A review by sarah_cameron
The Children of Gods and Fighting Men by Shauna Lawless

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed the premise and plot of this book. It does a great job of traversing a large period of time and characters, while still being cohesive and easy enough to follow. This is aided by each of the characters and settings being distinct enough, with clear histories and motives, and Lawless does an impressive job of making the reader sympathetic to many of the characters despite their clashing goals.

This is a seriously impressive debut, with rich world-building that has clearly be carefully researched. I also really enjoyed the narrator, and felt she did a good job of giving each of the characters a clear voice.

My only drawback is that at times I felt a little disconnected from the narrative flow - the language more emotive in a way that sometimes feels distanced from the plot, like an epic being described in retrospect, rather than feeling caught up in the energy and emotions of the characters in the present. It's worth noting that this is a valid narrative choice, and it just happens to not be my personal preference.

In saying that, I'll definitely be picking up the sequel when it drops, and I'm invested in seeing what happens next!