Entangled: Red Tower Books
592 Pages
I have to confess that I don’t read a lot of fantasy books. They’re not my thing. I’ve tried to start several books only to abandon them. That being said, there have been some notable exceptions. The Invisible Library series comes to mind as a great set of fantasy books. When I saw The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen on the shelves at the Lockport Public Library, I was initially hesitant. Thankfully, the curiosity instilled by my high school Latin teacher for everything Greek and Roman won the inner battle. This book is going to be at least in the top five of the books I read in 2025. It was so amazing.
When I told a couple of my reader buddies about this book, I explained it like this: Think Hunger Games mixed with Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, set around the Greek/Roman gods in modern San Francisco. And yes. It was that fun…and irreverent. Although it was nearly 600 pages long, it took me just over a day to read it. This book read so well and was so engaging that I couldn’t put it down.
Lyra Keyes has been cursed by the big god himself, Zeus. She had the unmitigated audacity to be born in one of his temples. For this nefarious infraction, she could never be loved. Instead, she finds herself being sold off by her parents to the Order of Thieves since, obviously, they couldn't love her. She grew up around thieves and liars, which, unwittingly, could give her a leg up in the next set of obstacles in her life, even if they were unexpected.
Every one hundred years, the gods get to play a game with their human toys. Each of the gods gets to choose a hero to represent them in the Crucible. Instead of fighting each other, the gods will make their “heroes” duke it out, all for their amusement. To the victor go the spoils. And the god who’s hero wins, gets to rule Olympus until the next Crucible. Never before has Hades joined the contest. Until now. And he’s chosen Lyra to be his heroine.
The winner will be the last one standing. Death is no stranger to the Crucible. Competitors fall to the wayside, even with their patron god doing all they can to protect them. Each of the labors taxes the wills of the competitors. Alliances will form even though there can be only one winner. Between and among the alliances, personalities clash. Who will prevail? At what cost?
In the midst of all this, Lyra finds that possibly she could be loved. Cracks appear in the armor of Zeus’ curse. Sometimes love comes from the strangest of places. I will warn you, there is a bit of the mushy-mushy in this book. It’s a long, smoldering burn before it explodes on the page, in what may be one of the only telegraphed parts of this novel.
This book ends on a cliffhanger. When I first started to read it, I didn’t realize that it was the start of a brand new series. I don’t normally do book reviews of series (yes, there have been exceptions), but this book was so good that I cannot wait to read the next installment. And I think you, dear readers, need to read it, too.
The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen is simply a spectacular take on a set of old traditions. I love every minute of it, even the mushy parts. I eagerly await book two in this series. If you have any interest in the old Greek and Roman myths, you will love this book. Take the leap and grab a copy as soon as you can.
Craig Bacon wants to thank Magister Begley for bringing the Greek and Roman worlds to life for him throughout high school. Even today, three decades later, Magister continues to be one of my heroes and mentors.