Godwaker — Kendra Merritt

The stories all say, Don't go into the woods. The monster will eat you. They never tell the story of the woman who became the monster.Ashwyn has lived on the edge of the Devastation her whole life, watching as the ancient forest devours anyone who gets too close. She resists the mystery under the trees, too busy trying to earn her place in the village. But when the Goddess leaves the temple to make Ashwyn one of Her Saints, the villagers accuse her of heresy and exile her to the Devastation. Ash will need every advantage to survive, even embracing the power of an untrustworthy goddess. Because under the many layers of the forest, the Devastation is hiding truths no one wants her to know. Truths about death. And truths about the Goddess who failed to defend her chosen.What she finds threatens the foundation of faith that formed the world, and Ashwyn has to decide if she's going to take her place as a Saint and trust the Goddess who betrayed her. Or if she'll follow the voice under the Devastation and become the heretic that her people fear in order to heal the rift that shattered everything.