The best historical fiction authors make you feel both a. So immersed in the time period that you have to take a moment when you finish to reengage in the modern world. b. Forever afterwards you have to double check what is historical fact and what was fiction because it is woven within the historical narrative so seamlessly.

Shauna Lawless is absolutely one of these authors.

Gormflaith and Fódla are two women trying to survive and triumph in 10th century Ireland, that one of them is Fomorian and one a descendant of the Tuatha Dé Danann is secondary. Their position and lives are, if anything made more perilous because of their powers which they keep hidden. There is plenty of action and battles, the 10th century is presented as an undoubtedly violent time but this isn’t gloried in and the focus is more on the characters themselves.


Children of Gods and Fighting Men is a historical novel with a lot of political intrigue and a smattering of the fantastical. It was so refreshing in a market saturated with retellings of the Greek and Latin myths to read one based on Irish mytholology.

Excited to read the second one!

Thank you Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the eARC, I also bought a copy!

It's a good book, I think -- it just didn't work too well for me at this point in time. I think it was a matter of mismatched expectations between the tone of the blurb and that of the book -- I might come back to this one later, as I do get the mood for grim & chewy sometimes.

I have an excuse for why it took so long for me to finish "Children of Gods and Fighting Men" by Shauna Lawless. I was learning about the history and myths of Ireland so I had context. Because based on one trait about me, see second image, you can guess where some of that came from. But until the last month I knew NOTHING about the myths and legends of Ireland, yet can talk about Greco-Roman myths for ages! And once again, wow world history is poorly taught.

Thank you Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the ARC, will pick up the pace again.

OK, so the conflict between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians is the basis for many stories from Ireland. This story weaves a delicious balance of legends and real history together that I found educational and interesting. We follow two POVs, The Queen of Dublin is one of the last Fomorians and in hiding from the Tuatha Dé Danann. The other is a Tuatha Dé Danann sent to learn about a conflict brewing between the Kingdoms of men. There is a lot of info thrown at us and once you sort it out and get your legs the machinations of both sides makes sense.

Reasons to read:
-Learn about stories the British have done a great job of diverting us from learning
-Politicking at its murderous best
-Cold War between two mythical races while exploiting the humans
-Foreshadowing for future books
-Can see the reasons both characters are the way they are
-The horrors of war and the violence done to regular people at the time shown to dramatic effect

Cons
-Learned what bobbing is and the significance of that
-The pronunciation and spelling of some of these names...

This is a brilliant book and I can't wait to read the next in this series as I loved this mix of Irish myths and historical fiction.
Well plotted, riveting, gripping. The author is a talented storyteller and the characters and the world building are excellent.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The book seems well-written and well-thought-out. Unfortunately, I can't connect it and started to feel like forcing myself to finish it. I decided to DNF it for now, but I want to emphasize it's the case of "It's me, not you" DNF :)

Thanks to the publisher for giving me the possibility to try it. I may give it another try soon.

I’ve gotten pretty ruthless about not finishing books that don’t feel like a good fit, and “The Children of Gods and Fighting Men” is one such book for me. The characters are cruel and motivated by power, and I’m also having a hard time tracking the multiple characters (with Irish and Viking names). Based on what I’ve heard, this story from Shauna Lawless seems like a perfect suggestion for fans of “Game of Thrones,” so do take my rating with a grain of salt– this book just wasn’t written for someone like me.

"Ireland is our home. It is a land of myth and magic, but our magic is fading."

---------------------------

This is the story of tenth century Ireland told from the viewpoint of two women of vastly different clans of magical immortals. Gormflaith is the widow of the Viking king of Dublin and she is enamored with her mortal son, manipulating everything she can to make him the new king. She and her brother are the last fire-wielding Fomorians. Fodla is a healer of the Tuatha Dé Danann sworn to not meddle in human affairs and yet has found herself in the court of Brian Boru. History plays out as true history did but we get a unique perspective from these two women and how their choices and magic impacted it all.

I LOVED this story, I did not want to put it down. I have been spending more time reading Irish history this year and really loved my recent read Follett's The Morning and the Evening. It too tackles Viking culture but in England and Normandy. The Children of Gods and Fighting Men is just as immersive and powerful but the magical, mythical elements were fabulous. I also appreciated that we got a little more of a female perspective, especially since both of these are badasses.

Thanks to Head of Zeus via Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. I have since purchased a copy. All opinions above are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book has the feel of a sweeping epic, and I was a bit disappointed when it ended as it didn't really feel like the plot had got properly going yet. Fodla is a sweet character, although her arc from apathy towards mortals to being on their side was fairly predictable. Gormflaith was a much more interesting character and I'll be intrigued to see where she goes next with her scheming. The book felt a bit baggy in places while it skipped over events in others, but I'm enough of a sucker for the combination of mythology, history and magic to want to see where this goes.

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I loved the writing in this story so much. The world building was so vivid and the characters really well developed. For me it started out a bit slow but it didn’t take long to pull me in and once it did I just kept wanting more and to know what happened next. I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This book is fantastic!

We follow the lives of two women, Gormflaith and Fodla.
Gormflaith is the widow of the King of Dublin. She is also one of the last Fomorians, immortals with the gift of fire magic. Her only goal is to see her son become King.

Fodla is Tuatha De Danann. She is a gifted Healer. The Tuatha are forbidden from living among the mortals, so they live in a hidden fortress.

The Tuatha have been hunting and killing the Fomorians for decades. They believe they have finally wiped them all out.

The remaining Fomorians are afraid to use their magic for fear that it will draw the attention of the Tuatha. But it may be too late.

I loved this so much! I loved the Irish mythology mixed with the history. I loved the characters, especially Fodla. I hated a couple of them as well, but it made the story even better. I am very excited for the next one. The writing is top notch! This is definitely a new favorite.

Absolutely cracking Irish historical fantasy, written intelligently and well. Lawless has a knack for understanding people and showing that understanding in how they interact. At first the writing is understated as is typical for a more internal journey style narrative but there is plenty of action later on, all of which is sweeter for the careful set up. The historical accuracy is pretty good (although women did not have quite such an oppressed role in 10th C Ireland ) and I can see why any changes were made. Overall a great book. I look forward to the next one.

This book was very meh for me. I didn't hate it at all and it was easy to read, but I just didn't really get much out of it. I liked one of the view point characters, but the other was just very manipulative and used her body several times in order to get her way. I get that she was grasping for power in any way she could, but it annoyed me that the only ways she could get that power was bossing her son around or having sex with people.

I also expected more battles. We seemed to be constantly on the edge of one, but it didn't actually happen until the end of the book. There were a lot of negotiations or almost battles. It meant that there didn't really seem to be a lot of danger in the book so there wasn't a lot of excitement.

I did like the history element. It was interesting to learn about the Vikings in Ireland and see how much conflict between the Norse religion and the Christian church. I like how much she used real history and events to make up the story but still had fantasy elements.

I probably won't bother continuing with this series.

i love vikings. i love ireland. and i love this book! this was such a refreshing fantasy read with nice chapter length and lovely characters.

The Children of Gods and Fighting Men is an immensely captivating and brutal historical fantasy of a massive scale. This was a sweeping historical fantasy inspired by Irish mythology teaming with feuds, nobility, Witches, Vikings, and Druids! Mortals feud for the Irish Throne and gods intervene as Ireland changes from a land of folklore and legend to a world where myth and magic are dangerous.

Overall I really enjoyed The Children of Gods and Fighting Men. I adored that the reference for pronunciations was at the front of the book rather than at the end! I look forward to recommending it to fans of Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, and the Fifth Season by N, K, Jeminson.

I was received a digital arc by the publisher via NetGalley - thank you to Head of Zeus, NetGalley and Shauna Lawless

A fantastic, tense and BRUTAL read. If you like George RR Martin or Madeline Miller, this is your next series. I loved the Irish lore and politics that capture the plot and characters of this series and cannot wait to read the second installment. This book is long, but involved. I found myself engaged and looked for the next opportunity to read it. I think anyone with an interest in mythology will find this book fascinating and engaging.

I absolutely loved this - the perfect mix of epic fantasy and historical fiction, I was utterly hooked from the first page.

Definitely in my top reads for 2022!!!
Well I may have been thunderstruck by Thor because I'm astonished this is a debut, the Author absolutely gets their readers, knows exactly how to absorb us into every word.
I am obsessed with everything about this book, the standard edition in itself is stunning, thank you @headofzeus for gifting me to review, and then @thebrokennbinding edition absolutely enhances it with even more charisma. So happy managed to grab one of these before they sold out!!
It's books like this that I love reading the most. It has the perfect balance of history and fantasy weaved richly together by exceptionally good world building, a steady pace, enticing narrative and compelling characters. I really enjoyed the complexity of the story lines propelled through alternate chapters of two very different and interesting perspectives Gormflaith is a Formorian and the widow of the King of Dublin. Fodla is one of the Descendants and the last remaining link to the Tuatha dé Danann. I honestly don't know which I'd choose as a favourite because both are so fascinating for different reasons, fantastic character development all round. I didn't know much at all of Irish Mythology and after reading this I'm interested in finding out more. I loved that the story is based on real historical events and people, and charactersenchanted with rish mythology.
I'm excited to see what happens next!!!!

At a time when all the fantasy being promoted seems to be YA fantasy romance or highly eroticised fantasy romance this was a relief.

I adored the setting - both location and time period, even though this technically isn't an "epic" it felt like an epic in a similar way to George R R Martin's Game of Thrones without the convoluted horde of characters and of course overly complex storyline.

We have just a couple of "species" who each have their own motivations, fears, and parts to play in this story and each group felt relatable, even when we don't agree with the specific choices they are making.

I loved this and would recommend this for people who like fantasy similar to Game of Thrones but found that one a bit over-facing. This is much more enjoyable!

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a fantastic first book in a thrilling Historical Fiction Fantasy series. The book is set in 981 A.D. Ireland. The Viking King of Dublin is dead and his wife, Gormflaith, has plans to install her son on the throne. But there are several sons and uncles that Gormflaith must go through before she achieves her goal. Gormflaith also has a secret that she must keep to avoid death by those sworn to kill her race. Gormflaith is a Fomorian, an immortal race who can do fire-magic.

Fódla is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann with the gift of healing. Her kind dwell hidden in a fortress, forbidden to live amongst the mortals. Her kind hunted the Fomorian, believing that they eradicated the last of them. Fódla is sent on a mission to spy on King Brian Boru, a powerful man who aims to be High King of Ireland. She desperately wants to avoid war between the kingdoms, but she is not the only force working to maneuver the power structure of Ireland.

This is a great book. It immediately grabbed my attention and held it throughout. The character development of Gormflaith and Fódla is well done. Both women are complex and total bad-asses. The supporting characters are defined well enough to play off the MCs, but it's clear that several of them have secret agendas that I hope to find out more about in the next book. The pacing is steady throughout the book and the worldbuilding is subtly sprinkled throughout. The book ended on great cliffhangers and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Head of Zeus. All opinions are my own.