I ended up DNFing the first book, so will not be continuing with this series. Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review!

I have to admit that a few years back, I would have been all over this. It reminds me of A CROWN FOR COLD SILVER -- a sprawling world with terrible people doing terrible things, some for good reasons. However, COLD SILVER has a humour to it that lends brevity to the endless grimness, which I missed here.

DARKSOUL doesn't work without having read GODBLIND, the first book in the trilogy. This is all about the siege of Rilpor: the battles are meticulously gory, and brutal. Second books in trilogies can lag a little, lacking the set up of the first book, and the final act of the last book, and DARKSOUL mostly sidesteps this possibility.

Unfortunately, my tolerance for grimdark fantasy has waned. If I wanted to read about terrible people doing terrible things, I can look up the news or go on Twitter. However, this book is still good -- the world-building is simply marvellous and intricate; Anna Stephens has done a wonderful job on it. This is absolutely a case of it's not the book, it's very much me, and I'll definitely look up her other work outside of this trilogy in the hopes that it'll be less grimdark.

Violent, viscous and vengeful. I think that’s a good way to sum up this grim dark fantasy, that follows on from the epic Godblind.

This time it’s a story about siege warfare and the devastating effects this can have. It’s an intricate, intense plot that doesn’t shy away from laying everything bare in all its gritty glory. I found the plot fascinating, as often as readers we don’t get to see this kind of battle in books. It’s more subtle, but no less violent, employing intelligence and strategy to counter the enemy. The characters are also morally ambiguous, fully fleshed out and interesting to read about - which only makes it more heartbreaking when these people are suddenly taken away from us.

The writing is excellent, and the pace grabs hold of you and never lets go, leading to a bloody yet satisfying ending that left me desperate for the final instalment.

A gripping read, filled with some excellent, if gruesome, moments.

What a brilliant series,

This book is as action-packed as the first book in the Godblind series.
The plot is completely absorbing and the characters are ridiculously easy to connect to.

Brutal, gory and bloody this read packs a punch. with heaps of politics, was and religion, this is a dark dark adult fantasy.

*I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

*May contain spoilers for Godblind*

Trigger warnings for graphic violence, torture, death, rape, slavery and religious sacrifice.

This book takes place mostly in Rilporin which is under siege by the Mireces and the East Rank. The king is dead and Durdil and his ranks are doing all they can to hold back the army a their gates but they are slowly breaking under the pressure and their only hope is the arrival of the West Rank who they haven’t heard from in weeks. Not to mention the fact that the power if the Red Gods is getting stronger and it won’t be long before they are able to walk the Earth.

This was the most stressful book I have ever read in my life and I loved every goddamn minute of it. I’ve no idea how Anna was able to exceed the excellence of Godblind but somehow she managed it. This book had me gripped from the very first page and definitely does not suffer from middle book syndrome.

I absolutely love the characters in this and the fact that we get to read POVs from both sides of the war really helps to enhance the reading experience. Some of my favourite characters are of course Crys, Rillirin and Tara. I also love the character development in this and can’t wait to see where the next books takes everyone.
The world development in this is also amazing and I loved learning more about the Gods, in particular the Red Gods. This book is unpredictable, full of twists and turns and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

The only complaint I have about this book is that the last book landed on a cliff-hanger for most of the characters and I would have liked this book to have spend a bit more time on the outcome of that.

Overall, I loved this book and can’t wait for the last book in the trilogy to come out. I gave this 5 out of 5 stars.

In Godblind, Anna Stephens took her characters to the brink. Here, in Darksoul, she pushes them over the edge with glee! This book tells the continuing story of the return of the Red Gods and the siege of Rilpor. The narrative here is far more focused on the city and the defence of the realm and as such, the action is really compelling and the pacing is excellent. There are some fascinating reveals throughout that are setting up the pieces on the board for the third instalment and I for one, cannot wait! If you like your fantasy dark and brutal then this is definitely one to add to your list.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Godblind is a fantasy novel set in the world of Gilgoras. A place where the gods are very, very real and life is hard, bloody, and short. The action focuses on the two lands of Mireces and Rilpor, kingdoms that have fought a long and difficult conflict to shut the dark gods out from the minds of mortals. Alas, the tribes who worshipped and venerated the dark entities never really went away. They have spent much of their existence on the fringes of society, harrying civilisation and growing lean and tough by stealing and murdering the good people of the world.
The first in a trilogy, Godblind is easily described as a descent into darkness. The core tale is what happens when you underestimate the barbarians at the gate, both in a literal and metaphorical sense.
Author Anna Stephens uses multiple points of view characters to carefully build a world. The cast of characters is pretty large, and Stephens has been careful to give us a very specific view of the world. Often, we’ll see events through the eyes of one person, only to see the action continue with another character in the next chapter and then realise exactly how specific certain biases are. This layered approach is engaging and accessible; every person in this book is something we want to know more about.

Anna Stephens is easily one of the most exciting début fantasy authors of 2017. Sometimes you get a book that simply nails a particular genre to the wall and gets everything right. Godblind is a triumph of grimdark fantasy, getting the setting, tone and characterisation spot on. Make no mistake though, this is a bloody and violent story. It is a world with heroes, but no one is perfect and the challenges and horrors that face each character are tough and detailed. Stephens dips various pages in gore throughout; this is not a gentle ride into darkness but rather a full on roller-coaster plunge into screaming horror.

Be warned: there is violent conflict from the get-go and some pretty explicit scenes of assault; the book pretty much opens with an attempted rape that ends messily for the aggressor. These scenes tend to be short and sharp and are very well done but may be unpalatable for some tastes. If however, you’re a fan of the likes of Joe Abercrombie or George R. R. Martin, then you’ll be pleased to learn that Anna Stephens has joined this august pantheon of lovingly horrible and deliciously dark writers.

Godblind is a triumph of its genre and an addictive, page-turning read. It’s not a smooth book; the pacing is very fast and the tone is strong and loud with a powerful story. It’s also the first of a series and we keenly anticipate the sequel.

Highlights

Characters

Crys

Overall

This is a sequel and the second book in a trilogy about the Red Gods. I read book one earlier this month and enjoyed it but there were a bit too much reference to rape and too many 'almost rape' for me.

Anyway, I picked up the second book as I wanted to know what happens to Crys, my favourite character. 

The Story

The story continues straight after book 1, and the entire book is around the siege of Rilporin. It's dramatic, bloody and gritty. But that's it. That is the entire story, a siege. Yes, a lot happens, but at the same time, I feel like there could be a lot more.

There is a lot of fighting, blood, severed limbs, slashed eyes and guts. Then there are spies, betrayals, miracles, and returning gods, very angry gods on both sides.

Crys' storyline is sweet in the beginning and then thickens. I did not like his command at the end to Carter. Just saying.

World Building

Not a lot. Most of the world building happened in book 1. I still feel the world is a bit small and a bit flat. In the first book, there is a lot more as you are introduced to the world, the gods and the characters. In the sequel, we get a closer look at Rilporin and the structure of the city. You also get some more info about surrounding areas but that's it. 

Magic System

No magic but religion which then performs miracles.

The Characters

There are about 10 narrators in this book. In the beginning, I was worried that it would become complicated and difficult to separate them, but it wasn't. I was quite relieved. It's easy because the author uses the narrator's name several times throughout, which is a constant reminder. But also there are only two groups of people; good and bad. Then they can be divided based on importance and who they are with. It's really easy to separate them. Well done to the author for that!

My favourite character throughout the series had been Crys, and it still is. He is just fun, gay and a trickster. He knows the difference between right and wrong but at the same time, he lives between the two.

LGBT+?

Yup! Crys and Ash are still getting it on in this book, and they are quite cute. Though same-sex relationships are illegal in this land, I have a feeling they will still get a happy ending and its legalised. 

Writing

The writing is fine. I had zero problems. 

Summary

It's a good series, but gritty and brutal and a tad simple. I did feel there was a lot happening in this book, but at the same time, I felt there wasn't really that much.

It's also a little bit flat for me. It gives the illusion of grand epic fantasy, but in reality, the shadow is bigger than the figure. There is just not enough to live up to that shadow, but its very easy to ignore the figure and focus on the shadow.

I'm unsure if I'll continue with this series. We'll see what the synopsis is for the last book.

I am a huge fan of Godblind so it won't be surprising to hear how much I loved Darksoul. Women are really coming into their own in the Grimdark fantasy genre. I don't know whether it's the swearing, the darkly flawed characters, the intense descriptions of bodily fluids or the fascination with naming huge weapons after celestial or battle events but it seems Grimdark is a great leveler as a genre.

This is a belter of a series and I cannot recommend it enough. All hail! Ms. Stephens. Truly one of the Queens of Grimdark.

I received with thanks an ARC copy of Darksoul from Harper Collins UK and Netgalley.

This is my true and honest review of Darksoul (Godblind #2). This was published on 23rd August 2018

This is the brutal conclusion to the Darksoul. Like the other one this one is equally if not more brutal than the 1st one. This left off where the other one finished off. This story is beautiful and beautiful all at the same time. The author does not mind playing with the readers emotions and happy ever after is not present for all concerned.
Would recommend if you love a good grimdark YA fantasy.

'Darksoul' is the compelling and eagerly anticipated sequel to 'Godblind', and as this begins exactly where the previous book concluded, I recommend reading it before you start this one, it will leave you rather perplexed otherwise as it doesn't work as a standalone. If you thought 'Godblind' was a fantastic read, then let me tell you - this is even better! This is an action-packed journey that will stay with me a long time.

The brutal, gory and evocative battle scenes continue in this novel, as do the plentiful twisty and turns and the unpredictability of the plot. Stephens is adept at creating amazing characters that you really care about and are invested in, but not all of them will escape the story alive so be preparared as the conclusion is bittersweet. There is so much to love here that I found I couldn't put it down. The author has expertly crafted every aspect of the plot creating a wonderfully immersive reading experience. As with a lot of books in the genre, there are good guys and bad guys facing off against each other, so you not only have characters to cheer for but also ones that you'll love to hate! The narrative seems to flow much better in this book as opposed to the previous one, leading to the reader becoming properly engaged in the story much earlier on. The worldbuilding deserves a special mention as it is simply spectacular, and I was actually really sad to leave it. I look forward to returning to the kingdom of Rilpor in the concluding book, 'Bloodchild', set to be released in August 2019.

Many thanks to HarperVoyager for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Summary

Darksoul is the sequel to Anna Stephens’ 2017 novel Godblind. It picks up shortly after the cruel cliff-hanger ending of the first book and revolves almost primarily around the siege of Rilporin. It follows the characters we came to love (and hate) from Godblind, from both sides as the fight for the Kingdom of Rilpor comes to a head, characters start to step into their destinies and the Red Gods gain strength.

Plot

Whereas Godblind was fairly widespread, Darksoul ups the anti by creating a more claustrophobic, more tension-filled atmosphere with its focus primarily on the siege. Indeed, the entire novel takes place around Rilporin, between the two sides. We see the Mireces as they fight to break the walls, take the city, and worship their Red Gods through torture and death. We see Commander Korridam desperately trying to keep the city alive, the battle raging while also having to deal with the palace politics as Prince Rivil, heir to the throne, stands on the other side of the all. With the entire focus on the siege, the pacing is done so that you are constantly gripped with bursts of action mixed in with a few breather breaks, but also with enough variation to keep the interest alive as the siege wears on. There are certainly a few shocking moments, particularly where the gods of this world are involved, and the nature of the series where no-one is truly safe really keeps you on your toes.

Characters

One of the main driving forces of these novels are the characters. There is a large cast of PoV characters and even more on the side that it is difficult to keep up with who everyone is at times. With the array of PoV characters, and the shift in tone of the story, a few do get more page time than others. Rillirin, for example, is rarely seen in this book, despite being a large part of Godblind, whereas Crys gets to be more center-stage. The equal focus on the Mireces and those defending Rilporin ensures that the mix of characters is always interesting and you never know who is going to come out on top. In particular, I really liked how Anna Stephens captured the flawed humanity of every character – no single one is perfect, and each are driven by different things, be it the throne, love for a fellow soldier or even divine madness. Each character has to make difficult choices and face the consequences.

Final Thoughts

Darksoul really captures war. It is dark, there are deaths aplenty and, even though there is a clear ‘good side’, there is no guarantee that they will win. If anything, while the book focuses on the siege, it is more about the characters than anything else. It brings them into an environment where there is very little room to hide and forces them to grow in ways which will have unknown effects on the events in the next book. It does very much have the middle-book feel to it and I think it does the job of taking what happened in Godblind and lining it up ready for the third book. The series so far is rich and alive and I cannot wait, but also live partially in dread, to see what will unfold in the third and, I believe, final book in the series.

My feet are on the path.

This is the highly anticipated sequel to Godblind – one of my favourite books of 2017. I was so excited to receive a copy of this book and I honestly couldn’t wait to dive in. After reading the opening chapter I was completely hooked and ended up devouring this book in a few sittings. It’s dark, bloody and gripping and I didn’t want it to end.

Darksoul picks up right where Godblind leaves off, the Mireces are attempting to lay siege to Rilporin and the soldiers are holding it as best they can. This epic story alternates between the characters that we’ve already met in the previous book – but don’t get too attached because not everyone will make it to the end.

Much like the previous book this story is violent and full of the sights, sounds and smells of battle. Anna Stephens has such a fantastic way of bringing the action to life, and that is never more apparent than in this bloody battle. The fighting scenes are jam packed and I was practically on the edge of my seat to find out how it was going to play out.

I’ve seen comparisons between Darksoul and The Two Towers and I think that’s a really apt comparison. The whole book focuses on this one battle, but so much happens in this action packed few weeks. I love so many of the characters – they are so complex and fascinating. Each one is flawed, determined and fighting for his or her own desires. Everyone schemes and you never know what they truly want.

Darksoul certainly feels darker and more intense than the first book in the series, and the short alternating chapters definitely had me racing through the story. The story touches on so many subjects – not just fighting and war but friendship, family religion and politics. Darksoul is a magnificent gripping read that I loved just as much as book one, and I cannot wait to find out what’s in store next.

Darksoul is the fantastic sequel to Godblind and is just as dark and full of twists and turns from the start.

This is a series where you definitely don't know who is going to be safe or who will die. The character development through the second book is incredible and the reader gets introduced to the gods and goddesses in all their bloody glory.

Anna Stephens creates heroes you can't help to root for and characters you hate so much you wish they were brutally killed!

I definitely recommend continuing this series as it goes from strength to brutal strength!

Darksoul is the second in Anna Stephen’s ‘Godblind’ series, the first of which was very well received last year. Darksoul, though, is something else. It’s a tightly plotted , bloody, emotionally convincing, massively affecting work of fantasy. This is a book which wants to make you feel. It mostly doesn’t want to make you feel good, but that’s how this goes. It’s got prose carrying an emotional payload which is a kick in the groin and a stab in the heart at once. It’s going to make you feel atrocities at work, feel betrayal, feel the liquid stain of blood on the floor – and then give you a contrast of hope, of people acting better than they have any right to be, of heroism and selflessness against a dark background.
This is a book which is prepared to embrace the bleak. It looks full in the face of the horror of war, and doesn’t flinch. But if that horror carries mitigation, that’s also here.

I guess what I’m saying is, know what you’re walking into. Godblind wasn’t all sunshine and daffodils, but Darksoul takes it up a notch. Conflict is damaging, to ideals, to cities, to people. This is a book that is, in some ways, about that damage, and it won’t let you look away.

Darksoul’s world is one of conflict. The central focus for this book is the siege of the city of Rilporin. The defenders are outnumbered, unable to call for reinforcements, but holding out hope for rescue anyway. The city is battered, for sure. There’s a sense that the military command is hamstrung by a civilian aristocracy whose main concern is their own necks. That said, the reader can see heroes here, people standing up for their home and their beliefs, in the face of appalling odds and the likelihood of a horrifying fate if the city falls. There’s a sense that Rilpor is the idea of its citizens, of the civilians prepared to put themselves in the line of fire for ideals of a nation. On the other side of the siege, though, the same attraction to ideals is what powers their enemies.

Say what you will about the Mireces and their penchant for brutal torture and blood sacrifice, (and it’s presented here in a graphic and repellent fashion) they have an iron-clad conviction that they’re performing the will of their deities. The text can use that conviction to explore interesting ideas; for example how far do you go to defend an idea, and do the words of a god define the morality of their followers. There’s a thoughtful intellectual framework here underpinning the story. As a side effect, the reader is unable to say that the Mireces are just slavering villains; we’re forced to see them as people. People doing awful things, yes, but the idea that they’re just monsters is challenged in their ideological loyalties. They don’t feel like what they’re doing is wrong, even as the Rilporians look at their actions with horror.

There’s certainly plenty of time to examine those actions – this is, after all, a siege. The high-wire tension and pressure that comes with that is wonderfully evoked as we study the besieged. They live at a perpetual slow boil, wondering when the next attack will come, or the next, or the next. That tension runs through every interaction, as officers try to motivate soldiers slipping on the edges of despair, and commanders try to convince their officers to take troops back onto the wall one more time (and the time after that). This tension cranks up throughout the book – each page is one more turn of the screw, for the reader as well as the characters trapped behind city walls. Darksoul a beautifully appalling and thoroughly convincing portrayal of a city under siege, and it gets there by vibrantly portraying the characters that make up that siege, on both sides of the wall. Rilporin, with its towers and tall gates, Rilporin is alive – and the Mireces camp, with its fanatics and bloodsplashed on the earth, is equally so.

Speaking of characters – there’s quite a few familiar faces here, though not always in their familiar roles. Dom, the calestar, is a study in horror. As his connection to the liminal, to the divine, has increased, his sanity has lessened. Unable to act other than at the will of the gods, he’s washed away in submission to wills not his own. With a mind broken, and adapting to that break, Dom is a person capable of anything. That typically doesn’t mean anything good, though. Seeing the changes wrought on his flesh is repellent, and given his role in Godblind, downright horrifying. A good man, of sorts, trying his best, has become something other, something which sits outside our framework of meaning, and acts as it feels it must. Dom’s madness reeks on the page, pervades every line he speaks and every action he takes – and the wreckage of the man that he was rips through the reader even as it devastates those around him.

We get some more time with Crys as well; he’s still as rambunctious as ever, bonhomie hiding a cmplex character whose emotional responses are socially circumscribed, and all the more believable for that. As Crys tries to work out what he wants, and how he feels, , the raw emotion comes ofdf the page alongside a complex, believable persona. Crys is friendly, charming, and ever-so-slightly detached – but his personal struggles behind the façade of a career officer ring true, and give him a depth which made me care about what would happen to him next.

They’re not alone of course. Stephens gives us an ensemble piece this time around. Each of the characters, from the master mason determined to hold the city together, to the Rilpor captain determined to do her duty in the face of the end of everything she knows, to the Mireces themselves – they all have a heart, a breadth and emotional depth which gives them a feeling of being people, which makes you care about them, and feel with them. A word for the Mireces in particular, who manage to be vile people doing utterly unspeakable things, but don’t feel like mustachio-twirling villains. Theirs is a culture of blood, conflict and horror, and what they know is what they propagate, with the backing of their divinities. They’re unflinchingly appalling, but have a complexity and resonance which means they’re far more than caricatures.

This gives the conflict between Mireces and Rilporian more weight, and if I always knew what side I was on, the Mireces were believably consistent in their desire for blood, skulls and revenge.
Which, I have to say, there’s plenty of. The siege, as I said earlier, is the focus. If the slow burn of tension between attacks lets us into the characters world, the struggles of the conflict are brutally kinetic – hard, fast, and bloody conflicts. This is a world where wounds kill, where captivity isn’t going to end well, and where anyone can die. Arrows wing down out of the sky and pick off a friend, someone you’ve shared a chapter or two with. Or someone pushes a ladder off a wall, and the bloke you thought sounded interesting a few pages back falls screaming to their death. This is unflinching, unrelenting in its description of the horrors of war, its justifications and necessities.

It’s not all blood and fire and tears, for which I’m grateful; it contrasts those darker moments with opportunities for hope, for forgiveness, even for love – but it’s not afraid to show what people will do for those things, and what the costs are. Those costs are wonderfully portrayed, from the glint in a fire as it tears through a building, to the hot stink of blood when an arrow punches out someones eye. There’s always a price, and Darksoul wants us to accept what it is.

In the final analysis, people will want to know if this is the sequel they wanted after Godblind. That’s a wholehearted yes. It has taut, compelling plotting, and the characters will make you feel for them, for their struggles, their lives, their deaths. The story is an emotional rollercoaster, which will put your heart in your mouth and keep it there, page after page after page. I won’t tell you how the journey ends, but I promise you this – you won’t regret taking the risk, taking the ride. Godblind is powerful, evocative fantasy, and if you came out of the first book in the series wanting more, then you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.

Thank you to Netgalley, Anna Stephens and Harper Collins for my ARC of Darksoul.

If you're looking for a fantasy series which is dark, bloody and full of revenge, secrets, evil gods and evil people. Then this is for you. I'd highly recommend this series to fans of Game of Thrones, and Joe Abercrombie.

I read Godblind last year and you can read my review of that here: https://lifehasafunnywayofsneakinguponyou.wordpress.com/2017/05/30/godblind-by-anna-stephens-review/

This review is spoiler free but there may be spoilers for the first book where necessary for this review.
Darksoul picks up where Godblind left off. The good people of Rilporin are at war with the evil Red God worshipping Mireces and things are more than a little tense. Crys and Ash are on their way back with the wolves but nobody knows if they'll make it on time. Dom has become Godblind and is now in servitude to the Dark Lady. Oh and everyone's getting slaughtered!

Although, like Godblind, Darksoul is quite battle-heavy it doesn't get boring. There's lots more going on. It's brutal in places but there's also love, friendship, honour and politics, oh and plenty of suspense. The characters male and female can be vicious but also courageous and the villains are so easy to hate!

I really enjoyed this second instalment in this series and with some of the big reveals I'm excited to see where it goes next. Like George RR Martin, Anna Stephens pulls no punches when it comes to killing her darlings so you never know what can happen next or what the outcome will be!

This book is a weird one. It has the potential to be a great book but falls short. The characters were flat and predictable which is often the case in fantasy books.

Holy mother-effing Lord, Darksoul was a good book. It was better than good. It was excellent. I had been excited to read it since I finished Godblind so when I saw it on Netgalley, I requested it immediately. I was that excited to read it. It did not disappoint.
For a book that pretty much spends the entire time set in a city under siege, Darksoul doesn’t half have a lot of stuff happen. Not to give too much of the plot away but I loved where it headed throughout the course of the book. It is a very tense novel and that tension only gets ramped up more and more as the novel progresses. It is edge of the seat level of reading. You desperately hope that the characters can save Rilporin even though it’s only the second book and you know it can’t be that easy.
Characters die: some I was sad about, some I was actually cheering for. Characters survive: some I was happy about and some I am still wishing for their deaths. It is just as dark and violent as Godblind (minus the bollock torture), meaning you get a very tense and very action packed story. The battles scenes were described in all their gory detail and you felt like you were there with the characters as they tried desperately to save Rilporin. I loved every minute of it. It was utterly breath-taking.
The characters we all loved (and hated) in Godblind return and not all of them make it. Crys continues to be my favourite character. I love his personality and humour, especially when everything around is going to hell. Dom goes through hell too, his mind destroyed by a bloody God and he does some things that made my jaw drop a little. The other characters are awesome, Mace, Ash, Tara, Gilda etc. I spent the novel wanting Corvus and Lanta to die horribly, so Stephens did her job well there. Only Rillirin didn’t have much to do in this book but something tells me that she’s going to be more important in part three.
Darksoul is an excellent middle book, and largely avoids the trap that a lot of middle books fall into of just acting as a bridge between the beginning and the end. Certain things are wrapped up and new avenues are opened but Darksoul never feels like a filler novel in the slightest. I was absolutely blown away by how good it was. It is well written. It is compelling and the plot sets up the third book perfectly without sacrificing its own story. I love the relationships between the characters. I love their stories and the journeys they go through. I didn’t want to put the book down at any point, I wanted to keep reading because I was so invested and that’s all I really want in a book.
All in all, Darksoul is an absolute winner for me. I didn’t want it to end and I want to know what happens next. Desperately. I cannot wait for the next book to come out. The Godblind series has very quickly become a firm favourite for me and I am very much looking forward to seeing how it ends.

This book is incredible, I loved every traumatic second of it.

I know I don't have the vocabulary to convey how good this book is but I'll try...

Anna Stephens has done a phenomenal job of making the reader feel invested in each and every character. I cried at the death of minor characters, I cried at the sacrifice of unnamed soldiers and I cried at every heart wrenching, impossible thing that Mace had to endure. In short - I cried throughout most of the book. I also cheered, wailed and winced so thankfully I wasn't reading it on public transport!

The pace of this book is relentless and demanding which suits the story perfectly.

The settings are described vividly and the plot is well put together with nothing that takes you out the story but the real triumph is the characters.

I gave Godblind 5 stars and I thought that was flawless - Darksoul is better and I want to know when I can pre-order book 3.

ARC via Netgalley.

Ok I still don’t really classify Stephens writing as Grimdark – it just misses the atmosphere, dread and dark humour of Grimdark for me – but I did like this one much more than I liked Godblind, which I found quite disjointed and jarring prose wise. Darksoul had a smoother narrative and a more engaging story arc in my opinion. I’m finally hooked on the world and intrigued to see what is to come. Mostly I came back to this for the world – the world building is excellent. Predictably I am invested in the antagonists arc (even without liking him) and am keen to see where that goes. If you liked the first book then I imagine you’ll enjoy this one even more.