Review of Rage like the gods by Nicki Chapelway

The end that was foretold has come.
The gods selected five heroes to save everything.
They chose poorly.

Ruskhazar is a land of mountains and magic; men and elves. Built atop a fallen civilization, the bodies of demigods, and the tombs of the old monsters it knows a tenuous peace. However, there are those that believe that not all that is buried should remain so. A powerful cult of necromancers is bent on bringing about the prophesied end of the world. To forestall this end, the gods have chosen mortal champions.

A bandit turned assassin.
A bard turned thief.
A noble turned student.
A mercenary turned vampire.

These are the would-be heroes of Ruskhazar.

One will go on to be a killer of kings. One will discover the darkest secrets of the Academy of Magickers. One will serve a queen of thieves. And another will always remain a monster. Together, they can save Ruskhazar. But that is only if they choose to accept their fates.

Unfortunately, these champions are just strangers on their separate paths, unaware of each other’s presence. And unwilling to save a world that never had any place for them. Perhaps destiny had lofty plans for them, but they are determined to write their own stories. Forget the gods, forget necromancers, forget the mad sorceress determined to unite them no matter the cost— this isn’t their story. This is the tale of the heroes who never were.

Welcome to the world of Ruskhazar where men and elves live under the illusion of peace, magic is a mysterious entity of its own, and the dead never remain that way for long. Gods and men clash in this romantic high fantasy series that is perfect for fans of Michael J. Sullivan, J.R.R. Tolkien, and those that always wanted a cleaner Game of Thrones.

Add To-Read on Goodreads 

Sometimes you choose the ARC; sometimes the ARC chooses you. Or, wait, that's supposed to be destiny. Sometimes destiny will choose you even when you run screaming the opposite direction as these four found when they all woke up on a prison ship. But none of them remember why they're there, or even how. Or why there's an undead kraken- or how, since that kind of thing isn't exactly normal.

Thus begins the fantasy epic as four out of five chosen ones are brought together- and then disperse as quickly as possible because they have lives to live even if the world is- allegedly- falling apart around their ears. Which means we get to join them on four different journeys.

Eirik is the only male POV, and he is determined to win back the hand of his lady love who despises thievery . . . via thievery ala Robin Hood style. He's my favorite.

Meruna is my other favorite, the noblewoman who is determined to learn at the magical Academy before her parents marry her off, or the world gets saved- whichever comes first. She also has a spunky bodyguard here to keep her alive until she's ready to save the world, and maybe push her toward her fellow/rival student.

Dagmy is a mercenary in search of honor . . . along with her sidekick, another mercenary who is the best.

Thyre single-handedly gets enlisted by both an assassin clan and a werewolf pack.

Anyway, there's a ton going on, so get ready to be invested. Perfect if you love high fantasy, epic fantasy, romantic fantasy, dark fantasy, fantasy, etc.

Note to more sensitive readers: there is a lot of fantasy violence, and the characters are not all good and noble. 

I received a copy from the author but was not required to leave a favorable review.

Pre-Order Now