I absolutely love Gwynne’s character work. It drew me in with The shadow of the Gods and continued to hold me in the sequel. I love nearly anything and everything Norse inspired and therefore finished this in nearly two or three sittings.
Of course there were a few issues. The pacing could have been done a bit better and I’ve seen that Gwynne seems to struggle sometimes with that. However, I can see progress and growth within his writing - which is honestly already phenomenal.
Each POV offers something different and interesting to the story. They didn’t seem to drag or run together for me, which is something I’ve noticed happens occasionally with fantasy. Each voice felt necessary and unique for the story.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to continue on with the series.❤️

The Hunger of the Gods is an amazing epic fantasy that took what made The Shadow of the Gods great and expanded on it. There was less use of the term thought cage and more use of deep cunning, which was a plus to me. Also, reading from Biorr and Gudvarr's povs was a pleasant surprise added to the original three main character. As with the first book there was a slam bang ending and I will never recover. The Hunger of the Gods is an amazing sequel, and book two in the series. I can't wait for book 3 now.

Thank you Netgalley for approving me for this ARC

First, thanks to Orbit and John Gwynne for sending me an e-arc of this amazing book! It was an absolute pleasure to read this one.

As I stated in Book 1’s review, The Shadow of the Gods was my first foray into John Gwynne’s work and it blew me away. The Hunger of the Gods solidified Gwynne as an auto-buy author for me.

The start of The Hunger of the Gods picks up immediately after the final events of its predecessor and for the most part, doesn’t let up. I personally found that in Book 1 there was a learning curve as you were making your way through and digesting all of the names, cultures, characters of this amazing world Gwynne had put together. While it captured me from the start, it definitely had me looking up what certain Norse terminology meant and slowed down the pace at the start of the book. However, with Book 2, you are (mostly) fully situated in who is who and where is where. As a result, when the action and drama picks up from the first couple of chapters, I was immediately engrossed with what was going on. And man, does this book have action in all of the best ways.

I really grew to love our 3 main POVs in Book 1: Varg, Elvar, and Orka. In Book 2, I really enjoyed watching the progression of these three characters, especially Varg. For me, Varg’s arc so far has been the most enjoyable and I am really excited to see where it goes in the future. In Hunger you also get introduced to two more POVs (I will leave their names out in an effort not to spoil anything) that to me, added a breath of fresh air into the story. One of these two new POVs had a very “Abercrombie-esque” perspective where they are technically an “antagonist”, but you understand why they are doing what they are doing and their internal dialogue is sprinkled with humor and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. I found myself really enjoying reading this persons’ perspective and was always intrigued any time I saw his name at the start of a new chapter.

In terms of the story, the stakes of Book 1 were immediately raised ten-fold with a rather big event that takes place in the first 100 pages of Hunger. To be honest, I saw this coming, but not as early as it did. As a result, the plot builds upon itself in excellent fashion. Despite the introduction of 2 new POVs shaking up pacing slightly in some instances, this was one of the best Book 2’s I’ve read in a long time as it does not feel like a middle book. While there are events to come in Book 3 that I am very excited for, The Hunger of the Gods felt like it had a fully developed story with bigger stakes, more danger, more characters, and more worldbuilding. In essence, The Hunger of the Gods is The Shadow of the Gods “turned up to 11” as Nigel Tufnel would say.

Overall, if you enjoyed The Shadow of the Gods, I am almost certain you will love this book. If you haven’t read either of these books yet and have any interest in Norse mythology, monsters, Vikings, Seidr-witches and more, do yourself a favor and read these books. You will love them.

5/5

John Gwynne is a master at crafting believable characters and enthralling worlds. I am the type of reader that needs both a solid plot and character development in order to really draw me into a story. Gwynne does this so well, that you feel like you know these characters and are in their world with them.

This installment expands on the world of Vigrið and introduces us to new characters that help to create a well rounded cast. In the first book we followed the perspectives of Orka, Varg and Elvar and book two provides us with two additional character perspectives. The new POVs did not take away from our main characters and helped to flesh out the world and give us different outlooks on the events that are taking place.

Orka is hands down one of my favorite female characters of all time. She is fierce, protective, smart, and ruthless. She will stop at nothing to get her son, Breca, back and will take out anyone in her way. I loved reading from her POV because you get to see the fierce warrior, but also the loving mother who feels fear, pain, and grief.

"We are none of us born warriors," Orka muttered. "It is the world that makes us so."


Varg is an extremely interesting perspective to read from. He is still coming to terms with being free and no longer being a thrall. He battles with these demons and is slowly realizing that the Bloodsworn truly are his chosen family and that they would do anything for him. His character arc has been great over the two novels and we are seeing him come into himself and embrace who he is.

"Real courage is to feel fear, but stand and face it, not run from it."


Elvar is another fierce female that doesn't take flak from anyone. Her journey gets more and more interesting as the plot advances. Of all of the main characters, I feel she has the most growth from book one to book two. I am very curious to see how her story will play out, but I don't want to go into too much detail on her storyline due to spoilers.

Aside from the main POVs, we also get well developed side characters that make up the Bloodsworn, Battle-Grim, and rulers (royals). Svik, Rokia, Lif, and Grend are some of my favorites. The side characters are very well fleshed out and don't feel like an accessory to the story and rather feel like integral parts that help shape our main characters.

"Are you lonely?" Lif asked her.
Orka scowled at him and did not answer.
To grieve is to be trapped in a world of loneliness.
"I am," Lif said. "Do you ever think of comfort, hope for it?"


There is more development with the story of the gods and we get more background on how they have influenced and shaped the modern world. Gwynne did a spectacular job with the magic as well, even though it is not a prominent aspect of the story.

I cannot wait to see where Gwynne takes these characters and I'm not sure my heart can handle it.

Thank you to Orbit Books via NetGalley for an e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

Set in a Norse-inspired world and packed with myth, magic, and vengeance, this epic saga follows a band of warriors as they face the wrath of ancient gods and change the shape of the world.

The Hunger of the Gods is the second book in The Bloodsworn Trilogy. Picking up right from the cliffhanger of the ending of The Shadow of the Gods, we are immediately thrust back into the story. I was fortunate enough to binge book 1 and book 2 in very quick succession. I was immediately thrust into this rugged, complex world filled with characters you love, loathe, and every emotion in between. It's not often that you come across a second book in a series that's better than the first, but I really think this one is. Book 2 built so well on the foundation that was laid in book 1 and was able to deepen the plot while maintaining tension, pace, and intrigue. I literally could not put the book down. I'm heartbroken that I have to wait now for book 3. I was gasping, I was yelling at the characters, I was cheering, I was laughing, and I would find myself on my feet pacing while reading. I don't want to divulge any spoilers for either book, so really all I can say is that you won't regret this reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review, All opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the author or publisher.

Possible Triggers:
Death | Slavery | Gore | Mutilation

Summary:
This book starts immediately after the events of book 1.

Characters:
This book adds a few more PoV’s to the overall story than the last one had.

Orka: ‘Moon-touched, Axe-wielding Lunatic’ is my absolute favorite descriptor of her from another character in the book. Never mind the fact that she is also a protective, persistent momma and patient teacher. I get so excited when I see the chapter header is Orka.

I didn't think I would like the character Gudvarr. To be fair, I don't think like is exactly the right word. He's such an unpleasant oily creature, constantly looking out for himself. I thought that I would be wanting most for his chapters to be over quickly, however, I was delighted to read his thoughts. You don't get as much of an internal look to all the other characters as you do with him, and as unpleasant as he is, it's really entertaining to see his perspective of things.

Positives:
+ John Gwynne is a master at weaving different storylines together bit by bit. You can not imagine the pure joy I experienced when one character you are following says something that you KNOW connects to another. So fantastically done.
+ Just when you think the cool magic effects and beasties from lore can’t get cooler, they go and one up themselves from the last book you read in the series.
+ I really love how Varg is bonding with his new group and how they are teaching him to embrace what he is to its fullest potential.
+ I would like to leave my children with Einar please. He seems like he would be an excellent babysitter.
+ SHIELD DANCE!!!! I WANNA TRY THIS!

Final Thoughts:
Oh my gooooooooooooooooooddddddddddssssssssssss. Y'all this has gotta be the most epic saga-tale that has ever been told. Like holy heck. Talk about all the EPIC characters in this freaking series. The ENDING… holy heck the ENDING was magnificent. I will be anxiously awaiting the next book so I can read it and know WHAT HAPPENS NEXT~!!!

What an epic sequel! Lik-Rifa is not the only god or goddess to have arisen or escaped death and our large cast of characters are all far from where they began in The Shadow of the Gods.
Orka still searches for her son Breca and vengeance for the death of her beloved Thorkel. At the end of the last book it was revealed that she is the famed Skullsplitter, former leader of the Bloodsworn. The Bloodsworn and their current leader Glornir were delighted to find her alive after so many years when they too arrived at the Grimholt
Elvar and the Battle-Grim are recovering from the loss of Agnar and the betrayal of Biórr, who was actually one of Ilska the Cruel’s men. Though they have troves of silver and gold and the god Ulfrir in their thrall, there is revenge to be had and they must track down Ilska’s Raven-Feeders and the Lik-Rifa the dragon goddess. It will surely take a god to kill another.
While Varg may still be in training, he’s made himself a valuable member of the Bloodsworn and he continues to find himself in the company of greatness. He still seeks out those responsible for the death of his sister, but the Bloodsworn have set out to find Glornir’s wife, Vol the seiðr-witch though it may take them far from their home shores.
Biórr and Guðvarr have their own POV chapters as well and give valuable insight to what’s happening inside the Raven-Feeders and Queen Helka’s court, respectively. Despite his betrayal, I don’t hate Biórr the same way I do Guðvarr! Guðvarr is a survivor and his first priority is saving his own skin. I get it, but he’s so awful even if his choices are the best for him! I think Biórr is more likable because he feels regret over having had to kill Agnar and betray Elvar. His POV also provides tons of info on what’s going on with Breca and the other captured children and Lik-Rifa’s moves.
Between all the perspectives, there’s an excellent blend of action and plotting and while I certainly have my favorite POVs, none stand out as better or worse than the rest. At no point did I find this boring - I mean, how could you not want to read about dragon gods, gathering armies, and some damn good vengeance?? This was an excellent sequel and I’m definitely looking forward to the third book in the series.

Thank you Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

PULL OUT YOUR WALLETS EVERYONE BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA WANT TO BUY THIS ONE WHEN IT COMES OUT.

I genuinely feel like i've been stabbed with a seax. The Hunger of the Gods had me in a chokehold from page one. Seriously. This books picks up right where TSOTG left off and doesn't let up for 625 pages.

Sometimes I feel like second book in series has sequelitis and spends too much time setting up for the third book but that's not the case here. HOTG is an intense read. It's full of Gwynne's tried and true and incredible written battle scenes. I came to love our main characters even more. Especially Elvar. She became more fleshed out and was the shining star right next to Orka. AND ORKA. OH MY GOD ORKA I LOVE YOU I WOULD GO TO BATTLE FOR YOU.

I loved the addition of two more POVs. It added an extra layer to the narrative and they were just as enjoyable as our main characters's POVs. The Hunger of the Gods was a satisfying stopping point but I'd be lying if I said I didn't need book 3 YESTERDAY. You're gonna want this one. John Gwynne doesn't miss!

The Hunger of the Gods picks up right after the events of The Shadow of the Gods and did not disappoint. There are 2 new POVs in this book that I really enjoyed. Both POVs are characters from the first book and one of them has such hilarious inner monologue that while I disliked their actions, I definitely found myself laughing when reading their chapters.
John Gwynne’s writing style is so enjoyable and easy to follow, I never felt overwhelmed with the world building or the storyline. Themes of love, betrayal, vengeance, and loyalty are interwoven throughout the book. More about the Gods and the events that led to their destruction are further revealed in this book.
My only issue was the pacing of some of the scenes mid way through the book, they could have been condensed a little. Overall this was a fantastic installment in the Bloodsworn Saga and I cannot wait to see where this story goes.

Thank you NegGalley and Orbit books for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am having a hard time reviewing this book at the moment since I am a little bitter about the ending. Overall, I loved the book, just as I have loved Shadow of the Gods and John Gwynne’s other series. The characters are great and I love getting more point of view to tie everything together. I can’t wait to see what happens in book 3.

Thank you Net Galley and Orbit Books US for the digital ARC.

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne is the second installment in his Bloodsworn Saga. We are reunited with characters from the first book pretty much immediately after the events of In The Shadow of the Gods. Our three constant characters have now consistently grown to five as we follow Orca, Varg and Elvar as well as more perspectives from Biorr and Gudvarr.

Lik-Rifa the dragon god is risen and she is out for vengence and blood. Orca cares little for this beyond the fact that Lik-Rifa's followers are the ones that have her son Breca. Varg continues his hunt for the person who sold and potentially killed his sister while cementing himself further amongst the Bloodsworn who've become a family to him. Something that he is not entirely used to. Elvar finds herself in a new position among the Battle-grim and she must balance that responsibility against the blood oath she swore to the seidr-witch Uspa to find Uspa's missing family on pain of death. While Biorr finds himself back amongst Islka and her Raven Feeders he must find his way again as he is haunted by his decisions from book one.

In classic John Gwynne style we're given a world that is brutal, lush, and full of dangers known and unknown. Gwynne has an inate talent for blending historical inspiration and battle techniques amongst reinvented lore and skillful characterization.

One of the things that I found myself appreciating in this was also this underlying theme of treatment of the people known as thralls. They are often what is known as Tainted (people who have the blood of dead gods running through their veins) and are enslaved or murdered for being who they. Their fate is one of the main aspects of Lik-Rifa's and her followers platform. And while I find myself never agreeing with their methods and certainly not the mind of the dragon god, I do find myself sympathetic to that aspect because these Tainted do not deserve the life taht is often thrust on them. Nor does anyone who wears the Thrall collar without the Tainted aspect.

If there is one mark against this book I would say that it does suffer a little from the sophmore slump for a series. While well paced with moments of quiet and moments of action, I found myself dragging a bit in this one. While the events of book one are certainly complex, there is a need here to raise the stakes and sometimes the steps needed to do so can be a bit droll. While this did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the book, I do think its worth noting that we're wrapping up threads while introducing new ones and that can sometimes feel a bit dissatisfying.

The final page of this book made me exclaim aloud. I am very worried for what it means for a particular character. This is something that Gwynne always does well. He will have you wrapped about the finger of a particular character and then he will stomp on your heart. He usually makes up for it, but I am still fearful for several characters fates as this series continues.

Overall, this book was a good followup to book one. I definitely recommend this series and I am excited to read more!

My Thoughts
With this book, Gwynne gives us another wonderful installment into the Bloodsworn Saga. I truly enjoyed my time reading this, and the two additional POV’s in this book held my attention throughout.
In The Hunger of the Gods we return right where we left off in book one. After that huge ending, we watch our different groups pick up the pieces from the last battle. We continue to see Gwynne’s skill in writing fast paced, but still very followable fight scenes in this book. Usually, big battles are very much “not my thing” but I like the way that Gwynne makes the stakes feel high, and the reader is not lost in the churn.

I also hugely appreciated the recap at the beginning. I had originally planned on reading book one before picking this one up, but have been in a massive reading slump lately, and could not fit it in. Gwynne manages to recap book one wonderfully without info-dumping or overwhelming the reader.

The addition of the “bad guy” character POV’s made me SO happy. Don’t get me wrong, I still live for Orka’s chapters, as she remains my favorite of our original POV narrators, but the two that we get throughout this book offer a new and exciting perspective. Seeing a villain’s inner monologue is mostly hilarious in this and I found myself really looking forward to Gudvarr’s chapters especially.

My only downside was that this books pacing is far slower than the previous. There is a ton of travelling from place to place within every POV that we follow, which made the middle chunk move more slowly, and occasionally, I would I found myself wondering when the speed would pick back up again.

That being said, the ENDING of this book has emotionally ruined me. Gwynne, how could you end it like that? A very bittersweet, open ended, cliffhanging finale of a last chapter.

TLDR: This book is a very solid sequel to The Shadow of the Gods and has some new POV’s that keep the book fresh and a bit humorous to lighten things up. I found the middle moved a bit slowly but was so happy to be back in the world with these characters. Orka remains one of my all-time favorite female characters, and I will be eagerly awaiting news of book 3.
I’d rate this one a 4.25/5!

Thank you so much to Orbit for sending me a copy, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to read and review!

This will be a spoiler free review as well as not spoiling the events of The Shadow of the Gods (SOTG). The Hunger of the Gods was in my top 3 most anticipated books of the 2022 and it did not disappoint.
Again, Gwynne continues the story of the 3 main POV characters you meet in SOTG, as well as introducing two new POV characters, both characters you have encountered in the first book. I enjoyed the addition of the new POV’s and loved the continued growth that the previous characters got. The change from 3 to 5 POV characters did have some minor impacts on the pacing of the story as I was having to remember each location and the connections being built.
I will say Gwynne’s writing has improved significantly from his first series (the Faithful and the Fallen) and I love how you see him beginning to weave and interconnect all the POV characters. I did not mind the change of pacing to add the new characters because they gave the reader needed insight.
This book has two of my favourite tropes: heroic fantasy and the return of long gone magics. Big things are happening within the world, the consequences of the events of book 1 are coming to head and the powers are gathering and our characters are having to choose a side. Gwynne dials the action up to 10 in this book with some big and minor combat scenes, if that is not your cup of tea you may want to skip this series. It did feel in some parts that our main characters wandered from skirmish to skirmish but it never felt overly forced and the combat was used to drive the plot and development of some characters forward.
In typical John Gwynne fashion we lose characters we love, he develops characters we should hate and of course he leaves us with a heart wrenching cliffhanger for book 3!!! The Bloodsworn Saga is one of my current favourite series by one of my current favourite authors. John Gwynne is an auto buy author for me now and I cannot wait for the final installment of this series.
Unrelated to the story but the dedication at the beginning of the book to John’s daughter Harriet who sadly passed away last year is heartbreaking and beautiful. My condolences to the Gwynne family, as a father I cannot image the pain the Gwynne family has experienced. I know Harriet is proud of her papa.
-TreeBeard

Dead gods are returning, blood oaths are binding, and people are traveling...a lot...there's a lot of traveling...one place to another and then back again...traveling...

The Hunger of the Gods is John Gwynne's second entry in The Bloodsworn Saga. Playing in a bloody sandbox of Norse mythology and Viking-era history, Gwynne continues to weave a saga tale of epic proportion. His world-building continues to be the golden star in his story. The Battle-Plain feels so very real. The cultures and religions and politics and beasts all burst from the page to life. Gwynne's imagination is incredibly colorful and it's fun (and often painful) to observe and engage with. Additional points go to Mr. Gwynne for the impeccable (and much needed) cast of characters and creatures, Norse titles, terms and items, map, AND a "What has gone on before" at the start of this book. These tools made it extremely easy to jump back into a very dense world that would have been an uphill climb without these valuable resources that I used from the first page to the last.

Orka, Elvar, and Varg continue to be the lead characters, but there are two new POVs added in Hunger that serve to give an alternate perspective of the brewing god-war. And I've got to be honest here, I appreciate the effort, but it's just too much for me to keep up with. I get that I'm slower than most, but five POVs that swap so constantly with very little happening in each chapter and having to wait several chapters and dozens of pages before returning to any one particular character just led to a lot of confusion for me. I felt like I was having to reorient myself with each new chapter. It never felt natural to me, which led to an uncomfortable reading experience.

And, by the gods, the amount of traveling in this book absolutely killed me. It seemed like I traveled across the whole of Vigrid and it left me exhausted! I just wanted everyone to get to their freaking destinations and it took 500 pages for that to happen. I've never wanted authors to have access to fast-travel until reading this book.

Furthermore, it seemed like Gwynne kept unintentionally repeating himself. Everyone was pissing themselves. Everyone was humping or getting humped. And everyone, at one point or another, was lying on the ground about to die when the enemy standing over them was killed by someone else just in the nick of time. I don't mind any of these things (although the word "humping" really got on my nerves), but when it happens a second time, a third, and seriously, a ninth or tenth time, I'm just rolling my eyes.

But I've just got to say, Gwynne always has some gnarly final chapters. The final 15 or so chapters were just candy. His battle sequences are delicious. His characters, particularly Orka (throat-biter), Elvar (grew on me in this one), Revna (bunny bae), Gudvarr (evil idiot), Spert and Vesli (I still don't know what y'all actually are but you're cute), and Lik-Rifa (mommy), were all fully-realized and interesting. The story in this one meanders, unfortunately. Although there are a few nice "checkpoints" throughout, it takes a loooong time for anything of great significance to happen. The traveling seems endless. The low parts are pretty low but, thankfully, the high parts are really high.

Halfway through, I wasn't sure if I would want to read the final book in the series. By the book's end, I was confident that I will read the conclusion whenever it's written and released. There's just something about John Gwynne, his world-building, characters, and conclusions that keep me wanting more.

The Shadow of the Gods
The Hunger of the Gods
The Friendship of the Gods

That's my prediction, at least. The story is going to conclude with everyone getting along. Can't wait.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from the publisher, Orbit, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

eArc provided by Netgalley and Orbit
What can I say? John Gwynne has be for life at this point and I’m starting to realized his cliffhangers are epic. I will admit one of my complaints is the amount of character shifting he did through out the book. I understand his method to his madness when it comes to this but sometimes it can be incredibly difficult for the reader to gain any attachment for the character. He writes female characters so well though. I will give him that and reading about a mother trying to get to her child is one of the most relatable.
The exploration of how people’s relationships are with one another is probably one of my favorite parts. Gwynne has this way with writing his characters as realistically with having emotions anyone would have. And the quotes…I felt those in my bones.
I did notice this book seemed to suffer from middle-book syndrome and was focused on world building/traveling. I think I am going to read this next time with a physical copy so I can check the map a little easier. It was hard for me to understand who was where at times.
I will be rereading these before the third one comes out, whenever that is.
I’m thankful for the summary of book one to help ease into book two. I wish more authors did this. Anyway, this book was great and like I said at the beginning this author has me for life.

What a sequel!! Action packed from start to finish and an amazing world building as well! Can't wait for the next one already!

Hunger of the Gods picks up with the momentum that Shadow of the Gods built up. This second entry gets moving very quickly and ups the ante with the dangers of the world. While one particular big decision early on seems like a less than intelligent choice and one that will come back to bite the characters later (perhaps literally), the character development and contrasting views of both individual characters and different groups of characters is handled very well and provides a lot more depth. This is certainly not a "good vs. evil" story like in Gwynne's (also fantastic) The Faithful and the Fallen series, but instead we're dealing with much grayer characters who whether they seem "good" or "bad" certainly have their own reasons for the actions they make.

The worldbuilding in this book added quite a lot to the story at well. At times it does seem to be adding just a bit too much than is really needed for the context in scenes, but it certainly accomplishes it's goal of exposing the reader to the brutality of this world. This second entry is chock full of bloody battles and terrifying creatures, but also a lot of hear and some legitimately emotionally gripping moments.

While we do get some plot lines beginning to come to a close, this book does very much end on a cliffhanger and certainly has me waiting (not so) patiently for the next installment. After reading both The Faithful and the Fallen as well as Shadow of the Gods, Gwynne is an auto-buy author for me, and this book confirmed that he most certainly will remain one!

I first met John Gwynne a couple years ago in The Banished Lands of The Faithful and the Fallen. The love I hold for that world, those characters - it's practically unmatched. It was further cemented with the Of Blood and Bone Trilogy.

I admit, I was very hesitant about The Bloodsworn Trilogy: could John Gwynne create another world that I could love and not constantly measure against The Banished Lands? The answer, my friends, is a resounding YES. This is an author you can trust and I will never let fear get in the way of another book by Gwynne.

The Hunger of the Gods is the second book of Gwynne's Bloodsworn Trilogy. In addition to the three POV's from the first book, we gain two more to help move the story forward, flesh it out even more and make it even more dynamic.

The dragon god from ages past has been set free and she is ready to bathe the world in fire in return for all the years being locked away. Orka - the most fierce female warrior I have ever read - she is closing in on those who took her son Breca, her hunt never flagging, her mother's love pushing her ever onward. Varg continues on his path for vengeance against those responsible for what happened with his beloved sister and Elvar must figure out a way to fulfill her oath and she needs the Battle Grim to do it.

Even those with the blood of gods alive and dead may not be enough for the battle that is surely coming as the dragon god plots to raze the land, magic books surfacing that contain the power to raise other gods from the dead....

I absolutely adored this installment of The Bloodsworn Trilogy. I am still sitting here, just finished the book minutes ago, shaking my head in amazement and awe....and waiting for my heart rate to return to normal. Friends, take my advice - when you get 80% of the way through, make sure to block off enough time that you can knock out the last 20% of the book in one shot. The chapters are going to spike your adrenaline - it's going to physically hurt because you literally can't catch your breath for what is happening.

A massive thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for allowing me the honor of reading the ARC of The Hunger of the Gods - more so, thank you to John Gwynne for the gift of another epic fantasy world and characters to love and cherish many, many years to come. Outstanding story, cannot wait for the conclusion!

John Gwynne continues to show why the first book in this series is so renown - book two of the Bloodsworn Trilogy is just as good as (if not better than) the first. Gwynne continues to weave together multiple viewpoints and storylines expertly, presenting the same events from different characters as he slowly reveals more of the overarching conflict in the trilogy. The action is violent and visceral, fitting for the Norse-inspired setting. The world continues to expand both in breadth and depth, with different characters allowing Gwynne to explore both new parts of his world and elaborating on the existing locations. I am eagerly anticipating the finale of this trilogy; Gwynne has set himself up perfectly for an amazing conclusion.

I love John Gwynne's writing of women. So few male authors can do it justice and he is just so eloquent. This sequel was unbelievable and I cannot wait for more. It has me going back to reading his previous works and falling in love all over again.