I absolutely love this series and I love John Gwynne.

Honestly, this series is a masterpiece. It gives me everything I want from an adult fantasy and it just satisfies that craving.

Well written, well plotted, exciting and detailed just enough to keep you interested but not so much you get confused or lose interest.

10/10 would reccomend this series and this author.

4.5%

Following up a book as brilliant as Shadow of the gods was always going to be difficult, and unfortunately Hunger didn't smash it as I'd hoped.

It's little denser and harder to get into than its predecessor, but that shouldn't take away from the fact the bar was set in the stratosphere.

Can't wait for the next.

I absolutely loved this sequel and I am dying for the next one!! Ugh. The end. I can't.

Thanks to the publisher for granting me and eArc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic sequel FROM7 Mr Gwynne! This my favourite series from him and I'm now eagerly awaiting the conclusion!

OMG!! This series is everything! I loved the first volume, it made it to my all time favorites and I wanted to read this because of the characters and story. It didn't disappoint, even though I didn't feel as entertained and fascinated as I was expecting. But I think this is because I loved the 1st volume so much. I will definitely continue this series and I am sure it will be an all time favorite.

Great second book, great character growth and of course a great story. Can't wait for the next one! I really enjoyed this

So this took me a while to read as I was waiting for some news on the third installment which apparently will be released next fall 2024. Great! and great! I mean, I loved the first book and this second one gives more of everything which is something I really love. It took me some time to get into the story as it has been more than 2 years since I read the first book. However, by 30% of this I was very much into the story and some of the new POVs on it. I'm so grateful to find an author that greats the nordic myths in this way, and it is so much fun to read at the same time. Can't wait for the last book.

“Once you unlock a door you cannot control what comes out of it,”

I read the first book about a year and a half ago and I predicted that there would be a good reason why I wouldn't read the second one. And guess what? Turns out, I have a knack for predictions.

I can't wait for next...

I knew I couldn't wait for next...

What the hell had just happened...

I can not believe... Oughht, and I can't talk without giving away any spoilers...

"To grieve is to be trapped in a world of loneliness."

Do you think you know what this series is about without reading this, or have you read the action packed before, or, most importantly, you might imagine that have seen bloodshed enough, Red this and that, but I am telling you, you have NO IDEA!

End of the discussion!

Now a little of what this book story is about, no spoilers for those who did read the first book:

A dragon-god is loose, so what do you do to stop it?
Raise another god, a very practical and disastrous choice in my eyes!

“To kill a god, we need a god.”

Undying Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK via NetGalley to give me a chance to read The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #2) by John Gwynne, I have given my honest review. And now will go for The Faithful and the Fallen!

Unfortunately I couldn't finish this book. I really liked the first book of the series, The Shadow of the Gods, but sadly this one didn't work for me, and this is fully a question of personal taste as this one included tropes I do not enjoy:
- Lots of travelling : I've realized along the years that travelling type-plots didn't work for me, especiallywhen it comes to long books;
- Missed opportunities: I dislike it when characters are about to find what/who they're looking for but repeatedly fail at the last minute.
As usual the writing is very good and the characters interesting, so I'd still recommend it for readers who don't mind these particular tropes.

I really have tried to gather my excitement for this series, and their are some really cool points in this novel that almost convince me to keep going. But after book two, I think I am going to leave the series be and not pick up the next installment. Gwynne's world building is fantastic, the world is harsh and brutal and cold and it works really well. For me it was the characters that fell flat and I once again was only interested in Orka's chapters and her journey, which isn't enough to sell me on completely the series. I would definitely recommend to fans of fantasy and especially those who love viking lore, I just wanted more than I found.

A great sequel. Everything seemed to get bigger and better from the first book. Can't wait to see how the series concludes.

This book was a staggeringly good improvement on the already superb Shadow of the Gods.
While this book may not suit everyone due to the violence in it, really you should know what you're getting into if you read Shadow.

Every ounce of this book oozes Norse influence in the best possible way.
Picking up straight away where book 1 ends, you are immediately thrown back into the thick of things, but are given a helpful recap chapter at the start to catch you up to speed.
Orka, Varg, Elvar, the 3 main POVs from book 1 all are left dealing with the aftermath of the climax of the first book, each one struggling to continue their quest.
Their stories begin to interweave as the book goes on, masterfully drawn together.
Orka was my favourite in book 1 and continued to be so in book 2. Her story is one of loss and revenge, but the insights into her mind show us this lonely, broken individual you cannot help but to sympathise with. Gwynne wrote her expertly.
Elvar's character really took a step up from book 1 I thought. Gwynne developed her much more as a leader and as a character who's POV I looked forward to.
Varg's chapters I found added a nice balance to the book. Often his were calmer chapters or ones that served to clear up questions about the story.

But a fantastic choice of Gwynne in this book was to introduce more POVs, specifically villain POVs. And they added SO much to the story.
Through Gudvarr we got such an interesting look at the other side of the fight, at the driving forces behind Lik-Rifa and what devastation is to come...

As always, Gwynne absolutely NAILED battle scenes. He is undoubtably one of the best battle writers out there and his descriptions and worldbuilding in this respect is...chilling and adrenaline inducing!
Also, hats off for keeping Spert and Vessli chirping away for a delightful bit of comedic effect. Orka's chapters are often....brutal to say the least, but her interactions with them served to soften her and round her out a bit I felt.

In terms of pacing this book is set to 11 almost all the way through, expect for the last 15-20%, where Gwynne cranked it up to about 50. The ending of this book is shocking, exciting, terrifying and amazing all at once!

Some people have said this book suffers a bit from middle book syndrome, but absolutely not.
This was an excellently written second book and I will give it no less than 5 stars

I had the same problem with this as the last one - it started strong, and fizzled out to the point where I gave up about 80% of the way through. I eventually came back to it, feeling obliged, and just couldn't find myself caring enough about the characters. Which is a shame, as the world and world building here are fantastic. I love Gwynne's ideas, if not necessarily his execution.

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne is exactly how you do a sequel. You raise the stakes, increase the scale, develop the characters in new and interesting ways, make the fights bigger, better & more badass, and then you leave us in a pit of despair come the turn of the final page, hungry for just one more chapter. Gwynne does it like no other, and I’ll be first in line for the final book of the Bloodsworn saga when it releases!

"The Shadow of the Gods" by John Gwynne is a gripping and thrilling epic fantasy novel that will transport readers to a richly imagined world of gods, monsters, and magic. The story follows three characters with their own agendas, each on a collision course with the others as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Gwynne's writing is expertly crafted, with a fast-paced plot that keeps the reader engaged and invested in the story. The characters are well-drawn and complex, with their struggles and conflicts driving the narrative forward.

The novel is also notable for its exploration of themes such as power, destiny, and redemption, which are handled with nuance and depth. Overall, "The Shadow of the Gods" is a must-read for fans of epic fantasy, and a testament to Gwynne's skill as a storyteller. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thrilling and immersive reading experience.

I genuinely did not think The Shadow of the Gods could be topped but I was so so wrong.
This was an exceptional sequel and everything I loved about the first was made even better. As it is a sequel, I don't want to spoil anything but the ending immediately searching for the release date of the next book. I need it NOW.

The Bloodsworn Saga has been fantastic so far and I can only hope that the next book is just as good as The Hunger of the Gods.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

3.5 stars

"The Hunger of the Gods", unfortunately, wasn't quite as good as the first part of the series.
This felt like the typical middle part of a trilogy: it dragged in some places because the characters had to be moved to the correct positions.

It was still a good read, but I think it could have been a little shorter.

I feel like this was a bit slower than The Shadow of the Gods but this is a really good follow up and John Gwynne has won me over with this series.

The new POVs were good, even though the characters the new POVs focus on are human trash! I liked seeing the POV characters from book 1 crossover more in book 2. Elvar is still my favourite and Grend is still precious. Svik is so funny and his love for cheese always makes me chuckle and although Varg was not a favourite for me in book 1, I enjoyed his POV much more in this book.

We get a lot more of the Bloodsworn in The Hunger of the Gods and as much as I love the Bloodsworn, I'm always more excited for the Battle Grim stuff. Elvar's POV is still my favourite and she's come a long way in just two books. I love that she doesn't really hesitate to deal with obstacles. The plot surrounding the tainted children wasn't my favourite but I loved all of the Gods being resurrected. The ending was a bit of a cliff-hanger and I have a feeling of how book 3 will pick up but I guess we'll see.

The Hunger of the Gods picks up right where The Shadow of the Gods left off and it literally felt like one big book because I read them back to back but I'm not mad about it. I had a good time with all of the characters (even the human trash) . Looking forward to book 3!

The story felt very disconnected! The issue I have with Gwynne books is that while his protagonists behave like how people are supposed to behave not how they would actually behave. The narrative was again incredibly slow and so I couldn't finish the book

The Hunger of the Gods is the 2nd book in the Bloodsworn Saga, a series I totally chose for the book cover and then fell in love with. The Shadow of the Gods was an intense, exciting introduction which ended epicly with the resurrection of Lik-Rifa, the Dragon God, death and betrayal. The Hunger… follows straight after this, with Orka, Elvar and Varg continuing on their various paths, with the introduction of a few extra voices, and it’s just as epic, just as big and chaotic with characters you genuinely care for (and a few you genuinely despise) and again it ends with you having no clue how things can be saved. It’s so good!!

First off special mention has to be for John Gwynne starting the book with a story recap, as someone who reads a lot of books, with lots of character names, fantasy worlds and twists, and these books being so big, it’s such a thoughtful consideration to refresh your reader’s mind on your story. These books can look intimidating at first look, this one is 633 pages as a hardback with some names that could easily be confused, however they’re remarkably easy to read from the start due to Gwynne’s writing.
It's not particularly a spoiler seeing as he’s on the front of the book but Ulfir, the Wolf God, is resurrected to aid in the efforts of battling Lik-Rifa, however this is only the start of things. Orka is still searching for her son, Elvar is struggling with the loss of her Battle-Grim leader Agnar (and who will now lead), Varg with listening to the God in his blood in his mission to find his sister with his Bloodsworn kin, and we’re introduced to the new voices of Biorr and Guovarr, 2 more complex characters.
Biorr is an interesting addition, the 1st book ended with him betraying the Battle Grim and his lover Elvar, killing Agnar in the process, in this installment he is back with his Raven-Feeders, torn between guilt and the feeling of belonging again. He is now with the children that, as the Battle Grim, he was trying to find, and being inside his head you get to experience him wrestling with who the ‘good’ side is if there even was, although I think we have a clearer answer of his decision come the end! Guovarr (sorry, I don’t have the symbol to spell his name correctly!) is insufferable, he's a snivelling weasel, a desperate survivor and a coward who would do anything , no matter how deceitful and cruel, to be on the winning side. Part of the reason I’ll be eagerly reading more from this series is for him to finally face his comeuppance!
Orka is still my favourite character, a warrior (the Skullsplitter) who is reunited with the people she abandoned, but also a mother, I really love the contrast between her softness for her son, her attachment to Lif, and her rage as the Skullsplitter. Elvar too, again, is another brilliant female character, and one of many actually who are really positive representations. That said, the characters in general are really well rounded and people you will become very attached to – which isn’t good when the odds are so against them!

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I’m both excited and very worried for the next book! This is an epic series with brilliant, well developed characters you get to follow on their various journeys (both physically and emotionally) and that’s without the incredible action scenes.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review