Nadya is driven by the gods voice in her head and is brought up in a very religious culture. She grows up training secretly within the holy mountains surrounded by priests. After an attack on the mountains Nadya ends up grouped with a mage prince and a secretive defector. And all of her plans start to change. This series starter lays a lot of groundwork for building out a series such as religion, world politics, character triangles, and magic systems which almost makes it feel a bit slow moving and dense.

The book itself was not for me. It's a bit too heavy on the gore and I forget there is a term cosmic gore or something?

This book was a ride from start to finish, and definitely didn't disappoint. I can comfortably say that, although this book tells a complete, satisfying story, I am chomping at the bit for book two.

Nadya is a very relatable protagonist - determined, strong, and willing to trust herself despite having the gods in her ear all the time. She's the opposite of a reluctant hero, fully ready and willing to embrace her destiny and put her amazing abilities to good use. During the story, I much preferred her point of view to Serefin's, and found myself rushing through his chapters to get to hers. However, as we delved deeper into the story, Serefin grew on me, too, and I found that by the end I was most excited to see where the next book will take him, more so than Nadya. For those who have seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, Serefin really reminded me of Zuko - an awkward prince with a complicated relationship with his father just doing his best at stumbling through life. He was endearing, and that wasn't what I expected after the first time he's introduced.

And then there's Malachiasz (whose name I cannot come close to pronouncing). What can I say about the tragic monster boy? It's his relationship with Nadya that really pulled me into the book at first, as I'm a sucker for a good girl/bad boy romance. Their relationship really ripped my heart out toward the end of the book and that's not an easy thing to do. It's a testament to the writer's ability to flesh out these characters that the book left me reeling and feeling for each and every one of them.

And that's just the characters. The lore and world explored in this book is intricate and completely different than anything I've ever read. I usually don't pick up things I consider high fantasy - Tolkien, Martin, etc - because of how bogged down in world-building those can get. A lot of the time you find yourself lost in exposition, trying to keep track of complicated histories. But it never felt like that with this one. The writer trusted us as readers and weaved the world's history and lore fairly seamlessly, without ever getting tied up in exposition. Sure, sometimes I was confused by what was going on, but that felt entirely intentional, as it was the same confusion felt by Nadya and Serefin, and not a byproduct of the writing.

All in all a really enjoyable read that left an ache as I thought about the characters. Everyone once in a while I catch myself thinking about it, even a week later. At the end of the year I'm going to make a list of the best books I read, and this one will most definitely hold a spot. An awesome debut, and I can't wait until book two!

A beautifully written gothic fantasy with a dash of romance and mystery. A fantastic start to a trilogy that i couldnt put down!

perfect for fans of the Grisha trilogy

While a good portion reminds me of the Grisha trilogy, it’s to be noted that this novel is far darker and deeper as far as world building goes.

The character development was lacking, but the deep world elements made up for it and the overall plot is truly intriguing.

I read this awhile back (like years ago) I ended up not finishing it there were some elements that just didn't sit right with me. So I struggled to finish it.

With all the controversy surrounding this author I do not feel comfortable reviewing this book publicly. I do own all 3 finished copies though.

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

Personally, I expected more from this. I didn't realise how much I judged a book by its cover and its title until I read this.

This book will stay with you for a long time, I promise. The premise is nothing like I read before with relationships that are hard to even categorize, but maybe even a little bit of love/hate. The world building was a little hard to follow at first, but once I got it, I felt very invested in the story. I can't wait to check out the sequel because I was definitely left feeling like I wanted more.

If you're going to do a dark fantasy then DO the dark fantasy thouroughly. The world building didn't make sense or maybe it didn't have enough time to build and that left me confused going foward. Some things, like peoples relationships with the Gods didn't make sense. I also never mind different types of names, because I mean, made up worlds have made up languages and I expect that but without the audiobook I would not have known what was happening

While I do have lots of questions, I actually liked this book the more I read it. I was very invested in each character and was quite surprised with some of the twists. The story was interesting and the world needed a touch more detail bit overall I really liked it.

Overall, the book was not what I was expecting. I really didn't feel like I knew what was going on throughout half the book, but did like some of the scenes. The world building did not make sense to me even though I love reading fantasy - I just didn't pick up on it I guess. I was also left with a lot more questions than answers on the world building and back stories.

This one just wasn't for me. I'm sure it'll find it's audience but I think overall it wasn't what I was expecting. I do think it would have benefitted from some more clarity and seems like it bit off a bit more than it could handle. I will not be continuing on with this series.

Wicked Saints had an interesting and clever way of telling a story through war, beliefs, and the power one either hopes to gain or will lose because of it. I wouldn’t consider it a religious tale, but more one of finding what drives you to keep pushing forward—one that is enjoyable because it doesn’t push anything on its reader. With strong world-building and a heavy heretic feel, the fast-paced but well-written story held me in its clutches until the very twisted end.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me.

I gave it two stars when I first read it, but the two star rating is even more justified now that it's come out that this book has anti-Semitic sentiments.

I didn't find the characters engaging, the lover-turned-betrayer trope was very overused at the initial time of release so it was very easy to see coming, and the MC's friend dies at the beginning of the book and she barely gives them a second thought. It was just not and enjoyable read, and the overall story was uneventful and unengaging.

DNF 30%
I really, really really wanted to like this book! That's way it took me forever to review it because I kept trying and trying and trying. It had SO MUCH potential but I couldn't really get interested. For most of the book it felt like nothing was really happening!

I absolutely loved this dark and twisted fairy tale-esque story. A typical structure of a YA fantasy, this book was fast paced and filled with twists and turns. Can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

First, this novel is quite enjoyable....but it feels like a LOT from the beginning. The novel also feels a bit slow as we are thrust into this fantasy world and trying to figure things and people out. With that, just push through that bit and I feel like you would really enjoy it.

I feel like there are not really side characters in this novel, rather, many main characters with parallel stories, focusing on Nadya and Serefin. The country has been in a war for a century with two sects of people, the Tranavians, who use blood magic and don't believe in the gods; and the Kalyazin people who are devout in their polytheism. Nadya is from the devout sect of people and grew up in a monestary, the amazing and SO interesting thing about her is that she has essentially prayer beads and each bead is a different god and they ACTUALLY SPEAK TO HER (when she picks and prays to a certain one)!!!! I kind of loved that throughout the novel as you hear in her head conversing with these gods who are not necessarily the most helpful and/or mature at times! Serefin is a High Prince and part of the blood mages and he is sent on a mission by his father to go after Nadya.

The novel goes back and forth between their two parallel stories and at times can feel a bit frustrating because you just want to know more of what happened with THIS storyline and you are switched over. Again, this novel was great in the end but it did take a bit more time for me to really get into the novel due to feeling like the slow world building and yet fast pace and I was kind of left behind! A good, enjoyable novel and I look forward to starting the next one!

I ended up reading this title right before everything about Duncan came to light. Having realized her harmful actions against reviewers and other authors as a whole, I can't say I was surprised to hear about how antisemitic this book is and found it was while reading. I wouldn't suggest picking this book up if you're looking for a read that you'll actually enjoy. Not only is it antisemitic, as I already said, but it's just not that great anyway.