So excited to get my hands on this one! I had been eager since the end of Godkiller to get back to this world. The character work is impeccable, as to be expected. I actually enjoyed this a bit more than Godkiller, as we got to spend solid time with the cast instead of learning the world. The characters do spend a lot of time apart from one another, doing their own things. But I am now absolutely geared up for the third and wish it wasn't so far away.

I was hyped for Sunbringer and it delivered but also suffers from middle book. Tons of intrigue and build up that needs to happen but also feels like nothing happened. I still love it and can’t wait for the next installment. The gods and the characters have me coming back.

This is a gods opera in the best way possible.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately I just don’t think this series is for me.

I really wanted to love it, because the overall idea is very interesting. I think it’s just bogged down by too many POVs and slow pacing.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Middle books are tough to read (and probably even tougher to write). In Sunbringer, the dream team is divided for most of the story, which like some reviews, is probably my chief complaint. However, we see the world continue to build and our characters develop, especially Inara. I can’t wait for the next volume!

4.5 rounded up!

I thought this was a stellar followup to Godkiller. As with Godkiller, there are some weaknesses, but I still adored this story. I think it's strength remains in the world building: our understanding of the gods from Godkiller becomes further complicated in Sunbringer in a way I really enjoyed. While this does suffer from a bit of the middle-book-slog, with the plot clearly meant to set up the final book in the trilogy, Kaner made sure to deliver plenty of character development and revelations to keep readers invested and to continue to grow the story.

Kaner has a denser, slower writing style that may not work for others but I still enjoyed her detail-heavy high fantasy style in Sunbringer. One of my notes from the first book was that the romance felt rushed and while that didn't have an opportunity to be resolved in this book, Kaner still managed to add more context through Elogast's perspective - hopefully we get further development in the final book!

As much as I love all the characters, especially Kissen (who had some wonderful development in this book), Elogast was the stand-out for me this time around. I used to find paladin-esque characters boring but I've found in recent years that stories exploring a paladin archetype characters loss of faith and subsequent journey of self-discovery to be very satisfying. Elogast wrestles with a lot of emotional fallout from Godkiller in this book and I really enjoyed watching him grow.

I'm extremely excited for the third book! Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is slow. I enjoy the characters & plot, but it is not a quick one. The prose is full of descriptions & somehow slows it down. It is VERY similar to Godkiller, so if you enjoyed that, you will enjoy this. Overall an interesting story, but not a light read.

This is an incredible continuation of the amazing story Hannah Kaner began in Godkiller. All of the measured world-building of the previous book made this already amazing book really sing.

Kaner has gifted her readers a rich world and richer characters. This is easily one of the best high-fantasies I've ever read. Kaner's prose is intoxicating, her imagery vivid, and her plot masterfully-woven.

I will be recommending this series to anyone who will listen to me!

First of all, Kissen is my book girlfriend, and I would die for her.

Second of all, OH MY GOD.

Third of all, where is book 3??

And lastly, this book was perfect, perfect, PERFECT. I see a lot of reviewers saying it's not as action-packed as Godkiller and that it is a slog to get through. And I guess they're right, but here's the thing for me, I love those types of books. In Sunbringer, our MCs are separated. For me, that's the worst part, but I digress. With this separation, we get more world building. We meet new characters and gods. The MCs (like my girl Kissen) are more fleshed out, and we learn more of who they are.

It's the second book in a trilogy it's gonna be heavy, but my goodness, the character development is incredible.

So, back to my 3rd point, WHERE IS BOOK 3??

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC!

A great continuation to the Godkiller storyline, but one that also suffers from second-book syndrome. Godkiller established the world and the characters, Sunbringer mostly just seems to exist to move everything into place for a concluding installment.

That being said, the characters are still great, and I am definitely invested in what happens next. I'm excited to recommend this (and Godkiller) to others once it's released!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

Sunbringer was a better book than Godkiller. The characters were more dynamic, the plot was more interesting, and I think the book, on the whole, felt a lot more adult and complex. I think Godkiller fans will love this sequel. If you didn’t love Godkiller and were undecided about reading Sunbringer, I think you should give this a try.

The follow up to Godkiller doesn't quite hold up but it is definitely still worth the read if you liked the first.

The added POV was a great help to the story but one of my favorite things about Godkiller was the character interactions so them being separated for most of this book made it a little less engaging and gave it a bit of middle book syndrome. I do still like how this series/Kaner's writing feels very classic fantasy but with disability representation and a queer normative society.

I'll definitely be continuing the series!

I had a bit of a hard time focusing on this book and am going to come back and edit my review after I give it a second try.
I really enjoyed Godkiller and hope that it will be better after a second try.
3 star for now

I just finished reading Sunbringer right after Godkiller, which I enjoyed a lot. I received an ARC copy of Sunbringer from Netgalley, courtesy of Harper and Avon Voyager, and Hannah Kaner, for my unbiased review.

My thoughts on Sunbringer are mixed. I appreciate that it continues from where Book 1 left off, so it was easy to get back into the story. However, compared to the first book, it felt a bit slow. It was like switching from a thrilling ride to a gentler one. I prefer books with a faster pace, but the plot was well-crafted. And the ending! I did not expect it at all. I'm glad I didn't stop reading the book because of its leisurely pace. I knew there was more to Inara's character than what we saw in Book 1.

2.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher — Avon and Harper Voyager — for the eARC.

The pacing in this second book is inconsistent. Every chapter (only a few pages long) alternates between five different points of view which you’d think would propel the story forward but you don’t actually get any significant movement or understanding within a chapter before it ends. I’m not so sure all of the points of view were necessary.

The characters’ (and the gods’) motivations were murky and their attitudes oftentimes annoying. Revelations fell flat because by the time they were reached I had grown apathetic towards it all. I guess this is what people mean when they say a book has middle book syndrome.

My favorite part of the story remains the same as the first book: Skedi and the other small, forgotten gods. They kept me reading.

The sequel to "Godkiller," the action in "Sunbringer" takes place almost immediately after and the characters in this book never get a chance go catch their breath. Kraner is a goddess at cliffhangers - none of her cliffhangers end in the middle of an action, but with the tense resolution that her characters are alive yet in a tense and precarious situation (slight spoiler: "Godkiller" nearly ends with a main character plunging into the sea after killing the god of war but it really ends with her saved by the patron god of her father), which I think is more powerful in building anticipation for the sequel and she repeats this action for the ending in "Sunbringer." If the sequel to "Sunbringer" does not come out next year, I will be a broken person.

Kraner also constructs the stakes in "Sunbringer" to be higher than ever - before, the danger was contained almost completely to Kissen, Elogast, and Inara's quest to Blenraden - and now the danger(s) have followed them home and threaten not only them but also ~the friends they've made along the way~. Possibly the only negative things I can say about this book is that the side characters are fleshed out but I still want to know more about them. I hope Kraner ends up writing spin-offs and origin stories in this universe for years to come.

Incredible sequel! It expanded on everything I felt was lacking in book 1. The world building, the new characters and development, and the ENDING!! Loved it!

THIS BOOK. AAAAAAAAAA

It was so good. That’s it, that’s the review; it was wonderful, and I can’t lie and say that it was an easy read (it DID suffer from a mild case of middle book syndrome, and my preorder had a shit ton of typos) but I still ate up every minute.

I adore every single character (.. okay minus Skedi, because fuck him, and Milf Who Must Not Be Named because fuck her too), and I love spending time with them and seeing them interact and watching them process their grief and take sides in conflicts and have different ambitions that inevitably pit them up against eachother and working through that because they still care about eachother and ugh

This has a lot of political fantasy aspects, which I really like. It felt very realistic, and it added a nice layer of complexity to the world and the characters’ goals.

The first half was pretty sloggy, but it definitely paid off, and honestly I enjoyed the boring parts too. It was slow because it needed to be. I also really loved the way it ended (no literal cliffhanger this time!) and I can’t wait to see how everything progresses from here.

(thanks to Netgalley for the arc! I will be back to request the third book the second I can)

I won't give away too much because this is a sequel, but if you enjoyed the first in the series (Godkiller) then you'll love this. The world and the characters are just as good as the first book, but I do think having Kissen being separate from the group didn't do her character much good. I wasn't a huge fan of her vibe in the first book, but the way she interacted with the others made her fit in better and I enjoyed the dynamic of the different characters. In this book, because we didn't get those interactions, I didn't love the main character. But, the overall story was really good, and I love the way Hannah Kaner writes--the world and plot was really compelling and well-realized.
I can't wait for more from this author!

Like, oh my god.

"People like me don’t change the world. We just survive it.”

Picking right up after the betrayal at the end of Godkiller, Sunbringer shifts focus from our main POV to the three other main characters. I appreciate Kaner's character work, world building, and dedication to queer, disability, and mental health representation in her fantasy world.

My favorite aspect to the whole series is the commentary on faith and how it can be used for control. In Sunbringer, we get to see more of the gods themselves, how they are made, and what they can do to or for their believers.

The pacing starts a bit slow, but by the end it really ramped up. I loved how it felt like watching an action movie on page with each POV facing a different battlefront. There are twists, turns, and reveals, and it's super satisfying to see it all come together in the end. I am extremely excited for book three.

"Nothing was more frightening than a smart woman with a vendetta and a plan."

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperVoyager, for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I am so stupid for thinking this was a duology. Imagine my surprise getting 80% done with this book and realizing, there’s no way this ends in 60 pages.

Anyway, this was great. I loved Godkiller, Sunbringer was just as good, but it did drag in that way that second in a trilogy books tend to do. Which, now that I know what I know. Makes fucking sense. I’m a goose.

Sunbringer picks up right where Godkiller left off and we follow our same beloved cast of characters as they lick their wounds and find ways to cope This was definitely slower than Godkiller, more politics-driven, and less murder. But everything that I liked about the first book was in Sunbringer so I can’t complain. I devoured Godkiller in about 8 hours. It took me around 25 days to get through Sunbringer. Kanner slows down and takes us through more in-depth worldbuilding and politics.

Whatever comes next for these characters was perfectly set up in this book and I am fucking ecstatic.