First, thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the approval to read the eARC of Wicked Saints in exchange for an honest review.
Y’all. Wicked Saints has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2019, and now I know that it was for good reason. Emily A. Duncan has created a world that I never wanted to leave. This book will grab you from the first chapter and will keep stringing you along throughout the entire book. I honestly can’t wait for release day so I can finally have the copy I pre-ordered in my hands.
Wicked Saints follows from the point of two of the main characters: Nadya and Serefin. Nadya is the first cleric in years from Kalyazin that has been touched with the powers of the divine. Her gods speak to her and give her the ability to use their magic. Serefin is the High Prince of Tranavia, estranged from his father, a very intelligent war tactician, and one of the best blood mages around. While their countries have been at war for centuries, Nadya and Serefin have seemed to find their way in the middle of it. While Nadya is being chased by Serefin and the Tranavian empire, she collides with 3 others that are also intent on brining the Tranavian empire to its knees. Nadya, Rashid, Parijahan, and Malachiasz head towards Tranavia to help Nadya pose as a candidate for the new queen as Serefin heads back home to see who will become the next consort and, ultimately if it’s him, the new queen. But there’s something dark happening in the distance and witch's prophecy that involves Nadya, Malachiasz, and Serefin comes to light. What follows is a story of betrayal, romance, treason, evolution, and adapting.
The backstory that we’re given and the plot as you read is so well written, but honestly the main characters are my favorite part of this story. Though there are only two “view points” (as it’s written in the third person), there’s really three main characters in the story: Nadya, Serefin, and Malachiasz. Nadya is strong-willed and devout to her gods. Regardless of what happens to her, she holds onto the hopes that her prayers will be answered. She also has a really great arc of coming into her own and making decisions that are what she decides. Serefin is put in this really weird position of being put at the front lines of war, but expected to still know what to do at court even though he’s never there long. It’s actually super unfair to him, but he takes it in stride. He also really wants to do what’s best for his country and he really has great friends to back him up. Malachaisz is the tortoured soul that makes the you love him and hate him all at the same time. You can never truly figure out if he’s telling the truth or if he’s playing you. Also, he oozes sarcasm and I really hope that we get more from his view in the next book.
Duncan truly creates a world that is gorgeous, breathtaking, and one that you never want to leave. These characters are so of the most well written that I've ever read. The plot of this story has so many twists, turns, and scenes that leave you on edge that I honestly don't know I managed to NOT throw my kindle across the room. As a warning, this book will destroy you. You’ll think that you’re whole again, and then it will destroy you again. Truly, it’s a cycle of inner destruction. It was SO hard to put down and I can’t get this wonderful story that Duncan has written out of my head. I can’t wait for this book to release. Wicked Saints releases on April 2nd and it’ll truly be worth every moment you spend reading it.

Every once in a while you come across a book with a cover and blurb that will blow you away completely. A book that will have you looking at your calendar longingly until the day arrives when it's finally published. You might also luck out, and be invited to read it early and join the blog tour to help spread the love... This is exactly what happened when I was approached to read Wicked Saints. A dark, bloody and gothic fantasy story with superpowers, mysterious saints and an assassination plot to kill a king... What more to wish for in a story? This debut without doubt met my expectations and I already can't wait to find out what the sequel will have in store for us.So what made this story work for me? The first thing that stands out is just how delightfully dark and gothic Wicked Saints is. This story isn't for those with a weak stomach and blood, violence and monsters are a constant presence in the plot. This dark and disturbing atmosphere sets the right tone for this wicked beginning of a new fantasy series... The setting itself adds to the overall atmosphere. The two main countries at play, Kalyazin and Tranavia, are clearly inspired by Poland and Russia and I liked the little references to names and culture. Would I have liked to see the worldbuilding more developed with more descriptions to make it truly come alive? Most definitely. It would have given Wicked Saints that little something extra that would have made it in an instant favorite... But I was still more than happy with what I got.I also really liked how Emily A. Duncan incorporated religion into the story, with a clear difference between the Kalyazi culture and their magic by praying to different gods on one side and the Tranavians using blood magic and being called heretics on the other. It was interesting to see this theme evolve during the story, especially in Nadya's perception of the world as she no longer find herself in the sheltered monastery and learns to put things in perspective. I liked the idea of 'light and dark' magic and how it was developed. The blood magic and the vultures are basically the perfect villains of the story, but like in the real world, definitions are messy and there is not just one villain and side to the story.Wicked Saints has a dual POV, where the story alternates between Nadya and Serefin. They initially represent the cliche good and evil in the world, but as we get to know the characters better we learn that conclusions are not that easy to draw and things are not black and white but rather grey. I'm personally a big fan of the characters and their development. Not only Nadya and Serefin, but especially Malachiasz as well all turned out to be a fascinating characters. I admit there were some cliches involved and I can't do anything else but agree there are certain similarities between Wicked Saints and the popular Grisha Verse, but personally I wasn't all that bothered by that. The dynamics between the different characters are great and the secondary characters are mostly well fleshed out as well.As for the romance... Do I wish the story didn't go down that road? Probably. Wicked Saints is pretty mild on the romance though and we are spared a love triangle (or at least for now), so that is most definitely a bonus. This is by no means a sappy fantasy story and most of the plot is black and gothic to the core. It's my kind of fantasy, where the wicked and powerful get a leading role and are ready to kick ass. I loved the duality of this story; between the different countries, cultures and light and dark magic. It is a story with a fascinating premise and a lot of promise for what is yet to come, and without doubt recommended to those who enjoy darker YA fantasy stories with strong main characters.

Wicked Saints sounded right up my alley. It’s dark, magical, and bloody—like really bloody. And it’s marketed for fans of Leigh Bardugo which fits with this story also being set in a pseudo-Russia. But this book left me feeling disappointed. The first half was slow and left me feeling quite confused.

The book splits between Nadya, a Kalyazi cleric that can commune with the gods, and Serefin, a blood mage, prince of Tranavia. To be honest, I never connected with either of the leads. They were a bit blah, in my opinion. The magic system was interesting though.

The enemies to lovers romance was to be expected, but I actually didn’t mind Nadya and Malachiasz until the end... The ending, in general, was pretty lackluster and a bit anti-climatic.

The book was not as great as I thought it would be, but I am curious about the sequel so maybe I’ll pick it up once it comes out.

This book was just not for me, and I don't really know why. It has so many elements that I love to read: magic, religion, and romance. I just couldn't get into it.

Plot: Wicked Saints opened with the brutal murder of Nadya's friends and teachers at the monastery. As the last individual with the power of communicating with the gods and channeling their power, she ran off and found herself in the midst of people who had the power of being her enemy or friend.

Wicked Saints sold me with the second half of the novel. The first half was intriguing, albeit a bit slow. It was the second half where we learned about the corrupt king and our main character Nadya had to decide who was worthy of her trust. The plot in itself was fairly simple: two countries were at war with each other and girl had the power to change the course of it all. While the plot was simple, that didn't stop Duncan from throwing twist after twist and making you question everything you knew, up until the last page.

One thing to note was that the writing led readers to assume happenings instead of laying it out. This is something minor, but there were some scenes where I would have preferred over explanations because I wasn't confident I knew what Duncan was trying to hint.

Characters: Wicked Saints' middle name is 'complex characters'. Nadya was an intriguing character because she believed she was the last person in her country with the power of the gods. Being in enemy territory led her to question everything she knew about the gods and the power they granted her. Her frustration and confusion was evident, but I never doubted that she was trying to do the right thing. Serefin, the other POV was the High Prince who was at the forefront of the war. He had enough blood on his hands to mark him the enemy, but he also had the potential of being a better ruler than his father. While these were the two characters whose perspectives we followed, there were important secondary characters as well. I wish that some of the relationships were explored a bit more as it all seemed surface level. There weren't opportunities to explore the characters' separate pasts and how they had come to depend on their friends.

Worldbuilding: Duncan's inclusion of religion made the world of Wicked Saints fascinating. The two countries both had access to magic but from different sources which all stemmed from their differing religious beliefs. I especially enjoyed learning about the gods and what power they controlled, as well as the anecdotes from previous clerics who had been blessed by the gods. This book was definitely a dark fantasy and the atmosphere portrayed that perfectly. I'm excited to return to this world and see more of the world and the gods.

Short N Sweet: Wicked Saints is perfect for readers who prefer fantasy on the darker side, I just wish there was more time dedicated to the characters' relationships with each other.

I'm somewhere between a 3.5 and 4 star on this - it's a hard one for me to rate, because in terms of the actual story set in front of me, I thought this was perfectly serviceable YA fantasy that I would recommend but wouldn't necessarily continue in a series with, if that makes sense. So in that light, it would be closer to a 3 star book. But I absolutely loved the thematic content of this: the idea of how to trust your own experience versus macrosystems that we are taught to believe in is a fascinating idea to incorporate into a story for a young adult, as this is a key piece of finding your way in the world, and I thought the choices to work through this theme in the book were just so smart & showed a lot of care from the author. That said, this appreciation for the ideas behind the book didn't make the book itself more enjoyable for me... I'm not sure any of this makes sense :). Basically, the book itself was fine but the ideas behind the book were great. So I guess let's go with a 3.5 star

OK! **I received an eARC of this book from the publisher, but since I was planning on buying the book anyways I really just wanted to get it early...**

I'm going to make a review of this book on my youtube channel and also a critical analysis video as well once I get the physical copy and re-read it, but this book really deserves it.

It filled a hole I had in my heart for YA that wasn't bland and didn't try to be pretty, with characters who are *actually* flawed and *ACTUALLY* act like teenagers instead of mini adults, despite the fact that they have been placed in outrageous circumstances through no fault of their own. They're kids in a war, out of their depth, with a crazy, wild ambition to end it, and sometimes they hate each other but they are trying!! It really is a moving book, the religious exploration is fascinating, with two main characters having on-going discussions about their opposing views, so if you're into that, fictional or otherwise, you will enjoy this book.

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan is a book that I had been anticipating hardcore. Like, I could not wait to read this book. So much about it seemed right exactly up my alley. There’s a war, magic systems, and conflicting religions? Hello, that is SO appealing. Then there are whispers of secrets. Also, apparently this is Slavic inspired. YES PLEASE. Unfortunately, there was a lot that was left to be desired for me.

I kind of want to put the caveat out there that I read and view books very subjectively. So you may have different mileage out of Wicked Saints than I did. So, this book alternates between Nadya and Serefin. Nadya is a Cleric and the last of her kind – or well to be more accurate, Clerics were gone for 30 years and now she’s the first. She is from Kalyazin. Meanwhile, Serefin is a Blood Mage from the country that is the enemy, Tranavia. Further complicating matters is another mage from Kalyazin and honestly I am not even going to attempt to spell his name but it’s Mal-something-something-csz. He’s the one with a secret. So okay, their paths all cross and it turns out that they may have a mission in common, to kill the Tranavian king and end the war.

Overall, I felt like the characters were kept at arm’s length from me. Like, I cared a little bit. However when Nadya was going through some extreme physical pain, I basically just shrugged. Probably my favorite was Serefin because he was the most complex and his arc was actually interesting. As for the rest, I just did not care. And I think that is something that lead to this book feeling so long too. By the end, I was so glad to be finished.

However, the gods part and the Cleric part is fascinating. I do wish this book had delved into that a little bit more. Like, it seemed like that was something that could have been expanded on. Actually, I feel like a lot could have been expanded on, but instead it seems like we’re only just scratching the surface with all the cool elements. Maybe I’ll check out the sequels, maybe not. At this point I feel no commitment to this series.

In the beginning this read to me like a dark, bloody twist on Avatar: The Last Airbender and I was there for it. The magic system that was being introduced seemed fascinating, I loved the atmosphere and I could see myself growing fond of the characters. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Not to say there was anything particularly wrong with them. They just weren't that gripping and neither were the relationships between them which is a shame because there was a promising villain-protagonist dynamic. I was ready to find enjoyment in another angsty duo while waiting for the return of Kylo Ren and Rey in my life. Weirdly enough, Kylo Ren is actually mentioned in the acknowledgements as an inspiration for the villain so perhaps I was on to something. Not to turn this into a Reylo nerd off, but those two are complex characters who have a proper development and that is where the angst and emotion comes from. Their link is convoluted and messy and it always keeps the viewers on their edge. In this book, it all came out as slightly forced and lacking impact because of that. The pacing and the writing style that I didn't fully get into also contributed to me not being invested in the characters and the story in general.

Wicked Saints had many ingredients of a great story, themes and tropes that usually create memorable experiences for me, but here the overall result felt a bit off.

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC. I have been reading a ton of fantasy lately and perhaps it is time for me to give it a break as they are all starting to blend together. As a huge fan of the Throne of Glass series, a reader of Leigh Bardugo, and the Ember in the Ashes series; I just felt like this one was another in that arena. I love the Throne of Glass series so much that it is hard to not compare other similarly veined fantasies to that one. One by one, as much as I want to love them, I find it hard to get into the new characters/new world. So many were people were introduced here so quickly, my head was spinning.

First of all, I'd like to thank St. Martins Press/ Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the chance to read this book: The Wicked Saints, in exchange for my honest review.

This book will be released on April 2nd, so there's still time to preorder! Please be aware of self-harm and parental abuse triggers in this book.

Synopsis: 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.

Ok. So I'm going to be 100% up front. I gave this book 4.75 stars because it's brilliant, gorgeous, cold, and truly astonishing. I found it to be perfectly paced. You know how, when you're watching a movie or reading a story, and the characters are about to make a big decision and you just know it's going to be wrong, and it irritates you because it seems like the author/ writers didn't think the logic through? Yeah? There's NONE of that in this book. The characters make decisions that you're not sure about, but that you'd probably make yourself. I found myself thinking 'wow, I totally would have done that tool' and watching everything burn to ashes.

I really really liked this book. It wasn't perfect, but few books are.
I loved the {POSSIBLE SPOILERS}
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.twist on the 'royal hidden away in the monastery', instead of having Nadya actually belonging among the clerics and sisters in the remote place of god. The twist within the members of the little rebel group actually made my jaw drop, and I honestly enjoyed every bit of this story. If you're looking for a seriously dark, gothic epic fantasy that will blow your socks off, this is it.

• Title: Wicked City
• Author: Emily A. Duncan
• Series: Something Dark and Holy Book #1
• Pages: 400
• Genre: YA Fantasy
• Rating Out of 5 Stars: 2.5 rounded up to 3

My Thoughts: By all intents and purpose this should have been one of my top reads of the year. It was certainly one of the most anticipated reads. However,

It starts off with a bang. An attack on the monastery where our protagonist resides. When we are first introduced to Nadya, our Kalyazi priestess, I found her to be a quite the dynamic character. She comes across as flawed but still willing to try and work with what she is. She speaks with the entire pantheon of the faith system she follows and can earn the favor of using their powers. She’s got a bit of an attitude problem and doesn’t necessarily have the best relationship with several the deities which makes her use of her magic refreshing. Yes, she’s a bit of an anomaly in the realm of magic users but she not immediately an unstoppably badass either. She takes more then her fair share of knocks. Her early focus chapters I liked much better than the other two I will mention. Not only did they have more context and drive the story further, but the interactions between the characters could get highly entertaining.

Our next character is Malachiasz. He has defected from Tranavia, but he doesn’t really work for Kalyazi either. His intentions tend to flip to what suits his best interest until our main driving point in the story takes place. I can’t say too much more about him without their being some hefty spoilers.

Our antagonist Serefin is a blood mage with poor eyesight and a bad reliance on alcohol. He also has no love or respect for the gods of the realm. Instead of seeking the gods favor to produce magic he bypasses it all by shedding his own blood for access to his powers. He is also the prince and heir to the Tranavia throne. (which I’m not going to lie, I read this as Transylvania probably 95% of the time and had to mentally correct myself)

The issues between the two kingdoms are pretty standard. One follows one religion one follows the other, both think the others are heretics, long war ensues, one king is power mad…you get the picture. By the time we’ve made it to the height of all the chaos, politics, feuding and danger…I just didn’t care what happened anymore. This was such a shame because there are some wonderful pieces of writing in here that I did enjoy.

I think it has a big part to with this oddball handling of this three-way enemies-to-lovers trope that plays out about 2/3 of the way into the story. We have other side characters that tie into it making it even more of a convoluted mess. The other is that even though this book starts out being about Nadya, as soon as Malachiasz is introduced it really becomes his story. Nadya takes a backseat and he becomes the main driver of the narrative. If you want a romance in a story that’s perfectly fine. When it loses focus on everything else that been built up before just for the sake of said romance…that I have issues with.

We do meet several other characters that feel like they should mean more in the broad scope of things. Mostly they feel like they just pop in to help break up some of the tedium of scenes. I can’t really say more on them then that. I didn’t find them to be all that interesting or developed.

I don’t really have a complaint on the writing itself. I thought over all it was well done. (save for my dyslexic mental translations of places). My main issues fall with the execution of the overall story. There are plenty of strong points that have questioning which side you’ll agree with. Moments that will frustrate you, make you laugh. I can see the comparisons to the Grisha series in the first third of the book but after that it becomes its own entity. I feel this is going to be one of those polarizing books. People are going to either really love it or not care for it at all. Unfortunately, it was a miss for me. I do however encourage others to read this if the premise sounds interesting to you and make your own opinions.

Trigger warning for self-harm and gore.
EARC Kindly provided by NETGALLEY and St. Martin’s Press in return for an honest review. All opinion are my own.

Cover: 🌟🌟🌟 (The cover is pretty to be sure. It's vibrant and in person, sparkly which I love. It's not my favorite cover this year, but it's not bad.)
Summary/Tagline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ("Let them hear her." Oooh I love that tagline! It makes me think of fierce female leads.)
Characters: 🌟 (I honestly could not connect with any of the characters in this book. I wanted to like them but I just ended up finding them lacking. It's infuriating with a tagline on the cover and the premise of a fierce female lead that I'm left with the impression that the female lead is more of a side note in someone else's story.)
Worldbuilding: 🌟🌟(This book should have had amazing worldbuilding, the blurb sets you right up for it but in the end I found it unoriginal. Maybe I've read too many fantasy novels of late, but this setting just didn't stand out for me.)
Story: 🌟(I really tried to like this book. The premise sounded good but this book fell flat for me. I often find that when a book is as hyped up as this book has been, described as "one of the biggest hits of the year," that I struggle to get through it. I found myself skimming this book more than actually reading it. I have peculiar reading tastes and this book just wasn't for me.)
Overall: 🌟🌟 2.4 of 5 Stars!

Wicked Saints has an interesting premise and magic system, along with friendships, twists, turns, betrayals, and forbidden romance. I personally had trouble relating to the characters on a personal level, though they are all interesting with varying motivations, personality traits, and charisma. Nonetheless, if you are interested in fantasy, books with dark politics, or enjoy books where no one can be trusted--perhaps not even the the things you believe in the most--this is the book for you.

After finishing this book I still don't exactly know how to think about this. There were many things that I really enjoyed and that reminded me so much of what I liked about the GrishaVerse. However, it didn't completely compel me like Bardugo's books do, and there were many aspects that had me quite annoyed.

Emily A. Duncan's novel follows Nadya, a 16-year-old girl who has been gifted by the gods that people in her country, the Kalyazi, believe in. This means that she can pray to them in order to use their magic (e.g. healing, speed, silence), which makes her a rare cleric in her country. The Kalyazi have been involved in a war with the Tranavians, their neighbor, for many years now, and after Nadya's monastery is attacked by Tranavians, lead by their high-prince Serefin, Nadya swears herself that she will be the one to stop the war and kill the prince.
On her journey to vengeance she finds allies in the mysterious and broody Malachiasz and two loyal friends of his.
The novel explores not only their journey to the capital of Tranavia, Grazyk, where the king resides, it also describes the magic system in great detail and before each chapter, previous clerics and saints are introduced, which is very interesting, but quite confusing at first.

WHAT I LIKED:
I loved the different magic systems in this world, and I especially appreciated that people from different areas in the world and from different beliefs are able to do different kinds of magic. While reading, you explore the magic, and when you think you have understood the gist of it, another magical twist and turn comes along.
I also felt all the feels when it comes to the main character, Nadya. She was such a strong and interesting character, and even though she was portrayed as the CHOSEN ONE (which is a trope I am actually a little fed up with) I was so rooting for her and loved her.
I also liked how multi-dimensional some of the other characters were, since you don't really have a full villain here, as all of the characters show strengths and vulnerable sides, and they all have good and bad intentions.
The ending and how the story evolved with all its twists and turns was not at all predictable, and I was very surprised. I can't wait how the story progresses in the sequel.

WHAT I DISLIKED:
The book starts in the middle of an attack on Nadya's home, a monastery, so you are thrown right into the action, which sounds fun in theory, but in practice it was a reading nightmare since I had no idea what was going on for a good 50 pages into the book. I had no idea who the characters were, how the magic system worked or where this all actually happened (needless to say WHY everything happened). A little bit of world building would have been gladly appreciated, since I was close to drop the book and DNF it.
Since the book has so many different magic systems it was very difficult to understand how everything worked. This might be just me, but personally, I found it very confusing and since nothing really was explained, I was constantly confused.
Quite contradictive to the fact that I would have appreciated more explaining and backstory, I was quite annoyed at some parts (or basically the complete first half) of the book. There was sooooooooo much dialogue, characters talking and getting to know each other and it was just so slow as nothing really happened. What is more, is that even after finishing the book, the first part still seems unnecessarily slow since only a little part of what was written actually contributed to the outcome of the story at the end of the book. Only Malachiasz's accounts and explorations of his past seem relevant to me in hindsight.
The last issue I had concerns the relationships in the novel and how the characters were connected to each other. Some relationships weren't specifically explained while others developed in a whirlwind, which was, again, so so confusing - basically when two of the characters were suddenly kissing, I was just like... huh? Not only were no previous romantic gestures made, it happened very very fast, and also no chemistry between them was transferred to the reader. And this goes to all of the romantic encounters.

BOTTOM LINE:
Despite my critique, I still enjoyed reading this novel, since I love worlds like these. I will definitely read the sequel, as I hope that all this confusion will be gone when going into the second part.

Wicked Saints is a gorgeous phantasmagorical love story- with a villain! How delicious is this book? Let me say that the lyric "Love, love will tear us apart- again" should be amended to say, "Love, love will tear YOU apart, again" Emily A. Duncan certainly knows how to reach inside your secret wicked little heart, and wrench it straight out of your bleeding, gaping chest.

And I mean this as the highest compliment! All the starts!!!!

I can see why this book was recommend to fans of Leigh Bardugo, because I did get some Shadow & Bones vibes from it and the world itself is fairly dark and gritty. I wanted to really love this one, but there were certain aspects that I just didn't really enjoy.

I did really like some of the characters, especially Nadya, who indeed does remind me a bit of Alina from the Shadow and Bone series, but of course is her own character. This is the second YA fantasy book that I have read lately where I had a really hard time focusing because I could keep the character's straight and had to keep looking back to see who they were. This in itself distracted me enough that I didn't really become invested in the characters and therefore lost interest in the plot. I do have to say that the author's writing is beautiful and rich and the world building is excellent. The religion in this book was also not my favorite and I found it a bit hard to keep straight.

I can see why Nadya and Malachiasz have been compared to Alina and The Darkling, although they again are their own characters. I got some of the same vibes from these two characters as I did from that series. The story itself is fairly dark and gritty, with some Russian influence and definitely contains some violence. I do think that between the author's excellent writing, the world building and the characters themselves, that a lot of people will really love this book. I do look forward to reading the rest of the series and will probably end up re-reading this book before the next one is released.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC of this book and inviting me to be a part of the blog tour.

Hands down, this is one one my top reads of 2019!! It was amazing! I couldn’t put it down! I loved everything about it, the plot, the characters, the writing! Kudos to this amazing author! I can’t wait to read more of her work!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This review will be posted to my blog, Foxes and Fairy Tales on 28th March 2019.
https://foxesfairytale.wordpress.com

I spent so long agonising over how to rate this book! This one one of my most anticipated books of the year and I have very, very mixed feelings and, I suspect, some unpopular ones. It's a book of two very different parts.

I struggled with the beginning of the book. Really, really struggled. To be honest, if this hadn't been an ARC for review, I'd probably have DNF'ed the book.

The plotting is slow. Very slow. Despite blood-shed, angry gods and a protagonist on the run. Somehow, it still feels slow.

The world-building feels messy to me. I have no problem with the blood-letting magic system (although, as above, this is something to be very aware of. It's not one-off, but throughout the book and central to the story). However, I don't feel like it was ever really explained very clearly. How are the spells created and written down, why does blood activate them, what's the education system for learning? The politics (both between the warring countries and within the Tranavian court/ government) was the same. I didn't feel like there was anything happening beyond what was going on with the two or three characters in that very moment. There wasn't any real depth to the world beyond them.

Similarly, the characters were very two-dimensional for much of the first half. I still don't feel I know much about Nadya as a person, her personality is never developed. Of all the characters I thought that Serefin was the only one I really felt a connection to, and even then it took a long time to get there.

However -- and it's a big however -- the book started to pick up around the second half: once Nadya and the others reached the royal palace (although it wasn't until almost the three-quarter mark that I felt really interested and invested in the book). Around this point in the story, the plot took a couple of sharp twists and the excitement really amped up.

I really, really liked this last section of the story (the third act, basically). I wish the book had started at a later point in the story. The entire first half have could have been cut down and it felt to me more like padding so as to make the story run for a full trilogy. I'm curious whether Wicked Saints would have been stronger as part of a duology. That aside, I can't say much about this section without giving too much away (since it's right at the end) but I really did think the last 20% of the book was really good: full of action, surprises and character moments.

Which brings me back to: I spent so long agonising over how to rate this book.

3-stars is a compromise. I'd rate the last part much higher (4 to 4.5 perhaps?) but the first part was so slow and poorly developed I just can't go any higher. I just can't justify trawling through 75% of a book before it becomes worth reading.

But!

But.

The ending is great and, weirdly, I think I'd actually still pick up the second book because now I'm interested. I just don't think it should have taken 300 wasted pages to get there.

A girl who speaks to and is granted power from the gods, a reluctant prince who prefers the war front to the scheming of his father and other nobles, and a blood mage of the most abominable kind. These three come together to assassinate the king and end the war between their countries.

I really appreciated the effort that was put into building the world and the system of magic. The love/hate story felt natural and evolved organically, and the heroine Nadya was easy to root for. Shadow and Bone has been sitting untouched in my kindle for god knows how long so I’m not able to make the same comparisons that others have. I deal with a lot of Eastern Europeans in my line of work so the names for the most part didn’t trip me up (except Tranavian.... I kept stumbling over that one because I wasn’t sure how to pronounce it).

Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next! Thanks to the author, St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC and the chance to returns to my roots.