Lightbringer (The Eater of Worlds Saga Book 1)

City of Gods #1

by Sara Richards

The Knights of Ancora. Heroes protecting the city—and the people hunting her down.

Created to steal superhuman powers, Danielle Langston went underground in the city of Ancora since she put the man she loves in a coma.

A chance for redemption comes in the form of a shady deal: a cure in exchange for a dangerous artifact guarded by the Knights. But the robbery turns into a train wreck. Danielle severely injures their leader, cementing her place at the head of their shit list.

Raleigh West has been a Knight of Ancora for five years—and called Soul-Eater in terrified whispers for just as long. After his best friend is nearly killed by a girl with a power as deadly as his own, Raleigh is determined to track her down—and make her pay.

Trapped in a conspiracy threatening the city, Danielle and Raleigh are forced to team up despite the explosive animosity between them. To save both Ancora and the people they love, they must unravel a web of lies, betrayal and deceit to unlock the key to their true powers.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy

471 pages, ebook

Published July 25, 2022

About the author

Sara Richards grew up in a small town outside Marrakech, and currently lives in Paris with her husband. She spends her spare time figuring out creative ways of cramming books on her bookshelves, indulging in her unholy love of cupcakes, and crying over her favorite TV shows.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book. A great new world with great, complex, and conflicted characters. The book shows that the lights of hope and justice can come from anywhere, especially from the darkness.

In a world where people with the powers to rival gods themselves. The Knights of Ancora with there leader Harry (the Eternal Phenix) have set themselves up as its protectors, where as the Titans intend to be the rulers. However the lines between good and evil can get blured very quickly.

Danielle has known nothing but abuse and manipulation her whole life. In a world of superhuman (the highest world called a Prime), her powers are unique, dark, and dangerous. Now, finally, free of her oppressor, she takes the only living she can a thief from people with literal powers. She is offered the highest risk or highest reward job against the only people she has ever looked up to, The Knights of Ancora.

Raleigh is a Knight of Ancora. Though he is one of them, he keeps himself on the outside. He was never able to redeem his biggest mistake. Now he embraces the fear everyone has of him, in fact he wears it as a badge of honour. He is the man that does what needs to be done for the greater good weather they know or like it.

The thing about this book it shows it show anyone can be a hero or villain, and a hero can have the same darkness in them, as a villain and can believe in what they are doing is for the right reasons. Nobody is who I thought they were at the start. I am really looking forward to the next book.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A seriously good book!!! The first in an exciting new series. This book is a mix of Superhero meets Heist meets Mystery meets Coming of age movie. (And not just youngsters growing up and accepting themselves.) What happens when the Superheroes are normal people with the normal human failings, but being ‘Super’ the failings in their past are rather big and have been devastating to, or even killed, others? Can they change, can they atone? There are a lot of characters and it took me a little while to sort out where they all fitted in. Thank you to Sara Richards and BookSirens for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

[Y.S. Leija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read! The world is changed and you have people with powers and the people without which are called Nulls. She did a great job character building. My favorite was Raleigh. He was a very complexed character. The man was in his own torment for the majority of the book. This book is a page turner and if you like superhero fantasy you’ll enjoy this one.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Eric Lard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where to begin? Great question, there's really a lot to unpack here. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but what I got was an action-packed, high-intensity, emotional rollercoaster that was at times hard to follow and at other times hard to put down.

Part of me wants to give it five stars and another part wants to give it three. If that's confusing, well, it should be. I felt confused. Usually, my ADD helps me roll with the punches in a high-intensity, fast-paced manuscript like this but I definitely struggled. But, it's really hard to be mad at the author because the story is quite entertaining. Maybe too entertaining? Is that a thing?

Let me put it like this, the action and world-building were great. In and of themselves, these elements would have made for a pretty great superhero story, because, that's essentially what Lightbringer is - - something between the Avengers and the Boys.

The author's ability to raise the stakes and roll out a blistering pace while sifting in surprises and gotchas is pretty darn impressive. With adequate characters, you'd have a solid 4 to 4.5-star story.

Now, throw in a massive influx of personal drama, deceit, self-loathing, guilt, jealousy, warring loyalties, hidden love, self-imposed martyrdom, unknown sibling relationships, betrayal, and everything else you could imagine and things get out of hand fast. What was a good story, rockets through the stratosphere and comes crashing back down to earth in a neighborhood that you might not want to be in after dark.

I think the author's creativity, imagination, and instinct for drama are impressive, but editing in some relief for the reader from time to time would go a long way toward making this book more enjoyable.

So is this enough to rake back those stars? No. But what should have made it better, didn't. It just made it more.

Now, add that most everyone has a real name and a code name, along with the fever-pitch dialogue making it harder to tell who's who just from temperament and personality alone and you're stuck keeping track of them by whatever powers they have. Or don't have, those change a lot too.

So with multiple names, shifting powers, traveling in and out of people's minds as well as flashbacks and hyper-tight pacing, things get pretty muddled. Also, the character interactions and dialoge feel a bit… no, a lot, heavy-handed. Housewives of Justice League heavy-handed. Not quite that bad, but, almost. Enough that it would be near impossible for most authors to redeem. Hence, the 3-star comment from the beginning of the review.

With a less skilled storyteller that would have been the end of it. However, Sara Richards mines every opportunity presented to her and comes away with another victory here: Character arc.

The two main MCs, with every reason to hate each other and pitted against one another from the beginning, have parallel arcs that resolve equally well. Given how much is going on it would have been easy to lose sight of the importance of this one thing, but Richards did not. That's what I meant by almost irredeemable.

In summary, Lightbringer is a head-scratcher for sure, but it's a heck of a ride. And Sara Richards may be an absolute maniac behind the keyboard, but you'll never be bored. Maybe someone will give her an extra hundred blank pages for the next book and she'll provide a smooth, rich, and entertaining 5-star sequel? Probably not. My guess is that she would fill those pages with as much intensity and turmoil as she has here and her readers will just have to work in a week off for recovery after reading it.

[Varun Vasudev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Lightbringer is the first novel in Sara Richards' new superhero fantasy series. The story is set in the city of Ancora where super-powered individuals called the Knights maintain the peace. Our protagonist is one Danielle Langston, who lives on the fringes of society taking the odd job to make ends meet. It doesn't help that the person she loves is in a coma that was her fault (she has yet to fully understand her superpowers). Danielle is running away from her past so when an opportunity to help the one she loves comes knocking at her doorstep she doesn't hesitate. Unfortunately, this puts her in the crosshairs of the Knights of Ancora, and what follows is a rollercoaster ride, that left me with more questions than answers.

First a few positives from the book. The premise was decent. There were instances where the book was quite engaging and I lost track of time a bit. All in all, a decent first book.

Here's the part I don't enjoy about reviews. While the idea was there I felt the execution fell a little flat. It just felt like there were too many things happening. Some of the twists felt oddly out of place to me and some plot points felt unnecessary. As I mentioned earlier, several plot points weren't entirely discussed other than in passing which I hope we get some clarity with the next installment in the series. But for now, it was a bit confusing to wrap my head around some things. Again, this is just my opinion and maybe a re-read will clear some things up but I don't see myself reading this again (anytime soon anyway).

This book felt like a mix of books like Steelheart, Renegades, with some extra YA romance thrown in. I wouldn't really recommend this book right now, but should there be a second book that sheds some light on whatever the hell is going on, then maybe give it a go.

[Christina Frøkjær · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot going on - Lightbringer is part superheroes, part sci-fi, and part introspective book.

It is well written, planned in detail, and even when I felt a bit left behind, I was entertained and in a beautiful setting.

I enjoyed this first read from Sara Richards and think her books will become even better, and maybe a bit more concise later on.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cheryl Glans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this first Novel by Sara Richards. Interesting characters and character development. Very cool super powers. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so this book is really hard for me to rate. There were parts I loved, a lot of stuff I like, and other pieces that didn't work for me. I settled on a 3.5 stars.

Lightbringer is part superheroes, part sci-fi, and part introspective book. There is a lot going on with it.

First, my loves. I love when an author has this cool, crazy idea and turns it into a book. The imagination and thought that went in to this book is amazing. I also loved that the characters were all very complex and not just driven by the greater good.

Some of the good things: The world building is really neat. I struggled with some parts of it, for the most part I just didn't get it, but I feel like it was well planned. The characters, again, I enjoyed how well they were written. The writing itself was good, easy to follow, not everly descriptive or distracting.

What didn't work for me: The sci-fi details. It's possible I just missed something or that it just didn't click for me, but I had the hardest time understanding how the powers worked and who had them and why they had them. I really could have used a prologue to help me understand the bigger picture and the role that Neth played overall, not just in the places it was talked about in the story. Again, it's entirely possible I just missed something.

I think anyone who likes superheroes that are more than just do-gooders and sci-fi worlds will enjoy this.

[Cavak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conflicted feelings on this one.

Like others have mentioned, Richards delivers on promise. There are multiple layers of world-building and lots of terminology to learn. Sci-fit atmosphere hits you at the get-go. Interesting rules to the mind-bending, dream walking powers (and more!) that are gradually revealed. Both main leads are anti-heroes who have love interests who aren't each other. LGBTQ+ representation in an unexpected way as well.

It's the execution of the first half that is the major hiccup for me.

Lightbringer juggles many balls at once. From the very start, there's an action scene, a traumatic memory, and a whole truckload of world lore. The first half feels like it follows the same exact beats each chapter. We're described how characters are, what they feel, what they see. And there's a call to have empathy for the characters feeling sorry for themselves or their situations, especially at the midway point. That's a tall order when I'm simultaneously asked to remember ten other unique topics or names at once.

This is one of those times when I wished there was an appendix, a world map, a graphic to show the tier of classes, and/or a layman's prologue to help visualize the world setting. Usually, I can follow science fiction and fantasy info dumps with relative ease. Richards's world building explanations are intuitive based on the current narrator's knowledge, which sometimes complicates an established meaning as the story progresses.

When concrete changes occur by the second half, I mostly understood what was going on. The twists and turns were interesting. I think the reasons why many readers consider it satisfying is because of the upturn for character dynamics and strong feelings of triumph by the end. Character arcs for both the main leads have solid pay-offs in an action-adventure way. That does make me wonder how the story will continue from that ending, considering that this will be a series. Probably will continue building from the world lore.

Lightbringer is an ambitious debut. I'm thinking that superhero fans will enjoy this novel, if they can make it through to the midway point.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Taryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I signed up to get this ARC, I was more interested in the cover but knew this would be outside of something that I would normally read. I do enjoy sci-fiction every now and again but this one took me by surprise.

The beginning was a little hard to get into, because there were a lot of names to learn right off the bat. And of course, a lot of the characters have more than one name, which made it even harder to follow at first. On top of that, there is a whole "magic" system that is just kind of thrown out there and not explained as well in the beginning. These are really more like powers, or super powers, but there are different levels of power that certain characters have but there's also a name for people who don't. It's just a lot!!

All that being said, once I got past the beginning and started to understand what was going on, I became really engrossed in the story. I enjoy super hero movies, but I've never read any stories about them, especially in this context. I think the explanation for how these "hero's" came to be was creative and a nice twist. I also loved that we got to see this from multiple people's point of view and it wasn't always linear. It kept things interesting and also kept you guessing.

Danielle and Raleigh seemed to be the main characters out of everyone, and this was definitely a story about them finding redemption and also forgiving themselves for their past sins. I loved that even though they were always paired together, they developed more of a friendship, and their love interests were outside of each other. It was refreshing since that's usually not the case with most of the books I read.

Overall, I loved the book! I was very pleasantly surprised, and I definitely plan on recommending it to some friends who I know would also enjoy it!

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from Booksirens, and this is my honest review.

What happens when superheroes need to be redeemed?

Lightbringer is a sci-fi fantasy superhero mash-up, complete with superhero code names, fantastic action sequences, and of course, the safety of the entire world at stake. Yet, unlike with your typical Marvel movie, we don't have morally pristine Captain America and friends to follow. Instead, our heroes are morally gray, their pasts stained with red and questionable decisions, ultimately resulting in a massive load of guilt they have to sift through. We're not following heroes just trying to save the world; we're following heroes that are left to wonder if they can be redeemed.

If I was only rating off of premise, this would be a five star read. I love the flip on the superhero trope, and I think there was a good parallel between redemption arcs. Yet, when writing redemption arcs, the author has a difficult task at hand: make the audience believe the protagonist has a reason they need to be redeemed without preventing the reader from liking said character. Now, I didn't particularly dislike Danielle or Raleigh, but I don't think I really liked them, either.

So much of the first half of the novel was the two of them going on and on about how horrible they were, how they hated themselves, how they deserved every bad thing that happened to them, and it got really tiring to read. We were given incredibly sympathetic pasts to latch on to to try and prevent us from hating Danielle and Raleigh, but I don't think I was given anythng to like about them if that makes sense. As I continued reading, I started to understand the complexities to their characters, especially Raleigh, but by that point, I was firmly planted in meh territory. The action sequences made up for this slightly, what with their fantastic pacing and detail, but then... there was just so many of them.

Action sequences demand a great deal of emotion and energy from readers, which is why you often want to space them out, or at least provide a little time for readers to recover. Here, though, there was very little time in between sequences, especially towards the end, and I was just exhausted by the time I finished reading.

Maybe it's that this book just wasn't targeted for me. Maybe I accidently breezed over the worldbuilding in the beginning, which made it harder for me to catch up. Maybe this book just has a really steep learning curve and I wasn't in the headspace to work that hard, I don't know. I just know this book shows great potential with action sequences and character arcs, I just need more reasons to actually like the characters, and more overt worldbuilding at times.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

So, this book had a bit of a slow start, but that was just to lull you into a false sense of security! So push through that first 15-20% it is so worth it in the end.

Suffice it to say, it was like a small snowball at the top of a very steep snowy hill, that just gathered momentum and became the speeding gargantuan snowball by the last pages.

I really enjoyed this book, despite the grammar errors and sometime confusing dialogue of not knowing who was speaking.

Having the chapters from different character viewpoints was also quite a good way to tell each character's story, and there were some really twisty surprising reveals and twists.

Great character development, great world building, great twists, great story.

Great overall. Highly recommended.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightbringer has some seriously cool things going for it. The world-building is really well done. The atmosphere in the various scenes communicates expansiveness, claustrophobia, whatever is needed very well. The characters are likable and engaging.

My personal rating for this book was 3.5 stars but I can't round it up as it was simply too confusing. Another reviewer suggested a prologue to explain some things would be a good idea and I agree. I spent more time than I would like asking myself what was going on. I'm happy to admit these could be my limitations, but I'd rather leave an honest review than make something up.

Definitely worth reading.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nat's reverie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lightbringer is an urban fantasy LGBTQ+ novel written by Sara Richards. Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and a sprinkle of romance all brought together to create the first book of the City of Gods series. The topics of this novel can be hard to read, so be advised to read the trigger warnings at the end of this review.

The story takes place in New York five years after a disaster destroyed the city. Superhumans and those without powers are at peace but segregated for everyone´s protection. Settled in the city ruins, now identified as Ancora, a group of heroes known as the Knights of Ancora are tasked with protecting the city. Raleigh West, a member of the Knights, and Danielle Langston, created to steal superhuman powers, are forced into working together as a team to combat a dangerous conspiracy threatening their city. In her attempt to save the man she loves by waking him up from a coma, Danielle is instructed to retrieve an artifact guarded by the Knights. However, the robbery is unsuccessful, and she manages to severely injure Raleigh´s best friend and leader of the Knights, earning their hate. As powerful as they are, Raleigh and Danielle must put their animosity for each other aside to save the city.

I was hooked the second I started reading; the story gripped me instantly and I could not stop reading. There is so much I love about this book, but the main one is the credibility of the characters. All of them are relatable, diverse, and incredibly well-developed. The author introduces actual morally-grey characters, imperfect people that the reader cares about because they are authentic. The character interactions balance vulnerability and action-packed scenes in a way that feels real, their relationships being complicated and well thought-out. Friendship especially is flawlessly explored in this story.

Raleigh and Danielle are the main characters, both of them presented through third-person subjective narration, providing the reader with the opportunity to really get to know both characters and how they experience the story. The author occasionally includes other alternating points of view that provide different perspectives enriching the reading experience. Sometimes when the focus of the narration is divided like this it is easy to pick a favourite character and disregard the others a bit, but these two main characters are the perfect choice for this story, both complex, loveable and charming, making it impossible to pick a favourite.

My only complaint about this book is that the world-building feels somewhat chaotic. Too many elements are explained at once, which makes it hard to keep up with everything. It can be confusing for the reader to try to understand the world when there is too much going on, and I understand the plot is complex and many elements are necessary for the story to make sense, I do really love the plot and how all the pieces of the story fit together, but I think the world-building could have been developed in a better way, making it easier to understand.

I would rate this story 4,5 out of 5 stars overall, and here is the rating broken down into categories:

- overall enjoyment: 4,5
- writing quality: 4,5
- characterisation: 5
- world-building/setting: 3,5
- plot development: 4
- ending satisfaction: 5

Reading this novel was a great experience; the story kept surprising me as I went on, and I cannot wait to spend more time with these wonderful characters when the rest of the series is published. Still, I believe the story could have been perfect and complete even if it had been published as a standalone novel.

This book can be a great reading choice for fantasy and science fiction lovers that enjoy a bit of mystery while reading, especially if you like romance to be a part of the story without taking away from the plot and being the main focus. If you expect explicit romantic scenes this book is not for you, and if you have trouble following fantasy or science fiction world-building, you might find it hard to keep up with the story, but even if that is the case, I still think you should give this book a chance.

Age recommendation: Urban Science Fiction Mystery Fantasy (16+).

Trigger warnings: Profanity, Drugs, Fire, Childbirth, Blood, PTSD, Self-harm, Assault, Emotional Abuse, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Violence, and Death.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jake Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had so much fun with this book. It is an amazing tale of two protagonists who have done wrong and are trying to both set things right and forgive themselves. The character growth and development were both outstanding. They felt like real people. There were twists and turns in this story that looking back you can see the set up for, even though it did feel like set up at the time. For example, one of the characters realizes a development in their powers that both fits with how the powers for other characters work and because of the character's backstory we completely understand why they hadn't realized this earlier. The world of the story is very intriguing as well and I really want to know more about it.

The downsides of this novel are small, but enough that I did need to mention them. First, the action is kind of muddled. There were fight scenes I had to go back over a few times because I couldn't tell how or why something had happened. Fights and action scenes are very hard to write though and it isn't a huge detractor. There were also a few instances of the characters realizing something and then the narration repeating it to us. It felt as if the author didn't have the faith that what they wrote would come across.

Ultimately, I am thrilled to have read this book and eagerly await any further installments. I want to learn more about the world, the mechanics of the powers, and what becomes of our characters.

[M.L. Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightbringer City of Gods is a fast paced adventure that combines superheroes and science fiction into an approachable and fun story. I commend Sara Richards for completing such a large book and for her ability to bring intense action sequences to life and invite us into this creative and inspiring world of super heroes and villains.

As a whole I think that the book would benefit from a strong developmental edit. There are some chapters/pages that do not move the plot forward or build upon the world. The text also struggles with setting the scene appropriately. It jumps into character driven action such as telling us what Danielle is doing or reacting to but doesn't sufficiently describe the location that the events are taking place in, what the characters look like and other details that would paint us a picture of the scene outside of what the characters are saying or doing.

I did find the main characters to be likeable and interesting but the prose wasn't sufficiently fleshed out for me to feel immersed in the book. I would still be interested in checking out future work from this author as I do think this work has the potential to reach an audience similar to the work of Tomi Adeyemi or Brandon Sanderson.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got one of those free copies for a review thingies, my first one in fact.

I have to admit I was confused early on in the story. I kept thinking that I had missed something, was there another book that came before this one? But as the story developed those gaps were filled and the telling of those gaps are crucial for the development of one of the characters.

About two thirds of the way through I started to hope the story doesn’t end, as I liked the world and characters the author has created. While the story rounds out nicely, there is plenty more to tell, and there is a preview of the second book available, and I will be downloading that once I am done here.

There are so many stories to tell in this world.

This has a bit of everything- action, betrayal, heist, intrigue, good vs evil, redemption, even unrequited love.

There are lots of things that are unknowns in the story which might have made the story clearer in some areas, particularly about the history of the factions, the forming of Ancora and some of the relationships.

Would they make the core story better? Probably not, but they certainty would have round the story out.

Loved it, can’t wait to see where the story goes.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

X-men-esque teen drama with loads of action, angst, secrets, and twists. This is the kind of book that just drops you into the middle of the action and expects you to figure out what is going on - except the action comes so fast and frequent you barely have a chance to find your footing. Compelling leads with complex back stories that tie into the creation of their world as they know it. In parts this almost read more like one of those paranormal shifter fantasies than a superhero one, but did stay more on the futuristic science side of urban fantasy.

It was well written, if a bit of a mind twist, to get various character's perspective especially with the large ensemble cast. It mostly follows two characters at the heart of the issue. Same with the flashbacks filling in pieces of the story as it progresses. It is a more difficult story to follow, but has more impact with the way information is revealed. Some of the things that bothered me through most of the book finally made sense with a flashback - but I think I needed to get to know the characters to fully appreciate the scene, like I wouldn't have cared if it was a prologue chapter or something.

It's a world in turmoil and the narrative style reflected that. Satisfying ending even if it left so many questions!

[Knižný (Valéria Scholtzová) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I received an ARC ebook for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I enjoyed reading this first novel by Sara Richards. She’s able to forge some interesting characters and provide solid character development. She gave her heroes and villains very cool superpowers.
There were scenes I liked, a lot of stuff I enjoyed, and other parts that left me confused. The world building is really great, except for the beginning, where I could use some introduction to the plot and world. The first chapter feels as if this wasn’t the first book in the series.
It feels like a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and mythology. The pace is quite quick, and a lot happened in those 471 pages. There are also a lot of names and nicknames you should remember. I wrote them down and made some notes while reading to keep track of the characters. I got used to Danielle, Raleigh, Harry and their Nethracium-fueled superpowers. There is friendship, love (LGBT+), family issues and a lot of other arcs going on. As much as it was confusing in the beginning, it got better after 1/4 of the book. I really wanted to know how it ends. And now, after I have finished, I’d like to know what's going on in the next books.

[KateJoanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh I loved this and can’t wait to read the next instalment.
Absolutely love the characters, the story and really enjoyed this book.
Super fun, twisty and clever, I highly recommend for any sci-fi, X-Men, Superman, The Mortal Instruments fans!

Very nice and refreshing to also have main characters that are friends and nothing more, driven more by plot than romance.
Well written and unpredictable, an original twist on your usual super-power/lab escapee sci-fi.

Feels like a superhero movie in the real world with real problems and moral dilemmas, and at their base each hero is still only Human.
The characters have great depth and emotion, complex feelings and history. Intricate relationships between the characters with growth, betrayal and budding friendships.

I loved trying to figure it out and put it together, figuring out how all of the characters and storyline add up.

I wish it had been explained a little more and we got to see more of the world and how the knights worked together, but I’m sure we will see more in the next books!

******Trigger warning- there are references, detailed conversation/explanation and an explicit scene depicting self harm. *****

[Alan Medhurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This was a complimentary copy from the author via Voracious Readers Only*

With great power comes great emotional turmoil.

Danielle Langston was raised in a laboratory and created to steal superhuman powers however her lack of ability with her power tends to leave her victims either dead or comatose. Ever since she put the man she loved in a coma, she has been living in the less law-abiding side of society trading heists for Echoes, which are the only means she has of communicating with James. When a burglary of the Knights of Ancora goes wrong she ends up with the powers of the Eternal Phoenix and Raleigh West aka Jackal or Soul-Eater is determined to make her pay for injuring his best friend.

There's a lot to untangle in this book. Danielle's self-loathing and self-denial has made her regard herself as more weapon than person and the thread of her story knots up with the Jackal's whose ability to tamper with people's memories has had tragic results. Add into the web the three factions of super-powers of the Knights, the Valkyries and the Titans and run through with the mysterious Doctor V and you end up with a multi-stringed plot which weaves together surprise sibling relationships, unexpected benefactors and twisting betrayals in a fast-paced thump of an adventure.

Oddly, the epub version that I had on my Kobo finished at 96% and I nearly missed the ending and thought I had finished on a cliff-hanger. I'm glad I double-checked the download.

[Lili · Rating 5 out of 5]

An original approach to the Carpe Diem philosophy - you can't change the past, so live in the present and look to the future. This future can be safeguarded, but it cannot be fully controlled as long as people are… human.
It's staggering how much the events in our childhoods can shape our future, and not only what we do, but most of what we are. It takes a lot of grit and a healthy dose of love to be able to break the conditioning of a traumatic start, which can happen in any family, from all the strata of the society.

A vivid imagination, interesting plot, well built characters revealing multiple points of view and good writing made me invested in the outcome, and I will certainly want to know what's next.

I received an advance review copy for free via BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Carol 27 · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a rather large cast of characters, and some with an uncommon superhuman power, this Sci-Fi tale set in what was once New York City, required some focus on my part to initially sort out the players. Once I found my way through this unique world, I was captivated by the action-packed adventure that unfolded.

The story is well written with interesting, yet conflicted characters, plenty of drama and intrigue, some angst, violence, and deception along with a wide range of emotions and a few surprises. While this story has a conclusion, it’s more of a HFN ending in my opinion. I’m looking forward to more tales about the Knights of Ancora.

I received a free copy of this book via Hidden Gems, and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lori Colwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much story in one read!

“Lightbringer” was such a great story with so much to unpack. I loved that there were lots of subplots and each thickened as you read. The characters had strengths in their abilities, and weaknesses within themselves-each believing they were responsible for the chaos brought about when learning about their abilities. It was action packed despite the length. What confused me at times was that each character had a nickname and a formal name that were used interchangeably. At multiple times, I wished I had a bit more info to link the two so I knew who was who, especially with dialogue. Other than that, it really is a fun read. Recommended for lovers of sci-fi reads.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story hooked me from the start. The first chapter explains how a cataclysmic event occurs and a new element is released into the world, changing people giving them super powers.
There is the varied power levels and abilities and as most stories portray, the super humans are hunted and segregated in society. The safe haven city of Ancora is founded on the ruins of New York protected by the knights, the prime superpowered. The titans are rival primes have a completely different agenda, to take revenge on the humans that


I’m not good at writing reviews, so it will get edited as I think of ways to explain.

[Kaitlynn Esquibel · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I want to thank Voracious Readers for allowing me to read a copy of this book. The story in it's entirety reminds me of the Renegades series by Marissa Meyer. There is a dystopian feel throughout the book and the main characters are very well thought out. My only complaint is that at times there was too many side characters to keep track of who was who and if they were a good guy or bad guy and had to do some rereading to stay on track but was still confused. Overall I really did like this story and interested to see where it goes in the next one.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read on an almost apocalyptic world. The world could have ended but was stopped with the help of Prime beings with scary powers. A group of these beings has promised to protect the world but there are others who feel the regular humans don’t deserve protection. Danielle has used her powers to kill but now must trust she is more than weapon. Whether the world can be saved again is yet to be determined.

[Larry Kersten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are decolores well and the world was designed well also. Other than a few editing errors it was well written. At first I thought it might be like a few books that have enticed me to read them but without emotion or characters to bring me interest. But I was very pleasantly surprised.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book!! If you want to see super powered people coming to grips with their very human problems at the same time they tackle their superhuman problems, then this book is for you. Well written overall, could have used a bit more fleshed out supporting characters but hey, gotta keep something back for the series to continue. Still good as a stand-alone story.

[Tiffany Wittman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers are introduced to the City of the Gods series, the first book Lightbringer. Starting off with the birth of the last Phoenix, Harrison. And introducing Isabelle St. Vincent, who becomes a central character later on in the novel. Isabelle brings upon the Convergence to find a world void of Nethracium. A substance that provides the power that sustains the magic for the superhumans of her world.
Jump ahead about twenty years. Danelle, a light bending thief, is in a questionable pub waiting for the owner to make his appearance so she can rob the safe for her boss Kerrigan. What she does not know is that the bar the Admiral is a haven for the Prime gang of the Titans.
Her past comes back to haunt her in the name of Knightmare, a fear monger of some considerable power. Which lets him see through her light bending power. Kerrigan set her up. Just to see if she can pull off his next heist of stealing from the Knights of Ancoa.
The Knights of Ancora are the ruling body of New York after the world collision that happened after the Land Bender’s Collision destroyed the world as they knew it. Harry leads them, and Raleigh is his second. Danielle quickly becomes a straw in their bonnets after her attempt to steal Harry’s blood.
This character driven and romantic and action driven plot is akin to the Wheel of Time series. Fans of Robert Jordan will be immediate immersed in this starting series.