The Gods Must Burn

by T.R. Moore

A disgraced war hero is transformed into the Wolf God, protector of the Forest God, and must earn her trust in this healing dark fantasy for fans of The Wolf and the Woodsman and Princess Mononoke

War hero Basuin doesn't know what to believe in anymore. All Basuin knows is life as an army captain and the pain, loss, and disgrace it has brought him. Demoted and humiliated by his legion commander, he is led into the forest for one more mission: capture a god.

But when his commander uses innocent wolf pups as bait, Basuin dies saving them. The Wolf God, impressed by his sacrifice, deifies Basuin to protect the forest and its beautiful, sharp-tongued god from the legion's deforestation.

To the Forest God, Basuin is nothing more than one of the men sent to burn her forest down. Betrayed by humans too many times, she rejects him, working alone to protect the spirits of the forest as her home disappears around her. To save the god he is growing to love, Basuin must untangle the feelings between them.

Otherwise, they'll burn together.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Adult, Fiction, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy Romance, Romantasy

386 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2026

About the author

T.R. Moore is a queer fantasy, horror, and sometimes romance writer who mostly writes about feminine rage and god complexes. Though she started in poetry, her books now tend to feature Korean main characters, fat-positive representation, and mental health issues written responsibly. When she’s not setting her air fryer on fire (which only happened twice), she’s busy making oddly-specific Spotify playlists to complete her collection. Keep up with her at authortrmoore.com

Reviews

[edie-may ౨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ 𓂃°˖➴ ݁ ‎ 3.75 stars .ᐟ ‎ ⋮ ‎ ❝ Blood begets blood begets blood. War begets war. Debt begets debt that is never repaid. ❞


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ — review journal ⸝⸝ 014 ⟡
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⤿ started feb 16 ‎ ⋮ ‎ finished feb 19
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ book release : feb 24 ✓



‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⌗ ⋮ ‎꒰🐾꒱ ‎ i. summary ‎ ⟢ ⸝⸝

‎ ‎ ruthless soldier and newly disgraced captain basuin of ankor sails to an unknown island, assigned one final mission—to capture a god. in a turn of events, he dies saving two innocent wolf pups, only to be reborn, deified, and tasked with the protection of ren, the fickle yet beautiful forest god.

‎ ‎ ‎ ᯓ thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for sending me this e-arc. ‘the gods must burn’ is out now!



‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⌗ ⋮ ‎꒰🐺꒱ ‎ ii. thoughts ‎ ⟢ ⸝⸝

‎ ‎ ‎ this greatly differed from my expectations but it absolutely exceeded them. i saw a lot of reviews complaining about the writing style, but personally, i really appreciated it—even if it did get a little repetitive at times. it has been a minute since i was this focused on a novel. i had to lock in and think about it in order to understand it, which only increased that understanding tenfold. i loved the mythology and the atmosphere, and the characters were each very complex. i loved how dark and gritty this was. would definitely read more books by this author.



‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⌗ ⋮ ‎꒰🌲꒱ ‎ iii. characters ‎ ⟢ ⸝⸝

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ — basuin .ᐟ ⸝⸝
‎ ‎ ‎ • ⋮ basuin’s inner conflict was so intriguing. his struggles with anger and ptsd, his issues with identity and purpose… whether i loved him or i hated him (to be honest, it’s a little bit of both), i was definitely invested.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ — ren .ᐟ ⸝⸝
‎ ‎ ‎ • ⋮ my relationship with ren is as complicated as my relationship with basuin is, but for completely different reasons. her pacifism was both the most aggravating and admirable quality about her.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ — yaelic .ᐟ ⸝⸝
‎ ‎ ‎ • ⋮ if t.r. moore would like to send me the adoption papers, i’d be more than happy to sign them, thank you and goodnight.



‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⌗ ⋮ ‎ . pre-read ‎ ⟢ ⸝⸝

‎ ‎ i need to stop requesting arcs when i have so many plans but i fear i can’t be stopped. — ‎( prediction ; 3.50 ☆ )



જ⁀➴ ₊˚⊹ ➴

[Abbie Toria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

"War stories are the best stories to tell, since any story is true when you're the only one left to tell it."

🔥 Dark fantasy
🔥 Forest spirit
🔥 Disgraced war hero possessed by the Wolf God
🔥 War, rage, fire, and the thirst for power,
🔥 Violence and pacifism, destruction and renewal, hope and healing
🔥 The environment and deforestation

T. R. Moore writes with a real immediacy that keeps the tension thrumming. The Gods Must Burn is filled with rage, violence and fire that makes it a tense read. This wasn't a favourite for me, but it heart-wrenchingly explores important themes; what do you do when all you have known is violence and war? Are you capable of change? Can you learn to heal? Can violence protect rather than destroy? Can pacifism lead to peace? And is there a cost to it?

The relationships in this and their development was a real strength and my favourite part of the novel. You could really feel the anguish, loss, and hope.

[Sammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75 🌟

ooooh God this was a struggle to get through.... 😫 I really wanted to love this...

This story had a lot of potential, but I just couldn't get down with the writing style of T.R. More. It felt very heavy, confusing and overall repetitive.

The world building was easy to follow but l felt it lacked depth and maybe some (political) history? I don't know...

Basuin was an overall likeable character but I struggled with his flashbacks. Sometimes I didn't really understand he was inside a flashback until we were a few paragraphs in.

After about 150 pages in it does get better but just not enough for me. The side characters did feel flat.
Overall the story lacked depth and had to many confusing descriptions. This was the first time in a long time I really contemplated DNF'ing a book.

Thank you Netgalley and Solaris publishing for this ARC!!! 💚

[Lotta Z (Not active due to sickness) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion | Solaris for this ARC! All thoughts are my own.

Unfortunately this is a DNF for me. The style of writing is confusing and uninteresting in my opinion and I can already tell after three chapters that this is just not for me.

Thanks for reading!

🤍🤍🤍

[❁lilith❁ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this eARC! All opinions are my own.
_____________

This was, at one point, on pace for a four star rating, but the story stopped impacting me so much as I read on. I like the portrayal of grief and PTSD in this book, it's never glossed over or made insignificant and it remains a key part of the main character the entire time, as it does in real life.
The world was interesting too, especially this little island we spend the story on, and the gods that inhabit it. The characters were all distinct, cool depictions of gods and spirits.
I really did not care for the relationship that developed. There was only so much 'big man, she has teeny tiny hands' I could take, and this exceeded it. I didn't feel the chemistry between them, unfortunately. The love interests pacifistic determination kept annoying me too, because there really was no reason not to kill the antagonist, but she refused to do so which just caused more death and destruction. The antagonist is also strangely unhurtable until the end which was strange---he's literally just a guy.
In some aspects the characters described in the flashbacks and memories were more intriguing to me than the current side characters in the story. I didn't feel much connection to them, and when something happened to them I found myself not really caring too much. There was a fair bit of predictability to the plot, but it wasn't the most egregious example of it.

[Anna Makowska · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if I can describe this book as "gothic fantasy" because there aren't decaying cathedrals and winds howling over moors, but that's the closest vibe I can describe this book as.

The writing is very lush and atmospheric, the story is slow-paced and focuses on Basuin's internality. He's very much a reluctant hero, "chosen" to be a god-protector of the forest, but he doesn't want to do it, both because he hates being forced into it against his will, and because he thinks he's a failure who can't undertake such a responsibility without letting others down. He struggles with ptsd, grief and regret, and a lot of it manifest through intrusive flashbacks, where he loses track what's real and what's a dream or a memory.

The writing style reflects this: the repetition and the blurry lines between reality and dream / flashback / hallucination seem intentional to give the reader insight into Basuin's struggle.

The goddess of the forest, Ren, feels mysterious, distant and inscrutable, which suits her role. I always find it odd if ancient or powerfully magical beings act like human teenagers, which doesn't happen here.

I don't think this book deserves its current low rating, but I think there is some marketing / expectation mismatch. By comping it to Princess Mononoke, it made me expect a more YA action-packed vibe, and it's very much not that. It gave me more Heart of Darkness vibe, where humans come with their greed and thirst for power to conquer a wild land, and then mysterious unexplained things start happening - is this madness, magic, tropical illness, punishment for their crimes? The vibe that's more ominous and weird.

The tech level with guns being used but also sabers, makes me think of the era of Spanish conquering Mexico and South America (with similar vibe of greedy humans coming to wantonly destroy nature and all its inhabitants).

I think Basuin is bi-coded because his relationship with Isaniel, another soldier who died under his command in a past battle, seems to be romantically charged and there's a mention of them sharing a bed.

I would recommend this book to fans of the reluctant hero/chosen one trope, anti-colonial undertones and character-driven atmospheric narratives with focus on exploration of ptsd.

I don't think I can be the best judge of the quality of this book, because I'm neither a fan of lush, atmospheric writing, or reluctant chosen ones, and I couldn't connect to the female love interest character at all. I do appreciate the portrayal of ptsd and the atmosphere. I hope this book finds its fans, but for me, it was a total taste mismatch. I do want to support debut authors though, and I think there was an intent here with the choice of the writing style, which is more than I can say about some books where it feels like the author didn't know what they were doing.

I debated should I leave this review unrated, or give it my standard "3.5 rounded up to 4" for "there were some positives, but it didn't really captivate me", which is a common feeling I have these days about books, in the end decided to pick option 2.

Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion / Solaris for the ARC.

[Sarah SG · Rating 2 out of 5]

HOO BOY! Minor spoilers below!

Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for the arc. I’ll preface this by saying that Princess Mononoke is one of my favorite movies ever. When I get a Mononoke comp in my media, just know that my standards are VERY raised. As for this comp, once again, she swings and she misses. Let’s break it down:

—The stream-of-consciousness writing was more stream-of-confusion for me. Often, I didn’t know if what was going on was a dream sequence, a hallucination, or an actual event. It also just lent a hazy layer over the story. Not sure if this was the intention of the author, but my confusion surrounding that speaks to how successful the writing is.

—Love the shitty, dropped potato metaphor of Elka (the sun) and Hwai-ga (the moon) of being lovers instead of enemies.

—Kensy was cartoonishly evil. He has no true motive (other than power) or nuance. He’s revealed to just be a cruel and cold fuck, because why not? It makes tying everything up easier (and lazier). Lady Eboshi should have cut this minuscule fucker down. Honestly, this entire army actually. The Irontown fucks had a real reason. In the Cedar Forest, there’s ore that the town desperately needs. In this book however, they seem to enjoy burning shit down because human bad! Power yummy! As if I haven’t seen this same “motive” in 1000 other fantasy books.

—Ren was definitely a character! She has the hotheadedness and (most) of the same beliefs as Mononoke’s fmc, San. Yet, while San had tons of nuance to her character, Ren has nearly none. She’s angry at humans, she dehumanizes herself, her primary concern is the forest, and she wants peace. Besides one big spoiler, I didn’t connect to her character that much. By the second half of the book, she became much more of a damsel. Of course, it’s because the forest is being hurt, but I swear Basuin is carrying her in his arms every other chapter. She is very small and fragile! The book will totally not tell you as much every other page! Ren is often sexualized while Mononoke’s fmc, San, is not bound to any patriarchy. She is THE Warrior Princess, while Ren has a VERY dainty neck. Shes a god too, I guess.

—The romance became real unbearable in the second half. It gets cliche and corny as fuck by the end. “I’d die for her” “I’d kill for her” I fucking get it, you wannabe Gomez Addams; Jesus Christ. This is then repeated ad nauseam throughout the book. Also wasn’t expecting some (vague) smut! That took me the fuck out! Overall, I don’t buy it. They would totally say “I wolf you.” This book ended up focusing on this dumbass romance more than anything else, making the book fall apart. Once again, the cardinal sin of romance devours and eclipses everything else.

—Let’s talk specifically about the comp. The Mononoke comp is correct, but not for the reasons you think. Actually, it’s a bit problematic in my eyes; there are a LOT of similarities, of course all of them shallow. It’s no offense to be heavily inspired by something. One or two similarities are fine, a few is side-eye worthy, and then there’s this.
•Of course, there are wolves, and not just in Bass. One of the most prominent side characters takes the shape of a wolf pup, and binds. As for the wolf god himself, his speech and temperament were very similarly to the temperament of Moro and her clan in Princess Mononoke.
•When Bass gets possessed, he calls it a curse. Of course, Ashitaka also gets cursed in the beginning of Princess Mononoke. Both receive new powers as well as painful symptoms, and both are cursed upon a god’s death.
•Many small moments are also heavily Mononoke inspired. For example, when Bass gives Ren his godstone. Very similar to Ashitaka giving San his crystal dagger necklace.
•The more I think about it, the more I see, it seems the whole bones of this story come from Princess Mononoke. There’s a cursed man who is sent on a mission he didn’t want. There’s a VERY resentful woman who used to be/is human despite her loyalties. The same resentful woman who puts anger first instead of fear, and primarily cares about her forest; often to the point of rejecting her humanity. A giant conflict between man and nature, with man choosing to colonize, and nature deciding to fight back. The cursed man and the protector of forest falling in love; as mentioned above, the entire romantic storyline and dynamic is VERY similar to Princess Mononoke’s. A wolf god who shits on protagonist, but adores the fmc. A secondary conflict revolving around peace versus war among the forest spirits. Of course, like the forest spirit in Princess Mononoke, this one also can take the form of a deer.

—Beyond EVERYTHING, Princess Mononoke worked the way it did because of its nuance, its intention, its messaging. It explores environmentalism and coexistence in a subtle yet powerful way. It puts man and nature on an equal playing field, and also delves into the interpersonal conflicts within each. It shows the good and bad within each faction as well. It speaks to nature and man being natural opposites instead of a simple good versus evil, able to live separate but peacefully with each other. It is feminist in nature. Women are powerful in this film. They are leaders, and are not bound to any patriarchy. They are complex characters, and yet charismatic. Overall, Princess Mononoke is praised and loved for its complexity, yet for The Gods Must Burn, there is absolutely nothing of the sort. Instead, we get a diluted, tired, “man bad” “man colonize.” This messaging is offensively weak and cliche given the source material. As for the characters themselves, apart from the protagonist they were one dimensional. Ren is both sexualized and ends up being a device for the mmc’s character growth. The only complexity in this narrative is the character of Basuin himself, but even then there are caveats. Bass’s complexity and PTSD needed the care it did receive. However, his character arc did not do his character justice; it was secondary to the romance.

Overall, MISS. Big fucking miss! It’s a shame, because I was mostly enjoying the first half of the book. And yet! I do really hope the author watches Princess Mononoke again, and really internalizes the themes and messaging. Princess Mononoke fans, you will need to get your fix elsewhere. -1.5 wolf pups rounded up

[blok sera szwajcarskiego · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for honest opinion, thanks!

3,5⭐️

A charming story filled with hope for all the souls who lost themselves. The prose is simple yet effective, with a vibrant atmosphere of the world where mortals collide with gods. I have enjoyed it greatly, with a greatly written main character who have to find hope for himself after so many years of becoming the infamous Black Wolf. A very good debut, hope T.R. Moore writes more!

[Chezza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous, gut-punching story that explores PTSD and fractured identities, healing through love, and the nature of duty and morality (especially when the two are at odds). Basuin and Ren’s story is both tender and riddled with angst, taking place in a beautiful forest setting that sings with both magic and grief. There is dark, visceral pain in this book—but it comes with glimmers of hope. Basuin’s character development is incredibly satisfying, and I loved watching him come to terms with his power and with himself. And Ren is so ethereal and fierce! Their dynamic is powerful, and it’s a well-earned slow-burn romance.

The poetic writing in this book constantly took my breath away, and the ecological message at its core is one that lingered with me long after reading. This is an enchanting story with a ton of heart and lines that make you pause just so you can savour them once more. Overall, a masterful debut that ponders who we are at our core, and who gets to decide our path in life.

(Review is of a copy prior to publication)

[bee ⭑.ᐟ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this had a great premise but lacked in its execution.

i picked this up as soon as i saw its relation to studio ghibli’s princess mononoke, which is my favourite movie of all time. but the similarities soon stopped after you find out the plot for this book.
the writing felt very disjointed and our main character constantly having flashbacks and recounting his past life really jumbled up the pace and kept taking me out of whatever was happening at the current time. because of this writing style i couldn’t connect with any of the characters, the only ones with any sort of depth seemed to be the main two so it didn’t leave much room for anyone else.
the world building was quite similar. it was really interesting but felt underdeveloped.
overall i think this has potential to be a really great fantasy book there was just a few things that didn’t work for my personal taste.
thank you NetGalley for sending me an arc.

[Lisa Stoker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb for this book makes it sound like a mostly romantic storyline in a dark forest setting, which isn't my thing as a rule, but, I'm happy to report, that the romantic themes in the story fall back behind it's other tropes, which include military trauma/PTSD, old gods Vs nonbelievers, nature spirits rising to protect against the destruction of man. These are all explored and depicted very well.

This story and setting reads kind of like a gorier, more violent version of Fern Gully. While there are some dark, grisly elements, this forest is described as a more magical setting than I'm used to, and the magic system is a bit on the nose and cutesy for my taste, but the characters are explored wonderfully and their conflicts, flaws and motivations very clear.

One character I really didn't care for, however, was the antagonist, who really did read more like a comic book villain, with some quite ridiculous and dramatic ambitions.

The Gods Must Burn is an easy read with some very effective visuals and nuanced characters and, although I like my forest gore more on the bleak, gritty side, I did enjoy it as a dark forest fairytale. What works well, works very well, while other aspects weren't to my taste (but that's entirely personal to me)

[Carolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5⭐️

The Gods must burn definitely made me feel like I was watching a Studio Ghibli movie! The themes of nature, gods, identity, and morally complex conflict reminded me very much of Princess Mononoke!

"𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏."

Basuin is on a deeply emotional journey. He has lost everything and is left only with the drive to be a good soldier.

Ren, the forest god, is lost herself, but in a different way. Her magic was everything she had and everything she needed to protect what was dearest to her. When Basuin comes along and takes her magic, she has to learn to accept help and face the threat with Basuin by her side.

Both Ren and Basuin are two beautifully fleshed-out characters whose pain feels so raw and real. While the plot is gripping and made me want to keep reading, the development of the characters touched me on a deeper level than I thought possible. I felt so connected to the characters. 🥺

The loss of identity, the cost of power, and the process of learning to trust someone again after being betrayed are heavily addressed in this book and make their journey powerfully moving.

I loved this books so much! 💛

Thank you @authortrmoore and @solarisbooks for the early review copy of this wonderful book! 💛

[Kat in Stacks · Rating 3 out of 5]

****ARC review****

Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion for an arc copy

The story follows Basuin as he learns to accept his past and overcome the trauma that comes with war. While at times slow in the beginning to get its footing, around page 40 was when the story began to really shine and made me feel like I was reading a mythological tale.

My only complaint that it felt slightly rushed towards the very end of the novel which made me pause and have to read a few pages over to understand what was going on

[Andi]

I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this one.

I usually give a book 20 - 25% to hook me in. Since that's enough time to establish plot, characters, and decisions on the prose.

Honest to god, this book is absolutely full of the character focused on his mother's idol / stone. He clutches it, he thinks about it, he focuses on it, he is reminded of it. I can't tell you how many times it came up in a page or a chapter.

Also, other reviewers mentioned that this book is a lot like Princess Mononoke. It 100% is. But I also got Ferngully and Avatar vibes from it as well.

Jumping ship on this one.

Out of respect for the author I am choosing not to rate it.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

War is a bloody, messy, nasty affair, but the only thing that Basuin knows. From a young age he has been indoctrinated into violence as a means to an end, a necessary evil to achieve a glorious purpose. But an older Basuin, a weathered, failure of a man, who has survived and seen all too much, finds it hard to swallow the lie, but he tries, and tries and tries, because without it, everything he has done, the atrocities he has committed and borne witness to - well, without it they mean nothing. Ugly deeds twisting innocent youths into bitter men. Who worse, then, to serve as protector of the wild forest, and persuade its inhabitants of his good intentions, than a man so devoid of hope, so out of touch with goodness, innocence, wildness and freedom, that he has nothing to live for, save for this purpose. His mother’s purpose. There’s a real romanticism in TR Moore’s story that captured my heart from the very first page. This is not an easy read; it is complex, meaty, challenging in its themes, but to parcel that out and engage with the story, and then it’s deeper layers, is a rewarding experience.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun adventure story, I enjoyed the overall plot and storyline.

My main issues with the book was the romance towards the end. It just seemed so cliche but I think that’s just personal preference, I know ALOT of people will like this sort of vibe. I also wasn’t a massive fan of Kensy as a character, he was just a stereotypical bad guy, he was just horrible for the pure sake of it. It felt a little two dimensional

Despite this though it’s still an enjoyable story, Basuin had some great character development. The writing was poetic (very quotable).

I think this book will definitely find its audience, I just personally feel I’ve read similar things one too many times. This book was by no means bad, just not anything ‘omg amazing’ new.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Anna - ThatPreciousPlot]

DNF - 27%

Unfortunately, I could not get on at all with the writing style of this, so my lack of enjoyment is purely on me! As overall I was SO very intrigued by the story itself and thought the author captured PTSD so thoughtfully and well in her characterisation of Basuin. I think had I continued on I would have been doing the book itself a disservice as couldn't give it the love I honestly think it does deserve.

I can see a lot of people really enjoying this, again sadly just not for me.

[Siavahda · Rating 1 out of 5]

*I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*

I did not even make it to our protagonist becoming a god. I tapped out just before it was about to happen, when he ‘died’ or whatever.

The prose is…really bad. Besides the fact that every simile uses ‘like’ (which starts to create an awful effect after the fifth or sixth in a row!) there are a lot of lines, especially images, that are extremely confusing; a lot of times things are poorly worded, misleadingly phrased. Quotes to illustrate my points below! Insert the usual caveat here that I read an advanced reading copy, so possibly all of these will be rewritten and fixed before release day.

An ache shatters through his spine, breaking bones on its way through.

His bones are not literally breaking, but even so I think ‘ache’ and ‘shatters’ don’t go together at all?

Basuin had never seen a color as brilliantly red until he saw the remnants of his squadron laid out and screaming for help, rubies spilled across the ice.

This is a great example of the kinds of confusing images we get a lot of in this book. Are the ‘rubies’ – the blood drops? – the ones screaming? Are the ‘remnants’ blood, or are there corpses present? (From the next paragraph, there are in fact corpses.)

orange rays cast the waters in gold like an illuminated script only the nuns and their habits know the mastery of.

Awkward phrasing, and what do you mean the nuns’ HABITS know how to illuminate scripts? Their CLOTHES are masters of illumination?! (Habits are an item of clothing some kinds of nuns wear.)

Unlike him, she’s already stripped out of her shirt, wearing nothing but a black band that runs tight around her chest and shows off the muscles rippling through her shoulders and arms.

…So she’s naked? She’s ‘wearing nothing but’ the band around her chest. (From this, and the fact that no one ever had their trousers described in the parts I read, only their shirts, I decided to envision everyone as wearing no pants. It made the reading experience much more bearable.)

But he feels it–familiar, but inexplicable. From a memory.

‘familiar but inexplicable’ is awful phrasing, but actually fair, because he’s sensing what he thinks are gods. I can accept divine energies or whatever being deeply strange. But what does that ‘from a memory’ mean???

The only home Basuin knows anymore is war–and the smell of it isn’t just the burn of the hearth and food that cooks over a flame.

…What? After a LOT of staring at this, I decided the author probably means the smell of fire/smoke no longer suggests ‘home’ to Basuin, but wow, that was not clear.

His heart-bone, the trunk of his tree, is reinforced with militant commands and strengthened by break after break after break where his body had to regrow bone and heal again, organs reincarnating themselves after his blood painted every border that Grimmalia ever thought they had.

‘heart-bone’ refers to the central pillar of the ribcage, but it’s also a metaphor/symbol for Basuin’s…faith? Sense of self, possibly? But because it’s a bone AND a metaphor, the ‘break after break’ etc is really weird – Basuin was in war, does he mean his ribs were literally being broken? And wtf is ‘organs REINCARNATING themselves’?! NO.

He reaches so far, stretches so far that it aches his muscles and he feels his joints lock up.

It whats his muscles? I don’t know that that’s grammatically wrong, but it sounds awful.

The book trades speed for worldbuilding, and unfortunately that’s a real problem. I appreciated that the action described in the blurb – Basuin becoming a god – happened so soon, but it happened before I understood ANYTHING about how this world worked. The queen outlawed the gods, which I took to mean outlawed their WORSHIP – but maybe the gods had actual bodies at one point and were murdered after the queen outlawed them? Which is it? THIS IS KIND OF CRITICAL. We know god-talkers exist, or existed, people whose prayers the gods talked back to. But are you born a god-talker, or can you become one? AGAIN, CRUCIAL.

Because the villain’s actions rely heavily on these facts. He doesn’t believe in the gods – but he’s searching for a divine artefact. If the gods had actual bodies people could see and murder, how can he not believe the gods existed? If he doesn’t believe in gods, how can he be looking for this artefact, at least without coming up with another explanation for its origins? He wants Basuin because he wants a god-talker – but Basuin ISN’T one, so? He says Basuin has to help him in order to protect the gods, implicitly threatening them – so gods WERE real and you’re threatening to murder the local ones??? So you DO believe??? WHICH IS IT???

He sets a tree on fire – IN A FOREST – to make the gods respond to him. Uh, do you have any reason to think the gods will care about this? The wolf-cubs he’s about to kill; again, he means to do it to make the gods pay attention to him. But nothing in what we’ve learned of the worldbuilding up to this point gives us any reason to expect this to work? Why would the gods care? WHICH god do you think will care? It’s implied the gods were gods of specific places, so do you even have reason to believe there ARE gods here, in this new land you’ve just landed on? The villain’s reasoning is incoherent, he just does over-the-top evil things Because Plot, I guess, and it’s maddening.

The godstone Basuin wears under his clothes grows heavy, then hums, then grows hot, in the space of a couple of minutes (when nothing obviously magical is happening in the vicinity). Does this mean anything? Are godstones magical? Who knows; the text draws attention to the stone being weird but Basuin doesn’t react, so I can’t tell.

Etc. It’s all like this. And what I’ve seen of reviews from people who DID finish reading this book does not incentivise me at all to push on – even if I didn’t find the prose unacceptable, which I absolutely do.

One star because I can’t rate higher when I genuinely can’t understand a good bit of the prose.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading The Gods Must Burn was a complex experience: visceral, tragic, beautiful, yet, at times, contradictory. Basuin, the main character, is made host to the Wolf God after being killed by his friend and commander; his story of self-hatred, guilt, and his search for purpose are the foundation for this novel. The Forest God, embodiment of the nature and spirits that Basuin’s former allies seek to destroy, is the only one who will help him find solace and home within the spirits of the island, yet she also passes judgement over him and his weaknesses. The book has themes of nature and destruction, of war and loss, of struggle and mental health, of humanity and duty. I found many aspects of this book sharp and visceral; in particular the beginning and the ending had me unable to put the book down. At the same time, I did feel that the plot dragged in the middle, in part because the book is repetitive and, at times, felt self-contradictory.

The sharp emotions of this book are one of its greatest strengths. Basuin is an extremely complicated character: he suffers from PTSD due to the losses he feels responsible for as part of his military duties; he feels immense guilt for everything bad that happens around him yet equally feels as though he is only capable of following orders and that he cannot stand on his own two feet. He hates himself in a way that is heart-wrenching to read on the page. He is both lost and feels a great sense of duty. His relationship with the Wolf God, with the Forest God, and with the other spirits are full of complex emotions that feel very real; its easy to feel his pain and devotion in the writing of this book. Overall, I enjoyed many aspects of the writing in this book. Its one of the rare books that really made me feel an ache in my chest as I was reading it. While the book is dark and tragic, the moments of hope and the feeling that the lands and its spirits are worth fighting for make the book a very emotionally driven reading experience.

At the same time, I did have some issues with the pacing and repetition of the book. The beginning felt very poignant in a way that made the book difficult to put down, but when the story transitions from setting up Basuin’s new circumstances to asking him to make meaningful decisions, I felt that the book lost some of its drive. I do think that some of this is good: Basuin is someone who has deeply embedded self-hatred and self-doubt, and someone with extremely poor mental health. I don’t expect him to overcome these challenges easily; yet, at the same time, the focus on repeated failures and blaming himself for things outside of his control became tiring. It was hard at times to distinguish between his own self-hatred and guilt and the plot blaming him for things that appeared very much out of his control. The repetition of his mental state and struggles, paired with some sentences and descriptors that were repeated frequently, made the book drag at times in a way that made me not always want to pick it up. Moreover, storytelling that employs metaphors and memories in ways that are often unclear and themselves rather repetitive in wording, making it hard at times to understand what was happening on page.

The book discusses big themes: pacifism in the face of violence, how war begets bloodshed begets war, the meaning of duty and love and loyalty. I felt that many of these were discussed in interesting, nuances ways across the book; yet, at times, I also felt that the book was contradictory in a way that made it difficult to understand its goals or purpose. I don’t expect the book to be perfectly clear or definitive in its ideas, yet at times it felt as though the message or ideals portrayed didn’t make sense. Is it wrong to use violence to protect someone who is being harmed even if they themselves are pacifists? Is it okay to destroy food but wrong to cause mental harm? I do think that, overall, the depictions in this book were thought-provoking, but at times I wished for more clarity or consistency across the book.

Overall, I do recommend this book to someone interested in a dark, poignant, and at times tragic standalone novel with strong themes of war, nature, duty, and love. It was an emotionally difficult read at times, but one that I think made complex emotions feel very real. I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars; I am glad that I read it, but wish the pace and ideas were more consistent.

Thank you to Solaris for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75! Man, hating being alive, trips into death and then is denied even that, and instead must content with being a newly deified god, meant to save the forest/island he was ordered to destroy and resist falling in love with the forest god.

Thank you to Solaris for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

There were elements I REALLY liked (the world building, though I thought at times the metaphors were a touch clumsy), the magic system, the commentary on colonisation and exploitation of natural resources/habitats/destruction of indigenous communities for power, and imperial status). I also thought that Baisun’s PTSD/trauma was carefully handled and truly given the space to breathe it required - I just wish that our FMC, Ren, had been given even more of the same due consideration.

But it had some aspects I wish had been more carefully fleshed out/held in consideration; namely our FMC/female God’s character, Ren, especially considering comps to princess Mononoke and San. I thought that it seemed she was a little too dependent on Baisun to rescue the forest and the island, rather than it being a truly collaborative partnership / forced proximity sort of situation that it started as. If you’re going to make a comparison to THE forest queen of my heart, it had better live up to the expectations! While I adored my knife-sharp forest god, I loved her commitment to her people and her forest, I thought that she descended a little too much into “save me, cursed soldier turned ally turned lover, save me” for my liking, considering the dynamic is supposed to be for enjoyers of San/Ashitaka.

Ren, the forest god, is at times dehumanised and also dehumanises herself in her rejection of people - very much in the way that San rejects humanity because of what it’s doing to the forest - but I thought that her commitment to non-violence (non-killing) reduced her to, occasionally, a figure of “female compassion” to Baisun’s “male violence”. Let forest god’s commit more wrongs! I wanted to see more of Ren going off in order to protect her forest from the destruction it was facing. However; I do understand the very “live and let live” mindset she has - I just wished we could have had that pushed to its edge, and seen her get even more of the complex fleshed out on-page development that Baisun gets.

Baisun’s character however was compelling, and I loved the constant push/pull of his past, his mistakes and his ptsd pushing into his reality. I thought the weighty presence of his past in the very fabric of his waking (and sleeping) moments was so well done, so deliberately handled. And while my criticism lies with how Ren could have used more fleshing out, I cannot deny that I Love a Yearning Man. However, if this is supposed to allude to the very feminist Princess Mononoke (the cohabitation of man and nature) then it smacks a little that a man has to come in and save the day.

While Kensy could have done with more fleshing out - he presents quite a one-dimensional antagonist. He has directives from the Queen and is seeking power and is willing to destroy anything to get it - this is also highly representative of the flatness of hatred and contempt for indigenous lands, peoples, history and culture irl. We see real time what people are willing to do to a land, to an entire population of people, if they decide they want to eradicate it for seeming “no reason”. The drive for power and wealth and material resources makes one-dimensional monsters of men in this world, so while I could have done with a more “nuanced” antagonist here I Kensy, the reality is that men just like him exist to destroy for no reason, or for “thin” reasoning in the real world. While his comparative figure in Princess Mononoke, if we’re sticking with this comp, Lady Eboshi, is destroying the forest “for a reason” (they need the raw material to survive), and Kensy is destroying the forest to seek its power for the Queen, it’s also true that people like Kensy very much exist. So while I love my books to have a complex villain, that same villainous presence is flat line and one dimensional in the news cycles.

Overall, I would recommend this book! While it has some elements I would have love seen more fleshed out, I loved its careful handling of PTSD and trauma, I enjoyed the world building and the magic, and I enjoyed the lyrical almost steam of conscious style of the prose! We’re firmly rooted in Baisun’s head and I enjoyed being there, even if I found myself tripping a few times.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Arc was a gift from Taylor as a thank you for being part of her Street Team. I will be honest, even if this reads as fangirling, because OH MY FUCKING GOD did this woman go off.

The Gods Must Burn is best described as a story about haunting. We follow Basuin through death, and watch him reminisce and mourn the life, the loves and the trail of death he left in his wake. All while he learns to navigate life as a god tasked with protecting another goddess and eventually takes the reins of his own grief in order to make right the world he helped make wrong.

I cannot understate how thoroughly, entirely and completely I fell in love with this book its world and its characters.

We'll start with the stand-outs. The characters and the world.

Basuin is gorgeous. He's introspective, powerful, poetic and just so, so well written. I love me a sentimental simp and by the Gods Bass fits that bill and so much more. Ren... well I honestly wanted her to step on me a good portion of this book [okay fine the whole book.] She's the most fantastic blend of powerful and gentle, and she walks the line between those two facets absolutely beautifully. The slow development of their relationship was genuinely incredible thing to read.

On the note of Ren, I was left wondering a good bit of this book if Taylor does in fact have access to a pantheon. Because there's something so terrifyingly realistic in how she writes gods and goddesses, like she herself has walked among them. [Probably as the Goddess of Writing.]

In terms of the wider cast this was one of the best examples of fantastical ensemble I think I've ever read, particularly from a debut. Moore was ambitious and it really paid off. There is a thick, fleshy wider cast but you get to know every single character so well, they felt absolutely real. Particular standouts were Yaelic [one of the people I cried over]

Moore is a master of words. There's several points in this book my jaw genuinely dropped like something out of a goddamn cartoon. Her themes of mourning, the effect of war and the corruption of a relationship and how you look back on things with the benefit of hindsight is powerful throughout. There's a lyricism to TGMB that has a kind of melody too it, and whilst its very much of a rollercoaster of a book, there's not a moment I felt lost or left behind.

For a magic system which at the end of the day is quite simple, I feel like it was really well done. Again the Gods were absolutely a standout here, but the world Moore has crafted here is really beautifully done. Especially how we see the different ways different [mortal as well as immortal] characters interact with the deities.

My only real gripe with the book was Moore does tend to... really reiterate her point. As we get toward the middle of the book Basuin becomes tied spiritually to Ren, meaning should he die - she dies. We then here Bass talk about, oh gods if I die she dies if I die she dies if I die she dies... approximately 43 times [for reference an exaggeration but not like a massive one.] This was not the only example. It didn't take away from my enjoyment by any stretch... but like buddy, yeah, gotcha. We can move on!

Beyond that the villain, Kensy, feels mostly fleshed out after the fact and we see his development second hand through Bass' retrospection. I would have enjoyed this more in the present, but accept in the setting of the story that would have been especially difficult.

I do not cry at books. I did not cry at Marley and Me. I cried at this goddamn piece of fiction 3 times. Not only do you become immersed in this world, Moore has a way of writing characters and emotion in the most delectable way. You feel every beat of pain, passion, fear and I was chomping at the bit for it.

Genuinely at one point dm'ed the woman [thanks for not blocking me] wanting to be loved the way her characters love.

I can genuinely say I think this is a voice to keep an eye out for, I think there are incredible things in store for someone as talented as Moore. [That wasn't meant to rhyme but you know what I'll take it.]

[MaReads Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal, tender, and deeply human story told through a rare and beautifully written male POV.

4⭐️/5 — 2🌶️/5 (1 chapter/37)

⚡️ Forced proximity
💚 Dislike/Reluctant ally to Lovers
❤️‍🔥 He falls first
💞 Soulmates

I absolutely loved this book. The first thing that stood out to me was the choice to tell the story entirely through a male point of view. That’s extremely rare in what I usually read, and it gives the narrative a raw, physical, and vulnerable tone.
This is a novel about survival, guilt, and emotional healing, but also about how one person’s light can reach you even when you’re convinced you don’t deserve anything anymore.

🌍 Worldbuilding & Setting
The worldbuilding is one of the book’s strongest elements.
We’re in a war-torn world where forgotten gods take possession of dead bodies, and where a ruthless colonial empire crushes everything in its path. The atmosphere is dark, immersive, and almost organic: the forest, the magic, the gods… everything feels alive, hungry, breathing.
I loved the mythology, as well as the very well-executed parallel with colonial violence. It’s a rich but clear world, easy to follow without sacrificing depth.

🗡️ Bass & Ren
Bass is a fascinating character: a broken soldier, consumed by trauma and guilt, convinced he no longer deserves love or a future. His view of the world is harsh, tired, but incredibly human.
Ren, on the other hand, is movement and light. She pushes him out of his pity party, forces him to act, to fight, to want something again.

« Basuin is scared shitless that Ren won’t accept his apology. How pathetic. A war hero, scared of a woman refusing to forgive him. »

Their dynamic is wonderful: Bass falls for her early on but refuses to admit it, terrified of attaching to someone he could lose. I loved how gentle he is with her, despite being this big, battle-worn warrior.

« All he can see anymore is the smile on her face. It’s so fucking gentle and so bright and graceful and fuck. He feels shattered by it. Like the light of her is bracing against the darkness caged inside him, trying to slip through the cracks forming in the carefully crafted amor he bears on his back. She’s trying to undo him. Break him. »

« He could cry, she’s so beautiful. Gods damn him. »

The only thing I wanted more of was tension and romantic build-up. A bit more of that and this would easily have been a five-star read.

👥 Side Characters
This is one of the few weaker points for me: some of the side characters aren’t developed enough.
Yaelic (the young wolf) especially has so much potential, but his relationship with Bass stays too underexplored. I would have loved more interactions and emotional depth there.
That said, the story intentionally stays tightly focused on Bass and Ren, so I understand the choice.

A powerful story, dark but surprisingly soft in the way it explores trauma, healing, and human connection.
The worldbuilding is excellent, Bass is unforgettable, and his relationship with Ren is beautiful in its restraint.
I just wanted a bit more romantic tension, but I still loved this book. And the happy ending? Perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and Rebellion | Solaris for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Aamira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Basuin is a soldier suffering from PTSD after the loss of the soldiers and friends he leads. Demoted by the legion commander and forced to lead a campaign to find a God, he is led into the forest where they come across wolf pups. Basuin dies while saving their lives and is rewarded for his bravery by being turned into the Wolf God, whose main purpose is to protect the Forest God and her domain. She wants nothing to do with him, as he represents the humans killing her forests. But he’s determined to protect her and save the forest at whatever cost.

I’m not going to lie, the first half of the book was tedious to get through. Though told in the third person, we are mostly in Basuin’s head and the repetitive monologue of his failings as a soldier began to get old quick. The self-pity just became too much for me. It made it difficult for me to connect with him, which doesn’t bode well in a character driven narrative. I get it, he’s suffering from major PTSD, not to mention the humiliation of being demoted, but in this weird way it didn’t add to the complexity of his character. Perhaps because it felt like more tell than show.

There’s an interesting discussion around colonialism and deforestation and its impact on the people and creatures who depend on the resources for food and shelter that the author seamlessly weaves into the magical world they’ve created. They paint a vivid and horrific picture of the brutality of colonization and the destruction it wreaks on communities. The loss of Yaelick’s brother was particularly heartbreaking.

The characters felt pretty flat to me. Especially Kensy. There was no nuance to his characterization at all. He just felt like a stereotypical bad guy. His motivations for his actions were pretty meaningless. I expected Ren to have more agency than she did. She’s the protector of the forest, and yet she’s portrayed as more of a damsel in distress. That was disappointing. So when she gets vengeance in the end her arc doesn’t feel quite earned. I also felt the romance was rushed. They go from being adversaries to suddenly in love. It’s funny because I felt like the book dragged so much in some respects, but the romance was underdeveloped and rushed, which really messed with the overall pacing.

I’m sad to say this was a miss for me. The flat characters and repetitive monologues made for an unpleasant reading experience.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Solaris Books for the ARC, it hasn’t affected my honest review. 


TW: animal death, body horror, PTSD, child death, trauma, violence, abuse


Release date: 24th Feb (USA)/26th Feb (UK) 

A disgraced war hero, Basuin, has been used as a weapon by the military for years. It’s all he knows and his wavering faith in the gods has done nothing to protect him. Now demoted and humiliated by his legion commander Kensy, Basuin is sent into a forest for one final mission: to capture a god. When the legion commander uses innocent wolf cubs as bait, Basuin dies to save them. Impressed by his sacrifice, and craving a human host, the Wolf God deifies Basuin to protect the forest from his former legion- and to protect its god, a beautiful sharp tongued woman named Ren. For Ren, Basuin represents one thing only: invasion and destruction. Consistently betrayed by humans, Ren doesn’t trust Basuin and rejects him, trying to work alone to protect her world. As their relationship deepens, and Basuin begins to understand why the Wolf God chose him, they need to untangle their feelings before the forest is burned to the ground. 


This book is a brilliant exploration of guilt and PTSD- Basuin absolutely killed me in the earliest parts when he’s struggling with what he’s had to do in the past and can't see a way forward. He’s incredibly complicated and I found his journey to gradual acceptance to be really moving and well written. I loved how he took on the role forced onto him by the Wolf God and came to recognise the better parts of himself, the descriptions of the wolf inside of him were definitely some of my favourite parts. I do wish this had been a dual POV because we only see Ren through Basuin’s eyes and some of her character felt a little unclear to me when I was reading. The setting is gorgeous, the atmosphere is a mixture of tense and romantic (Basuin and Ren’s scenes where he learns his magic were great) and the constant threat of the legion is palatable as you read. The forest and spirits within it all felt real to me and I could visualise each scene because the writing is so descriptive. I really liked how it explored colonialism, deforestation, autonomy, responsibility and trauma through strong worldbuilding though I wish more had happened plot wise and at a faster pace. 

[faye. · Rating 3 out of 5]

☆☆☆¼
To save the god he is growing to love, Basuin must untangle the feelings between them.
The Gods Must Burn ultimately left me feeling a little let down, where I expected a solid Fantasy book, something intense & immersive with decent worldbuilding that balanced all its different elements well - the whole nine yards if you will, instead what I got was a book that felt like instead of balancing everything, it would mainly focus on one thing at a time which seemed to be the romance between our main character Basuin & Ren the Forest God. Most of the time I thought the books many elements were sewn together poorly leaving the book feeling a little disjointed which wasn’t at all helped by the repetitiveness of the writing & Basuin’s internal monologue, for example half of it was just the Wolf God (which inhabited Basuin) constantly hurting him which got tiring to read as it was always just ‘the Wolf inside him violently *verb* at Basuin’s *insert internal body part*’ & Basuin was constantly cycling through the same thoughts without actually seeming to get anywhere, if anything, certain parts of Basuin felt just forgotten about when the intention was for it to feel like Basuin was letting go of his past & trauma but it didn’t really feel that way as we didn’t really see him deal with anything, instead new stuff was shoved on his plate & entered his thought cycle. All of which left Basuin feeling like an uncompelling character which was a shame as I thought he started off strong.
Another issue I had was the relationship between Basuin & Ren, whilst their relationship was meant to be one of the main elements of the story, I saw their potential but felt that it wasn’t developed as much as it should have been both on a personal & romantic level, which when most the book revolves around them, becomes a problem. Leading on from that I was left feeling that none of the book hit as hard as it could have & should have, which isn’t to say the book was all bad, it just wasn’t what I expected & it just wasn’t overly for me.
Thank you so much to Solaris Books for the ARC.

[Natasha Leighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Princess Mononoke meets Godkiller in T.R. Moore’s emotionally powerful fantasy debut. About a disgraced war hero (Basuin) who’s become a host for a Wolf God, and the Forest God, Ren, he’s now tasked with protecting.

Exploring themes of colonialism, grief, environmentalism and (war based) PTSD I found this such an impactful read with evocative descriptions and intriguing characters that I really enjoyed getting to know.

Like the adorable wolfcub spirit Yaelic, whose infectious enthusiasm and devotion to Basiun was beyond sweet. And forest god Ren, whose fierce protectiveness of the forest and all the spirits who inhabit it won me over pretty quickly. Her initial distrust of Basuin is very warranted given his previous occupation, but I enjoyed the slow-burn build up of their relationship too, as she learned to open up and begin to trust him.

Unfortunately, it took a little longer to warm up to Basuin, who wasn’t as compelling a character in the first half of the book. I liked his conflicted emotions and the depth that we explore as he navigates grief, survivor’s guilt and trauma.

However, his inaction in the first half, and the inner monologues he cycles through did frustrate me a little. But he really comes into his own in the second half, with his journey of healing and redemption. That by the end I was fully rooting for him (and REN.)

T.R. Moore really captures the forest and its inhabitants in vivid (and rather nuanced) detail as well, which had me eager to see more of the world and learn about the various gods, and the lore surrounding them and their powers.

Overall, an enjoyable debut that has me looking forward to seeing what T.R. Moore writes next. Perfect for fans of myth infused eco fantasy, or morally complex characters full of emotional depth, but please check TWs before reading.

Also, a huge thank you to Solaris Books for the physical proof.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disgraced war hero joins a colonising force to a wild island. Covered in a lush forest, this land is still home to gods and spirits that have vanished from the rest of the world. When Basuin rescues some wolf cubs, he becomes possessed by the Wolf God, guardian to the Forest God, and has to decide where his loyalties should really lie.

I really liked the idea of this and the initial chapters did a good job of capturing my attention and setting up the world. Basuin is a complicated character, tortured by his failure to protect his unit in a failed mission and by his guilt at not being able to save his mother. He clearly has PTSD and struggles to know what to do other than follow orders. However, this leads to a lot of introspection and repetitive rumination that drags out the story and made it tiring to read at times.

I enjoyed the forest spirits and gods, and would have liked more time to really get to know them. Ren is the young woman who is the host to the Forest God. She is fairly hostile to Basuin when he arrives -understandable as he's an outsider who arrived with an invading force - but this leads to one of my less favourite tropes: not explaining things to someone and then getting annoyed at them when they don't understand or do something stupid because, again, they haven't had something explained to them.
Her is ferociously protective of her forest and people, but she also strongly believes in pacificism and won't directly harm or kill them the invaders destroying her world. An interesting aspect to the story is the different points of view from Basuin and Ren - is violence sometimes the answer or does it just lead to more violence? Can pacificism defeat violence on it's own?

An interesting idea, but I needed more world-building, slower development of relationships and less time on repetitive inner turmoil.

Thanks to solaris books for providing an arc for review

[Sara Jayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story with a backdrop of industry vs nature and an undercurrent conversation of colonization, "The Gods Must Burn" follows a disgraced solider, Basuin, being drawn into a conflict between Man and Gods while struggling through his own grief and guilt. And he falls in love.

I really enjoyed how the Gods are depicted in this story - all-powerful beings with their own agendas and motivations are going to have a level of cruelty to them, at least in our eyes, and the balancing act of "cruelty" to "care" done with the Gods is very cool to see. The book has a lot of dark conversations about violent industry vs unyielding nature and what the violence of war can do and what level of responsibility soldiers bear in that, without it feeling bloated. And Basuin is the vehicle used to have these conversations, which was done very well - between his own PTSD and experience with the Gods, we get a very good set of eyes to view this world through.

For me, the weakest point in this was the romance - it felt like it took a lot of attention away from those other plot points in the back half of the book. Especially when we start getting more with the villain, who starts to feel a bit too transparently evil (which isn't awful on it's own necessarily - I think I just would've liked more with him to give that space rather than having it be something that pops in and out while we navigate the romance). The romance was well-done, it felt organic and like it fit, especially with other aspects of it that we get introduced to, it just took a lot of time and attention in the back half of the story.

Ultimately, The Gods Must Burn is a solid, character-driven fantasy story with dark tones and hard topics, where the possibility to do and be better is always on the horizon. 3.75 stars rounded up!

Thank you NetGalley and Solaris and Rebellion for the chance to read this story early!

[Taylor Sheppard · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Blood begets blood begets blood,” the wolf-man answers. “War begets war. Debt begets debt that is never repaid.”

Get your own copy 2/24 ✨

The Gods Must Burn initially hooked me on premise alone. I’m a huge fan of Princess Mononoke, and this story felt like it would offer a similar kind of experience. The concept is compelling: an invading army begins destroying a sacred forest and its inhabitants, prompting the gods to retaliate to protect the spirits who dwell there. I was especially drawn to Basuin’s struggle with PTSD and grief. As a mental health professional, I felt the authenticity of his pain and appreciated how grounded those emotions were. His journey toward becoming one with the wolf god added another layer of depth as he moved toward acceptance of himself. The setting was also a highlight—the forest felt vivid and alive, rich with atmosphere and spiritual presence.

While there was much I enjoyed, a few elements pulled me out of the story. At times the writing felt confusing or disjointed—possibly intentional, but it made it harder to stay fully immersed. The pacing occasionally slowed and began to feel repetitive, and some characters, particularly Ren, didn’t receive the same level of development, which lessened my emotional investment. The central antagonist also lacked clear motivation, though this may have been purposeful given the novel’s thematic focus on the cyclical nature of war and peace. Overall, there was a lot to appreciate here; I just found myself wanting a bit more cohesion and character depth.

Tropes: gods, PTSD rep, protective MMC, headstrong FMC, enemies to lovers, slow burn

I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy fantasy with romantic elements. If you loved the film Princess Mononoke, this is definitely one to check out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Solaris Books for a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Chiara Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story that speaks to each reader differently, as its layers can be interpreted depending on one’s beliefs. This is grief fantasy, if such a subgenre exists and the dread and hopeless feelings were so well conveyed that whenever I put the book down, I felt a wave of sadness wash over me.
But, at the same time, anger consumed me whilst reading it, as the story depicts so well how humans feel entitled over everything, especially Nature. They fail over and over to see life all around them and feel bound not by the laws of the Universe, but by the ones they make themselves. And how many times we have been wrong throughout history! And we never learn.

But the main character Basuin will learn through suffering, and with each past mistake he has to atone for, he’ll learn what the word ‘duty’ truly means and who has truly his best interests at heart. Everyone knows how difficult it is to change when the stakes are not high enough, so only when Basuin is confronted with the ultimate sacrifice, will he truly understand.

I found the world building very poetical and beautiful, especially that the gods in the book are associated with nature. Defying nature is an act of heresy and I found so many parallelisms to current times.

I loved the story, although I felt detached at times, with some parts a bit too slow for me. Other parts I absolutely adored, but I felt betrayed a bit by the seemingly weakening of Ren as a character. Her dependency on Basuin towards the end enraged me, although on reflection I can also read it as how Nature (humans included) need to collaborate to ensure their survival. I might be reading too much into it, and in the end it was just a love story between two gods reunited unexpectedly, but this story spoke to me more philosophically and that’s why I enjoyed it!

Thanks to Solaris Books and NetGalley for a copy and this is my honest opinion.