Read Wicked Saints A Novel Something Dark and Holy Book 1 eBook Emily A Duncan

Product details File Size 11731 KB Print Length 375 pages Publisher Wednesday Books (April 2, 2019) Publication Date April 2, 2019 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B07HF39CZH

Wicked Saints A Novel Something Dark and Holy Book 1 eBook Emily A Duncan Reviews

• So disappointed. I'm unsure how this book passed through developmental editing, and though the concept sounded really cool it was just...so...boring. If I reach page 200 in a book and still have nothing to care about regarding the cookie cutter characters...well that's rough, honestly, and I skipped to the last two chapters and then DNFd. YIKES. No more edgelord YA books please! Also, the writing was clumsy/choppy/repetitive. A cool setting and unique names won't save a book with a lousy, too slow plot and ultra boring characters.
  Plus, way too much social media hype for nothing worthwhile! 🙃
• For all who love the beautiful morally grey villain, this book brings the best. In a world reminiscent of the Grishaverse, with hints of Alina and the Darkling, this book takes it to a new, darker, so much darker level. I fell in love with many of these characters, even though my instinct was screaming not to, feeling in my bones I shouldn’t but could not help myself.
  
  A quick synopsis Nadya is a cleric that hears the voices of all the gods and is granted with the ability to call on their powers. This makes her a target for others who want to gain this power. Serefin, the prince, a somewhat evil but seriously witty blood mage, who is in danger from his own father, and Malachiasz, the leader of a group who wants to end the war...but has a deadly secret.
  
  I don’t want to give any spoilers, but all this makes for a 5 star read with fast past action, violence, twists and turns, even romance, always making us question who can truly be trusted.
• Wicked Saints was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, which is such a stressful way to feel about a book when you read it, really — it can either go brilliantly and live up to all of your hopes and dreams, or crash and burn in your hands. Coupling the nerves of the ridiculous level of hype I created for myself with this release with the fact that I’d been in a fantasy slump for months, I had no idea what to expect.
  
  “We’re all monsters … some of us just hide it better than others.”
  Starting out, the first couple of chapters hadn’t fully hooked me yet, you know? I was in, but I wasn’t obsessed (YET). Honestly, though, around the 15% mark, something “clicked” for me and I was all in. I could barely be wrenched away from my kindle to do anything because all I wanted was to devour this gorgeous, gothic little fantasy story with its lovable, magical characters and intricate world.
  
  First, these characters are beyond incredible. It’s so clear that Emily grew up in fandoms, knowing how characters could best hit a reader’s buttons to make them melt, because these little cinnamon rolls are some of the best I’ve ever met in my life.
  
  🙏 Nadya Lapteva is a fantastic protagonist, because she’s so easy to root for, even when I found myself disagreeing with her motives and beliefs. I couldn’t get behind how blindly she followed her faith, but I loved her all the more for it.
  
  👑 Serefin Meleski, the sweet, wounded prince. He tries so hard to do what he thinks is best for the Tranavian people, and he just wants someone to do right by him for once (or to at least leave him alone to his booze), and he just broke my heart over and over.
  
  🖤 Malachiasz Czechowicz, finally I didn’t know how much I needed a gothy little smoosh like him in my life until now, and I just want to hug him and protect him at all costs, because let’s be honest, I don’t care how powerful of a blood mage he is, Malachiasz needs someone to love on him like he deserves. I honestly had to restrain myself from making this entire review about him because WOW, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH and he is easily going into my list of best book characters ever, with his sad little tattooed face and all his monstrous secrets. (I need a t-shirt that says “the best book boyfriends are monsters”, can we make this happen please)
  
  Of course, there are also these brilliant side characters, like Parijahan (who wants nothing to do with your nonsense, thank you very much), Rashid (how precious, what a bean), Ostyia (we stan a queer girl charming the pants off all the other girls in town)—the list goes on. They’re all so ridiculously lovable (except the few who aren’t, in which case, they’re terrifying and awful and the best sorts of villains).
  
  The last thing I have to point out is how fantastic the settings and descriptions are. Emily really is a Goth Queen™ and her writing is soaked in it, and frankly, my “no, it really wasn’t a phase, Mom” self is LIVING for it. I mean, the pictures the writing paints of the Vultures and their dwelling places? YO, give me all those creepy goth vibes forever, please and thank you.
  
  Rambling aside, there are just so many good things I have to say about Wicked Saints, whether it’s the writing, plot, or characters, but the biggest thing I have to say is that, regardless of whether you’re a long-time fantasy lover or someone who typically steers clear of the genre altogether, you gotta give Emily A. Duncan a chance, because this debut is so powerful and I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel. 🖤
  
  Content warnings for violence, murder, self-harm for blood magic
• I’ll be honest, I have been struggling with what to actually say about this book ever since I finished it because it is UNLIKE anything that I’ve ever read. This book sucked me in from the very first chapter. There’s something so harrowing about blood magic, and I just couldn’t get enough!
  
  Kaylazin and Travania have been feuding in a holy war for a century, which the heretic Travanians are winning due to their use of blood magic. Nadya is the last known cleric, which means that she is blessed with the ability to not only communicate with the gods in her mind, but she can also harness their powers as they see fit. She spent the majority of her life hidden away at a monastery in the holy mountains training to understand the fundamentals of divinity. She was to remain a secret from the Travanians for another year, but one day, the monastery was attacked by Prince Serefin, crown Prince of Travania, and his army.
  
  Nadya manages to narrowly escape to an abandoned church with her priestess and confidant. Unfortunately, they both quickly realize that they were not the only ones to seek refuge in the abandoned church. They bump into two sibling refugees from the Akolans, Rashid and Parijahan, who are traveling with a mysterious boy named Malachiasz that both Nadya and Anna do not trust; especially because he is a blood mage from Travania. It’s not long before the church is under siege from Prince Serefin, which forces the unlikely group to band together in order to survive the brutal battle that ensues (purposefully keep this part vague because I don’t want to give away any spoilers).
  
  Following the battle at the church, the group formulates a plan to work together to kill the Travanian king. In doing so, Nadya would put an end to blood magic and restore power to the gods…well that’s as long as everyone does their part in ensuring everything goes to plan. And let’s just say, we all know how group projects turn out.
  
  When I first heard that this story was a dark fantasy, I don’t think I actually put a lot of stock into that. I was blown away at how dark this story was. From the very beginning, the story is covered in blood. The blood mages cut themselves and smear the blood on the pages of their spell books to activate whatever spells they are trying to cast. There were definitely some scenes that were intense and gruesome. I never thought anything in the plot felt misplaced considering how violent the story was.
  
  I absolutely loved the characters in this book. Nadya is definitely naïve and only focuses the religion of the Kalyazin’s as true, but Malachaisz constantly questions everything she stands for and believes in. Watching the slow-burn romance unfold between these two was utterly addicting. I couldn’t get enough.
  
  Prince Serefin. Looking back, I think I love his character the most. He is broken. And I mean coming from an abusive, tyrannical father and drinks himself into an absolute stupor every single night kind of broken. I really ended up sympathizing with him towards the end because everything that he thought he knew and stood for, is completely ripped out from underneath him.
  
  Overall, if you like your fairytales drenched in blood, deception and betrayal then this book is for you. This dark fantasy lures you into a heart-racing adventure filled with magic, gods, monsters, and rich Russian and Polish folklore. The plot if full of twists and turns that leave you questioning who you should trust. By the end, my heart was ripped out and spat back in my face. I can’t wait for book 2!!!
  
  4.5 stars. Rounded up to 5.
  
  Thank you to Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.