Table of Contents

When the saints call, the sinners answer.

Chaos stalks the steam-powered city of Chime and threatens the existence of the gods and their domains. Kayl swore to protect Chime’s mortals from their gods’ cruel whims, but when she agrees to represent the mortals of a god long thought dead, Kayl is thrust into a political role that goes against everything she’s ever stood for.

As the newly appointed ambassador to the god of time, Quen’s goal is clear – protect Chime and the domains by any means necessary. But as the gods make their demands, Quen is caught between his loyalties and his conscience.

To ensure a future for all mortals, Kayl and Quen must unite the gods against the threat of chaos and decide what they’re willing to sacrifice for Chime – before the gods choose for them.

For the gods are capricious and have their own divine plans.”

Title: The Children of Chaos

Series: The Cruel Gods #2

Author: Trudie Skies

Page Count: 757

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Date Read: July 21st, 2023


After reading The Thirteenth Hour (book one) of The Cruel Gods series back in March for a category or two in the Indie Ink Awards, I knew I wanted to continue this series. The Children of Chaos didn’t let me down. I enjoyed it just as much if not more than I did book one.
 
Book two did get a bit darker and more depressing at times for our characters but that only made me realize just how attached I’ve gotten to them without even knowing it.
 
The pacing was very smooth for Children of Chaos. Admittedly I had been knocking out some good reading time with this book and was a little shocked that my percentage of completion wasn’t going up as much as I was expecting. That’s because I didn’t realize the page count for this one. Once I had that knowledge I just settled into some good reading sprints whenever I got a chance. There are really no issues with names used in this book either. There may be a little more time shenanigans in book two than we had in the first one.
 
There world building was great in book two. Sure book one laid the foundation for a lot of this, but we get to visit and learn so much more about the different realm of gods in Children of Chaos. It’s difficult to say which was my favorite but when the team visits Rapture, things were definitely interesting and memorable for the time spent reading those pages.
 
The character building again was top notch for me as well. We still have some of our favorite characters from book one along with several new memorable ones. Our carryover characters have a bit of growth in the second book there are some great new additions such as Ben and Penny to name a couple. Mr. Gast is very intriguing as well. I hope we haven’t seen the last of him.
 
Needless to say there were some great moments in book two. I really enjoyed this one from beginning to end. Now I just have to wait patiently until we get the chance to read book three! Trudie has certainly set her own bar high for this series!
 
I’d recommend this book and series to readers who are fans of fantasy with a bit of steampunk vibes mixed in. With book two’s darker moments there may be some triggers for readers. I’m not going to list things here as to avoid spoilers but if you ask me directly, I’d be willing to share what I remember or I’m sure the author would be more than willing to answer questions as well!

World Building 5/5
Pacing 4.5/5
Character Development 5/5

Picture of Chad Barnard

Chad Barnard

Owner/Operator of The Hiking Reader Blog. Sharing thoughts on books and hiking trails and trying to find ways to continue to incorporate both hobbies together.

Recent Posts

Books

Book Review: Heroes of Ferth

As the revolution’s final battle reaches its bloody crescendo, things look bleak for the rebels and their dream of a free county. The tyrant king’s

Read More »
Books

Book Review: Daughter of the Empire

Magic and murder engulf the realm of Kelewan.  Fierce warlords ignite a bitter blood feud to enslave the empire of Tsuranuanni.  While in the opulent Imperial courts,

Read More »
Books

Book Review: Empire of Silence

Hadrian Marlowe, a man revered as a hero and despised as a murderer, chronicles his tale in the galaxy-spanning debut of the Sun Eater series,

Read More »

No Comment! Be the first one.

Leave a Reply

Our site uses cookies. By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.