I recieved an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolute treat it was to read Godkiller! I requested it essentially soley based on the great cover, and apparently I should always be judging books by their covers. I was beyond pleasantly surprised to find that Godkiller had fantastic queer, PoC, and disabled rep, loveable characters, inventive worldbuilding, a great narrative and delved into some of my favourite themes. There's just so much to adore about this book.

Much has been said of the worldbuilding, and the magic system the gods function on. I loved all of this, especially how Kaner's gorgeous prose depicted the gods. One thing I personally really enjoyed is how genuinely alive the world felt- recent historical effects had rammifications that impacted the characters on a concrete (or abstract) basis. Kaner masterfully delivers lore without ever veering into exposition dump territory by actually weaving the history into the fabric of the everyday.

Despite Godkiller's short length, it was easy to get invested in the lead characters, all of whom are compelling and nuanced. I'd struggle to pick a favourite from the four main PoVs, and I definitely don't have a least favourite: I enjoyed spending time with each and every one of them. Kissen does emerge as a little bit of a favourite though: it's extremely refreshing to see the lone, rough around the edges, monster-hunter archetype embodied by a queer, disabled woman. The character relationships were also very well-portrayed: I was entirely convinced by their dynamics and developments.

Though Godkiller has plenty of action and stakes, this is very much a character-driven story. The plot itself was fairly standard fantasy fare, but that's not to its detriment: each character's motivations were complex and urgent enough that it still felt fresh, and there are some incredible set-pieces that really take your breath away.

I wavered on whether to give this book five stars, and I think it only missed that mark by a hair's breadth for me. A few twists and turns in the plot were a little predictable for me- but then, I read a lot of books like this- and while I enjoyed every moment of reading it, I *could* put it down. Occasionally I had issues keep less intersting side-characters straight in my head, though our protagonists were very richly developed. I'm very conscious that this is a debut, however, and I think the series could easily get even better. This is still an exceptional read, however, and I would highly reccommend it to fantasy fans, or to those looking to get into fantasy- I think it could be a great starting point.

It took me 6 weeks to read this book.

Not because it’s long. Not because I’m a slow reader. I actually read 32 other books in between starting this book and finishing it - that is how much I basically never wanted to pick this one up.

And it’s well written! That’s the baffling thing. There’s nothing wrong with the prose. I think the problems are pacing and structural.

The first half of the book moves at a snail’s pace. Pages and pages will go by with nothing substantial happening. It improves in the second half, but the most common experience I had with the first half was starting to read and then waking up when my iPad hit my face.

Structurally, I think the decision to have four point of view characters was a mistake. Epic fantasy has adopted this method of storytelling in order to tell broad, sweeping tales that encompass whole continents or worlds. This is a small scale story about a few characters and a journey - a journey for which they are largely all together. Constantly switching perspectives removed all suspense from the first half. Who is this mysterious baker who carries a sword? He’s a former knight commander on an errand for the king - we know, because we already spent several chapters with him.

There *are* twists in this story regardless, but the shifting perspectives don’t create them. That structure felt unnecessary and actively hindering to the enjoyment of the first half of the book.

The second half was much better, especially when they got to the city they were aiming for, but a book that’s less than 300 pages long and is so tortuous to read that it takes a fast reader six weeks is a hard sell.

2.5 stars.

This was sadly disappointing. It reads like YA, but I'm not sure it was supposed to be written in that way (hello, unexpected sex scene towards the end). It had a strong beginning and end, but the middle section was meandering and meaningless. The action was sparse, but when it did crank up a gear at the end it was enjoyable, although it was too little too late at that stage. Great disability and LGBTQ+ representation, and I loved the talk of different gods and their powers. However, I cared very little for any of the characters so the sense of threat was missing throughout.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. The idea of the book seemed great but I never got invested in the story. Especially the middle part was a slow read.
Positive abou the book was the LGBTQ+ and disability representation.

thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for this arc.

3.5 stars

this was kinda hard for me to rate, not gonna lie. i liked this book, really, i did. it's just that now that i think back on it, it feels like not a lot happened. what DID happen was good, i loved the characters and the worldbuilding, but it lacked in other aspects. i missed the story development.

asides from that, it also just took me so long to read. at times it just seemed to drag on and on, and i just couldn't bring myself to pick it up again. on the other hand, when stuff DID actually happen, i was so excited to continue! this book really was just so half/half to me, and for some parts it deserved more stars, for others less.

This book was fantastic! I didn’t want it to end - which is quite fortunate, because I believe there will be more to come (it says this is book #1 on Goodreads, so it must be true!).

I loved the characters: Kissen, a Godkiller who loves her job; a girl with a couple of rather large secrets, one of which is Skediceth, a small god who is tied to her. Which is something of a conundrum for Kissen. If she kills the little god of white lies, will she kill the child as well? And then there’s Elogast, a Knight turned baker, who has to ask one last favour from a god for his best friend. Why the god would do anything for him is a mystery - after all, Elogast killed many gods and destroyed their shrines during the God Wars.

The world building in this is epic, the pacing is perfect, and it’s just an overall exciting, thrilling ride of a story.

I need more asap!

Thanks a million HarperCollins and Netgalley for the copy of Godkiller

I absolutely loved this book, devoured it in one sitting. I loved the world-building, the characters and their journeys.

This book is very different from other novels in this genre, especially in recent years and I just fell immediately in love with in.

I can't wait for book 2.

Kessen kills gods.
Inara is joined to one.
Elo needs a god to save his best friend's life.
Skedi is a little god of white lies who wants to be free.

All four come together on a pilgrimage to a forbidden city filled with the ghosts of long-forgotten deities, on quests which threaten the fabric of their kingdom.

Godkiller is a fantasy novel filled with brilliant twists. It had a clever plot, as well as superb world building and plenty of action.

Through Kessen's dark past, Inara and Skedi's bond and Eli's mission, it explored our complex relationship with religion, examining themes of sacrifice, faith and power.

It was also filled with delicious descriptions of food and baking - which is always a huge bonus for me! Elo the baker-knight was a brilliant character, and a balance to prickly, unpredictable Kessen. I also loved the complex bond between Inara and Skedi, which had plenty of unexpected twists as the novel progressed. Godkiller is not to be missed!

I was provided with an advanced copy for review via netgalley (but I now need to buy a physical copy with that stunning front cover!)

I absolutely loved this! A stunning read that had me captivated from page 1. I'm really excited to see where this trilogy will go! Bring on book 2!

I found this a little slow to get going, but I enjoyed it overall. The plot and premise are great, and it was easy to follow the different characters pov. Left with lots of questions, so looking forward to the sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Harper Voyager for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

"Godkiller" is a brilliantly dark and adventurous debut in a world where gods have been overthrown and are now hunted. I loved this book from the first page, meeting Kissen on the worst day of her life. Kissen would go on to become a godkiller, a hunter of gods who fought in a war to destroy them. She's brave and sarcastic but so loving and a brilliant main character. I loved her representation as a disabled woman and how she was written throughout this book. After Kissen comes into contact with a little girl, Inara, who has just watched her family home burn to the ground, she discovers that Inara has a secret: she is bound to a god of lies, named Skedi. Hoping to free the girl from what should be her greatest enemy, Kissen teams up with Elogast- a knight who left in disgrace after the god war- to get Inara back to where all gods fell originally, Blenraden, to free Skedi for good.

This was gorgeously written and the worldbuilding was beautifully rich. I loved all of the four main characters, and I find it really difficult to choose a favourite. The gods in this book are fickle and violent, and I really enjoyed how this ended! I can't wait for the sequel!

While I did find parts of the story a little slow I really enjoyed this book! I absolutely fell in love with the characters and I cant wait to read more about them.

Update- now that Harper Collins have fair contracts here is my review!!

For me this book fell flat. Personally it was mid. With all the hype on social media regarding this book I was so excited to get into it. The first few chapters were great and then I struggled.

Godkiller is the start of a new Adult fantasy series with four POV characters who begrudgingly join up on a journey through a now Godless world that is still recovering from a war.

The biggest draw for me is the world. We have a bisexual main character, Kissen, who talks openly about her past lovers as well es several queer side characters in a queernormative world. There is also no mention of racism, characters of different skin colours and hair types are described on their journey and Elo is dark-skinned. Disability is also a focus: Kissen has a prosthetic leg and sign language is incorporated in the worldbuilding. And of course, there are the gods whose primary source of survival are the shrines and tokens that people create and pray to in their honor. There seems to be no limit to and death seems to be more of a phase than a permanent status. I will let you figure out the rest.

The gods are very – human. That can be an interesting concept but in this case, it actually lowered my interest a bit since we actually have Skedi as a point-of-view character but for all intents and purposes, he acts more like a sentient, magical animal than a god. There are hints at a more complicated history but nothing I found not promising enough.

Ultimately, this just doesn't really stand out.



A quick note on the disability rep: I do not have a prosthetic but I noticed that Kissen's metal leg seems to function perfectly throughout their travels despite its apparently complex design. It also felt odd that there are barely any descriptions of her taking it off to sleep or to check for sores, two things that are fairly common practices with prosthetic users. I am not saying the book handles her disability offensively (she is a well-rounded character and it's a part of her but not her entire personality) just that those two things stood out to me, not necessarily in a good way.

Wow, I seriously loved this one. It felt like something new and startling, and the writing style drew me in instantly and completely. I'm so surprised this is a debut, and it's put Hannah Kaner right up there on my "insta-buy" list!

Bits I liked:
- strong characterisation with distinct voices, aims and personalities of each main person
- diverse cast with strong Disability, Global Majority and LGBTQIA+ rep, in a Queer-normative world
- amazing world building and magic system, with the gods and their powers being really fascinating (hope we get to see even more in the next book)
- good pacing overall, with lots of action as well as more introspective parts where the characters built trust and develop
- as I said, the writing style is beautiful, witty and feels honest, bringing the world and the characters to life believably regardless of the fantasy elements
- a number of twists and turns, some harder to spot than others, so it felt like an exciting read that I was happy to race through

Bits I liked less:
- it was a little slower in the beginning, after the initial prologue, so some of the more climactic parts towards the end felt like they didn't get quite enough space (but not major - as I said, overall, good pacing)
- I'd love to see more of the other side characters as they seemed so fascinating, but perhaps that'll be in the next book (and you do get plenty of variation with the 4 main POVs given)

I did absolutely love it, so even those points are really minor - I can see why people are raving about this book, and I wish I'd read it sooner. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for anything else by Hannah Kaner, and am excited for the next installment of Godkiller!

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for access to this ARC - my opinions are mine, honest, and freely given.

I fell in love with this book since the first chapter and didn't stop reading till I reached the end.
The author is a very talented storyteller that deliver an intriguing cast of characters, a fascinating world building, and an enthralling plot.
I found it atmospheric, fast paced, and tightly knitted.
I can't wait to read the next book, this one is strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

That is one faced paced read. It has gods of all sorts, gokillers (yes, you guessed it, just as the book title says), godlings, knights and king. And they all are not quite what they seem. As the story progresses, you get to know a bit more about the history of this fantasy world and drown in complexities of it and all beings relationiships that arise.. Essentially is a travel/adventure book in a fantasy setting, hence the fast pace, lots of action. It's very well balanced - there is some drama, some fight scenes, various kinds of relationships and, of course, some secrets.
Good stuff.
Also - I looooved the cover. It also make so much more sense after you read a book though.

DNF 47%

I wanted to love this so, so much. The cover is gorgeous, it’s already a bestseller and I’ve only seen glowing reviews, but it just didn’t click with me. I am struggling to connect with Kissen, Insta and Elo; the pacing is off, and honestly I’m a bit confused.

I thought that the opening was really strong, intriguing and confident, but for a short fantasy novel, it seems to have got lost in the middle and while I really enjoy the mythology of the gods, it’s not enough for me to carry in right now. I do hope to come back to it another time though, possibly via audiobook.

Lovely magical book. I was engaged from the very first page. It starts fast and then slows to allow you to get to know all the different characters. Each one at different stages of their lives but brought together to help each other reach their goals. A climatic end leaves you reaching for the next volume

I really enjoyed this book and the three main characters. I liked seeing their backstories and how their lives slowly started to intersect. I enjoyed learning their backstories and how despite coming from completely different backgrounds they find common purpose.
The world and magic system was also really interesting especially how gods are banished after a brutal war but this didn't create peace but more conflict amongst the people. I am intrigued to learn more.
Though the first half is a bit slow it does pick up in the second half. I do wish that we got to see more of the second half fleshed out as opposed to spending so much time with them travelling. Overall I did enjoy the story and I'm looking forward to the sequel after the ending.