zarhara's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Child death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Death, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and War
deedireads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Godkiller is a well-written, well-built start of a new fantasy series with characters you’ll love and worldbuilding you’ll swoon over. I definitely recommend it!
For you if: You love a sword-wielding butch bisexual woman (and fantasy in general, tbh).
FULL REVIEW:
I’d heard plenty of exciting buzz around Godkiller, so when Harper Voyager sent me a review copy (thank you!), it jumped right to the top of my list. Happy to report this is a super-solid fantasy read with a whole new cast of characters to fall in love with!
Godkiller is set in a world where there are many gods, major and minor — all it takes is for people to begin praying to one in order for it to be born. The story takes place several years after a major war between the now-king and the gods, and in order to keep them under control, godkillers like Kissen (your new favorite sword-wielding butch who also, I might add, does it all on her prosthetic leg) are on the king’s payroll and practicing faith is illegal. We have four main characters — Kissen, a high-born girl named Inara, a minor god attached to her lifeforce named Skedi, and a former-war-hero-turned-baker named Elogast.
There is so much to dig about this book, including its robust worldbuilding — the good kind done well, not the overwhelming kind that slows you down. I also love a book that takes place a few years after the big war is over, a sort of “where are they now” feeling that shows that happily ever after is more complicated than we think. And I loved the prosthesis rep, the sapphic rep, all the rep!
My only (small) complaint is that I actually think this could have been longer. There was a little bit of tidiness that felt sort of commercialized to me, but I would have been happy to spend 50-100 more pages with this crew, easily. And so all that to say, I can’t wait for book two!
TL;DR REVIEW:
Godkiller is a well-written, well-built start of a new fantasy series with characters you’ll love and worldbuilding you’ll swoon over. I definitely recommend it!
For you if: You love a sword-wielding butch bisexual woman (and fantasy in general, tbh).
FULL REVIEW:
I’d heard plenty of exciting buzz around Godkiller, so when Harper Voyager sent me a review copy (thank you!), it jumped right to the top of my list. Happy to report this is a super-solid fantasy read with a whole new cast of characters to fall in love with!
Godkiller is set in a world where there are many gods, major and minor — all it takes is for people to begin praying to one in order for it to be born. The story takes place several years after a major war between the now-king and the gods, and in order to keep them under control, godkillers like Kissen (your new favorite sword-wielding butch who also, I might add, does it all on her prosthetic leg) are on the king’s payroll and practicing faith is illegal. We have four main characters — Kissen, a high-born girl named Inara, a minor god attached to her lifeforce named Skedi, and a former-war-hero-turned-baker named Elogast.
There is so much to dig about this book, including its robust worldbuilding — the good kind done well, not the overwhelming kind that slows you down. I also love a book that takes place a few years after the big war is over, a sort of “where are they now” feeling that shows that happily ever after is more complicated than we think. And I loved the prosthesis rep, the sapphic rep, all the rep!
My only (small) complaint is that I actually think this could have been longer. There was a little bit of tidiness that felt sort of commercialized to me, but I would have been happy to spend 50-100 more pages with this crew, easily. And so all that to say, I can’t wait for book two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, War, and Violence
caskraft's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Death, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Grief, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Representations: https://trello.com/c/wqG04u6w/81-godkiller-1-godkiller-by-hannah-kaner
At first I thought this'd be exactly what I thought priory of the orange tree would be, but then it quickly morphed into something a lot different! I'm not 100% sold on the multiple PoVs though, but they do serve a purpose.
It's quite a standard adventure story. Characters join up, intentionally or not, and walk to the destination while defeating the obstacles which block their path. It is very... Walk-y walk. But due to it's regular sized novel length, and not heavily bloated length, it still feels snappy with a good distance between each event.
The characters where super lovable, I absolutely adored all of them. I *loved* the disability representations. It was really cool to see sign language being used, even just as it's own language as well instead of something *just* for Deaf/HoH characters. I really hope some of the characters from the start of the book return in book 2 however, since they where left behind really far too fast and severely underused.
I didn't actually realise it was a series until over halfway through, it was seemingly on pace to be a standalone only for the ending to leave a cliffhanger. I'm not actually entirely sure what book 2 will bring, there's threads there but the end goal I'm not 100% sure on honestly. At this point it's more just I love tagging along with the characters and I'll just go wherever they go!
I will say the queer rep is pretty slim in this, it seems like one of the main characters is bisexual of some sort, but that's never actually even hinted at in dialogue, she just romances both men and women without anything being said at all. The other queer characters are mainly just at the start of the book only.
At first I thought this'd be exactly what I thought priory of the orange tree would be, but then it quickly morphed into something a lot different! I'm not 100% sold on the multiple PoVs though, but they do serve a purpose.
It's quite a standard adventure story. Characters join up, intentionally or not, and walk to the destination while defeating the obstacles which block their path. It is very... Walk-y walk. But due to it's regular sized novel length, and not heavily bloated length, it still feels snappy with a good distance between each event.
The characters where super lovable, I absolutely adored all of them. I *loved* the disability representations. It was really cool to see sign language being used, even just as it's own language as well instead of something *just* for Deaf/HoH characters. I really hope some of the characters from the start of the book return in book 2 however, since they where left behind really far too fast and severely underused.
I didn't actually realise it was a series until over halfway through, it was seemingly on pace to be a standalone only for the ending to leave a cliffhanger. I'm not actually entirely sure what book 2 will bring, there's threads there but the end goal I'm not 100% sure on honestly. At this point it's more just I love tagging along with the characters and I'll just go wherever they go!
I will say the queer rep is pretty slim in this, it seems like one of the main characters is bisexual of some sort, but that's never actually even hinted at in dialogue, she just romances both men and women without anything being said at all. The other queer characters are mainly just at the start of the book only.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and War
apairofducks's review against another edition
3.75
I have no idea how I feel about this book. I Adored the opening, the middle lost me so entirely that I almost DNFed, but I ended up enjoying the resolution.
My greatest complaint is that Kissen and Elo had zero chemistry. I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if they were just friends.
My greatest complaint is that Kissen and Elo had zero chemistry. I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if they were just friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Violence and War
jazzyjbox's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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? No
5.0
I just finished and feel like I need to process but also I need to say how amazing this book is!
A god, the child he's bound to, a godkiller, and a retired knight find themselves joining paths on their respective quests. The god and child aim to be freed. The godkiller to protect the child. The knight turned baker to save his King.
The world building is incredible, and I absolutely loved the characters. Loved that Kissen's disability is portrayed how it is. Excellent portrayal of PTSD in Elo. The ending?? I need the next book ASAP!
A god, the child he's bound to, a godkiller, and a retired knight find themselves joining paths on their respective quests. The god and child aim to be freed. The godkiller to protect the child. The knight turned baker to save his King.
The world building is incredible, and I absolutely loved the characters. Loved that Kissen's disability is portrayed how it is. Excellent portrayal of PTSD in Elo. The ending?? I need the next book ASAP!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
salmonh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
katvou's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Outing
Moderate: Child death, Gaslighting, Animal death, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content and Toxic friendship
dexkit10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, War, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual content
nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and War