The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga 2) by John Gwynne

THE DEAD GODS ARE RISING . . .

Lik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest.

As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own – and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance.

Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her.

Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god.

Their hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead . . . and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth. (publisher)

This was one of the most anticipated books of the year and it didn’t disappoint. And I absolutely loved the recap of the previous book. Wish more books had one.

The book starts where the last book ended. Orka is trying to find his son, Varg wants to find his sister and Elvar is looking for her own vengeance. Orka is still my favourite by far. I liked Varg’s chapters but mostly because the other members of the group are interesting. Elvar’s chapters were the least interesting, but they weren’t bad. It was great to see that she has grown and found herself. I liked seeing how the different storylines merged with each other.

My only minor issue is with the pacing. There’s a lot of travelling in the book and it slowed the pace a bit at times. But that was pretty much my only problem, and it wasn’t a huge one. But there are also a lot of battles so there is plenty of action too.

I can’t wait for the next book and what happens next! Because it was an evil way to end the book…

4,5/5

Published: Orbit (April 14, 2022)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga 1) by John Gwynne

A century has passed since the gods fought and drove themselves to extinction. Now only their bones remain, promising great power to those brave enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo across the land of Vigrið, fate follows in the footsteps of three warriors: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman pursuing battle fame, and a thrall seeking vengeance among the mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods. (publisher)

I was very excited to read this, and I wasn’t disappointed!

We have 3 POVs: Orka, Varg and Elvar. Orka, a former warrior, wants to just live a peaceful life with her family. But that life is disrupted when her husband is killed, and her son stolen. Varg is a former thrall (slave) who wants to avenge his sister’s death and joins Bloodsworn, a warband. Elvar is a daughter of a jarl who joined a warband in search of glory.

I have to say that there is a fair number of characters. And I can already see myself wondering who all these people are when reading the next book. I kept wondering how these 3 main characters will get together.

It took me some time to warm up to Orka but in the in she was the character I was most interested in. I wanted to, and still want to, learn more about her past. At first, she seems very strict and harsh towards her son, and you could tell there’s a story behind that. I found Varg to be the less interesting, many of the other characters in his group were far more interesting. I’m interested to see how the betrayals will affect Elvar in the future and how that storyline evolves.

I liked the world-building and writing. By looking at the cover you would think there are a lot of dragons but that wasn’t the case. Maybe in the next book? This was my first read by Gwynne, even though I’ve had Malice for some time. But I can’t wait to read the next book.

4/5

Published: Orbit (May 6, 2021)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley