BOOKS ¦ Review: The Orphanage of Gods by Helena Coggan

Name: The Orphanage of Gods
Author: Helena Coggan
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Date published: 2019
Rating: 3.5/5

In the bloody revolution, gods were all but wiped out. Ever since, the children they left behind have been imprisoned in an orphanage, watched day and night by the ruthless Guard. Any who show signs of divine power vanish from their beds in the night, all knowledge of their existence denied.
No one has ever escaped the orphanage.
Until now.
Seventeen-year-old Hero is finally free - but at a terrible price. Her sister has been captured by the Guard and is being held in a prison in the northern sea. Hero desperately wants to get her back, and to escape the murderous Guardsmen hunting her down. But not all the gods are dead, and the ones waiting for Hero in the north have their own plans for her - ones that will change the world forever...
As she advances further and further into the unknown, Hero will need to decide: how far is she willing to go to do what needs to be done?

- From Goodreads.

The Orphanage of Gods was a very exciting book, with almost non-stop action, complex characters, and vivid descriptions that really immersed you in the story.
There was definitely more gore and violence than I expected and, while I think it helped show how vicious the world was and how desperate or cruel some of the characters were, I would have appreciated a little more warning because I do not think the book description prepared me for that.
While the action was well-written and kept my attention, I thought there could have been more pauses and breaks between action scenes as it felt like as soon as one fast-paced scene had ended, another one began and there was no time to breathe or think between those moments. I understand this was a good way to show that the characters were living in a dangerous world where they could not count on being safe, but unfortunately since the characters did not have any time to process the events and their thoughts, neither did I and I would have liked more time.
One of the positives of the book was the multiple perspectives as they were all from likeable characters' viewpoints that helped me to see how the world and the story could be seen through different lenses and why the characters might have different ideas or opinions. I did not feel like any of them were unnecessary.
The ending left me feeling conflicted. I could see why it ended the way it did, because it seemed realistic that it was as happy an ending as it could be given that they story was set in such a gruesome and gritty world. However I still felt a little unsatisfied with it, I do not think all of the character deaths were necessary, and I think the ending could have been just a little longer to give us more details of how the world looked after the climax of the story.
Overall, I did enjoy reading The Orphanage of Gods and felt invested in the story and the characters, but there were  quite a few places where I felt like it could have been better and could have left me feeling more satisfied.