Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Shadow of the Gods

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this first installment in the Bloodsworn Saga, we follow three different points of view. Orka is a mother searching for the son who was taken from her home by unknown assailants, leaving her husband dead. Her quest for vengeance takes her far away, and on her journey we get to unravel the mysteries surrounding her bit by bit. Varg is an escaped thrall, looking for someone who can perform a magical ritual to lead him to his sister's killers. When his past catches up to him, a group of mercenaries called the Bloodsworn take him in. Fortunately, there is a seidhr witch among them who may be able to help him avenge his sister. Elvar has finally solidified her place among the Battle-Grim, a group of mercenaries led by Agnar, but when their journey takes them back to her home and family, she must decide what her future will look like.

I spent most of the book trying to lay links between the characters, which is easier said than one. Orka is easily my favourite character out of the three. The way we are introduced to her immediately piqued my interest, and I only grew to like her more as the pages flipped by. Her single-minded determination to find her son and rescue him against all odds was admirable, even though it sometimes led her thoughtlessly into dangerous situations.

I really enjoyed Varg's chapters as well, especially once he started making friends among the Bloodsworn. The characters in that group are fun and varied, and I liked the way Varg's character developed after joining them.

The character I had the most trouble connecting to is Elvar, and that lasted up until the end. Her storyline starts off the least interesting, although the last part of it is probably the most interesting out of all of them. The Battle-Grim are motivated by money, however, which makes it harder to empathize with her compared to Orka and Varg, whose journeys are a lot more personal.

The world is fascinating, and the author does his best to ease us into it. There's no infodumping; all the fantastical creatures and elements get explained in a very organic way. It does take a while for the story to really ramp up to where it gets interesting, and a lot of the book is spent on moving from one place to another, which is not my favourite thing to read about. But it does give us the time to get invested in these people, although I do think the pacing could've been a bit faster (and the book a bit shorter) without losing that aspect.

The ending is a rollercoaster, and I loved everything that happens and everything we learn in those final few chapters. Can't wait for the next book to see how this will play out.

Content Warnings

tristen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

I've struggled with writing a review for this one as I really enjoyed some parts of the book but then felt like other sections were almost a chore.

What I Liked
-Amazing world building
-Some amazing sections of writing and lots of quotable lines.
-Lots of action and mythical creatures
-Great female characters

What I Didn't Like
-There were chunks where I was bored
-I felt most of the characters needed more depth
-It needs a glossary and character map. There are so many terms and characters to make sense of it's easy to get lost, especially for the first book of a series.

It's quite obviously a really well written book and is getting huge praise but for me I felt it was a little bit too much hard work for the pay off of the level of enjoyment I received from it. I've no doubt however that it will make for an amazing series.

Content Warnings