Elysian

A Celestian Novel #1

by Rebecca Queen

Gods.
Angels.
Myth, right?
Nah.
Kary's about to find out they're all real. And she's one of them.


Kary thought she was a normal human girl. She didn’t think anything strange about the cliched way her adoptive parents found her on their doorstep one night. That is, until she meets someone (something?) that shows her otherwise and she begins having visions of past lives. Visions that look a lot like the myths she never believed in and that reveal that everything bad that’s been happening was her fault to begin with.

Genres: Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Angels, Young Adult

394 pages, Hardcover

Published April 13, 2021

About the author

Rebecca Queen was born in Lima, Peru. When she was still young, her family relocated to California where she lived in the city of Rancho Cucamonga.
One day when she was around 11 years old, she stumbled upon a 4Kids TV forum where she met a group of girls who were into the same cartoon that she was. Together, they started writing stories through roleplaying games. That's how Rebecca discovered her love of stories and how she first became an avid reader.
Reading wasn't enough though, because Rebecca realized that there were stories shaping in her head that no one would be able to get down on paper but her. Thus, she started writing.
She has a degree in International relations and likes to spend time with her horses sand dogs during her free time.
She also has a youtube channel where she talks about anything from books, movies and tv shows, to life in Peru (yes, she currently lives in Peru!)

Reviews

[Cece ❀Rants, Raves &Reviews❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I was provided with an ARC for an honest review.**

I am actually embarrassed by how much I underestimated this book. I. Was. Wrong!

Within this one DEBUT book, the author creates 3 brilliantly beautiful plot developments of Human tier, Magic tier, and Gods tier.



Human Tier— this book was some basic YA beginning. Formulaic High school cliche girl discovering powers from defending herself and, of course, random hot guys showing up to help

Kary our MC starts as a pretty basic lili dumb birthday girl. But this book isn't about Kary the human

My favorite part of this book: Kary's life as a goddess wasn't just a random backstory to give reasons for her powers. I friggen adored all the insights into her past lives and how those past actions influence our problems now

Random memories of previous reincarnations *illuminate* the kind of goddess that Kary use to be…. And its friggen teRrIfYiNg

“There was power in names and knowing hers could change who she was in an instant.”



Magic Tier— this is where things really start to get interesting !!

Chaotic realm full of magical creatures, Olympians, oracles, world-altering decisions and heart pounding battles. And the ongoing mystery of figuring out who is which goddess: Kary, Lorelei, Caroline, and Serena.

spoiler... not all the goddess were exactly good in their past lives lmao

The action, humor, danger, and sisterly bonding kept this YA fantasy novel from being basic

I was cackling while reading the sisters badass dynamic — some classic sisterly fights of stealing clothes, sneaking off, and keeping secrets....wait what... GODDAMN IT LORELEI



Some of secondary character included Ryan, Sebastian, Seth, Regor, Aaron each with their own past experiences with the goddesses throughout their lifetimes

“You’re ridiculous.” He pinched his nose. “What am I saying.” He was talking to himself now, muttering under his breath. “You’ve always been ridiculous.”
“Hey —” Kary began to protest.”

And then. We finally get to

the God Tier. —

This aint just some random mythology added mad-lips style. I talkin' friggen Top Tier character reveals, plot twists, and foreshadowing FROM THE FIFTH CHAPTER HAVING hUgE RAMIFICATIONS !!

The book built-upon the already entertaining plot and identity discovery to have even bigger consequences than we thought !

For all intents and purposes

Think:  — being reincarnated over into several centuries, cultures, wars.

Only to be separated. And become harbingers of doom.

And then we find out that the whole time the twins WERE being born in the same lifetimes, BUT those fuckers would KILL OnE oF ThEm SO THEN ONLY ONE COULD EXIST IN WORLD AT A TIME

And ThEn WE REALIZE THAT AEDAN'S HUMAN CHARACTER HAS ALREADY APPEARED IN THE BOOK AND WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS HIM

BUT THErE ALsO SOME OLYMPIAN GOD TWINCEST GOING ON



These twists and developments just completely elevated this entire book to be really amazing to read and the mythology just so brilliant foreshadowed

I was worried that because this is a YA novel, our MC would act like a typical YA heroine circa 15 years old. This is a goddess who has lived for thousands of years so obviously, she needs to have the maturity to go with that. And Kary quickly embraced her inner powerful goddess that is definitely a morally grey badass muhaha

I’ve read a lot of reincarnation books. And mythology books. And young girls finding out powers books. And this book incorporated all those elements pretty great with interesting characters and learning more about the goddesses being reincarnated into different cultures-- being Greek Gods then Egyptian, etc WAS JUST SO FRIGGEN COOL

Now the critiques *sniffle sniffle*

My god, that was beginning was basic and almost kinda painful to read through.

It was just a basic cutesy start that honestly a lot of people might've stopped at — thinking that the whole book was gonna be like that. I mean a friggen high schooler birthday. And the age was just way 2 young. The entire time I was picturing our MC to be 18 at LEAST

And looking back i'm wondering, WHY!? I think the author tried to distinguish human Kary from her goddess awakening, but sadly it got to the point where the human had almost no personality and the goddess was a sudden adrenaline junkie that would wake up to destroy shit. And obviously, I wanted to get straight to the goddess badass part of the book.

Also I feel like the other sisters accepted that whole child murder thing a little 2 quickly.... Like they were raised human for a reason and that whole revelation was barely a page — they need to keep their unique personalities while having the same goddess awakening that Kary undergoing.

The writing style of ch 13 for an event. Then suddenly in ch 15 we went back to that scene from another person's POV without even knowing it was a time skip. That was just so random and different from the rest of the POVs that usually continued the linear progression that I was confused and thought I was re-reading the same scene again

Finally that the whole feeling incomplete without the twin. I would’ve loved for that to be more incorporated in the beginning human tier of Kary's character to hint towards it later

WARNING: there is some kinda taboo stuff on up in here that is pretty edgey for a friggen YA so it not for everyone but I like dark sexy fantasy psst... anime fans think "The Irregular at Magic High School"

Honestly, I just wanted this book to be NA the whole time instead of YA. Where the perfect additions of some curse words, sexy sexy fun times and darker actions would've made this book alllll the more delicious. It's already leaning towards dark fantasy but couldn't *quite* commit because of the limitations of YA genre.

Overall, Rebecca Queen did a great job of building such a fantasic world in this series with intricate relationships spanning back CENTURIES of character development. It started as a typical YA heroine with powers that was suddenly elevated by remembering her past Goddess self with some extra details to keep it from cliche. The plot was action-packed with the creative building. The author made the worldbuilding of god mythology work TO BUILD UP the important plot instead of paragraphs just describing where the characters are. AND I TOTALLY FIGURED OUT THE EARLIER CHARACTER REVEAL OF AEDAN AND I FRIGGEN LOST MY SHIT, PLEASE MESSAGE ME IMMEDIATELY AFTER READING THIS TO DISCUSS IN LENGTH

It made me laugh, smile, swoon, jump up and down in excitement, and cry. This book had it all! Definitely Recommend checking out this debut book and seeing what she does next!

[Daisy Delfin · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTC

I really liked this book and I normally do not give 5 stars, but this book really deserves it.
WARNING:
the FMC's or at least some of them are Teenagers. But as the story goes on they don't act like Teenagers. Let's say they are old souls (which is the best descriptions I can give without spoiling to much). And at the moment it is on KU!

[Sofía Carpio · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Rebecca told she had pumped out a dark fantasy book during quarantine, I was a bit on the fence about it. I'm mostly a nonfiction reader and YA has never been quite my thing, but this being my best friend's brainchild, I gave it a chance. Man, am I glad I gave it a chance.

Elysian does not conform to or settles for young adult literature conventions: it embraces them unapologetically and joyfully; it makes the absolute most out of them. Kary's journey from a brash teenager to a mighty warrior princess never lets up for a dull moment. This is a story that takes your hand and goes running with it, and you've just got to let it take you where it wants to go, all while meeting a quaint cast of characters, and a worldbuilding that is very unique in its own right. Like, all mythologies and folklore ever conceived throughout human history having their origins in another dimension, seeping into our world in gradually different iterations? Sign me up. It was a dynamic, refreshing and most of all /fun/ read.

[Shilpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elysian takes you on an adventure with Kary as she transitions from being a teenager to a goddess, with all the trials and tribulations that you can imagine and more. It acts as almost a coming-of-age story that allows the reader to feel all the emotions that the characters are feeling as they are brought along this journey that, for lack of a better word, is otherworldly and rewrites the stories and history that many of us grew up with and gives them a magical element. There are twists and turns throughout the book but the characters and friendship between them allows the story to come alive.
For anyone who already loves Young Adult Fantasy, you're sure to fall in love with this book and for anyone who may not regularly read this genre, this might be the perfect read to get a little magic in your life. Overall a fantastic book and I can't wait to see what new adventures wait in the next one!

[Che is Slowly Getting Back to Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Aliyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for providing me an ARC in exchange for a review.

I honestly did not expect to love this as much as I did. I went in reading this without any expectations, and I have to say it amazed me so much.

Right from the start I was invested in Kary's story and journey. It was enjoyable reading her go through the "change" from human to a goddess. I love the build up of the tension and the story, and the mystery it provides us when showing Kary's memory from her past life.
Not only did I love Kary here, but all the characters! It was great reading their POVs too and seeing what goes in their mind. All the characters were lovable and easy to connect with.

The plot and world building was amazing too. I love how this had such a unique take on angels, gods, and goddesses. Aside from that, I really loved the plot and the way things were being revealed towards the end!

[Cade]

I just want a release date cuz I need more dark YA Fantasy in my life :,)

[Jenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little promiscuous at times, but hey, when you’re dealing with the gods and goddesses who created Greek myths, what can you expect? Gods and goddesses and continually born, die and are reincarnated in this world. When they are sent to Earth to save themselves and two worlds, they forget all that they are and have been. Until the time comes for them to be gathered together to fight a battle that will effect both Earth and Celestia.
I really enjoyed this new take on the origins of myths and legends, as well as all the characters and their development. I couldn't put it down until it was done!

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one! The amount of thought and detail that went into it was amazing and the story that the author created was very interesting. I liked all the secondary characters but felt it could be a bit confusing at times. It jumped a lot between time periods and it was difficult to keep track of. I really liked the idea of changing the stories of Greek Gods and I would be very interested in what happens next!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually read YA, but this was a pleasant surprise. The author managed to pull me in right from the start. She developed the characters fully and the writing was clear and easy to follow. For anyone interested in YA OR Fantasy, I highly recommend reading this book. I can't wait for the next in the series!

[Wandanell Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elysian combines all the world's religions and mythologies into one amazing story! Talk about the dream of the average American girl. She discovers she is actually a princess and a goddess. The author did a fantastic job of creating an alternative world full of adventure, danger, and excitement. I can't wait to read book two!

[JASON T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elysian was a fantastic book! I assumed when I started reading, it would be your run of the mill YA Fantasy book. I was wrong. It was fast paced with great characters that definitely kept my attention . This book is unique, exciting, and leaves you anticipating the sequel. 

[S.A. Sebuchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elysian is a nonstop ride of discovery, adventure and sparkle! Kary is the 15 year old girl we all wished we could have been: someone who discovers she’s a princess and goddess in another realm. But she’s not a dainty, spoiled princess—she’s the most badass female protagonist I’ve ever read. She’s fearless and no one will stop her from doing what she knows is the right thing! It was a joy to watch her transformation and it unfolded so naturally on the page. Elysian has multiple POVs and all the side characters were well rounded and had their own unique voices. I especially liked Lorelei, Caroline and Ryan. I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next!