Godwaker

by Kendra Merritt

The stories all say, “Don’t go into the woods. The monster will eat you.” No one ever tells the story of the woman who became the monster.

Ashwyn has lived on the edge of the Devastation her whole life, watching as the ancient forest devours anyone who gets too close. She resists the mystery under the trees, too busy trying to earn her place in the village. But when the Goddess leaves the temple to make Ashwyn one of Her Saints, the villagers accuse her of heresy and exile her to the Devastation.

Ash will need every advantage to survive, even embracing the power of an untrustworthy goddess. Because under the many layers of the forest, the Devastation is hiding truths no one wants her to know. Truths about death. And truths about the Goddess who failed to defend her.

What she finds threatens the foundation of faith that formed the world, and Ashwyn has to decide if she’s going to take her place as a Saint and trust the Goddess who betrayed her. Or if she’ll follow the voice under the Devastation and become the heretic that her people fear in order to heal the rift that shattered everything.

608 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2025

About the author

Books have been Kendra’s escape for as long as she can remember. She used to hide fantasy novels behind her government textbook in high school, and she wrote most of her first novel during a semester of college algebra.

Older and wiser now (but just as nerdy) Kendra writes retellings of fairytales with main characters who have disabilities. If she isn’t writing, she’s reading, and if she isn’t reading, she’s playing video games.

Kendra lives in Denver with her very tall husband, their book loving progeny, and a lazy black monster masquerading as a service dog.

Reviews

[Darth C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith, rot, and divine betrayal… Godwaker is dark, lyrical, and absolutely dripping with forest magic.

I loved the concept of a world where death no longer exists and the price that comes with that kind of divine interference. The Devastation felt alive in every sense it’s a forest that breathes, hunts, and hides the truth of the gods themselves. Ashwyn’s journey as a reluctant Saint caught between faith and fury completely hooked me.

It’s slow in places, but in a deliberate, mythic way every layer of the story peels back another secret about what it means to be chosen, cursed, and human. And that ending? Perfectly unholy.

✨ You’ll like this if you enjoy:
• divine betrayal & haunted forests
• morally gray heroines
• witches, saints, and heretics
• broken gods & ancient magic
• atmospheric, feral fantasy vibes

[August Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Deavita, this was truly an excellent book! I had the sheer luck to be chosen as an Advance Reader after following Kendra's newsletter for a few years, and this is far and above my favourite of all her books. I was heavily intrigued by the magic system, but even more than that, I was enraptured by the characters. V and Ash's struggles with disability felt eminently relatable, in addition to Morlinna's issues with her own mental health. I need a world bible with every little scrap of information I can get, Tolkien-style, as soon as physically possible. I have never been gladder I attended that GameCon, first for Mishap's Heroes and now for this. 10/10, can't wait for the sequel, and can wait even less to crochet myself little stuffies of Wraith and Ebonheart.

[Zach Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book, I had difficulty putting it down. The writing is really well done, just like in all her books, that the pages just fkew by. I cannot recommend this book more.