That striking a bargain in this world, of any kind and with anyone, gives everyone involved magic is really cool, but felt incredibly underutilised as on aspect of the worldbuilding (why hasn’t your world evolved a completely unfamiliar-to-me system of commerce, apprenticeship/adoption, contract law, etc, if this has been a natural law since the dawn of civilisation?)

And maybe I’m just being Very Autistic, but I didn’t understand the strain between the main characters at all.

I read the first third and alas, it just didn’t grip me. I don’t think it’s objectively bad at all, but it didn’t give me any incentive to keep reading, either. Sigh.

[Kayda Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I just want to say how gorgeous this book is 😍
This one took found family to a new level 🥹 the bond Echo and Rhienne shared was so touching to read, and I really enjoyed their relationship.

I found the world to be confusing at times, but I liked the concept of the gods and the bargains being made between them and the characters we’re introduced to. The magic system was unique, and it brought something different I hadn’t read yet( especially with Echo’s musical magic). I did feel like it was a little much to keep up with at times, because there were a lot of characters, and they all went by multiple names, and they all had many different changing magical abilities. Overall, this one was very fast paced and entertaining, despite wanting a little more backstory! A good start to the series for sure.

Thank you to the author A.J. Peterson as well as Tales & Teacups for this gifted Arc copy 💙

[Maggie]

Um loved the airship and the crew! I prefer a bit more weight to the prose in my fantasy, but overall the world building and characters were fun and adventurous. Definitely a good one for those dnd aligned or dnd curious, is that a thing?

ARC review disclaimer :)

[Lesia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to A.J. Peterson for the advanced copy of this book!

I absolutely loved this 🥹 it was so refreshing to read a fantasy focused on female friendship and the love that stems from it, as I feel that platonic relationships can often take a backseat in fantasy novels. Echo and Rhienne were such dynamic, flawed, hilarious characters and I had so much fun getting to know them!

This book had the chaos of a D&D campaign with your besties mixed with top tier storytelling and plot twists that kept me engaged and intrigued the entire time! I love a story that involves meddling gods, and Oblivion’s Hymn had them in spades! It was such a fun read that tugged on the heartstrings, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes.

I’d highly recommend any fantasy lover picking this up, but especially if you are a woman in your 30’s who loves shenanigans with friends 🥰

[Quinn Stigers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of Oblivion’s Hymn and highly recommend it to anyone looking for their next fantasy read. It’s so refreshing to read a fantasy book about female friendship, particularly a friendship as chaotic and hilarious as Echo and Rhienne’s.

The characters in the book are beautifully written with lots of nuance. In particular, our main characters are brilliant and calculated, but can be a bit of a mess. Hilarious and witty, but still earnest. Adventurous and brave, but still working through their respective issues. Above all, they are fiercely loyal to each other, which I loved.

The journey our characters go on is filled with twists and turns and I never really could tell where it was headed next (likely because our characters fly by the seat of their pants most of the time), but I loved being along for the ride.

The magic system is based on bargains, which gets Echo and Rhienne into quite a bit of trouble, both before the book begins, and throughout the entire story. I enjoyed learning how the magic system works in this world. Of course, there are also meddling gods, which only added to the chaos.

There is some romance in the book, but it is very minor in the overall storyline.

Really, this is a book about friends as close as sisters making their way on a long and treacherous journey with the ultimate goal of undoing their mistakes (bargains gone wrong, in most cases) in order to save the world as they know it.

I highly recommend!

[Nirav · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started with so much excitement.

I loved the Arcane like setup, the world building is really amazing! The magic system is complex and have a lot of thought put into it. There's a feeling that at any point something could change and the characters will have to adapt and that's an exciting idea. The ever changing parameters including the limitations to magic creates some very exciting scenes.

Both FMCs are written very well. The motivations and choices are showed very nicely. Overall, as a debut, it was not that bad.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to A.J. Peterson and Tales and Teacups for providing me with an eARC of Oblivion’s Hymn. I was not paid to read or review this book, and all thoughts are my own.

4.5 ⭐

Oblivion’s Hymn is so much more than a queer fantasy, it’s a piercing exploration of grief, identity, and what it costs to let yourself be truly seen. At its heart, this is not a story about falling in love but about living in the platonic kind of love: what happens when facing it again is as dangerous as it is inevitable.

Echo, the bard who has lost her voice, is one of the most compellingly flawed characters I’ve read in recent fantasy. She is not written to be easy or likeable as her survival is built on manipulation, performance, and emotional self-protection so sharp it often wounds the people closest to her. Yet it’s precisely this refusal to make her palatable that makes her arc so magnetic. Peterson doesn’t promise neat redemption. Instead, Echo must strip away the lies she tells herself and others, and what’s left is something raw, jagged, and painfully human. Watching her confront the difference between being adored and being truly loved is devastating in the best way.

Rhienne, her foil and her soul sister, is equally nuanced. A paladin bound by faith and silence, she begins the story as rigid and unreachable, her repression a kind of armor. But Oblivion’s Hymn takes care to show us that this isn’t just Echo’s tale. Rhienne’s gradual unraveling, the shift from duty to vulnerability, from silence to truth, is quieter but no less powerful. Where Echo hides behind masks, Rhienne hides behind vows. Both must learn how to face their pain without the protection of performance or obligation, and this is in part why Rhienne is my favourite character.

What lingers most, though, is how Peterson writes about love. This isn’t the “meant-to-be,” destined-for-eternity romance so common in the genre. Their bond is electric and aching, but the book refuses to indulge in easy reconciliations or happily-ever-afters. Instead, it asks harder questions and Oblivion’s Hymn answers these questions with brutal honesty: this is not a story of rekindling but of the sisterly bond. Echo and Rhienne are not written as “endgame” lovers. They are mirrors—reflecting each other’s wounds, growth, and resilience. Their story honors what was while carving space for what might be, reminding us that some loves are meant to be carried forward, but they are never wasted.

Peterson’s prose is lush, lyrical, and unflinching. Every page thrums with queerness, not as a theme but as the very fabric of the story. It’s a book that refuses easy answers, that lingers in your chest long after the last line.

If you’re drawn to stories of messy women, flawed devotion, faith and identity under fire, and the complicated beauty of letting go, Oblivion’s Hymn is a hymn worth hearing.

[KMart Vet · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 stars

Echo and Rhienne are absolutely the heart of this book. They are childhood friends that were once as close as sisters, but they've gone while apart. They are fiercely loyal to one another, but are still a little uncertain where they stand with one another. They clearly love each other in that tangled, messy, sibling-adjacent way, but they’re also both holding onto secrets. The nice thing is that the book doesn’t drag out these secrets for long; everything gets aired out fairly early. A tiny part of me wishes some of those reveals simmered longer for tension’s sake, but I also appreciate that the story isn’t built around withholding. It’s much more interested in what healing looks like after honesty.

There’s romance (some sapphic!) in the margins, but friendship absolutely takes center stage, which I adored. The tone is oddly comforting for a story full of high stakes and existential threats. Possibly because I am so comfortable in the D&D spaces. It’s disarmingly charming and, as a reader, you’re rooting for everyone to find a future better than what they bargained for.

Where the book shines is its emotional core. The found family is soft and quietly lovely. The friendship between Echo and Rhienne is written with so much affection and bruised history. And the book uses fantasy to talk about very real things: identity, shame, acceptance, past mistakes, and the idea that “who you used to be” doesn’t have to define your entire future. It hits hard.

This is a bit like being dropped into the middle of a D&D campaign where the characters have extensive backstories, which can be a bit jarring at times. But once I settled into its rhythm (pretty quickly), it really won me over. The world-building has gods with competing agendas, strange magic, bargains, and a society that treats some like both a threat and a commodity. It’s confusing, sure, but not in a way that pushed me out. More like the story expected me to catch up on my own time. And that honestly worked well.

The metaphors underneath this story: the weight of expectation, the cost of mistakes, the pressure to be “worthy", land beautifully.

Some world-building threads feel loose, and the magic can be hard to pin down at times, but it’s full of heart, unique ideas, and a duo whose devotion carries the whole book.

Thanks so much to the author and Nerd Fam for the complimentary pre-released copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

[Ris · Rating 5 out of 5]

”There were too many ways to move through the world to fear something as small as the end of a path.”

This book has it all: a unique magic system, flawed but lovable main characters, dying gods and priceless bargains.

After spending a decade apart chasing down their own dreams, Rhienne and Echo reunite in the most chaotic of ways to find that their dreams haven’t really played out the way they imagined. Echo, a mimic who can take on the form of other people, is being ruthlessly hunted for her nature by the Untold - a militaristic group that siphons magic from those like her. When she is cornered and on the run, in the peak of the chase she gets a message from Rhienne asking for help… to stop her execution. Rhienne, a magic user and half dreamwalker, has found herself being dragged to execution by her ex-lover Mishara after finding out Rhienne is not exactly who she says she is. Thus begins a tale of a lifetime - of two best friends who hunt for a way to fulfill their dreams and maybe fix some mistakes in the process.

This book is so insanely good it’s hard for me to put into words. The magic system is dependent on magical bargains people make with the gods. The gods (Oblivion, Exodus, Reckoning, and Harvest) have a habit of taking more than the humans can give despite it being an ‘equal’ exchange. Rhienne has traded her soul to Oblivion and in turn has to dreamwalk and do his bidding. Exodus has taken Echo’s greatest gift and magical transmitter - her singing voice.

There is a lot that happens in this book: revenge, loss, love, incredible tales, depressing truths, and more. I can’t say much more other than: READ THIS BOOK!!!!! I can’t wait for book 2 and it is SO SO incredible!

[Marie Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good and will definitely be a contender for my top book of the year.

At the start, the reader is just thrown into this already established world, and you have to grasp each hint at how the magic works as it comes along, during which one of the main characters is rescuing the other. However, this is done so well that I didn't feel lost, nor did I have to drag my way through a long "history of magic" monologue.

Now let's go back to the main characters. Both of them are so fantastically flawed and so devoted to each other. This is the perfect use of the found family trope because even though they've been separated and their goals were different, they are there for each other in a heartbeat.

The magic and the gods were also just so incredibly thought out. I love anything that works music into the magic system, and the bargaining aspect of the magic was also really cool. Plus more types of magical beings and some cool steampunky magic/technology mashups? Yes, please.

I was completely taken in by this book and did not want to set it down for a moment. Now that it's over, all I want to do is start over on page one.

If you've read anything by S.M. Gaither, I suggest you pick this up immediately. I'm left in the same mental state I'm in after finishing one of her books without the anguish of a huge cliffhanger. Not that this doesn't have a great tie into the next book. I'm super excited to see where this series goes and am immediately following the author so I can find out about the release schedule ASAP.

[Lisa Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a non-traditional fantasy reader aka generally preferring other genres, "Oblivious Hymn" has shown me yet again that fantasy novels can catch a reader with their world and their characters and what makes them so special to so many people.

As someone who went into reading without much background knowledge (never played DnD in my entire life) I especially loved the character dynamics and the development of friend- and kinship in this story. Also, I developed a soft-spot for Exodus, so seemed to be one of the anatogists in the beginning...but you wait and see! I am really looking forward to read what becomes of him and Echo as well as of her friendship with Rhienne.

I gave it 4.75/5 stars because the ending seemed a bit long to me...but maybe that was also the case because I was desperate to find out about the great showdown.

This is, however, not only a story of friendship and the battle with gods. It is a story about finding oneself and finding purpose and how we are shaped and influenced by the people we meet in our lives. It also has an immaculate world building, so I highly recommend you'll give it a try!

[TiffanysBookCult · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up for vibes

I enjoyed a lot of things about this read…FMCs that aren’t children in their 20’s but still chaotic and interesting, found family, the overarching theme of acceptance and growth, the sapphic romance sub-plot. All left me feeling like I wanted to continue to read.

I loved loved loved the gods and the bargain magic that was introduced. I also adored Echo’s magic as it felt fresh and something new that I hadn’t read before.

I did struggle at a few points with keeping up with the shifting scenes especially when the magic came into play towards the end. I had to pause and reread a few times to get my bearings.

Overall this is a wonderful start to whah I believe will be a great series. Looking forward to continuing the journey!

[Nine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thankyou nerdfam & author for this arc copy in return for my honest review.

I loved the concept of the book the found family, the set up of the magic system and the concept of music playing a part in this book. As the story progressed I found myself finding it hard to differentiate between echo and rihane as the constant skip of chapters between each character became too much at times. Towards the end of the book I felt it lacked the necessary plot it needed to keep me engaged as I felt like the plot of the book was lacking substance. I however didn’t dislike the book and think it has a lot of potential.

[Lore Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite a slightly slow start, this was a story that truly captured the feeling of a D&D campaign - something that I think a lot of books try to do, but so often miss the mark! I absolutely loved the dual perspectives of our main characters, Echo (a shapeshifting mimic) and Rhienne (the daughter of a dream spirit), and found them both immensely lovable and relatable. These two both being over 30 was a breath of fresh air after reading so many fantasy novels where nobody seems to have aged above 25! The worldbuilding in this novel is fantastic, and I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series, as I'd love to see some aspects of the world explored in more depth.

Overall, this book was a joy to read - cozy vibes and the feeling of playing a TTRPG with friends, while still keeping the stakes high and the plot exciting. If you like the sound of a rag-tag Treasure Planet-inspired crew of characters on a D&D-inspired quest, then this book is for you!

Thank you to A.J. Peterson and Tales and Teacups for providing me with an eARC of Oblivion’s Hymn!

[Amira · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!!! ✨️

This novel's a story of genuine connection, strength, courage, and love. The messiness and realness of it all made the whole story compIicated yet forgiving in such a way that warms your heart.

I adored the friendship between Rhienne and Echo and I love how it signified beautiful yet still flourishing and accepting kind of relationship, flawed and all. Its whole premise, the magic system, this fantasy world, and the link with the gods were all done incredibly.

Though it may have started slow for me but overall, it was a cosy read filled with crazy adventures which I, then, truly enjoyed. With this inspiring storytelling, I cannot wait to see what's in store for all our characters.

Huge thank you to the lovely author for this e-ARC and a massive congratulations on the continuous success since the book's release! 💖

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review — Oblivion’s Hymn by A.J. Peterson

Oblivion’s Hymn is a chaotic, adventurous fantasy filled with morally grey women, ride-or-die friendships, airships, and gods who always collect what they are owed. The banter is sharp and entertaining, the worldbuilding is rich without becoming overwhelming, and the Treasure Planet-inspired atmosphere is utterly captivating.

The pacing is strong overall, though a few chapters felt slightly longer than necessary for my personal taste. I also tend to prefer my fantasy with a bit more romance and spice, whereas this leans firmly towards low spice. Neither of these points reflect poorly on the writing itself, both are simply matters of preference.

If you enjoy queer-normative worlds, found family, D&D-style adventures and a seamless mix of humour with the occasional emotional gut-punch, Oblivion’s Hymn is well worth adding to your TBR.

[Farron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book for free as an e-ARC. I am giving my honest review.

Oblivion’s Hymn start in media res and really feels a lot like dropping in on someone’s DnD actual play. This is a great idea, but in practice the pace and the near apocalyptic upping of stakes within a single book really left me a bit lost, because I didn’t feel invested enough in the world or what might happen to it or the characters. I also often felt I didn’t have a strong enough sense of place for various scenes, and in general I wished I just had a bit more to immerse me in this inventive world and its conceptually interesting characters. There were also just a few too many scenes of characters filling each other in on what was happening for my taste.

I think a lot of the things I didn’t enjoy about this book will be things that other readers like: for instance, I found the idea of the ‘Untold’ to be distracting, as I must have missed why they were called that, and I just found myself saying, “They cannot be Untold, everyone is telling each other about it.” In general this book will take the dubious honor of being the one to make me admit once and for all that for all I enjoy a lot of fantasy and romantasy, I simply dislike the tendency of a lot of stories to give things Vague Capitalized Names like that. I’d suspected for awhile that I’m needlessly harsh on this convention. So take some of my lack of enjoyment of this book with a grain of salt because I kept reading even after I quickly realized it did some things that made me want to bounce. It’s on me for keeping up with it at some point, isn’t it? That being said, while I liked the idea of the gods simply being named with the words that mean what their domain is, I sometimes found myself feeling they were so similar that I struggled to keep track.

There are some set piece moments that I really enjoyed and at times the writing was beautiful and inventive. I think some of the dialogue is strong, while other times it felt like characters were simply spitting out cliches – particularly on the part of one of the main antagonists.

This strikes me as a promising debut. I’d recommend anyone who is curious about it to check it out on their own.

[faith elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5!

I really wanted to loved this book as it was a little out of my comfort zone but it didn’t quite hit the mark with me.
I found the world building fantastic and really descriptive as we’re introduced the arcane magic system however, the character descriptions confused me a little as they all have multiple names and abilities.

What I did love was the found family vibe and the loyalty specifically between Rhienne and Echo, their sister bond is like no other.
Call me crazy but I really enjoyed Exodus and Echo’s dynamic, I wish we saw more of that.

Thank you A.J Peterson, Tales & Teacups and Dreamscape publishing for the Arc!

[Joanna Rasmussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A full-blown fantasy adventure filled with magic, music, and meddling gods. What really stood out to me was the focus on friendship and found family. Even though there’s a small sapphic romance subplot, the heart of the story is about loyalty, mistakes, and how far friends will go for each other.

I loved the world-building, the magic tied to music, the divine bargains, and especially the airship and its crew. The journey through cities and even other dimensions made it feel like a true adventure from start to finish.

It’s a story about finding yourself, finding purpose, and the bonds that shape who we become. A fun, heartfelt fantasy that I really enjoyed!

Thank you to the author, The Nerd Fam, and Tales and Teacups PR for the gifted advance copies of this book.

[Raccoon.reader_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Oblivion's Hymm as a fun ARC buddy read with a friend and let me tell you we had so much fun with this one!

The characters, the world, the magic, the gods and the true found family just absolutely blew me away. The way this story is told is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful even in its brutal moments. 

The two main characters Rhienne and Echo go through such a beautiful transformation throughout their journey which is relatable to everyone and really brings the message home of true beauty and loving yourself which we all need to be reminded of. Their friendship and personalities are so relatable and you'll find yourself either saying that's basically me or I'd be besties with her.

The found family along the way, gods who are plotting, realm jumping, evil factions lead by a scorned ex and and ending that literally had my jaw on the floor not knowing what to think or say at 3:30am this morning the author has an absolute hit on her hands and I need more.

If that isn't enough to convince you the DND influence in this book is so much fun with smart and witty banter and the influence of a treasure planet airship crew what more is there to convince you to pick up a copy?

Get your copy on October 28th and join me in the obsession I now have.

[j.f. Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanna start this review by saying that a lot of my issues are going to be specific to my tastes and not necessarily reflective of this book's overall quality. If "Marvel does Dungeons & Dragons" sounds like a good time to you, then I am confident in saying that Oblivion's Hymn is going to be right up your alley. Unfortunately, as I quickly discovered, it was not up mine.

Before we get into what didn't work for me, I want to highlight a few of the novel's strengths. First, foremost, and forever: Aderai Starfall. I was obsessed with this character the moment they were introduced (possibly because their androgynous nature and burgundy suit instantly put me in mind of Hazbin Hotel's Radio Demon, a character I deeply enjoyed even if they were done super-duper dirty at the end of the first season). I liked their poshness, their dedication to their hotel and its clientele, and their willingness to take a chance on an unknown performer. When they were charmed by protagonist Echo's musical talent, I was equally charmed by their appreciation. When eventually Echo and co-protagonist Rhienne were forced to flee Aderai's hotel, I was not only sad to see Aderai go but also worried for the character's safety. I wish I had felt this way about every character.

Second, I did appreciate the sequences in Port Sapphrai and on the airship. During a book in which I struggled to visualize most locations as anything more than a black void, these particular scenes felt breath-takingly vivid. I really felt grounded in the locations and connected to the stakes of the moment, and I appreciated that where I found it.

Now for the rest.

The black void. This was the hardest part of the writing for me to deal with. So little of the surroundings were ever clearly described that I frequently found myself floundering to understand where characters were and what they were doing there. A scene would take place in a tavern and then suddenly we would be an alleyway and I would have no clear recollection of how we got there. Even the airship, which I found reasonably easy to visualize, may have been largely influenced by its obvious inspiration, Disney's Treasure Planet. I have no idea what ship captain Aurelia looked like, because I just pictured Captain Amelia from the animated film. The black void was a consistent issue, and one that prevented me from ever feeling completely immersed in the action of the novel.

As for the characters, I felt that the author had a much firmer grasp on them than the one that was conveyed to me. Even with the chapter tags telling me which protagonist's POV we were in, I struggled to keep track of who I was following. Aside from Rhienne being sassy and Echo being... less sassy? The characters mostly felt like two sides of the same person. Maybe this was intentional. The narrative repeatedly stressed to me that they are "ride-or-die" adoptive siblings who know each other better than anyone else has ever known either, but I spent most of the book wishing it would show me this instead of just telling me over and over. Despite their history, they didn't feel that much closer to me than any other pair of trauma-bonded characters I've encountered in media. Part of this may be a contentedness from the narration to explain scenes rather than depict them. What I mean by this is that key moments between characters were addressed in passing narration later rather than being fleshed out in the moment. In particular, I recall a moment when Rhienne expresses how close she is to her love interest Aurelia by recalling how she told Aurelia things she'd never told anyone else. I don't know what these things are. The scene never happened in front of the reader, and it's not clarified in the narration later on. Little moments like this added up to leave me feeling disconnected from the characters' relationships and the stakes of their circumstances.

Now those last two concerns are, in my opinion, structural issues that can be objectively improved on in future books, and I hope the author is able and willing to do so. She certainly has a lot of ideas and a clear passion for this art form, so I do believe in her ability to continue growing and learning. The next concerns I want to address are a little more subjective, but they greatly impacted my overall enjoyment of the story.

First among these subjective critiques: I did not feel that any of the "gods" acted like gods. When I read gods, I want to read something that functions beyond my human understanding. Something powerful beyond human measure, something that can only be called a god because how else does one refer to a cosmic and ancient being that exists outside the boundaries of traditional "reality"? In many ways, I like my gods eldritch. I love a childish god, but I need it to be childish in a way that feels uniquely inhuman in order for me to buy into it. The gods in Oblivion's Hymn are not this. They feel petty and emotional, as driven by selfish whims as any of the human(ish) characters the book does not call gods. A god that dates a human? That does it because he likes her voice and thinks she's lonely like he is? That holds that voice as some kind of breakup trophy after she runs away from him and then pouts about it for years? That's not a god to me. That's just a teenage boy who hasn't learned to handle rejection yet. Once again, this may have been an intentional goal of the narrative: to display the gods as not so different from the un-gods they rule over, prone to squabbling and pettiness just like any human. But for me, it made it really hard to buy into the idea that the entire world treats these immature beings as deities instead of something more negative, like maybe demons, witches, or monsters. Why worship at the altar of a child? Just because it has magic? Because it can give you magic? The fae aren't called gods. Neither, in my opinion, should Exodus or Oblivion be.

Speaking of human pettiness, I also found the characters in this book oddly entitled. Maybe it was my own difficulty keeping up with the world-building — and I will definitely admit to having a hard time tracking the world's rules — but I never really understood why the deals they made with the gods were so unfair to them. As far as I can tell, the gods don't lie about what they're asking for. They are very up front about the costs of their bargains. You want magic? Okay, then you're gonna have to give up your voice. I don't really see how it's the gods' fault if a human whines about the deal after the fact. You knew what you were getting into. You knew what the exchange was for. And then after making it, you want to destroy the fabric of how your world functions on the basis that this deal with no discernible fine print was "unfair"? I don't know. It just felt silly to me. And the fact that every significant character just went along with the idea of upending millennia-old structures because of some perceived but unexplained unfairness only left me more confused. The protagonists are discussed and loosely portrayed as being "morally grey," but since their actions were rarely questioned by anyone except those with obvious prejudices and the corrupt police network trying to arrest them, it never felt like the narrative was backing the idea that their morality lived in some nuanced, in-between space. So while I might have been delighted to read about two selfish women deciding to back out of their details regardless of the cost to everyone and everything around them, what I felt I got instead was two tragic heroines "fighting the good fight" against a rigged system — except, again, nothing about the system ever felt rigged to me. Echo was the one who decided her voice, something she built her identity around, was worth giving up (a baffling choice in its own right). I don't feel like it's justified when she changes her mind later, consequences to the world be damned.

In many ways, I suppose the black void issue I first mentioned followed me throughout the book. Scenes in a black void. Character motivations in a black void. Systems and laws in a black void. At no point did I feel I had a clear enough handle to know what was going on or be invested in how it happened. I really wish I felt differently.

Maybe if I find a sympathetic god, I'll make a bargain with him in exchange for my enjoyment of this experience.

[Jenn Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the great honor of beta reading this book, and then getting to read it as an ARC. So when I tell you guys, you aren’t ready in the best way, I promise I mean it in every sense of the word. Rhienne and Echo are two complex, powerful, flawed women whose ride-or-die friendship is everything. They stand beside each other, even when their insecurities and choices make things complicated. But here’s the thing, THAT’S NOT ALL. The gods are freaking amazing and never quite what you expect. The side-characters are some of my favorites I’ve come across, and the story itself? AAAGH! I often found myself reading with my jaw on the floor. This is a spectacular debut. It had me riding high in the clouds with my favorite ladies, exploring incredible cities and worlds, and I couldn’t get enough. The writing itself is stunning and AJ has me absolutely feral for the next book., and I cannot wait to yell about this one to everyone I know. You will not regret picking up this book, and it will stay with you long after you finish it.

[Rallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 6 Stars (impossible)
For Fans Of: His Dark Materials, A Desolation Called Peace, Treasure Planet, Road to El Dorado, The Immortals Quartet, Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon's Promise, Dungeons & Dragons, Baldur's Gate 3; fans of The Expanse who love fantasy.

Full Review (November 7th, 2025):
“Equal trade is the most basic law of magic.”

In a world where bargains and exchange are at the heart of all magic, the four living gods hold ultimate sway over people - only those practicing the highly illegal and dangerous blood magic (sacrificing their own life force for power) and the Untold, a paramilitary force who gain power by siphoning the natural magic of mimics and immortals, are able to access it through other means.

Childhood best friends Rhienne and Echo reunite after ten years apart pursuing their own adventures, to find that neither of them achieved the lives they'd hoped to lead, and that both have gotten into serious hot water with the gods - Rhienne is bound to Oblivion, the God of Endings, and Echo's singing voice was taken by the god Exodus as punishment for reneging on her own bargain. Together they set off to break Rhienne's pact and take back Echo's voice. They join forces with Captain Irelia, Tash, and the crew of their airship who have reasons of their own to seek a means to break pacts with gods.

Against them is Mishara, Rhienne's former lover(ish) and an inquisitor of the Untold who seeks revenge against Rhienne; as well as the gods who stand to lose much if people find ways to break their pacts without repercussions. And while trying to free themselves, Rhienne and Echo uncover the existence of an exiled god and a plan by Oblivion to rewrite reality in a way that serves his own ends.

While this book is at a very base level based on D&D, it is an entirely original setting with a magic system based on the law of exchange. What I found fascinating about this system is that for the most part it relies upon compromise rather than reciprocity despite the constant claim that these bargains are "equal." The gods have a vested interest in maintaining a balance of power that favors them, and desperate people sometimes do very foolish things RHIENNE. There is no "winning" when one side has everything to lose ECHO - "The gods happened. Magic happened. You can try to manipulate them all you like, but they'll always find a way to exact their price." This is where Bastion's refusal to make bargains and instead refers to his "deal" with Vala as a gift immediately took me to David Graeber and Marcel Mauss and sent me spiraling down that rabbit hole.

A second act on an airship expands the world and cast at the same time, and the mythology of the world begins to unfold in action and in conversation. Focusing on Eternity and Infinity as the Mothers of all creation is a really neat choice to step away from an earth/sky, earth/sun, or earth/sun/moon modality. The introduction of the conflict between gods and the Mothers' decision to keep more magic from flowing into the world sets the stage for confrontation between factions (Rhienne, Echo, and the airship crew vs Oblivion, Mishara, and the Untold). Through it we have the question of the exiled god, who is somehow connected to Echo, Rhienne's mother, and Tash.

The Untold are so, so creepy - what do you mean they have glowing bones??? That glow bright enough to light up a room?!? What the f

There is so much more to the world than what we are able to experience in the course of this adventure and I cannot wait to explore more of it in future books in the series.

The through-line of the story very much revolves around personal quests for redemption and seeking proof of worth. Both Echo and Rhienne have made choices throughout their lives that they have to live with and faced with the need to fix two of the worst choices they had made, find themselves confronted with questions of whether they are worthy of love and redemption at all. What does it mean to be seen and accepted, to be chosen, to be good "enough," to be worthy of making a mark on the world? This is what Rhienne and Echo contend with over the course of the story and ultimately although they struggle together, they must each struggle alone; at a certain point nobody can save you but yourself (although you might need a little help).

This book has the most accurate depiction of suicidal ideation I have ever seen. The depths of despair and the feeling of release when a choice is made, and the feeling of relief when you find a road back to living.

The two flavors of development in the story follow this individual development as well as the development of the group, that the ties that bind make us stronger individually and as a collective. The fact that Irelia, Tash, and other members of the crew all clearly have their own distinct backstories and are all part of the mission to save literally everything makes me excited to see how they develop and change as well as the story goes along (and I very much hope to learn more about their individual pre-Divine Songs lives in future books).

I also loved the development of Mishara from an antagonist to a true villain, and seeing the moment she abandons the calculus of cruelty for pure revenge.

The writing style and pacing flow so naturally, each act of the story is both distinct and flows together seamlessly. Both Rhienne and Echo have their own distinct voices (both internal and external), and the way the gods are depicted made them seem just alien enough to be something fully distinct - powerful, sure, but not perfect nor a monolith, and with different-feeling relationships with the humans(ish).

Overall I don't know how else to convey how much I loved this book. I think I have given out six stars maybe three times, ever? And this is one of them. It's so special, it made me sob, it made me laugh, it made me take screenshots to send to my friends to say "see? see?!". I can't wait to read more. I'm sorry this review is so long. But I don't know how else to say what I want to say.





Original Review (November 1st, 2025):
I loved this book. I love this book. I'm heading in for an immediate reread because I do not know how to articulate the how and why and what of it, but A.J. Peterson captured something absolutely divine (no pun intended) with this.

I will return with a more comprehensive review, which will likely involve a section that includes spoilers.

[Bevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

{4.5/5}

CW: species-ism/prejudice, loss of a parent, some gore, implied spice, suicidal thoughts/referenced actions, some others

Thank you to the author for the ARC! “Oblivion’s Hymn” is available now!

Just two besties doing what they can to survive and support each other. Fighting gods and inner demons. You know, hot girl shit.

Echo ran out on a deal with a god, losing her singing voice in the process, and Rhienne’s been using her girlfriend to develop blood magic to fix a mistake. When both of their schemes fall apart around them, the two friends decide it might just be time to reunite and solve their problems together. And maybe fight a couple gods along the way.

I need to file a complaint with the author. What I *expected* was a story about two adult best friends figuring out life together. What I *got* was violently called out on 75% of my personal damage in the guise of said besties doing their best to survive and also support each other. I’m not mad about it, but my feelings are hurt.

Should I even get into how this book deals significantly with the themes of ‘you are not enough/are not worth of love/are nothing,’ or should I just skip directly to the rest of the plot? Seriously, as much as I want to read book 2, book 1’s existence and message is important enough to stand on its own forever and I would still tell everyone to read it. Our characters, and by extension the readers, have to put in some major work on themselves, and watching that play out had me in tears. If you’ve ever felt even remotely like you are only as strong as others perceive you to be, go read this book.

I could write an entire essay solely on the messages this book conveys. Actions have consequences, self perception can be flawed, and on and on. But we should really discuss the rest of the story because that was every bit as wonderful.

I feel like I’ve already touched on the characters, but I would make my own deal with a god to have about 500 pages of backstory for our MCs. These are characters who fall closer to the middle age bracket, and you can absolutely tell that they have an entire life full of delightfully chaotic shenanigans behind them. We see it in the book, and we don’t get a lot of that background, and I *want it*.

Really, the entire world feels like that. There’s history and lore and all sorts of delightful ‘behind the scenes’ type things that we don’t get to see, but you can feel it. Everything is so meticulously, beautifully depicted that you just know it’s real and has more to it. Everything about this world screams about its originality and creativity. To be able to convey that level of depth for both characters and universe? Absolutely solid work.

The plot is a delightful compilation of ‘I know where we’re trying to go, and I don’t know how we’re getting there, but I know everything in between will be unexpected.’ It’s this entirely mad dash towards a resolution set against the growing certainty that the actual resolution isn’t going to be what you expected when you started. It somehow feels incredibly action-packed and also like it’s moving at a reasonable, stately pace. I have no better way of describing it, but trust me when I tell you that every second was completely worth the lack of sleep.

One of my favorite things about this story, and specifically these characters, is how much they adore each other. No matter the time or distance apart, no matter their own issues, it’s them against everything else. It’s, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m not in a great place right now, but for her I’d fight the world.’ It’s everything you could ever hope to find in the truest of friendships, in sisters by choice if not by blood, and it’s a dynamic you’ll immediately recognize if you’ve ever been fortunate enough to find it in this lifetime.

This book is the embodiment of why we say reading matters. It takes these relatable, painful concepts and gives them to these characters to carry so that we can see that we are not alone, and so we can learn how we might carry them ourselves. So we can see that survival is messy and painful and leaves lasting damage, but it’s doable. This book is why stories are important.

[Madi · Rating 3 out of 5]

eARC Review

A.J. has created a rich and exciting world, which I was eager to read when I heard the premise of the book!

I praise A.J. for working so tirelessly on this book and making it a reality! I know she has amazing potential as a creator and writer, and I cannot wait to see how she develops this world and story.

I will admit that I am not very familiar with DnD and the mechanics of it, so being dropped right into the world from the first page was a little overwhelming for me. Maybe it was because of my unfamiliarity with the world building or dynamics, but I found it difficult to parse what was happening and establish what I was viewing. There were mechanics of the magic system, character relationships and backgrounds, and political structures that I was never quite able to figure out or fully connect to. This did make it harder to get deeply connected to the story and immerse myself in it, but it might be this genre of work is not quite suited to me. I think some space and breathing time would give the story a better pacing, and make the world seem more approachable to me.

I did love the diversity of characters and their relationships with the gods of the book. I have never encountered a magic or deity system like A.J. created, and found it wholly unique and fascinating! The implications of pact-based magic with gods created engaging character stories and interactions. I think my favorite thing about this book was the gods and their origin story, something about them and how A.J. wrote them hooked me right away! I empathized with their struggles and motives, and found them to be the most compelling actors in the story.

When you read the book you will come across several scenes that will probably stand out (can't spoil that here), and I love how A.J. built them. I could vividly see these key scenes, image the tense atmosphere or feel the chill fog surrounding a village. A.J. has a very solid sense of space and the environment her characters live in, which did help me to understand the characters and world mechanics more when I was struggling to.

Oblivion's Hymn ultimately hinges on the relationships and dynamics of the main two characters, which by the end I did deeply feel and understand. Getting to that point was hard for me, maybe because of my personal tastes or because of how much of it was left unwritten/before the premise of the book. A.J has a great understanding of the complexities that can exist between sisters, friends, lovers and enemies, which I think is one of her strengths as a writer. I cannot wait to see her develop and grow as a writer, and I look forward to the next book in this series! (GoodReads is silly and won't let me do a 3.5 rating but imagine it can with me.)Oblivion's Hymn