Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Shadow of the Gods

In The Shadow of the Gods we follow along with 3 POV’s: Orka, a mother & warrior; Varg, an ex-thrall seeking vengeance; and Elvar, a young mercenary craving battle-fame. All this set in a Norse-inspired world of violence and battle where hesitation means death.

This book was everything I could ever want from a fantasy novel and more. This was also my first John Gwynne book, and I have to say I totally understand now what everyone raves about. His writing is just *chefs kiss*. The amount of tabs I used while annotating was absolutely ridiculous, and it was purely because there were so many lines I absolutely loved.

Though the most impressive thing, I feel, is that there was never a moment where I was disappointed to read a characters POV. Which is saying something considering there were 3 different POV’s going on. But I genuinely loved and was interested in them all. Not to mention the many side characters I am absolutely in love with.

Besides the characters, whom I loved, I also believe the plot was insanely good. I was always intrigued with each of the story lines, and I especially loved the plot twists here and there. And the ending was just perfect. Though I will say I’m so glad and thankful to have received an e-ARC of The Hunger of the Gods because this book left me immediately wanting more.

So, would I recommend? Yes, yes, and yes! Those who like an action-driven fantasy with Norse elements will especially love this book.

Content Warnings

gaia_dea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

jamieleepilk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thank you so much to Orbit UK/Little Brown Books for sending me this proof.
UK Release date 06/05/2021.

This is the first book I have read by John Gwynne, as soon as I read the blurb for this book I knew it would be for me. I love books inspired by myths and folklore but Norse isn't one I'm very familiar with but that didn't stop me falling head first into this epic start to the Bloodsworn Saga, which lets be honest is an incredible name for a fantasy series.
'The Shadow of the Gods' is told from the prospective of three very different types of warriors each with their own history and challenges. I think Elvar was my favourite pov but each and every character in this has a distinct voice and view point. This book is epic and action packed but I love how it balances that with the emotional side especially with Varg and Orka's storylines. This books magic fascinated me from the start and I loved the elements of the characters that were "tainted" that were kind of descendants of the gods with enhanced abilities and strengths.
The descriptions of environments in this book are so transportive, from sounds and descriptions of scents and food. Especially the food while reading it every time a stew was mentioned with bread being dunked I craved it so badly. This little touches made it feel so feel real, a great escapism read.
Like I say this is the first book I've read by John Gwynne and after reading this I will definitely be looking into his other work! I also can not wait for the next book in this series and see where everything goes from here. Brilliant start to what will be an insanely epic series, don't miss it when it's released in June.

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