The Gods Below is the first book in The Hollow Covenant series. I love Andrea Stewart's first book series, so I was excited to dive into her new story. The main plot follows two sisters, Hakara and Rasha, who were separated while trying to escape the restoration. Ten years later, Hakara is on a mission to find her sister, and there are other interconnected plots throughout the book. Some characters were more interesting than others, like Hakara. I like her sassiness, and Thassir was so fun to read. I mean, every cat person probably likes him. The worldbuilding and the magic system were also very interesting. Overall, this was a great start to the trilogy, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book. Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the arc.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is one of those books that are hard to rate because they're literally a 3.5 star read. I had heard great things about this author, so I was delighted to read the first book in the author's new trilogy. The premise sounded intriguing, and I was excited to dive in. I did enjoy it but not without skim-reading some parts.

For me, it was the number of povs. We have Hakara's, Rasha's, Nioanen's, Mull's, and Sheuan's. I only enjoyed Hakara's and Nioanen's. I did empathize with Mull, but I found 5 povs to be tiring. Hakara is a young woman who is determined to find her long-lost sister. I really liked Hakara. She's smart and competent. She's stubborn and takes risks, and she calls it the way she sees it. She's interesting!

As is Nioanen! I loved seeing his perception of what was going on during his time. He was genuine and authentic and so different from the others. Not everyone goes all in the battle without a plan B. I liked his cleverness and his cautiousness. He's a broody, exasperated guy, and I'd love to have a drink with him and complain about mortals haha.

Mull is an inquisitive guy, very smart and creative, but also very loyal to his friends. He makes the most dangerous and most uncertain journey for a chance to save his friend, and I liked him, too.

Problem was the other two povs because I didn't like them. I don't understand why we had to read Sheuan's povs. Sure, they portrayed the reality outside of our main characters, offering us a 360-angle of the world, but all I really wanted was to zoom in Hakara and her broody love interest called Thassir. On top of that, I didn't like Sheuan as a character. During the first half, she was the loyal and filial daughter, and at the end, all of a sudden (felt like), she became the ambitious not to be used character, and I didn't really follow her character arc. I mean, it sounds cool but I didn't feel for it?

As for Rasha, the sister Hakara wanted to save....she was the worst of them. She kept blaming Hakara for not finding her (and for abandoning her) but all I thought was: "why didn't you go looking for her? Even just for yelling at her?!" She put everything on Hakara's shoulders as if she was helpless during 10 whole years. And let's not forget the whole "I dream and strive to be a godkiller" because killing is a such a cool job description......

And no, I don't have anything against unlikeable characters, but I was just so annoyed and bored of Rasha and Sheuan. Five povs was too much for me. Since we got to see the world from all these angles, it also slowed down the plot...

The last 30% was much better. The plot finally picked up pace! I'm a bit more inclined to read the sequels now, but I really only cared about 2 characters in a sea of povs. I loved Hakara and her love interest Thassir, and I loved Nioanen's pov, too. If I read the sequels, it will be for them. And I think that I will actually read them because I loved these 2 characters a lot.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy multi-povs and epic fantasy! But I have to say, Hakara and her love interest make up for all the lacking elements!!!!

The Gods Below is the pick for the adult September monthly box, and sadly, I'd say skip it. Goldsboro has an exclusive edition of it, so you can always get it later if you do end up liking it.

DNFed at 30%.

The reason why I DFNed this is basically that the characters and writing failed to capture my interest.
Instead of forcing myself to read it through and getting frustrated with it, I came to the conclusion that, unfortunately, The Gods Below just wasn't for me.

I love multi-POV books, but here the characters felt flat to me, making it difficult to emotionally connect with them and fully immerse myself in the story.
I can definitely see the potential in the story's premise of rebellion against a so-called One True God and the world and its inhabitants being shaped by that god's will. I can see that Andrea Stewart is taking her time to carefully build up this interesting and well thought-out world and the politics within each of the regions and points of view.

I am, however, sorry that I didn't manage to reach the pivotal point in the story where the pace would hopefully pick up considerably. My lack of enjoyment made it too difficult to force myself through the rest of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Discovering fascinating fantasy series is such a great experience. But having to patiently wait for further books in that fantasy series is going to be so painful.

This book is set in a world where humans destroyed the environment through their greed and as legends claim (I certainly have a feeling about how truthful those legends are) one mortal made a deal with a god to restore their world.

This book has such a rich worldbuilding that my short description above doesn't even begin to explain how this world functions. And it shows the skill of the author that I've never struggled with following and understanding the story even before we were fully introduced into this world. I also loved how many aspects of the lore of this world are things that... Are questionable at best and I cannot wait for the characters to uncover the truth.

Speaking of the characters, we are first introduced to Hakara and Rasha, two sisters who lost their parents and are trying to survive in this hostile worlds. They end up getting seperated due to circumstances beyond their control and while Hakara tries to figure out how to get back to her sister, Rasha has to learn how to move on from being abandoned by the only person she could trust. I found both of these characters journeys so fascinating and absorbing, and I so badly wanted them to find each other again. The only aspect of their stories I didn't enjoy were their romances. Rasha's because it felt so rushed, I really wish that part of the stories took a few more chapters to develop, and Hakara's simply because it wasn't the kind of romance I enjoy.

We get 3 more POV characters and I have to say I was initially put off when we switched the pov away from the sisters. It felt like it was too far into the book and I was already so focused on the characters we had. But it didn't take long for me to change my mind. I quickly got invested in the stories of these new characters and some of them ended up breaking my heart. It also worked how intertwined all those stories ended up being.

The book ends with a lot of questions still unanswered but it didn't feel frustrating, rather I cannot wait for the next book in this series so I can discover where this story is heading.

Also this is a queer norm fantasy which is always a win in my books.

Overall, this book was fine. The world building was good, but there was a lot of it. The plot was solid, but oddly paced in places. The characters were interesting, but didn't wow me. A decent book, but probably not a series I'll continue reading.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

We primarily follow two sisters, Rasha and Hakara, separated as children by a magical border that transforms the country within and its inhabitants. Neither know whether the other is still alive, and both fight to make their way in their new realms.
A clan nobleman is in the bowels of the underworld, searching for the Old Gods to make a bargain to save his friend. His cousin lies, steals, manipulates and seduces to try and save the reputation of her family.
Oh and if that wasn't enough, we follow two of the Old Gods, who are fighting to live while the other Gods are being murdered.
There's so much packed in to this book, and it's bloody amazing.
World building and magic system is incredibly cool. The characters are so compelling and the story is just addictive. I read this in one day and now I'm gutted because I've got to wait for the rest of the series. I don't want to say too much in this review because it's fun to go in as blind as possible and just let the story blow you away. Definitely one for fans of Brandon Sanderson, Ursula K. Le Guin etc.

I had high expectations for this as its my first Andrea Stewart and her previous trilogy comes recommended.
It was just OK. The writing was fine, didn't blow me away but was easy to read. The world building was good and given gradually. The pace was a tad erratic but generally fast. The ecological premise was great, believable and harrowing. The God angle I really enjoyed and wanted lots more of the history and lore. The magic system was also great although left me a little miffed at times. I enjoyed the darker elements of this and the ruthless violence.
Unfortunately I didn't particularly like most of the characters. They were quite one dimensional and I often found their reactions conflicting to who they believed they were. The seemingly random romanances didn't grab me, any deep attachment between any of the characters (excepting the sisters or a certain character and his cats) felt flat and I was genuinely surprised by the protested level of feeling. As individuals they were interesting but I couldn't get invested in any of their interactions. There's so much promise though and it was a fast read, maybe it's just a wobbly start to what will become a great trilogy?
Thanks to Netgalley for the arc, all thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

I have been a fan of Andrea's work for many years now, and have joyfully interacted with her on social media. This new book was recommended to me by another ARC reader and I could not put it down. I genuinely cannot wait to see how this story progresses.

The Premise of The Gods Below was good. An ancient world with magical gemstones and a few lucky ones that can harnest it's power.. logically a battle for power is started. We follow several pov's, one being in first person, the others in third. The story starts out with two sisters who are seperated by the restoration (easily explained as a sort of 'dome' that alters people in a certain area. They turn monsterous and lose their human features. Many flee, others join the forces of the God Kluehnn. Just like Hakara's sister Rasha, who felt like she was left behind, despite her sister searching for her for ten years straight. Rasha was her only mission to get back to. These are two of the main story lines I would say.

There's a couple of other pov's that follow gods both historically and current, there's pov of character who have their own goals in mind and along with that, their own struggles (what is the right choice, do we do what we must, or do we follow our hearts).

In my opinion, the book is very slow from start to finish. It also a little too enthuastic with the many pov's, causing it to be a bit chaotic and confusing at times - but also takes away the time to truly connect with the characters. And that last bit, is my biggest issue. I love a book that builds a world and with that also dives into it's history, I love a multiple pov, I actually liked that one of the pov's was written in first person rather than third like the others. And I liked the overal "vibe" of the book. Kluehnn reminded me of a game I played once, called "struggling", just a bunch of arms and legs, so it was absolutely hilarious to envision that character every time Kluehnn was described. I liked the sensitivty towards the cats and the mystery surrounding that character, I liked the internal struggles and the choices to accept that; sometimes, people make choices you dont particularly agree with.

But, in all honesty.
I'm not sure if I want to read the sequel. It has the potential, it has the right vibe, but it was so incredibly full and slow at the same time. The romance (of Rasha) was a bit sudden and therefor not very believable - but not being able to connect with any of the characters is a big loss, because that alone will make you want to see what happens to them next.

My advice to the author; take a little more time to introduce your characters to us readers. I think by doing that, you'll be able to build an absolutely amazing romance, world and in general the story.

I am waiting to post the review on goodreads, but it will be posted on goodreads.com/koowl at a later stadium.

on the surface this is good. i think stewart's writing style is easy to understand without being juvenile. but i think this was just. really conventional in too many places

I am the BIGGEST fan of The Bone Shard Daughter and I'm so disappointed with The God's Below...

The concept of the world, magic system, and the characters sounded very promising but I felt like it wasn't executed well at all. At least for my preferences.

I know Andrea Stewart likes multi-POV and normally it flows so effortlessly from one distinct character to the next but this... this was so boring and repetitive!! The only character I found interesting was Mullayne and I wish we had more time with him.

As an older sister myself I thought the storyline of sisters being separated and striving to see each other again would be more emotional but it just felt so FLAT - with Hakara's POV being quite immature and sounding like YA too.

I just don't get it?? This had all the right elements to be a new favourite for me but ultimately it bored me! This story was really lacking in depth.

Sorry!

-Sarah

This is the most painful review I ever had to write but here it goes: I did not care about this book. It was my most anticipated release. I dont want to compare but I have to the Bone Shard Daughter clicked so much better. And I think there are a couple of reasons why:

- There are too many POVs in the first book. And none of them made me feel attached to the characters.
- The main storylines are two separated sisters on opposite sides and I didnt like either of them.
- This book is environmental fantasy. We ruined the world and begged the gods to help. Made them go into war and created a weird cult with the one remaining. Too depressing for me to be honest I need some hope in my stories, silver lining or at least characters that make me care.
- There is supposed to be an overarching mystery to the story probably related to the gods.. but I am completely missing it.

Overall this is not a bad book. Andrea Steward is a solid writer. I just did not connect with this story. If you are looking for an epic fantasy with different POVs, and a cool magic system around gems with Gods below the earth try this book!

Thank you to #netgalley and #orbitbooksuk for this eARC in return for an honest review.

Don't you love it when you find an author who's writing style you just click with? Andrea Stewart is one of mine.

In a multi point of view story, this first (in I assume a trilogy) follows separated sisters Hakara who is working as a god gem collector and Rasha, who became an 'altered' through a process called 'The Restoration' is training to become a god killer.

To start with I got a little hung up on some of the language. Holding your breath in the aether. God killers. It felt a bit familiar to other things I've read recently, but as I got more into the story, they are unique concepts, but using familiar words.

The magic system was something I haven't seen before. Some are comparing to other books, but I've not read them, so to me it's new!

Underlying themes of conversion, political corruption, conservation are included in a well developed world. Magical cats, messy one night stands and fallable gods are also a bonus.

Super excited to get my hands on a paper copy and looking forward to the next book.

I liked this so much more than the Bone Shard series. It was so much easier to get into and be hooked by Rasha and Hakara and all the adventures malign gods and adversities they both have to face, after they are separated by a magical barrier between 2 lands when they are young children. There is so much to like about all the characters and you care about each of them and what they are feeling - y ou want them all to win and the plot twists are shocking and exciting. I can't wait for part 2!

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for gifting me this arc in exchange for my honest review.
Andrea Stewart’s The Gods Below is great beginning to what I believe will be an incredible high-fantasy series the likes of The Licanious Trilogy, The Priory of the Orange Tree and her other series, The Drowning Empire.
I think the world-building was incredible and the action non-stop. I knew from the first few chapters that I was going to love it. I found the mythology, the lore, the idea of the “Restoration” and the subsequent changes and challenges unique and very well-developed.
I loved to read the two main povs, that of the sisters Hakara and Rasha. But there are many other povs which were not as interesting. However, the dynamic and the tension between the two sisters was very enjoyable. I also believe that the queer dynamics present in the story are well fleshed-out.
The only downside, because of the numerous povs, is the fact that the pacing is a bit off, it picks up quite slowly and readers might be turned off by that.
In just a few words: adventurous, interesting, dynamic.

I loved how unique this book was. Unique world building and premise, and a good introduction into it without tons of infodumping at the start.

The concept of the world is that all the lands are hot, dry and barren and people are starving, and a god offered to restore each land one by one. Restored lands become green with more balanced temperature, but of the people there, half die to feed the restoration magic and the other half are altered, turned into more animalistic people.

Hakara and her sister Rasha live together in a land about to be restored in the opening chapters. At fifteen Hakara is fully responsible for caring for her sister as their parents died, and when the restoration comes, Hakara is determined to flee. She doesn't want to risk dying in the restoration. While Hakara succesfully flees, Rasha remains behind and becomes an altered being.

Years later, Hakara wants nothing more than to find Rasha, but going into restored land is not so easy, and to get even a chance of finding here, Hakara joins with a group of rebels who are against the god and his restoration and try to save their land their own way without sacrificing half the population.

Meanwhile, Rasha has joined the faith for this god and is training to become one of his godkillers, fierce warriors who slay any other god, as their can only be one.

There's lots more to the world building that I loved but I have to explain everything we'll be here all day. It's complex, but I found it easy to follow. The early chapters with the two sisters trying to flee give a lot of information combined with pretty high stakes, making for an engaging beginning.

The book is mostly plot driven, with a focus on the rebellion Hakara is joining, but I liked the characters as well. There are five different POVs, most of which are Hakara, but also Rasha, Mull, Sheuan and the last one is a POV set several centuries ago from one of the old gods about this new god's rise to power and provides some context on the world. I liked each POV, all characters are distinct and have their own character development, even if I think it's more plot driven than character driven.

There's two romances, both not super frontal and slow burn. One is bi for bi m/f, and the other is f/f. The final POV character, Mull, is aroace and I appreciated the representation. I love that Mull loved his best friend so much he's going on a dangerous quest so save her, and his subplot is not super connected to the rest, but I quite enjoyed his storyline.

I'm curious where this is going next. Compared to the first book in the Drowning Empire, this felt much more like a first, full book rather than a very extended prologue.

Would recommend it to epic fantasy fans who like weird and complex world building, and think this would be great for fans of the Drowning Empire, the Final Strife or the Jasmine Throne.

The world building in this book is excellent. I was fully immersed in the world.

The story followed a few different people and it did take a while to get my head around who was who. The Gods, the humans and the Altered, along with the magic system with the aether and the God gems was interesting to read about.

Rasha and Hakaras relationship at the start was heart wrenching. Rasha and Sheuans relationship was very rushed and unexpected but Hakaras and Thassir was only a whisper, I hope that this relationship is explored more in the next book as I really liked every interaction they had together. Also Thassir's past seems very interesting and I want to know more.

I can't wait to read the next book, I want to know what Mullayne finds out, what Nioanen did at the end and what Hakara will do now 😊

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This world-building was so clear and easy to understand, yet it felt so rich at the same time. This is just how I love my world-building. I also felt like I really got to know all of the characters. The multiple POVs and their individual timelines and places also helped to expand the world.
The magic structure kind of gave Mistborn vibes, with the way they ingest gems and infuse them with magical aether to give them powers until the aether ran out. Similar feel to allomancy.
I thought it was clear right away who Thassir was, however at the end I'm no longer so sure!
I can't wait to figure out what happens next in this world, the series has clear direction so I know the plot of the rest of the series but can't wait to figure out how it comes about.

The Gods Below is the first book in the Hollow Covenant series, from the author of the amazing The Drowning Empire trilogy. Set in a new world with a new cast of character, this was a fantastic introduction to this new series. The characters are all well written, the plot is compelling throughout and the world is an interesting one. The world building was definitely one of my favourite things about this book. I would definitely recommend checking this out.

After taking weeks to get through 3 chapters, I've decided this isn't for me. The characters and the writing are not gripping me.