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vicwhit17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
powpau123's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
naimar's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I really wanted to like this book. I’ve heard so many good things about this series, and the concept sounded really interesting. However, this book just moved way to slowly for my tastes. Usually I enjoy multi-POV fantasy books, but I could’ve done without a lot of the Varg and Elvar chapters. Orka was the main character that I was invested in. It just felt like it moved very slow. The worldbuilding was really interesting and cool, but the story itself was too slow for me and the characters were overall not compelling enough. I think this was partially because their backstories are kept as secrets for so long. Also, this is a personal preference, but I didn’t love the amount of blood and gore in this book. I’m generally fine with fantasy violence, but this one was just a little much for me. I really wanted to like this series but I won’t be continuing with it. I feel sort of like I’m missing something because this seems on paper like a book I would really like, but I just didn’t enjoy it at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
jemini's review against another edition
5.0
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne: 5/5
honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when starting this. i know he’s popular for his other series, The Faithful and the Fallen, but i haven’t read it or any of his other works. except now, this first book of the Bloodsworn series has made me a fan, and i hope the sentiment continues with the sequel book.
it’s very atmospheric, set in a Norse inspired world where gods at war broke the world and left behind their traces within humans. the 3 main characters are all equally interesting, and the chapter sequencing works well to keep you engaged. it’s a very battle heavy, blood shedding, violent epic fantasy that i dont think ive read a lot of, but found to be very interesting. i rly liked the whole battle fame thing and finding glory through fighting. im also intrigued by the story’s set up of this core debate between chosen family vs family because of blood using the different characters’ kinships.
jilllee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
dpwebber's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lhirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
br33zy268's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Wow. I’m not sure what I expected when I started reading this but I thoroughly enjoyed it, the build up, and how the three characters stories were collected. Maybe I’m easier to entertain but I’m not sure how folks ended up mistaking the character voices. Like…were they the strongest characters? probably not. Were they distinct and relatable and frustrating all in their own ways? I would argue yes. Orka especially captured my heart. Elvar I had mixed feelings about up until the very end and Varg was great, although sometimes his story got a little repetitive and he frustrated me the most. It was incredibly satisfying toward the end to finally see how all these stories linked together (some connections were revealed earlier of course). And there was a nice little reveal at the end of Elvar’s story that I didn’t anticipate. All in all I throughly enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would and can’t wait for the rest of the series (here’s to hoping it holds up). I did knock half a star because sometimes it did feel some things were just constantly repeated (like in Varg’s story) and in some of the descriptions of locations etc to the point I was like “where are we…are we think we are where we are?” But other than that I find I have few critiques of this first book.
hufflebuff's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Gwen has an amazing ability to tell 3 separate perspectives/story lines at once. Each one high paced and interesting keeping you enthralled and engaged from cover to cover. Strong female mains and growth/development from male main. The world is familiar but mysterious and the battle scenes bring you right down into the action, you feel like you’re in the shield wall!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Slavery