This was a really interesting and original story with characters that I liked and wanted to succeed. I enjoyed all four of the perspectives we get in the narrative and thought that the interplay between the characters worked really well. The story itself was compelling and the world building was excellent. There was a real sense of menace to the various gods and the ways in which they could influence people for boons and favours, which I appreciated. The relationship between Inara and Skedi was particularly interesting and I thought this developed in a believable and authentic way. All in all, this was an accomplished and exciting debut and I look forward to reading the follow up.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

So much fun enjoying the ride with the godkiller & co! My only complaint? I wanted more! More pages, more time with the trio & skedi, more everything!

First of all, that cover????? AMAZING!!!
The tiniest details, the design, the art, everything is just perfection 🤌🏼

Coming to the book, read it if you like:
- low stakes cozy fantasy
- great world-building
- marvellous prose
- queer rep
- disability rep

And more!! This novel truly had everything I like! The only complaint I had was that the plot wasn't exciting enough for me. But the rest was absolutely worth it.

Took me a while to get into this and I did download the audio book to help me focus with it but after about 40% I loved it. Really enjoyed the 4 different perspectives and the relationship between Kissen and Inara really reminded me of Geralt and Ciri from the witcher. The world building was fantastic and the ending was chefs kiss. Looking forward to the next book.
4.5⭐️

I think this could be the start of a very strong series! An interesting fantasy about gods and all their power, with well written main characters. Looking forward to seeing where it goes next. Great ending that leaves you needing book two right now!

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner is the first book in the Godkiller Series and the debut of the author.
 
This book is set in a fantasy world with gods and demons. I really liked this setting, and the world was very well crafted. In addition, I wanted to learn as much as possible about the gods because they were just fascinating to me.
 
The protagonist Kissen hates the gods after they killed her family and actively hunts them down. This is also where the book title Godkiller comes from, and it was very fitting for the story. Kissen is a fierce and badass character but at the same time she was very blinded by anger. That made it difficult for me to connect to her.
 
Then there is Skardi, a god of lies whom Kissen can’t kill as he is bound to a mortal body. He was intriguing, but full of lies and mischief and therefore not really trustworthy.
 
The plot is action packed and was what kept me reading the story. I loved seeing more of the world and especially when they got to Blenraden was my favorite part.
 
Overall, Godkiller is a fantasy novel with a great concept and an intriguing world, but the characters lacked depth for me. 3,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

"The people with the sharpest edges sometimes hid the deepest wounds."

I absolutely adored this book, the world-building and lore was so rich and interesting for such a short book. The concept of the Gods, the way that their offerings work and how they can become corrupt with power was so interesting to learn about, and I loved seeing the development of our little Godling, Skedi, how he grew throughout the book, both in his conviction and love for Inara, and his brief corruption of power when his desire conflicted with his promise. Im also rlly intrigued to learn more about the colours that Inara sees and why as the series continues, and see if my theory about her heritage is true, or if there's something else there. Either way, Im excited to discover more. I also love the queer normative world and the casual disability rep, which we have a severe lack of in fantasy !!!

I felt a strong connection to each of our characters, especially as they grew throughout the book and we learned more about their pasts and what ails them. I loved watching Inara grow from a timid and scared girl into her strength and confidence and determination to not be left behind and lose the little people she has left. I loved seeing Kissen be brash, fierce and unforgiving, but opening up to see the softer and more loving side of her as she grew protective and fond of Inara, Skedi and Elo! I loved learning more about Elo's past and why the war haunts him as much as it does, and why he feels so indebted to Arren and having that betrayal hurt so much when he learns the truth of what is happening. I am very excited for the next installment to see what befalls our cast and see how they grow!!!

There were a few spelling and technical errors innplaces that must have slipped through editing, but not enough for it to be distracting or a problem

You are not welcome here, godkiller

Kissen’s family were killed by zealots of a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing gods, and enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, has somehow bound himself to a young noble, and they are both on the run from unknown assassins.

Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, they must travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favour.

Pursued by demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning – something is rotting at the heart of their world, and only they can be the ones to stop it.

Some fantasy for you all this week, the first book in a new series from a new author. Godkiller by Hannah Kaner is a tale of secrets, lies and troubled souls.

Due to a traumatic childhood event, and the hard years that have followed, Kissen has closed herself off from the outside world. She has crafted a brittle, abrasive exterior. She has been let down so many times before and steadfastly refuses to let anyone in. No one is going to get the chance to hurt Kissen again. Put it this way, if I looked in a dictionary for the textbook definition of stand-offish there is a good chance her picture would be staring back at me. Kissen’s chosen profession? She’s a godkiller, a blade for hire, tasked with dispatching any deity found within the kingdom. She has quite the reputation, and the good news is that she has the skills to back it up. I think it is fair to say she kicks all manner of ass. Kissen is also not one to mince words. I warmed to her matter-of-fact attitude to life immediately.

Elogast is one of those stoic, principled types who believe in duty over all else. He lives a pained existence having walked away from a leader he had pledged his sword to. Every day, the ever-growing sense of his failings gnaw away at him. Given the opportunity to redeem himself, Elogast can’t help but be drawn back into his former life. His strict code of honour demands it.

The final member of this dysfunctional little trifecta is Inara. In a land where gods are killed on sight, having a celestial being hiding out in your pocket probably isn’t the greatest idea. It doesn’t matter that Skedi, the supernatural entity in question, is only the god of white lies, he is still undeniably a god. There is steel in Inara’s character that felt palpable. Circumstance forces her to grow up quickly. I particularly like the moments where we see flashes of the woman she is going to become.

The relationship that evolves between Kissen, Elogast and Inara is what lies at the heart of the story. Each character is trying to find a sense of purpose in their respective lives. Their journey brings them together, but also forces them to confront their fears. Both Elogast and Kissen have been running from their inner demons for so long that there is a whole heap of emotional baggage to unpack. Add some real demons into the mix for good measure, and you just know things are going to get more than a little complicated.

Don’t worry though action fans. Yes, there is plenty of insightful characterisation in Godkiller but there are also some deliciously tense fights. Kissen will happily indulge the base side of her nature and send any godling screaming back to oblivion in a suitably violent fashion. If in addition there is an opportunity to get paid during the process then so much the better. Kaner deftly balances the emotive elements and visceral bloodshed. This is such self-assured writing I had to keep reminding myself this is her debut.

Godkiller delivers exactly what the first book in any series should, it gives us a captivating beginning. I was quickly caught up in the adventure. Where this story excels over some of its contemporaries is by perfectly capturing the human elements of the story. Kissen, Elogast and Inara are each driven by their own grief. The writing explores some complex and intensely personal issues. Kissen does what she thinks is right, Elogast does what he thinks is right and so does Inara. If everyone is right, why are they all at loggerheads with one another? Godkiller is a story ultimately about the cost of the choices we make. In life, we make decisions and whether they are right or wrong we all have to deal with the consequences.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hannah Kaner’s first novel and look forward to more. I’m always pleased when I find a new author whose writing I immediately connect with.

Godkiller is published by Harper Voyager and is available now.

My musical recommendation to accompany Godkiller is the soundtrack to The Wheel of Time by Lorne Balfe. It perfectly captures the novel’s tone by managing to be epic in scope in one moment and then introspective and thoughtful in the next.

A world of gods and people. Of course there will be no war… right?!

Full of sacrifice, gods and turmoil. Four POV and a lot of story for such a small book!

Kissen, a renowned Veiga or Godkiller. Inara and Skedi, a privileged child and a god of white lies. And Elo, a knight who became a baker. A mix of personalities and secrets, banded together on an ever changing adventure with an explosive climax! Why are they working together? What is the purpose of this unlikely alliance?

Favourite Quote “The people with the sharpest edges sometimes hid the deepest wound”

A great adventure rollercoaster in a small book! Gave me God of War vibes in a world post war.

Thank you NetGalley for the earc of this book

This book blew me away, it was even more than I ever expected. The world building was crafted beautifully, creating a world where humans devote themselves to Gods old and new. Until a war breaks out and now Gods are outlawed.

That's where my favourite trope - found family - steps in. We are introduced to Kissen who reminds me of a female version of Geralt of Rivia. Kissen is an awesome kick-ass God hunter.
We meet Elogast, a former knight who found in the God wars, and Inara - a young girl who is bound to a God.

This book is full of adventure, risk, and heart. I loved the story and dynamic. Please release the next one asap

This is my favourite thing I've read this year and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a favourite of 2023. It's a classic fantasy romp with (most of) the old problems fixed. We get a badass hero you want to be and be with, who is also complicated as hell; a Knight who has some depth beyond his 'calling', who you can feel sympathy for; the young noble/child escort mission/quest giver who comes into her own; the animal companion - but he's actually interesting; and a background cast who feel like real people, too, something which is usually just missing from fantasy narratives. Things play out, well-paced, against a setting that I felt I could step into (and that I would love to play D&D in) - just enough information given, and the comforting sense that the author knows everything about everything (but hasn't felt the need to put it all in the text - love this). I'm aware that this is all very superlative but it was just such a joyful read, and I repeat what I said when I first finished - this had better be a trilogy at least, or so help me!

Godkiller
Author: Hannah Kaner
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release date: 19th January 2023
Pages: 304pp
Cover: Absolutely glorious (by Tom Roberts)

Kissen’s father fell in love with a god of the sea sixteen years previously and her family have been favoured by the sea and always had full fishing nets.
Then one night, Kissen and her family are drugged, and taken to become a sacrifice.
The whole village gather at night “to catch the sea god’s favoured family.”
Osidisen’s promise - her father’s sacrifice - still heavy in her heart, adult Kissen is a veiga – godkiller – destroying gods who become too greedy and demand more for sacrifice.
She travels and works at the behest of King Arren, though she earns her own coin, freeing poor villages from the tyranny of small gods.
Inara Craier is twelve year old girl who enters Ennerton, where Kissen last defeated one of the gods. She’s after help for her little “problem”. The one where she sees auras, emotions in colours and oh ...has the most adorable pet ‘god’ called Skedi who seems to be bound to her for no apparent reason. At least, he’s adorable at first. He is after all the god of white lies and cannot always be trusted.
Inara, though she loves Skedi, needs them to be separated as she can’t move more than a few yards from him without the tether snapping them back to each other.
Elo, now a baker and dealing with PTSD from the war, still gets occasional visits from his old friend Arren (you know, the King) and when he does, he knows something is up and Arren wants his advice. He also plans to send him on a mission.
On a pilgrimage to Blenraden of all places, to find a god who can help the king heal his broken heart – and not the mushy sort of broken. It’s literally dying.
All of these stories told from multiple POV, interweave bringing danger, adventure and sacrifice as the group travel the pilgrim route to the old battle site; sort of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales meets a grimdark-ish fantasy with a grizzled heroine/bodyguard, a proud ex knight/baker and a small girl who is more than she seems.
This is a rich, vivid novel dealing with religion, sedition and war. Kissen is one of a few disabled main characters in the book, and it just ‘is’. We see the reality of pain, exhaustion and managing day to day life with disabilities – physical, mental health issues and hearing difficulties as well – which makes the characters rounded and realistic. She’s also, incidentally, a complete badass. And Inara is her badass-in-training.
Elo is dealing with his PTSD and Inara with grief. Each has their own trials to deal with.
Perhaps the most telling line in the book comes at the beginning of the last part;
“‘Little girls grow up fast,’ said Kissen.”
And there’s a whole world of meaning here, not just about Inara. You’ll have to buy or nab this book from a library to find out more!
As a disabled reader it was refreshing to see such representation, as well as LGBTQIA+ characters and POC with Elo and others. It embedded this fantasy world within a reality we can all relate to. And despite being a grouch, Kissen is sort of likable too. If you know romance tropes, she’d be the Grumpy to someone’s Sunshine. She’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind and as such, makes for great entertainment as well as a fierce ally.
Elo is also pretty damned handsome, and despite herself, Kissen grows attached to him and the young girl in their care. What we have here is a terrific found family.
It’s great that Kissen is openly bisexual though no labels are ever attached or mentioned. She regularly makes love to women, more so than men. Her flirting with Rose the barmaid at the beginning is great fun.
I loved this book.
At the end I did an actual gasp at a few reveals, my hand held over my mouth, my eyes wide.
I suspect it will appear on many awards lists for 2023 and the hook at the end makes me hope for further adventures.
I expect a lot more exciting stories are yet to come from Hannah Kaner.

I really struggled with this book, I thought I would love it but the pacing really threw me off in the middle so I found myself bored throughout that section. I enjoyed the writing of this and the characters were interesting, unfortunately the book fell a little flat in the middle, although the ending was really good.

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book. The general description of the world intrigued me and I was very curious for it.

The book did not disappoint at all. The story follows Elogast (a knight who fought in the God War), Kissen (a God killer) and a little girl and a littler god. All these characters have interesting complex backgrounds that we continuously discover during the story and it kept me intrigued all the way. Also, the story is going at a steady pace, not to fast but not to slow - just right. I really enjoyed the take it took by the end of the book.

My favourite by far is the world building. I really like how the Gods are connected in this world. There are some unique aspects in terms of how Gods have been changing the world and their impact on the kingdom. It really made me want to read more and I am curious for what comes next.

A surprise for me in this book were the food descriptions. It's very rare for me to want to actually eat the food described in a book, but this one has some incredible descriptions. It really made me hungry in some parts. It is an unexpected great thing about the writing.

I highly recommend this book and I am curious for the next volume! ^_^

An excellent debut!

There has been a lot of excitement around this book and it certainly disappoint. Unique, imaginative and with the makings of a superb epic like LOTR. Certainly not one to miss!

In this world, previously common gods have been outlawed, and veiga such as our MC Kissen hunt down remaining gods and kill them. Along the way Kissen meets a group of people, each running from their own pasts, and together they make their way through this world.
This was a fantastic new fantasy, taking inspiration from what feels like hundreds of cultures. The idea of gods being commonplace, and favoured among both the highborn and regular people was an intriguing concept. I also loved the idea of gods being born from peoples feelings, as this allowed for multiple gods of the same thing but in different areas. it was also interesting to see the aftereffects of the God war in relatively recent terms, and to see how the changing political landscape affected characters both big and small.
The characters all felt well fleshed out, and particularly Elo, with his backstory being engaging, and his morals and beliefs being hard held and well explained.
The story worked well, with each character having their own reasonings for venturing out into the world, and this worked well as a way to explore each of their feelings and motivations.
The romance did feel slightly forced at times, however I am a sucker for some good light natured grilling in a relationship, and did feel that they worked well together.
The ending was fantastic, with a big showdown, while still focusing on the characters feelings and showcasing how the characters relationships with each other had grown.
Possibly my favourite book so far this year, I cannot wait to see more from this world, and to explore more of the rebellion hinted at!

We follow four unlikely characters as they go on a journey to find different things in a world broken after a war between old and new gods.

The King has banned all gods - which is easier said then done. In the aftermath people are still divided and rebel fractions are forming threatening the hold the king has on the people, but the king has a secret and visits his old friend and retired knight for help by sending him on a quest.

A young girl has a secret of her own and after hearing rumour of a Godkiller in town seeks her out for help...

They all think the answers to to their problems lie in the abandoned city left to the gods.

Really enjoyed it! The characters are great and the world is also amazing.

It ends on a cliffhanger and doesn't function as a standalone story - lots of questions left unanswered.

Which happens a lot in the series I read, I miss the days of books of a series standing alone as a full story. But it's not the book or the authors fault - it's the way publishers do it these days.

Many thanks to the publisher for allowing me access to this title.
The Witcher meets American Gods is an interesting promise, and there's a lot to praise about this debut: the representation (queer, disabled), discussions of PTSD, a spiky protagonist with a heart of gold. The book starts and ends with a bang but for a short book, the middle drags a little during the quest/journey section of the book. The romance didn't work for me, though I was interested in finding out more about Elo.

"You are not welcome here, Godkiller"

Actual rating: 3.3🌟

I recieved a copy of Gorkiller in ebook format from NetGalley in an exchange for a review.

Now this was a ride. I was soooo excited ever since I first saw this STUNNING cover and was over the moon when I saw I got approved for it on NG.

Reading it though... I don't know, it didn't sweep me off my feet.

We follow 4 very unlikely allies - a small god, a godkiller, a knight and a little girl - normally all on opposing sides 😂


The mythology and the worldbuilding are very rich and lush, I loved all the gods and the fact that there are gods for literally anything, like a god of broke sandals. Very imaginative 🙌

RaracterI also quite liked the main characters, Inara probably being my favorite and her story is the reason why I would like to continue with the series.

What I enjoyed the most though, was the representation. Kissen is physically disabled, she is missing a leg; the way how the author worked in her prosthesis says she did some very extensive research and I think the end result is amazing.
There is also a character that can't talk and sign language plays a big role.
The LGBTQ rep is also great in my opinion and I love how flawlessly it was woven into the story.
None of the rep felt forced, as it sometimes does, and I'm very appreciative of it.

I would recommed this to fans of Inkheart, it made me think of that story and I quite enjoyed the little flashbacks.

That being said, I wasn't glued to it, I didn't reach for it the book all the time and I'm not so sure I'll continue. There was just something missing and it fel middle of the road to me.

So much fun!!!

A fresh and confident debut, Godkiller will have you in its grasp from the first pages. Led by a cast of spirited characters, it leaps and bounds to the beat of its own golden heart, building to an epic clash of wills.