4 stars...thank you NetGalley and the publishers for gifting me the eARC of this book. I enjoyed this sequel. There were a lot of POV's but it wasn't hard to follow like with some stories with multiple povs. There's more character growth and that cliffhanger yo! I need the next book now! I look forward to more of this story whenever it comes out. I definitely recommend it if you've read Godkiller and want to continue the story. I liked this one a little more than the first book. It wasn't as slow paced for me.

Sunbringer is the second book in the Fallen Gods series told from multiple PoVs helping to give the reader a full experience in this world full of small gods, lost gods and the people who might had defeated them years ago but forgot to let go of them. The story picks up a few weeks after the events of Godkiller, with all of our characters recovering from the betrayal, sacrifices made and the cost of going up against a god. (possible small spoilers for Godkiller)

With little tools you make battle with gods, but you still cannot fight faith.

Godkiller was one of my favorite books of 2023 and a fantastic debut novel for Hannah Kaner. While I did enjoy Sunbringer, the bar was really high to love it just as much as the first book of the series. Part of the problem is that most of the main characters are separated for much of the book on their own journeys and so the dynamic between them that was so magical in Godkiller was sacrificed. However, this enables the reader to see so many other aspects of this world they couldn’t have if the characters didn’t split up. Still I was longing to get to the point that they would all find their ways back to each other to stand together against all of the new threats looming for Middren. Some from within and many from the outside.

Kissen was one of my favorite characters from 2023. She is complex, the trauma and loathing she has towards the gods is just as tangled as the body she lives in. What she didn’t realize until now is that she might be able to kill a god but just because you kill them doesn’t mean you killed the faith of the people that created them. If that still exists so will the god, but the next version might be slightly changed for better or worse. She has a new task set to her by a God and she might not like it but she does see the need for it. She has been a Godkiller for most of her life, with only few to claim as friends or family. Inara and Elogast made in into that small circle during their travels in Godkiller and she will do this to be able to help save them as well.

‘I have seen nations here rise and fall. Gods too, lifted high and then dashed to the ground. And yet . . .’ Her eyes came back, deep and unyielding, ‘This is the first time I have seen godhood and nationhood so deeply entwined. It frightens me. Hseth frightens me.’

Elogast left his bakery to try and save his friend only to find he had been betrayed. He longs for that piece of his life but realizes he can never go back to the bakery and will have to pick up his burdens as a soldier and commander if he has any hope of standing up what he thinks is right. Elogast is so broken; he has PTSD from the things he saw in his first campaign against the Gods with his best friend and heartsworn companion. He might be picking up his sword and armor again, leading men again but the chances are slim he will survive. He will have every faith tested in his defense of the only city with a chance of standing up to the King. The fight is harder than he ever knew it would be since the King is tied to a god and is looking to become a god himself.

These waves of emotion, tension, were longing for release. To celebrate, to destroy. Enough for someone’s will to slip in and take hold. Sunbringer wanted it to be his will, his glory. He wanted to claim their chaos and tame it. Skedi understood. It was what a god would want.

For me, Inara and Skediceth had the most interesting story in Sunbringer. A little girl tied to the god of White Lies is looking for answers of who she is, who her father is and why she is able to be tied to a god. Staying with the rest of Kissen’s family, she will try to discover what she can do and if she has the power to help in this coming war. The bonds between her and Skedi will also be tested as each of them is growing in both power and in will. Inara has the most time with various gods learning how the city of Lesscia has kept so many little gods going in a time when praying to gods is outlawed. Overall this was one of the most interesting plots to the story. And even though I could see that eventually her story would have to collide back and merge with Kissen and Elogast, I was impatient waiting to get there.

There is a new PoV in the story of the King who would like to be a God, the Sunbringer. This added to the overall story and the complexity of what is happening. I did guess one of the secrets but the climax of the story when everyone ended up in the same space was really all I wanted it to be. I saw a few of the twists of this story coming, but I also missed some of the bigger reveals that kept the surprises coming for me. All these characters are going to have to find a way to come together if they are going to stand against wave of power getting ready to sweep through Middren.

Sunbringer is a middle book and suffers from a few middle book issues with some of the pacing as it is setting up for future books in the series. That said, I was entertained and interested the entire book and couldn’t put it down, needing to get the part where characters would be reunited or come to the revelations we as the reader see they need to get to. Not as action packed as Godkiller, Sunbringer brings plenty of action towards the last 25% when the story is speeding up to the conclusion of at least this book. No one in the story is all good or bad, there is plenty of grey area there making for interesting and complex situations that are always more interesting than characters that are strictly good or bad. I am excited to see where Hannah Kaner takes this story moving forward as I see there being so much potential with the interactions between Gods, man and sometimes the blend of both.

I already am beyond excited for the third book in this trilogy whenever it comes out! Sunbringer gives us even more from the Fallen Gods trilogy than book 1. This one gave political intrigue and unrest. It gave us gods versus human. It gave us gods working with humans. I was hooked from the start because I was excited for where the story was going to take us after finishing Godkiller. I will say, this one really picked up the pace around 50% when the chapters became super short which I do love especially when all of the action is happening.

I usually am not a fan of more than two POVs but this one had four main POVs and one extra thrown in sparingly and it didn’t bother me at all. I liked getting the story from so many different angles. I missed our characters all working together but I think the separation gave each the opportunity to shine in their own right. The only character that got under my skin was our young Inara. She really was naive and stubborn in this one so I hope book 3 gives her some redemption.

Thank you Harper Voyager for my free ARC of Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner — available Mar 12 in the US!

Read this if you:
🦌 read and loved the first book in the series, [book:Godkiller|61244268]
🏞️ enjoy lushly detailed fantasy reads with complex characters
💕 are a fan of misfits and the found family trope

The adventures of Kissen, Inara, Elo, and Skedi continue in the second book of this planned trilogy. Kissen's destruction of Hseth proves to be complicated, as her followers are already on a warpath and their loyalty may bring her back sooner than should be possible. Elo, struggling with his friend's betrayal, will have to make difficult decisions about what to do next, and Inara find herself discontented with the situation around her, planning her own schemes to protect those she cares about.

I absolutely adored Godkiller, and Sunbringer did not let me down. It's a bit slower than its predecessor, but I sort of expect that from any second book in a fantasy trilogy. I wish the characters had been together for more of the book, but I still loved each of their journeys through the story. Inara grabbed on even tighter to my heart than she did in book one, and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead for her and everyone else in the final book! Love love loved the peak fight scene near the end — I'm usually sort of indifferent to "battles" in fantasy plotlines, but there was so much heart and soul scattered throughout this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another fantastic book in the Fallen Gods series. While Godkiller was one of the best books I’ve read recently, Sunbringer was not quite as good. Don’t get me wrong, it had a great storyline, same amazing and beloved characters, more god action, and lots of fighting and war. It was an exciting book, but the pacing was a little slower than I would have liked.

But that does nothing to stop me from wanting to read on. This series is so lush, detailed and full of life, and the world built by Kaner just magnificent. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not sure why but this was not it for me!! I was excited but something was missing. The storyline was good and interesting but it dragged during points. Still loved the characters but I needed more from this plot!!

Thank you netgalley, avon & harper voyager for letting me read on in what has become one of my FAVORITE series.

Sunbringer starts shortly after the events in blenraden that split our rag tag group of heros- elo, ina and skedi, injured and cursed limp back to lesscia, and kissan, believed dead by her friends- washes up on beaches of her home country having killed one god and been saved by another. Kissans family vows to protect ina and skedi, and connects elo with a rebellion set to overhrow king arran, while kissan topples shrines and consorts with gods, desperate to get home and save her chosen country and family. Meanwhile, two fire gods are consuming the world they all know and are fighting to protect.

I loved this sequel- sometimes the second book in a trilogy is all exposition and no action, but this book was all action. I missed the teamwork of my core group but i loved that yatho and telle got to shine, and that we could mert all the new and interesting character sof the rebellion. I think some of the arren/hestra points might need a little finesse/explanation, but i loved how they tagged in new and old gods in lesscia and Skedi's powers expanding. and no spoilers but like THE LAST CHAPTER OMG. I just cant wait for the finale of this series but simultaneously never want it to end. i could read 3846 books in this world.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early read. Hannah Kaner delivers again with Sunbringer (the sequel to Godkiller). I enjoyed Godkiller, but I believe this sequel is better than book 1 (I gave Godkiller a 3.5).

I recommend checking out this series. 4/5

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC!!

This is an incredibly difficult review to write and avoid spoilers, so I'm not even going to try.
SPOILERS -- GO FURTHER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Before I continue with my review, let me share that while I know this is an early draft for my ARC there are MAD typos and grammatical errors in my ARC version. A lot of "form" instead of "from", "be" instead of "me" and in one instance it looked like the cat may have walked across the keyboard and nobody went back and deleted the feline addition.

Okay, whoo, now that I got that out of the way. CHEESE & CRACKERS! I went into this book thinking it was a duology and about 50% of the way through knew that I was going to likely have another cliffhanger to contend with. This cliffhanger was very obvious though and my emotions were better contained for it. However, I am aware my review will be all over the place. Kaner's work requires a few days stewing to process final thoughts and feelings.

Kissen was the main driver of my interest in 'Godkiller' and 'Sunbringer' forces the reader to learn more about our rather growing cast of characters. While 'Godkiller' seems tame on the offset (a long walk to a barren, destroyed city); it was jam packed with action and emotional upheaval. Kissen's character provided a levity, but also brutal transparency that I deeply, deeply adored. Sunbringer seems brimming full of action at the offset (political upheaval, ascension to Godhood, the long walk home and an upstart revolution); it is somehow still an incredibly slow start to the story. This is likely because Kissen is the only character I hold dear and she takes a MASSIVE backseat for obvious reasons.

I was a bit disappointed to see how little time Osidisen received on the page. There is so much time dedicated to the Fire Gods in both novels and Skedi is really our only deep dive into how the Gods come to love, hate and honor humans. It would be lovely if we had another character to rival Hseth and Hestra, perhaps we'll see more into the God of Safe Haven in book three? (Pointedly --> Inara does not count). Aan is an amazing character and I hope to see more of her in the next book. Faer was such a short addition, but I love the juxaposition of Kissen's behavior with the different Gods. It helps to provide so much context without having to have directly tell the reader what they should be feeling.

Overall, 'Sunbringer' fell into a lot more cliched tropes with obvious twists and turns in the narrative. The one transition that I didn't see coming, but appreciate is Kissen's keen interest in Lady Craier. Given the unexpected romance plot point in 'Godkiller' I love having another same sex relationship take center stage. This is a very queer forward narrative and it was a bit jarring to find Kissen and Elo tangled together. Elo's frequent references to Kissen's blunt personality and his appreciation for having learned to adopt her manner were beautiful, but do set us up for a rather odd love triangle...or will it be a love rhombus...?

Small aside - 'Godkiller' undoubtedly provoked my emotions more, but I found myself moved to tears with Legs longing for Kissen. It was an unexpected token amidst an action pack chapter.

From the moment I delved into its pages, I was transported into a vibrant world filled with rich characters and captivating storytelling. Kaner's prose is both lyrical and poignant, painting vivid imagery that kept me hooked until the very last page. The way she weaves together themes of resilience, friendship, and hope amidst adversity is truly inspiring. Each turn of the page revealed new layers of depth to the narrative, leaving me eagerly anticipating what would happen next. "Sunbringer" is a shining example of the power of storytelling to uplift and transport readers to fantastical realms. I highly recommend it to anyone in search of a captivating and heartwarming tale.

I just love Hannah Kaner's way of storytelling. This is book 2 in the Fallen Gods Trilogy. You definitely need to read book 1 first (Godkiller). Book 2 picks up right where the first book ended with our main character, Kissen, separated from her friends with the ocean god, Osidisen. Elogast, Inara, and Skedi are now back in Lessica with Telle and Yatho. One of the things I most dislike in second books in many series is the separation of the main cast of characters that were built up as a family in book 1. This book follows that same formula but I did not mind it as much. Kissen needed her solo journey to come to terms with everything. And of course, one good thing to come with separation is reunion (though its pushed so late here).

The characters are lovable and they feel so real. They have flaws, they don't always get along, and they all have their own individual motivations and goals. Just like with Godkiller, I love the magic system here. The gods are incredibly interesting and this book dives more into how they work (and we get to meet so many more of them!). The world is very unique and stands out among the other similar fantasy series that are so popular right now. This is a refreshing read! I am really looking forward to book 3 and seeing how Hannah brings everything together. This book is a lot of set up for the future; there is a lot of politics and planning compared to the action of book 1.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing an eARC of this book!

Sunbringer begins where Godkiller left off - with our main protagonists wounded, scattered, and afraid. Kissen is stranded in Talicia desperate to return home. Elogast makes it back to Lesscia with Inara and Skedi, but takes off on his own to try and alleviate his guilty conscience by killing the King that betrayed him. Inara, feeling abandoned by everyone in her life, has decided to take matters into her own hands no matter the consequences.

The three seemingly divergent paths meld back together in a striking, unique, and wholly satisfying way that left me breathless and dying for the final book of the trilogy. The small pacing issue I had with the beginning of Godkiller was completely alleviated with this second book. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, lost in a race to keep turning the pages. I did miss Kissen a bit, her part was definitely smaller this go around, but I totally understand why from the perspective of the story that was told. Hoping now that they are all back together, we'll see more of her again in book 3.

A five star read, bar none. Perfect, magical, fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of Sunbringer. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book, and thought it was such a strong sequel! Second books of fantasy series are often difficult, and aren't as fun for the reader (more bad things happen to our beloved characters, dealing with the aftermath of whatever happened in the first book is usually difficult for the characters, and they are facing more painful choices and character development). I think that held true for Sunbringer- a lot of the elements of this book hurt my heart. I wanted the characters back together, I wanted them to know what we as readers know, I wanted them to stop making decisions out of fear, pain, and grief... but despite it hurting my heart, it was so. well. done. I didn't see any of the twists coming, either.

I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book!

So, for comparison's sake, I loved Godkiller because of how much the author was able to build such an original and complex fantasy story within such a short book (compared to most fantasy stories, either being too shallow or super long).

I went into Sunbringer with that in mind and to be honest, I struggled for a while to get into it. Sunbringer is much more traditional in how it's paced and plotted. Once I let go of my preconceived notions, I was able to appreciate it for what it is - a solid middle book in a trilogy.

Where Godkiller was the introduction to the characters and how the world worked, Sunbringer zooms out and the stakes get higher. Our characters grow. Revelations are had. I'm excited to see how everything resolves itself in the next installment.

While I wouldn't say I enjoyed it as much as Godkiller, I was just happy to be back in this world with these characters. I think Hannah Kaner is quite a good writer and as I said, I will be looking out for whatever she comes out with next.

Thank you for the opportunity!

Godkiller was a book that I loved. It was about quests, and found families, and delicious revenge. And yet, if Godkiller was the pebble, then Sunbringer is the avalanche following right behind. Inevitable and full of characters with hard choices, I can't help but think of it as a metaphor for US politics.

First there's King Arren, who tried to do the right thing and failed spectacularly. His intentions were at one point good: avenge his family, save the human race from the capricious whims of vengeful gods, but his execution was shit. He got a shitload of people killed, an entire city destroyed, and ended up possessed by the very thing he was trying to defeat. "Meet me in the middle", says the unjust man God, and then takes a step back. Arren is now so far gone that he sets his best friend (former lover? the details are hazy here) up to be murdered in an effort to save his kingdom. I can't help but see this as a metaphor for a political party willing to sacrifice the most vulnerable of their people in order to obtain a victory that isn't much of a victory at all.

Then there's Hseth, the Goddess whose followers murdered Kissen's family. Her people have become so fanatical in their worship of her that she doesn't stay slain for long. They're willing to sacrifice their own children -- when they can't find someone else's to burn -- in order to prove their faith. A metaphor for a group that chooses to believe their leader's lies in order to be part of an identity willing to sacrifice everyone else to disease, war and death? Sounds familiar.

There are the archivists, a group so desperate to save any small piece of themselves that they're willing to self-censor and bury their own past in order to be accepted in the present. I wonder what group this makes me think of... maybe something with a rainbow? Fractured into those who'd rather be accepted and those who want to preserve their beliefs (themselves?) at all costs, the archivists are fuel for the fire of genocide and war and also the targets.

There is Elogast, desperate to correct the wrongs that he's seen and some he's perpetrated by defeating the man he once served. Focused entirely on correcting his own mistakes, he is ignorant of what's happening in the wider world. And Kissen. Kissen, who has seen what is coming, who has lived through and knows what the future holds and that it is flame and destruction and death. Kissen, who must convince everyone to ally with the known quantity, the lesser evil, in order to defeat the larger, much more dangerous one.

Woven through all of this is Inara, who is learning to lie, and her little god, Skedi, who is struggling to understand and accept the truth, and their tie to each other that plays catalyst for most of the whole damned thing. What I'm seeing here in this story is a desperate attempt to stem a wave of fascism, flame, and needless death by making alliances that no one really wants to make, that may prove to have terrible consequences, but is at least marginally better than allowing the entire world to be overcome.

If that's not a metaphor for US politics in this our year 2024, then I didn't score a 4 on my AP English exam back in the day. This book is breathtakingly tense, the prose sharp and austere. This year has been a hell of a year for good books, and it's only February.

5*

Kaner has done it again.

I was obsessed with Godkiller before I’d even opened a page, and Sunbringer continues our journey with Kissen, Elo, Skedi and Inara with more emotional drive, higher stakes, and superb world building.

The twists and turns to this fantasy world keep it fresh yet familiar as we follow our friends through their next steps, eager to turn every page. I recommend this to fantasy fans everywhere.

Sunbringer picks up right where Godkiller left off and keeps rolling. The entire book covers the events of only one or two weeks, and it helps to keep the pace moving along. The stakes are higher than in Godkiller, and we get a ton of reveals and new information throughout the story.

There is an additional point of view that we get in Sunbringer, but Kissen’s continues to be my favorite. Without giving any spoilers for this or Godkiller, I do wish that we got more from certain perspectives and that the main characters got to have more interactions with each other. There’s a ton of character development that happens on page without making this a simple filler book in the series.

The tone of the book just feels different from Godkiller, and I can’t put my finger on exactly why. That being said, if you didn’t love the first one, this isn’t a copy and paste and would be worth giving a read. If you did love Godkiller, I think there’s enough of the characters to love to also continue this one. I believe this will be a trilogy, and I will absolutely read the final installment.

The sequel to Godkiller is just as good as the first! The characters and world-building are wonderfully done and the plot twists feel fresh and exciting. I enjoyed it immensely.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing me with this ARC.

Godkiller, the predecessor to Sunbringer, was a five star read for me and one of my favorite books of 2023. So I was absolutely desperate to get my hands on the follow-up, Sunbringer, especially because Godkiller ended on a cliffhanger. Thankfully, readers don't have long to wait and find out what happened to all of the characters after Godkiller’s cliffhanger ending in the very beginning of the book through rotating character perspectives.

Sunbringer is incredibly fast-paced for about the first ten percent of the novel. While the book starts off fast, it slows to a meandering march towards an unclear goal. This is a novel where much of the page space is dedicated to characters discussing the next course of action, a single character doing the opposite of what was agreed upon, and everyone else dealing with the consequences of that action. This happens over and over again in the novel. It feels like nothing is ever really happening until the last 70 percent of the book and suddenly so much is happening that the contrast is overwhelming.

The ending of Sunbringer, with its tightly-written and constant action felt more like Godkiller, which didn’t have a single wasted moment. I was surprised by how slow the rest of the novel felt and it actually took me a surprising amount of time to read the entirety of it. But I wasn’t only shocked by the slower pace, but by the content of the novel, which felt like the author had played a reverse uno card. In Godkiller, most of the main cast were against the gods, or at least severely opinionated that their involvement in the affairs of mortals meant nothing but trouble. In Sunbringer, suddenly everyone in the cast is working with gods, doing their bidding, and trying to save them from extinction.

"In a land that had banned worship of gods, the king was filling their spaces."

Personally, I really loved to see Sunbringer move in this direction because the gods are by far my favorite part of this series. We never really got to see what life was like before the outlaw of the worship of gods, so it was interesting to have a window into what that world would have looked like. Though I liked the characters turning to the gods and trying to aid them in saving their world, I don’t feel there was quite a big enough catalyst for the change in everyone’s opinion on them. This was especially true of Kissen, who I feel did not take much encouragement at all to see the reasoning of the gods beseeching her for help and to take up their plan of action, despite her entire occupation as a veiga, or godkiller, and her strong personal beliefs.

Similarly, decisions with heavy impact and emotional weight were also undone almost immediately, sometimes mere pages after the original event happened. This gave me a bit of a whiplash, but I wasn’t too upset about these moments getting resolved so quickly, as I love the characters and don’t want anything irrevocably bad to happen to them. So while I was actually relieved not to have to live in suspense after these heart wrenching instances, I recognize that resolving them so quickly left something to be desired from a writing standpoint.

"'I only want to protect you, Ina,' said Elo gently.
'I didn't ask for your protection. I asked you for vengeance.'"

In Godkiller, Kissen and Skedi were my favorite characters, but in Sunbringer, I came to really appreciate reading from another character’s perspective—Inara’s. Her decisions, though rash, made the most sense to me out of all of the characters, as they were really in line with an angry young woman who wants vengeance. I really enjoyed this determined young woman coming into her own and making her own decisions, even when they aren’t the right ones.  I was also very excited about a plot twist that I didn’t see coming and how it will affect Inara’s growth in the next book in the series. And though I wasn't the biggest fan of reading from Elogast's perspective in Sunbringer, simply because war planning is not my favorite thing to read about, I actually really liked his character growth and thought it was one of the better arcs in the novel.

Ultimately, Sunbringer felt like a bridge for the next book in the series, rather than its own whole, self-contained story. I feel like the events of the novel could have been edited down and tacked onto the end of Godkiller or the beginning of a second book in a duology for a much faster, tighter plot that was more in line with Godkiller’s writing. Despite being skeptical that this series really needed to be a trilogy, I truly love the characters and the unique world-building, so I am still very excited to see how it all ends and will be reading the next book in the series on day one.

Just like with Godkiller, I was blown away by the STUNNING cover art. I mean this is next-level art. These are books you will want to buy just to show them off in your house. PLEASE PLEASE keep this artist!!

Now, onto the actual book itself. I really enjoyed the premise of this series. I mean, what's cooler than a world that has a kingdom that shuns gods and has a Godkiller who hunts them down for a living???? SIGN ME UP!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE morally grey characters, and therefore Kissen is FOR ME.

I will say, though, that I think Sunbringer needed just a bit more work. to be a 5 star read for me. The book's pacing felt a bit off/choppy and it felt like it jumped around too much. That might just be a ME problem, but it was not an issue that I ran into with book #1. I was also pretty bummed that it seemed to be missing the "heart" that Godkiller conveyed so well. It honestly reminded me a lot of Iron Flame (the sequel to Fourth Wing) in how it seemed to feel extremely rushed. I know that reading these days has sort of become "fast fashion" and publishers are pumping out book as quickly as possible, but I feel that it's doing a disservice to the reading community and we honestly would rather wait a few extra months for a better-written book rather than just getting the next book sooner. Also, I had my expectations set SKY HIGH for this book due to Godkiller being a perfect read for me (I gave it 5 stars), so I know that has colored my review of this book.

Despite some of the (minor) issues I addressed above, I still would not hesitate recommending this book AT ALL and I absolutely WILL be purchasing a hard copy version of Sunbringer to put next to my copy of Godkiller. Great series, great representation, great cover. Kaner did a fantastic job once again. :)

Easy 4/5 stars. A-!