When is book 2 available?
I'm still reeling from the reveals, from the intricate details of the world-building, from the gamut of emotions I felt for every character in this book. I was devoted to this story by the second chapter and I blazed through this entire adventure in a day and a half. That's how much I truly LOVED this book. I am so grateful that there will be a second installment, I can't wait to try requesting it to read and I can't wait for my official copy to arrive.
And now, for the rest of the review.
No Gods West of Here follows Talia Salaren, a young scholar who wishes to continue her research but has been doing what everyone else wants from her for her entire life. Talia has discovered a journal that was written by one of the dead god's and everything she has found in those pages changes everything about the world as she knew it, proving that the gods are not what she was raised to believe. Talia decides to travel across the sea to Gateway for a fellowship, hoping to find more sources that would prove that the information she has found in the journal is the truth. While there, Talia ends up caught up in the schemes of a prophet/cult leader, a man who claims to have the same interest in the gods that Talia has focused her research on. Except that he's not interested in only studying the gods or finding the truth, he wants to become a god himself and he believes he knows exactly how to do that and he will use Talia to do that. Talia joins his expedition to the location he thinks will have everything that they would need to learn about the gods, but as they travel, Talia begins to see things differently about everyone in her company and everyone she knew back home. Talia is tempted by the promises cult leader has claimed he can fulfill but at the same time, Talia understands that if she chooses that path, she will become a tool under someone else's control, and now she has to understand what it will take for her to become something more than she has ever let herself want or even consider she could become ever before.
Back to the title, I love the scope it seems to suggest. The idea is that the gods once existed, something concrete that is still in evidence, but now they are gone and having that as this as fact expands the world before the opening line of the book even hits. Once the story starts, we're already on a boat, leaving everything behind for something new. Gaard has this perfect setup, with the ship and the journal that Talia has. We know that what was left behind was worth escaping from and we know that Talia has ambition if she's willing to leave everything she once knew behind. Gaard handles the introduction to her world with ease, allowing the reader to move along with the journey without overwhelming the reader with loads of information about this book world. We know what we need to know and we get every answer we need when we need it. At the same time, the writing is practically effortless, able to keep the reader engaged with every reveal and emotion, the pace moving at a steady clip that makes it so easy to lose track of time while reading this wonderful book. I sincerely loved the pull of the writing, the way it was easy to step into the pages and watch everything unfold. It takes talent to draw readers in like this and Gaard proves that within pages of the opening.
I loved the people of this book. I loved them so much it bears repeating with the caps lock on; I LOVED THESE CHARACTERS. I loved Talia and her eldest daughter tendencies that felt familiar as an eldest daughter myself. I adored Dawn, with her snipe and her revolvers and especially her pink hair. I thought Riven was brilliant and I loved the quiet strength he represented for his friends. I eventually came to enjoy other characters but I feel if I name specifics, I might give too much away so I'll leave that statement where it is. I loved the banter between the characters, the way each one worked with someone and then worked against them. There is no clear line of good versus evil in this book, every character is flawed, they've made mistakes, they've gotten people hurt and then turned around and made sacrifices to save one another. It's that balance that leant a nuance to this book, a feeling of recognition and understanding that can exist when reading about characters that could exist just as easily outside the book as they do within its pages.
Gaard made the wonderful choice to give various characters a voice in this book and I greatly appreciated the opportunity to spend time inside so many different views. I would be so frustrated with one character at one moment only to be defending them a paragraph later and seeing their every thought, their reasonings for what they do, was the ideal way to make me devoted to this group, this found family who fought and loved and breathed and exist in these pages and in my heart. There is no absolute ideal for each character as a villain or a hero and it's that messiness that makes these characters worth following and believing in. Seeing events from different angles helped fill in details that kept building the tension, kept our focus, so that when things culminated in the end, the payoff in the aftermath hit in such a way that I'm still so impressed with. I want to go back and read the book again, just to see every detail to these characters once more and to see if there was anything that I missed. I might need to take notes so that I'm ready for when I get to spend time with these people again in the future.
As for the plot, I was intrigued from the start. Again with the title, the fact that the gods existed is one thing but then Talia finds proof that the gods were different than what everyone believes, that they were jerks and horrible overall, and I wanted to know more about EVERYTHING. Every discovery made, every moment, felt earned and I loved the journey this book took with its characters and their expedition. Everyone was at risk, losses felt like they needed to be mourned, triumphs left me cheering as quietly as I could in the small hours of the night. I want to study every aspect of this story just to be sure I've absorbed every detail this book has given me. And that ending? It left me with both a feeling of elation and trepidation because the reveals that Gaard pulled out by the end were world-shifting in scope. Sincerely, truly, honestly, I LOVED this book. I can't find any other way to say it and I can only sit here waiting, somewhat patiently, to find out what comes next. It's an adventure I can't wait to behold.
In the end, I hope so many people find their way to this amazing adventure. Gaard has a fan for life from this reader and I can't wait to have a shelf dedicated to keeping every book release from Gaard in a place of honor in my library for the rest of time.
Rating on my Scale: a full 10 Stars!! All questions were answered, lines have been drawn in the sand, and I am counting down the days until the next installment is in my greedy hands. I NEED to know what happens next!!
No comments:
Post a Comment