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books_n_coffee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
first half of the book was very slow paced but it picked up after. can’t fault the book since it’s clearly a first in a trilogy. loved that the different character cross paths which makes it fun to recognize them throughout the book. the plot came together really well and i’m looking forward to seeing where it’s taken in the next books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Murder, and Blood
roxy_reads_romance's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Cursing
travelseatsreads's review against another edition
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.
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
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Murder, War, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
meliroo's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Vomit
tracy_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, and Gore
mirrorballmusings's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Slavery, and Vomit
humanpuke's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a fantastic read. Gwynne does not hold your hand as he throws you into this intricately crafted, Norse-inspired fantasy world. It’s brutal, dark, and completely unforgiving. Gwynne does a great job of creating high stakes for crafted characters that you hate and characters that you love. Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Violence, and War
thecatreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, Murder, and Slavery
jamieleepilk's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence
meltingpages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
When I say that this might very well be my favorite book of 2021, I truly mean it. This was honestly so flawless, and I have absolutely nothing negative to say about it. I’m still thinking about it even now, and I think I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time. It’s going to be tough to put into words how much I loved this book, but I’ll give it a shot.
Like it says in the synopsis, we get three POV’s: Orka, a huntress on a quest, Elvar, a noblewoman who has given up her life of comfort to seek battle fame, and Varg, a thrall who is in search of vengeance against those who murdered his sister. The chapters are short and always end in a way that makes you eager to get to their next chapter, which makes this book fly by. I loved how well fleshed out all three main characters were, and how each of them clearly has some secrets that they aren’t ready to share with the world. Even the side characters felt fleshed out, and when you have two warbands that you’re shuffling between, that says something that it was incredibly easy to keep them all separated and not get anyone confused with anyone else.
Speaking of the world, the world-building was absolutely stunning. It was incredibly easy to become immersed in this deadly Norse-inspired world full of monsters, warbands, and the bones of the dead gods. Everything down to the way the characters were written and their actions helped give you the sense that you were actually walking along with the characters.
Gwynne also doesn’t pull punches when it comes to the brutality of this world. The battle scenes are truly epic, and I found myself constantly wondering when this book will get picked up for an adaptation because I NEED to see this on the big screen in all its bloody glory.
This is one of those books that you can almost see the threads of everything heading in one direction, but you always have this sense of dread that things are going to go horribly wrong for these characters. There was a lot that I didn’t see coming, and the ending was perfect, even though I’ll now have to wait quite a long time for the sequel.
And the most ringing endorsement that I can give this book is that I gushed about it to my dad, which is something I hardly ever do with a book since he isn’t a reader. However, I couldn’t hold back my enthusiasm as I talked his ear off about these characters and how flawless this book is.
If you haven’t caught on yet, I adored this book and it reminded me why I love adult fantasy so much. There is so much to this book, even more than what I can say here in my review because it’s something that you need to experience for yourself. I’m (impatiently) waiting for the release date so I can get my hands on a physical copy, and I’m telling you now, you should mark your calendars for May 6th and add this book to your immediate TBR.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
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