Name: Sunbringer
ISBN: 9780008521516

Hannah Kaner

The thrilling epic fantasy sequel to No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller, GODKILLER.

War is coming, godkiller.

Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren. Now they are stirring, whispering of war. Godkiller Kissen sacrificed herself to vanquish the fire god Hseth and save her friends, but gods cannot be destroyed so easily – and neither can godkillers.

Reeling from the loss of Kissen, young noble Inara and her little god of white lies, Skedi, seek answers to the true nature of their bond. The secrets they uncover could determine the outcome of the war.

Meanwhile, Elogast, no longer a loyal knight of King Arren, has been charged with destroying the man he once called friend. The king vowed to eradicate all gods, but has now entered into an unholy pact with the most dangerous of them all.

The kingdom is on the brink of destruction. What will they each sacrifice to save it?

Sunbringer

Emily McMeans

“Knowledge can bring pain in place of ignorance, terror in place of hope. Whatever place your strength has come from, it is still yours. You choose wbat to do with it.”

“Why does it always come to this,” she said, “that power changes and knowledge burns.”

my heart HURTS for Inara. she’s just a child and shouldn’t have to go through all this

laine

She placed her head against his antlers, pushing her fingers through his fur. ‘Tell me it will be alright, Skedi,’ she said, breathing through her sobs. ‘Please, we’re here now. Please lie to me.’

Skedi flattened his ears. ‘You said you didn’t want that,’ he said. ‘You made me promise.’

‘Please.’ She pulled up her knees into a ball, her colours crashing and spinning out of control. How could she hold this much in her? She had enough sorrow to tear the world apart. ‘Please.’

i miss elo and kissen together :( their reunion better be good !!!

Her tone was softer, her delivery more eloquent, but in her words he heard Kissen, and the way she had no fear of her own voice. A wave of sorrow rushed into him. He missed Kissen. He missed her deeply. Her laugh, her freckles, the way she looked at him when she didn’t like a thing he was saying.

this kind of gave me chills reading this i can’t lie

and definitely a big reminder that skedi is in fact still a god and has the same desires of praise and worship that all the other ones do, despite his mystery status 

So much feeling, so much potential, so much faith to give. To give to him. No wonder humans made gods: everything they desired and feared just spilled out of them, staining everything they touched.

my heart is constantly breaking for these two. the push and pull of their relationship and how badly the actually depend on each other even if they don’t always want to :(

‘I’m sorry,’ she said into his fur as he spread his wings over her. 'I thought… I’d lost you. I've been losing you. I thought you were gone last night.’

‘You can't lose me’, said Skedi, pressing his antlers to her chin. ‘You'll always be my home. I'll help you find yours.’

‘But... I didn't feel it. I couldn't feel you.’

‘I know,’ he said. 'I know… but it's still there. I promise it's still there.’

THIS WHOLE CHAPTER OH MY GOD MY INARA. i’m so proud of her growth and change throughout this book. to cut off all your hair, the one thing you love and prize more than almost anything, and to sacrifice it to the gods that you were taught to hate just to save a city full of people you don’t know. my brave girl :(

More little gods, coming out of hiding, creeping out of their hidden shrines. Gods of the tilers and cracking stone, gods of the weavers and coloured threads.

‘Scatter the armies,’ said Inara. ‘Take the fight to the king. Save Scian’s city.’

I loved the dynamics of the second book. So much of tension. The way how the main protagonists are building their own character and story is compelling. Magic, gods and war-best combination for cold, winter evenings 

Jelena Kalmane

Only lost half a star because it’s not a finished trilogy and so I am not satisfied with the ending. When book three drops, I am certain this will go up.

When Middren falls to the gods, your kind will be the first to die.

Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren—but now they are stirring, whispering of war. Godkiller Kissen sacrificed herself to vanquish the fire god Hseth, who murdered her family and endangered her friends. But gods cannot be destroyed so easily, and Hseth’s power threatens to reform with even greater strength and a thirst for vengeance. As tensions rise throughout the land, the kingdom needs its Godkiller more than ever.

Still reeling from the loss of Kissen, young noble Inara and her little god of white lies, Skedi, have set out to discover more about the true nature of their bond. As the divide between gods and humans widens, Inara and Skedi will uncover secrets that could determine the fate of the war to come.

Meanwhile, Elogast, no longer a loyal knight of King Arren, has been tasked with killing the man he once called friend. The king vowed to eradicate all gods throughout the land, but has now entered into an unholy pact with the most dangerous of them all. And where his heart once beat, a god now burns. . .

The imagery: incredible. The action: incredible. The suspense/tension: incredible. The twists and turns in this were well written, and the struggle each character faced was believable. I liked this more than Godkiller. Where this book falls short for me (like with Godkiller) I was not as emotionally attached to the characters as I was hoping to be by book two. It’s very plot-driven in my opinion. On top of that, the redundancies in this were a bit annoying. Kaner would set up a revelation throughout a chapter and write it really well, and then the last sentence in the chapter would be “and this is what happened” or “and this character feels this” or “and this character is this.” It feels like she doesn’t trust her readers enough to get what she’s putting down, and that was frustrating for me. 

Floofyflower

I struggled with the pacing in the first two thirds of this book but it also could be due to being in a book slump. Last third was easy to fly through. Definitely enjoyed some POVs better than others but it’s also hard to find books where I like all of them, might be a me problem. Ended leaving me wanting more and eager for the next book and it’s one of my favorite worlds.

Laura Wilson

This takes up where Godkiller ended.  Elo and Ina are having to come to terms with the loss of Kissen and begin their epic journey homewards.  Concurrently Kissen has survived her fall into the sea and now has to do the unthinkable and NOT kill the bad guy!

Book two is less about finding a new family and more about dealing with loss, grief and learning that friends can became enemies and enemies your strongest allies. Inara, Skediceth and Elo develop much more in this book as they don't have Kissen to wrangle them together.

Slower paced and less set piece battles this time around, which makes room for much more character development and growth but it didn't lag and there was enough action to keep me happy.  I love all things mythology and this has enough basis in British/European god pantheons that I felt that I already knew the gods that appear throughout the books.  I also enjoyed meeting all the small gods which reminded me so much of Terry Pratchett's DiscWorld.

I really enjoy books that help you navigate the mire of real world politics and religion in a safe, fictional setting.  I may not be LGBTQIA+ myself but I thought the representation was amazingly well done.  The world just accepts ALL relationships between consenting adults.

Nicola Sarah Brooks

This takes up where Godkiller ended.  Elo and Ina are having to come to terms with the loss of Kissen and begin their epic journey homewards.  Concurrently Kissen has survived her fall into the sea and now has to do the unthinkable and NOT kill the bad guy!

Book two is less about finding a new family and more about dealing with loss, grief and learning that friends can became enemies and enemies your strongest allies. Inara, Skediceth and Elo develop much more in this book as they don't have Kissen to wrangle them together.

Slower paced and less set piece battles this time around, which makes room for much more character development and growth but it didn't lag and there was enough action to keep me happy.  I love all things mythology and this has enough basis in British/European god pantheons that I felt that I already knew the gods that appear throughout the books.  I also enjoyed meeting all the small gods which reminded me so much of Terry Pratchett's DiscWorld.

I really enjoy books that help you navigate the mire of real world politics and religion in a safe, fictional setting.  I may not be LGBTQIA+ myself but I thought the representation was amazingly well done.  The world just accepts ALL relationships between consenting adults.

Can't wait for book 3!

Sunbringer continues straight after the events of Godkiller. While the basic plot of Godkiller is highlighted in this book, if it's been a while since you read the first book, I recommend a reread before going in. 

Otherwise, it feels wonderful to be back with these characters, following the same feel and pace as the first book, with a dramatic revelation at the end keeping you gripped for the third book in the trilogy! 

I feel like we discovered so much more about the characters as individuals through this book, probably from the main characters not spending much time together through the timeline of Sunbringer. 

I also enjoyed the extra POV found within Sunbringer, and I really loved spending more time with Kissen's family, discovering more of their traits, personalities, and relationships. 

Sunbringer was a wonderful continuation  to the story and world of Godkiller. Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Voyager, and Hannah Kaner for this eARC in exchange for a review.

Victoria Justice

Sunbringer continues straight after the events of Godkiller. While the basic plot of Godkiller is highlighted in this book, if it's been a while since you read the first book, I recommend a reread before going in. 

Otherwise, it feels wonderful to be back with these characters, following the same feel and pace as the first book, with a dramatic revelation at the end keeping you gripped for the third book in the trilogy! 

I feel like we discovered so much more about the characters as individuals through this book, probably from the main characters not spending much time together through the timeline of Sunbringer. 

I also enjoyed the extra POV found within Sunbringer, and I really loved spending more time with Kissen's family, discovering more of their traits, personalities, and relationships. 

Sunbringer was a wonderful continuation  to the story and world of Godkiller. Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Voyager, and Hannah Kaner for this eARC in exchange for a review.

Sunbringer

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