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A review by mystralstorm
Forging Divinity by Andrew Rowe
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
📖4| 🎧 5
➤ Publisher: Podium Audio
➤ Narrators: Nick Podehl
➤ Standard Listening Length: 12 hours and 10 minutes
➤ Listen Via: Audible
This is my first book from Andrew Rowe and I’ll be checking his other series out. I started out listening to the audiobook but switched to the kindle version for the last few chapters ( Ever since I’ve moved, my listening time has decreased) (the book is currently on KU which is nice).
“Some say that in the city of Orlyn, godhood is on sale to the highest bidder. Thousands flock to the city each year, hoping for a chance at immortality.” I will admit the blurb for the book caught my eyes and made me very curious to see what the story was about. Godhood for sale? Nothing ever good happens when divinity is being sold to the highest bidder. How does that even work?
Forging Divinity is a very classic fantasy story with the usual but loveable tropes and characters. You have the swordsman (Taelien), the knowledgeable sorceress (Lydia), and the quirky side character (sorry Jonan, I know you're not really a side character but you kinda fit the bill). Well, if this was D&D, I'm pretty sure Jonan would be the rogue. Maybe.
Pro’s
♦︎All three main characters were interesting and likable. I usually don’t care for multiple POV in a story but it worked for this story due to all the angles being played. Also, each character’s inner thoughts were written so differently, it was easy to keep track of whose point of view I was with.
♦︎The magic system was unique and I liked the concept of it. One of the aspects of the magic system I really liked was the consequences of using the magic. Every spell had a cost- big or small. I’m so used to seeing people in fantasy just throwing spells around with little to no backlash. Not in this story. An example would be using a fire spell. Trying to light something or someone would draw from your own body temperature. Too much fire and you risked the chance of going into hyperthermia. There was always a physical or mental cost for a spell.
♦︎The fight scenes were fun to read. There weren't many but it was easy to visualize what was going on based on the scene I was reading.
Con's
♦︎I feel like the burb didn’t really match the story. The “godhood” was never really for sale. It didn’t really matter until the end.
♦︎Information was repeated multiple times. I think the author was trying to keep it in our minds but I didn’t feel like I needed to be reminded about the Rethri and their bonds every other chapter. Once or twice would have been fine.
♦︎I would have liked to see more “Gods” action. We really didn’t see much until the end.
Overall I enjoyed Forging Divinity and I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
➤ Publisher: Podium Audio
➤ Narrators: Nick Podehl
➤ Standard Listening Length: 12 hours and 10 minutes
➤ Listen Via: Audible
This is my first book from Andrew Rowe and I’ll be checking his other series out. I started out listening to the audiobook but switched to the kindle version for the last few chapters ( Ever since I’ve moved, my listening time has decreased) (the book is currently on KU which is nice).
“Some say that in the city of Orlyn, godhood is on sale to the highest bidder. Thousands flock to the city each year, hoping for a chance at immortality.” I will admit the blurb for the book caught my eyes and made me very curious to see what the story was about. Godhood for sale? Nothing ever good happens when divinity is being sold to the highest bidder. How does that even work?
Forging Divinity is a very classic fantasy story with the usual but loveable tropes and characters. You have the swordsman (Taelien), the knowledgeable sorceress (Lydia), and the quirky side character (sorry Jonan, I know you're not really a side character but you kinda fit the bill). Well, if this was D&D, I'm pretty sure Jonan would be the rogue. Maybe.
Pro’s
♦︎All three main characters were interesting and likable. I usually don’t care for multiple POV in a story but it worked for this story due to all the angles being played. Also, each character’s inner thoughts were written so differently, it was easy to keep track of whose point of view I was with.
♦︎The magic system was unique and I liked the concept of it. One of the aspects of the magic system I really liked was the consequences of using the magic. Every spell had a cost- big or small. I’m so used to seeing people in fantasy just throwing spells around with little to no backlash. Not in this story. An example would be using a fire spell. Trying to light something or someone would draw from your own body temperature. Too much fire and you risked the chance of going into hyperthermia. There was always a physical or mental cost for a spell.
♦︎The fight scenes were fun to read. There weren't many but it was easy to visualize what was going on based on the scene I was reading.
Con's
♦︎I feel like the burb didn’t really match the story. The “godhood” was never really for sale. It didn’t really matter until the end.
♦︎Information was repeated multiple times. I think the author was trying to keep it in our minds but I didn’t feel like I needed to be reminded about the Rethri and their bonds every other chapter. Once or twice would have been fine.
♦︎I would have liked to see more “Gods” action. We really didn’t see much until the end.
Overall I enjoyed Forging Divinity and I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.