This was a very interesting book to read so soon after Neil Gaiman's American Gods. It certainly takes a different direction, but both have to do with gods interacting with humans and showing their all-too-human foibles. 
 My husband picked this one up for me after hearing it praised on NPR as a fantasy novel outside the boys' club tradition of the genre. I found the book an absolute pleasure to read. It's fantasy but with an almost sci-fi feel to it, as most of the action takes place in the palace where the main characters are all essentially imprisoned (to one degree or another). It put me in mind of the "trapped on a space ship" motif. 
 In some areas, I found the text to be a little repetitious (how many times do I need to read, in detail, about the shadows in Nahadoth's face?), but it was a smooth read despite these. I found it highly enjoyable to read Yeine's evolution. Surrounded by immortals for whom change occurs on the scale of eons, and a rigid, orderly society intent upon keeping things the same, the changes in Yeine are all the more striking. 
 Jemisin's world was vivid and clear in my mind. Unlike with many fantasy/sci-fi novels, I didn't find myself getting disoriented in an unfamiliar landscape, which I think speaks to her writing skill. I really appreciated that this was a fantasy novel in which women and people of color took a lead role and that was just the way of Jemisin's world. There was no beating the reader over the head, no "Look how cool! A culture of women warriors! Gods whose skin isn't pale!" It was just a good story and these were just the characters who populated it. 
 Oh, and without being lewd or clumsy, the steamy parts were oh-so-steamy! The close relationship between hatred and lust, control and the lack thereof, was quite effective. 
 This book kept me up past my bedtime and then made the kids and me late for our morning activities because I couldn't put the darned thing down, but it was worth it. I just wish the cover art on the paperback edition were a little less...I don't know, in line with the genre? I found myself feeling self-conscious reading it in public. Plus, Yeine had short hair. What's with the flowing locks? Unless that's supposed to be Nahadoth (in which case, what's he doing on the cover?)