Thank you to Wednesday books for the ARC via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start this review by saying that I was already in the middle of reading this book when all of the drama surrounding the author began on Twitter and Instagram. Before that, I did not recognize any plot lines in the book as being antisemitic and was unaware of the actions that the author had taken towards members of the book community. I realize that many people do not want to support this author and series anymore because of these issues, and I think that is completely fair. I did, however, enjoy the characters and the stories, and my review is strictly about the book that I read and what I recognized in it.

4.5/5 stars
This book felt very similar to the first two in the darkness and the back and forth questioning of the magic and the gods. There was a lot of exciting action balanced with some slower scenes that continued to develop the relationships between the characters.
The characters are my favourite part of this book. Serefin had me laughing so much, and I loved his relationship with Kacper. Nadya is scary and powerful and amazing, and I adore her and her relationship with Malachiasz. Malachiasz is a monstrous, dark and powerful character, and yet I just want to give him a hug and protect him. He’s been my favourite character of the series hands down.
I found the plot to be exciting and I was on the edge of my seat while reading. I was so nervous for these characters, and I think the ending fit really well. I’m super happy with how everything wrapped. The writing flows well, and I thought it was a good balance of action and information. There was also a good balance of old questions being answered and new questions coming up.
Overall, I thought this was an excellent conclusion to the trilogy!
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Given all that has come to light regarding the author’s remarks and actions, I need to state that I’m only reading this book and re-reading the first two so I can work on bettering my own radar for antisemitism in works of literature. I’m a high school teacher and my world lit class focuses primarily on genocide literature and I’m completely aghast that I did not pick up the subplot.

I’m also so torn because this series has all the elements that I find so incredible: dark fantasy, morally ambiguous characters, warring nations, complicated relationships with religion...and a lovable monster boy who’s quest for power, magic, and understanding makes him entirely misguided and incomprehensible.
Sigh. Big, big, sigh.

Here’s the summary:
The unforgettable conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Something Dark and Holy trilogy!

The girl, the monster, the prince, the queen.

They broke the world.

And some things can never be undone.

In Emily A. Duncan’s Blessed Monsters, they must unite once more to fight the dark chaos they've unleashed - but is it already too late?

Last note:
After completing the novel, I fully plan to edit this review to include passages and commentary on the problematic nature of the text.

***SPOILERS WARNING***


The biggest surprise of this entire book is that the characters actually got a happy ending. The author after all she put us through decided that we and these characters deserved some happiness after all. Since I spent that last 150 pages waiting and bracing myself for someone or all of them to die I was pleasantly taken aback by the fact that death does not actually mean the end for these beloved misfits. I very much enjoyed the end of this wonderful series that was sometimes heartbreaking, occasionally maddening and always riveting.

This whole series is addicting. I don't typically like books with this kind of creepy vibe, but the characters and plot are so enthralling that I couldn't put them down.

Well, I was already struggling to get through this book and then it came out on Twitter that Emily Duncan is anti-semitic, so I'm just going to put this book aside and move on. :(

I am sad to say, I will not be reviewing this title in light of the author's bullying and racist behavior that has come to light.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Ms. Duncan for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I sat on this review so as not to provide any pre-release spoilers, which I'm assuming would really irritate quite a few people.

So.

I won't be recapping the plot at all, to prevent major spoilers, as some major spoiler-y things happen.

Here's what I will say:

(+) Things I liked:

We got some more character development, finally. Malachiasz and Nadya finally started THINKING about things besides their paaaaaiiiiiiin, especially about productive things to do. Parijahan and Rashid had a little bit more page time, which I enjoyed greatly as they are my favorite characters. I could definitely see the author making a spinoff story about them. We also have the return of an old friend, no names named, sorry, which was MUCH more satisfying than the return of the old friend in Ruthless Gods (perhaps because the situation didn't come across as a would-be love triangle, not even for a moment, hint hint).

The plot had a bit more momentum. Endless treks through wilderness are all well and good but I enjoyed the major increase in ACTION.

Speaking of action, some characters got a little. Or at least a little more than the odd stolen kiss and burning glance from book #2. So THAT was productive.

And I did like that the brothers did some healing/growing/maturing. Always nice to see family coming together.

{=} Things I felt indifferent to:
The metaphysical plot constructs. There is only so much I can take, to be completely honest, and book #2 pretty much maxed me out. I honestly looked forward to the political and romantic bits, just to have a break from all the gods-stuff.

Kacper. Sorry. I just didn't care about him one way or the other. I liked Ostyia 500% better (I do love a woman of action). Parijahan for the win and Ostyia a close second 😍

Chernobog, or however he was spelled: weak sauce. Come ON. All talk and no substance, in the end. Frankly I expected more from him/it.

(-) Things that weren't my cup of tea:
Too. Much. Brooding. (Or maybe I'm just too old to have patience with this)

Nadya's religion. Not the gods, so much, but the practitioners. WTH, Matriarch?!

The magic structure. Still don't really understand clerics vs. blood mages vs. eldritch vs. Akolan vs. witch magic. I DO understand that the whole point is that magic has no set "rules" anymore but so much was made of each specific type of magic and of the characters' need to understand it and I just felt like I... didn't understand it at all.

As much as I was *happy* that things, ahem, worked out, I felt that with the amount of darkness and foreshadowing and doom that was being bandied about, that SOMEBODY needed to have died [and stayed dead, it should go without saying] in order to truly fulfil the scope of the book as I understood it. This didn't strike me as a totally "happy ending" sort of series. But that's just me.

As with book #2, there was quite a bit more floofy, flowery, grandiose descriptive language than I personally prefer. It does a disservice to the actual substantive plot bits to hide them in so many adjectives, like a single strawberry hiding in a 2-cup measure of whipped cream. Some passages were beautiful to be sure but still could have done with some judicious editing. Again, this is MY opinion and my preference.


I did enjoy the book, I'd say a solid 3.5 stars. The conclusion was satisfying and I'd 100% be interested in the further adventures of Parijahan and Rashid with perhaps a cameo from our favorite Tranavians and Kalyazi.

Title: Blessed Monsters
Author: Emily A. Duncan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5

The girl, the monster, the prince, the queen.

They broke the world.

And some things can never be undone.

I’ll admit, the blurb for this novel is a big sparse, but the novel itself is not. Like the rest of this trilogy, this is a very dark and fantastical story. Dark. Very dark. The cultures, the history, the people, are all brimming with life and magic and so vibrant they leap off the page.

But this is not a fluffy bunny story (and if there were any fluffy bunnies, they’d probably die a gruesome and tragic death immediately). Instead, it’s full of chilling sensory details (seriously, maybe read this on a hot summer day) and definitely read the other two books first. This is a compelling and engrossing novel, just don’t expect sweetness and light.

Emily A. Duncan is a bestselling author. Blessed Monsters is her newest novel, the final installment in the Something Dark and Holy series.

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

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

*There will minor spoilers from Wicked Saints and Ruthless Gods, but none from Blessed Monsters.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Endings are always bittersweet, because you have to say goodbye to a world and characters we have grown to cherish. Nadya, Malachiasz, and Serefin are my beautiful, chaotic walking disaster children and they have each grown on me in their unique ways throughout the series. Endings are always hard, but I feel that Blessed Monsters was a satisfying and well deserved ending for these characters whom have had to overcome and lose so much.

First, I am grateful for the inclusion of Malachiasz’s POV chapters - FINALLY! Getting inside his head as Malachiasz the boy and not just the heretical Black Vulture really helped to round out his character. In essence, I became painfully aware of how extremely devastated and confused he really is. Secondly, it was good to see the side plot with Parijahan developed more fully and we finally got answers into her identity and the role she would play. There are so many loveable side characters, some previously introduced, others new, who continually added to the range and depth of this world. Also, yes, Pelageya is in fact, still, one of my favorite characters, even though she always speaks in riddles. I’m glad we got to spend more time in Kalyazin, outside of that demented forest, which I must admit I found to be equal parts horrifying and intriguing.

The gothic vibes and the eldritch scares were ramped up as we came face to face with more of the gods Nadya never knew about. The weepy eye horror still makes me a tad twitchy, but dang was it visceral. Essentially, this is a series that starts off a touch confusing and with each installment a new layer is added, a new veil uncovered, slowly enabling the reader to grasp the bigger picture. This concluding sequel gave me several things I needed and wanted. There were a few loose ends that could have been tighter and overall ideas that I wished had been delved into a bit further, but overall I was pretty satisfied with this conclusion.

DNF’d 25% in. I absolutely loved Ruthless Gods but Blessed Monsters is Wicked Saints all over again. The plot is completely lost, the story is all over the place and we’re tossing in too much new stuff yet again. This is the third and final book so one would think we’d finally have a clear direction but apparently not. So disappointed this had the potential to be a great series.

Where do I even start with this one?
This book was like wading through water to read. I was so slow in the beginning I had to put it down several times. I'm not sure whether it was the complete lack of plot or too much descriptive writing about what the character's feelings were that did nothing to move the story along.
I found it so hard to keep myself engaged in the story, which I am really sad about. I really enjoyed Wicked Saints and Ruthless Gods was ok. I was hoping Ruthless Gods suffered the bridging book slump and we would get something similar to Wicked Saints in Blessed Monsters. Unfortunately, Ruthless Gods was just a downwards spiral into the plot dying and having no real direction. The ending just had me confused, I'm not sure whether I just need to re-read the series altogether to make it work but for me, this book fell sort of my expectations.
At this point, I don't think I could recommend it.

The book feels different from the first two. I got everyone mixed up and had to re-learn the characters. It was a satisfying conclusion to the story. A lot happens. There are sad moments and happy moments. Enjoy.

Ah - I cannot believe we are saying goodbye to this series! I was extremely nervous going into this book, as I preemptively felt as if I would be let down with how it ended. Honestly, I could not wrap my head around how Emily could end this series in a satisfying way that felt true to the characters' individual journeys and not be too warm and fuzzy but still cater to fans who do not want the final book to end in doom and chaos. Rest assured there is PLENTY of doom and chaos throughout the book sprinkled with a few warm and fuzzy moments and promptly followed up by more doom.

My biggest recommendation before starting Blessed Monsters is to re-read both Wicked Saints and Ruthless Gods. A common thread I see throughout reviews and from talking to fellow fans is that these books are confusing or that readers felt lost. Emily does not hold readers' hands in her storytelling. Some authors use the first several chapters of sequel books to more or less “recap” previous happenings. Blessed Monsters, however, chugs on quite quickly with very minimal references to previous events in a memory-refreshing type of way. Emily also takes a more elusive approach to her magic system and religious architecture, which harkens commonality to more traditional and more mature fantasy series, but is not the typical style of YA fantasy. There’s a lot of room for the reader to interpret what’s going on or left to wonder the finer details of the structure she creates.

When Blessed Monsters begins, we are picking up the pieces of the ruins we were left with in Ruthless Gods. Essentially the group has been fractured and each sub-group is left reeling with the consequences of what happened on the mountain. One thing immediately becomes clear is that the gods are freed and posed to take over the world, and they are looking for a human to help facilitate the destruction. Our three favorite disasters and their friends have to decide what side they are going to stand on when the end of the world comes and if they want to fight the darkness or help it consume the world (obviously, this is a very hard decision).

Emily worked in a lot of character growth into this last book, which was great. We really see all the characters develop quite a bit as well as a peek into more of the supporting characters. While in previous books I found some of the secondary characters blended together, but in Blessed Monsters they all become quite distinct. Their personalities develop a ton and they all bring a unique element to the group.

As always I appreciated the horror and gothic elements Emily brings to the table in her writing style. The Something Dark and Holy series is really in a category of its own when it comes to gothic fantasies. Blessed Monsters absolutely did not disappoint in eyeballs, blood, and other gross things - if you’ve enjoyed the macabre tone of the first two in this series you’ll find this a satisfying conclusion!

This book was everything I wanted for the end of the series. I thought the stakes couldn't get any higher after the end of Ruthless Gods, but I was wrong. Nadya, Serefin, and Malachiasz all have a lot of choices to make that could affect not just their futures but the entire world. I loved the feeling of this group of kids careening towards almost certain disaster, but unable to stop. The way the relationships between all of the characters have grown made me literally squeak out loud in delight at multiple points. This book was by turns distressing, hilarious, terrifying, and heartwarming. It broke my heart and I loved it.

Blessed Monsters, and the entire Wicked Saints trilogy, is what has been needed in the Dark Fantasy genre. Emily A. Duncan is truly talented at world building, but even more so with creating her characters. She truly embraces their faults, and their goals. They push and pull their own desires with that of the collective; they are no strangers to betrayal and hurt. Their faults drive their choices, and those choices, or rather, the consequences of those choices, drive the world. The consequences are what Duncan excels at. There are no small choices or small ramifications, but huge and world changing.
Nadya is a breath of fresh air for a female protagonist. She is heavily faulted due to her cloistered upbringing, yet strives to overcome that. Her mistakes drive her future actions, and though she is the cause of much of the world’s current strife, she doesn’t hang her head and let someone else deal with it. She takes charge, desiring to go where no one in her world has before. She’s a little bit dark, a little bit divine, and so is this book. Blessed Monsters, Nadya and her group, and Duncan’s entire trilogy, wove themselves into my heart where they will reside for a very long time. Blessed Monsters is truly memorable, and the best fantasy series I have read in a very long time.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is nothing I did not love about this book. I admit, I highly recommend re-reading the first two books before reading this one, but only so that you can appreciate this one so much more!

All the things I loved:
-- Nadya and Malachiaz. I love that we get Malachiaz's point of view in this story (more regularly than in the previous two). I love their relationship. They've hurt and betrayed each other in so many ways, yet they keep finding their way back to each other. I loved reading every exchange between them.
-- Malachiaz. He is probably one of my favorite characters I've ever "met". I love his complexity and the constant war he is at with himself. It feels a little more literal in this book because he is actually at war with Chrynog, who lives inside him. But even in the other books, he was always waging a war within himself between what he wanted and what he believed to be right/necessary.
-- Serefin and Kasper. Well, mostly Serefin. I loved watching Serefin grow up. It took three books for Serefin to finally figure out who he was and what he wanted to do with his life. I love his personality and all of his banter with everyone.
-- The point of views. I like that the point of views consistently switched between Serefin, Malachiaz, and Nadya, but we do get a few chapters of Parj, Rashid, and Katya. I appreciated the few interludes with the other characters because I felt like it strengthened their roles in the story and added another layer of understanding.
-- The Gods. The author did a great job giving each God a distinct role and voice. I felt like each God had it's own distinct personality that matched it's domain and I really loved reading about each God.
-- Everything. Really and truly. It's such a unique trilogy and unlike anything I've ever read. I was invested in everything and all of the characters from the beginning and I am so pleased with how the story ended.

Hopefully I will come back and revise my edit. It isn't one of my better ones given how much I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I'm just having a difficult time parsing out all of my thoughts, and I wanted to get this out as soon as possible!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
This book wrecked me in the best possible way. I love Duncan’s magic systems and politics within her world-building. I love that this book has multiple POV- I feel that it gives a better depth to the story and helps the reader connect to multiple characters. There are twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and it made me want to not put the book down. This was the absolute perfect ending to this series! Definitely HIGHLY recommend this book!!

Iffy about the first book, thoroughly enjoyed the second, and loved the third! I’m just so fond of Duncan’s sassy, quirky, and dark characters. Can’t wait to read more by this author!

This book gave a GREAT ending to this trilogy.
I will say that the beginning of the book did drag a bit, but it picked up really quickly.
I'm sometimes not one for multiple points of view, but this trilogy is perfect for it, because there's so much going on, and all these characters think VERY differently. They are very different characters all brought together. I also really loved how there's all of this humor in it, even though it's a very dark, bloody story.
I also really loved the dynamics between Nadya and Malachiasz. I feel like they are like,, the definition of enemies to lovers. Because even though they do love each other, throughout this trilogy they are constantly at war with each other. Heck, they draw blood from each other almost every single time they are together. But in the end, they eventually find some kind of peace with each other.
I also like how there were so many ups and downs in this book, so many times where I was like, 'how is this actually going to end?'. Often in books I find that I'm almost always like yeah things are bad now but it'll all be okay because it'll probably have a happy ending, but with this book I was REALLY second guessing myself in it wondering how it would end. But overall, I love this trilogy, this book was as good as the last two, and overall just really well done!

First of all, thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I want to preface this review by saying I really enjoyed Wicked Saints. Ruthless Gods was a bit long and...strange? for me. But Blessed Monsters? That was a TRUDGE. I felt like I was wading through a muddy puddle up to my waist in search of a plot. Obviously don't read this review if you haven't even read books 1 or 2, but:

What HAPPENED? What was this book even about? I'm just like... I'm so confused how this has such a high rating when there was a serious lack of a pathway through this novel. Over 500 pages, and I still can't even describe the events of this story! I've spent the last 2 weeks picking up and putting this book back down. Book 2 at least had a purpose: make you wonder who is good and who is bad. Are the gods really gods?

But Blessed Monsters? I don't know. I could rant on and on about unnecessary scenes from this series, but Blessed Monsters feels like a bunch of random scenes thrown together and called a book. I have the Owlcrate edition coming solely because I want a matching set, otherwise I don't feel I can recommend this series.