Well. This book unlike any other book I've ever read. I have to admit it was horrifying, gruesome, and thrilling, which is usually not my thing. In fact, I often avoid horrifying, scary, gruesome stories. But the book's description interested me and once I started it, I couldn't put it down. That is purely due to the magic of Emily A. Duncan's writing.

First, the characters. Wicked Saints has some DEEP characters. Ones that have secrets on top of secrets and unbelievable magical abilities. I think every character in this book had some shade of darkness, some degree of moral grayness. And I'm surprised how much I enjoyed that. Sure, it got a little annoying when I would trust a character, then get whiplashed, and then trust them again, then get whiplashed. But that just shows the depth of the characters behind the scenes. Truly masterful.

Overall, I liked it. I thought the plot and pacing was engaging, the writing style poetic and fast-paced, and the world building excellent. However, in order to get through this book, you have to put on your "blood dripping from the sky/people's eyes and mouths/self-inflicted wounds doesn't bother me" hat. It's a rather hard hat for me to put on. For that reason, I would be careful about who I recommend this to. It's a masterpiece, but could be damaging if in the wrong hands. Be warned.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Would I recommend? Carefully, yes.

*Thank you St. Martins / Wednesday Books for the free review copy!

Title: Wicked Saints
Author: Emily A. Duncan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Nadya is a cleric who can commune with all the gods—unheard of—living in a remote monastery. Kalyazin has been at war with Tranavia have been at war for a long time, but the war has never touched the monastery. Until it does, in the form of Tranavian soldiers led by Serefin, High Prince and blood mage. As her friends die around her, Nadya escapes into the wilderness.

She meets Malachiasz, a defector with dark secrets that Nadya isn’t sure she can trust. But Nadya’s powers may be the only thing standing in the way of destruction, so she heads to the seat of Tranavian power, desperate to find a way to stop it. Serefin, used to drinking and fighting, has been called home by his father, but Serefin finds the king in the midst of a horrifying scheme to gain immortality and ultimate power.

Nadya, Serefin, and Malachiasz will have to trust each other if they have any hope of stopping the coming darkness.

Wicked Saints is dark and atmospheric, with a creepy and cold setting reminiscent of Russia. The magic systems are dark and bloody, and there aren’t a lot of happy feelings in this book. I was fascinated from the first page, although I wouldn’t recommend reading it if you’re depressed at the time. Treachery, hatred, lies, deceit…all run through the pages of this novel like blood, until you can’t see what’s coming next.

Emily A. Duncan is a youth services librarian. Wicked Saints is her new novel, the first in the Something Dark and Holy series.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Nadya is a special girl, she’s protected by the Gods and she can use their magic. With her country at war, she had to flee from heretics who wanted to kill her, including Prince Serefin. She will be helped in her escape by Rashid, Parijahan and Malaschiasz, they will even be able to convince her to try to kill the king.

Nadya is an interesting character and I liked to see the evolution of her thinking, both about the subjects of the Gods she worships and the people with whom they travel and who are different. She is not a character I found endearing but she is strong and confident.

Malachiasz hides a lot of secrets, at least from Nadya because I was suspicious from the beginning. He’s interesting because of its inner conflict but I think he will be even more so in the next volume.

Serefin is the character who intrigued me the most, he is not what you might call a sympathetic person but I understand his reasons, even if I don’t excuse them. I also find that in the book it is the character who changes the most, he becomes a pleasant character and I liked the change.

The story is nice but I really only got into it during the second part. I remain intrigued by the end and would really like to know how they are all going to fare. I still have a lot of questions that are still pending.

Wicked Saints is told from two perspectives, Nadya’s and Serefin’s.

Quick word: A nice story that had trouble transporting me as I would have liked.

“Iron must be tested, Anna said, quoting the Codex. “ We cannot know the gods’ intentions.”

Let me start this off by saying I am a huge fan of the Grisha series and all things Leigh Bardugo. This book came up in a netgalley email and I thought it looked intriguing, i had heard nothing about it. I barely read the premise and just knew it something to do with slavic lore and had a girl coming into powers so bam, I picked it up.

The first ⅓ of the read reminded me heavily of the Blood and Bone book in the Grisha series. It’s heavily influenced by the series and you realize it as you go on into the book. My first thoughts were that this is for those that shipped the Darkling and Alina, I wasn’t one of those people. I think there’s even some saints that are similarly named and with similar abilities. Speaking of saints, that’s what drives our protagonist, Nadya. We are dropped right into the middle of a battle and it’s a bloody one. It takes some chapters to work out who she is and what she does. I did really enjoy the parallels to religion. Nadya believes as the last cleric that her magic is driven by the goodness of the gods. In order to get power, she must stay in the good graces of the gods.

I really enjoyed learning about Nadya and reading her journey. Her character is complex and one that is driven by both ambition and humility. These two characteristics battle it out throughout the story and make me second guess all of her decisions. However, I totally love her. She was a strong character but of course a boy comes into the picture. A boy with monstrous secrets. I’m still unsure if this is where her true love lies and whether i like it or not but, he was such an intriguing character. He battles between good and evil and unlike other books (SPOILER) evil seems to be his true nature.

I have a lot of feelings on this book and I’m glad I did. The beginning felt like it wasn’t really it’s own story with it’s own nuances but it manages to steer into its own unique direction after laying some groundwork. It challenges your brain trying to figure out the intricacies of the war both in the country and inside the castle. I am invested and I need to see how this story takes shape.

This book sucked me in from the beginning and was non-stop action. I enjoyed the characters and the story telling felt very full. I would highly recommend this book.

I haven't been this thrilled for a series since The Shades of Magic and Grisha trilogies. This blends everything great about the two books. We've got a villain as delicious and terrible as the Darkling. A swoon-worthy prince you want to protect but also punch. A never-ending war where the gods have intervened. There's romance, magic, and doubt. The world is extremely lush and nothing is as it seems. This book was twisty in all the right ways and I was guessing until the very end. There are still so many unanswered questions and yet I'm not mad or unsatisfied, just motived to figure them out along with Nadiya. This is anyone's game and the gods that one side worships to the point of a never-ending holy war may not be gods at all.

Picking up this book will devastate you in a way that only an exceptional book can do. I don't think I'll stop thinking about this story or these characters for a long time and I can't wait to dig into the next book.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

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

Trigger Warnings: Self-harm.

This is a wonderful dark fantasy, blood magic, princes, god’s, a war about religion. The main characters Nadya and Serefin both ave their own POVs and are written beautifully, they are incredibly different and I like how their personalities come through on the page.

The secondary character are also well written and add depth to the main character and they give them a good banter through the story. I came to love all the characters and hoped them all well but I always had a sense of dread that something awful might happen to them all, to me this is a sign of a great story teller.

The world building what can I say but I was transported to Tranavia, the worn torn country, travelling through it and seeing all that it has to offer was well built and immersive.

The story, was amazing. You warmed to the characters and so you wanted them all to succeed but the plot twists just come out of nowhere, just when you think you have it all sorted in your head, bam it all changes and it’s oh so good!!

This is a must read, and I can not wait for the next instalment!

WICKED SAINTS is an ambitious novel with political intrigue, fascinating magic systems, and fun banter.

The first chapter absolutely blew me away. I am highly impressed by how it accomplished so much--character introductions, world-building, action, and more--in just one chapter, and how it did so in a way that wasn’t confusing. With a wealth of information thrown at the reader, it could’ve easily become a mess right at the beginning, but I had no problem following along. And it wasn’t just understandable--it was intriguing, enjoyable, and perfectly paced. I was entirely hooked after that opening.

I will say that the middle got a bit muddled for me. Sometimes the pacing seemed too fast or too slow, sometimes there were multiple long paragraphs of telling instead of showing, and sometimes there were large swaths of unnecessary dialogue. But I do appreciate that Duncan obviously worked hard to make this a rich, multi-layered world.

Besides the first chapter, my other favorite aspect was the concept of how the main character communicates with the gods, and how they may or may not grant her spells and powers. I adored learning about all the different gods and their personalities, and their interactions with the main character were always entertaining. I actually wish there had been even more of that!

The POC representation could’ve been better. There were maybe two POC in the whole book (the “desert people”), and they barely had any purpose. They just seemed like the token POC who were thrown in so that the book wasn’t all white characters. Although, I’m not even 100% sure they *were* POC; there was a mention of one whose face went “white as chalk.” Maybe they were light-skinned POC? That could’ve been clearer.

I also have misgivings about authors who use Slavic names but don’t include much (or any) Slavic cultural elements. It just feels kind of...cheap.

Anyway, I liked the ending, especially how the main characters’ stories were woven together. I won’t give away spoilers, but I will say that there was a plot element I thought was going to be predictable, and then it was turned on its head to my surprise and delight.

Overall, I recommend WICKED SAINTS. Check it out!

ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

We're all monsters...some of us just hide it better than others.

This was such a slow start to me. It was epic and full of blood magic. Yes, exactly what you're thinking. But it was just so slow for me. I don't know if it was too much world building or too many characters or...honestly I don't know. It was just too much too soon and I was overwhelmed. I also didn't have enough time to care for the main characters. It wasn't until Malachiasz Czechowicz showed up that I got interested. Here's the problem with that. The chapters are split somewhat equally between Nadezhda (Nadya) Lapteva and Serefin Meleski. Yet, Malachiasz stole the show for me. Hands down he was the best part of the whole thing. *sigh* I mean Serefin is the Tranavian High Prince who is one of the strongest wielder of blood magic in the world. I mean, come on! So much power. He's also vulnerable in a way that only a tortured royal who was forced to become a monster can be. I feel like there's a theme here. And Nadya! This girl who is so strong and so brave. Clearly these two should have been everything. But no, it wasn't until Malachiasz showed up that I really cared. And even then it was slow coming. But then that's all I cared about.

"My name is Malachiasz Czechowicz," he said, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she had just been given something.

All the best book boys are monsters. I mean bad guys. No, I really do mean monsters.Trust me, monster.

The girl, the monster and the prince...this was an an epic story. Once I got into it I couldn't stop I just wish it would have grabbed my attention earlier. The main characters were suffering and losing loved ones and I didn't care. I wasn't invested. However it is a great dark fantasy, full of girls with daggers, broody powerful princes, and monsters. I mean, "Blood and blood and bone. Magic monsters and tragic power." is repeated a lot. So is heresy. I didn't count but this word is said by almost every character at least 3 times. I was so tired of it. Anyways, still recommend it and I'm definitely picking up book two but this was just meh for me.

I have so much love for this book and for the world building that author Emily A. Duncan created for it. I didn't want to leave the world once I finished reading. I can't wait for the next book and this one isn't even released yet. My post for the blog tour will be live tomorrow and I'll add my link then. But I need more books like this one!

This was a deliciously dark fantasy read an di loved every minute of it. But before I get too into it I will suggest this for older teens. Purely based on the details in the gore and bloodiness. Lets move on. Wicked Saints is told in two POV's our MC Nadya is a very sheltered cleric who has lived in a monastery all her life and is one the only person who can communicate with all her countries gods. Which makes Nadya a very valuable person as she can also acquire the gifts the gods bestow upon her to help win the war her country Kalyazin who has been in conflict with Tranavia for years. I loved the relationship Nadya had with the gods. They were also peculiar and fun I loved how Nadya bantered with them and had to pray to them in order to use their gifts. So fascinating. Our other MC/POV Serefin is the prince of the Tranavia who is tasked with killing Nadya he is one of the more complex villains out there but I am not even sure I can call him a villain I can totally understand why he did some of the things he did. There is another character Malachiaz who is a bloodmage that Nadya befriends after her monastery is attacked. Malachiasz has to be one of the most complex characters there is so much to him that we haven't even scratched yet. The worldbuilding was fantastic I loved the gothic European feel and the I think the magis system Ms. Duncan wrote was super fascinating I can't wait to read more. One of my favourites though was the relationship between Nadya and Malachiaz, yes there is some instalove and that is usually a huge turnoff, but I can see why it happened. Nadya lived in a monastery pretty much had everything handed or told to her. After a vilent attack Nadya is now on her own for the fist time I am not surprised she formed such a huge relationship with Malachiaz.

Overall Wicked Saints is a gothic, dark and gritty fantasy, filled with complex characters and amazing worldbuilding.

First off, how cool is this cover? I absolutely love it! As someone who doesn’t read fantasy books often, this was powerful. It’s full of quarrelsome in every which manner: magic, politics, religion…it’s heavy, but in a good way. I feel like there are a lot of layers to the story, which intrigued me for some parts, but lost my interest in others. I am always fond of a strong female lead in a story and a nice love triangle, but the characters never really pulled me in. I didn’t feel like I was in a rush to get to the end to find out what happens. It is a dark book which captured my attention as something that pulls me from my ordinary reads. I did really enjoy the villain…any author that can successfully do that is a win in my book! Like I said, it’s dark, so enter at your own risk. Congrats to Emily as this book was chosen as one of the Young Adult Book of the Month Club picks for the month of April. I look forward to hearing what you all think of it!

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. 

I received this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley. I was initially drawn to this book by the title. The juxtaposition of “wicked” and “saint” is just a tantalizing concept that I could not pass up. I was especially lucky in this case, as the concept of the plot (not just a good title) also peaked my interest, as politics, magic and religion collided.

The plot of this book really takes off from the first few pages. Usually in Young Adult Fantasy novels, you have about a chapter of getting to know the character, her friends, her life, and then the action starts up at the end. Instead, we’re thrown into the chaos of the situation just as the main character, Nadya is. And things do not slow down from there. The book is a constant roller coast of suspicion, mystery, magic and just a tinge of romance. It was nearly impossible for me to put this book down as I was constantly left on edge from the events that had just happened. I was really impressed by the intricacies of the story and could not predict what was going to happen next.

The setting of the book was equally well done. The world this book takes place in is entirely unique. Nadya’s powers of a cleric are original and interesting to learn about, and the system of blood magic that others use in the book was equally disturbing and intriguing. I appreciated the presence of the gods in the book, especially when so many stories just elude to their existence, and the religion of this world plays a pivotal role in the story from beginning to end. The author also does a great job with her description of the locations the characters are in. Everything felt visceral and real to me as I read through the scenes.

haracter, Nadya was a bit difficult to understand in the opening chapters. Part of this is due to the fast -paced nature of the book. Since we only ever know her in crisis, it’s hard to know who she really is. The other issue is that’s going through a large change in her beliefs and world-outlook during these beginning chapters too. By about 40% I had a good sense for who she was and what her goal for the story was, but I think that may have been too far in for many. Regardless, I enjoyed having her a narrator and thought she and her relationships with other characters developed well over the coarse of the story.

Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy. The plot was complex and exciting from start to finish. I especially loved the setting of the book, with it’s intricate politics, magic systems and religion. I enjoyed Nadya as a narrator and protagonist, but it did take me a long time to get to know her. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next book in the Something Dark and Holy trilogy.

This novel has really beautiful, creative world-building but stumbles in its execution. It follows Nadezhda Lapteva (Nadya), a cleric — or a sort of magician whose power is granted by the gods — and Serefin Meleski, the prince of a neighboring country at war with Nadezdha's country. They both long to save their homes from the war they've been entangled in for 100 years, and both face torture, love, and betrayal as they grasp towards their own versions of divinity and heresy.

But there's a romance in this novel that doesn't feel earned, and that detracts from it significantly; I think if there were 75% fewer scenes of sighing and pining, Wicked Saints would be much stronger. I'd also love if the action scenes flowed a bit better, because as they stand they're a bit choppy and hard to follow.

The magic, though, is really fascinating and unique: Nadya can only draw her power when it's granted by the gods, which I don't believe I've ever read in a novel before. Serefin's power, known as blood magic, is cast by combining one's own blood with a page ripped from a spell book. I found the pantheon of the gods intriguing as well, and I hope we learn more about them in future books.

All in all, a promising debut with some caveats. I look forward to the next book in the series!

Dang it, this has not been a good year for my anticipated releases. Wicked Saints was one of my top anticipated releases, if not the very top. I loved the premise of this book—it had SO MANY COOL THINGS going for it—but the execution was extremely disappointment. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this isn’t setting a precedent for the rest of the year for me.

Wicked Saints follows two protagonists. Nadya Lapteva is a cleric and can commune with not only one god, but all of them. Her country, Kalyazin, believes she’s the secret to stopping the war. The novel also follows Serefin Meleski, a powerful blood mage and the High Prince of Tranavia, the country at war with Kalyazin. When Serefin and his army attacks Nadya’s monastery, Nadya is forced to flee the only place she’s ever known. Soon after, she stumbles upon a ragtag group of teens and together they decide that the only way to the end the war is to kill the Tranavian king. Meanwhile, Serefin is called back to Tranavia for the Rawalyk, a traditional competition to find the next queen, but he soon discovers that his father’s intentions behind the sudden summons are much darker than they seem.

Like I said, there were so many unique and intriguing concepts that this book had! But the execution did not live up to its potential. Instead, the execution felt choppy, rushed, and honestly, kinda cheap. There were so many instances where these jumps in logics occurred and I felt like I was missing a whole set of transition scenes.

Another element that I found aggravating was the characters. Nadya was definitely a special snowflake; I’m not even sure that she had a personality. And then there was Malachiasz. Instead of having no personality, I swear this boy had completely two different personalities and alternated between them every other scene. I know characters can act different in various situations, but dang, these personalities were in such stark contrast to each other that they could have been two different characters. And then there was Serefin. He read like a stereotypical YA prince character with no depth other than a drinking problem that just felt like a gimmick.

And then there was the last third of the book. I was SO CONFUSED about what was happening. I mean, I understood what was happening, but I didn’t understand why. It was like the author threw in all these twists without explaining how they were grounded in the worldbuilding.

Overall, I wish my hopes hadn’t been so high for this book. Wicked Saints had so much potential to be a new favorite of mine, but I had so many issues with it. I don’t think I would recommend it, but if you’re intrigued by the synopsis and you don’t have that high of expectations, I say give it a try. I doubt I’ll continue with this series when more books release in the future.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, torture, lots of cutting and bleeding (for the purpose of magic, not self-harm)

I went into this one not knowing what to expect and came out pleasantly surprised! Dark, cruel, twisty, bloody, magic and oh so good.

It took me a little bit to get used to all of the Russian type names and such, but once I decided to just babble my way through them it got easier.

There were quite a few elements to this story and thought there were moments where I felt like they skipped ahead or rushed, for the most part I was really impressed with the complexity and how elaborate the plot was.

I was completely intrigued and thought I didn’t really feel “connected” with any specific characters, I loved them all – especially Malachiasz.

The ending crushed me and sent me for a whirl. I feel like I couldn’t read fast enough, but I also felt like I had to reread because my mind was blown and I was just left in a WTF state for a while. I have so. Many. Questions. And I need answers. I definitely can’t wait for the rest of the series and will be buying this book.

It's no secret how much I love Russia. But, usually, I only read nonfiction, because, well... it's hard to find the good, accurate shit. I slurp that up like Starbucks. I think if you're not interested in Deathless (not from a native, but excellently researched), or Uprooted, or you just need some more YA in your Slavic folklore.... Wicked Saints is for you.

This book is absolutely perfect for you if you like messy dark broody emo bad boys, villain love interests, the Grisha trilogy, blood-splattered fantasy magic, Reylo, if you wanted to read Blood Heir (🙊)... I personally found my favorite aspect to be the Eastern European influences of the setting. Though I felt the worldbuilding was a little derivative, at least the characters’ surnames were properly gendered. Eastern Europe, especially Russia, is very en vogue at the moment, and as an avid reader of nonfic... well, I tend to be a little harsher.

That being said, Wicked Saints is still a fair offering. Honestly, if you wanted Alarking to happen, here you go. This one’s for you. However, my biggest issue was the utter lack of agency on Nadya's part. Nadya’s story was often overshadowed by her two male counterparts, Malachiasz (love interest) and Serefin (prince/other POV character). Nadya was left with little to do because of how much her love interest stole the storyline, and the book unfortunately suffered with how passive and uninteresting she ended up being. I do love that she can speak to the gods/saints. It’s a really unique and interesting concept, but I struggled empathizing with her because of how little she truly featured in her own story.

Speaking of Malachiasz... let’s just not. I’m over brooding evil “stabby stabby” boy love interests. Thank you, next.

Overall, I think other readers will enjoy this a lot more than me. As much as I wanted to love this (hello!! obsessed with Slavic-inspired!!!!) I had trouble with aspects of the story and the characters. 100% recommend for fans of the Grisha trilogy and Reylo!

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.

“My name is Malachiasz Czechowicz,” he said, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had just been given something.
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)

"He was tired, beginning to fray at the edges, as if the barest touch would shatter him."

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).

“Blood and blood and bone. Magic and monsters and tragic power.”
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.

“I am so very young by comparison, and there are evils in this world far greater than I.”
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 damn powerful and I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel. 🖤

Content warnings for violence, murder, self-harm for blood magic

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Emily A. Duncan's Wicked Saints did not disappoint my fantasy-loving heart. Tossed into chaos from page one, Nadya is a cleric and has been kept a secret for most of her life. She has a brilliant power, a power that can one day change the world. She can speak to the gods. When her home, the monastery is under attack, Nadya must flee for her life. While on the run she encounters rebels including Malachiaz, and together they begin to plan to kill the king. But soon Nadya realizes that those around her are not what they seem.

While I enjoyed most of the book, I was slightly let down by the characters. Nadya was not my favorite, but that could be due to her being the main character and slipping into a side character role. The story was much more focused on the men in the story which was a bit frustrating at times. Nadya still remains a strong character in my eyes, I just wish she wasn't easily swayed. And as for Serefin, I really enjoyed his character. I thought he had a brilliant character arc and fantastic growth.

While some of the plots got confusing and some plots didn't feel wrapped up, I still very much enjoyed the book. The ending was a bit predictable but overall still really fantastic. I seriously cannot wait to learn more about this dark twisted world.

But I do highly recommend reading this book. I think if you enjoy blood, war, politics, and religion then definitely give this a go. Enemies to lovers plus magic? Who doesn't want to read that!  Literally on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book already.

Ok. So. I’ve had a bit of a difficult time giving this one a star rating, because I didn’t COMPLETELY love the story itself, but I LOVED some of the characters and the authors writing. That said, what I can say is that this author can write like it’s nobodies business. From the overall imagery, the dark and bloody world building, to the unexpected banter... I just. I’m pretty dang impressed. I can say that the story itself isn’t what usually strikes my fancy as it focuses on the religion and politics of this fictional world at war, but Emily A. Duncan kept me captivated and dying to find out what would come next, because honestly... things just kept happening.

All in all this is a good dark themed YA fantasy. There are some triggering themes and moments, but they feel necessary to the plot and characters. The romance did have a bit of a fan fiction undertone to me, but I also don’t read YA as heavily as some, so that could be the norm and I’m not used to it. Like I said the writing is good, and although I did find a few things problematic I continued on because some of the characters were worth looking past those issues.

This author can write. I can’t wait to see what else is to come!