To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is the first installment in a series that follows Ruying, a teenager with the ability to pull the qi (life force) from a person and kill them. She is one of many who have magical abilities of various kinds. Her country, Pengu, has been invaded by Romans and their scientific marvels, through a sky portal. So far, Pengu has submitted to colonialization to keep the peace. But politics, rebels, and a potentially sympathetic Roman prince may change the status quo. Can Ruying protect what is left of her family while being forced to commit terrible acts to keep the peace? In an Author’s note, it’s pointed out that this story is inspired by Manchurian folklore and history, particularly during WWII, and I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. Unfortunately, the execution was lackluster. It’s understandable that the author would need to spend sometime world building at the beginning but there were continuous, repetitious descriptions of how Ruying’s family is poor, her people are oppressed and all addicted to Opian, and how magic can’t stand up to science. This really slows down the pacing in the first 2/3s of the book. It seems like all of the action and plotting happens in the last third of the novel which made that part much more interesting. Despite the time given to explaining in the beginning, there are still a lot of questions remaining about why and how magic works, why, given its fantastic nature, it can’t stand up better to science. Despite the flaws, I did like the main character and her struggle to understand her own boundaries and morals as well as the political intrigue. And the cover is absolutely stunning. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! ( )