Seen at my blog, Scott Reads It! 
 I read Gameboard Of The Gods with two amazing bloggers: 
 Bibliopunkk and Kristen from My Friends Are Fiction 
 I had so much fun discussing this book and comparing our opinions! I look forward to reading more books with these two and I definitely would recommend checking out their reviews. 
 Prior to reading Gameboard Of The Gods, I had never read a Richelle Mead book. Before you get your pitchforks and turn this into a witch hunt, hear me out! I have heard such great things about Mead's books but I was afraid of being disappointed because of all of the hype surrounding her books. After reading Gameboard, I'll definitely be picking up Vampire Academy soon. 
 Gameboard Of The Gods is one incredibly hard book to review because it's just so complex. The first half of the book is strictly character development and world building. I'll admit it, the first half of this book wasn't too thrilling. Frankly, I was bored at the half-way point yet I had this urge to continue reading. I'm really glad that I'm didn't quit because the 2nd half was so much better. After finishing Gameboard, I realized that the first half is truly essential to the book; I just wish Mead edited the exposition a bit better. 
 The characters in Gameboard definitely grew on me, especially Justin. While I was reading the first half of Gameboard, I wasn't too thrilled with most of the characters. In the 2nd half, we learned why the characters act the way they do. It took a decent amount of time but I was eventually able to empathize with our main characters. I have seen characters like Justin plenty of times yet Mead managed to keep his character fresh and interesting. 
 Mae is the main character of Gameboard and she's one kick-ass heroine. One of my first judgements regarding Mae was that she sounded like a total robot. She was completely devoid of emotion which really bothered me. The thing is that Mead created backstories which perfectly explain the nature of Mae. Mae's attitude was a bit annoying in the beginning of the novel but she quickly grew on me. 
 The pacing in Gameboard of The Gods is extremely uneven, some parts are extremely fast paced while others are awfully slow-paced. This book takes way too long to reach it's climax and by then many readers will have lost interest. The last 30% of the book truly is worth the wait because it was just so compelling. The ending of this book was just one of those endings that I should have seen coming, yet I didn't. The ending wasn't a cliff-hanger but it was just such a sweet note to end on. 
 The world-building in this book is definitely one of it's strongest points. Mead clearly defines the world of Gameboard and it's social class system. I loved reading about the castal differences but I think it was a bit too overwhelming at times. Despite the fact that I feel like Mead spent a little too much time on world-building, the world of RUNA was one interesting place. The way Mead integrated mythology into the world-building was extremely ingenious and effective. 
 Overall, Gameboard Of The Gods is a great start to the Age Of X series. I loved the way Mead combined science and mythology in this book. Though the pacing is a bit of a problem, I definitely still would recommend reading this book. I have a feeling that book #2 will be even better and I'm extremely eager to read it! Gameboard Of The Gods has reassured me that I will definitely be reading Vampire Academy in the near future. Gameboard Of The Gods is truly like nothing I've ever read! Thank you to Dutton for providing me with an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.