I really enjoyed the return to our favorite characters. Elo, Inara, and especially Kissen - she's so stubborn, I adore her perspective. I couldn't wait for them to be reunited after the end of Godkiller, Inara and Elo assuming her dead as they go through the trials of their stories.

I definitely think this book suffered a bit from being the middle book in a series. (Or a trilogy?) Objectively it wasn't as good as Godkiller and it felt like a lot of set-up for only some pay off at the end, but I really enjoyed the journey there. We also got some new characters that I really loved (*coughNaiacough*) and hope to see in the third book!

After hugely enjoying Godkiller, I’ll confess to being somewhat disappointed in its sequel, Sunbringer. I think what worked so well for me in the first book was the four central characters, how they all worked together and interacted. Splitting them up in the sequel may have served the plot, but it definitely led to a feeling of something deeper and more crucial being left out. With that being my primary reaction to the book, it was harder to care about the events taking place because all I really felt there was to look forward to was their reunion. That’s not to say there’s nothing to recommend this book - the writing is absolutely stunning, it’s well paced, and there’s some great character development, but I definitely felt that this installment was less strong than its predecessor.

There are spoilers for Godkiller in this review, but no spoilers for Sunbringer.



Sunbringer is the second of the Fallen Gods books by Hannah Kaner, picking up a couple of weeks after the ending of Godkiller. Kissen, Elogast, and Inara (and Skediceth!) each have their own journeys in this book, and we get the additional POV of King Arren.
Thinking Kissen has died after her fight with with Hseth, Elogast, Inara, and Skediceth make their way back Kissen's family in Lesscia. Elogast leaves Inara with Yatho and Telle to keep her safe while he tries to find a way to defeat King Arren. Inara, not happy to be left behind after losing Kissen, looks for her own ways to get revenge on the king. Meanwhile, Kissen is trying to make her way home after falling into Osidisen's sea with Hseth.
While I liked Godkiller, I did find it a little hard to get through, but I enjoyed it enough to want to read Sunbringer, and I am so glad that I did. I loved Sunbringer, I found it to be a faster pace than Godkiller (I know there was a lot of world building in Godkiller, but it was significantly shorter than Sunbringer and took me almost twice as long to read). I really loved that there was more interactions with the other gods in this book, and we got more background on Inara and her family history.
This was an exceptionally well written, fast paced, and exciting follow up to Godkiller, and I cannot wait to read what Hannah Kaner writes next!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Sunbringer in exchange for my honest review.

This book felt really rushed and sloppy. I know I read an ARC, but the amount of typos I found surpassed any other book I've ever read. More time needed to be spent with this book and these characters. The charm and depth of emotion just isn't at the same level as the first book. I really liked the first book, it would be such a shame to have this series be another victim of this fast-fashion equivalent of the publishing world. Hoping the next installment does better.

This book was phenomenal. The world, the characters, the complexity of both story and character development were just beautiful. If I had a complaint at all its that the mysteries mount a lot more rapidly than they get solved but everything that's happening is so entertaining that it's not such a burden. I love that Kissen gets to be powerful, surly, strong, capable, smart, crafty, scarred, and still desirable BECAUSE of who she is and not despite of who she is. I found myself having to remind myself that the people in the book were not real so I could make it through some of the tense situations because they feel like real people and you love them all.

In a good book, every one in an argument should have a good point and this author excels at layering on the shades of gray in a way that never makes anyones motivations feel cheap or contrived, even the "bad guys."

The disability, sexual orientation, and race representation is *chef's kiss*. It NEVER feels like the author is just checking off a box.

I am so looking forward to the next one in this series.

I've read enough sequels that let me down after such a promising first novel and I am so glad to say this was not one of them. The world descriptions are still top notch, and she constantly adds layers to the characters and story. A worthy sequel!

I absolutely loved and devoured Godkiller when I got my hands on it and when I got accepted for this e-ARC, I was so excited. I had to wait to read it until I finished my ARCs for February, but I finally got to it.

This is the second installment to a series about an interesting fantasy world surrounding a kingdom that was once built on the love for Gods and once the people turned against them the entire kingdom has changed with a hatred to those once adored and loved. This series follows Elo, a knight, Kissen, a god killer, Inara, a young noble with an affinity for her God, and Skedi, Inara's God of white lies.

This is a 4.0-4.5 star rating and while I was not nearly as attached to this book as the first it was an important installment to lay out the world and motives for the final novel of this trilogy. I personally struggled to make it through some aspects of the book because I wanted other aspects answered faster and that led to me becoming bored with certain moments of the story. Although, getting to the ending I realized how important all the aspects were and Hannah Kaner was smart for taking a slower time with this installment. I expect the third and final book to be intense and full of Gods, blood, destruction, and more of these characters that I have quickly become obsessed with.

The characters of this series are what holds me attached and Kaner over the two books has been able to show a lot of character development behind strong-minded and stubborn in their ways type of personalities.

As a warning for this second installment be prepared that it does not move as fast as Godkiller, but I felt like the ending of the book made up for the slow beginning and am so excited for the final book.

I personally will be waiting every day to hear about the final installment so I can request the ARC and pre-order the final copy. I look forward to see what Kaner does with this brilliant world she has created.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an honest review of this e-ARC.

I thought this book was great. I loved the characters, I loved the plot. I was a huge fan of the first book. Hannah Kaner has a way to draw me in with the way she writes. I was hanging on to every word and every action and every character.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

While I overall enjoyed this sequel to Godkiller, I think it suffered from Second Book Syndrome. When I had finished it, my overall impression was that the whole book felt like a bridge between stories rather than a full, captivating story on its own. In other words, it mostly felt like filler.

I did enjoy watching Inara grow as a character and learn more about herself. And I liked the way her relationship with Skedi evolved.

Of the four POVs, I found my interest waning in Kissen and Elo's chapters, whereas I found Inara & Skedi's chapters much more engaging. Kissen's part in this book was basically just setting up the plot of the next book, which didn't really leave her with much to do.

While I liked the complicated dynamic between Elo and Arren, I didn't enjoy the development of their parts in this plot. I thought the reasoning for Arren's political actions was pretty weak. I understood Elo's motivations, but I thought his strategies were weak too. Overall I felt like their political/martial conflict happened just to give them something to do in this book. It didn't really make sense to me.

I do really like the world of this series and I love the disability representation too. I look forward to the third book!

Well, I liked this much better than GodKiller. That book was good but this was better. Lots of nonstop excitement as Elo makes plans to kill the king and protect Lesscia from being destroyed. Lesscia would be an awesome city to go and see with all its books and papers and ink. It is definitely worth protecting and has a lot of people trying to do so.

This is also the book for growth of the characters. Kissen, who thankfully survived the killing of Hseth (and too bad she didn't stay dead despite Kissen's best efforts). That was a bit disheartening but it did not stop Kissen from trying. She is so tough and I like that she is willing to bend and work with other gods to try and stop Hseth.

My favorite characters were Inara and Skedi though. They grew so much into their powers and they are awesome both as a team and separately. It was cool to learn more about their shared history and why they are who they are. I cannot wait to see what they will accomplish next!

I do like the addition of Arren's point of view in this book to see what his justifications are for the actions he is commiting (along with Hesta). It left me intrigued about how this whole mess is going to end. I cannot wait for the last book to see hopefully the defeat of that awful god of fire now turned to god of war!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review an advance copy of this book.

Kissen is a godkiller. She's already killed the god that had been her target for years. Or has she?

There is a lot to love about this book. A lot happens in what is essentially a pretty short amount of time. I love Inara's continued development and Kissen's dedication to doing what is right despite how much she hates what it means. I didn't love the division that Elogast was part of, but the way it set up the ending and the third book makes me excited for the next part in the journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. Another fantastic entry by the author. More world building created, more bits of the characters revealed, and it just sucked me in. I appreciated the varying points of view. The book started up almost right where the first ended which was good because that cliffhanger of the first. And now I'm eagerly and excitedly waiting for the next book. The things revealed in this book, I couldn't have predicted. I cannot wait to see how this series ends. I will recommend this to all my book reading friends. Fantastic book.

This was a beautiful sequel to Godkiller. I love Hannah Kanger’s writing. Her world building is easy to follow but still feels like you’re in another world entirely. I wish we got more time with the two main characters together, they were separated for majority of the book. For a sequel, Sunbringer was amazing.

Favorite Quote: Unpaid soldiers become angry. Angry, unpaid soldiers forget their loyalty.

Story Synopsis: Elogast and Inara are on their own after Kissen saves them at Blenraden. Arren is working on his god-like perception, hoping to become a god himself. Kissen, after being granted her long overdue boon from Osidisen, makes the long, arduous journey to Lesscia to reunite with Inara and Elo.

Why does this book beguile? Godkiller, the first book of the Fallen Gods series, was short and action-packed. I found Sunbringer to be a big letdown. The first ten percent of Sunbringer, after leaving the characters in Godkiller, was awesome. I was eager to learn about each character’s fate and how it would influence the story. However, the story dragged on and on and on. This book reminded me of a meeting to talk about an upcoming meeting.

The last fifteen percent was enjoyable, but after slogging through the book, I lost interest. While the storyline is solid, this is a classic situation of a trilogy that should have been a duology (looking at you, Shadow & Bone). I’ve yet to determine if I’ll read the third book.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner is an adventure fantasy that has a beautiful found family, unique premise, and Witcher-vibes. It is an incredible next installment to a series that focuses on gods, a corrupt king, maniacal faith, and the self-less courage of those who want a better future for their kingdom..

The author did a fantastic job of delving deep into our characters’ flaws and providing a plot that leads them to personal growth. I loved seeing the progression of the characters we fell in love with in book 1, though I wish we could have spent more time with them together as a found family unit. Despite this, it is clear how close knit they have grown and I can't wait to see what happens next in book 3.

Overall, I gave this book a four-star rating because it was enjoyable and I keep finding myself becoming more and more attached to the characters and their stories. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy adventure that has similar vibes to Witcher, but is its own wonderfully distinct tale.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I can see why some people felt it was a little flat compared to the first one. I think I struggle with second books and find them to be slower as they tend to try to set a lot up for the final book.

One thing I did like about this was the added pov. I always find myself wishing that authors would show more povs from characters I like so I was pleasantly surprised to have that in this book.

I'm not sure if I will read the next one so I will wait to see other reviews from it before I give it a shot.

Thank you as always to Netgalley for the arc!

📖 Sunbringer
✍️ Hannah Kaner
🗓️ 12 Mar 2024
📝Avon and Harper Voyager, Harper Voyager
💕 General Fiction (Adult), Sci Fi & Fantasy,
LGBTQIA/queer

First things first, the covers of both books, aren’t they absolutely stunning!? I ordered both books in German because they have these amazing sprayed edges. Just perfect.

“Godkiller” was one of my favourites from last year. I was really anxiously waiting for “Sunbringer”.

It has been a while when I read Godkiller and when starting Sunbringer, I felt like I should have reread it. The story is rather complex, which I like, but I needed a refresher. The gods names are unfamiliar and I had to brush up a bit on what happened, especially at the end of book one.

I loved the LGBTQIA/ queer representation and that it was perfectly normal in that world. It felt natural. Many authors introduce queer characters as an accessory to make their novel “diverse” and resulting in it being forced and unnatural. That was not the case here, which made the reading experience so much better.

I loved the representation of mental health, disabilities and diversity. I love it when the deaf community and sign language is introduced. I always had a weak spot for that.
I also didn’t mind the religious aspects. I adored the wild feel of the gods, the rebellion, the war. This novel had so many great qualities and aspects. Nothing in Hannah Kaner’s writing is forced and unnatural, it’s such a rare skill she possesses.

What I didn’t care too much about were the politics. I was never too big on that topic. It just never catches my attention.

I agree with previous reviews about the main characters being separated too long. I understand that this was probably to help up setting for the last book and to show the growth of the individual characters. I still wanted them to be together again. I couldn’t stand the pain when the sisters were told of Kissen’s death.


⭐️Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own, I was under no obligation to review.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperVoyagerUS, and Avonbooks for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

I absolutely loved the first book. The multiple points of view and intriguing plot lines. I could not wait to read the second one.

This book was good but it didn’t give me the same vibes that the first one did. There is definitely a lot going on in this one. So much so that at points it’s hard to keep up with the story. But I loved that we got multiple POVs. It makes it easier to see everything that is going on in different parts of the kingdom. The plot gets really good. It makes you not want to put it down.

I highly recommend it!

I really struggled to come up with a way to review this book. I really, really loved the ending. The last 25% of this book is amazing, incredible, and makes me want to read the next one immediately. Once the last quarter of the book started up, I had to finish and read in one sitting. I did find myself a bit frustrated with the rest of the book though.

The story picks up with our favorite characters scattered and trying to make it back home with the knowledge of what they’ve learned about the king and gods. We now also get Arren’s POV which was an interesting look into his plans.

Kissen, the absolute standout from the first book, is separated from the rest of the characters and I really found myself missing her wit and banter with Elo and Inara. I really missed that dynamic through the book as it was one of my favorite parts of Godkiller.

Minor Spoiler!

Kissen doesn’t reunite with the other characters until the very end which drives me a little batty. I hope we actually get a scene where they all can reunite and talk properly. I miss that.

End Spoiler

Inara’s growth was a great part of this book. I loved seeing her grow up from a scared girl into a warrior of her own. Her and Skedi were stars of the book while Kissen traveled and Elo embedded himself in the power struggle and fight. I found myself looking forward to her parts the most.

Elo had some awesome fight scenes, but I wished for more moments with the other characters he meets in this book. I had a bit of a hard time connecting with the new townspeople in this book - until the end which was very cool, but I wish there were more emotional moments with them before the end!

Overall, I did love this book because of the end. I am eager to see how the trilogy wraps up (I’m assuming it’s a trilogy!) but I do hope that the next book has some more emotional moments, banter, and connection!

Worry not, this review is spoiler free ❤️

Fans of Godkiller should be thrilled to know that the Sunbringer DOES NOT disappoint. I’m am absolutely stunned by the amazing second book of the Fallen Gods series. I couldn’t put it down. In fact I may have to set aside my previous belief that the first book is always the best because this was EPIC.

When I read Godkiller I was absolutely blown away by the amount of world building that Kaner put into the story, and am happy to say that that continues in its sequel. Sunbringer gives readers a deeper history of Middren and the gods its people either love or hate. Being a lover of mythology this aspect of the book made my heart so happy. She does an incredible job.

All your favorite characters are back, sharing their wants, fears, and (in Kissen’s case) colorfully vulgar language. There’s not a single pov that isn’t a roller coaster of emotion, usually leaving me with toes curled as I jumped into the next chapter. Several minor characters from the first book play much larger roles in Sunbringer and I was thrilled to get to know them better.

Last but not least, this book continues the theme of inclusion, acceptance, and diversity that had me over the moon in Godkiller. This book has the first trans character I’ve ever read about in a fantasy novel and the way she is portrayed is… wonderful. I couldn’t wait to tell my bestie, who I’ve been blessed to know throughout her transition, and she had tears in her eyes. It was awesome.

Needless to say this book was everything I hoped for and I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens next in the series. I’m officially obsessed. Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollins for this free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: March 12, 2024