After finishing book three, I wanted to jump right into this story. But the pacing, similar to book two, was somewhat messy and I noted that some characters acted off just to support the plot. It overall felt less cleverly constructed than its predecessors and didn't engage me that much.
Book one and three are the strongest books in the series, but being invested in the characters I was still happy to see their stories come to a conclusion.

We Dream of Gods is an astounding conclusion for this fantastic series! Madson managed to conceptualize a magnificent series wholly. All the characters are great! The plot and the political machinations are finesse!

I am looking forward to the next Madson series!

There are series where you can pick up the fourth book, pick your way through the story and make sense of what is going on. This isn’t one of them. Each book follows on directly from the previous one – and so much has befallen all our main characters, both the protagonists and antagonists, that you’ll be short-changing yourself and the series if you persevere. My firm advice is to go back to the first book We Ride the Storm, then work through the series with We Lie With Death and We Cry for Blood.

I was very concerned that our three heroines and hero weren’t going to prevail in the final fallout – after all, a steady stream of likeable and undeserving characters have met grisly ends throughout the series. And no – I’m not going to give any Spoilers away, because Madson does put our protagonists through the wringer, ably assisted by the despicable Leo, who has to be one of the most magnificently horrible villains I’ve met in a while.

The action alternates between the four main characters as they each battle against insanely difficult odds and I was just about to relax and think that Miko, at least, was on her way to achieving her goals, when there was a sudden, almighty wrench in the works… It’s all cleverly done and I found myself reading until the wee small hours to find out what happened next. I love the vivid writing, the strong characters and the ongoing narrative drive that keeps the pacing up with plenty of plot twists and surprises along the way. There are shafts of humour that had me sniggering aloud, and a couple of poignant scenes that left me with a lump in my throat. I love it when a book involves me to such an extent. All in all, this is a triumphant conclusion to a memorable and well executed epic fantasy adventure and comes very highly recommended. While I obtained an arc of We Dream of Gods from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

Before I start my review I just want to say that I love the purple cover. I can't wait to see all four books next to each other. We Dream of Gods is the fourth and final book. It was one of my most anticipated books. I was waiting for this book since I read the third book. Oh boy, I am so happy that I loved the final. Devin Madson tied all loose ends really well. I really loved this series and I'll definitely revisit these characters again. I highly recommend it to any fantasy reader.

We Dream of Gods is the final book in The Reborn Empire series. This series keeps getting better with each book. It took me a while to read because this book has more than 600 pages but definitely worth it. I think this book has a pretty solid ending. Devin Madson created an amazing world. I really felt like the characters were fleshed out really well. I love reading morally grey characters. Cassandra was my favorite character. I loved her humorous tone and learning her story was fascinating. I highly recommend this series. I'll definitely pick up her next work too.

The Chiltern and Kisians are coming together in a war that will change the political landscape forever, but Miko has no control as she is empress only in name, and Minister Manshin is calling all the shots. If she can’t find a way to take back control, Manshin will marry her to Leo Villus, and she will lose her position and all the power she has fought to obtain.
Rah faces a similar issue with his Levanti. They have had enough of this war for a land that isn’t theirs; they just want to go home. But Rah’s sense of justice means he can’t turn his back on the evil in Kisia or the Levanti following the disgraced Horse Whisperer, Ezma. He must follow his heart even if it isolates him from his people again.
As the series draws close, the characters must unite against Leo Villius, the abomination with one soul spread over seven bodies, or the Kisian empire will be torn apart and plunged into darkness.
This is the fourth book in Devin Madson’s The Reborn Empire series; everything is drawing to a close, and so with this comes the natural increase in pace. We Dream of Gods goes straight into the action, with Miko verbally sparring with Manshin, trying to carve back some element of the autonomy she once enjoyed. We start to see what’s meant by the series title The Empire Reborn. In the first book, We Ride the Storm, we see Miko struggling with a male-dominated society, and her approach to handling her issues is powerful and assertive. By the end of We Dream of Gods, we see significant changes.
One of the things that niggled me about the series was Rah’s static character. He is so just and honest; what was refreshing in the first book had started grating by the end of the third. However, there was a purpose for this which is revealed in the fourth book, and it was worth the wait. I loved Rah’s storyline, his relationship with Miko and Gideon, his conflict with Ezma, and his ultimate endpoint.
The ending is everything I could have wanted. There are epic clashes on all sides, subterfuge and political alliance made with unlikely comrades, and last-stand battles that the future of the empire hinges on. It is a satisfying conclusion to the Miko/Leo story arc with enough hints of another series following Rah and Gideon back to Levanti.
We Dream of Gods is a fitting conclusion to a powerful, character-driven series that tears down the patriarch and rebuilds with women taking a more central role. I have enjoyed this series from start to finish, and it has been a real privilege to have advanced copies to review. I hope I’m right that there is another series following Rah and Gideon because that would be amazing. Highly recommended.

You know a series has been fantastic when you finish the last book and you're confronted with conflicting emotions. There's the joy of completeness, but also a deep sadness that this is the end. "We Dream of Gods" is the perfect conclusion to "The Reborn Empire", with loose ends wrapped up neatly. This is definitely a series to revisit often.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

It’s hard to believe that our journey with The Reborn Empire series has come to the end. And what a journey it was! As always, finishing a series you’ve enjoyed is always a bittersweet feeling. Since this is my last opportunity, I’d like to say thank you to Devin Madson for bringing these characters to life.

Since We Dream of Gods is the 4th and last book in the series, this review might contain mild spoilers for the previous books. I’ll try to make it as spoiler free as possible, though. It also probably will be much shorter than any I usually write, because, ugh, it’s hard to find new things to say at this point.

We pick up the threads right where they were dropped at the end of We Cry for Blood. Things aren’t looking very well for either of the main characters, and the time for final confrontations is drawing even nearer. And frankly, it’s very hard to predict what fate (or more like Madson) has in store for each of them. This eventually makes you sit on the edge of your seat and fly through the pages, because once you start going and get back into the flow – took me a bit to reconnect with the characters and place myself back into the story – it’s just impossible to stop. At the end of each chapter, you just want to keep on, to find out what happens next. And you also keep guessing what the endgame will be and how all the plotlines will eventually meet. Even though each unexpected turn of events brings us closer to the finish line, it’s just impossible to tell who is going to be victorious.

Will Leo be able to make the prophecy come true and lead his own holy empire? Will Ezma rule the plains as she planned for years? Will Rah lead his people home in peace and keep Gideon’s head on his neck? Will Miko finally have the power she always wanted and prove that women can be just as good – or better – at ruling? Will Cass and Kaysa make peace and fulfill their contract of killing Leo at last? Will Dishiva find a way out of Leo’s clutch and bring Gideon’s dream into a reality? Will any of them survive? So many questions, and then some that are waiting to be answered. Rest assured, Madson tucks all loose ends in nicely, and although it takes some extra curves – maybe a bit too many for my liking – all plotlines get a resolution one way or another.

Knowing how many years of hard labor went into creating and bringing this series to life, it’s all the more impressive how Madson was able to pull off this story of epic proportions. Through the lens of three very different cultures crashing – the Chiltaens with their faith of The One True God, the Kisians and their reverence with which they treat their emperors as gods, and the Levanti with their tenants and respect toward every living creature – Madson brings very relevant societal issues to the fore. Such as the political (and general) treatment of women, the different types of ruling systems, LGBTQ rights, diaspora, personal and national integrity including the way we handle refugees, just to name a few.

Miko, Dishiva, Cass and Rah all stand for something, they are not always on the same side, nor are they making the right decisions all the time or are easy to label one way or another, but they each have to teach something to us if we dig deep enough.

Throughout the series, Cass remained my favorite of the main characters. Partly because of her sass and sarcastic humor and partly because of her character arc in general. It was easy for me to connect with her and root for her until the very end.

With more than 600 pages, We Dream of Gods is a big book, and yet, I don’t think there was a time when it felt dragging. Madson’s style of writing is smooth and easy to fall into. If you’ve come this far, then you already know what to expect. It’s a worthy finale to The Reborn Empire series. And although I found myself slightly disappointed by the ending – I had certain expectations I was bracing myself for, that never happened as Madson took a slightly different path which is not necessarily a bad thing, just one I did not anticipate – I will walk away from these books with a sense of closure and fond memories.