Rating: 4.75⭐️

The Lost Reliquary by Lyndsay Ely is just an astonishing piece of dark fantasy storytelling.  The author is a new discovery and this is a remarkable way to dive into her writings. 

It’s the first book in Ely’s Divine Thrall series, grounded in a universe where once there were many gods who warred among themselves.  In the aftermath of centuries of battle, a lone victor emerged, the goddess Tempestra-Innara, the Enduring Flame. 

Ely starts the story with a rebellion against the goddess in play. The perspective of the story is that of Lys, one of the divine warrior’s of Tempestra-Innara. Taken as a child to serve the last goddess, her dark childhood events are revealed as the story progresses, Lys has ulterior motives as she serves as potentiate of the Dawn Cloister, one of two divine guard forces for the goddess. 

After an assassination attempt against the goddess is foiled, the goddess sends Lys out to track down the heretics and the religious weapon that can be used against her. One that Lys hopes to obtain for herself. A plan complicated by the fact that another divine warrior is sent along with her with his own plans and agendas. 

Ely has created raw, powerful characters full of complex personalities, with dark damaged histories and the magical powers to go along with them, each suited to their unique needs. 

One , Lys, who looks at the goddess, and silently remembers her mother, their history, and the traumatic events she’s endured since becoming a divine warrior. The other? A man solid in his faith and his religious convictions, and those above him who are directing his actions, no matter what they are and who they affect. Both are credible in their own beliefs and roles. 

The journey they undertake, the lands and seas they cross, and peoples they meet. All have enormous influence on their destiny and outcome. And the relationship between them that starts to develop. 

It ends with a cliffhanger but one that I almost expected. It was logical that it would end up that way.  And now I really can’t wait for the next book to arrive so I can see what happens next.

Lyndsay Ely has created a fantastic universe for her Divine Thrall series. Complex world building with multiple countries and cultures, complete with different architectural styles and religions. And her characterizations are amazing, layered, powerful and realistically brought to life, compelling with dark trauma and painful memories that drive their storylines. 

More now please.  And highly recommended. 

Divine Thrall

The Lost Reliquary #1

The Divine Shadow #2 – Nov 10, 2026

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comThe Lost Reliquary (Divine Thrall): Lyndsay Ely: 9781668148464

Blurb 

A divinely blessed warrior bound to the last living goddess plots deicide to win her freedom in this propulsive epic fantasy for fans of Godkiller and Gideon the Ninth.

The Devoted Lands was once home to many gods. Now, after centuries of brutal wars, only Tempestra-Innara, the Enduring Flame, remains.

As a divine warrior, Lys is outwardly loyal to her goddess. If she dreams of deicide, that’s her business. When a routine heretical execution erupts into a near-fatal assassination attempt on Tempestra-Innara, Lys sees a glimmer of hope for her freedom.

Lys is chosen to hunt down the heretics and find an ancient reliquary with the power to kill a god. Annoyingly, she’s not alone. Paired with Nolan, a warrior from a rival cloister who is as pious as he is determined, Lys must feign devotion if she hopes to keep her own god-killing ambitions within reach.

But as they pursue the heretics linked to the assassination, Lys uncovers a world with more possibility—and peril—than she ever anticipated.

Divine Thrall

The Lost Reliquary

The Divine Shadow – Nov 10, 2026

S&S/Saga Press

Publication date

October 21, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

464 pages

Book 1 of 2

Divine Thrall