Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 stars)

Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a stand-alone novel by V.E.Schwab, published in 2025. The story follows the lives of three queer women and their desire to find freedom and an authentic life.

My rating is based on the fact that the book was an enjoyable read with amazing writing and great themes. I had some issues with the pacing and the ending, so that’s what made it a four instead of a five star read.

Please note: This review contains major spoilers. If you haven’t read the book and prefer to go in blind, consider returning after you’ve finished it.

The Story

As previously mentioned, we follow three women: Sabine, Alice and Charlotte. We are first introduced to Sabine in the 1500s in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, then to Alice in 2019. We get a brief teaser of Charlotte’s perspective in 2019, but her story is told in the last third of the book.

Sabine, born Maria in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, quickly realizes her life is destined for marriage and motherhood. She decides to take matters into her own hands and finds a wealthy husband, but even that does not grant her the freedom she wanted. As a child, Sabine meets a mysterious widow that resurfaces in the same city in which Sabine ends up living with her husband’s family, and under their strict surveillance. Longing to break free, she accepts the widow’s shadowy offer for freedom, which results in her being turned into a vampire. 

We follow Sabine as she meets other vampires and find out more about the limitations of the new life she has been given, including the fact that vampires might think themselves immortal, but they aren’t. Their lives are long, but they eventually lose their humanity piece by piece. Most vampires Sabine meets describe it as rotting or decaying. 

Alice’s story contrasts Sabine’s historical setting with a modern, urban one. A Scottish college student in Boston, trying to start a new life, she’s turned into a vampire after a one-night stand. Desperate for answers, she begins searching for Charlotte, the woman she spent the night with.

Charlotte’s tale begins in 1870s England, where a forbidden kiss leads her family to send her to London to marry. Instead, she meets Sabine, who offers her the same dark choice she once received—with incomparably more introduction to it than she had gotten. Charlotte accepts, and the two spend a hundred years  together—until Sabine’s violence drives them apart. Bound by a promise Sabine tricked her into making, Charlotte cannot kill her and spends the next century running, watching Sabine harm the women she loves, including Alice. 

In the final act, Charlotte convinces Alice to kill Sabine, claiming it will restore Alice’s humanity. Alice succeeds, but when Charlotte arrives, Alice—betrayed and afraid—kills her too.

The Characters and the Themes

I loved the central themes of freedom, going against the expectations and carving out your own path even when the world tries to place you in a box. Sabine and Charlotte share the fact that they were born at a time when societal norms did not allow them to explore their sexuality or even their own lives. Their stories are equated with hunger and love, and I’d say they are the exploration of what happens when you cannot find satiety or true love, in the sense of an intimate and healthy relationship. Sabine and Charlotte taking agency in the only way they thought possible is a powerful act of defiance.

Alice’s story contrasts Sabine and Charlotte because unlike the two women, she was born at a time and in a place where and when a woman can pursue an education, choose who she marries and how she lives her life. However, she carries with her a complicated family story. She had to deal with the loss of her mother as a child, a father that didn’t know how to deal with the loss of his wife, or the grief of his two daughters, a stepmother who tried to do her best, and the eventual loss of Alice’s older sister. Her move to Boston to study was an escape attempt, and yet it gets almost cruelly snatched away by her being turned into a vampire. Her story is one of rage, and to an extent, taking back control. 

However, the characters were just a bit too difficult for me to connect to. From the very start, Sabine is a calculating woman who gets progressively colder and more cruel. However, it’s very difficult to judge her, given that the root of her morals and values lies in the way she was treated her whole (human) life. I’d say I wanted her to get her freedom, to grow her orchard and eat cherries in peace, but even while she had those simple desires, they were laced with something arrogant, difficult to put a finger on. Her progression into an outright villain is steady, but not surprising. Understandable, but not justifiable.

Charlotte, to me, came across as an unthinking, foolish woman once she knew Sabine was hunting her but doesn’t adjust her behavior at all. She kept sleeping around and, well, hoping for the best? Alice thinks, in the final confrontation with Charlotte, that she can finally see her clearly, as the girl who danced with Sabine, who “butchered families in their home” and “who let girls die because she couldn’t bear to sleep alone”. But Charlotte’s life was very long. Being alone for hundreds of years must have sounded terrifying to someone who desired connection and love as much as she did. In a way, I found her to be a lost girl, just wanting to escape a life she did not want to live and making a very poor choice in going to Sabine as her ticket out of it. I can even understand how she tries to justify Sabine over and over again, a lover stuck in a toxic relationship and in love with a horrible person, unable to break a vicious and violent cycle. Again, her motives are understandable, but her actions are difficult to justify.

The Prose

I loved the prose in this book. I found myself enjoying the writing even when I was not as thrilled with where the plot or the characters were. The way the author writes is captivating in a manner that’s hard to qualify. I would definitely recommend this book and pick up another book from V.E.Scwab for this reason alone.

However, I did have some issues with the pacing and minor plot issues. I found a large part of the book quite slow, and then it picked up in the final third to do a speed-run to the end. It wasn’t a problem, but I generally prefer more balance in pacing.

Conclusion

Overall, I think this book might not be for everyone, but I’d still recommend it to anyone who’d like to read a book with strong central themes, queer women, and amazing writing. It being a vampire book was not a selling point for me, but this book definitely ties the themes with the inherent characteristic of vampires beautifully, and the vampires are done in a rather old-fashioned way which is oddly refreshing.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 stars)

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett is a fantasy novel published in 2025, and is the sequel to his 2024 novel The Tainted Cup.

I loved this book. I think all of my potential misgivings with the first installment were cleared in this one, offering a delicious mystery in a high-fantasy setting, with a beautiful political thread, character development, and insanely good writing.

Please note: This review contains major spoilers. If you haven’t read the book and prefer to go in blind, consider returning after you’ve finished it.

Overview

We see Ana and Din summoned to solve the murder of Immunis Mineti Sujedo, a member of the treasury delegation that arrived on high imperial business. The man disappeared from a locked room in a tower and was later found dead in the canals, leaving the entire investigation team puzzled—hence why the Iudex is summoned. There is some concern that the motive behind the murder might be purely political, as Yarrowdale is not yet part of the Empire but is set to become a formal member within the next decade. Ana and Din go on to uncover that it is much more than that; it is a ploy for both the throne and power, as well as for extracting as much financial gain from the Empire as possible.

The brilliant mind behind the initial murder and many subsequent crimes turns out to be an accidental by-product of a plan developed by Immunis Rava Ghrelin and Commander Prificto Kulaq Thelenai. Ghrelin and Thelenai were deeply involved in the operations of the Shroud—a facility built in the Bay of Yarrow used to study and exploit the flesh of dead Leviathans, which is a key factor in the Empire’s efficiency. The two believed that the Empire had outgrown the Shroud and devised a method to simplify the process of harvesting and transporting Titan blood—by maintaining marrow that could continue to produce blood on its own. If successful, the Empire would no longer rely on the Shroud or on the extraction of fresh blood; instead, it could ship marrow to needed locations, where it would generate fresh blood on-site, thus preventing spoilage during the long journey from Yarrow to other parts of the Empire.

I’ll pause the summary here to say that, while the use of Titan blood is disturbing in itself, this concept takes it to a whole new level. I am amazed the author managed to create such a simple yet chilling element for his book. He blends quite a bit of horror and gore into his work but excels at making simple things horrifying.

Ghrelin and Thelenai operated in utmost secrecy because they believed the King of Yarrowdale would act against them if he learned of their work. They also knew that the transport of continuously producing Titan marrow would be a logistical nightmare and extremely dangerous, potentially resulting in mass casualties if it went wrong. To even reach the stage of “binding” marrow, as they called it, they created augury—a special form of alteration that temporarily grants a heightened mental state. It was augury that produced Immunis Sunus Pyktis, a man who worked in the Shroud on the marrow and later faked his own death to carry out a plot to take over Yarrowdale.

Pyktis was one of the King’s children, and over the course of the book, he manages to kill both the King and his brother, the Prince, and assume the throne. This is possible because the royal bloodline is unusually full of twins and triplets, and Pyktis was a twin of the Prince. As his plot is revealed, Ana leaves it to the King and Prince’s advisor to deal with Pyktis as they see fit. Thelenai is arrested, and the marrow is secured, awaiting a future where it may be used to usher in what they call the Fifth Empire—a new era.

The story is difficult to summarize efficiently, but I found it engaging and not nearly as convoluted when followed step by step as it seems when attempting to summarize it. I found the plot compelling and the characters nuanced. The setting was excellent—perhaps even better than in the first book. The story unfolds at a pace that is easy to follow. As with the previous book, you arrive at many of the revelations alongside the characters, which is once again a great feat for any writer to accomplish.

Where Are Our Characters?

Din

Din had a lot going on in this book.

There were a lot of money issues for him, even more so than in the previous book. His father died and left him a huge debt with the Usini Lending Group. It allowed the author to explore other sides of Din that he might not otherwise have had the chance to. I am also impressed by how mundane the plot is—because, well, yes, creditors are not something I expect in a high fantasy book. They added a certain noir element, with that touch of financial corruption and a bit of moral decay. I also like that, while we do get underdogs and people from lower classes, the way Din is impoverished is somewhat relatable—he works, pays his loans, and is still left with next to nothing for enjoyment. If that isn’t a very modern sentiment, I don’t know what is.

Tied into Din’s financial struggles is his desire to be a part of the imperial legion. The Legion fights back the Leviathans on the sea walls and is respected and honorable.

“Those who donned the sable uniforms saved untold lives every year, whereas I, in the Iudex, merely looked upon the dead, and could do little else.”

Din’s struggle to find meaning in his work was also an interesting point of his character in this book. I did feel it was just a bit out of the blue, but it was well executed, so I cannot complain too much.

“But… when we come, the deed is already done. The body is cold, the blood cleaned away. We often find the killer, but that heals nothing, as far as I can see. It only leads to a rope, or a cage, and many more tears. (…) Is it so strange a thing, ma’am, to helplessly look upon the slain and dream of instead saving lives?”

While I don’t think we were ever supposed to seriously wonder if he’d leave Ana and go to another Iyalet, his journey to realizing that there is good to be done in the Iudex was very satisfying. It was also subtly tied to his fling with Captain Kepheus Strovi from the last book, which I thought was nicely done—I don’t think Din thought he was in love or anything, but it was clear the affair had left a lasting impact on him, and that he admired Strovi a lot and would have been happy to give the relationship a chance if it were viable.

It was also satisfying to have the Usini Lending Group effortlessly taken down by Ana, who was looking out for Din so sweetly in this story.

Ana

“Just keep an eye out for the fellow with testicles large enough to cause back deformities, and we shall have our culprit!”

I find Ana endlessly fascinating, especially as we get to see more of her, but I also find her hard to relate to. I would argue that is the whole point, so this isn’t a critique in any way. I also love her communication style so much. She is so direct, and her one-liners always hit. But she also delivered a few speeches I loved in this book.

“This work can never satisfy, Din, for it can never finish. The dead cannot be restored. Vice and bribery will never be totally banished from the cantons. And the drop of corruption that lies within every society shall always persist. The duty of the Iudex is not to boldly vanquish it but to manage it. We keep the stain from spreading, yes, but it is never gone. Yet this job is perhaps the most important in all the Iyalets, for without it, well… the Empire would come to look much like Yarrow, where the powerful and the cruel prevail without check.“

She displayed such a keen understanding of justice and what needs to be done to achieve it, and I loved her for it.

The revelation of what she is was also interesting, and I didn’t see it coming. It is revealed that she is probably a new version of the old Khanum, the great race that built the Empire. I always thought she had some crazy augmentations, but this is way cooler. I look forward to seeing where that character point goes in future installments.

I also like how there’s almost a tenderness that develops over the last few chapters between Ana and Din. At the end of the book, Ana is exhausted enough to require several days of sleep, akin to an induced coma, and Din is there checking on her every day. And she in turn has a heartfelt conversation with him in the epilogue, allowing him to leave the Iudex but grateful that he decides to stay. An overall huge improvement on their already amusing and strong relationship thus far.

Tira Malo

By far my favorite character addition. Tira Malo is a part of the Apoths in Yarrowdale and has a past as one of the indentured servants that I think we can freely call slaves to the nobles of the realm. She is brave, dutiful, and smart, so no surprise that I love her. For a moment, I was afraid she had somehow been involved in the villainous plot, but that was thankfully not the case.

She has built her future on the upcoming merge with the Empire, but the events of the book make her aware that she will have to find a different path soon. Ana suggests she could also become an assistant investigator, and I hope we get her own books in which she does exactly that.

The Leviathan Threat

“You think it’s mad, for us to talk of spirits,” said the second maid archly. “But given what they do with the Shroud out there in the bay… perhaps the ghosts of these things linger, and hate us, for all we make from their flesh.”

Where the Leviathans were an active threat in Talagray in the first book, they are things to be experimented on in this one, and that does not decrease the horror in any way. If anything, it increases it, because the potential damage Leviathan blood and marrow can do is off the charts.

The forest where the camp was is a brilliant example of this. The description of what had happened there is so gruesome that it’s just a tad difficult to get through. I was also listening to it in audiobook format, and the way that scene flows is just amazing.

Din also gets a chance to visit the Shroud, and I think I expected more descriptions and for it to go more in the direction of being horrifying. The way I ended up picturing it is almost like a factory, with the business described. I really enjoyed the augurs, though, and their strange type of communication and perception of the world. They were really starved for information, and I think that drove home the point of how borderline inhuman their treatment was.

Author’s Note

I never skip author’s notes, but if there was only one author’s note I think you should read in this entire year, it would be this one.

Final Thoughts

I feel like I could talk for ages about this book. As long as this review is, I still feel like there’s so much I did not discuss, and it’s worth mentioning. The book was fun, yet it explored complex themes and offered a lot of intriguing scenes and characters. An absolute must-read.

Faithbreaker, published in 2025, is the third and final book in the Fallen Gods trilogy by Hannah Kaner. It’s a story that explores power, faith, love and sacrifice. It also ended up being a disappointing conclusion to the story for me.

Fallen Gods #3 | Fantasy | Published 2025

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5 stars)

You can read my reviews of Goodkiller and Sunbringer by clicking on the links.

Spoiler Warning: This review contains major spoilers for Faithbreaker and the entire Fallen Gods trilogy. Proceed with caution if you haven’t finished all three books.

The third and final book in the Fallen Gods trilogy by Hannah Kaner. It’s a story that explores power, faith, love and sacrifice. It also ended up being a disappointing conclusion to the story for me. If I hadn’t loved the first two books as much as I did, this rating would be even lower.

My Thoughts

I’m so disappointed in this book. It feels like all the things I loved about the first two installments came back to mock me here. This might be the greatest “you know what, it’s not you, it’s me” moment I’ve ever experienced.

The story begins with Lessa Craier taking her ship to Irisa as an ambassador in search of allies. Kissen, Inara, and Skediceth accompany her. After a series of trials, the ship reaches Irisa. Following failed negotiations and a botched mutiny, Lessa—helped by Elo’s mother—returns to Middren with reinforcements.

Meanwhile, Elogast stays with Arren and is promoted to commander general. They secure a Pyrrhic victory on the battlefield, though their efforts are constantly undermined by scheming nobles and the overwhelming strength of the Talician army and Hseth. Eventually, all characters reunite for one final, desperate confrontation.

Arren

There were so many things I wanted to be wrong about, but Arren’s death was a huge disappointment on multiple levels. He had all the makings of a character who could have walked the line between villainy and redemption, but the choice to redeem him only through death felt like a cop-out. I know people love this trope—I don’t. I saw it coming from Sunbringer, and I thought I’d made peace with it.

But then he dies in the most ridiculous way possible. His cleric convinces his most loyal knight to kill him during a crucial showdown with Hseth. It sounds intriguing on paper, but the execution was so poorly set up that it felt laughable. I literally put the book down when it happened—and with only that chapter and the epilogue left, that’s not when you want to lose your reader. The timing made no sense. It felt like unintentional comedy.

Skediceth

Skedi sacrificing himself so Inara could summon the gods should’ve been emotional. Saying goodbye to him was heartbreaking, but his death suddenly being the catalyst to summon all the gods of Middren felt unearned. What should have been an epic finale became a rushed, chaotic mess. I often feel that major deaths at the end are the new norm, but I wish they weren’t because they often feel pointless.

That said, Skedi getting his own shrine was a beautiful touch. I genuinely loved that. A reborn Skedi in the epilogue would’ve been a stronger ending, but alas.

Inara

For someone who drives the plot so much, Inara felt oddly flat and inconsequential. I kept forgetting where she was for most of the book. Her climactic moment felt overpowered and inconsistent with the book’s logic up to that point. By the time the epilogue came around, I’d emotionally checked out so I might have missed it, but it felt like her story did not even reach a resolution.

Elogast

Elo’s arc could have been great. He wrestled with grief, duty, and his feelings for Arren. But the romantic payoff between them fell flat. Instead of a well-paced emotional journey, Elo decides to start the relationship with the King when he’s already so deeply shaken that it feels like he’s just doing it because it’s expected of him – by Arren, the reader etc. Their relationship had so much potential, but the resolution felt empty—especially after Arren’s death, which let Elo avoid grappling with the reality of loving someone morally compromised. That was the story I wanted.

Kissen

I adore Kissen, but her relationship with Lessa felt forced and added little to the story. Like Inara, she seemed sidelined here, and it didn’t feel like she received her own story or her own conclusion.

Other Disappointments

• Deaths felt cheap. I loved Legs, Kissen’s horse, but it’s telling that his death had more impact than the mutiny on Lessa’s ship or the loss of Elo’s comrades.
• Lessa’s pirate crew. They were cardboard cut-outs whose only function was to die or cause problems. Her legendary pirate status didn’t feel earned, especially given her age.
• The separation of main characters—again. It didn’t add anything new this time around.

The Things I Liked

• The food descriptions in Irisa—mouthwatering!
• Skedi’s shrine.
• Kissen and Elogast’s friendship. They had strong BFF vibes in this book, and I really enjoyed that dynamic. It wasn’t well-built, but it worked for me.

Final Thoughts

I loved Godkiller, and I liked Sunbringer. Looking back, Sunbringer hinted at the direction Faithbreaker would take—I just didn’t see it. I expected a grand, triumphant finale with my favorite characters working together to save the world. What I got was a flat, rushed story that struggled to tie things together.

I had a hard time finishing this book. My 3-star rating is based entirely on how much I loved the first two books. If this had been the first or second installment, I don’t think I would’ve finished it. I’ll give this author another chance in the future, but I won’t be rushing to pick up her next release.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 stars)

I’m a little late to The Tainted Cup party. Since its release in early 2024, it’s been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award in the Fantasy category and has gained quite a bit of buzz. With the second installment out on April 1st, 2025, I figured it was the perfect time to finally dive in.

First Impressions

I’d heard that The Tainted Cup was a fantasy murder mystery with rich worldbuilding. That turned out to be both true… and an understatement. The worldbuilding is intense. So intense, in fact, that the first few chapters had a steep learning curve. I love a good Holmes-and-Watson-style duo, and I love a complex fantasy setting—but at times, it felt like the mystery and the worldbuilding were fighting for space rather than complementing each other.

Our “Watson” is Dinos Kol, the narrator and assistant to Ana Dolabra, an eccentric investigator. While Ana is undeniably intriguing, I couldn’t quite warm up to her. She reminded me of a less likable version of BBC’s Sherlock, and that impression didn’t change much by the end. Of course, this doesn’t mean she’s a poorly written character—in fact, I think she’s amazingly well crafted. It just means she didn’t resonate with me the same way other characters did. I respect her complexity, and I’m curious to see how she evolves in the next book.

The Plot (Spoilers!)

In this world, people can be magically—or maybe scientifically is a better term for the world in the book?—altered. Din, for example, has been modified to have perfect memory and is an Engraver. Others are enhanced with perfect vision, strength, or smell. There’s also various types of offices these altered folk can be a part of, but I won’t get into details of it here.

The story begins with a gruesome death: a man is killed when a tree grows from inside him. Din, with his perfect memory, observes and reports the details to Ana, who quickly solves part of the mystery. This draws the attention of Commander Desmi Vashta, who informs Ana that a recent leviathan breach may be connected—other workers on the sea walls were murdered in the exact same way. Ana and Din are summoned to the city of Talagray to investigate what is now considered a case of mass poisoning.

There, they meet three investigators already assigned to the case. Suspicion falls on them quickly, as their investigation has several glaring oversights. As events unfold, the mystery leads to one of the most powerful families in the empire—and a string of long-buried crimes. 

What Worked (and What Didn’t)

I enjoyed reading this book, but I’m unsure who I’d recommend it to. As a fan of murder mysteries, I appreciated many of the elements—especially how the characters often made discoveries at the same time as the reader. That’s a tough trick to pull off, and Bennett does it well. Still, the mystery left me wanting more. A few plot threads seemed to go nowhere. For example, Ana calls out the investigators for praising Commander Blas and then not reacting when he’s slandered—but that moment is never followed up on. There were several examples like this, and while I get that red herrings are part of the genre, I sometimes found the false leads more compelling than the actual reveals.

At times, the book also reminded me of a D&D campaign that’s gone slightly off-track—the kind where the game master has an epic story, but the players keep generating unexpected subplots, and the world just keeps expanding to accommodate them. 

That said, the fantasy aspect of the book is exceptional. By any measure, The Tainted Cup is a high fantasy novel, and the sheer scope and originality of the worldbuilding make it worth reading on that basis alone.

While Ana and Din are undeniably the leads, I found myself especially drawn to the minor characters. Fayazi of the Haza family, a villainous figure, was utterly fascinating. I would read a whole spin-off about her if the author decided to make it. Another standout was Ditelus, one of the accomplices in the murders. We only see him in his death scene, yet that scene was so powerful it brought tears to my eyes—even though I’d barely gotten to know him.

Favorite Quotes

There were also so many memorable quotes. Some of my favorites:

“But I am reluctant to assume maliciousness when incompetence is a better explanation.”
Honestly, I want to start including that in at least half of my emails at work.

Another great line comes from Vashta:

“I am here to protect the Empire, not deliver justice.”
That one added real depth to her character and showed how nuanced her role was in the larger world.

And then there’s this:

“How simple the titans seemed, and how impossible justice felt.”
A perfect line, especially considering how much the empire fears the leviathans.

Final Thoughts

The Tainted Cup is a genre-defying novel that brings something truly unique to the table. It’s ambitious, intricate, and often breathtaking. While I had some issues—especially with pacing and a few plot threads—I’m still giving it 4 out of 5 stars. I might not be 100% sure how I feel about it… but I do know I want more.

I’ll definitely be reading the sequel (probably already in my hand as you’re reading this).

Fallen Gods #2 | Fantasy | Published 2024

Read my review of book one, Godkiller, here.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

A slightly unfair but totally deserved five stars. Sunbringer is everything I wanted and more—epic, emotional, and steeped in character development. Despite a touch of “middle-book syndrome,” I loved nearly every minute of it.

Spoiler Warning

This review contains spoilers for both Godkiller and Sunbringer. If you haven’t read them yet and prefer to go in blind, consider coming back after finishing the books!

The Road So Far

After nearly dying in battle against the fire god Hseth, Kissen is saved by Osidien, who warns her of a war on the horizon. Meanwhile, Inara, Skediceth, and Elogast return to Lesscia. As they each follow their own paths—uncovering godly origins, rejoining the rebellion, and warning the kingdom—their stories eventually converge in the capital, Sakre, where tensions rise and the gods stir once again.

King Arren: New POV, New Layers

I have to admit—I loved Arren in this book. He becomes a POV character, which I thought was a brilliant move. I’m really hoping for a redemption arc in book three after spending more time in his head. His final confrontation with Elogast was especially powerful. It becomes clear that Arren deeply loves Elo, and at the heart of his actions is a yearning for the love and family he never had. He was always “his mother’s unloved son,” and all he wants is to be “more than a lonely prince who won a war and no longer had the commander who won it with him.” I’m very curious to see if he survives the trilogy—and whether Elo will ever return his love in the same way.

Split Party, Strong Arcs: where are our characters?

Kissen

I wasn’t the biggest fan of how Kissen was separated from the other for most of the book, but her story arc was strong. She ends up working with the gods—an unusual position for a godkiller—and ultimately delivers the warning of war. I appreciated that her story began in Talicia, her homeland. It gave us insight into what she gave up when she chose another country and another life. I think it’s a feeling a lot of people can connect with, and it added a layer of emotional depth to her journey. That said, I do wish we’d seen more of the trio together.

Elogast

Elogast’s chapters were, honestly, a bit slow for me. The battle in Lesscia felt long and drawn out. While I liked seeing Elo in command—especially after hearing how capable he is—the pacing could have been tighter. Still, I found myself admiring him more, especially in his interactions with Lord Yether and Arren. His internal conflict leading up to his decision to kill Arren is one of the strongest emotional threads. In the end, he delivers the killing blow—but to a magical twig-illusion, courtesy of the King. This ends up taking Elo and the King, along with Inara and Skediceth to Arren’s actual whereabouts in Sakre. This is how they end up reuniting with Kissen and Lessa Craier.

Inara and her mother

Speaking of Craiers, I suspected early on that Lessa was alive—she’s the only one who can offer Inara the answers she needs. I’m curious how their relationship will develop in the next book. When we meet her, Lessa is leading a successful assault on Sakre, while the King heads for Lesscia. She’s visibly irritated by Kissen and fearful of what Kissen says about Inara. She immediately tries to assert control over her daughter, and I expect that power struggle to continue.

Inara, meanwhile, is angry, scared, and eager to take part in the fight. When Elo leaves her behind, she takes matters into her own hands. In Lesscia’s archives, she stirs up trouble—but also connects with several gods still alive in the city. I particularly liked her scenes with Scian, the god of the archives, and the rose god Makioron. Makioron’s death was expected but still heartbreaking—he was easy to love. I also found the connection to Yusef fascinating.

Skediceth

Skedi’s journey was equally compelling. He learns more about his power and identity, and the bond between him and Inara becomes more flexible, allowing for distance. I did feel for him as Inara formed new alliances with other gods, but I think this shift will help him grow.

Final thoughts

Overall, this is a tough review to write. I really loved the book—the characters, the worldbuilding, the emotional arcs—but it did suffer a bit from pacing issues and that classic middle-book slump. Still, the setup for the finale is fantastic. Hseth is reborn, merged with the very metal meant to kill her. Inara must confront her mother and uncover the truth about Lessa. I’m still rooting for Arren’s redemption, and since I’m not fully on board with Kissen and Elo’s romance, I wouldn’t mind seeing Elo move closer to the King and lean fully into his role as a commander.

Have you read Sunbringer yet? Let me know your thoughts or theories in the comments!

Fallen Gods #1 | Published 2023 | Genre: Fantasy

Please note: this review contains spoilers. If you haven’t read the book yet and want to experience the story unspoiled, now is a good time to stop reading. If spoilers don’t bother you—read on!

First Impressions

Godkiller is the first novel in the Fallen Gods trilogy and the debut of Hannah Kaner, published in 2023 by HarperCollins. The shortest version of my review is: I loved the book! The setting was a huge plus—it’s often compared to The Witcher, since our main character hunts and kills monsters… of a sort. But that is mostly where the comparison ends.

The World

Kaner creates a vivid world where gods once drew power from offerings and prayers, but are now outlawed. After a brutal war between old and new gods—one that claimed much of the royal family—the new king, Arren, turned on them all. Worship was banned. Gods were hunted.

We meet Kissen, a fierce godkiller from Talicia, who lost her family to a god of fire named Hseth. Her father worshipped a sea god, and their devotion marked them for sacrifice. Since then, Kissen has lived for vengeance.

After a job, Kissen meets Inara, a noble girl bound to a god of white lies—Skediceth. Though Kissen wants no part in it, she agrees to help after Inara’s home is destroyed. Together, they travel to the war-torn city of Blenraden, seeking answers.

The Journey

Their path crosses with Elogast, a former knight commander known as the King’s Lion. He fought in the war, but was unable to accept the prohibition of gods and distanced himself from the King. Together, this unlikely trio (plus one small god) makes the dangerous pilgrimage to Blenraden. There, the mysteries deepen.

Elogast came to the city believeing he would help his King and is prepared to sacrifice himself to save King Arren, only to discover a darker truth: Arren plans to offer him up in ritual sacrifice—because he’s the last thing the king still loves. Before he can die, Kissen and Inara intervene. Kissen fights Hseth, giving the others time to escape but apparently falling to her death. Heartbroken, Elo, Inara and Skedi set out to join the rebellion and expose the king’s betrayal.

What I Loved

What stood out the most to me were the characters. All four are deeply human (yes, even the god), and I found myself caring for each of them. Kissen’s rough exterior hides a heart I wasn’t expecting. Inara and Skedi’s bond is a complex and fascinating one that I’m eager to explore further. Elogast took me the longest to warm to, but his quiet strength and loyalty grew on me.

The emotional moments were powerful. One scene that stuck with me was the discovery of the forgotten gods in Blenraden, their shrine ruined and no one worshiping them. The god of broken sandals, in particular, was heartbreaking: reduced to a shell of what he was, simply muttering his last remembered phrases.

Kaner’s writing also deserves praise. It’s packed with memorable quotes, character motivations in a few tight lines, and vivid descriptions—especially of the gods and their unsettling presence in this world.

Representation and Inclusivity

One of the most refreshing things about this book is how queer-normative and inclusive the world feels. Characters come from diverse backgrounds and identities, and none of it is treated like a plot device or checklist. It’s just there, as it should be.

Final Thoughts

Godkiller is a thrilling, fast-paced fantasy debut with memorable characters, a fascinating world, and writing that resonates. It’s an easy 5 out of 5 stars for me. It delivers everything it promises—and I, for one, can’t wait for more.