The Gods Lost Their Way

by Nicki Chapelway

The gods lost their way…but the mortals always walked the wrong path anyway.

After tragically losing her family, Alya has finally found a new one in the form of the band of monster hunters she is a part of. A murderous immortal, a flirtatious heretic, her cat, and the charming guardsman who swept her off her feet— Alya would die for this group. Or better yet, kill for them. These few have been tasked to hold off the end of the world by defeating monsters, slaying undead, and hunting down a powerful vampire lord who already got away from them once.

As rumors of the rising dead become more abundant, Alya can’t help feeling stretched thin. It doesn’t help matters that Conan seems to be keeping a secret from her, Zarynn is falling for someone entirely untrustworthy, and Ikor is worried that he will die if he comes to care for his companions. Alya started out this journey seeking revenge, but now she’s afraid of losing the only thing she has left. All the while the lives of innocents hang in the balance as the gods’ chosen heroes fail to show up. It might just be up to this ragtag group to save the world… or die trying.

A mysterious beauty, a skeleton dragon, and a secret heritage… it isn’t enough to tear them apart, is it?

A band of novice monster slayers go up against creatures that have not been seen for a thousand years in this adult high fantasy series set in the world of Ruskhazar. It is perfect for fans of Michael J. Sullivan, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Witcher Saga.

Genres: Fantasy

203 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2024

About the author

Nicki is a twenty-something author of swoony romantic fantasy. She has been writing since she was eleven and has since published several works. She enjoys creating stories with twisty-stabby faerie romances, retellings that take a darker turn, and epic fantasies in worlds full of monsters and magic.

Nicki lives in Ohio where she spends far too much time watching TV, playing video games, and sleeping. She listens to music basically all the time, and adores obsessing over mythologies, her shows, and her slew of fictional boyfriends. When not writing, she can usually be found at her desk with either a paintbrush or a pen in her hand.

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Reviews

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book ever since I read the first one last year and it didn’t disappoint! While I was a bit surprised (and bummed, not gonna lie, haha) of the year time jump, it was also really great to see how this band of misfits have truly gelled as a team and little bickering family with loads of heart and sass that I just love. 🥰🥰🥰

Conan and Alya continue to be the sweetest, butt kicking duo ever (WHY aren’t they engaged yet?!?!?), Ikor actually has a heart, Fluff is Fluff, and Zarynn actually didn’t annoy me once this entire book and was actually NICE to people, what a shock! I loved each of their arcs and poor Conan needs a hug, good grief, he went through a LOT this time around. I was also kinda, sorta, not really but yes (?) right about a theory I had about a character in the first book (because that’s a whopper of a vague sentence, lol) and their relationship with another character but it also managed to not be exactly what I thought it would be which was a great surprise!

The plot is very thin compared to the first book, BUT this story is extremely character focused rather then plot based or equally both plot and character based, so once I realized that I was able to put aside my quibbles about the lack of “external stuff happening” and the slightly anticlimactic ending with the villain and just enjoy seeing where these characters ended up and if they’d ultimately stay together or not in the end.

And that ending, while I figured it was coming, it also managed to slap me and give me loads of questions for the last book chief among them being DO WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT MORE ASSASSINS?!? Just a concern considering we don’t want anything to happen to a certain character, ahem, Nicki if you don’t keep them alive I will personally have some WORDS with you, grumble, grumble…

So while I didn’t love it like the first one I still adore these characters, liked what went on and down, and am chomping at the bit for book three!


‼️Content‼️

Language: jetting; godsforsaken; gods; bastard

Violence: fighting with weapons, hand to hand, and magic (not to semi detailed); injuries and blood (not to semi detailed); dead bodies and pools of blood (not to semi detailed); a massacre (the action isn’t shown, just the bodies and blood left behind; semi detailed); a character is stabbed in the gut (semi detailed); bodies of a dead woman and a child are found with a wooden beam stabbed through them (semi detailed); a coin cuts through a character’s throat (semi detailed); people are assassinated (mentioned, not shown)

Sexual: a werewolf shifts into her naked human form (nothing is shown and the guy talking to her looks at the sky and gives her a cloak to wear); kissing (not detailed); mild suggestive hints/comments

Drugs/Alcohol: characters drink ale; in the past a character’s brother was addicted to a drug like plant; a character was sold out for drug money

Other: a character is illegitimate; magic; magical races/abilities/objects/creatures; vampires; werewolves; necromancers are mentioned; grief over lost family; fantasy gods/goddesses/demigods in a fantasy world; worship of and praying to fantasy gods/goddesses/demigods in a fantasy world; sorcery; a character is turned into a vampire (not shown or detailed); a character was raised in a cult; characters see illusions of their worst fears; death; character have various forms of PTSD


****Note: I received a free copy of the book from the author/publisher. All thoughts and opinions are most assuredly my own and I wasn’t required to write a positive review. If I was, I wouldn’t have read it. 😜****

[Grace Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Release day to this wonderful book!

4.5 Stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher for promotional purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

This series takes on a more classical feel of high fantasy. Unlikely heroes are thrown together to protect their land from monsters, while unrest in the kingdom and racial tension could start a civil war.

The world-building of this world is fabulous!

We got a lot more with how the Higher Elves lived. Their underground cities were awesome. The ruins gave an eerie sense of what was once a grand city and people.

Reading about the Lower Elves' doom to their kind in action made me frightened for a moment. I thought we were going to lose Ikor. But it was such an interesting tidbit for their kind.

Also, I felt we got to get more of the feel for the unrest of the Lowlanders and Highlanders and how the Highlanders felt about the current king. I love some good fictional political intrigue and I thought it was very well done.

I particularly love characters who hate each other only to find out that they actually have a lot in common. Think "Guardians of the Galaxy" vibes. And we even had a new addition to the group. I am curious if she's going to have a relationship with Zarynn or not!

But Nicki, how dare you hurt the fluffiest cinnamon roll! Conan can only go through so much!

Okay, all joking aside, I kinda saw this huge twist a mile away. Because *cough* the third book's cover contains spoilers for this book. Something I wasn't aware of at the time. (I'm part of the hype team, so it's all good). But I will say that this twist was genius and really worked well with the plot and character development.

The Characters:

Alya — Same kick-butt girl we've grown to love. She seemed to be slightly more trusting of the other members of the group, besides just Conan. Throughout the book, she was so afraid of losing her newly found family, similar to how she lost her parents. There were some scenes in this one that absolutely wrecked me.

Conan — This book tried to break the cinnamon roll. I just know it! I felt this book was really just a test on Conan's relationship with Alya and his leadership skills and maybe his patients. I love that he was so respectful to his mother, but geez she was something. That poor guy, no wonder he was depressed.

Ikor — I was not expecting him to get so close to the others. And now I have so many questions. He's probably one of my favorite characters so far. Loved his growth in this one.

Zarynn — His character arc was really something. Sure, the guy still knew how to annoy me and the other people in the group. We could really see how he turned over a new leaf and actually started caring for other people besides himself. We also got to see a little more of his past (and it now makes sense why he was hesitant to let people in). I think a lot of his charisma was more him disguising his fear or hurt. Man, I love it when I really dislike a character only to start liking them by the next book. The guy is still a jerk, though, don't get me wrong.

Fluff — Was the best kitty. But don't scare me by making me think he was sick!

Daria — Other than Zarynn wanting to get to know her, I didn't feel we really got to understand her character. I'm excited to see more of her.

What I Didn't Like:

One of my biggest complaints I have about the series is the lack of monster hunting. It's supposed to be a book focused on monster hunting, but the book is primarily about traveling around. While I do like the focus on the different characters' emotions, I wish there was a little more balance and that the monster scenes were longer. Because the one small scene we were given was over so fast. I don't know, it just seemed like a lot of the action scenes were rushed. Or maybe I wanted more plot? I'm not sure...

The other thing I was a bit unsure of that might contain spoilers. But what was Sergei's point with having Conan on a monster-hunting spree? How is that any safer than the other option? While I think I understand his reasoning, it feels a little far-fetched. But I don't know.

Content in Book:

1. Violence. (Monster hunting. Animal violence, teeth, claws, etc. With weapons. With magic. With sorcery. With fire. With glass. Tearing limbs off, only mentioned and not detailed. Vampires biting people. Someone getting stabbed in the chest. Another gets stabbed in the throat. Knocking someone out. Semi-detailed passages of a massacre (twice), lots of dead bodies with mentions of how they died. Etc.)

2. Drugs. (Mentions of a frictional drug that people abused. A character gets thrown out of his home because of drug use).

3. The worship of other gods and demigods and their statues. (One statue caused people to hallucinate horrible things. Including: watching their loved ones die. It also caused them to act violently, believing they were seeing something different. Etc.)

4. Magic and sorcery. (Magic consists of saying spells. Magic is often used in violence. Magic is also taught in a school. Sometimes magic is used for light or healing people. Characters use sorcery based on their worship of the demigods. Etc.)

5. Sex. (Almost none, very clean, and non-explicit. One character is said to have slept around. Some comments on how certain characters should get cozy or are too shy to, never happens. A few sweet kisses. One character believes another was cheating by kissing another. Etc.)

6. Vampires and werewolves. (Vampires drinking blood, either human blood from biting or drinking animal blood from a cup. Turning someone into a vampire, with force, by biting them. A werewolf shifting back into a human and being naked (nondescript, though the other characters make mention of it. One character is embarrassed while the other likes it. The naked character was given clothes.) Etc.)

7. Other. (Fantasy creatures such as a dragon. Necromancy. Etc.)

Who I Would Recommend This Book To:

Those who have first read "The Gods Created Monsters". Those who want found family. Those who want rivals to family. Those who want an immersive and complex fantasy world. Those who want reluctant heroes. Those who want a sweet romance. Those who want a grumpy and sunshine romance. Those who want a cat animal companion who is a part of the plot. Those who want a story with magic and elves.

[Carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't like the second one as much as the first one, but still enjoyed it immensely! The D&D and Guardians of the Galaxy vibes are still there, and the witty humor makes me laugh every time! I didn't like the relationship between Conan and Alya as much as in the first book, but after a plot twist that I didn't see coming and an exciting ending, I'm curious to see where it goes in the next book. I can't wait to see what the next book holds in this adventurous series!

[Cathryn deVries · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, enjoyable read.

I read book 2 in this series right on the heels of book 1 and it was great to pick up the character’s journey almost a year after the events of book 1 ended. A lot happened in that year, and they’re all a little different now, connected in ways they couldn’t have imagined when they were first lumped together, and struggling with that fact.

While there was more actual monster hunting in this second book, it was the internal journey of all the characters that I enjoyed the most. Zarynn is less obnoxious now, and Ikor is beginning to have–gasp–FEELINGS. It’s not all smooth sailing for Conan and Alya either, as a big bombshell gets dropped in Conan’s life that threatens to tear them apart. I think Fluff is the only member of the group who remains unfazed by life.

I thought the climax was a bit rushed, but apart from that, I thought the story was well done, and the character POVs handled skilfully. I definitely want to read the third book to see how it all wraps up.

[Miranda Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is the way overdue review for the epic sequel to The Gods Created Monsters.

This is the perfect continuation to the monster-hunting, found family crew and their story. I loved every minute reading this. It was everything I hoped for and more. I got the answer for that one lingering question, and my suspicions were both correct and wrong. I was slightly off because I didn't consider a character that I, as a reader, have never met and never will. I was delighted to finally have this revealed, and I can't wait to see what the third book will do with it.

Conan is still my favourite character. He's just such a cinnamon roll, and I wanted to hug him and comfort him when he decided to carry his burden alone, fearing the loss of the one he loved. He feels so deeply, and I can't blame him for being too much in his own head and not sharing with his friends. I relate to his insecurities and the need to deal with his problems alone, which is so heavy that the only option is to avoid it at all costs and not confront it. The easiest thing is to run away and the hardest thing is to face your fears and risk losing everything you hold dear.
I must admit Zarynn became my least favourite character to read in their POV. But in the sequel that fact completely changed. I loved every moment reading his chapters. I honestly wished there more chapters from his perspective. Finally, I got what I was hoping for in Zarynn's arc. He was a lot more sympathetic, with more details of his backstory, obvious sincere affection for his fellow monster hunters, and his desire for a genuine romantic relationship. I love seeing the shift from being uncaring, selfish, no sense of belonging to thinking of others, desiring more for his life than what he created for himself (which is an isolated life, encouraging hate and distrust of others), and how he naturally started feeling like he had a place to belong in and people he belonged with. It was very satisfying to see, and worth the wait. I should have known you can't rush a morally grey anti-hero's arc.
I loved seeing Ikor wrestling with the idea of caring for others too deeply and what it will do to him in the future. It's a perfect continuation to the arc started in book one. I wish Ikor had more chapters in his POV. For me, he had a huge personal stake that the other characters aren't dealing with, and I wanted to see more of it. All the thoughts, emotions, and even the steps forward he's going through. I assume since it seems unresolved currently, I will see this struggle come up again in book three. I'm eager to read more of that with Ikor's POV.
Alya was the only POV character who was still on the same path. She was still grieving (not enough of time for her to consider letting go of it after all), still wanting revenge and still distrusting unfamiliar people. There has been a slight shift, but not much. So I don't have a lot to say about her. She did briefly had a dilemma, which felt kind of forced a little bit to me, since I don't see it as being a real issue if you just think about it more. Maybe it was just me, but I wasn't convinced she needed to make this choice or that choice. But it was easily resolved by certain events in the end chapter, which I'm not bothered about, though it also means a big part of her motivation for two books is gone just like that. I don't know how to feel about that.

I think the sequel's plot was more straight forward, considering it was a continuation of the plot that occurred at the end of the first book, and this story focused on it until the closing chapter. Both the plot and the characters had more purpose to them, now having a goal that is clear and reachable, rather than one that is vague. I really enjoyed that structure, because it makes it clear that the story and the character's arcs are moving forward, rather than feeling the story is at a standstill or going in circles, which the previous book had a little bit, but it did came all together in the end.

I'm only briefly going to talk about the worldbuilding here, because it's the sequel, and a ton of details are based on the previous foundation made in the first book. The main thing I want to highlight is that I think it doesn't disappoint, or was confusing and illogical, or empty and boring. The author kept her world consistent, but fresh as well. She didn't make stuff up just for the sake of making the plot go in a certain direction. It answers the questions that need to be answered right now, and gives new information when it's needed or logical to do so. It wasn't lacking depth or made its cultures just a background piece. The different cultures in this world were still part of the characters' identities and the journeys they are on, adding richness to the plot and internal conflicts.

If you love the found family trope, hunting for a vampire plot, and hidden identities, then I would recommend this series, The Gods Created Monsters and The Gods Lost their Way.

Note: It's been months since I read this book, so the content warnings won't be as detailed or certain details missed completely. If you have read this book and notice a mistake or something missing, please comment on this review!
Content warnings: violence, kissing, a werewolf transforms into a human girl and is described as being naked but is quickly covered up by a cloak, a mild graphic scene of people found lying dead because they murdered each other, a character sees an illusion of their lover passionately kissing another, a character attacks another character, a character sees an illusion of their dear ones dead before them, a character thinks they are dying, a character is bitten by a vampire off-page (and later is transformed into one), a fight scene with a skeleton dragon, cavern collapses on the main characters, more and several mild graphic scenes of people being found brutally murdered (by someone else, not each other this time), including a mother and child.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our four adventurers are working on completing their year and one day conscription to the king's brother-in-law, which has mostly involved trying to hunt down the vampire that escaped last book.

Of course, along the way, they ended up revealing some more revelations about themselves to each (one of which I saw coming, mostly because I'm familiar with the game Chapelway has taken her inspiration from). It was nice to see how the characters have grown attached to each other over the course of the series so far and also learn more about the world.

My only complaint is I wish it would have been longer. There was a lot explored in not a lot of book, and I really wanted some time to linger over the places and people.

[Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with the first book, I enjoyed this one. I had fun seeing the characters interact and learning more about them. There are some intriguing revelations, some of which did surprise me. The writing style and worldbuilding are well-written! Overall, while I still enjoyed this book, I didn't connect with it as I was hoping to. That being said, I would still recommend this book and I am curious to see what happens next!

[Deeanna West · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this second instalment but not as much as the first. The plot was just a bit thin for me. There is a time jump of almost a year between the first book and this one which disappointed me. I wanted to see the group grow together and get used to each other and develop over their year of monster hunting. I feel a bit cheated that we start the second book and that’s already happened and the group is closer and working as a team.

Probably a 3.75 for me but round up to a 4. The essence things I loved from the first book, like the world building and the magic is just as awesome. I love the twist regarding one character. I’ll for sure continue the series.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alya and her companions continue on their monster quest trying to capture and eliminate the vampire lord. Conan is hiding something about himself and doesn't know how to break it to Alya.
They will continue to face numerous challenges like undead creatures and tension is rising. They all need to overcome personal demons and continue building trust among themselves. The stakes are high, with the lives of innocents hanging in the balance as the gods’ chosen heroes fail to appear. It falls to this ragtag group to save the world or die trying.