It was ok.

The worldbuilding was great, the characetrs were amazing, I just couldn't get invested enough in the story, and at the end I realised I didn't really care about the characters or what happened with them. The multiple POVs weren't helping either. Andrea Steward's writing is, however, phenomenal as usual, and I recommend this to fans of complex epic fantasy .

In her first series The Drowning Empire, the epic fantasy trilogy more obsessed with bones than a dinosaur documentary, Andrea Stewart showcased her vivid, imaginative worldbuilding; a multi-layered magic system that kept on giving; and her gift for addictive, instantly compelling characterisation. With The Gods Below, the first book in her new series The Hollow Covenant, Stewart has taken this formula and cranked it up to 11, and the result is a stunningly ambitious book that had me completely absorbed from start to finish, albeit when you try to explain it, it sounds like you’ve fallen asleep on the couch after guzzling too many strange-coloured mushrooms your friend brought back from the fairy forest.

But I’ll try anyway… the story takes place in a world which mortals almost ruined by leeching the magic from it to power their technology. Luckily, one of the gods, a cunning fellow called Kluehnn, stepped in and made a pact: he’d restore their ruined world, but at a price: each kingdom he restores, half the population is killed to power the restoration and the other half are “altered” into beasts of the horned, winged and rocked varieties, monstrous versions of their former human selves. Meanwhile, the non-restored kingdoms nervously await their time as one by one the lands fall to the restoration, blocked off from their neighbors by virtually impassible poison gas barriers. Oh and while they’re waiting to find out if they’ll be god juice or a creepy monster, they must mine special-powered “god gems” out of the earth, dodging dangerous magical gas, while Kluehnn’s lethal god killers roam the lands killing off the remaining gods.

I haven’t even scratched the surface of this plot and as you can see, it is A LOT. Readers who remember the fairly calm start to The Bone Shard Daughter, book 1 of her previous trilogy (albeit there was a sinking island) will not be at all ready for the start of this one, in which two sisters are in a race against time to escape the rushing black wall of death as a new land faces restoration. From there it hardly ever lets up. The first third is pacy action mixed with worldbuilding revelation after worldbuilding revelation. Just as you think you get a hang on the world, another layer is revealed. And you know what? It works. It works well. Partly because it is fascinating, so wildly alien in some parts, and partly because the secret to Stewart’s books is that everything, no matter how wild the magic system or worldbuilding, is always anchored to the characters.

And, just like her previous series, the characters here are addictively, compellingly brilliant. Stewart has a knack, which is rarer than you think in fantasy, of instantly making you care about a character. Such is the way with the 5 POVs – yes 5, Stewart is continuing her POV juggling act and as a writer with way too many POVs of my own I heartily approve – in this book. One character is desperate to save her sister, cruelly separated from her in one of the “restorations”. Sympathetic. Another is trying to navigate a long lost path down to the gods. Put it straight in my veins. Another is forced into some kind of Hunger Games-style battle to be the best assassin in town. Hell yeah. These instantly absorbing character arcs get increasingly complex as their motivations are nuanced by romance, political motivations, duty and betrayal – but they never get less than incredibly compelling. My favourite was Sheuan, the marvellously cunning and Machiavellian manipulator of people who you constantly root for despite being the most morally grey of them. But I loved them all – I was never disappointed to switch POV – and that is the sign of a fantasy writer for whom character is front and centre.

Another Stewart skill is that brilliant fantasy trope of presenting the world and then slowly peeling it back only to realise that you knew nothing; nothing about the magic system, nothing about the world. Though there’s clearly many more secrets to come in books 2 and 3, we already get some peeling behind the curtain here, and it’s a devastatingly clever act. This is a land of mysteries wrapped in secrets wrapped in you know nothing, Jon Snow. It’s why Stewart’s fantasy appeals to me so much, I think; that hit you get from a Robin Hobb or Mark Lawrence of secrets behind secrets.

It’s also worth saying how deliciously dark this is, more so than her previous series. This should go without saying given that the basic plot is hinged on the premise of regular massacres of 50% of a kingdom’s population and the removal of the humanity of the rest – don’t think about it too long because it gets worse the more you ponder it – but the darkness continues throughout, with horrific killings and delicious dark detail. It’s not quite grimdark, but it is as dark as non-grimdark epic fantasy ever gets, and this allows Stewart to really dig deep into some fascinating themes, such as the cost to kingdoms of being cut off from each other, emphasised by the alien-looking nature of those who manage to mix with mortals. Living in a continent that feels increasingly suspicious of each other and reluctant to take in outsiders, I feel the timely chill of these themes of unity versus nationalism over my shoulder. There are also fascinating themes of propaganda and how easily manipulated a world can be by seemingly incomprehensible forces. Read into that what you will – Stewart’s themes are more hinted at than slapped in your face – but it makes this a fun book to decipher.

Finally I have to mention the romance element. As you’d expect with a Stewart series there are engaging romance plots both straight and queer, but these are heightened in this series by the, uh, inter species possibilities presented by mortals getting together with the beast-like “altered”. I’ve always been completely convinced by Stewart’s romance writing, and here every single coupling feels complex and real and fierce.

Overall, the Gods Below offers insanely ambitious worldbuilding and some of the best character arcs in fantasy… Andrea Stewart is back, and it’s time to get obsessed again.

Amazing world. Impressive magic system.

The book presents it self as a book about two sisters, but includes multiple PVO from different characters including the sisters. To be honest it became a bit to complex for me keeping track of all the characters motivations and ambitions. Some characters were definitely better than others and my favorite was not one of the sisters.

As mentioned this is a fantastic world, it was just a little too much to keep track of, but for the right reader it’s probably a 4-5 star.

Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

Andrea Stewart never disappoints when it comes creating original worlds and magic systems and this was definitely the case with The Gods Below. The world building was superb and I felt that, already, Stewart has created a history that adds such a layered context to the world so far with just one book. I think it will be amazing seeing how that expands with the remaining books.

The magic system, like that in The Drowning Empire trilogy, felt unique and I’m excited to see that develop as I feel like the first book only scratched the surface. I imagine there’s a lot more to come with what that system can do.

My one frustration was the pacing. It felt quite slow in places which made it hard to read at times. I think this was specifically felt with Shezuan and Mull’s perspectives as I struggled to see how they contributed to the overall story. However, I imagine this may become clear in later books. I also felt that the romances seemed a bit shoehorned in and unnecessary for the characters development. Hakara’s and Rasha’s arcs through book 1 did feel well rounded enough for me without it. The exploration of their relationships as sisters felt like the most important thing, at least in book 1 so will be interesting to see if my views on the romance changes at all.

Overall enjoyable with an exciting ending which has me excited for book 2.

This was such a gripping and tense first book in a new fantasy series that I found myself really diving into this world that Andrea Stewart has created.

Told in 5 POVs we really get to know these characters and it really helped with building this intriguing universe. I quickly found myself rooting for these characters and my heart broke when the sisters got separated. None of them are perfect, each has their own motives and their own voices. I found myself so eager to read from each character to see how their stories progressed.

I liked getting to learn about the magic system in this one and also I was so interested by the idea of the rebirth and those who have been altered. I'm really intrigued to see how the story progresses and the path these characters end up on. I definitely recommend picking this one up if you're looking for a new unique fantasy series!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately drawn into the story by the tension in the story. This is a multi-POV book which was a little jarring at the beginning as the POV's were switching quite quickly for my taste and there was a lot of world0building to grapple with. But the higher stakes and pacing made it easy for me to become immersed in the story I appreciated how the story leaned more into suspense than surprise.. The pacing of the story was well-executed, although I noticed that the first 70-80% focused heavily on setup, leading to a fast-paced and action-packed final 20%. This structure effectively built anticipation for the sequel, and I will definitely be picking up the next one. Despite not connecting with all the characters, I thoroughly enjoyed The Gods Below and found it to be a strong start to a new epic fantasy series.

A brand new series by the author of The Drowning Empire series, which I loved very much!
I had really hoped to jump straight into this new series and automatically fall in love as I did with the author's previous series, which sadly was not the case. I hate to say it, but I really tried to love it. It's very complex, with a lot of information that just did not come across as anything but confusing. I read and love Dean Koontz, so strange and confusing is not something I shy away from. I guess this just wasn’t for me. I finished it, and I did somewhat become invested in what happened to various characters we met, just not enough to maybe read the next one. It is a really hard thing to not give this new series first more than about 3 and a half stars, but I just felt disconnected from the entire story.
I truly hope you give it a chance! You will probably not have my reaction, I could just be having a bad month! It's got an interesting premises and a lot of potential so I will give the next one a chance.

The Gods Below is the first book in a new series called The Hollow Covenant by Andrea Stewart. The story primarily follows Hakara, who is searching for her younger sister Rasha who were separated during the Restoration of Kashan.

The novel is split into multi-time POVs. Through, Nioanen we experience what time was like pre-Shattering, following the journey of he and his wife Irael - two of the most powerful gods to exist. We experience Hakara and Rasha as well as Mullayne and Sheuan, the latter is trying to restore her family name by taking on the task given to her by the Sovereign. I found that because of this a lot of setting up happened in the first 70-80% which meant that all the action and in turn the plot went fast in the last 20%.

One of the best things about this book is the world building, Stewart creates a world that is so expansive with so much lore and an intriguing magic system. But also characters that we loveable from the start, my favourite is Thassir, who at first did annoy me but by the end I thought his looking after the cats was a perfect expression of who his is and who I want him to be in the coming books.

"Sometimes, in the stories, the hero fails," he said. "But it's not truly a failure. It only means they've been after the wrong thing."

Hakara was unfortunately very annoying, I couldn't stand her chapters nor those of Rasha and Sheuan which meant that I was at times fighting to get through the book. For someone who is meant to be sneaky and essential to the cause how Hakara could not whisper confused me, and it was only little but it grated on me to the point where I just disliked her, it didn't help that she was cocky and brash even though she really didn't understand what was happening. Hakara, because the typical YA protagonist in that sense and I was hoping for a bit more.

I'm very much looking forward to book two.

The Gods Below releases in the UK on the 5th September!

Thank you to Orbit, NetGalley and Andrea Stewart for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Gods Below is the first book in the Hollow Covenant series by Andrea Stewart, this is her next series following her debut Drowning Empire series that totally blew me away. Once again Stewart has created a world populated by gods, monsters, humans, this could be described as an eco-fantasy as this world is dying and the only way to save it is to damn half the population to death and the other half to a stranger fate.

Told from multiple perspectives, Hakara, a young refugee and orphan who lost her sister to the salvation of this world and Rasha, her sister, shaped by events and whose direction changes from her sister to following and serving her leader. Sheuan, weighed down by familial responsibility and Mullayne, kind of a scientist and determined to discover the secrets behind this changed world.

This is a very different world to The Drowning Empire, which is a double edged sword for me. My heart is still very much there and I found The Gods Below to be very different and personally not as engaging but, despite this an interesting read that pulled me in to the relationship and events between Sheuan and Rasha, and the wider events that were quite startling at times, and I have to be honest desperate to find out the truth behind the salvation of this world.

Once again though, Stewart excelled in world-building, this new world is so intriguing and Stewart’s writing is so beautifully descriptive that I was captivated and intrigued by the detail. There’s no question that Stewart is an artist when it comes to world-building and I will be interested to read the next book in this world.

Thank you Orbit, Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest and sincere review.

This review is for The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart which will be released in the UK on the 5th September! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Orbit for giving me an eArc copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read Andrea’s other series, and it was one of my favourites of last year. This book had a lot of hype to live up to… and I’m not sure if it did. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great book and I enjoyed myself, yet I was just a little disappointed by some of it.

There was a lot of similarities in the two series, both had a lot of different POV’s and both feature an angry man who loves cats/cat-like animals. What’s not to love?? The magic system in this series is super unique and like nothing I’ve read before. However some of it didn’t really feel well explained and I’m still a little confused on how some of it works.

The world building was top tier as per usual, and I felt all the different parts of the realm were really well explained and I loved the idea of ‘restoration’. The pacing is where I really struggled with this book, it just felt super slow towards the beginning of the book, and super rushed in the last 20% of the story where everything started to happen. I also just didn’t really vibe with some of the characters and felt some were a little one dimensional.

Again, even with the negatives, I did really enjoy this book. It was incredibly easy to get into, and those first few chapters immersed me into the world immediately. I think focusing on certain main moments would have helped strengthen my connection to some of the characters, especially since this was so fast-paced. Would recommend this to any fantasy readers out there!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I started and stopped this book a few times. I finally decided that I had to plough on through. It was an okay read, maybe even good. I’m not really sure how to feel.

There was a LOT of (in my opinion, confusing) world building very early on and I didn’t quite understand it because all these terms for places and events were used but not really explained. Further on this became easier, as you might expect, but it was a real struggle.

I didn’t really connect with the characters. There were a lot of aspects that reminded me of other books (mainly the protective sister trope early on, which I feel is done to death). I will, however, say that I did feel a sense of urgency, my breath quickening or even pausing in high tension moments so kudos on that front.

I just… didn’t love it. I’m normally quite good with multiple POVs, but I didn’t like the switch from 1st to 3rd person - found it quite jarring if I’m honest. I like consistency and maybe I missed the point of why it was written that way… but it’s not for me.

It was, easily, a wonderful concept. It’s what dragged me to it and led me to request the ARC in the first place. It delivered, to a degree. I did enjoy it and would recommend, but it’s definitely not an entry level fantasy book (and what I mean is that this shouldn’t be a reader’s first foray into the fantasy genre)… in my humble opinion.

This grabbed my attention after I read the blurb of the book. I didn't want to put the book down it was very interesting. I enjoyed the fact that it was multiple pov as it allowed you to see the story from multiple perspectives. The storyline for this book was amazing. I didn't want to put it down. The characters within this book developed nicely alongside the plot and with how the story ended I am already excited for the next book.

The first novel in the Hollow Covenant series, The Gods Below is an eco-fantasy. In response to the damage caused to the planet by humans, the Gods shatter the land into separate realms, each of which will be restored to its former glory in turn. Those caught up in the restoration are either annihilated or transformed.

Hakara and Rasha are two sisters torn apart either side of the restored divide. Sheuan is a noble trying to restore her disgraced family’s name. Mullayne is an inventor trying to save the life of his best friend. There are also a few chapters sprinkled in from a fifth, more minor character.

I really enjoyed Andrea Stewart’s previous trilogy, The Drowning Empire, but my word I struggled with this one. The overall premise is intriguing enough – it’s the characterisation and dialogue that really let this book down. All four main characters feel incredibly samey. Nothing about them stands out. None are particularly likeable or even enjoyably dislikeable. I also found the dialogue to be fairly awful at times – characters embark on lengthy, heartfelt monologs at each other in the middle of heated battle scenes which just don’t ring true. There feels like a real drop in the quality of writing compared to the author’s previous series.

This book didn’t work for me, however much I wanted it to. Not one I’d personally recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Orbit, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If there's one thing that you can trust Andrea Stewart to give you, then it's tension and pacing. As with her debut fantasy series, this series also has (what I think of as) her characteristic tension-driven writing style. It's rare for high/epic fantasy stories to have such tight pacing, and with the level of worldbuilding that Stewart creates, it's even more impressive that she can keep the pacing as tight and tension-driven as she does.

Reading this book, you can tell that the story draws on a lot of themes that will feel familiar to a regular reader of Stewarts', such as generational trauma, immigration, found family, and familial responsibility and obligation. This is what the emotional core and the character arcs are all rooted in for this multi-POV story. I do think that the emotional drive takes a bit of a backseat in this piece, as the story is more plot-driven than Stewart's debut series ever was, but that's more of a preference question than anything else.

While the story does have some plot twists, I think it overall leans more heavily into suspense than it does surprise.

The worldbuilding itself is immersive and strikes an interesting note between something that feels like a combination of 80's/90's anime vibes and biblical studies.

Wow! I didn't know what to expect going into this book but boy was I not disappointed. The book gripped me from the first page and I managed to finish it in a week. The magic system is so unique and clever. The world building is beautiful and you are rooting for all the different characters. You feel like you're there with them going through everything they are. Whilst it could be a typical rags to riches to girl or gets powers story it's not. Andrea takes you on a journey with each character who is richly developed and their stories beautifully told. There are numerous pov in the book but you're not kept waiting to see what happens. There are also a few twists and turns that are unexpected and you don't see coming. The only negative is that I now have to wait for a year for the next book! Thank you for this beautiful book.

I absolutely loved Andrea Stewart’s The Drowning Empire series so I was so excited to read her latest book! This was a great introductory story to her newly created world and I can’t wait for the characters and story to grow! Andrea has a beautiful skill for world building and I loved how well written this newest story is, one thing is for certain I can tell we’ll be going on a great journey!

An entirely new world created by the author. In this world there are gods, humans, and a few things in between. The story follows the typical trope of multiple viewpoints. Hakara is a woman in her mid-20s, who, as a refugee and an orphan, is trying to find a way to help the sister she lost 10 years back. She does what she has to do to survive, and is driven by relentless obsession. Rasha, her sister, grows up in a different world altogether and is taught to support and fight for the apparent villain in this world. She chisels herself into a hyper strong persona and destroys any vestige of softness that might remain. Sheuan is also a young woman struggles with the weight of responsibilities imposed on her by her family. She learns to be pragmatic about everything, including her loved ones, but struggles to find that, which she actually cares about. Mullayne is a scientist of sorts, obsessed with finding out the secrets of the world.

The best thing about this book is the worldbuilding. It's exceptionally well thought through, and the details are mesmerising. The book is also written in a way that makes finding out the true nature of the world the main mystery, and that's what keeps the reader motivated, despite the numerous shortcomings of the book.

I disliked almost everything else. The characters were weird - the intention behind their development was clearly solid, and they were supposed to be multi dimensional, but they came across as half baked and the complexity didn't fully have the room to develop. I also really struggled with the motivations behind some key events (like the events between Sheuan and Rasha, for example). There were just too many things that felt like they came out of the blue. The writing itself was jumpy. At times, it was exceptionally paced, but, at others, it felt clunky and lacked the right rhythm.

Overall, the book felt overly rushed. There was just too much worldbuilding to cover here and the author did a poor job in balancing all the necessary exposition with just regular storytelling. Maybe this book should have been better paced by making it into two and allowing the characters more time to build up, making it easier to explain their behaviours.

While an inferior book to the previous trilogy by the author, I still look forward to the sequels. I hope that having finished with the exposition the subsequent storytelling will be better.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

A huge thank you to Orbit Uk for sending me an eARC of The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart to read and review.

I am ashamed to say that despite owning the first two books in Stewart’s first trilogy, this is the first of her books that I have actually read! I will be rectifying this ASAP because I loved The Gods Below! This novel is everything I love in epic fantasy; Gods, magic, danger and lots of angst!

The Gods in this novel are all but destroyed apart from one, who rules over humanity. We learn more about this world as we read, chapters flashback to the war that destroyed them, giving us clues that maybe not everything is as it seems?? I love a fantasy with Gods, honestly the more the merrier, and I’m very intrigued to see where Stewart takes this element of the novel through the series!

The Gods Below focuses on two sisters who have spent 10 years apart after being separated as children. I loved this element of the novel. I love a sibling relationship in a fantasy novel, and despite the fact these sisters are apart in this novel, I still enjoyed it immensely. Hakara, the older sister is dealing with some serious guilt, which I thought the author explored very well. I loved seeing this motivation behind her decisions, and her actions. Rasha, the younger sister spends her time trying to forget her sister and trying to prove to herself that she doesn’t need her. I thought the comparison between them and their chapters was so well done!

We have one of my favourite tropes, the found family, not once but twice in this novel! Both Hakara and Rasha find themselves in teams, where they have to rely on each other to survive, which obviously I adored! All the side characters in this novel are very well crafted. There was a sprinkling of romance which I enjoyed, it seemed very well developed and made perfect sense in regards to the characters themselves.


Stewart uses a mix of perspectives in the novel, separate chapters for separate characters, and this really works! There wasn’t a single perspective that I didn’t love, and I was desperate to keep reading to find out what happened next to each of them!

Overall I really enjoyed this novel a lot. The characters are awesome, and I can’t wait to find out what happens in book 2. This novel is perfect for fans of Shannon Chakraborty, C.L. Clark and Hannah Kaner!

Huge thank you again to Orbit UK for the eARC of The Gods Below!

This first book in a new fantasy series draws us into a world of Gods, Mortals and Altered (mortals transformed into enhanced beings). Told from multiple POVs, we follow sisters Hakara and Rasha as they find each other on different sides of the battlefield. We also get the story of Mullayne who is seeking a way to the original kingdom of the gods at the centre of the planet and his cousin Sheuan who is attempting to play all angles to save her family from dishonour. And we also get the flashback story of God Nionanen as the world is broken.

First off, the world-building was amazing. The concept was truly original and filled with unexpected discoveries. By telling the story from the point of view of five different characters, Andrea Stewart allows us to experience the universe from all angles. I'm looking forward to the sequel which will hopefully add in the point of view of Kleuhenn, the god waging war on all the others.

A recommended read for fans of Andrea Stewart, Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle, and fantasy with strong world-building.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book UK for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown for providing me an eARC to review!

After not loving The Bone Shard Daughter I was hoping to give this author another try, but unfortunately I was having the same problems I had with that book. Namely I found Hakara very annoying and unlikeable, but not in an interesting way, and I didn't see the story going anywhere particularly special.

I think the other sister's storyline had potential to be interesting, but not enough for me to want to commit to another 400-odd pages. It just didn't grip me, but I think fans of Stewart's first series and her writing will probably enjoy this.

It has a similar ecological dystopian element to The Fifth Season and feels like maybe a central divide between the two female protagonists similar to The Jasmine Throne, but those books just held my interest better than this.