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midnightrose_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, and Grief
forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.5
Absolutely gorgeous debut! Loved every second of it. The premise was so interesting and, for once, Booktok did not let me down. Magic and gods and traitors and this wonderful thread woven through tight, fast-paced events and narration. I loved Hessa and her conflicts within herself and with others. She is a divine warrior but so painfully human in so many ways, it was delightful to see her journey. I loved the world building and the way the gods were introduced as they came. Some moments needed a bit more clarity, but nothing major and nothing that took me out of the story. I loved this idea of a faith that one loves and relishes in through community and power and love becoming a collar/shackle (literally) and how one may deal with that. Hessa's struggle with her faith and her ultimate rejection of it in the face of the truth was so perfectly done. I thought, if anything, the ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked one scene immediately post-epic climax to allow this real idea of change to drop from this lofty ideal into a tangible thing, but that's being nitpicky. I can't wait to see where this author takes it next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death
Self harm warning is only for instances of the characters hurting themselves for sacrifice (slitting their palms, pricking their fingers, etc). Animal death is only for moments where an animal is sacrificed to a god.samusc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
This is fantasy at its absolute best.
H. M. Long, in her debut, has perfected the balance between writing intense battle scenes and tender human moments (braiding hair).
The scene at Oulden’s feet was phenomenal and the moment that solidified this as a 5 star read to me.
Long has created distinct pantheons of Gods that are warring with each other, while the people that worship them are also in combat. The magic system is unique and immersive. The Gods are all intimidating, and Hessa’s interactions with them kept me reading on into the night.
Throughout Hessa’s journey, she encountered many friends and foes, while navigating a brutal natural environment, as well as the trauma of losing most of her kin. These characters are multifaceted, and Ogam has one of the best character arcs I’ve seen in recent fantasy.
The conclusion is incredibly satisfying, and not rushed, the last act taking up I think 80/400 pages.
I love the tagline of Hall of Smoke, To Err is Divine, and how this epic is built upon the impact of the decisions we make.
I’d recommend this to longtime fans and newcomers of fantasy alike, and especially fellow AC: Valhalla players.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Animal death, Slavery, Grief, and Gore
Moderate: Pregnancy and Religious bigotry
ofbooksandbone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, and Violence
readingbetweenthenotes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hall of Smoke is a really solid debut fantasy novel! It centres on Hessa, a warrior-priestess with the power to destroy her enemies with 'Fire'. Hessa has been tasked by her goddess with an important mission and the story's focus is on her attempts to carry this out.
I must admit, it took me a little while to get into this one. There are a lot of character and place names to get your head around, some of which sound quite similar, so it took me quite a bit of concentration at first. However, it's certainly not as difficult as some high fantasy novels so it might act as a good gateway into that genre if it's something you're interested in pursuing? Also, the book does contain a very handy glossary.
After the first 100 pages or so, I got really into this one. I loved following Hessa on her journey. She is a brave heroine and her grief over an early event in the novel is explored sensitively. I also loved seeing all the gods that featured throughout the book! It reminded me a bit of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I love books that feature mythology and this one seemed to take a really unique slant.
Finally, I love that this is a standalone! So many books now are part of a series and sometimes it's good to just be able to enjoy a story for what it is and not worry about where it will go next or how long it will take to get answers. The author has said that there will be another book set in the same world but this will be a standalone too.
Overall, I'd recommend this one if you're looking for a strong fantasy featuring a gutsy heroine and plenty of twists and turns!
[I received my copy for free from Titan Books. This does not affect my review in any way.]
[I received my copy for free from Titan Books. This does not affect my review in any way.]
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Slavery and Blood
rubybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Titan Books for sending me a digital copy of this book for review. I am on the bookstagram tour for this book, so my mini-review will be posted on Instagram on the 18th, but here is my full review. Side note – I absolutely love the cover for this book, and the colours are so beautiful! Right now I have a digital copy, but I bet the physical copy is gorgeous. Also, in my digital copy there was a map and glossary at the end.
Hall of Smoke begins with Hessa seeking forgiveness from the goddess she serves after she failed to complete a mission. Hessa is not at the temple long, but while she is gone there is a raid, and many of her friends and family are murdered. In the aftermath, Hessa must try to redeem herself in Eang’s eyes or she will continue to be disgraced by her goddess. She soon realises that there has been a shift, and the Old Gods are returning and threatening everything Hessa thinks she knows. Hessa has served the goddess of war for a long time, so what will happen when she begins to question her committment?
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this book – the synopsis indicated to me that it would be a high fantasy with a focus on religion, mythology and war, which it definitely was! This book is full of gods and war, and I think the setting is Viking-inspired. This was right up my street, and just what I like to see in fantasy books! The gods in Hall of Smoke were so interesting, and I loved learning about the history of the world-building – it was very well-done and detailed, and I definitely felt immersed in the world.
I really enjoyed learning about the religion, especially because Hessa is a priestess and so caught up in her beliefs, so it is a shock when she realises that everything is not as it seems. Hessa’s whole life has been devoted to Eang, so I loved to see how her relationship with faith changed throughout the book. Hessa definitely isn’t perfect, and she also has to question what she knows about people devoted to other gods, who she had dismissed all her life because she was so devoted to her goddess.
I did struggle to get into this book at the very beginning – it took me a few chapters to get used to the world-building and get into the story. I found the pacing a bit off for a while, mainly before the action started, because most of this book is Hessa travelling on a journey to complete her mission. However, once I did get used to the terminology and plot I really enjoyed the story. There is a lot of information, so I’d recommend looking at the glossary if you need to, and there are pronunciation guides for some of the words. After reading the first few chapters, I was definitely sucked in and once I hit the 50% mark I found it hard to put down!
I liked the alternating timeline because this allowed us to learn more about Hessa and where she came from through some flashbacks. For me, Hessa stood out quite a lot and I really liked following her journey – she definitely had the most depth and character development, and I wanted to know what would happen to her. I really appreciated how she got her period at one point, because unfortunately periods aren’t often discussed in fantasy books. However, most of the other characters weren’t as memorable, so I didn’t feel fully connected to them. This did stop me from fully loving this book, but luckily the book mainly focused on Hessa.
I was a bit confused at the very end – some things were a left a bit vague, so I would have just liked more detail or a longer ending. I have this issue often with standalone books, especially fantasy standalones, because it’s much harder to wrap up a story without it feeling rushed. However, I did really enjoy the climax of the book because I really didn’t know what would happen! There was a lot of action in the second half of the book, as well as revelations and twists and turns in the plot.
Once again, thank you to the publisher for providing me with a review copy. I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book, and I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author. Content warnings for death, murder, violence, some graphic descriptions of injuries.
Hall of Smoke begins with Hessa seeking forgiveness from the goddess she serves after she failed to complete a mission. Hessa is not at the temple long, but while she is gone there is a raid, and many of her friends and family are murdered. In the aftermath, Hessa must try to redeem herself in Eang’s eyes or she will continue to be disgraced by her goddess. She soon realises that there has been a shift, and the Old Gods are returning and threatening everything Hessa thinks she knows. Hessa has served the goddess of war for a long time, so what will happen when she begins to question her committment?
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this book – the synopsis indicated to me that it would be a high fantasy with a focus on religion, mythology and war, which it definitely was! This book is full of gods and war, and I think the setting is Viking-inspired. This was right up my street, and just what I like to see in fantasy books! The gods in Hall of Smoke were so interesting, and I loved learning about the history of the world-building – it was very well-done and detailed, and I definitely felt immersed in the world.
I really enjoyed learning about the religion, especially because Hessa is a priestess and so caught up in her beliefs, so it is a shock when she realises that everything is not as it seems. Hessa’s whole life has been devoted to Eang, so I loved to see how her relationship with faith changed throughout the book. Hessa definitely isn’t perfect, and she also has to question what she knows about people devoted to other gods, who she had dismissed all her life because she was so devoted to her goddess.
I did struggle to get into this book at the very beginning – it took me a few chapters to get used to the world-building and get into the story. I found the pacing a bit off for a while, mainly before the action started, because most of this book is Hessa travelling on a journey to complete her mission. However, once I did get used to the terminology and plot I really enjoyed the story. There is a lot of information, so I’d recommend looking at the glossary if you need to, and there are pronunciation guides for some of the words. After reading the first few chapters, I was definitely sucked in and once I hit the 50% mark I found it hard to put down!
I liked the alternating timeline because this allowed us to learn more about Hessa and where she came from through some flashbacks. For me, Hessa stood out quite a lot and I really liked following her journey – she definitely had the most depth and character development, and I wanted to know what would happen to her. I really appreciated how she got her period at one point, because unfortunately periods aren’t often discussed in fantasy books. However, most of the other characters weren’t as memorable, so I didn’t feel fully connected to them. This did stop me from fully loving this book, but luckily the book mainly focused on Hessa.
I was a bit confused at the very end – some things were a left a bit vague, so I would have just liked more detail or a longer ending. I have this issue often with standalone books, especially fantasy standalones, because it’s much harder to wrap up a story without it feeling rushed. However, I did really enjoy the climax of the book because I really didn’t know what would happen! There was a lot of action in the second half of the book, as well as revelations and twists and turns in the plot.
Once again, thank you to the publisher for providing me with a review copy. I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book, and I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author. Content warnings for death, murder, violence, some graphic descriptions of injuries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Grief
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