Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

I’ve been patiently waiting for the latest book after Godkiller! I was lucky to snag an Illumicrate edition to match my Godkiller, and have finally worked my way through my TBR to get to it! The book did not disappoint!

Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren. Now they are stirring, whispering of war. Godkiller Kissen sacrificed herself to vanquish the fire god Hseth and save her friends, but gods cannot be destroyed so easily – and neither can Godkiller.

Reeling from the loss of Kissen, young noble Inara and her little god of white lies, Skedi, seek answers to the true nature of their bond. The secrets they uncover could determine the outcome of the war.

Meanwhile, Elogast, no longer a loyal knight of King Arren, has been charged with destroying the man he once called friend. The king vowed to eradicate all gods, but has now entered into an unholy pact with the most dangerous of all.

There will obviously be spoilers for Godkiller going ahead, so please read at your own discretion!

We continue our journey with Elogast, Inara and Skedi arriving back in Kissen’s hometown, minus Kissen after defeating but falling in the fight with the god Hseth.

I will be honest, Inara really started to annoy me during this book. At one point I found myself not looking forward to her chapters because they all just seemed to be a pity party or the format of; Adults: “Inara no”, Inara: “Inara yes”. Especially when war was breaking out and she runs off after people. Or when Telle specifically tells Inara not to get into trouble in the archives and she immediately does.

It was interesting seeing Elo, who was so staunchly in Arren’s camp do a 180 and now working towards undermining Arren in every possible move.

Spoilers Ahead

Now unfortunately, anyone who brought the Illumicrate edition of this book, had a major plot point spoilt from the cover alone! Kissen is alive. It becomes apparent within the first 10 chapters that she is alive and has been saved once again by Oisidian. But it was less of a shock when the book has the following plastered all over it’s back

‘I am only a Godkiller,’ said Kissen quietly, her breath coming out in fog in between her lips. ‘I killed the god already. What do you want me to do now?’ ‘Save one,’ said Aan. ‘Save the king who would be a god. Fight fire with fire.’

Kissen wants nothing more than to make her way back Inara and Skedi to continue looking after them. But on her journey realises that two other nations have united and are attempting to not only revive Hseth, but bring Hseth back to Middren to destroy them!

Kissen witnesses Oisidian captured in Briddite nets and realises that Hseth is going to come back quicker than anyone imagined.

During her journey she meets various gods, staying her hand, and bargaining with them and being directed to save Arren, having been given information on the upcoming war.

Eventually she ends up in Sakre, where she finds Inara’s mother- previously thought dead by the party. She tried to reason with her that Inara is still alive but gets nowhere.

Whilst this is going on, Elo is heading up a rebellion in Lessica and Inara is trying to do her part to help. Inara has also suspected that she is more than what she first believed, and after sneaking into the forbidden section in the archives, she learns that Skedi and the god of Havens were always linked. It’s then heavily implied that she is a half god- which was then really not a shock when it was revealed as truth.

Eventually her and Elo also end up in Sakre due to the magic of a fake Arren, whose actual body has been in the Sakre keep this whole time.

With all parties reuniting, Inara really isn’t as fussed about her mum being alive as much as she is Kissen- which I thought was great. Elo and Inara however try to kill the real Arren until Kissen intervenes, asking Inara to use her gift from Aan, which reveals the impending war.

We’re left with a very vague epilogue as well.

My concern is that the burnings seen, are where Telle and Yatho are escaping to and I hope they’re alright.

Throughout all of this though Inara whinged about how everyone was trying to leave her and didn’t want her around. And it’s like girl please, you’re just going to distract people by being there and getting in the way! Eventually it seems like she overcomes this though.

Overall a fantastic read, and highly recommend continuing with if you liked Godkiller, it felt more action packed than the previous book! If you haven’t read Godkiller, go pick that up and then this! As a fantasy fan it will not disappoint and I am SO excited to see where the series is going next!!