Not too bad. A good triliogy, the ending was a little predictable and a little YA for my tastes, but ultimately it was a fun and thrilling read. Fast paced with some good character work.

This was the perfect continuation to Godkiller and Sunbringer. It was an incredible wrap up of the series and I can't wait to see what Hannah does next!

4.5 stars—Well, I was a sobbing mess at the end of this. Wonderful prose as usual. The characters all underwent their own transformation/understanding of self which helped close the novel nicely. I did have difficulty finding my rhythm until about 60% in—there was nothing wrong, but this is usually my experience with multi-POV novels. Just as things are getting good, I’m torn away from the action. Yet I binged the final 40% of this book in one sitting!

Aside from the world building, intrigue, and relationships, what I loved most about this series are the characters and their evolution throughout the books. In Godkiller, each character was introduced to us with their own list of ideas they believed to be absolute truths and yet, by the end, they have accepted that many things can be true at once. A small god of white lies who is capable of great things, a demigod who embraces both her power and humanity, a veiga who comes to care for a god, our baker-knight who is both things and so much more, and a god-king who, despite it all, has always only wanted the love of one person. We witnessed them struggle, grow, and at times fail which lent much not only to the plot but to our connection to them. And though I was wary of the direction Kaner was taking Elogast’s love life and the implications this would have in the story, I think this was perhaps one of the plot points I appreciate most now that I have completed the book. It was messy and painful (and made me side-eye Elo for a minute, I must be honest), but it was also something his character needed in order to more forward and, honestly, an experienced he deserved to have for the short time he was able to.

Though this book was heavy on politics and war strategy, there was still the adventure, danger, and found-family building moments which made me fall in love with Godkiller in the first place—now with a heaping dose of emotional damage thrown in. Overall, I truly enjoyed this series. I’ll miss the world, the gods, and most of all Kissen—though maybe we will be blessed with a future installment in this universe at some point?

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever read a series so unique, so original, that you just couldn’t get enough of it?

For me, that series in 2024 was The Fallen Gods by Hannah Kaner.

Full disclosure: I stalked NetGalley, hoping to score an ARC of Faithbreaker. When I finally got the approval, I may or may not have done a happy dance. And trust me, I was not disappointed.

From the very first page, I was right back in the rhythm of Kaner’s storytelling. It was like reconnecting with old friends as I jumped back into the world of Middren. Each POV felt familiar, especially Kissen and Skedi, who have always been my favorites.

The storyline? Fantastic. As always, there was a perfect mix of action and humor. I found it a little more straightforward than the previous books, probably because all the different plotlines are building toward the big climax.

But “straightforward” doesn’t mean lacking depth. There’s a major focus on relationships—how they evolve, the power of forgiveness and acceptance—and the influence humans have on religion, especially when we twist it to fit our own needs.

And the ending… I made the mistake of finishing it at work and had to take a minute to pull myself together after the last page. J

My only complaint? I wish it were longer. Not because it was lacking, but because I just wanted more time with these characters and this world. That’s why I’ll definitely read it again and again, and pick up anything else Kaner writes without a second thought.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can't say enough about this series! I hope more people pick it up. Not only are the covers BEAUTIFUL, the story is strong. Love how the main characters are real and respond to trauma appropriately. I HIGHLY recommend this!

An absolutely incredible ending for the series. Although...losing Legs was really unexpected.

Overall I think the ending for each character made sense, and inspired a combination of grief and hopefulness.

After the ending of Sunbringer, I expected this book to pick up the pace. It stayed true to the pacing of the first two; slow for the first half and more exciting as it gets closer to the end. There was a world-ending war going on, after all.
I did enjoy the character development and was brought to tears by the scene where Lessa lets Inara see how much she loves her. I thought the mother-daughter dynamic was very well done. I will not, however, forgive the author for *that* death, and when you read the book, you'll know the one. It was entirely unnecessary, and I kept expecting him to show up at the very end, having somehow miraculously survived.
The ending was perfect for this story. Heartfelt and heartbreaking, but left with a little hope.

An incredible and heartbreaking ending to this trilogy full of hope and desperation. I had a feeling it would end like that, and it still hurt even with the foreshadowing. It can be quite confusing with an assortment of POVs in books, but Faithbreaker was not one of those for me. The perspectives of all these characters, Kissen, Inara, Skedisceth, Elogast, Arren, and even Hestra, brings so much more to this conclusion of the trilogy. If you enjoyed Godkiller and Sunbringer, this final book will leave you speechless and heartbroken all at the same time. Just a beautiful conclusion to this trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

I knew the ending would break my heart, yet I wept anyway. I will always appreciate this series for its characters that tug at your heartstrings. The found family in this series is truly one of my favorites. I’ve loved watching the characters grow. I will always praise the story’s diversity and inclusivity. There is a wide variety of representations from different disabilities, race, gender, and sexuality. Despite this being the finale to a series, I did find that it had a slower start for me. I wasn’t truly hooked till after the 40 percent mark. I much preferred inara/skedi/kissen’s perspectives/part of the story opposed to the other’s perspectives. For me, I felt like there might have been one or two too many pov’s. Due to my preference in perspectives, the battle scenes felt lengthy and drawn out. Despite my personal preferences and issues with pacing, this was still a wonderful finale to a beloved series. The ending broke me. I definitely wished for a better ending. That being said, it delivered an impactful and emotional conclusion.

4.25 stars...first off thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC. This is the final book in the Fallen God's series and I enjoyed it. It had all my favorite characters and some new faces. I thought the author ended this series well. Tied up loose ends and broke my heart in some parts. This was heavy on the politics/wartimes. Lots of swordplay...betrayal, faith,loyalty, love, and some m/m, f/f romancy bits. This was quite the adventure and I would recommend it it to readers who enjoy stories entailing God's, and fighting for your future.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for a review.

This is the final book in a series that I had high hopes for starting out, while in the first book I saw some promise, I can happily say that the series does get better, both in story development and writing style. Unlike some final books in a series, Faithbreaker brings everything to a good ending place, where many of the characters stories and plot points have been wrapped up nicely in a way that I think many fans of the series will be happy with.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. This is the final book in the Fallen Gods Trilogy and I was very excited to get to it. Prior books are 5 stars and we had a lot riding on the story but this book was absolute perfection. I love the cast of this, getting to know new friends and seeing old ones grow. I could not have predicted the way this would end and wow, I’m blown away. I cried. I loved it all.

A perfect end to the fallen gods Trilogy.

This book packs a punch from page 1. Once again we start right back into the thick of it with adventure, relationships, defeats, victories, sacrifices and offerings to the gods.

Lessa, Kissen, Inara and Sketti venture to find allies to aid Middren. Elo finds himself reliving his past as he is once again fighting along side Arryn as they fight to keep Hseth and her followers from progressing in their conquest.

I loved that we got to explore more of the world, meet more gods and see their personalities and views of humans.

I loved the war plotting and strategy with Elo, and his and Kissens relationship even when they had Lessa and Arryn too.

I had to keep reminding myself how young Inara was because she is such a badass and I would LOVE to read about her in the future.

“For the first time in her life, the godkiller wept for the death of a god.” Was such a perfect line to end the book.

Public review will be posted closer to release date.

I guess one way to force me to finish a series I absolutely adore is to give me an ARC of it.

I love Kissen, Elogast, and Inara. My main 3 but I was so surprised how other characters in this series earned my endearment after EVERYTHING they did in the first book.
I loved the world, the writing style. Everything was absolute perfection. And the ending 😭.

Going down as my all time favorite series. 5 stars for the EVERYTHING.

I actually had to wait a day to write this review because my first feeling after finishing this book was one of profound melancholy. Over the course of this series, I've grown to love these characters and their relationships so much that it hurt a bit that it was finally over and I wouldn't get to see them again. My second feeling is a bit more complicated and more like a few different feelings rolled into one.

For starters, I actually think all the character progressions in this series wrapped up satisfyingly in the finale. None of the characters were the same as when they started and the growth they'd experienced, particularly in this book, felt both true to the world and how the author had set up those growths in the first book. That's not to say some of those growths weren't painful, but what's growing without a little pain every now and then?

I think, for me, there was one thing that held this back from being a 5 star read: it wasn't quite long enough to be satisfying. In general, these books are far shorter than the scope of the world would typically lead you to believe. And truthfully that didn't bother me as much when it came to the first two books. However, the finale has been built up so, so much that the way it ended felt far too abrupt. The transition from the last chapter to the epilogue was honestly quite jarring. I wanted a little bit more introspection in between--particularly from both Kissen and Elogast--about the end of all they'd worked towards. Really, just two more chapters, I think, and I'd have been much more content with the ending.

Regardless, I've loved this series so, so much. The exploration of the power of faith and how that can provide strength to people in the darkest of times, but also how it can be dangerous and destructive when gone into blindly was just so well done. In this book in particular, I loved the way the author illustrated how people often rewrite the histories of their gods to suit their own goals, often molding the gods into their own image. This series has also shown that faith isn't a bad thing, so long as it's not used to hurt other people. Because people need faith in something--be it gods or something more substantial--to keep from feeling lost, particularly in times of crisis. It feels particularly relevant of late and, in my opinion, was very well done.

I will honestly miss these characters so much. I definitely look forward to reading whatever the author writes next.

For a final book this really completed the series and made it all wrap up nicely while still including so much plot and emotions

I love this series, and this third book was one of my most highly anticipated this year, so I was thrilled to get an ARC! It did not disappoint. Gods, fantasy, prophecy - it was such a good time.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

THE PAIN I AM IN.

If you noticed the trend with the covers, the gods on them do not have the best endings...

After the sequel being very much a sequel (in that it felt like a lull before a finale), I was so excited to have our found family all back together and fighting against Hseth... only for them to be separated >80% of the book again.

Lessa grew on me a little more this book, but she cannot ever replace Elo in my mind as the counterpart that Kissen needs. Arren is still a jerk of a man asking too much of Elo up until the very end.

The amount of pain and suffering in this book was almost too much, and I can't particularly say the ending made it feel worth it all. It ended all too quickly, with the final battle going so terribly wrong only to be saved in a snap, and then we are at the epilogue? I felt cheated out of everything I loved in the first book.

I usually say that I can tell a book is good by how much it made me cry because I do love a story that breaks my heart. But if at the end of it all, I feel broken still?? Boo. It reminds my of Lightbringer's ending and how yes there is a hopefulness *technically* there, but sacrifices had to be made.

Yes, read this for closure. Read it for the political intrigue, the betrayals, how messed up and twisted faith can become. See how little men are in the face of blinding faith. Then weep with how much love hurts us all.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC of Faithbreaker.

3.5 stars

Faithbreaker reminds me a lot of Tolkien's The Two Towers. Our ragtag group of heroes - Kissen, Elogast, Inara, and Skediceth - have split up and war is on the horizon. We spend time moving back and forth between the two groups as allies are secured, battles are fought, and Middren hurtles headfirst towards war against the cult of the fire goddess Hseth. The biggest difference between the two, however, is that there is another book after The Two Towers to round out the story; Faithbreaker concludes the Fallen Gods series.

Unfortunately for me, this book was not the knockout that I hoped it would be. There is so much to be explored both from a magical perspective and with the characters, but the actual fantasy worldbuilding doesn't really get expanded upon and the interpersonal conflicts from the previous book continue to linger. What we are left with is a slow-paced political fantasy that hastily wraps up the massive war that has been teased through the entire series in about 30 pages. There are some really lovely moments with our original group that buoy the story and the character work is really lovely, but the focus on adding more characters and locations to the story dilute the focus of the work and reduces the emotional impact of some of the book's final moments. I would definitely still read what Kaner writes next on the strength of her character writing, but I might not necessarily make it a priority.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I love this series so much and this book did not disappoint.
I really enjoy how well developed the main characters are and how the author gives each of them the attention needed to develop a full character arc.
Not to mention this unique and interesting fantasy world the author has developed has kept me intrigued and on my toes the whole time.