I was really hoping this would be a new favourite. Unfortunately didn't hit the mark for me.
I wanted a bit more world building and description. Felt like I was thrown into the middle of the world with not a lot of backstory apart from the main character being cursed by a god.
Kissen is a God killer and reminded me alot of Geralt from the Witcher but a female version. She even takes on a little girl and travels with her as a body guard. I don't feel that I really connected that well with Kissen she was a very standoffish character.
I felt like the story wasn't really going anywhere for a while and when it ended I realised its not a stand alone like I originally thought and is a trilogy. It makes sense why this was a bit slower than expected in that case.
I did really like Skedi and his relationship with Inara. Elo was an alright character, he was very loyal and had interesting background but didn't believe the romance between him and Kissen.
Will still read the next one to see where the story goes.
Side note: Love the cover its one of my favourites of the year!

as a new author i was not ready for what this book threw at me, its such a strong book one of a series and with a dark and rich world with so0 much scope to grow in to something magical. now the characters are something else, they are well written with complex emotions, which drags you in and make you want to be next to them in the story. the plot of this book drags you along until you are at the end and you are p*ssed that there isnt more pages.

My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Godkiller is a great fantasy adventure novel.  I enjoyed the story, and I found the characters to be complicated and interesting.

The world is vividly described right from the first page, and well explained.  There is action, romance, and found family.  

This is the start of a new fantasy series, and I'm looking forward to the next book!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HarperCollins.

I adored the world, with this history that felt lived in. I am always here for explorations of godhood in fantasy and this twist on it really worked for me. I would have loved to learn even more. I also really loved two of the main perspectives, didn't love the other two but understood the inclusion (and I think the payoff in the next book will be worth it). However, the pacing didn't always work for me, the middle seriously dragged and then the ending was relentless. The ending does mean I am very excited to see where this goes next, though.

This advanced copy was provided, by HarperCollins, in exchange for an honest review.

TW: fire, death by fire, gore, sacrifice, manipulation, amputation, PTSD, past child abuse, death of a loved one.

Godkiller centers around gods and a world where they are not welcomed.

We follow Kissen, a godkiller in charge of killing gods who misbehave. Elogast, a retired knight who fought for the gods to be banished. Inara, a little girl who has a secret that could hurt her.

Three unlikely characters who must unite in order to survive the journey to the city of gods.

I've never read a prologue that completely drew me in as the one in Godkiller. The best part about this story is the writing that created intriguing characters with unlikeable decisions. A world that will crush your hopes and the ones who could give you hope, will most likely kill you.

It is a whirlwind adventure, with secrets to be learned and trust to be earned.

My main critique remains on the odd pacing between action and rest. It made me feel disconnected from the story because when things were reaching an interesting point, it slowed down and turned in another direction. This can also be said about the ending. I don't particularly enjoy cliffhangers but the end felt as if someone deleted the rest of the chapters.

You want to give the reader the best story possible, and I don't think we had it. The end was too disruptive.

Nevertheless, I will be reading the sequel if only to find out what actually happens.

BEWARE! I will never shut up about this book!

Godkiller is one of my new favourite books EVER and I will consume ANYTHING Hannah Kaner writes.

4*’s. I thought this was a standalone so I was very concerned when coming to the end of this book because it was quite obviously not going to have a satisfying ending. I would have loved to have learned a bit more about the history and lore of the Gods and would have wanted to have more of a build up for the relationships but the begrudging found family vibe and the normal responses people had to being betrayed or struggling was very refreshing. I enjoyed this a lot and I’m looking forward to seeing what else Hannah Kaner does in the future. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of the book.

Thank you to @ instabooktours and harpercollins for sending me a finished copy of godkiller ( apart of the book tour on instagram)!

The first half of this book didn't hook me as much as i'd hoped, the plot was interesting and I love all the characters a lot! Kissen is such a badass, a sarcastic and not so *passive* aggressive... shes just full on aggressive. From my understanding, Kissen is queer. As a few scenes mentioned a possible former lover or barmaid ( I may be incorrect). Elo is 10000% queer, I loved his character development and the little romance between him and Kissen.

Now queue the second half of the book, the plot pace quickened up and I couldn't put it down. The ending was epic and I'm super looking forward to the sequel ( I believe this is going to be a trilogy).


I will admit this book was not what I expected- I originally though the romance would be between Kissen and the God LOL woopsies. That's my silly misunderstanding.

This had a good premise, interesting characters and was well written; however, something about the combination didn't quite gel for me, leaving me a little disappointed. It had some excellent disability rep, but ultimately it wasn't for me. I'm sure other people will really enjoy this though!

I had fun reading this one. It's quite short and very much a journey book but I loved the relationship that develops between the three main characters who all come from different backgrounds and have completely different agendas. It gave such a crew of misfits vibe and I love the characters interactions and how they slowly come to trust each other.

The world I'd say is quite interesting but at times I just felt that certain past events needed better explanation. But, I really enjoyed the concept of the world, the important role that faith plays in people's lives and what remains if you take that faith away from them.

Overall, I had a good time reading this one and I will be looking forward to reading its sequel as well.

Some of the best world-building and character work I've encountered in recent years, unfortunately off-set by a very predictable story and a lackluster ending. Nevertheless, I'm hopeful for the sequel.

7/10

A fun read there was list of action and fast paced adventure

Didn’t enjoy the main character as much as I thought I would and as I am a very character driven reader this was a bit of a let down for me

Blurb:
Kissen kills gods for a living, and she enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skediceth, god of white lies, who is connected to a little noble girl on the run.

Elogast fought in the god war, and helped purge the city of a thousand shrines before laying down his sword. A mysterious request from the King sends him racing back to the city he destroyed.

On the way he meets a godkiller, a little girl and a littler god, who cannot find out about his quest.

Review:
I entered into his book with many expectations and unfortunately for me it didn't deliver. I found the book badly written, overly repetitive and inconsistant. The premise Was amazing and some of the places had the potential to be incredible but there wasn't enough description in name of too much action that felt inconclusive and boring. The main character felt flat and the secondary characters all melted together and I couldn't understand who was god and who human until the end. It's a no for me.

7 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/06/20/godkiller-by-hannah-kaner-review/

Four characters in such a short read, this both starts off quick, and feels overly crowded at the same time. While it’s not as bad as it sounds—three of the characters start off together and the fourth joins them after a bit—it’s still quite an odd feeling, but then Godkiller is kind of a strange book. For so many characters and, well, such a straightforward plot, the pacing was crazy. It sped up and slowed down seemingly at random, such that I was never quite sure where each was going to come.

But then, I was never caught off guard by the twists. Or, well, only once at least; a twist which I found completely out of character, if not ridiculous, though we won’t get into that. Maybe, if you were able to be pleasantly surprised by the twists… no, the pacing would’ve still been weird. Lucky then, that the characters are so interesting. And well written. This applies to all of them, but particularly the POVs. Elo and Kissen were clearly written to complement one another (something that they do so well), but are also at each other’s throats throughout. In fact, the entire cast could be one family: completely content with one another one minute and incensed the next. I can just see them all fighting over a dinner, throwing food and cutlery, before apologizing and hugging one another at the end.

A mix of good and ill to this debut, but Godkiller is definitely more good than it is bad. I especially enjoyed the description of the gods and there powers, their shrines and weaknesses, and look forward to learning more as the story continues. I’m also looking forward to seeing even more of the world, as the potential for chaos increases.

TL;DR

As a debut fantasy, Godkiller checks a lot of the right boxes, but you can definitely tell it’s a debut. A mixed bag of good and ill, though the good definitely outweighs everything else. The characters and their interactions are certainly the story’s strongest strength, the downright strange pacing its greatest weakness. It’s definitely worth a read if you’re curious, and I wouldn’t mark it off for any reason despite the… shall we say, less than stellar ending. In fact with everything that’s happened, I can’t wait to see where the story heads in the future.

this was a fun read!

engaging characters, incredible world I want to know more off and the gods-- i was laughing on occasions.

the characters all leapt off the page, and I love the disability rep in this. even the characters I didn't particularly like I ended up liking by the end.

the more I think about this book, the more I like it.

it was a straightforward story, one I had fun reading.

disclaimer: I received this free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

rep: sapphic disabled m/c (amputee), m/c with ptsd, sapphic side characters, deaf side character

'Gods are not always the enemy; even your godkiller knows that. People make gods, and, for better or worse, gods make people. We show each other for what we truly are. Yearning beings, desperate for love, power, safety.

Godkiller is a solid debut fantasy novel about gods & humans & the destruction we cause on the world. It's a novel that starts out slow, lets you get to know the characters, understand the nuances of gods, and then throws you headfirst into the action and doesn't really stop until the last page. While the world-building could be much improved on - I especially would love more focus on the rebellion and the politics of the world. I enjoyed this novel for what it was - a novel about a quest and a found family. We have 4 POVs, Kissen - our godkiller - who is rage-filled and on a path for vengeance, but is currently fulfilling a promise to Inara to protect her. Inara is a young daughter of a noble who has unknown power and an animal companion - a God of white lies. And finally, we have Elogast a knight turned baker who is on a quest to save his King. I enjoyed the journey these four embarked on, and the relationships they formed along the way. Highly recommend for fantasy fans.

An explosive first book in a new fantasy series, 'Godkiller' is everything you could want in a fantasy.

I was immediately hooked by this book, from the first sentwnce. The world Kaner sets up is just so rich and genuinely interesting that I couldn't put it down.

In a world where gods and humans live side by side, our main story picks up years after a war where the humans of the world decimated the population of the gods. Our titular godkiller, Kissen, fought in the war, along with another of the four POV characters Elogast, best friend to the king. Our other two POV characters are Inara and Skedi, a young nobel girl and a tiny god who are bound together. These characters end up on a quest together to the city of Blenraden, where the battle between gods and humans took place.

The characters are what make this story. All enjoyable in their own right, the relationships between these characters, and the family they find in each other is pretty magical.

I loved the world of 'Godkiller' - the set up in the prologue gives you everything you need to know about this brutal world. The plot of the book was just fast enough to keep me interested, while also giving space for great character work as well. There are also some great twists, and some mysteries left unsolved at the end of the book, which have left me clamouring for a sequel.

Overall, this is one of my favourite new fantasy entries in a long time, and I can't wait to read book 2!

I loved this, a brilliant epic fantasy set in a god infested world, full of gods, monsters and heroes of all kinds. The plot follows three main characters, a one legged, fiery god killer, a knight turned baker and a young girl bound to a god, as they make their way to an outlawed city. I was expecting this to be good and I wasn't disappointed. Can't wait for the next one!

An atmospheric plunge into a world where gods war with mortals, yet depend on them for survival..

Wow, the start of this book pulled no punches, right from the start I knew who the main character was, what her motivation was, and the stakes as the book opens with violence, tragedy, and action.

I almost have trouble reviewing this, because there's very little I didn't like about this, and I was so drawn into the world and the characters that I paid very little attention to detail or writing technique...which must mean that the writing was a success, right?

I love the characters, I love the journey, the places they see, and the names and ideas, I love Skedi - the god of white lies. I found that the book was well-paced and moved pretty quickly, though I've read a few reviews that found the beginning quite slow. The book is classed as adult fantasy, possibly due to the inclusion of a sex scene and the age of the main characters, Kissen and Elogast, but one of the characters, Inara, is younger. Writing-wise, I think this could easily be read by younger readers than it's marketed to, I think this would be a great transition book for young adult fantasy readers moving on to adult fiction.

This book blew me away!
From the first look at that beautiful cover you know you're on to something special, and the contents don't disappoint.
The characters are layered and complex, the world building and magic system is outstanding and the book builds to a breathtaking climax that left me desperate for book two.
Absolutely would recommend this to anyone who loves their fantasy layered and well written.