A review by maddy707
Forging Divinity by Andrew Rowe

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

3.25

The audio performance for this book was great. The book itself though was quite info-dumpy. Part of me can understand that as this is the first book in an entire universe and I understand that things need to be established and lore needs to be explained. It just felt like 50% of the book was the characters explaining the world and asking themselves questions about how it worked. I did find the main characters enjoyable.

I particularly liked Taelien and look forward to seeing how his relationship with Lydia develops. Lydia was also a character I enjoyed and I am glad she lived. I loved seeing such a competent FMC without the cringeness that can sometimes come with it. 

The middle of this book was a little confusing, but in the end it made sense. The author could have made some aspects a bit clearer. As with most high fantasy worlds, there were a whole lot of names of different places, races and people and I didn’t really understand all of them. It wasn’t until about halfway through that I actually began to understand the different races and religions. Even then it is still a bit confusing. 

Even though I listened to this on audio, there were a lot of repeated phrases, particularly, “quirked a brow.” I swear I heard this said at least 50 times. Does the author not know any other ways of describing interest/confusion? And I swear the author never uses another word besides “said” when the characters speak. I think the author's writing style could definitely be better, but it wasn’t horrible.

My favourite part of this book was the chapter 8 fight scene. It was spectacular, I was actually at the edge of my seat while listening to it. It’s one of the best fight scenes I've read/listened to in a book. 

Overall I found this good an enjoyable listen and look forward to listening to the next book and seeing how the world and the characters grow. 
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