The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga #2) by John Gwynne. #WyrdAndWonder : Book Review
2 May 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #WyrdAndWonder, John Gwynne, The Bloodsworn Saga #2, The Hunger of the Gods
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Even Better Than The First
Almost a year ago today I posted my review for The Shadow of the Gods. It was gushing. TSofGs was an absolutely fantastic start to series, I gave it an unabashed 5* for the absolute joy in reading that it inspired in me. So, how did The Hunger of the Gods stack up? It was even better. I don’t know how that’s possible but there you go – does that mean I rated the first book too highly? Not at all it simply means that I’m going to have to start adding extra little stars to this series. Be aware that this review may contain spoilers for book 1 so bear that in mind before reading.
To avoid this review turning into a dissertation I’m going to give only a brief overview of the plot here. We continue immediately where book 1 left off with the release of a dragon God. I mean, seriously, people, who would ever have thought that was a good idea? But, here we are, Lik-Rifa is released and has a vision of a new age wrought in blood. Meanwhile, Orka remains steadfast in the hunt for her son and has some fearsome company in her quest. The Bloodsworn have their very own mission with one of their own, Varg, having his own side quest and then we have Elvar and the Battle-grim, determined to win fame and glory and make daring rescues of their own.
I mean, on the face of it, when you spell it all out in that way, it seems like there’s a lot going on here but in actual fact it doesn’t feel overly complicated or busy when you’re reading. If anything it’s quite the opposite, it just all comes together so very well. I enjoyed all the switches in storylines and can genuinely say that this is such an exciting read because of that. There’s a lot of action, battles, politics and squirm-inducing critters but at the same time Gwynne takes the time to weave in the history and lore of the place and develop the characters really successfully as the story moves forward. The motivations are all so believable and there’s an epic sense of scope, particularly when you look at the Gods. In fact, let’s just take a moment to look at this aspect of the story. Clearly, this won’t be the first time that seasoned fantasy readers will have encountered Gods on this scale with all the sibling rivalry involved but what I love here is that all the Gods have their own natures linked to particular animals and over time, through interactions with humans, some of these traits have been passed on – such descendants being known as the Tainted. I love this aspect of the story and the way it changes the nature of the battles involved.
Gwynne is an author who excels at action scenes and all them are breathtakingly described. I had my heart in my throat every time shields locked wondering whether any favourites would fall under the axe, and I’m not going to lie, this is an author who isn’t shy of killing off some of his people so don’t become complacent in that respect because anything can happen. But, it’s not all action. There’s wonderful moments of camaraderie and banter, or cunning snippets of other scenes playing out and weaving the story together. The pacing is just so well planned and I loved the way that as the story progresses you have these shorter chapters that really pack a punch. I mean in one respect, as the tension rose I found myself thinking ‘nooooooo’ when we jumped pov just as something tantalising was revealed, everything became so intense and yet at the same time I have to acknowledge it drove my reading on into the early hours with the age old ‘just one more chapter’.
I don’t know what more I can say, I feel like I’m waxing lyrical about this and I’m in danger of going overboard with the praise but I can’t help myself. I’m having such a good time with this series that I don’t want anyone to miss out. A fantastic storyline, amazing characters, pacing perfection, sublime writing, some downright icky characters – all I can say right now is the thing with the tongues! Why, just why was there a need to go there? If you love fantasy and you’re not reading this series then I implore you, do yourself a favour and get on board. I have so much emotion right now – I’m watching Gwynne and thinking it’s going to be a long wait for the next book.
That is all.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 5* (I would actually give it 5.5 if I could!)
#WyrdAndWonder – “Oh my fur and whiskers! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”
I’m a little late (or absent minded) with my introductory post for this year’s Wyrd & Wonder but better late than never I always say. Join me down the rabbit hole if you will.
Wyrd & Wonder is a month long celebration of all things fantasy be it in book, film or any other format you enjoy. I won’t reinvent the wheel here because, besides anything else, this post includes everything you need to know and does so in a far more eloquent manner than I could achieve. In a nutshell this is probably the most easy going and yet exciting event of the year. Lots of people coming together to discuss all things fantasy – what more could you possibly want? All you need to do is…
‘Speak Friend and Enter’
I’m a little behind with some of my reads at the moment (life having other plans occasionally) and so I’m hoping to cram lots of lovely fantasy books in this month if I can.
I’ve just finished reading an amazing book – a second in series and a series that I can’t say enough good things about. Seriously, if you love fantasy, epic-Norse-inspired fantasy with amazing characters, Gods, battles and other strange critters you would go a long way before finding anything as absorbing.
I’m also well into the third book in a series that I’m loving by a favourite author. I’m keeping all of this vague because I will be posting about both these books and series during the event so stay tuned.
On top of that I have a few other great reads lined up – here are a few of the covers to entice you in:
I’m going to leave it there for now. Expect lots more posts during the month of May. I’ll be using the #WyrdAndWonder Twitter Tag for my posts and also the lovely banner at the top of this post which has been created by chic2view.
IMAGE CREDITS: tree wolf image by chic2view on 123RF.com
Have fun storming the castle everyone. 😀
Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up
1 May 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Booking Ahead, Caffeinated Reviewer, John Gwynne, The Hunger of the Gods, Weekly wrap up
I’m trying to get back into the habit of doing a round-up of the week just completed and also take a look at my plans for the forthcoming week. I rather got out of the habit of doing this but I would like to reinstate this type of post as I feel it keeps me on track. So, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post over at Kimberly’s Caffeinated Reviewer. Without further ado:
I’ve been somewhat absent on the blog in the past couple of weeks. Long story short I’ve been helping my parents out a little and family issues have just taken over. Touch wood (or my dense noggin) things seem to be improving so I’m hoping that things will finally calm down and I can get back to reading and blogging. It has been a strange few months for sure and every time I get back on track something comes along to upset the apple cart. Fingers crossed for the rest of the year will be nice to me. In reading news I’ve finished my Gwynne read. I’ll be reviewing that tomorrow. All I can say is WOW. This book = mind blown. I am undone.
Books read this week:
The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne. Literally, I beg you to read this series! The HotG has got to be not only one of the best reads so far this year but quite possibly one of my favourite top ten reads ever. Seriously. I don’t joke about these things. Just, please, pretty please with a cherry on top, if you love fantasy you simply must pick up this series.
Next Week’s Reads:
So, given the above, together with completing SPFBO (the finalist table is here – this year our winner is fantasy/romance which was a wonderful surprise – I’m rather behind on my reading so plan on going on a reading fury. Wish me luck. This week I’m going to mix it up and try and complete The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence (one of my most anticipated books). Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher. This is my first book by this author and I can’t deny the excitement is real. The Night They Vanished by Vanessa Savage to throw in a thriller and change the mood.
- The Iron Crown by LL MacRae
- Reign and Ruin by JD Evans
Outstanding Reviews
The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne (spoiler alert – it was most excellent!)
#SPFBO Review : Reign and Ruin (Mages of the Wheel #1) by JD Evans
Stage 2 of the SPFBO competition is now well underway and the Critiquing Chemist and I have been reading the finalists. Today we post our final review for Reign and Ruin (Mages of the Wheel #1) by JD Evans. Don’t forget to stop over to the Critiquing Chemist to check out their review.
Reign and Ruin was perhaps one of my biggest surprises for the competition. Primarily because this is fantasy with a healthy slice of romance and I’m not shy about repeatedly saying that romance doesn’t usually work for me. It’s a nice feeling to be proved wrong on this occasion.
This is a story set in a Sultanate with a middle eastern type setting. We meet Naime, a young woman, educated, knowledgeable, ambitious and unafraid to tackle the inequalities of her situation. Her father, the Sultan, is slowly declining, his memory a thin veil. she needs to maintain a semblance of control whilst at the same time trying to be named the heir. At the same time Naime wants to protect her people from invasion and has a vision for Tamar that involves collaboration with a neighbouring country, a vision that is not shared with the other ruling entities. Basically, Naime is treading a fine line. Keep the politicians happy, prevent any sort of betrothal that will leave her powerless, protect the country and seek aid from a neighbouring state that really doesn’t want to collaborate.
At the same time we have Makram, a Prince, second in line to the throne and a powerful mage of Sarkam. He adores his brother which clouds his better judgement in relation to the fact that he is no longer loved but reviled for his magic ability. Similar to Naime, Makram has a vision for his country and people and is only too happy to seek an alliance with Tamar unbeknown to his brother.
Naime and Makram are both powerful in terms of their magical ability. Both are accustomed to wielding authority and control, both fear for their countries and both have a vision for something better.
I liked the politics created for this particular world and the way in which magic is used. Certain magical abilities have become taboo and there is a clear divide between the prosperous Tamar and the inferior Sarkam. Tamar has a certain old fashioned style politics with a very male dominated control. Tamar is perhaps similarly controlled but Markam is slightly different in both his respect for women and his own lack of ambition, well, probably that’s not phrased well, it’s not that he lacks ambition so much as he wants to follow the right course and isn’t afraid to let others lead him there.
In terms of characters. I liked Naime. She is so good at politics. I loved the way she is written and more than that the way she stands up to those who try and dismiss her Seriously, she really is a great female character. At the end of the day, she has been raised to this role and she fulfills it beautifully . She knows what she wants,she’s scared that she won’t be able to achieve it and she isn’t afraid to seek help.
Markam is afraid of what he is and what he is capable of (with good reason), he has misplaced trust in his brother even though any semblance of affection seems to have long since passed and he is desperate for someone to actually see him as a person rather than fear him for the magic he wields.
The two of them are basically an accident waiting to happen and I can’t deny that I really enjoyed their interactions. They make a refreshingly well balanced couple. I don’t mean to make them sound dull by saying that, just that their relationship is really well written.
In a nutshell I enjoyed this because, the pace was snappy, the world building was interesting, the characters were engaging, the romance was slow burn and there was chemistry aplenty.
Criticisms. I think to an extent this is a tried and tested format and the characters are perhaps a tad cliche, but at the end of the day that’s probably what makes it such a winning story. I wouldn’t say this is particularly deep or ground breaking but I think regardless of that the story is very entertaining and I think the author has managed to perfectly balance the plot and the romance. I would certainly like to read more as for once I didn’t find myself eye rolling every time the main characters got together.
If you’re looking for a fantasy story with what I consider to be a quite sizzling, slow burn romance with engaging characters and witty dialogue you could go a long way before finding such a good read.
My thanks to the author for a review copy. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 8.5 stars out of 10 or 4 of 5 for Goodreads.
The Critiquing Chemist rated this 8.5 stars
Our combined rating 8.5
Friday Face Off : Long/pointed ears
29 April 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Christina Henry, Friday Face off, Long Pointed ears
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future’s themes are listed below – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout.
I’ve added themes in below. For information, I’m trying out some new ideas so along with coming up with particular items for book covers I thought we could also look for certain elements contained within the book or that play a large part in the story – this really broadens things out because I have plenty of more ideas with this – I’ve gone for a few of the Tough Travel Themes (so a book with that theme – just choose any book – the theme isn’t necessarily on the cover, then compare covers), also, I’ve thrown in some genres and some colours. Hopefully this will open things out a little and give us some more freedom to come up with new books.
I’ve still been mostly absent for yet another week. Helping out with family continues but good progress has been made (my dad is now home and recovering well and both he and my mum are doing much better which is such a relief – although we have had some dramas) and so I’ll be returning home in the next few days and getting back to some serious reading, blogging and visiting.
This week’s theme:
Long/pointed ears
This week I’ve chosen a book that I haven’t yet read but would love to do so as its by an author that I’m really loving to read. Alice by Christina Henry. Plus, who am I kidding, I’m always on the lookout for retellings of Alice in Wonderland. So, here are the covers:
I like all three of the rabbit covers – I’m not overly fond of the red cover to be honest.
My favourite:
Which one is your favourite?
If you’re taking part in this week’s theme feel free to leave your link in the comments below.
If you know of an event that’s coming up let me know and I’ll try and include covers that work for the event itself so that you can link up to the Friday Face Off and, as always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know. Also, I would just mention that it’s very possible that some of these might be repeats from previous FFOs although I have tried to invent more ‘open ended’ prompt that can be interpreted differently and also prompts that relate to emotions. Finally, don’t struggle with any of these, this is meant to be a fun way of highlighting books. If you can’t come up with a book you think fits for a particular week use a freebie – perhaps a recent read for example:
Next Week’s Theme : All about the women – kickass moms, daughters, grans, etc
2022
Books and travelling with Lynn 