He Who Breaks the Earth (Gods-Touched #2) by Caitlin Sangster #bookreview #YA #darkfantasy

On By Teri PolenIn Book Reviews

Wicked Saints meets There Will Come a Darkness in this sequel to the atmospheric, “tightly woven”(Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author) She Who Rides the Storm that follows the four thieves turned unlikely allies as one of their own decides where their loyalties lie.

Mateo spent years believing he suffered from a strange wasting sickness, but he’s finally learned the much darker truth. Now he will do whatever it takes to save himself, even if it means betraying Lia, the one girl who’s ever made him care about something more than his research.

It doesn’t help that his father kidnapped the last living member of Lia’s family, and though it means Mateo will get to see her again, it’s only because Lia is already hunting them.

Anwei’s rage can’t be contained after the disaster at the tomb that ended with Knox almost dying. Worse, she learned that the brother she’d been desperate to avenge has been living a life of luxury, raised by the monster of her nightmares. With the power of an ancient, nameless god running in her veins, Anwei vows to end the shapeshifter once and for all.

But the members of her crew each have their own motivations—and their own gods whispering in their ears. Anwei has never put much stock in the divine, but as she gets closer to the shapeshifter she’s chased for so long, she realizes that the gods’ plan and her own might diverge. But Anwei has only one goal: revenge, and she’ll destroy anyone standing in her way.

This is the second book in a duology. The first book, She Who Rides the Storm, is basically a heist story with unlikely allies (I’m a sucker for those) that goes horribly awry.

It’s been about a year and a half since I read the first book, but it didn’t take long to become reacquainted with these characters I enjoyed so much (especially Mateo). Each is struggling with the cards they were dealt at the end of book one – Anwei is still on a revenge quest after shocking revelations, Mateo has a new voice in his head, Knox is slowly recovering and a little fuzzy on what happened in the tomb, and Lia is determined to find her kidnapped sister. I was eager to see how each characters’ story played out – especially when Mateo and Lia meet up – but Anwei frustrated me. Yes, she’s dealing with a lot, but I wanted her to quit complaining and do something about it.

The tone of this sequel is darker, and the theology of this world is delved into more so than in the first book. But it’s not all gloom and doom – humorous moments are still sprinkled throughout, and there’s no shortage of twists and surprises. The ending is fast-paced, but also very satisfying, and I think readers will be pleased.

At nearly one thousand pages this duology requires a time investment, but with complex world-building, high stakes, and strong characterization, it’s an engaging read I’d recommend to fantasy fans.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

19 thoughts on “He Who Breaks the Earth (Gods-Touched #2) by Caitlin Sangster #bookreview #YA #darkfantasy”

    1. And that could just be me, Priscilla. I feel like you have a certain amount of time to complain about something, but then it’s time to do something about it. Anwei took her sweet time before getting there.

      Liked by 1 person

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