This book was…fine. I struggle to pinpoint exactly what I didn’t like about it. I think it was the lack of drive by the characters. Set in a world with magic practitioners, we follow our two main characters to the City as Arlyn has been called to be the executor of the will of a distant cousin. But plot twist, Arlyn is really the cousin that “died.” (Practitioners live a really long time and Arlyn has been in hiding). His goal is to protect (or does he?) an artifact that he made that could ruin the world. He brings along Fenra to help (aka use) as she is a much stronger practitioner than she seems. So back to my drive comment. The characters are literally trying to save the world, and there is no urgency within the plot or conversations. It’s like, oh I suppose we should try to get the Godstone before the other dude gets it. Oh darn, we didn’t, now we have to figure something else out. Shucks. I found the worldbuilding interesting, but there were some pretty big gaps in it (like for real, what is a Mode?!?) Anyway, I can’t recommend this, but I also can’t say don’t read it either. It’s just meh

The Godstone by Violette Malan

Pros: good worldbuilding, interesting magic system, complex characters

Cons: a bit slow at times

When the artisan Arlyn Albainil receives word that his cousin Xandra named him executor of his testament he knows something’s up. The White Council wants to open Xandra’s practitioners’ vault, the place magic users keep their most important - and dangerous - work. But Arlyn knows what Xandra kept his his vault - the godstone - is a powerful artifact too dangerous to be released. So he enlists the help of the village practitioner, Fenra, to seal the godstone away forever.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and learning how modes worked. There were a few confusing moments as the characters understood what was happening as they passed between modes in a way that wasn’t explained to the reader, but I caught on quickly. I also liked the complexity of magic and learning that there were other planes of existence.

Fenra was a great character, compassionate but also pragmatic. I loved watching her relationship with Elvanyn develop. While her age is never given, it’s clear she’s not young, and her actions show the careful consideration of someone with a good deal of experience behind her.

The story was told from the three protagonists’ points of view, with the character named at the start of each section so it was very easy to keep track of whose thoughts you were sharing.

The pacing is slow but steady, doling out information at a good rate to keep you interested and with some tense scenes as the godstone comes into play.

I really enjoyed the book and if you like old school fantasy, you should give it a try.

The Godstone was different from other fantasy books that I have read recently, giving fantasy a fresh take which was interesting. I really liked the characters arcs and where they ended up by the end of the book. The world was in the way it interacted with the magic. The magic system was interesting with the way it affected the world and moving the world from different places.

A refreshing new fantasy that takes you on an adventure into a world where you never know what is going to happen.

This story had so many twists and turns, the weave of an amazing fantasy. I really enjoyed following the characters journey, and their development into who they become at the end of the book. They had depth and color, making them really interesting to read about.

The one thing I would have to say that was more negative about this story, there was no real world building. I expected the deep world around me that is always so prevalent in the fantasy genre, but that wasn't really what I found. Even though the world was almost nonexistent, the characters were able to paint a good enough picture of their world that I was still involved in the story.

This was a great read that I really enjoyed.

my review will be live on my blog, Book Confessions on 8-6-21.

Review to come. Thanks to Stephanie Felty and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date August 3, 2021
TheGodstone #NetGalley

I enjoyed this one. I found the story to be engaging and the narrative to be easy to follow and understand. I would recommend this to those new to the fantasy genre.

Thank you for the e-arc!

Really good fantasy book in a very promising new series. Still young of course, but not much talk about and still it provides a very cool world and setting. There is good characters as well and a lot of room for them to grows. I'm curious to see what Malan will give us next. I recommend this book!