wicked saints – GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 544 pages
Author: Emily A. Duncan
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Expected Release Date: April 7th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Darkness never works alone…

Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who–and what–he’s become.

As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone… or something. The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness, the ones that Nadya believes are her gods, the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world, and they refuse to stay quiet any longer.

In her dramatic follow-up to Wicked Saints, the first book in her Something Dark and Holy trilogy, Emily A. Duncan paints a Gothic, icy world where shadows whisper, and no one is who they seem, with a shocking ending that will leave you breathless.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

TRUE TO ITS NATURE.

I should first acknowledge, will I read this third book? YES. While Ruthless Gods let me down a bit (and was way too long), there is still enough in here for me to need a conclusion to this wicked tale.

The desperation and darkness that leaked from these pages was astounding. This isn’t some cute fairytale y’all. This will hurt your soul most of the time and leave you questioning if a happy ending is ever possible. And honestly, I’M NOT SURE THAT IT IS. The scope of what someone is willing to do for love of country, and person pushed boundaries that left me reeling by the end. I was pulled in from the beginning, the middle definitely dragged on way too long, and then the ending gave me a interesting enough conclusion that I know I want more. This was a big case of book two syndrome.

This was reallllll creepy and realllll bloody. Every time Malachiasz showed his truly monstrous self I cringed because the mental picture is WEIRD Y’ALL. My boy Malachiasz was *almost* everything I needed him to be. I felt we were missing a chunk of his personality that didn’t come out until the very end. I wanted more heavily wicked banter and more intriguing moments with Nadya. I love this wicked cinnamon roll though and wonder what he’s planning next, because I know it’ll destroy my soul.

Serefin and Kacper. Saw it coming. LOVE IT. And that is about the only tiny moment of happiness Serefin saw this entire book (I told y’all, nothing good happens in Ruthless Gods). His continual battle with a god was intriguing, but here is my real gripe from the whole book; There were way too many visions and flashbacks. They often confused me because the segue into them was abrupt to the story.

My complaint from Wicked Saints was that Nadya wasn’t nefarious enough. She did up her ante in this installment!! YAY. I loved seeing her wield some dark magic and fight her demons. What I didn’t love was how wishy-washy she was about her relationship with Malachiasz. I get that it’s supposed to be this push and pull because he’s wicked, cool. BUT FOR REAL. I had a hard time getting on board with how often Nadya was flip-flopping and using pages to be a bit melodramatic about it all. I think some COMMUNICATION would solve most of these issues, it’s not even a matter of who’s wicked enough, it’s a matter of flat out talking to someone.

While I did enjoy the writing, some scene changes and chapter turnover was not in any sort of flow. It felt like small scenes were being jumped over and I was being tossed into the *next big thing* when I would have liked a bit more movement between scenes. I really loved the last 100 pages and am very curious about the last book. How the gods will play a role, what will happen between the countries, who is going to betray who last, SO MANY QUESTIONS. It’ll be a showstopper I’m sure.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: very little, in the second half of the book
Romance: a few kisses/make-outs, one almost scene that has a little heat
Violence: everything is bloody and gory y’all; murder, knives, magic, monsters, it’s all here
Trigger warnings: alcoholism, self-mutilation through cutting (for use of blood magic), self-mutilation through removing an eye

Instagram || Goodreads

Publishing Day

Happy Publishing Day: Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan

April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 GoodeyReads

Happy publishing day to this twisted and dark read. Plenty of characters that made me question their every move. It was a great start to the series. Wicked Saints dropped me right into the action and rarely let up. I love the intertwining of world-building and religion. After that ending, I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on book two!

I highly recommend adding this to your TBR! Find my original review here.

Thank you again to Netgalley and the publisher, Wednesday Books, for the e-ARC.

Book summary:

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy..

Have you read this? Do you enjoy darker books? Let’s talk in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I LOVED with Fewer than 2,000 Ratings on Goodreads

February 19, 2019February 18, 2019 GoodeyReads

Howdy to everyone! Hope your day is going splendid and that your week has started off well.

This weeks theme is all about finding those diamonds in the rough. Though upon looking through my Read list I realized, most books I have read have way more than 2,000 ratings. It honestly makes me want to find more books where fewer people have heard of them.

With so few to choose from, these weren’t all books I LOVED, but at least 4 stars and enjoyed overall. Here’s to Top Ten Tuesday!

Evenfall (Shadowfire #1)

By Gaja J. Kos & Boris Kos

Number of ratings: 161

I called this book, a tale of two stories. It was almost a DNF til about half-way, then I felt like I was reading a whole new tale and it ended really well! I was lucky enough to receive this from Netgalley and I am looking forward to book two.

The Cenote

by: Chelsea Dyreng

Number of ratings: 177

Unfortunately, I read this four years ago and hadn’t gotten into review writing quite yet. From what I remember it was a romance filled with a lot of allegories. A big theme of redemption that will tug at your heart strings. I even hosted this as a book club book at my house!

The Wren Hunt

by: Mary Watson

Number of ratings: 675

I read this through Netgalley and thought this was so stinkin’ good! (Review here). I’m actually really surprised it has such a small amount of ratings. It was loosely based on Romeo & Juliet. I found it a unpredictable and stayed up way too late flying through this book. Did I mention the romance is my favorite trope? Hate to lovers!!

What the Wind Knows

by: Amy Harmon

Number of ratings: 1,327

I finished this a few weeks ago, this was one on the list that I LOVED. Oh so good. Swoon-worthy romance, beautiful writing and a heartfelt story. Makes me want to discover my own history.

Sweet Black Waves (SWB #1)

by: Kristina Pérez

Number of ratings: 777

I happened to go into this without knowing the legend behind it, and honestly, I think that made me love it even more. I had no expectations. And wow, holy twists Batman! I saw none of that coming, and can’t believe I still have to wait til the fall for the next book.

Where the Watermelons Grow

by: Cindy Baldwin

Number of ratings: 821

This book is all about mental health. This sweet daughter struggles to deal with her Mom having schizophrenia. A lot of poignant moments and tough conversations. Books like these are important, and as this is a children’s book (recommended for 8-12) , I thought it was all approached in a thoughtful way.

A Thousand Perfect Notes

by: C.G. Drews

Number of ratings: 1,774

Ooo, this book will make you want to throw things. It is a heart-breaking, growing-up story that was fabulous. It was her debut novel and I am stoked to order her next one!

The Lost Queen (The LQ Trilogy #1)

by: Signe Pike

Number of ratings: 1,830

A little known historical fiction/fantasy based off of the wizard Merlin, but focusing on his sister, Languoreth. If you take this as a fantasy only, I think you’ll really enjoy it. There’s romance, war, and making hard decisions.

Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1)

By: Emily A. Duncan

Number of ratings: 521

While I figure this will actually eventually have more than 2,000 ratings since it isn’t out yet, BUT that means I can currently use it for this TTT. Y’all, this book is good. I’m excited to see where the series goes. A solid foundation has been built.

Pride & Prejudice: Baby Counter

by: Jennifer Adams & Alison Oliver

Number of ratings: 1,239

Okay, adding this because it is totally adorable. If you have kids and love P&P I would definitely look into this board book! My babe loves it and I found it really clever. [I was also basically out of few ratings books too *shrugs*]

Have you read any of these? What’s one of your few rating favorites? Let’s talk in the comments!

Book Tag

The Folk of the Air: Book Tag

February 2, 2019February 1, 2019 GoodeyReads

The lovely Xandra at Starry Sky Books created and tagged me in my very first book tag! SO EXCITED. And this one is so clever and fun. Thank you for the tag!

RULES:

You must tag the original creator (Xandra @ Starry Sky Books)
Spoilers galore! You should probably read The Cruel Prince first! (You don’t really need to read The Wicked King, but that would be nice.)
Answer all the questions.
Try to tag at least 3 other bloggers.

Jude: A character who would probably kill you in your sleep.

Okay, so I’m quite confident any villain would kill me in my sleep. I’m too dangerous to have around in the first place. But for the questions sake, the Archivist of the Great Library would definitely have me taken out.

Cardan: A character who seems like a Bad Guy™ but is ultimately more complex than you thought.

I totally wrote in my review that I loved Cardan for this exact reason. So I had to think about a second character I feel this way about.

AH YES, HAN ALISTER. My little cinnamon roll who only wants love. He’s not a villain, or really that wicked, but everyone assumes he is. Alister is a complex, consorting mastermind who I’m so happy won in the end.

And hopefully that means Cardan wins in the end too.

Locke: A character (or plot twist) that made you want to throw the book.

My first initial thought was Allegiant. YOU ALL KNOW (and I honestly did actually throw this, and freaked my husband out). In interest of choosing a book I at least enjoyed with the plot twist:

Have you read this? Because if you have: YOU ALSO KNOW. I was gasping and freaking out. Didn’t throw the book per se, but you better believe I raged until KoA came out.

Taryn: A character who deceived you.

I finished reading this a few days ago and loved it, but Malachiasz from Wicked Saints totally deceived me!? I didn’t like him, then he grew on me, then he deceived me, and now I need the sequel. Need.

Vivi: A book that was significantly different from the others in its series.

I wrote my first true, snarky review about this book. I truly loved Everless. And I was very upset with how book two went down. The characters acted differently, pieces of the plot were forgotten, and plenty of other issues that were vastly different from the original.

Valerian: A character who just needs to die (or, you know, get stabbed).

I’m trying really hard to make sure I have a different series for each book so this one took some thinking because they’re so many people I think need stabbed if I’m being honest.

Dr. Hatch from the Michael Vey series is a top contender. Who takes in kids and makes them evil for his own gains!? This man of unlimited resources caused one to many problems for me.

Oak: A smol™ character you would protect at all costs.

Marya from The Winter of the Witch. I think that Vastya does a WAY better job of protecting her than I every could, but I love this little witch immensely.

The Cruel Prince: A book that surprised you with a twist.

I remember reading this book right before the hype really hit and exploded this into a movie. When I got to the flip in the book I had to re-read the page over a few times. DUDE WHAT JUST HAPPENED is putting it lightly.

The Wicked King: A book you thought was better (or worse) than the first in the series.

There’s a reason I read this multiple times a year. This is the pinnacle of sequels. I haven’t come across many “book twos” that hold as the best book in the entire series.

The Queen of Nothing: A book you’re excited for, but know nothing about.

THE BONE SEASON #4. I have no idea when this is coming out, and no idea what it will entail, but I am here for the wait. I got attached to this series in 2017 and am hoping it will continue soon since Shannon has finished her latest project.

There you have it! My first book tag. Totally a blast. I’m going to tag:

LaureGalie // Paper Fury // Siobhan’s Novelties

Please feel no pressure because I’m not sure if you’ve finished TCP/TWK yet! And anyone else who has, you’re totally welcome to do this too. The more the merrier!