Started off strong, with intricate, layered worldbuilding and the promise of intrigue. Unfortunately, I didn't feel connected to any of the characters and it felt as if the plot was meandering in too many places for me.

Another stunning fantasy book from Andrea Stewart. After The Drowning Empire series I thought she could do no wrong, and I was right!
Can't wait for the next book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

A lot of fantasy authors seem to have embraced the current trend for romantasy - which is fine in moderation! But I like the fact that Stewart skews more towards the traditional fantasy genre with copious worldbuilding and characters developing naturally before a hint of romance appears. The magic system in The Gods Below is refreshingly unique and I look forward to seeing where the story goes in the next installment.

I really liked this first installment of this new work of Andrea Stewart. The multiple POV was well done, all character were engaging and interesting enough for me to wanting to continue on their story line, but I am not quite sure how the following books will look like. To me, (although i loved them) the second and third book of her previous series read very different from the first, and I wonder if this will happen again.
Said that, I am really looking forward to continue my journey above and below it. I... I am struggling to write anything about the actual plot without ending in spoilering something to someone, the only bits that I could mention are already part of the blurb... but I can say something else instead. I decided to experience this book in immersion reading, and the audiobook is a fantastic companion to the written pages. If you have the possibility of doing so I'd highly recommend this method - it doesn't always work well but for this title is perfect.

Bestselling author Andrea Stewart introduces her readers to a new epic fantasy world in her latest book The Gods Below; the first instalment of The Hollow Covenant series. The Gods Below depicts a world that suffered a devastating ecological disaster that left humanity in ruins. A bargain with one of the gods, Kluehnn, promised restoration of the world to its former glory, but at a price not everyone is willing to pay.

Although the book has multiple POV protagonists, at its heart are two sisters - Hakara (the elder) and Rasha (the younger), who were separated after fleeing the promised restoration. Their struggles and story slowly weave and merge with the story of the other POV characters as the author gradually unfurls the tantalising (back)story of the rich and fascinating world she created.

The book is slow to start, which might bother some readers, but the author lays the necessary groundwork for the world and the characters for the reader(s) to connect with them. Her characters are complex and complicated, flawed and human and the reader will easily find something to relate to with every character. The worldbuilding is as fresh as it is intriguing and I am curious to find out more about the lore and history of the world and the protagonists of this series.

Of Gods, Monsters & (Wo)men……

The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart is a richly imagined deeply divided world populated by the conflicts of Gods, Monsters & Women that trades momentum for conflict setting & world-building before culminating in an emotionally charged climax

“I am going to do what I do best – I’m going to make trouble”

A dystopian magical world and a deal with a devilish devious God that decimates half the population & transforms the other half into half-human hybrid monsters frames the landscape for this tale of two sisters, Hakara and Rasha, who find themselves on the opposite sides of the conflict. This central conflict is accompanied by other PoVs that build this rich world and magic system while lending greater heft to the aftermath of a divine conflict and its after-effects on the people and the world.

“Sometimes I wasn’t sure which was stronger: my grief or my anger”

The book starts extremely sprightly in a Hunger Games mode with Hakara and Rasha trying to flee a land that is about to get converted only to get separated with each landing on either side of the border. Unaware of each other and falling victim to the activities on their side of the border, the sisters have their own paths to forge. This journey is driven by their stubbornness & survivor skills while also being victims and pawns in certain regards. Juxtaposed with the sister’s journeys are a few other PoVs – an explorer and inventor who wants to ask the gods a favor for his sick friend, a scion of a disgraced family trying to spy her way back into good standings, and a god whose PoV spans across periods. Some of the supplementary PoVs bring together the narrative threads together while others serve to expand our viewpoint on this world and help tremendously in world-building

“Sometimes a heart breaks all at once. Sometimes it is chipped away in pieces until you wake up and notice it is no longer the same”

World-building is the key aspect where this story excels. Andrea Stewart has created a fabulous world that is in equal parts magical as it is terrifying. The land keeps on changing and these changes impact people living in these lands transforming some of them. There are tantalizing hints peppered through the book on the nature of gods, their role in this place and the conflicts that ensued. The world-building is as dense as it is intriguing. The author finds ways to link through the PoVs with some of the world-building expositions and it is fabulously synergistic throughout the book. The nature of the worlds, the links and passages to them as well as the explorations are extremely engaging and the information is also doled out in a manner that doesn’t feel heavy while building anticipation steadily

“Threaten a tired populace with death often enough and it just starts to sound like a nice nap”

Desperation is a key theme that permeates the book. Key characters make desperate choices and then have to live with the consequences of those choices. Hakara is a desperation catalyst, the prime mover, the disruptor. Hakara’s choices and actions come from a place of desperation of wanting to unite with Rasha. She therefore tends to leap before looking. Rasha is desperate in a different way – with no elder sister to protect her, she is desperate to prove her strength among other things. Characters are flawed and make mistakes and take foolish decisions giving a lived-in feel for them. What this also does kind of negatively is to add depth to characters in a very limited way and not holistically or differently. Character actions are almost predictable when their buttons are pushed

“You’re a thorn. You’re the spine of a cactus driven deep, where you cannot be dislodged, but where you cause pain with the slightest jolt”

All of which brings me to a key challenge with the book. Despite the desperate, stake-heavy start, the focus on world-building and character positioning comes at the cost of the book’s momentum. The book almost grinds to a halt as the pieces are positioned and that can be a significant mountain to overcome for the readers. This level of momentum grind can only be surmounted if the payoff is worth the cost. In that way, The Gods Below brings the pieces together in an emotionally charged last quarter. While there is action, the character interaction and subsequent actions build that tension and leave you tearing through the pages in a breathless rush. The slump in momentum is worth plowing on in order to hit truly high notes as we reach the end – the rush of the end and the positioning of the characters make this a series that you will want to continue

“You are pinning everything you have, everything you are, on hope”

The Gods Below is a fascinatingly crafted world with some truly exquisite magical elements and multiple interesting PoVs – the true heart of the book lies in the conflicts built up in the hearts and minds of Gods, Monsters, and Humans. I am thankful to the author and NetGalley for this ARC and wait with bated breath on the path that Hakara and Rasha will take

4 Gemstones on 5

This was the bookmail I was most excited to receive this month. A beautifully sprayed edge digital design from Fairyloot.

I loved Andrea Stewart's first series The Drowning Empire so I was so excited to see there was a new series in the works with The Gods Below starting it off.

It reminded me of a video game with the gem magic, travels to the centre of the earth and 'boss battles' with gods and other factions along with the ever shifting worlds.

It is a very interesting setting with the world being in the process of being remade and seeing both the before and afters at the same time from the two sisters Hakara and Rasha points of view.

The other two main characters who's stories are in the 'civilised' and unchanged as of yet part of the world inject a bunch of politics as well as Journey to the Centre of the earth vibes which I'm interested to see where it does end up further on in the series to come.

There is some LGBTQ+ rep in this as well as a crazy cat guy that injected some humour into an otherwise rather serious situation.

A genuinely enjoyable and easy read of a story and thank you very much to the publisher and Netgalley for an early ebook copy of this to read.

I absolutely adored Andrea Stewart's Bone Shard trilogy, so when I picked up The Gods Below, I had high expectations. However, I found that I couldn't quite connect with the story and the characters. It felt like I was wading through long, meandering paragraphs filled with excessive details. It was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. Despite this, I'm willing to give it another chance after a re-read.

The last 30 percent had me not wanting to put it down but unfortunately my job got in the way. I loved so many of the characters it took me a little bit to get my head around who was who and with who. Once I had it all settled in my head I was obsessed. I NEED SOME REUNIONS IN BOOK 2. I am really excited to see how this series continues. I LOVED HAKARA AND THARRIS. SHEUAN and RASHA I NEED MORE. The unexpected trope at the end honestly I am hooked.

Uhh ... this was ... not it ...

I have rarely been this bored reading a book than I was reading the Gods Below. It's not that it was bad (okay, maybe ... maybe it was bad) but it's just a collection of miserable characters living in a miserable world with a miserable magic system.

And I'm always one for ecological fantasy! Like, man, look out the window into the world and at our carbon emissions and species dying out by the hundreds and thousands every day! It's not that hard to imagine a world where the planet has been entirely decimated and destroyed. And yet, Stewart manages to make that premise so goddamn bland.

This bland world created for the Gods Below houses characters that seem to be even more bland. There's a thing to be said about here and the amount of POV characters, and that word is that there was simply too many, and there wasn't enough of a difference between their voices that it would be interesting. The blurb names Hakara as the main character, but what does she do, really? Not much! Rasha was a bit more interesting, but that was basically because she was the only one who actually had a plotline going on. The others just meander around this bland world, and to be honest, I found myself skipping through entire POV chapters, because just nothing happened in them. Some dude is trying to invent gas masks. One woman has family trouble. Hakara eats some rocks (but more on that ... below.. Haha, get it? ... Ugh.). It was just ... so boring.

So you have this world in metaphorical shades of beige and a cast of characters that are basically the same, just with different names - but what is missing from that? RIGHT, the most boring magic system ever invented. I feel like authors and books and series have been getting praised for having "unique magic systems" a lot recently, so authors writing something new are scrambling to figure out a new one that readers can bestow the "unique magic system" badge to. This backfires spectacularly in this book, because the magic is, also, you guessed it!, really boring.
Basically, Hakara eats a big gem stone, and depending on the color of the gemstone, she either gets super strong arms or super strong legs or similar things. But only ... until she breathes again! So she has to hold her breath for the magic to stay.
What the fuck? The breath thing limits the power of the magic system so devastatingly that it's not even worth it having the enhanced-limb-thing be so underpowered. Maybe like, having a rock that makes her have fire powers would've been cool, but no, strong arms. Uhh ... thanks? It's basically pointless? And then there's some bonding magic stuff that makes absolutely no sense because it's described as this super important and intimate thing, but then Hakara bonds and un-bonds with tons of people. It's weird.

I'm just so glad it's over. I'm definitely not going to be picking up any sequels, and, to be honest, this book was so bad that it put me off reading Stewart's other books, too. So, uhh ... great!

I have read other work by this author and loved it. However I really struggled with this one. My main grip was the pacing, for me it was far too slow. I am sure that this frustration meant that the characters failed to shine. I could not connect with them and as a result what promised to be a rich story fell flat.

Sadly a DNF for me. Wanted to like this but the characters left me cold. Got over halfway through before calling it a day.

This book reminds me of my latest attempt at banana bread: all the right ingredients to make such a satisfying dessert, and yet it turns out half-baked, top burnt, and leaves a poor aftertaste. (Just like I'm a good baker on any given day, Andrea Stewart is a great author that just happened to miss this time, in my opinion.)

The saddest part of all this is that in only 5 chapters I was invested in a certain character's story. That's all they get—5 chapters—and they were more than enough to break my heart. Honestly, that’s probably what’s missing. This book needed a trim to help with the pacing, but also to heighten the characters’ emotions and thought processes. They were so wooden, so single-minded. Each POV repeated the same ideas time and again. I truly wouldn’t have made it without the audiobook.

The core of this story had everything to succeed (hello, two separated sisters wanting to find each other again, not knowing if the other is alive), but mostly I was annoyed at both of them, especially Rasha towards the end. Her last chapter just made me really dislike her, and I get what’s happening, why we need it to happen, but she got so many clues throughout the entire story for it to end like this.

I won’t even bother with the romance—can you really have a good romance arc with proper character development? Exactly. I don’t read high fantasy looking for romance, but if you’re going to do it, please do it properly or just let people have other kinds of relationships.
I’ll give Stewart the two stars for that side character’s POV, cool concept and for not hitting me over the head with themes. I truly appreciate an author who trusts their readers to pick up on subtle threads.

Thank you to NetGalley, Andrea Stewart and Orbit for the chance to read and review this book.

The Gods Below is an exciting introduction to an ambitious and complex universe. I had a really good time following all the POVs and fell in love with the characters. Stewart's writing was captivating and it makes me extremely exciting to get to read more from this series.

After reading and adoring this author's last trilogy I was eager to get into this one. It is set in a world that is set in a future, a war has split the world and there are two sides. Hakara and her sister Rasha are caught up in this ever-changing world. Gods are roaming and people are being forced to choose sides. It is not guaranteed who will live and who will survive. The sisters are separated and one enters a new version of the world whereas the other manages to escape to remain in what is left of the old world. The dilemma for everyone in this world is that not everyone can transition to the new and will die.

Living together, the sisters make a meagre life, living in poverty and living by their wits. Hakara is the elder and keeps an eye out for Rasha, but when change comes looming overhead, the decision as to what to do is somewhat taken out of their hands. Rasha remains, and Hakara is taken into what is left of the old.

This is a story that is about change, giving with consequences and also about adapting to the way of life as it is now. Rahsa is adapting to her new life and those around her and the religion that she is now to follow.

Whereas Hakara is trying to continue with a life without her sister, she feels guilty for not being with her and is trying her hardest to find a way back to Rasha.

The author creates another fabulous world, full of action and adventure and a mass of characters. There are lots of cast but they do gradually become memorable and the author introduces them gradually. There are religions, beliefs, hierarchy, ways of life and the ins and outs of the two worlds.

Several other stories are also involved in this story, one involves searching for an old route into the Hollow world, another channels the magic of ems from the mines, the gods and also the symbiotic relationships that are also a good part of the story.

This is the first book in this trilogy and the author has included a lot of details and has set the scene for what is to follow. The author has created a fabulous world and one that I soon found myself absorbed into. I am definitely looking forward to the next in the trilogy.

This is one for those who like their fantasy reads with plenty of world-building, imaginative characters and creations. It is one I would definitely recommend.

I wanted to love this. I feel like I could. But it just draaaaaagged. It felt so much longer than it was and it was a little destroying. Maybe ut was the writing style. I liked the plot and characters though. 3.5 stars.

With this being the second fantasy series by Andrea Stewart I have read, I am very convinced that she is unparalleled in worldbuilding with the most creative magic systems.

Here it involves gods, a war, transformations, altered humans, jewels and restoration. And all of this spanning centuries and told from five different POVs. With all that complexity, Andrea Stewart still makes it seem effortless and manages to bring the reader into the world without the need for info dump after info dump. On the contrary, I was eager for more lore and history.

On the other hand, and this worldbuilding and POVs takes a bit away from character building. While they are all very interesting and definitely deserve their own chapters, it's a bit hard to really root for them and not just see them as people moved across this rich world purely for plot reasons.

I'm just saying this though because usually I enjoy my character driven stories more. But here I was so enthralled by the world that I didn't mind very much.

I have high hopes for the next books in the series, and even deeper lore and character arcs.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @LittleBrownBookGroup_UK for the eARC!

#TheGodsBelow #Netgalley #Bookstagram

Now this is how you start a new fantasy series!!

I was hooked from the very first chapter and didn’t want the story to end. Hakara is one of the best protagonists that I have ever read and I was rooting for her from the very beginning.

The magic systems are intricate and fascinating, I cannot wait to see how it plays out in the next one.

I’m obsessed.

The world is Shattered.
One God has taken it upon himself to restore the world from the devastation that the mortals have inflicted, one realm at a time. But is all as it seems?
All the while, the mere mortals that caused the Shattering, are scraping by. When Restoration comes, if caught, they will either disappear or be Altered.
The story follows sisters, Hakara and Rasha, separated when their realm was Restored.
One Altered and the other a mortal. Will they find each another?

I did struggle slightly getting into the story for the first 3/4 of the book, but that could have been due to things going on in my personal life.

This is the first Andrea Stewart book I’ve read and I enjoyed the world building and will be looking forward to the next instalment of The Hollow Covenant series.

Big thanks to NetGalley and The Little Brown Book Group for this eARC.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 & 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬: adult Asian inspired fantasy, dystopian world, gods, war between a god an human kind, lqbtq+ romances and characters, magic system used as gems, multi pov and storylines, two timelines

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gods Below is the first book in a new Asian inspired fantasy trilogy centring around the two sisters Rasha and Hakara, who at that a young age end up on opposite sides of an ancient war between a powerful god and the humankind.

The novel is set in a world with a dystopian character to it and has a distinct focus on the themes of resource depletion, climate change and global warming as well as the impact humans have on the earth. Apart from those concerns the characters in this novel are also faced with the threat of a force field similar to the Fold that either kills or transforms people into mammal, winged or reptile like human beings called altered.
The environmental themes were also cleverly used as a part of the world building, which was an aspect I really liked since it also paired well with the magic system establish in this book. Said magic system uses gems (god gems to be specific) as a method to enhance a person’s physical strength or even beyond that with the help of holding your breath and a bonded altered partner.
Overall, I´ve found the magic system quite interesting however my only complaint would be that I didn’t fully understand the necessity of the “holding your breath” aspect of it.

Apart from the battles the two sisters and the characters surrounding them must fight above the ground, The Gods Below also takes the reader on a doomed expedition underground to find the ancient and abandoned realm of the gods together with another set of characters. This storyline was probably my favourite of the novel, and I hope we get to explore it more in the next book.

Overall, The Gods Below was a great start to a new series that not only gave a good introduction to its characters, world and magic, but also nicely blended together fantasy, dystopian with a tiny bit of sci-fi as well.
Lastly, some little aspects and elements of this book that I really liked were the nice chapter lengths, the small The Bone Shard Daughter easter egg and that it had some great plot twists.