Yes, yes, YES, YEESS, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!

Everything you could have asked for in a sequel. I loved seeing our found family, devasted after Blenraden, dive head first into rebellion and Godswar. I can't wait to see where Hannah Kaner takes us next!

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner
Rating 4.5 stars
Publishing: 15th February 2024
Sunbringer is the sequel to Godkiller which I would say was one of my most surprising books of 2023 and I was very excited when I got the notification from Netgalley and Harpercollins that I was going to be lucky enough to read this as an ARC, I was not disappointed the Gods are still about and they are not happy, I loved the turns this story took it is still full of challenges, violence and high stakes which I loved. The relationships are explored deeper in this book and I am excited to see where this goes next because the ending I need more and now I am going to sit here wondering when the next book is coming because that ending. To say that this world is rich does not begin to cover what this book is like if you enjoyed the first book you will not be disappointed in this book. I am looking forward going out in the world so I can gush about it all with the community. There is so many things that this book gives from the start and the race to the end. I sat and read this in one sitting because I could not put it down and I know that there will be many more who will feel the same after this book comes out.

post on Instagram coming 27th December

This was an amazing second instalment to Godkiller and I am very grateful I got to read this as an advanced copy. Whilst it wasn’t quite as good as the debut the plot development was still fantastic and the character growth was all consuming and addictive.

The world building and descriptive writing style is both immersive and comforting.

It is an adventure you do not want to miss.

4.25/5

Thank you HarperCollins for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I adored Godkiller, it's an incredible debut and one of my favourite releases of the year, and the sequel, Sunbringer, (releasing February 2024) doesn't disappoint. Although it isn't quite as brilliant as the first book, it sets up the larger, looming plotline to come very well and expands on our beloved characters.
I shall now attempt to review this sequel without spoiling the first book! (Reviewing books in series is so difficult because of this reason!)

Kissen is my favourite of the characters, although I think in this book Inara shines most brightly. I enjoyed Kissen's chapters as she's abandoned in a land that is at once both foreign and familiar to her. I adored seeing the threat on the horizon through her eyes in these chapters and loved the various settings this new land gave us. Kissen's will is tested with brutal precision as she realises this is not a fight she alone can win. She may be a godkiller, but she cannot kill faith.
(I do wish we got to see a little more of her, but I might be biased!)

As I mentioned before, Inara was my favourite in this particular book. She's incredible! She has already grown so much from the scared little girl with a secret we met at the beginning of the series, and it's fascinating to watch this growth continue as she finds her own identity in the mess of swirling colours she is made to reckon with. When her will, and all she is, is so attached to another being, who does that mean she truly is? What can she become? Inara wants answers, as she always has, but now she also wants to be able to choose what to do with those answers. She's brave and unyielding and she wants to prove this. She wants to fight for the ones she loves and she wants to avenge them.

Elogast is broken, that much he already knows. Guilt haunts his every step, betrayal encroaches on his heart and anger mixes with his every breath. His relationships are fractured, grief plagues him in many forms, and yet he is more determined than he has ever been. He, at last, knows what must be done. He dons his armour once again and becomes the blood-soaked man of his past, willing to sacrifice his gentle being and gentle life. He cannot go back to his bakery. He's known that for a very long time.

I loved being in the city of Lesscia, the centre of all knowledge in Middren. It was a phenomenal setting for the main events of the story, not as overrun with gods as Blenraden, but alive with ancient history seeping out of every crack in the walls. The old gods still find shadows to hide themselves away in, loved in secret, sustaining the city they love in silence.
I adored how atmospheric and comforting Kaner's prose always was, the city sang with every step the characters took.

I do think this book felt a little less integral to the story overall, but it's a hard thing to explain because technically there were many aspects that were important to the plots weaving throughout the series, however I think because most of the story is spent with our main characters apart it felt as if we were continuously waiting for something. I knew, whilst I was reading, that these characters needed to find their way back to one another to tackle the main threat of the series, and so I couldn't help but feel as though we were, at times, sitting still.
However, this isn't a big criticism, I still massively enjoyed this book. I only say this because I recognise how much this book is setting up for the third one and I cannot wait to get my hands on it!

I adore this world and all the characters in it so incredibly much, it's all astoundingly comforting.
In my review for the first book, I wrote about how much it feels like the comforting aspects of The Witcher and I do agree with that statement, however it is also something uniquely its own.
It's a world of contradictions. It's a world of gods who are both forbidden and desperately needed. It's a character who is at once a godkiller and a protector of gods. It's someone who is both man and god, and, perhaps, underneath it all, something even worse. This is a land that is broken and healed and broken all over again. It's a world of jagged edges, full of jagged people all trying to navigate their way through it as best they can.
It's phenomenal and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Sunbringer' by Hannah Kaner.

'Sunbringer' by Hannah Kaner is the sequel to Godkiller and I'll be honest, it wasn't as good as the first novel. The writing style was still as good but I don't know, for me I didn't feel the magic in it as much as I did the first one. It did hype up the third book so I am quite excited to see how Kaner ends this trilogy.

There is no such thing as second-book syndrome regarding Sunbringer. I enjoyed it far better than Godkiller. Overall, I found the multiple POVs working more effectively in this book, the pace and plot unfolded more naturally.

Our group of heroes spent most of the book divided pursuing similar objectives with different approaches. Some of the foreshadowing was a bit 'on the nose' which I didn't mind as I was excited to read the twist and see if I was right. Compared to the first book, Sunbringer's final act was better structured, the built-up was quite clear and the stakes increased significantly. I particularly liked the worldbuilding; increasing the size of the book was beneficial to introduce new elements. My only slight complaint was that some of the potential tensions/ plot points were resolved quite quickly in the end.

All in all, I had a great time with these characters. Would be looking forward to the next book in the series.

Let’s start off by saying, if you loved Godkiller then I think you’re going to love this sequel! Sunbringer managed to capture the same vibes as Godkiller and was a seriously solid second installment.

Filled with gripping twists and turns much like Godkiller (some predictable but no less delightful, and some I actually didn’t see coming!), some actually interesting action scenes (I’m notorious for skim reading action scenes), and a host of characters that I just can’t get enough of.

All of the characters were brilliantly captured again here - I am loving watching all of their individual character arcs and how complex they are. I am especially besotting with Inara and in Sunbringer we see her heart increasingly harden with all she’s been through. I just love how we are getting to see her grow into her own here.

I think we got a bit more politics this time around (which I’m not complaining about!) but don’t be put off by this as it perfectly fitted in and worked really well to amp up the stakes this time around. In fact, the entirety of Sunbringer amped everything up for the third book!

All I can say is, I couldn’t put this book down (I read it in one sitting), and despite only just finishing it I am desperately awaiting the third installment as I genuinely can’t see how this is all going to wrap up but I’m excited to see where this goes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

I loved Godkiller. For me it was such a unique story. I loved the gods, with all their variations, the flawed characters.
I loved this one as much as the first. As beautiful inside as it is on the outside! Another 5 stars from me!

3.5. I think this is a good continiation of the series. Kaner has a very distinct writing style and it kept me engaged throughout.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing me with an ARC copy of Sunbringer in exchange for an honest review.

I had almost finished reading the first book in the trilogy, Godkiller, when I received the notification to say that I has been accepted to ARC read Sunbringer.

Sunbringer picks up right after the events of Godkiller, following the lives of Kissen, Inara, Skediceth and Elogast and how they each cope following the harrowing events of Blenraden.

Believed by her travelling companions to be dead, after believing her to have sacrificed herself to kill Hseth, Kissen must face the ghosts of her past and fight her way back to her loved ones, all while unravelling a more sinister plot that threatens to plunge the world into a bloody war.

Inara and Skedi, still struggling with the bond between them that was greatly weakened after Skediceth's betrayal, find themselves plunged head-first into a war, neither of which are prepared for, while they search for answers to who they are and begin to unravel the delicate threads of their past.

Elo is still reeling from the blow dealt to him by the tyrant king, Arren. Once his brother-in-arms, Arren has done the unthinkable and aligned himself with the gods he once sought to destroy, and will stop at nothing to elevate himself to godhood.

While it did take me a while to really get into this book and I struggled at times with the flow of the story, Sunbringer is an instant hit that will leave you on the edge of your seats. I can't wait for the third installment.

Bigger gods, bigger stakes.

I’d describe this series as “if Small Gods was written by Samantha Shannon rather than Terry Pratchett”, which is admittedly reductive, but hopefully taken as the intended deep compliment.

I enjoyed the first book, “Godkiller”, a lot, and you should stop reading this review now if you’ve not read that one yet, as I’m about to spoil the ending!

This is a great read too, full of twists and turns - some of which I anticipated, but most of which I did not. After the quite literal fall of Kissen to the gods at the end of the last book, the remaining members of the party mourn her loss deeply, and end up adventuring in different directions, with equally differing motivations throughout.

Inara, who has lost so much already, is hardening her heart and growing up rapidly as she explores her powers. Elogast is determined to kill his friend, the king, and is weighed down by guilt on all fronts. Skediceth just wants to be worshipped, but is worried he’s losing his connection to Inara. The multiple POV structure works well, as the main plot inexorably marches towards them all.

You would think that the description “Book two of The Fallen Gods trilogy” would have somehow given me a dark-middle-chapter clue that not everything would wrap up neatly and happily by the end. But no. That would be my one minor grumble - the anxiety I felt as I got towards the last fifty pages and realised that everything would not, in fact, be okay. At least not yet.

But I desperately want to read book three now, and that’s a suitable reflection on how much this got its hooks into me. Highly recommended!

Thanks to HarperCollins for the early review copy.

— 4 ⭑
„Just be careful, godkiller. If you do not bend to the world, it might snap you.“

holy shit-
this was incredible, i was so captivated from start to finish.i loved godkiller and this was also so good i might even like this more than godkiller. i seriously can't wait to buy the physical book and read it again.

💌- thank you so much for the arc in exchange for an honest review.