Rating 3.5 stars

Firstly, thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Admittedly, I went into this book without knowing much about the plot. I knew it was lovers to enemies, both on opposite sides of a political divide, but it’s a bit more than that. Childhood friends turned almost lovers run into each other years later when one has returned from the frontlines of an unending war and the other has become favored by their religion driven society and hates her newfound position and privilege. What then follows is a murder mystery with socio-political commentary that falls a bit thin for me.

I liked the main two characters Damian and Roz and their tense relationship as they reconnect after both have experienced and afflicted trauma and pain. Their relationship needed to be complicated and frustrating for it to feel worth it considering the huddles between them - but then you realize the timeline of the book is within a week or two, so their resolution feels deserved yet rushed.

I wanted to like the larger cast of characters but they all just seem to support the main two without enough depth of their own, especially now realizing this is book one of a potential series. Even the villain reveal would’ve felt more impactful of that character was more critical to the plot as opposed to a “good” person who was there a few times but didn’t do much of import.

I enjoyed the writing, though it got dense at times. Not so much in concept or depth but in internally explaining what had just been said and why the character said it along with the conflicting feelings they had that may contradict what they just said. It feel heavy on tell, don’t show that it took me longer than anticipated to get through.

And like other reviews have noted, I wish the religious system their society and political structure had been explained more. Some people having magic while some didn’t and society favoring those with magic with Italian catholic imagery fell flat for me. I wanted to know why Damian was so hard pressed to hold fast to a faith that was the antithesis of everything he saw and felt. Even the smallest mentions of hope or joy in the face of war and death and grief would’ve made his determination to do “right” make more sense. But his need to do “right” simply meant do what he was told, so it was hard to understand why he believed so hard and obeyed beyond the “well, this is how I was raised and how it’s always been” sentiment.

And for now, I’ll leave the “there are good cops” rhetoric alone…

Overall, the characterizations of the two mains were the strongest part of the book with a world that I wanted more from but I’m left lacking.

The writing style didn't work for me. The plot felt slow and predictable. The romance felt underdeveloped.

SEVEN FACELESS SAINTS gripped me from the first page and hasn't released its hold even after the final page. Roz is honestly one of my new favorite characters of all time, she is for the feral girlies who felt a gao in their life since rose Hathaway made her final appearance on the page. The relationship between her and Damian wasn't as established throughout the book as I would have liked but both are interesting characters by themselves that it never angered me.

4.5 stars. This is a book about devotion - to the people you love, to morals, to abstract concepts. I'd comp it to Beyond the Ruby Veil in terms of world vibes and Illuminae for relationship vibes. Roz and Damian are the epitome of action girl x soft boy and I love them for that.

My favorite quote: “Every time I looked up at the moon, I remembered when we were nine and I asked what happened if it fell from the sky. How you laughed yourself silly at me, and said that although space was infinite, the moon never stopped circling earth. How it couldn’t stop even if it wanted to. And even back then, I knew which one of us was the earth.”

I have to admit, I was drawn to this one purely because of that killer cover! I don't love fantasy but I do tend to like dark stories so I decided to give this one a try.

And it is good! I loved the interesting world and how it all wove in to the story. The different saints and the abilities were all so fascinating, I loved learning about it all. But the beginning is a bit slow and felt very much like sloggin through an info-dump.

But the mid-point it picked back up and I liked when they started working together. But ugh, I was just not feeling the romance story part of it. I loved the mystery and the turns it took. It was a good story, I'm glad I read it, just wish I'd loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Enjoyed the lore, I always love an Italian setting. Even more than that, I enjoy a good rebellion, so I'm curious to see that book 2 will have in store for Roz and Damian. In terms of characters the latter was my favourite, and I'm keen to see him wrestle even more with his faith in the next book.

I can't help but get the feeling that this book desperately wants the edgy atmosphere of ‘Nevernight,’ but instead manages the vibes of a watered down version of ‘Wicked Saints.’

Which isn't necessarily a fault. The idea of the seven saints is interesting and decently established, the group of rebels fighting against a system of neglect is believable, and the writing is easy to read. All the basics are there. That being said, I kept getting the feeling that the story was trying to be more, but just couldn't quite reach it.

I would be very interested to see how the writing and plot develops across the series, to see if MKL does indeed achieve the full potential of the story. But for right now, I think readers who are intrigued with the concept of holy wars, people chosen by saints to worship them, and rebellion will enjoy this first installment.

I was so excited to read this and ran to net galley instantly as soon as I heard it was on here! However, I sadly can't get into the writing. I pushed almost 50% through but it is too slow for me. Maybe it isn't my type of book and that's fine!

BUT the writing was really good and the characters, world, and magic were all crafted well from what I saw! So I do highly recommend this.

Thank you to Little Brown for sending me an advanced copy of Seven Faceless Saints in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. it didn't leave me super eager for the sequel, particularly because it was slow moving which i understand why it was but I didn't particularly care for any other character but Roz. Damian was really frustrating throughout the story even when presented with evidence that his way of thinking wasn't right. He still didn't listen, which really annoyed me and to me it felt like there wasn't really much to him so i didn't really care to root for him with Roz. but overall the ending really intrigued me so i will be picking up the sequel if there is one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

To begin, I would absolutely recommend this to fans of These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong and Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse.

Seven Faceless Saints is a murder mystery in an Italy inspired fantasy world that captivated me from the first chapter. I loved the way Lobb portrayed her character’s emotions especially considering their complicated relationship. Our two main characters, Roz and Damian, were childhood best friends who became estranged enemies before they must secretly work together despite living in two different worlds as young adults. Damian is captain of the Palazzo security with strong faith that is haunted by his time in the war and Roz is blessed by the saints but has deep anger and resentment following her father’s death, leading her to join the rebellion. Roz is a strong and interesting heroine while Damian is a soft, sweet character and they balance each other out beautifully.

It was one of those books that I couldn’t wait to get back to every time I put it down and kept me guessing. I already cannot wait for the sequel.

Also…I love that cover. Fits the book perfectly!

Two regions at war fight over dwindling resources among a society steeped in a religion led by worship of seven saints. After a series of strange murders, a young woman with magical abilities agrees to work with her former lover to find answers to the crimes.

I had a hard time with the writing style, I could not focus on the story because of it. I tried many times but something about it just pushed me away.

Seven Faceless Saints is the debut novel by M.K. Lobb that takes place in the city of Ombrazia, a very Italian inspired city. We follow Rossana (Roz) who is looking to break up the corrupt system after the death of her father and Damian, a young captain of the Palazzo security. When a string of murders begin to happen, the two of them join forces to figure out what is going on.

I went into this book pretty blind. The cover is stunning and the synopsis gave me slight Assassin’s Creed vibes so I thought I would enjoy it. And I don’t think there is anything wrong with the book itself. I just didn’t connect to the writing style. This is a debut and I feel like it shows. There was just a disconnect between me and the characters that made it hard to really feel immersed in the story.

I do see this book working for a lot of people though. We have a revenge focused heroine and a sweet hero that balance each other out. There is enough murder mystery intrigue to keep the plot moving and while this is classified as a fantasy, there aren’t any super heavy magic systems or anything that would be hard to grasp.

I think I will continue on with this series. It left off in a way that makes me interested to see where it goes. I think this author has so much potential as far as creating immersive worlds and compelling characters so I’m curious to see where the next book goes!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for access to the eARC

In the city of Ombrazia, saints and their disciples rule with terrifying and unjust power, playing favorites while the unfavored struggle to survive. Rossana "Roz" Lacertosa, a disciple of one of the seven saints, and Damian Venturi, the youngest captain of Palazzo security are on opposite sides of a war between those blessed by the saints and those left unchosen. But a murderer loose in the streets upends their rivalry and demands they work together before the another victim is claimed.

Seven Faceless Saints was an anticipated release of mine so imagine my disappointment when i was praying for it to end so i could read a different book.

The biggest disappoint of this book could be narrowed exclusively down to one character. The setting of a slightly magical Italy, the concept of seven saints who bless individuals at their own discretion and a growing rebellion between the classes was what drew me in and and kept me reading. Damian’s wavering faith in the face of adversity and ptsd was something I particularly enjoyed about the story and was a surprising source of depth I hadn’t expected but wished was explored more. However all that being said, it was killed by the insufferable character of Roz.

I love angry women characters - the angrier and more insane she is the more im rooting for her. But Roz’s entire personality consisted of being angry and being right. She is incredibly one dimensional, and incredibly annoying in her self-righteous holier-than-thou attitude at every turn. She, a privileged disciple of the saints, was constantly telling those unchosen by the saints how mad and angry they should be at their society who favors people like Roz. And when I say constantly I mean constantly for 40 chapters. She wouldn’t shut up about how unprivileged these people are, like they weren’t already aware that they are treated as less than for not having been blessed by the saints. A champion for the proletariat she is not, and unprivileged people don’t want to hear about how they’re unprivileged from someone who is privileged. If there is an economic class equivalent of white saviorism, her character is a prime example of it.

I’m not even kidding when i say her entire character ruined the book for me. If she wasn’t in the story, I would have enjoyed it so much more, and I’m hesitant and frankly uninterested in picking up the sequel despite enjoying the story.

2/5

Unfortunately, this book was a mess. I think my main issue with it is that it has a very odd writing style, that reads as very surface level. I struggled in connecting with both of the MCs. I definitely liked Damien the most, I found Roz to be extremely annoying. The plot took far too long for my liking to develop, and I feel like the plot twists were quite obvious and typical of YA fantasies. The romance also fell flat. I wish we had gotten a true best friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers romance as promised, but unfortunately, everything regarding the romantic arc was underdeveloped and had no real feeling or depth to it. I’m so sad I didn’t enjoy this, but the writing style and basic plot did not interest me at all.

Loved it! The Roz-Damian romance was incredible. Rebel and Soldier. Earth and Moon. Stabby Girl and Soft Boy. I really fell for Lobb's prose too: the way things would get delivered very matter-of-fact, and then that last line in a chapter that makes your jaw drop. So good. Plus the Italian setting, the favored vs. unfavored. If you like These Violent Delights or Red Queen, this is a must read.

It took me longer than usual to get through the book due to my busy schedule, but I’m so glad I got to read it!

Let me start with it hits 3 tropes I really like. Childhood best friends to lovers. “Enemies” to lovers and stabby girl and soft guy. And that’s all wrapped up into one romantic story line. I think with my stop and start of reading it took me a little while to get really into the book, but once I was in I was in. I would really like to see what happens in the next book.


I wish it had a little more info on the world works, back stories on the saints etc. I feel like there was a really interesting world operating and I just would’ve liked a little more knowledge of how and why. Would like to see a novella or prequel about how things came to be, or maybe the next story sheds more light into that.

Definitely would recommend and I love the cover artwork sooooo much! Thank you NetGalley and M.K Lobb for this.

Big thanks to Netgalley for the arc!

This review will be all over the place because I have a cold and I am not happy about it.

First off, I love the setting. My family and I spent three years living in Italy and despite the negative sometimes overtaking the good, I do feel like I left a piece of myself in that country. What I wish is the author spent a little bit more time on food *drool*

The plot is very young adult. We have two war-torn countries with a class system favoring those born with one of the seven saint's magic. There is the mystery of who is murdering people and why, thus thrusting our two protagonist's together. Roz is angry (and with good right) over the death of her father and the loss of her best friend. Damian, torn between his father and living up to his expectations, is tasked with finding the murderer, but ends up meeting up with her childhood friend, Roz. Both of them could not be in different places in their lives, but both have to find a way to work together for the best of their people.

The romance was sweet, but somehow felt a bit...strange. Roz's feelings for Damian was conflicted, but for as angry and bitter as she is, I did not see her falling in love (again) with the boy who's father killed hers and ghosted her for three years. I know they have history and that perhaps love is stronger than hate, but it felt very surface level.

The idea of saints and religion re very vague. Some things were confusing and just when I thought I'd have an explanation, the dialogue cut off. I don't know what I was missing, but the idea that Damian worshiped the saints whereas Roz had all but discarded them entirely could have brought on some serious arcs for both characters, especially Damian. The whole thing felt incomplete.

I liked the ending, but the twist wasn't shocking. I think I was expecting something more explosive. All in all, the story and the pacing were too slow to keep my interest (this took me far too long to read and most nights I didn't pick it up at all. I don't know i I'll pick up the second, but the potential is there and my curiosity may win.

This was a really enjoyable dark fantasy murder mystery. I loved Roz and Damian's relationship and dynamic, and the magic system and religion were really interesting as well. It reminded me a little bit of Wicked Saints. I do think I would have enjoyed a bit more information about the disciples of other saints, not just the ones that were most relevant to the story. I didn't expect any of the twists at the end, either. I liked this book, but I hope that the sequel includes a little more world-building outside of Ombrazia.

The lush, descriptive writing took me right into the world and didn't let me leave. I'm not usually the biggest fan of multiple POVs, but M.K. Lobb handled each perspective with such care that each transition into someone's head was seamless and smooth. I loved how Damian and Roz's character growth was developed, both apart and together. Damian begins to see the flaws in the system he has so wholeheartedly supported throughout the novel, while Roz fits together the parts of herself she viewed as disharmonious into the larger picture of who she is. The pacing was excellent, the mystery kept me on my toes, and I was rooting so hard for Damian and Roz from the very first reunion.

I'm giving this a neutral rating right now because I'm honestly not sure what my actual rating for this is just yet.

I really liked the first chapter of this book, but after that I struggled to stay interested in it. It's very obvious that M.K. Lobb is a good author, I just really think this book wasn't for me. Honestly, some of the writing just felt stiff to me. I <i>wanted</i> to like Roz and Damian, but everything about their characters are so serious, I just didn't have fun reading this.

And again, I'm not trying to knock the author when I say any of this. I think a lot of other people will enjoy this book, it just wasn't doing anything for me.

In terms of the ending, I thought I knew what was happening early on (and I was slightly correct!) Overall, I would recommend this to others wanting to read some dark fantasy, and I could see myself trying to read it again further down the line to see if my opinions have changed. Right now, I don't see myself picking up the sequel, though.