Divine Kaos Forsaken Herald of Ruin

by Sessily Goodwin

316 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 27, 2026

Reviews

[Shiyanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this one but I just couldnt.
I just couldn’t follow the story at first. The prologue was just a lot. I couldn’t make sense of it. It was until maybe chapter 10 or 11 when I finally got into the book as digestible. I did enjoy the characters even though I was not routing for either MMC in particular. I didn’t think was a dark fantasy book it read more like romantasy maybe a version of fantasy.
I didn’t like that she ended up with both Aniel and abraxus I wanted her to choose. I did enjoy her mother I thought her character was smooth, calculating yet strong and powerful. I felt there was something there for the reader it just wasn’t conveyed succinctly here. I felt the love that the author poured into the characters and I’m bummed I didn’t really enjoy the book.
The book could just not be for me versus it being a bad book

[I Griven · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more than I did.

The prose is dramatic, the imagery is strong, and the book absolutely knows how to go big. There is passion on every page. But for me, Oriel stopped feeling like a character and started feeling like a pedestal.

That is the biggest reason this ended up being a 1-star read for me.

Oriel becomes unrelatable because the story bends around her too much. Everyone loves her, wants her, protects her, praises her, or speaks about her like she is the center of the universe. Both love interests are openly devoted to her. She is framed like something sacred. Even major cosmic events keep circling back to her importance. After a while, it stops feeling earned and starts feeling assumed.

That is where the Mary Sue feeling came in for me.

Not because she is powerful. Powerful heroines can be amazing. The problem is that the narrative keeps confirming that she is the most special person in the room over and over again. She is desired, chosen, mythic, central, and emotionally validated from nearly every angle. When a character is constantly adored and elevated like that, the tension drops. I stop wondering what will happen to her, because the book feels too in love with her to truly challenge her.

Even when Oriel is in pain, the story still crowns her.

Her flaws do not land like flaws. They read more like attitude, spice, or aesthetic than something that truly damages her, costs her, or forces her to grow. She feels less like a woman making hard choices and more like a fantasy of being the hottest, strongest, most emotionally magnetic person in every room.

The romance made this worse for me.

Instead of making her feel more human, it often made her feel more worshipped. The men around her do not just love her. They orbit her. They speak about her like she is everything. That kind of constant narrative worship made it harder for me to connect with her as a real person.

That said, I do think there is something here worth saving.

The writing has energy. The author clearly cares. The world has scale. The emotion is not missing. The problem is not lack of talent. The problem is too much protection around the main character.

If this series wants Oriel to feel compelling instead of untouchable, she needs less pedestal and more consequence. Let her make a bad call that seriously hurts someone. Let people resist her without the story making them seem lesser for it. Let her fail in a way that cannot be fixed by power, devotion, or destiny. Let her be messy without the narrative romanticizing every part of it. Have her make a decision that has consequences

There is a better version of this character in here.

Strip away some of the worship, let her bleed emotionally in a way the story does not instantly crown, and Oriel could become much more human, much more grounded, and honestly much more interesting.

Right now, though, she reads less like a person and more like the book’s favorite idea.

[J.Knoed · Rating 1 out of 5]

this did not work for me at all.
My biggest issue is Oriel. She does not read like a flawed, grounded protagonist. She reads like a Mary Sue power fantasy. Nearly every major character seems to revolve around her emotionally, romantically, spiritually, or cosmically. multiple love interests center their devotion around her, enemies obsess over her, and the story keeps reinforcing that she is not just important, but uniquely sacred and world-shaping. This book does have dark imagery, gore, demons, corruption, and suffering, but it does not read like dark fantasy to me. Dark fantasy usually leaves you with dread, moral rot, emotional consequence, and the sense that power costs something ugly. Here, the darkness often feels more like decoration around a power-and-romance fantasy. The story repeatedly shifts from horror or war into scenes of worship, seduction, affirmation, and sensuality, which makes the overall tone feel closer to romantasy or mythic fantasy with edgy aesthetics than true dark fantasy.Even when Oriel is supposedly challenged, the narrative rarely lets her feel small for long. The prose keeps circling back to how special she is, how others see her, how they love her, how they fight for her, and how her power rises to meet the moment. Instead of tension building through vulnerability, the book often feels like it is confirming her greatness over and over again. That took away suspense for me, because the story seemed more interested in exalting Oriel than testing her.
I also think the book confuses intensity with darkness. Characters can be obsessed, lustful, wounded, and dramatic, but that alone does not create dark fantasy. Darkness is not just blood, sex, or demonic imagery. It is atmosphere, consequence, corruption, fear, and sacrifice that leaves a stain on the story.
There is definitely imagination here, and the author clearly loves these characters. But for me, that love turns into indulgence. Oriel feels over-praised, over-desired, over-powered, and over-protected by the narrative. As a result, the book reads less like dark fantasy and more like an elaborate character fantasy built to admire her.
If that is the intended audience, some readers may love it. I am not one of them.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨Arc Review✨
Divine Kaos Forsaken Herald of Ruin
By: Sessily Goodwin

Book Rating: 4 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Get it Oriel!)
Pages: 333/333
Release date: May 27, 2026

Arc Review:
Divine Kaos Forsaken Herald of Ruin is a fantasy book that delivers us battles against celestial/demons/monsters, raw emotional moments, beautifully written details, two love interests, healing, intriguing villains, and some unexpected plot twist!

We are introduced to Oriel who is a neiphlilim and our main character. Oriel is a complicated soul filled with so much vulnerability and strength. I felt for Oriel as she goes through so many trials internally and physically to find her truth and balance from within due to who she is throughout the story.

She is wanted by many for their own motives.
I feel that this gave her some more depth as to why she is the way that she is. I love how strong Oriel is shown to be as well as showing her vulnerable side. She is meant to be strong, vulnerable, and fierce in Divine Kaos.

Trope wise this is definitely Why choose because why not! 🥵 I love that we get to know her love interests and how they each balance each other out for Oriel.

The reason I gave Divine Kaos 4 stars is that it needed some clearer transitions when it came to reading a flashback and the switch back to the present.
It took me a moment to realize I had switched to a different pov when it came to new dialogue in certain chapters.

The pacing was steady and slowed down a bit towards the middle since this was Oriel coming into her own so it needed to have that slow and steady pace. Upside, I do like that we were able to flesh out some other characters and see what their motives are for wanting Oriel for themselves.

I cannot wait to grab a physical copy of Divine Kaos Forsaken Herald of Ruin!

You did an incredible job for your first published book! It takes a lot of bravery to put yourself out there for the bookish world to reas. Keep pushing forward!
Thank you for letting me review your E-Arc!

[S Savont · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a bland 'dark fantasy' that’s really just a tensionless Romantasy in disguise. The cast is bizarre, and Oriel is a textbook Mary Sue who gets everything handed to her, killing any potential for real tension or complexity. Her 'inner issues' feel generic and boring. I'm over it. the Author put on her profile its like bayonetta like how in what way angels and demons... sorry its a no Fyi its weird that Oriel gets both men as her boyfriends so love triangle was a lie i cant finish this crap

[ImSuddenlySue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sharp, taught, strong, unyielding.

The Nephilim has been shunned, feared, envied, and banished.

But now she will find herself and with the help of a prince of hell and a Seraphim she might neve admit to save the worlds.

Well written, strong plot, and easy to follow
I didn't get very emotional in this book, but it was a good read!

[Hugo.C · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I am sorry as I got a arc from you and i made a gr acct
I have to be honest I am a fan of dark fantasy books and you marketed this as one this is not a dark fantasy book its more of a power fantasy as you character has more.in common with wonder women. 2 out of 5