Thank you to Orbit, NetGalley and author Andrea Stewart for this eARC

When I tell you I screamed when I got approved for this ARC! I was so excited to get to read it and fall in love with it!
But I have to be honest here, once I started reading, insta-love it was not.

The worldbuilding is phenomenal. It's unique and so well thought out.
The magic system is interesting and new - if also very impractical.
The story is classic fantasy with some real life issues incorperated.
Where The Gods Below sadly lost points for me was the characters. The characterization fell flat, and the characters felt more like archetypes of the genre rather than fully formed people. There were so many characters/POVs but I didn't connect to any of them and felt no emotional investment in their story, except maybe Nioane.
I still enjoyed the book immensely because of it's other aspects, but it will not be a new favorite as I had hoped.
3.75 stars

I am familiar with this authors work before and i was a little bit scared to start a new series which is on a new world and new characters but the author nailed it. I really enjoyed this book and how the author depicted every single thing in this book. There are multiple POVs and how the stories join together and develop the world and plot is simply masterful. The way she handles a large cast of POVs, each one messy, unique and human (even the gods) will never not be a thrill. While there's a lot of worldbuilding and lore to get across it's done deftly and without losing focus on the elements that sing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Andrea Stewart has delivered again, I absolutely loved The Drowning Empire and was anxious at the concept of a new world, but I need not have worried. The world-building is epic, detailed and full of messy characters. There are multiple POVs and how the stories join together and develop the world and plot is simply masterful. The stakes are so high in this book, it’s an actual whirlwind to read but in the best way. In this book there is a lot of action, political intrigue, magic, Gods and cats. There are also side romances, some I enjoyed but one I felt was a bit insta love/lust for me personally, but I appreciated the adding in of a bit of romance as a break from everything else. We do get some animal companions in the form of cats, this added lighter elements into the story and really balanced it out. I can’t say I had a favourite character as I enjoyed all the POV and that is rare! Definitely a book I would recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Andrea Stewart is an auto-read for me, after the gorgeous Drowning Empire trilogy, and this book absolutely continues that trend. The way she handles a large cast of POVs, each one messy, unique and human (even the gods) will never not be a thrill. While there's a lot of worldbuilding and lore to get across it's done deftly and without losing focus on the elements that sing.

Going in to this book, I knew I was going to have a blast no matter what (as I previously also loved The Emperor's Daughter by the author) but I didn't expect myself to really breeze through it! I started this on Saturday and got halfway in and devoured the last half in two days.

This book has all the elements that I loved from the The Bone Shard Daughter (and the rest of the series): strong (and I can't help but love even though I know they're a mess) characters - with of course one of the characters having a fondness for animals (this time, cats); strong worldbuilding; and also a captivating storyline. I definitely enjoyed some of the characters' POV more than the rest but I was so excited to read through each knowing that their paths will intertwine with each other eventually and how it will go. I loved the little romance that was sprinkled into this but honestly it wasn't a big thing and I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed it less if they weren't there.

I will definitely be tuning in to the second one. Thank you to Orbit UK and Netgalley for approving me of an ARC.

This book is amazing! I am a huge fan of Andrea's work and I was so excited about this new trilogy. The Gods Below is brilliant and fans will not be disappointed . This is the perfect epic fantasy, full of stakes and romance and the most incredible worldbuilding. I can't wait for the next one! I loved it!

I was in love with The Drowning Empire series so it should be no surprise that I was over the moon when Andrea announced a new series. I was not disappointed!

We spend a bit of time with Hakara and Rasha before the restoration and separation but they're just kids then. 15 and 9 years old. After that point we're ahead to ten years later and Hakara is causing trouble in a way only she can and to be fair she is very good at it.

I would say the story doesn't really start until Hakara joins the Unanointed because this is when we really get to see kick off and more of the world. We meet Thassir, who is so cat obsessed he makes me look reasonable (my cats have their own IG for a point of reference), plus the head of The Unanointed, and the team that is made up of a bruiser, arbour, wasp and vine. I actually really liked this quartet of roles and when things go wrong, the constant need to keep the four roles balanced adds a layer to the motivations in breaking the God Pact. As always, Andrea is excellent about giving us enough background about the supporting characters that you just want to know more.

Our other POVs are Rasha, Sheuan, Mullayne and some flashbacks to Nioanen. Rasha was great. Sheuan…I have some mixed feelings about. I like her character but I didn’t always get everything that came with it. And it’s really hard to talk about that without spoiling too much but I will say, I’m not sure I get her as a love interest for the character she connects with. That said I really liked her character, her duty to family vs her own path, and taking control of things for herself. Mullayne is by far the character that is going to shake things up the most despite not having tons of page time and not interacting with our core cast of characters. I have a strong feeling his POV is going to be crucial going ahead, and I cannot wait.

Niaonen’s POV is our flashback POV. This is when we’re about a decade after the Shattering, the war with the gods is under way, his fellow gods are falling and he is trying to stay safe and hidden with Irael, a shapeshifting god. Again, I can’t talk too much about this character without spoilers but safe to say, this was another solid POV.

I have high hopes for this new trilogy and with everything I’ve come to expect from Andrea’s works, I know it will get weird, emotional and be oh so satisfying to have gone through when it comes to an end.

Andrea Stewart has done it again. I honestly am just in awe with the way Andrea creates and weaves her tales. Andrea just creates such incredible worlds and I know every time I pick up one of her tales, I'm going to get a unique and engaging world.

The Gods Below is the first in a new epic trilogy, filled with magic, loyalty and rebellion and a unique god system.

Mortals burned the world and turned to the gods to help, only one answered and demanding a steep price to restore the land, transforming each realm one at a time. One of our MC tries to escape with her younger sister, however tragedy spilts up the sisters and they end up on differing sides of the struggle for freedom.

I adored this book so much, the characters, the exploration of consequences of power. I cannot wait for the next tale in this series.

Interesting concept with Gods and transformed humans through “Restoration”. There was some political intrigue and divisions between realms due to this restoration. This wasn’t really explained, but hoping that as the trilogy progresses it will become clearer. The magic system was fairly unique, if not fully realised yet. There are gaps in knowledge that will likely be explained later, but the magic gems were interesting and the idea of ingesting the magic to gain certain traits when not breathing created a level of tension to the magic use.

I really liked Hakara and Rasha; it was an very enjoyable dynamic between sisters, but I was rather disappointed with the resolution of their conflict. I did like their dual timeline and thought the multi pov was well done. I particularly liked how the author was able to create natural crossovers between the interwoven characters and provided a different perspective to the narrative. The main god, Kluehnn, had a cannibalism scene that was rather odd and there was a lack of explanation about why he is consuming other gods - for power, magic, just because, who knows? Again this might end up being a large plot point but was brushed over rather quickly here,

Overall, this wasn’t inherently bad but it was disappointing. I’m not a fan, because I don’t feel like it fully committed to any direction and tried to do too many things half heartedly. I think the concept was interesting and may appeal to a younger audience even if it isn’t necessarily marketed as a YA novel.

Having never read Andrea Stewart, I was unsure what to expect but this was a great novel from beginning to end.

I loved the world building but there were some aspects of the magic system that I found confusing in places. I loved Rasha and Hakara's POVs the most, and spent the whole book desperate for them to reunite, which sadly fell a little flat. However, I think this first instalment has set up nicely for what will hopefully be a great series

A really ambitious and adventurous story that tries to do lots of things within the first book of a series, succeeding in some but not in others. I'm intrigued to see what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I loved the author's The Drowned Empire series, so I was very excited for The Gods Below.

Sadly, this one wasn't for me and I ended up DNFing at 50 %.
Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it, but it was quite slow and I didn't enjoy the many POV jumps, which is weird since the multiple POVs of Bone Shard Daughter are one of the reasons I love this series so much. I think maybe there were too many POVs too early in the book. The worldbuilding is quite complex and having some POVs that are just very different from the two FMCs added to the confusion.

The worldbuilding is really cool and unique, which is why I would pick this book up again if my friends tell me they love it.
I have never seen anything like it and I think the author truly excels at creating these amazing worlds.

The pacing was quite slow, probably because of the amount of POVs, but that didn't help with how I felt about the book.

I am quite sad that this didn't end up being for me. As I said, I can see myself picking it up again if my friends say I should give it another try, but for now, this just didn't work for me unfortunately.

Gods below, this was good.

The mortals broke the world. As the skies filled with ash and the air grew hot, the mortal Tolemne made his way down into the depths of the world to ask a boon of the gods.
Kluehnn could not restore all the world at once, but he could manage it one realm at a time, until the whole world was restored and the land could finally be healed.

Half of the population would be remade. Half of the population would disappear, their matter used to remake the realm.
Hakara and her younger sister Rasha are separated between borders when the restoration sweeps through their realm.

Desperate to be reunited, Hakara is an illegal refugee and aligns herself with the Unannointed who want to gather gems hoarded by Kluehnn and fight the god.

Hakara is feisty and doesn’t know when to give up. She pushes herself past breaking point and regularly also pushes away people, not willing to let herself form attachments only for them to be ripped away.

“Aren't we all here to be consumed? To be looked at, to be judged as savory or sweet, to be licked and swallowed and converted into fuel for others' ambitions?"

Rasha, left alone and changed to suit the new landscape becomes a godkiller, one of Kluehnn’s favoured to hunt down the other surviving gods.
She has always relied on her older sister but now she must fend for herself in a world where only the fittest survive.

”Saplings are always pliant before their roots dig deep, and the strongest trees grow in the harshest conditions. It has always been so."


Pitting sister against sister unknowingly was tense and fraught with anticipation.

Okay, so some of the characters felt a little flat or archetypal of the fantasy genre. However, I had such a blast and I trust that Stewart will develop them in the future.
Bearing in mind this is book one balancing five point of views, I think Stewart handled it well and had quite a firm grasp on her world’s history and how she wants it to play out.

In that sense, the secrets and peeling back slightly reminded me of The Book that Wouldn’t Burn.

Thank you to Orbit for providing me an arc in exchange for a review!

Andrea Stewart comes back with a new epic fantasy trilogy and first thing that springs to my mind about it is... ambitious.

The story follows two sisters, Hakara and Rasha who were orphaned as kids and surviving on their own until fate separated them on the border between two lands. Hakara was taken away to the territory of Langzu because her ability to hold her breath for a long time makes her a perfect fit to dive into sink holes and mine precious gemstones. Rasha was left behind in Kashan and got forever changed through process of Kluehnn's restoration sisters were trying to flee from. She became one of the "altered"- humans who acquired animal features and abilities. Ten years later, Hakara is trying to mine a gemstone big enough to buy her passage to Kashan and back to her sister, while Rasha who was taken in by the religious order is now training to become a godkiller. As the Gods wage their own battles, ordinary people are caught up in it and the forces that separated Hakara and Rasha once now may force them on a path of collision.

First things first, if you are a fan of The Drowning Empire series this novel is no way connected to the world of Sukais, Mephi and bone shards. I don't know if it's going to stay this way or Andrea Stewart will find some way to connect them as surprise, but so far, it's a completely new world with completely new characters.
When I say that this new series is ambitious, it's not due to the characters or the plot. It's purely for the world-building. You see, my main take from Stewart's first trilogy is incredibly well imagined fantastic world where everything comes together at the end. It's not just bunch of cool magical things like talking dragon-cats, flesh constructs and super-powers thrown in. Everything is connected and every question you had about it she answered by the end in a way that it makes sense and it was tied into overall story. She is really imaginative author who welcomes the challenge, but with The Gods Bellow I feel like she perhaps girlbossed too close to the sun. There is a whole Pantheon of Gods who have different powers. One faction with god Kluehnn in charge managed to overthrow the other gods. He also made a pact with Tolemne, a human, to fix the world on the surface and make it hospitable again... for the small price. He will "restore" the surface lands, making them lush and green again and in the process some humans will disappear and some will be altered by the "aether", the magic into a new spices, a humanoids with animal abilities. Each territory also has to provide it's share of gemstones mined from first and second layer of aether that is incredibly dangerous to humans, making them lose their mind. Old gods are considered evil and have to be hunted and brought into Kluehnn's dens where his priests and priestesses take care of dangerous foe. That is the life under benevolent god Kluehnn./s Everything regarding Kluehn has this Lovecraftian vibe and it was, by far, my favorite part of the story. Stewart has a knack of infusing horror details into fantasy like she did with the constructs in her other series. But this magic system in on a larger scale and it gets a lot more convoluted and, sorry to say, info-dumpy the further you read. The whole thing about aether and the two layers and gemstones of different colors and sizes that give some humans powers, but they have to have another human as an anchor and that bond between them is strong and makes them feel each other or something. And there are some magical, spiritual trees called Numinars whose sap is essential for old gods who can manipulate aether by calling it from the layers or from the deep or something. And the old gods vary in looks and have animal characteristics like horns, wings, tails or scales and it's obvious "altered" are altered in their image- the whole thing reminds me lot of Crucible from the Elden Ring. Because she's done a good job in her previous series I have faith in Stewart she will connect everything by the end, but at this point, after first book, there is just too much of information thrown at reader withou connecting tissue.
The narrative structure of both series is very similar. We are following several characters who are on in different parts of the world, each on their own journey. Naturally, two main characters are Hakara and Rasha. And somewhat in the background we are following: Sheuan, an ambitious member of the Sim family clan who is also their only hope for gaining back influence with the Langzu's Sovereign. Mullayne, a brilliant inventor of the Sim family who is on an expedition following Tolemne's path to the center of the world, to the Unterra, where old Gods lived. And we have Niaonen, whose point of view is the only from the past covering the Shattering and the war between Gods. Some chapters are more interesting than the others, but at different times and after a strong beginning, the story gets into this weird lull where on the page it seems like a lot of things is happening, but you struggle to care and even the eventual meeting between sisters didn't make an emotional impact I hoped it would. Rasha and her training to become a godkiller was the arc I was the most invested in, but her story is, on one side at least half the chapters of Hakara's and on the other I felt like around the middle her arc got somewhat lost in Sheuan's. Though, I have to say I am looking forward to Sheuan's story the most in the next book because Sovereign, the ruler of Langzu, is part of her arc and he is one more intriguing to me than some of the main players. Oddly, the only romance and friendship relationship that worked for me were Mullayne's chapters between him and Imeah and Pont. Other, more prominent romances, were kind of sudden and seemed to just happen without any believable chemistry, but I hope that will change in the future. Niaonen's story is kind of separated in my head because it's in the past, but I liked the relationship between him and Irael if not really the whole story of war between the members of the Pantheon. Al

All in all, this is somewhat clunky beginning of the new series. I know that first book carries the weight of explaining the world, so I hope it leaves the place for the next one to flesh out characters more and make me really care for their journey because Kluehnn is a fantastic antagonist. His every appearance electrified the story and hopefully, Hakara Rasha and the crew will match it. :)

1⭐
Aïe aïe aïe... Catastrophic...
Well, it's hollow, it's hollow! Shortcuts, inconsistencies, in short it's a shame given the plot which was quite nice but I ended up reading passages with certain characters dying of laughter as it was just so implausible and so hollow.
Thanks for sending me this e-ARC I wanted to love it but the inconsistence of the characters were too hight 🤔

It's very obvious that Andrea Stewart put thought into this: into the magic, into the mythology, the world, the roles of the characters. There was a lot of care put into crafting this book - I only wish that I had cared about it more, but I was never able to fully connect with the story as a whole.

The magic system was so creative and unique! I definitely have never read anything quite like that, and I loved the fusion of science/geology with the god gems, and how Hakara was able to use them like some kind of video game character. The whole world felt full and well plotted, and I really liked the myths and getting to know more about the former gods and the rise of Kluehnn. I could have probably taken a whole book of the gods' initial war with Kluehnn, to be honest, and more of their backstories as I think the hints we got were wonderful. The whole mythology was rather tragic, but in a way that begged to be explored more - or maybe it's just me begging for that, since I did really enjoy the mythology.

I found Mull's expedition intriguing, and kind of reminiscent of some kind of sci-fi horror exploration, but with less horror (sadly?). That said, he didn't really fit into the narrative as neatly as the other POV chapters and while his chapters were sometimes the most interesting to me, he felt like the odd man out.

Which segues neatly into what left me a bit cold about this book: the characters. All of them felt fairly one-dimensional, they each had a single motivation. And there were so many chances for the secondary characters to be built up, but the chances just were not taken. Alifra and Dashu each were given a single bit of development, with each getting a backstory, but I don't feel like we ever got to see their personalities, and Naatar and Khatuya didn't even get that. Which I could have forgiven, having five POV characters, had I felt any sort of connection to the five POV characters. Hakara and Rasha should have been the emotional backbone to the entire story, and yet I just could not engage with them. Sheuan started out with the most promise but never truly delivered, though Mull and Nioanen did get some emotional beats and good storytelling at the end of their arcs - but it wasn't nearly enough because by that time, I didn't really care deeply about them.

Ultimately, I wish there was more time spent with the characters and expanding them. I also feel like the writing, while serviceable as a whole, did the characters a disservice as all of the POVs had the same voice (though some in first person and some in third person, and I do wish Andrea Stewart would commit to third person as I think it's the stronger for her in both this book and her previous trilogy). This all sounds fairly damning, but I do think this had a good story and a lot of truly good bones to it! I just never got fully attached, which made it difficult to love.

Andrea Stewart excels at imagining detailed worlds, mythologies, and magic systems, and blowing your mind a bit with the creativity of it all, and this book is absolutely no exception. If only I could actually care more about the story she puts those great ideas into and especially the characters, but alas.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. This was fun! My first Andrea Steward, I didn't really know what to expect. But this is a solid start to a new series.

3.75 stars

Overall, I really liked "The Gods Below", but there were some things that could be improved on in my opinion.

The magic system and world building was quite interesting, and I quite enjoyed the general plot and the characters.

My main problem was with the relationships between the characters: most felt rather rushed, especially the romantic relationships.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This is for you if you love a slower paced fantasy, if you really want to immerse yourself into a world. Personally, I struggled a bit with this. The prose flows well, and the world building is strong and interesting, but the plot is so slow to start moving that it was a little hard for me to stay engaged. I feel like it had too many POV characters, many of them feeling a little flat.

It feels a little repetitive at times, the dialogue could flow a little better, but I could see people really loving this. It plays with interesting concepts, climate disaster and religious propaganda, with the heart of the story being the relationship between two sisters on opposite sides.

3⭐️