Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

In Of Gods and Ruin by Jonathan D. Lambert, after a forbidden gate is destroyed beneath Brethefen, Desnia is imprisoned and accused of causing the fire that devastated the city. The Sapphiric Court orders silence while Lord General Rosethorn enforces martial law and suppresses reports that contradict the official account. As the interrogations intensify inside the Asylum, Lady Mithya presses Desnia for answers about High Realm mages and a vanished power source tied to Principle Jerdine. Delvan, whose testimony exposed the gate, works to uncover the missing journals that may reveal who still seeks that power, even as unrest spreads through the ruined districts. Far from the capital, brothers Orne and Kolden uncover evidence that cadentite is moving through military channels toward hidden buyers. Political factions tighten their grip while faith gathers around Desnia’s survival. Drawn from beneath the mountains, a new directive emerges from another prisoner, and a mission that reaches beyond Brethefen toward the empire’s most guarded source of authority.

Jonathan D. Lambert’s Of Gods and Ruin, book two in the Borne by Blood series, continues his epic saga from within a kingdom scarred by fire and buried divinity. There are multiple points of view characters, but as far as the main ones go, I like Delvan the most. He has a steadfast moral drive that puts him in a believable fight for Desnia's freedom, especially once he finds out that an execution looms over her. Lambert gives the ancillary characters equal fleshing out, like Kolden and his curiosity, leading to a massive discovery. The writing style is sharp, with the cinematic treatment of settings and landscapes, from the subterranean chamber lined with cadentite where Asta lies chained, to the claustrophobic cells of the Asylum where Desnia endures unspeakable torture. The world-building is so tight and structured that even readers who may not have read book one will be quickly oriented with the rigid hierarchy of the Sapphiric Court, the Inquisition, and the noble houses. Readers who enjoy politically charged fantasy with sophisticated arcane systems will find all they admire here, and with a finale that promises more, I'm excited to see what comes next.