The beginning of this book completely compelled me. I couldn’t put it down. The world was so unique, in the same way this authors other series is so unique and unlike any other I’ve ever read. However sadly my interest did start fade the further I went into it

Absolutely exquisite. I’ve been a fan of Stewart’s since her debut with Bone Shard Daughter, and this she has yet to disappoint.her prose always amaze me and there are lines from all of her books that will always have a place in my heart. Gods Below opens up another epic fantasy with a bang. The cast of narrators are all compelling and she has a way of at every chapters end maying you sad to switch narrators. I can’t wait to learn the full depth of this magic system in future installments.

The Gods Below takes a little while to get going but is engaging enough, centred on the lives of two sisters living in a place where the gods' presence literally causes people to transform within the areas where their power is present. One sister is caught and transformed, the other escapes to live the life of a refugee and be sucked into a cult which trains people to kill those who are transformed.

It's a solid enough start to a new trilogy though it didn't immediately grab me in the way her previous series did (though I have to confess I only read the first two of that one and never got around to finishing it). There's some interesting world-building, the characterisation is pretty strong too but for me it doesn't have that special something that makes me desperate to know what happens next.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

The world’s ecology and environment have been destroyed but one of the Gods who live below the surface makes a deal with humanity. Kiehuan, the God, will restore the world to normal but the people will be transformed from their human forms. The change which happens country by country tears two sisters apart when one sister stays in Kashan and is transformed. Hakara, the other sister, escapes to the neighbouring country as an illegal refugee/immigrant struggling to survive while trying to get back to her sister until she gets caught by a strange cult who wants to kill the other Gods and another who wants to kill the transformed. But some mortals can get powers by using gems which Kiehuan wants. The book is much more complicated than this of course but this is the bare bones of the story.
As with her previous books there are a few points of view characters with their own stories and struggles that eventually come together at the end. Harkara was the most compelling character- a human who has her own strengths and very human weakness, a woman who accidentally becomes a hero.
I found the start a little slow, but I would recommend sticking with the book as by the time the story really got into its stride, I couldn’t put my Kindle down. The various strands come together, with some beautifully described action scenes, some angst, realistic relationships and twists I didn’t see coming.

This was not I was expecting or hoping for. I could not get into the world conceived, nor did the characters really engage me. The Bone Shard Empire was one of my absolute favourite fantasy trilogies so I was excited to receive this arc. I am beyond disappointed and yet if Stewart can work her magic in the next installment, I still feel the overall story arc could be rescued. Time will tell. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Andrea Stewart’s The Gods Below is a gripping fantasy that blends divine intrigue with a deeply human narrative. It’s an ambitious tale filled with layered characters, vivid world-building, and a plot that keeps you guessing.

The story centers on a protagonist grappling with destiny and betrayal while navigating a world where gods meddle and mortals suffer the consequences. Stewart’s prose is evocative, and her ability to weave tension into every interaction is commendable.

While The Gods Below boasts strong themes and fascinating lore, some pacing issues and minor plot inconsistencies might leave readers wanting a bit more clarity. However, the depth of emotion and thought-provoking exploration of power and morality elevate the novel.

Perfect for fans of mythological fantasy with dark undertones, this is a solid addition to Stewart’s repertoire. Don’t miss it if you enjoy stories where humans stand against divine forces.

This book was such a great one! With
several POVs, we were drawn into the world and saw through the eyes of the different characters, Hakara, Rasha, Sheuen, Mullayne and Nioanen who were unique and interesting characters with well-fleshed out thoughts and actions.

However, if there was one thing I could improve on, it would be the voice of each POV which kinda started to blend together. Despite that, I liked the world building and prose.

After a gripping plot and storyline, am excited to see how the next book continues their specific journeys!

I absolutely love Andrea Stewarts writing style! Her world building is incredible and it really shows in this book.

It is written from multiple POVs which I love. Sometimes when it is more than two people I feel some can seem pointless but all of the characters experiences are pivotal to the storyline.

As the first book of the series I feel like there was a little less character development than I'm used to but it really set the scene for future books.

Highly recommend this to anyone looking for a complex, epic fantasy read!

4 stars
Multiple POVs

I enjoyed the world building and the characters, Hakara, Rasha, Sheuen, Mullayne and Nioanen were interesting.
Sometimes the jump between each character could be a bit hard getting used too

I’m interested to see where the story goes.

Thank you netgalley and orbit for the eARC

I struggled a bit with this book. I found it better as I read on but it was not the enjoyable read I was looking for. I was interested in how it all panned out but basically I didn't like the characters. It would be fairer to say that I did not care enough about them and had no investment in wanted them to succeed or fail.. The premise of two sisters (slight spoiler) who are split apart and seek to find each other was a good basis for the story. The way magic and the use of gems was intriguing but that was as far as it went for me.

I had very mixed feelings about The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart. I really liked Stewart's Drowning Empire series, so I was very hyped for this book,but it didn't quite work for me. The book follows two sisters who end up on opposite sides of a war in a world that is being remade by a god after ecological collapse.

First, the things that I liked about the book: I liked the analogy about climate change and how we have a world where technology and society basically collapsed because humans depleted all the natural resources. We also had these magic layers where the world was being slowly transformed back into lush, green paradises by a god but where humans get transformed into monsters in the process. So in this, one of the sisters, Rasha, got caught in this transformation and separated from her older sister Hakara I had very mixed feelings about The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart. I really liked Stewart's Drowning Empire series, so I was very hyped for this book,but it didn't quite work for me. The book follows two sisters who end up on opposite sides of a war in a world that is being remade by a god after ecological collapse.

Magic also came in the forms of gemstones that had to be mined in sinkholes and consumed to get certain powers. This felt unique and reminded me a bit of the magic system in Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

The pacing here was also really good. We had fast-paced action and short chapters which made this really readable.

My main gripe were the characters. While I did feel for each of them and understood their motivations, the romances in this were so bad. There was barely any buildup and some of it happened out of nowhere for me. The book started out being more about familial relationships and I wish it had stayed that way. I'd have honestly preferred it if there wasn't any romance at all. Some POVs also seemed to meander more, especially Rashas. Another POV Mullayne I found extremely interesting and important regarding the lore of the world but didn't lead anywhere exciting and I would have loved to see more from him. You could clearly tell who the authors favourites were and it didn't align with who my faves were. Hakara I loved, she was so funny but her romance ruined it for me.

I saw a lot of potential in the world and the characters but the execution fell flat for me. I will probably still pick up the sequel however since I want to know more about the lore. I gave The Gods Below 3 out of 5 stars.

"The Bone Shard Daughter" is still one of my favourite fantasy reads ever, and while I didn't end up loving the whole trilogy as much as I wanted to I absolutely fell in love with Stewart's unique ideas, settings and characters. She's an amazing writer and excels at building new worlds, and "The Gods Below", the first installment in her new trilogy, proves this once more.

I had so much fun with this. This time around, the story takes place in a world that was shattered and is now fractured into different realms. Once there were the gods living, you guessed it, below, but after the humans managed to destroy their world by stripping it egoistically of its most important resources, thus leading to the Shattering, those gods allegedly abandoned them. All but one, that is, and that remaining God demands to be worshipped as the only existent God. For that honor, he promises to remake the world, make it liveable again. And he does, in a way - from ashes sprouts new nature in each realm he restores, but alas, that restoration does come with a price. Most of the population simply ceases to exist, while the others are turned into Altered, humanoid mutants if you will.
Our multiple pov characters all give us different perspectives in this world. Haraka and Rasha are the main ones, both perspectives written in first person (the rest in third person, which Stewart did in her Drowning Empire trilogy as well). They are sisters, separated by the restoration of their home realm and now on different sides of an inevitable war between those that fight for the one true God and those that oppose him. The other three perspectives are more or less interesting, though I really enjoyed Mull's chapters who's on an expedition to find the old home of the gods. All of the povs provide more insight, none of them feel superfluous.
The world-building is dense and exciting, the writing top-notch as expected, and the pacing kept me on my toes. Now, I did feel like some characters had dull tendencies and their plots felt a bit repetetive, but I'm sure this will be addressed in the sequel. I wouldn't mind one less pov in the next book either, because while they all added something to the story, I felt like it took away from the character development of some of the characters.
Still, I'll definitely read the rest of the trilogy because once again I've fallen in love with Stwart's world.

The world building and concept of 'The God's Below' was unique and interesting, quickly pulling me into the novel. There are echo's of climate-disaster, but with a well-established magic system, strange God's who walk among men, competitive for worship, and a world altering event which moves through realms 'restoring' them, fed by the destruction of many lives.
My interest soon wavered as I struggled to connect, or care about the characters, with five main POVs followed as we alternate in short chapters between them. While the prose were good, the character development lacked depth making them feel one-dimensional. The love-story subplots were slightly rushed and uninteresting.
Overall, while the concept and world was strong, the simple characterisation and lack of humour or realism in the interactions between characters made the strong opener, falter for me. This is a very personal preference, I need strong characters to care about plot!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Anything Andrea writes, I will read!

The worlds and magic and creatures that Andrea creates are insane.

When we first start the book we are introduced to the two sisters Hakara and Rasha. They were abandoned by their mother who ran towards the black wall that is known as the “restoration”. The restoration is the promise the god Kluehnn made to the humans to restore the land. When it comes it changes everything inside of it. The grass, the animals, the people, the air, everything.

We are seeing the sisters trying to escape. Think an evacuation point but only certain people can go through and you have to have a guide who can give you a mask so you don’t die from the fumes of the border of the next land.

I don’t wanna go into much more detail because I don’t want to spoil anything, but this book was amazing. There are light religious undertones, where you see our two sisters fight for the their warring gods.

This book brought me to tears on a few occasion’s.

I DNF'ed due to triggers about a third way in. I really enjoyed what I read. Love the characters, the world, the story, but I couldn't get past this one thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Orbit for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review. 


TW: genocide, religion, death, violence, body transformation, blood, grief, gaslighting, cults


‘The Gods Below’ is the start of a brand new series by Andrea Stewart, who wrote the incredible Drowning Empire trilogy. Set in a world destroyed by humanity and now the battleground of a vicious war between gods, humanity swore an oath of allegiance to the god Kleuhnn. In exchange for his protection and the “restoration” of their lands, humanity will provide an endless supply of magical gems from deep in the ground to aid in his power. However Kleuhnn’s cleansing of the land means that people who can’t flee fast enough are also changed- some with horns, some with wings and others with magic that can’t be defined- if they survive to become “altered”. Hakara and her younger sister Rasha are orphans, surviving only because of Hakara’s diving into sunken ruins. When the announcement comes that their land will be cleansed, Hakara and Rasha attempt to flee from their home, but at the border Hakara makes a terrible deal that sees her taken away and Rasha abandoned to possible oblivion. Ten years later, Hakara is still trying to earn enough to get back to the former border and to learn what happened to her sister. After she discovers that she can control the power of the gems she’s forced to dig for, she is invited to join a plot to destroy the remaining Gods for good. Hakara discovers that Rasha is alive, “altered” and now an acolyte of a murderous cult that worships Kleuhnn, even if she is no longer the little sister Hakara remembers. Convinced that aiding the rebels- who all have their own motivations, particularly the winged and mysterious Thassir- against Kleuhnn will help her to rescue Rasha, Hakara decides to risk it all and go to war with the same god they’ve all blindly worshipped for so long. 


I was a huge fan of Andrea Stewart’s first series so I was delighted to read this book, and it didn’t disappoint. From the first page the high stakes are so clear and the multiple perspectives really helped to show what the world is like. I loved the idea of humanity making a deal with a god for protection and how some people who aren’t lucky enough to escape Kleuhnn’s restoration- the way they become afterwards was so original and different. Hakara is a powerful main character, she wants so badly to do right by her sister, and after she fails to protect Rasha she’s driven by guilt and responsibility to try and get back to her even if it means being relentlessly driven and rough. The scenes where Hakara dives into the caves and digs for gems are incredibly claustrophobic. When she becomes involved with the rebellion, and begins to associate with more characters I really did feel like she came into herself more. I really enjoyed Rasha’s chapters, especially as she rises out of the “little sister” role and becomes a person entirely of her own, even if it means following the god that ruined her life. I loved Thassir, who is one of the altered aiding the rebellion, he just wants to be left alone and to love his cats but Hakara keeps putting him in situations; the gradual development of their trust was really well written. I felt deeply for Mull, who wants to save his friend from a painful death by chronic illness, and for Sheuan who is trying to restore her family’s reputation and ends up with Rasha. One thing that I so loved about the Drowning Empire trilogy was the slow burn and build up of the world and characters, we see this here again in ‘The Gods Below’ in a much deeper, morally grey and complicated way. The way that Andrea Stewart weaves together stories that seem to have little connection is just gorgeous. I loved the idea of a team coming together to wage war on the gods and found each of the new characters we met- even if their roles isn’t fully clear yet- deeply compelling, especially the gods Nioanen and Irael who apparently died years before this book starts. I can’t wait to see where this series might go next, especially with the reveals towards the end.

The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart takes readers on an epic journey into a world shaped by ancient magic, gods in hiding, and powerful gemstones that bestow magical abilities on the fortunate few. Through the eyes of multiple characters, we are immersed in a richly built world of political intrigue, environmental destruction, and survival.

Stewart weaves a tale of love, loyalty, and rebellion as Hakara, a determined young woman, embarks on a perilous quest to find her missing sister and battle against the gods themselves.

The Gods Below introduces us to a sprawling, intricate world where each region is shaped by the will of an all-powerful god. This god, responsible for “restoring” parts of the world to their former environmental glory, does so at the cost of human lives, raising deep moral and existential questions. The book begins with Hakara, a diver into the dangerous magical substance called “aether,” who is separated from her sister, Rasha, and taken to another realm. From here, the story follows multiple characters across different regions as they navigate the challenges of their world.

Hakara, the protagonist, whose quest to find her sister forms the emotional core of the novel. Her relationship with Thassir adds depth to her character as they work together to defeat their enemies using the world’s complex magic system.

When left behind when Hakara is taken, her sister Rasha is transformed physically and emotionally as she becomes part of a cult-like group that worships the gods. Her shifting loyalty is particularly intriguing, as she grows attached to her new family while holding onto memories of her past life with Hakara.

Sheuan is a noble from a disgraced family, she is ambitious and ruthless in her desire to regain favor in her kingdom. Her interactions with the barrier separating different realms raise important questions about the world’s magic and politics.

Mullayne’s plotline feels somewhat disconnected from the others, as an inventor, he explores the god’s cave systems to save a loved one. While his story showcases excellent world-building, it could have worked better as a standalone novella due to its separation from the central narrative.

A grumpy character with a heart of gold and a love for cats, Thassir provides some of the most enjoyable character dynamics in the book. His evolving relationship with Hakara, and his mysterious backstory, make him a standout character.

The book’s plot is multi-layered, featuring a blend of political intrigue, divine power struggles, and personal journeys of growth and transformation. While Hakara’s quest to reunite with her sister drives the main narrative, Stewart also explores the repercussions of the god’s destructive “restorations” on the world’s people. The inclusion of multiple POVs helps build out the world but can at times limit the character development, as the story switches between timelines and perspectives frequently.

One of the book’s highlights is its exploration of romance. Stewart includes several subplots that are handled with depth and maturity, allowing the characters’ relationships to unfold naturally without detracting from the larger epic fantasy plot. These relationships add emotional weight to the story, particularly through the conversations and communication between the characters.

As with Stewart’s previous work, Bone Shard Daughter, her writing is immersive and detailed. Her descriptions of the different regions, magic systems, and gods are compelling and paint a vivid picture of the world. However, the narrative can feel slightly overwhelming due to the number of characters and plotlines. Readers who enjoy multi-POV stories will find this engaging, but those looking for more streamlined character development may struggle.

The Gods Below touches on several key themes, including environmental destruction, identity, and transformation. The notion of “restored” regions, where the land is healed but at the cost of human lives, provides a rich backdrop for exploring how people adapt to these changes. Rasha’s transformation, both physical and emotional, raises questions about identity – whether someone can truly remain the same after such profound change.

The book also delves into survival, showing how different regions and people cope with the god’s whims. This plays out not just in the characters’ external struggles but in their personal growth as well, particularly with Hakara and Rasha’s evolving sense of self and loyalty.

Positives of The Gods Below
Strong World-Building: Stewart creates a deeply immersive world with intricate politics, divine beings, and unique magic systems.
Complex Characters: Hakara, Rasha, and Thassir stand out for their emotional depth and moral complexity.
Unique Magic System: The use of gemstones and “aether” diving adds a fresh element to the fantasy genre.
Thought-Provoking Themes: Themes of identity, transformation, and environmental consequences give the novel a deeper philosophical layer.
Interesting Romance Subplots: The romance is subtle yet meaningful, adding emotional stakes to the larger plot.
Negatives of The Gods Below
Multiple POVs: While enriching the world, the numerous character perspectives can detract from character development.
Disconnected Subplot: Mullayne’s story, though intriguing, feels somewhat separate from the main plot and could have been explored more fully in its own narrative.
Pacing Issues: The book’s middle section slows down due to heavy exposition and less action.
The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart is an epic fantasy that will appeal to fans of intricate world-building, divine power struggles, and morally complex characters. While the multiple POVs and subplots can feel overwhelming at times, Stewart’s masterful creation of a magical, politically charged world makes this a compelling read. For those who enjoyed Bone Shard Daughter, this novel is a must-read that builds on Stewart’s signature style of thoughtful, immersive storytelling.

Unfortunately not for me. I enjoyed the world building and lore. However, I could not connect with the characters and the insta love aspect. Great effort, ultimately not for me.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding of this story. Stewart’s writing is engaging and easy to read through. I am excited to read any follow up books in this series and I likely am going to check out Stewart’s backlist!

A new series from Andrea Stewart! I really enjoyed this world and I can’t wait to read more of it!

First off - plot. I did like the plot to this one. We follow quite a few points of view and I really enjoyed seeing them all weave and cross over with each other. I think some of the points of view were stronger than others - I think Hakara was definitely my favourite plot, which I think is down to the fact she had the most chapters and came across to me as the main character.

As for the characters, Hakara was also my favourite character. I enjoyed her motivations and her journey through the book as she tries everything to find her sister. I also enjoyed Rasha’s pov, as she is brought into this cult-like God organisation and seeing how she navigates the brutal landscape. Nioanen’s chapters were good for providing the insight for the past and the reveal in his plot was also really good. Then Sheuan and Mullayne’s POVs were less relevant to me. They didn’t seem to play to much into the overall plot of this book. You could take them out and I feel the book would probably be the same. Although, I feel they are there to serve as setting up plot points for the sequel so I guess I understand why they’re there.

One of the best bits about this book was the worldbuilding. It was super interesting having Gods being at war and having them come from inside the earth (hence the gods below). The concept of one god trying to wipe out the others was fun to explore - and I also enjoyed the concept of the world being broken and this god believing he is saving people by wiping out half the population of each section of earth, and transforming the rest of the population into these strange forms to survive the new land he’s made for them.

While I did enjoy this, and I’ll definitely read book 2, I did have a couple of minor issues with it so it’s landed at a 4 stars from me.