Karina Halle is a screenwriter, former music & travel journalist, and the New York Times bestselling author of Grave Matter, Blood Orange, & The Royals Next Door, as well as 80 other romances across all sub-genres, ranging from spicy rom coms to gothic horror and dark fantasy. Needless to say, whatever you're into, she's probably written an HEA for it.
When she's not traveling, she, her husband, and their pup Perry, split their time between a possibly haunted 120 year-old house in Victoria, BC, and their condo in Los Angeles.
I really think Karina lost passion for this story. This felt like a “here you go, damn” book. I’m just relieved that I don’t have to wait for the ending anymore. I still love all the characters and I still love the first two books. City of Darkness and Goddess of Light just fell short.
Eh...I don't know what I expected for the ending of this series, but this just felt flat. I found myself skipping over the countless battles that all had the same ending against the Old Gods, and Hanna's ascension felt super underdeveloped. The saving grace for me in this book was absolutely the Magician and Lovia! Gods I could have read a whole book on their story and I. Want. More.
Super excited for the epilogue that is mentioned in the acknowledgments and I'm hopeful that it could redeem some of the disappointment I had in this final book!
This book fell flat for me, and I didn’t really want to finish it, which is too bad because I still love the premise, characters, and overarching plot.
My biggest criticism of this book (which is entirely an artifact of my earlier complaints that River of Shadows/Crown of Crimson should’ve been Book 1 and City of Darkness/Goddess of Light should’ve been Book 2) is that it was too slow and there was WAY too much character introspection. It felt like half of every chapter was the character just thinking about how things suck but they’re strong and yadda yadda.
I also am not a fan of multi POV anymore. The character blend together stylistically and I become less attached to each one. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Lovia and her story, but I generally prefer to sticking to MCs POVs only. I’m not really sure why we got Tuonen’s POV.
Now for my two very visceral negative reactions to the storyline.
The spiciness petered out a lot with this book (). I still really like Karina Halle as an author, but her strength lies in writing standalone/duology darkish romance as opposed to fantasy sagas.
As a conclusion to this incredible series, this book truly encapsulated all the elements that Karina infuses into her dark fantasy romance, showing she can artfully present so many different aspects in one piece. I was uncertain about the direction she would take, but Karina certainly delivered; masterfully tugging at the heartstrings and seamlessly weaving together the witty exchanges, influences of Finnish mythology, realistic characters, and complex themes.
Hanna and Tuoni are as wonderful as ever! Their story is full of ups and downs. Plenty of heart and soul went into their story and it shows. I don’t want to say too much because of spoilers.
Loved the earlier books in the series and others by Karina - this one felt rushed and disjointed.
New characters and plot lines were introduced as an uber convenient way to eliminate earlier deaths.
Hanna and Death felt like secondary characters in a book series that has largely been about them.
Would have benefited from being split into two larger books to explore some of the more interesting twists or edited down to remove some. The stakes felt none existent when massive problems were introduced on one page and solved by the next one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Ehhh. Whatever… this was fine, I liked the first 3. Had to wait for this to come out and honestly disappointed. Just flailed around. Wrapped it up pretty quick. Felt rushed.
I really really had high expectations of this book I waited and waited soo long for it’s release I just knew it was gonna give me LIFE like book 1&2.. but boy was I disappointed I wont go too hard on karina about this book but girl ya dead wrong for this one😑 🍅🍅🍅
I really wanted to finish this book but it was super hard to. I know the author struggled with the 3rd book to this series and I just feel like she was over it and just added unnecessary things in this last book. So after 50% into this book I just could not continue, I was getting super frustrated with every turning page. I love the author but this book is not my favorite. I miss how Death was in book 1 and 2 and just felt he has so much power in just the touch of his hand that he was not using.
"You were no accident, my child. Only light can fight darkness."
Goddess of Light is the 4th and final book of the Underworld Gods series and it is the ultimate battle of light and dark. Of good and evil. Of battling for humanity in a world that has lost its morals. It's the climax to Hanna fully discovering who she is and her place in Tuonela.
I've been so excited to see where Halle was going to take this series and I was not disappointed at how everything got wrapped up. You MUST read this series in order as they are a continuation from book to book. This last book played out like a Games of Thrones episode, filled with battles to overcome the darkness that Louhi created (Death's ex). Told in multiple POVs - Hanna, Death, Lovia (Death's daughter), and Tuonen (Death's son), we get to see how each person deals with their dire situation and how they will work their way back to each other to conquer Louhi and bring the good to light in the Land of the Dead
To see Hanna gain her full powers and what she was capable of right at the start was so exciting. She was literally created for THIS very moment. Unfortunately, it was at a cost. While waiting for Hanna to fulfill her prophecy, everything else came up dark. So much death and loss transpired. It hurt me to watch, but I waited with hope. Hope that light would prevail. Battle after battle. Loss after loss. And me just waiting for Hanna and Death to reunite.
While the beginning was full of action, I wanted my two favorite MCs to come together. It took a bit of time (a little longer than I would've liked), but when Hanna finally arrives, that felt like the true beginning. The beginning of what Death could bring out in her and how they could use all their powers as a whole. This doesn't make real sense until you're in the midst of the story, just know that Death knows the way to pull the humanity out of Hanna and to still make her his while also letting his little bird fly.
Halle created a fantastical world filled with dark and light and gave us all the battle scenes you would expect in a war. I loved the different POVs that allowed us to follow the characters in different areas and how everyone was able to work separately yet together to bring Louhi down, although I wanted to see more Death and Hanna in the first half. I hated to see the loss and felt for the characters that lost pieces of themselves, but that's what made this series work. Love and loss. Light and dark. War and peace. No one is safe. Be prepared for a long journey that is more action and battles than romance in this one. But there is still the tongue in cheek humor and Death's forever love of his mortal that proves to be so much more than we all originally thought. Love and humanity prevails.
"You are light. Oblivion is dark. Your eternal sun and power of life will destroy it completely."
The first book in this series was absolutely fantastic & I was hooked. But unfortunately the last two books in the series weren't as good. Goddess of Light was quite frankly boring. The whole book is the war and it was pretty slow, so to me it was a little boring. The whole book felt like we were being edged and, when we got to the end, we didn't even get the big O. Honestly, the big fight scene we were being led to throughout the whole book was done in a second, and honestly, that was so disappointing lol.
I did like what Karina did at the end, though. She found a way to give everyone (almost) a happy ending, and that was something I didn't see coming and enjoyed. It really made up for all the deaths that we suffered through in this book, which was good. But yeah this one lacked in romance and spice and yeah, I just didn't enjoy it all that much.
Goddess of Light is such an epic conclusion to this series!!! Hanna and Death, along with new allies, family, and friends, have to fight a war for the fate of the underworld.
I can’t really say much to avoid spoilers but I loved every page of this book. It’s definitely an emotional roller coaster. I was giggling and swooning, on the edge of my seat during the battles, and balling my eyes out. At some points I wanted to give all the gods a hug.
All the POVs make this book extra amazing! I was invested in everyone’s storyline and loved knowing what was happening with all the different characters.
Of course Hanna and Death’s romance is everything! Their bond is so special and I adore how much they love and are willing to do anything for each other. I have to say Death’s addiction to coffee makes me giggle every time it’s mentioned, I love it.
The ending made me so happy, omg. I was hoping something like that was going to happen so when it did I screamed in joy. I can’t believe this series is now over but this is definitely the perfect ending!! I will forever recommend this series!
Read this if you want: - Finnish mythology - romance with spiiice - underworld & gods - epic battles - multiple povs
“You must decide what matters more: the power you’ve gained here, or the love and compassion that forged you into who you are”.
First and foremost I absolutely love books with multiple POV and Karina you did a stellar job right here (as always)! For a conclusion to this series you blew it out of the water! This book was so well done, and it just finalized everything perfectly! Karina is such a strategic writer, and just the flow & build up had me totally inthralled! Hanna and Death have always complimented each other, but to see the evolution of both of them as singular people and as a couple was amazing. Lovia was such a key player in this book and from the role she played, to her overall character I just love!
It’s bittersweet that this series is over; this is probably my favourite series by Karina and I will always hold it close to my heart!
Only giving this book 4 stars as I enjoyed the rest of this series. Compared to the other books I found this one quite a disappointing ending to all the events that led up to it. The fight scenes were sporadic and lacked any real weight to them, the many deaths seemed to be glossed over which in the end just gave away the end goal of bringing everyone back in what was a rather stereotypical happy ending. Various aspects of this book frustrated me and instead of being compelled to finish this book like I was with the others in the series it seemed to be a drag to finish this book at all. It was a little too predictable in places and solutions conveniently appeared to fix various problems that cropped up.
1.5 stars This was painful. It dragged for the first half and never fully picked up. I only finished it out of commitment, hoping for a worthwhile ending. I loved the first two books, but the series started declining in the third, and this finale was the worst of all. It had so much potential, but instead, it left me disappointed and relieved to be done. If you're invested, finish for closure, but don’t expect to be wowed.
3.0 — I wanted to like this series. I feel like it had a lot of potential. But in the end, it just fell flat. I didn’t feel that attached to any of the characters. The emotions did not come through as life or death, fear or sadness, joy or love… all of it just really missed the mark, for me. I skimmed a significant percentage of the book and most of the battle scenes and most of the traveling scenes. I’m not quite certain what purpose those served, honestly. But, I did like the world the author built. I just wish that the story in this world would’ve been better.
𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 1/5⭐ 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘: 𝖱𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗌𝗒 𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗘: 𝖲𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌 𝗔𝗚𝗘: 𝖠𝖽𝗎𝗅𝗍 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝗧𝗬: 🟡 ✦•····························••····························•✦•····························••····························•✦ 𝗘𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡: 𝖢𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗉𝗍 𝗂𝖽𝖾𝖺: 4/𝟻 🤔 𝖯𝗅𝗈𝗍: 1/𝟻 📖 𝖶𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽 𝖡𝗎𝗂𝗅𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀: 2/𝟻 🌎 𝖶𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀: 3/𝟻 📝 𝖯𝖺𝖼𝗂𝗇𝗀: 2/𝟻 ⏱ 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌: 2/𝟻 👥 𝖱𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾: 1/𝟻 ❤️ 𝖲𝗉𝗂𝖼𝖾: 1/𝟻 🔥 𝖫𝖾𝗇𝗀𝗍𝗁: 1/5 📏 ✦•····························••····························•✦•····························••····························•✦ 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦 / 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘: 👰🏼 𝖬𝖺𝗋𝗋𝗂𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖢𝗈𝗇𝗏𝖾𝗇𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 🔱 𝖬𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗒 🔮 𝖯𝗋𝗈𝗉𝗁𝖾𝖼𝗒 👪 𝖥𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝖥𝖺𝗆𝗂𝗅𝗒 ✦•····························••····························•✦•····························••····························•✦ 𝗠𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦: I could cry not because the story was sad, but because the book was such a disappointment. The story was rushed and felt hollow, some things were really underdeveloped (like Hanna's ascension to a goddess). I won't read from the author again. ✦•····························••····························•✦•····························••····························•✦ 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬: ✦•····························••····························•✦•····························••····························•✦ 𝖶𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖨 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗎𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌? Complete 𝖶𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖨 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖻𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗋? ❌ 𝖶𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖨 𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝖽? ❌ ✦•····························••····························•✦•····························••····························•✦ 𝗧𝗪 / 𝗖𝗪: ✦•····························••····························•✦•····························••····························•✦ Underworld Gods Series 1. River of Shadows: 5⭐ 2. Crown of Crimson: 5⭐ 3. City of Darkness: 4⭐ 4. Goddess of Light: 1⭐
When I read River of Shadows I couldn't recommend it enough. I was captivated by this world and the author's writing. Crown of Crimson was amazing too. But after that.... I don't know what happened.
The only reason I did not DNF this book was because I wanted to know the conclusion. But overall it was very disappointing.
oh well. it feels like the writing just got worse and worse with every part of the series. the pacing in this finale (thank the gods - and not the ones in this book) was horrible. It feels like the whole book is 1. prepare for a fight - 2. fight - 3. lose someone - 4. sex, so mrs. sun goddess doesn‘t completely forget who she is - 5. repeat. Like, it‘s literally one fight after the other, hundreds die and all leads up to this HUGE final fight against Death‘s ex-wife, to which everything has been building up. And then that final fight is so underwhelming, over within minutes and it wasn‘t even that hard.
I was very disappointed with everything, but the ending especially. what the fuck was that? And why can‘t people commit to people actually staying dead. all their sacrifices mean exactly nothing if you just reverse-thanos-snap everyone back. getting to cherry pick who gets to come back? easy way out. I hated it.
This series went from okayish to „why did i even bother“.
Ummmmm what???🤣🤣🤣 I can’t stop laughing and sputtering at the sheer dumbness of this book �� For an almighty powerful god of death, Tuoni keeps getting bested by every other character and then acts like a petulant child having temper tantrums. Is he supposed to be a dark and broody hero? More like a dumbass child who likes to get his ego stroked by everyone around him💀 Oooh that amazing scene where Hanna finally remembers her past by this mind blowing technique called “multiple orgasms”!🤯🤯🤯 I mean the fuck????😂 couldn’t have come up any other plot point for that?🤣🤣🤣 Also this book has unnecessary povs which gets absolutely tiring. Get to the damn point. 😒 This series could’ve been a bit better if it was a trilogy. How did this stupid series take 2+ years to be done? When I read such books I get immense confidence that I can be an author too😂😂😂😂
Such a disappointing book. Felt the series got worse with each book, started out so promising. Skim read just to get the series finished. What does it matter if Hanna's powers make her forget herself when the God of death can shagg her until her memories return 🙄
“I want to know what your heart feels like, what your soul feels like. I want to know what it’s like to be more human than I am.”
Goddess of Light is the fourth and final installment in the adult Finnish-lore inspired fantasy romance series, Underworld Gods. Written in first person multi POV, we continue after the events of the previous book where the stakes are so much higher with Louhi's and the Old Gods' threat that could end the Land of the Dead as we know it. Now the Queen and King of Tuonela alongside their friends and family must decide how much they are willing to risk to stop Oblivion...and it may be Hanna's divine lineage that will be key to everything IF she can fight for it.
I had no idea what to expect in this final chapter but HOLY crap it went places I could imagine.
Hanna and Tuoni are confronted with loss and sacrifice in this final chapter. To save their people and land they must give everything they got. Hanna must struggle with the risk of losing herself in order to be the goddess needed to save her people. Tuoni must prepare for the biggest battle yet and the cost for him could bring him to his knees if he lets it. Seeing these two start apart and come together when they needed it most was powerful.
Two additional POVs we get is Tuoni's son and daughter - Tuonen and Lovia. What I loved about their POVS was that not only did it help see the far reaching elements of the world at play but also see how much hard their conflict is. Lovia must learn to set aside her emotions for the betterment of others. Tuonen must learn to have patience when he yearns to act. Lovia's story in particular drew me in because of the relationship she develops with The Magician - gah, the emotional journey of that one!
“Something tells me you’re not a very patient God either.” “I’m not,” I say gruffly. “ But I’ve learned to be one for you.”
In terms of spice, I would say this novel is about 3 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. We don't see spice until the second half of the novel as the characters are separated for a chunk of time. When the spice occurs it is a bit feral with an edge and thus perfect for our main couple. I really liked how spice was used in this novel to cement the connection. It is explicit and detailed. There is also spice in another POV that shocked my world in the best of ways - it made this romance feel oh so much more powerful and I wanted more.
I don't want to spoil the story itself but suffice to say you will be put through the paces. There is loss, sacrifice, but also friendship and support. Almost half the book has Hanna and Tuoni separated and I felt it was a touch too long...but when they are back together I was LIVING for it. I really liked how the different POVS showed us the world conflict as they converge. There is plenty of action to keep you on your toes and intimacy that shows up even in the darkest of times. In many ways this is a story about hope and chance. The ending is bittersweet - I loved it but I want more for one character as I am a romantic at heart.
Overall, this was an excellent conclusion to this series! I cannot believe it is over!
Goddess of Light by Karina Halle is the fourth and final of her Underworld Gods series. This epic conclusion is told through the eyes of Hanna and Tuoni as well as Lovia and Tuonen. I'll start by saying the first half of the book can feel jumpy at times as it filters through the four different POVs but it's worth it in the end; there are alot of moving parts in this installment and while the stories can feel slow it all comes together and you're glad for it. Getting more insight through Tuoni's children really helped develop their characters further as well as the characters they travel with. I personally really loved the Magician in this one and the cryptic messages he shares in order to weave the path for the realm. While the series as a whole would be considered romantasy this outing is much more on the fantasy side of things. There is still spice but it is less than the three other books had and one of the encounters is deeply entwined in the magic of the cosmos . The focus of the fate of Tuonela and the battles is a change to the vibe but not in a way that is unwelcome; we've spent three books building to this and looking for answers that are finally unveiled. The writing is on par with what we expect from Halle. I'm impressed with her adaptability, especially since she included so many battles. Based on her other books I'm sure the sheer amount of action was outside of her comfort zone but she delivers scene after scene flawlessly. The series comes full circle with how we deal with grief and what we would do or have to do to make peace with it; Lovias last chapter in the book especially covers this incredibly beautifully. In the end I'm really pleased with the outcome of the series and came out of it with a great appreciation for the characters and grateful that Halle introduced a new mythology to me through them. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I was quite interested in the first 2 books… and then continue book 3 and 4. I must say like my fellow readers, I am quite disappointed with the last book. The last book that was supposed to be interesting and exciting since is the last battle fell flat. I struggled to finish and I must say I been skipping out a couple paragraphs. Bored me so much I fell asleep with my kindle. Hanna was a disappointment. All this hype about she being the prophecy to end up having memory lost was a waste of time. The author was doing too much. That served no purpose. I was at 75% of the book and she could not use her power because of fear of losing her memory and personality change. Come on!
Then it took the magician to save everyone! He is the true hero 🙄🙄
Correct me if I am wrong. 1000 soldiers right? You have mortal soldiers fighting old gods who were said to be very powerful. Lmao! The lack of gods present to fight. It’s literally less than 10 allies against the whole corrupted to Tuonela
Death is another disappointment- especially toward the end of the book when he was fighting with his sword. What happen to his literally “hands of death”? Pun intended.
Overall a disappointment!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The fourth and final book!! What do I do now?! I loved this series, though I think the first one was my fave. This one perfectly rounded out the story and I enjoyed it a lot
Nothing hit me quite like Tuonen’s death, I did not expect it and I was heartbroken! I was also really sad with Hanna losing her humanity. Death finally admits his love but it falls on unfeeling goddess ears. I have been waiting for him to say it!!
-I was hoping it would break her out of it, there needed to be a bit more suspense around this I think. The first time she regained it back seemed too easy, maybe should have waited and had the love bring her back? I still loved it, just a small critique
Rauta and the Magician were my favourites. Rauta is the goodest boy and we do not deserve dogs, even in the underworld. The Magician was mysteriously sexy, I think he needs his own novella and character art. The inspo pics are good though, really helped me picture him.
I am also very relieved that Sarvi is ok 😅
I think all the POVs kinda threw me, I enjoy multiple POV but by the time we got back to Hanna or someone, I was like wait what were they doing again? I had a tough time midway through but the ending was worth it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I lost my mind with the death of Tuonen! I was like, wait what?! Then she had me for a sec when he came out of the crevice and then stomped on my heart all over again. 😭😭😭😭 Sweet baby geezus. That twist at the end had me sobbing.
I couldn’t stop crying, ok?
And can we please talk about Luona and The Magician?! Like whaaaaaat?! Oh my poor heart. Ups and downs baby. That “I miss you” at the end got me💫✨💫✨
I was not happy with how quickly Louhi and the “evil twin” (I forget her name) died. Felt there should have been a bigger boss battle. I mean it was 4 books worth and they got like 5 pages total between the two of them for their respective battles? Wah, wah, wahhhhh. A little disappointed with that. It absolutely felt rushed.
I also wasn’t a fan of the inner battle of Hanna and her humanity and the fear surrounding it all. It took up too much space in the book. I will say, I can appreciate how Tuoni kept bringing her back to it though.
With all that being said, the book was worth the wait for me and hoping I can buy it as a set someday.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
First read of the year didn’t disappoint, I have followed this series from the beginning & what a wild ride into the realm of the Gods. Going into the world always brings me joy because I feel so invested in these characters & it starts to feel like I’m apart of their world. I knew going into the this last book Hanna would find her true self & yet with that also came constantly losing herself as well. The fight was intense the whole way back to the Shadows End, I may have cried during parts of it but Death never once gave up on his fairy girl. Death suffered so much hurt during the whole trudged to his home, that when he got those moments with Hanna they meant even more to him. I can’t say it enough at how much I loved this series, the roller coaster I went on emotionally throughout was worth it. Those last few chapters really made it for me, it brought everything together in Shadows End after such a hard fight. If you haven’t read this series I highly recommend it, Hanna & Tuonen story throughout these books will keep you wanting to stay in their world, if not them then the other characters will have you obsessed as well!
This series was awesome and ended on a happy note. U get to watch Hanna step into her powers, although at times she is hesitant to use them. Especially at the cost of her humanity and memories and sense of self. U see death become more in tune with his emotions as well, as u c Hanna forget everything they were to each other. It's their battle within the war. It's like they traded lives in that regard to how they started in the story. Death feels deeply for the first time. Along the way they lose a lot of allies before they even begin the larger battle against Death's ex-wife. Without giving away too much, even Lovia falls for someone too and may not be able to hang on to that relationship. I hope there's a spin off because I'd love to see how certain characters' lives turn out. Karina Halle makes u relate to the characters and root for them. U feel the wins n loses as ur own and keep turning the pages well into the night. And the amount of spice is hot hot hot! I think all her books are amazing!! Keep writing Karina Halle and we, ur devoted fans will keep devouring them as fast as you can write them!!