Love, Gods and Sinners: An action-packed sizzling sapphic urban fantasy

by Camille Chong

If you've ever wished for the vibes of K-Pop Demon Hunters but queer, YA, and a little spicy - get ready for Love Gods and Sinners by debut author Camille Chong!

'Messy queers flirt and fight across the city in this fast-paced urban fantasy. Filled with back stabbing, elicit longing and the epitome of the phrase "love hurts". What more could you ask for?' - Eliza Chan, Sunday Times Bestselling author of Fathomfolk

Rule No. 1 of Not Dating Your Rules are made to be broken.

Rule No. 2 of Not Dating Your Enemy: Keep your lives separate (don't live or work together).

Rule No. 3 of Not Dating Your If you can’t imagine life without them, you’re already screwed.

Harper and Tia are roommates, and interns at the same tech company. They clash, they fight, they flirt. And, under cover of night, the two of them adopt secret identities and head out on missions across the city for their respective magical clans. Tia is the beautiful descendant of the Moon Goddess, and Harper is secretly Raven, the leader-in-waiting of the feared and villainous Foxes.

When each is tasked by their clan to kill the other, a deceitful game of cat-and-mouse begins. And Harper and Tia will start to understand that the concepts of right and wrong can be just as complicated – and dangerous – as falling in love.

Genres: Lesbian, Fantasy, Queer, Young Adult, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult Fantasy

Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 11, 2026

About the author

Camille Chong is a Singapore-raised, everywhere-based writer of vibrant stories and messy characters. When not reading and writing, she’s watching B-grade movies, making a mess of her kitchen, chasing a critter or battling demons at a local bouldering wall.

Her debut YA fantasy-rom-com LOVE, GODS & SINNERS comes out from First Ink (Pan Macmillan) in 2026, and is a love letter to Asian daughters and fans of punchy rom-coms and secret identity shenanigans.

She is represented by Lucy Irvine at Darley Anderson's Agency.

Camille is also a recently minted Law LLB Graduate from University College London. Congratulate her on surviving on X/Twitter or Instagram.

Reviews

[Wen-yi Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

My official blurb: Flirtatious, cinematic, and sheer fun. LOVE, GODS AND SINNERS is fantasy romance at its best: deliciously witty enemies-to-lovers secret identity shenanigans, a glittery action-packed Singapore filled with magical clans, and girls that beat with the fierce, tender heart of overcoming their fears (and their mission orders) to fall headlong into love. A debut to watch--and to curl up kicking your feet to.

[zara · Rating 4 out of 5]

when i said i want a good cliche fanfic style book, THIS is what i meant. entertaining, simply written but doesn't lessen the quality, top-notch romance, and a plot that actually makes sense and kept me hooked

many, many thanks to the author for sending me a copy of the book!

[selina]

tHIS WILL REWIRE THE CHEMISTRY OF MY BRAIN YES IT WILL

[Anahita Karthik]

Guys I’m actually desperate to read this book ohmygod!!

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AMAZING!! So different for me, but SO good, I loved it, SO MUCH!!
The story is so well written and there are literally no loose ends, it’s just a beautiful, complete, story. The main characters are beautiful, they are all just trying their best and they all want what is best for their people and the world. There are people being misled, people being manipulated, being lied to, it’s truly all going on, but slowly the pieces get put together and it makes SUCH a good story.
Descendants are people who are distantly related to gods or goddesses, these gods and goddesses had a lot of magical power, but it has been continuously watered down through generations, meaning newer generations have less magic. The main groups of descendants have three clans: The Foxes, The Sentinels and The Nagas. All of the descendants need moon stones to power up their power (?) give them strength. The younger descendants also need moonstones to function, to survive, the reason for this is unknown but thought to be due to the amount their magic has been watered down by time and generations. The main story is basically all the clans fighting for these moonstones, however The Sentinels aren’t told why the other clans need moonstones (for their younger descendant) so they don’t give them up willingly.
It isn’t a complicated story, but there is so much going on, it’s amazing, it’s so action packed, it truly isn’t too much though, it’s the perfect amount. I understood everything that was happening and didn’t have to lock in at all (I did though)
My favorite parts were when Harper and Tia were alone, they are so cute and comfortable together, and I love how as soon as they opened up on their feelings it felt like they had always been together, they became so comfortable so quickly, it truly felt relaxing just reading their parts? I also loved their flirty humor when they were Raven and Luna, it was SO funny and so perfect.
I loved everything about this book, truly.
It’s just so well written, it was one of those books you finish and you just think “woah.” and you just have to sit there for a minute?
One thing I do wish for, I wish Harper had a cat, she feels like someone who needs a cat.
ALSO ACTUALLY, Tias coming out scene was beautiful, I loved it, don’t make me cry. Thank you for that scene.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The main characters of this book call each other Kit and Bunny.

If that isn’t enough to immediately sell you on this book, I don’t know what to say other than I guess you and I are just built different.

What? You expect more from a review?

Picky but fine.

LGS really has three things going for it, the characters, the worldbuilding and the action.

We follow Tia and Harper, also known by the aliases (aliasi?) Lune and Raven. One tasked with dealing with the magical criminals of their city, the other, you guessed it a criminal of the city. I am a diehard for the imposter who worms their way into a tightknit group only to become more embedded in it than intended, and LGS is a superb example of that.

Essentially, if you love ride or die dynamics, run don’t walk to Barnes & Noble to preorder this book.

I especially loved this book for the fact that its characters not only stood up great in terms of their relationship, but are memorable and addictive in isolation as well. At the core of this book is definitely the pairings (Harper & Tia primarily but I also adored Niko & Kiran were a delightfully charming background feature). Chong is immediate in how she builds motives and histories in such a beautifully organic way, the setting felt super lived and breathed in. Every character is torn between the decisions and expectations of others, and watching Harper particularly step aside from the mould built for her was soooooooooooooo satisfying by the end.

That being said this is very much a, the characters drive the plot rather than the plot drives the characters, so some subplots do feel very out of left field. The plot is there to pressure-cook the characters, not the other way around. That didn’t bother me in the slightest but I can see how that might grate.

Next the worldbuilding.

Chong gives LGS enough padding for you to chew on that you’re definitely intrigued, and shes good enough at it that I was left definitely wanting more. She sets her world’s rules but isn’t afraid to break them, which adds an urgency to the writing that I could not get enough of.

We’re immersed in this fantastical, highly technological setting, I was honestly impressed with how well Chong kept up the stakes. Healing at all ends of the spectrum seems possible in this world, yet I definitely still feared for the characters which isn’t an easily done thing. Mostly, I think, because the writer does a superb job of tying stakes to the world not just the individual.

This book leans slightly sparse in terms of prose and as mentioned is very character centric. Again not something I minded in future (please, God [and sinners]) I’d love to see the world at large. LGS focuses on two very high ranking individuals of this world, and we have bits of the lower classes/less magical individuals seeded in but not thoroughly. I’d love to see this world and its magic/tech in contexts outside of the very powerful.

For how the prose is sparse, there’s a punchy rhythm to especially the action scenes that is as much addictive as it is heart racing. It’s cinematic in a way, and Chong makes sure you feel the gravity in every blow dealt. The seamless melding of stuff like hallucinations and telekinesis, with very modern tech was so much fun to read. I love how much effort clearly went into plotting out how these facets wove together, and it absolutely pays off.

For how I praise the action, however, I will say the dialogue did drag a bit for me. Everything has a dialogue tag when they’re not necessarily needed, which bogs down the sharpness of some reveals/cliffhangers for me. But that is honestly just pedantic.

If you’re looking for something with genuinely gorgeous characters set against a backdrop of warring factions, not to mention how deliciously sapphic the whole thing is. I would absolutely recommend Love, Gods and Sinners on every possible level.

For a debut this was ambitious yet intimate, action packed but meaningful. And I for one cannot wait to see what Chong has in store for us next.

[Homlesreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

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♟️Rating:3.25/5⭐
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Thank you Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review!

Before I begin, let me provide some context. I used to watch Zootopia 1 on repeat when it first came out (it’s my equivalent of K-pop Demon Hunters). And I love Chappell Roan, enemies-to-lovers, and Nick Wilde. Needless to say, I’m the target audience.

The first half of the book was such a fun read, and I knew it was going to be good when it mentioned Måneskin. (Harper and Tia are MAMMAMIA coded.) I love the banter between the two of them during the various fight scenes. The power system was straightforward and not overly detailed. It had a good setup at the start, and the pacing was tight.

However, the pacing of this book became quite rushed in the second half of the book, which left me feeling somewhat conflicted while reviewing it. There were a number of plot holes in the story, such as the lack of resolution for the racism Harper faced for being a fox descendant. At the start of the story, Harper/Raven constantly faced racism for her identity, which wasn’t properly addressed in the later part of the story. There were a few instances where Tia also claimed that Harper is different from other foxes (aka not a shifty criminal), and society suddenly became ‘accepting’ of Raven when she became a ‘Sentinel’.

Ahem. Allow me to pull up some scenes from Zootopia 1 (Z1). Nick Wilde also faced something similar in Zootopia 1 when he was signing up to be a ZPD officer. In Z1, racism also takes centre stage in the story along with Nick and Judy’s relationship. However in LGS, every other aspect of the story only serves as a (misplaced) prop to the romance between Tia and Harper.

The worldbuilding and setting didn’t really expand beyond the introduction of the story and we didn’t get to see what other gods there were or the lore behind those powers. Moreover, the story could have taken place in another part of the world that’s not Singapore and it wouldn’t feel different. The story didn’t really delve into the setting of Singapore aside from a few name drops of locations located in Singapore. Not going to lie, I wished it could have delved deeper into the societal constructs and culture in Singapore.

A lot of the conflicts between Harper and Tia or Harper and Niko were quickly resolved, and there weren’t any real tensions or twists to the story, which made it fairly predictable near the end. I think this book would also have benefitted if it delved deeper into Niko’s backstory and not played ‘safe’ with his character. Also, why did Grandma suddenly accept Harper near the end of the story? Moreover, the constant usage of rain (pathetic fallacy) whenever something intense happened got increasingly repetitive. LIKE WHY IS IT ALWAYS RAINING? Also, the fight scene with Maria reminded me of Z2 when Nick Wilde went up against Pawbert, but the tension wasn’t there, and the fight wasn’t as gripping as expected.

The romance between Harper and Tia kind of lost its grip on me in the second half of the story (when they got together) because there weren’t any real conflicts to their actions that actually had lasting impacts on their relationships. As such, we didn’t get to see much growth to their character arc in the second half of the story as well.

All in all, I think the story is a solid debut novel despite its shortcomings. It can get predictable at times, but if you’re looking for a quick post-Zootopia 2 fix, then this book is for you.

[Karis · Rating 2 out of 5]

~~Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC!~~

2.5/5 stars rounded down.

To be honest, my thoughts on this is conflicting. On one hand, the romance between the leads is far better developed and explored than most enemies-to-lovers I've read in the past. But, on the other hand, I really feel like everything else in the story takes a back seat or is used to solely fuel the romance.

Tia and Harper have so much compelling elements in their characters. From the complicated and tragic bio family backgrounds to the dynamics each girl has to balance between their personal and alternate personas, these girls were dealing with so much that added layers to their relationship and the banter they share. And those layers were shown . . . some of the time. I don't know, it really felt like it was all second to the back and forth, will-they-or-won't-they drama.

For example: Harper is a Fox, a descendant that is heavily discriminated/stereotyped in this world. She constantly faces things from microaggressions to full blown racism from other descendants because of this. One of which I noticed a lot is from Tia. Despite her claims of not hating Harper because she's a Fox, Tia constantly attributes the other girl's traits to her being a Fox. She even flat out tells Harper she'd different from other Foxes because she's not a criminal. Never does Harper or the narrative confront her for her blatant racism, because that moment was about angst, not forcing Tia to confront any real prejudices she held for a persecuted class of people. This just — frustrated me so much. How could I root for a romance like this?

There's also a sorta side plot with the girls' mentors that's trying so hard to be found family. Niko constantly called Tia their daughter, but outside the bare bone backstory the narrative gave about them and Tia, there wasn't much to go off of. It all just didn't feel as natural as it should of to me. I wish there were moments the story delved deeper into the backstories in order to fully understand and get behind the found family between Tia, Harper, Niko, and their partner Kiran.

The worldbuilding, again, serves as dressing for the girls' romance. There's only, like, three major god descended races of people that were consistently mentioned throughout the story: Foxes, Nagas, and Chang'e, the last of which has the least information and other known members outside Tia. Niko and Kiran were something else, but I cannot for the life of me remember, because they were only mentioned once when they were introduced in the plot. The Foxes and Nagas were the persecuted races, while Chang'e were mostly held in a positive light (There was only one mention of Tia's dad being afraid of her powers so much she was forced to repress them, but that was about it). I just don't think the characterization of two fantasy races being constantly hated and discriminated against isn't the best way to go about worldbuilding. But that's all I have to go on in this world, because there's nothing else going on in this world, otherwise.

Overall, I'm disappointed I didn't like this. I keep trying to like enemies-to-lovers, but while this one certainly had elements that could've made it work for me, it's the rest that didn't mesh well with it.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Amidst last night’s nightmarish events, my mind lingers on the phantom warmth of Harper’s touch.
I tear the bandage off and scrunch it in my fist. There’s no time for sentiments, not for fiery, foul-mouthed girls.”– pg. 52

Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

This was a fun read. Described as a new-adult rom-com, set against the backdrop of a world of superpowered descendants of gods split into vigilante and government puppets, Love, Gods & Sinners offers the promise of energetic action, a enemies-to-lovers romance, and plenty of self-reflection and doubt to lock the novel firmly into the mindset of it’s young adult protagonists.

While I certainly had fun with this debut novel, I cannot say my experience was entirely good.

Many of the book’s shining moments come from Harper/Raven, who grapples with becoming the leader of the Fox clan while, at the same time, having to hide her secret identity from those around her as she begins to fall in love. She helms many of the best moments in the book and bridges the equally complex sides of a fight to secure moonstones.

Perhaps my biggest hurdle within the novel was the romance, which serves as the main plot thread connecting our two protagonists and as a larger element in their individual developments as characters. Playing on the trope of ‘rivals-to-lovers’ through Tia and Harper rather than ‘enemies-to-lovers’ through Lune and Raven makes it feel more grounded and settles the growth of affection feel more natural than it might’ve done, though for me it still felt a little rushed – most notably once the romance moved from bubbling feelings into a real relationship.

This is where my issue with Tia comes in. Like Harper, Tia is a complex individual, being a Sentinel tasked with protecting the city but also someone struggling under the weight of the expectations placed upon her and her own recklessness in putting the world ahead of her own wellbeing. All this detail lingers in the shadow of her narrative behind the romance, which almost locks Tia out of her complexity just enough to plaster a more lovesick role onto her. Sometimes the blend of romance and complexity works, showing Tia learning to manage her stress and anxiety through her romance with Harper, however, for me, the balance rarely stabilized, leaving Tia lost in her romance with Harper and losing the more complex and interesting parts of herself.

I will state that this book is not something I’d normally pick up, as such I am hesitant to say that my review is all that reliable to those who do enjoy books similar, even possibly invalid.

But I will reiterate, I had a fun reading this and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good time.

[star · Rating 5 out of 5]

first off thank you so much to the author for letting the read this in advance, i had a blast!!
this was genuinely so much fun!! actual enemies to lovers between two girls who are descendants from the gods, fighting on two sides of a conflict, there's dual pov and dual identities involved, urban fantasy set in singapore and there's rom-com elements and more.

the main characters really won my heart!! they were so well written to me, lots of layers and complexities, some sweet character development & coming of age and the dynamic between the two was awesome! it was fun when they were enemies, delightfully messy when they were figuring out the in-between and so sweet to see the aftermaths. (raven reminded me of gideon nav because of her personality and sense of humour and that's why she immediately won my heart). the side characters are there and i generally liked all of them but they were really more in the background and a little less fleshed out.

i'm a big fan of the writing because of how versatile it was. there was some great banter and some true rom-com lines that made me giggle, some very cheesy YA lines that lightened up the mood but there also were more serious passages with lots of angst and some beautiful lyrical passages, especially during tia's pov.

the plot was so much fun and paced really well, i was on my toes for the first half of the book, anticipating something happening the entire time, then a lot of shit happened, chaos ensued and my feelings were all over the place. excellent amount of chaos; one small critique is that i would have loved to see singapore more as a character. the story is set in singapore but i didn't really feel like i was in singapore. that's all though, go pick this up if you want some fun and messy enemies to lovers sapphics!!

[Olivia]

3.5*

Firstly, may I just say this book has one of my favourite covers ever!

I was so excited to read this queer magical story set in Singapore. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and the mentions of various real-life landmarks, but wished there was more exploration of the characters' magical powers overall.

Sadly I was a little let down by the romance, which was just too cliche for me and the characters didn't have enough chemistry - such a shame because the concept sounded so exciting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Books for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible, fast-paced, enemies-to-lovers New Adult sapphic fantasy. Absolutely loved the setting of Singapore. The banter between both Harper and Tia, and Raven and Lune was so funny and interesting. The way their romance started to develop was very natural and worked really well. I loved the plot in itself with the Sentinels and Foxes and Nagas, and the moonstones. There's a small bit of spice.

I want to read it all over again, I couldn't get enough! Plus, the cover is absolutely gorgeous.

[Thank you First Ink/Netgalley for the ARC]

[Taylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you like asian urban fantasy and disaster sapphics? How about vigilantes with questionable morals and drama from hidden identities?? Or queer found family, laugh-out-loud prose AND devastating prose, scenes that will alter your brain chemistry, and a romance that'll have you giggling and kicking my feet?? Well! You're in luck, because Love, Gods and Sinners has all that and more and I will actually never be the same 😭😭

[rachel x]

"Against the glittering backdrop of alternate modern-day Singapore, two teens must choose between love and loyalty in this sapphic urban fantasy. Part enemies-to-lovers rom-com, part high-octane action, the chemistry of Mr and Mrs Smith meets the high-stakes action of Iron Widow."

instantly on the wishlist

[Lilly Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the absolute honor of reading several drafts of Love, Gods, and Sinners and enjoyed each version more and more. I'm SO excited to hold this book in my hands! It's spunky, fresh, with lots of witty banter and a sapphic love story you wish you could get more and more of.

[jlreadstoperpetuity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two rival magical heirs live double lives as roommates and secret enemies tasked to kill each other, until their missions turn into something dangerously personal. It’s chaotic, flirty, and full of tension.. I love the enemies-to-lovers setup mixed with secret identities and messy feelings.

[ren]

CAMILLE NATION 2026!!!!

[nat]

iron widow has been one of my top reads in 2023 and i think it's a painfully underrated book that everyone should read so SIGN ME TF UP i'm so proud of writertwt oomf I CANT WAIT FOR THIS BOOK

[Sophie]

i am so so so excited to read this ‼️‼️‼️

[bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book changed me as a person

[Camille Chong · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book. funny. romantic. a bit silly. they try to kill each other a few times. i have like 38 versions of it on my computer

[kopiokosong · Rating 5 out of 5]

this had me wheezing in the train. more thoughts soon

[el ✯ ࣪ ˖ · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.75) thank you NetGalley and publisher for the e-ARC! this was super fun!! rtc

[Spiri Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok sapphic tRUE ENEMIES TO LOVERS, sapphic Romeo & Juliet, and sapphic miraculous ladybug all in one book