What a stunning new voice to join the fantasy world, so exciting too as so many more books to look forward to in the future for me, because I’ll be preordering them all based on my love for this story. Amazing world building, well rounded and developed characters, fantastic mythology, great rep disability and LGBTQ+, it’s just got everything and that ending, I can’t wait for more

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest opinion

An intriguing new voice in fantasy. Excellent world-building, some great fantastical elements, originally applied and devised. Sometimes the prose didn't quite work for me, but that could just have been my mood.

If you're looking for a fantasy with a bit of a difference, then give this a try. I'm looking forward to reading what Kaner writes next.

I quite enjoyed <i>Godkiller</i>. In particular, I think the world building was rich and complex, so many great, vivid descriptions that really brought the world to life. I think the descriptions of the Gods, their shrines, and describing their “abilities” was also a strength of the book. It was just so well described you’d think it was real.

I really enjoyed the mixed group of characters, and how complex their relationships to each other were. This is something I’m very excited to see expanded upon in the next instalment (I’m assuming it’ll follow these same characters?)

I enjoyed the plot, although I did find it slow moving, and for that reason is why this book is 3 stars. I just found the book to “lull” in the middle. While I thought it was good, when I put it down I wasn’t racing to get back to the story to find out what happened next, because nothing seemed to happen next for ages…just a few little events here and there, it just felt like the book was mostly musing, waiting for the big stuff to happen? I don’t know. I just felt the middle of the book really contrasted to the start (attention grabbing, action-y, harrowing) and the end (heart pounding, high stakes, plot twists, emotional pay off). It at times felt like there were two different books going on. It’s hard for me to pinpoint what makes me so “eh” about it — because I did think the book was good, it just didn’t *wow* me.

Godkiller was an incredible start to a series and I already cannot wait for the next instalment.

In a world full of quite magic and fallen gods, circumstances to head to the old capital of the old gods brings together our cast of characters; Kissen who hunts old gods, Inara who is attached to a god named Skedi whom she cannot part from, and Elo who is an ex soldier and loyal friend to the king who killed the old gods. Together they journey and form relationships that are put to the test by fire and monsters from the mist.

I loved this story; from LGBTQ+ rep to loveable characters, a strong mythology and an exciting plot line, I was hooked immediately and could not put this book down. Every scene felt atmospheric and the more that was uncovered, the more I wanted to find out more. While the ending felt like the rug had been pulled from under me, it has made me certain that I will be waiting with baited breath for its release.

Godkiller is a compelling and hard to put down fantasy tale that follows the Godkiller Kissen as she stumbles upon a young girl who has become connected to the god of white lies. Kissen cannot kill the god without harming the girl and so embark on a quest to help separate the two. On the journey, they meet Elo, a baker on a quest of his own. Will the three survive the quest long enough to find the answers they seek?

I loved every second of this book! It features a really fascinating world with intricate world building. I really enjoyed learning about the gods and magic in this story and was so impressed with the amount of detail and history. The world was so intriguing and I can’t wait to see where Kaner takes things in book two. The story is well-paced, there’s plenty of action to keep the reader on the edge of their seat but also plenty of time to get to know the characters and the magic. Godkiller felt like such a unique take on the fantasy tale and I definitely found myself hungry for more. Godkiller is a book that’s hard to look away from and I ended up reading the last hundred pages in a single sitting as I just had to know how it was all going to end.

Godkiller has a fantastic cast of characters and I grew quite attached to all of them. They are well crafted, each dealing with their own secrets and determined to do what’s right. Kissen is such a badass protagonist and she was probably my favourite, but I loved Elo, Ina and Skedi too. The relationship between Ina and Skedi is a really fascinating aspect of the tale, they’re bonded together and desperate to find out about their pasts, but as the story progresses their relationship begins to change and it was so compelling to read about. Godkiller is my first five star read of 2023 and it is one impressive debut. If you’re looking for an epic fantasy adventure that you won’t want to look away from, Godkiller is definitely a must read!

As fantasy books go, this was was slow and didn't hold my attention, which is a shame as people have left rave reviews for it. I thougjt it could have been a little shorter as it was drawn out in places but I did like the characters! I may have missed something crucial here, so I'm sure other fantasy lovers will enjoy it. I will read more from Hannah Kaner in the future :)

Give me a book with a unique take on Gods, found family and a journey across the lands to a fallen city, any day of the week and CALL ME OBSESSED. I cannot believe this book is a debut, its concept on Gods, world-building and it’s characters had me routing for them from page one. Just don’t ask me about that ending, I AM STILL IN SHOCK. Plus it’s got disability and LGBTQ+ rep.

Past wars have lead to the end of the Gods, The King has outlawed worship and now Gods are killed on sight. Belief itself creates Gods, the more belief the stronger their power, this means Gods pop ip all the time and in order to maintain peace and prevent God’s from gaining power, Godkiller’s are employed to remove them. We follow an unlikely group, on a journey across the land to a city lost to war, where the last battle between Men and God’s was won. Kissen is a Godkiller, Elogast is a retired knight turned baker after the Great War, Inara a noble girl and Skediceth, the God of white lies.

The disability rep in this is INCREDIBLE. In a land filled with with war between men and gods, magic and adventure, it makes sense that you’d have individuals having to go through life after loosing a limb as well as characters who have to find ways to communicate without hearing. In Godkiller we had MC’s and side characters who exist in a medieval styled world with disability in a totally believable way, no-one is magically fixed, language has been created using hand signs and characters use wheelchairs as well as prosthetic limbs. I am never not going to be obsessed with a book that has disabled characters, battling with swords.

Hannah Kaner's debut has everything I love in a fantasy novel; it was my first 5 star read this year. I was gripped from the dramatic start and loved the detailed world building, depicting a world where gods walk among mortals.
The four main characters, whose points of view alternate in the story, each have their individual quests that take them on a pilgrimage to the ruined city of Blenraden, last stronghold of the gods. There's vengeance, sacrifice, loyalty, betrayal, and a hint of romance.

At just short of 300 pages, this was a relatively quick read, but the characters were well developed, in particular Kissen and Elo. Fingers crossed there won't be a long wait for the next instalment - I need it yesterday!

Godkiller checked so many boxes regarding what I love about Fantasy: multiple POV's with conflicting morals and world views, reluctant older and younger figure on a roadtrip, living gods, found family, queer rep, an 'animal' companion... it was all done incredibly well. I also have to praise the great disability rep, which is unfortunately rare to find in Fantasy worlds. I went into the book thinking it was a standalone, so the ending frustrated me a bit but, if anything, it's an excuse to return to this amazing world in the future.

As always my reviews are always 100% honest and my own opinions. I will try to never fully spoil a plot. This particular copy I was given access to a copy to review by Netgalley. #HarperVoyager #NetGalley #GodKiller #HannahKaner #BookReview

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner is a brilliant debut novel and I cannot wait to see where the characters stories go. We follow Kissen who is a Godkiller which is exactly how it sounds, she kills gods for a living. She enjoys it too. Her motivation stems from her childhood when Zealots sacrificed her family to appease their god. Since then she hasn’t found a god she cannot kill until she meets Skediceth, god of white lies, who is connected to a noble young girl on the run. Along their way they meet Elogast who fought in the god war and helped purge the city of a thousand shrines before laying down his sword. A request from his King sees him racing back to the city he destroyed but when he meets the godkiller, a young girl and her small god he is unsure what to think but knows they cannot find out about his quest.

I went into this expecting to enjoy it but I came away loving it. Godkiller is wholly original but gives very strong ‘The Witcher’ vibes which is one of my favourite book series. I particularly loved the characters which is saying something because normally younger characters irritate to me to no end but that was not the case here. I actually think I liked all the characters, even the ‘bad’ ones, due to their depth and personality.

Kaner’s world building is brilliant and while some fantasy tropes are there, she really makes it her own. I adored learning about the different gods, their worshippers and shrines and how Kissen (or other Godkillers) fit in to the world. I really hope this is expanded upon in the future as well but there is already a lot there.

I adored the pacing as well and found the introducing of characters fitting to the plot and pace. Add into this the different points of view and it creates a well-written depth to the story and keeps us engaged, well it did me. We get a few twists along the way as well and the ending was also brilliantly done even if a slight cliff hanger.

I honestly adored this book, so much so I will be getting a physical copy and picking up future works by Kaner.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for the E-ARC

This is the debut novel from Hannah and it's fantastic!
Keeps you gripped from page one.
The cover is absolutely stunning.

The debut novel by Hannah Kaner, Godkiller, follows an ex knight, turned baker, a Godkiller veiga, a little girl and a God of White lies happen to be on the same group that travels to an abandoned city, filled with Gods.

Godkiller is a book about defying fate, rewriting it but also about the need of human relationships, how easy it is to love people sometimes and tests of loyalty. Exploring these issues through the 4 POVs, Godkiller is fast paced and action filled. My only criticism is that the beginning of the book where the scene is set and the backstories and motivations of the characters are established is a bit abrupt. I do urge you though to keep going as once the book settles, it is very captivating and keeps you hooked. It definitely achieved to make me invested enough to want to read the next book in the series.

A very action and character driven story, which touches on a lot of interesting and complicated issues about humanity and Godhood, family and friendship.

From the off set it’s a tragic start finding out why our main character kissen becomes a “Godkiller” then fast forward and we meet an older Kissen now professional godkiller, who stumbles upon a young noble girl, Inara, and the small god the girl had bonded with, Skedi. They are soon on a journey to a dead city in the company of Elo, a traumatised ex-knight with a dark secret.
To me when explaining some of the early plot to my husband he kept saying “like god of war, like god of war”

The plot was very engaging to begin with but did start to drag a little towards the end but stick with it the ending will have you waiting for the sequel.

Thanks netgally for the earc to read

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the eARC of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. Solidarity with the striking Harper Collins workers in the US.

This is a really solid fantasy debut that leads with it's absolutely stunning cover design. Godkiller is set in a nation where the gods have been surpressed, and towns enlist the services of mercenary 'godkillers' or 'veiga' to rid themselves of pesky deities. Our protagonist is one such godkiller, Kissen, Kissen lost her family and her lower leg to the wrath of the gods, and means to seek out vengeance for their deaths. When she is approached by Inara, a young noblewoman who has tethered herself to a god of white lies named Skediceth, she initially wants nothing to do with them, but finds herself agreeing to protect her after seeing Inara's home burnt to the ground with her family inside. They join a pilgrim train to Blenraden, the last bastion of the gods, to try and separate Inara from Skediceth. Along the way they meet Elogast, a former knight and baker who is on a mission to save the king. The three become close throughout the journey, revealing that not everyone has as straightforward a relationship with the gods as it seems.

The characterisation is one of Godkiller's greatest strengths. Inara is sweet but strong in a way that feels accurate for her age, and her relationship with Skedi will put readers in mind of Lyra and Pan from His Dark Materials. Kissen, on the other hand, has a tough exterior, and her impulse to care for Inara is never framed as any kind of weakness. It's also really nice to see women with more masculine traits portrayed as sexually desirable not in spite of them, but because of them. I think the focus on building these characters had a slight tendency to detract from the world building, which felt not entirely fully fleshed out, but I'm hoping that now that we know the characters well, the world will fall into place in the sequel.

I won’t lie, I 100% judged this book by its cover, and what a cover! Luckily it paid off as this book was a little fantasy gem.

The story follows 4 characters with very different missions and views who are thrown together on a journey to the fallen city of Blenraden. Our main character Kissen is a veiga, the Godkiller of the title and I have to say I have so much love for this utter badass woman. She does not take anyones sh*t, period, and is generally just an absolute boss. In Kissen we also have some disabled and LGBTQ+ representation. She meets Ina, a young noble girl who is mysteriously connected to a small god, Skedi, the god of white lies. Our fourth is Elo, a knight turned baker who is on a secret journey of his own. Elo is a kind and gentle man, clearly showing signs of PTSD so we also had some representation for mental health issues here.

The world and character building was excellent, despite this being a relatively short read. The concept of how gods are created is really well thought out and interesting. In this world they start as shadows and are given form through shrines, love, prayers and offerings. They can manifest upon being summoned and bargained with…. for a price. Many of them become powerful on the fear, pain and anguish of those worshipping them, however the author shows the other side of the coin, with gods who provide comfort and healing.

We lost a little momentum around half way through as not much was really happening, but the second half just hooked me straight back in; and that ending left me screaming.

In summary; I’m off to make a bargain with the god of sequels, because y’all know I need to know what happens.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

3.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the advance reader copy of Godkiller for an honest review.

The books follows main character Kissen who kills Gods for a living following her family being killed by a god when she was a child. She enjoys her job until she finds a god that she cannot kill a god of white lies Skediceth who is connected to a noble girl.

We also have the perspective of Elogast who fought in the god war and purged a city of thousands of shrines. A request from the king sends him back to the city he destroyed.

The two paths cross and neither can find out the others secret.

An easy read with just over 300 pages and an interesting concept. The book has a lot of different representation from LGBTQ to disabilities which I thought was a very good aspect.

However the book shifts through the perspectives of the four main characters and I felt at times this affected the pacing and my interest as there were a couple of character perspectives I found less interesting than the others. It took me far longer to finish/get into the book than it should have.

Overall I enjoyed the premise of the story and I would give the second book a chance, however due to so many shifting perspectives I found it difficult to keep myself interested in the story at times.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK and Hannah Kaner for the advanced copy of Godkiller via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

Godkiller is an exquisitely written, atmospheric novel with a wonderfully imaginative, unique approach to the common trope of gods in fantasy fiction. The way Helen Kaner has approached this trope is anything but common. The only way I’ve seen gods written about this way is by Terry Pratchett, but this is anything but humorous. Like Pratchett, Kaner takes the approach that belief creates gods. The more worshipers, the larger the god becomes. But from there, Kaner has woven a beautifully complex tapestry of storytelling. There is a lot of great character development, featuring some morally grey characters.

Godkiller sets the basis of the trilogy through solid world building, setting out the main characters and the secondary characters around them and describing the history and current events of their world.

What I found extremely refreshing was the matter-of-fact approach to same-sex couples. The inclusion of same-sex relationships is still a rocky subject in fantasy books. It can still be written as a Big Deal which feels facetious and almost painful to read. However, it was natural and flowed easily in this book and was a model for how life should be!

The book ends on a cliff-hanger, and I will definitely be reading the next in the series.

Moods: adventurous, challenging, dark, emotional, mysterious, tense
Pace: medium
Character development: strong
Plot or character driven: 50/50
Diversity: high
Spice: 1/5
Trigger warnings: Ableism, Amputation, Death, Death of a family member, Physical or mental abuse, PTSD

Rating: 5/5

This review will be featured on my blog at www.mymentalshelf.com in future

Godkiller
Godkiller #1
Fantasy, Sci/Fi
Hannah Kaner
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this authors writing, it flowed nicely and kept me engaged.

The pacing was a little off in places, it seemed to slow down in the middle but towards the end, it was almost rushed.

That being said, the plot itself was really interesting. I think the disability representation was done well - Kissen has lost a limb but she doesn't let it hold her back, there's also mental health and deaf representation too.

I liked all of the characters, especially Nissa. She really grows as a person throughout this book. Kissen is fierce and bold but she also has flaws, which is very relatable.

The world building was really good too. Sometimes books that have Gods as characters can become overwhelming but Hannah Kaner did it very well. She lets the world and even the characters back stories develop through the book rather than giving the details as info dumps.

Overall this is a great debut and I hope the next book is just as good.

*Thank you to @netgalley and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Wow! This was so good. This book is about Kissen, who kills gods for a living. That is, until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skediceth, a god of white lies who is connected to a little noble girl on the run. Elogast fought in the god war but now a mysterious request from the king takes him back to the city he helped to destroy.

This was such an interesting story! The concept of the gods was really interesting, but not too complicated that it was difficult to understand. It was all explained really well. I think the characters really made this book - they each had their own character development and I loved their relationships with one another as well.

This book started off very intense which was great. The ending was also really good, although I can’t believe it just ended there! I’ll definitely need to read the second book. The middle of the book was a little bit slow. I thought that this was a standalone book (which it isn’t) so I was confused as to why the middle was so slow because I knew I’d be left with lots of questions at the end. This was my only ‘problem’ with this book, although I still loved it and thought it was great so it’s not a big deal.

Overall this is a very unique, gripping fantasy book with a found family trope and some great character development. I’m very excited to read the next one!

Thank you Netgalley and Hapercollins for the e-Arc in exchange for my honest review.
Drawn to this book by its an amazing cover I wasn't disappointed with the fantastical story of Kissen and her journey. I was blown away by the story and characters I couldn't put it down it was truly a page turner. I can't wait to receive my Illumicrate edition for it to join my collection of amazing fantasy books. I've already placed an order for my library and will be recommended it as one of my favourite reads of 2023 so far.
Amazing world building and characters with an intricate story and lore.
Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐