So i haven't read a dark academia type book before, and unfortunately this book was my first and made me realize that it isnt really my vibe. i found it intriguing and interesting, but it didn't hit me as something that i enjoyed. it took me some time to get into this book and have it hold my attention but as the world building developed and starting making sense, it got better. I am giving this 3 stars because the story does have potential and the characters are likeable. it just overall, was not my favorite. so nothing against the author or writing here.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Seven Faceless Saints is the first chaotic book within the series. From the very first chapter, I was completely hooked and just wanted to know more. Whether it was about the characters, the worldbuilding, or just the overall mystery - I just wanted more.

The only downside of that is actually always wanting more and never being satisfied. Mostly when it comes to the saints because they all seem so freaking interesting. I'm definitely hoping we learn more about them, or maybe even one more, in the next book.

Other than that, I loved the murder mystery, sassy comments, and the entire cast of characters. Yes, even the evil ones because we always need a good villain every now and then. As for who the murderer was, well, that was pretty easy to spot on before the big reveal. I still have no complaints about that because I just really enjoyed this book. So much that I have the physical copy and audiobook as well.

In the end, I definitely need my hands on the next book because I just want to know what is going to happen next.

Really enjoyed this debut, will absolutely be continuing with the series. Excited to see what M.K. Lobb does next!

This book was a fair effort for a debut. I think what tripped me up if the excessively ornate language that seemed to filter out meaningful character dynamics and plot. Looking forward to the sequel nonetheless.

Dark, twisty, and rife with romantic tension, Seven Faceless Saints is a compelling murder mystery that ends on an agonizing cliffhanger. Can't wait for Disciples of Chaos!!

Where to begin with this book? To start, I loved the writing! M.K. Lobb's writing style gave Seven Faceless Saints a dark and gothic atmosphere that perfectly matched the plot. The descriptions of the setting brought me straight into the world of Ombrazia. I could clearly imagine every character and scene which made the book so bingeable! The pacing was also very well executed with a balance between plenty of exciting action scenes and slower character building scenes. The plot was full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat, I just had to know what would happen next! I've saved a lot of quotes from this book because of how beautiful they were or how much they spoke to me.

The characters! Every character including the side characters felt very realistic. If you're a fan of morally grey characters, this is definitely a book for you! I loved both Roz and Damian so much! I especially enjoyed seeing them grow individually as people but also how they encouraged each other to be the best version of themselves. I loved how strong Roz was and her determination to achieve her goals. Damian is so sweet! I really enjoyed watching him become more confident in himself and The romance was also so well done, especially the pacing, I was rooting for them from the very beginning.

While it takes place in a magical world, a great mystery element also gave Seven Faceless Saints even more depth. I was constantly looking for hints and clues as to who committed these murders and how. Speaking of magic, the magic system was really intriguing. I loved learning about each of the saints and the powers their descendants had. The in-depth world-building created a rich history for this world and made it feel as though it was a real place. With that ending, I am dying to read the next book! I can't wait to continue the series!

Filled with magic, mystery, and romance, in a beautifully gothic setting, Seven Faceless Saints is a must-read for fans of morally grey characters and exciting plot twists.

3.75 stars
That opening chapter was outstanding!
I literally have to mention it because this set such a cool tone & introduction to the story that it needs applause.

I loved seeing a bisexual female lead that was unashamed of her attraction & devotion to both men & women, and I loved how it didn't shame or overly sexualize her for her physical past with her female ex.

We get an intense portrayal of prejudice and turmoil from both disciples & non-disciples.
Funny enough, my mind thought of Shadow & Bones and how the roles are reversed for the disciples & non-disciples; in Shadow & Bone, the ones with power are fighting & in the army for wars. In this book, 'Seven Faceless Saints, ' regular folks fight in wars to spare those with powers.

The downside was felt a little back and forth with their relationship and forgiven too fast. I was FOR them not getting any forgiveness in this book and just becoming enemies. I see a lot of potential for that still & the plot, especially with a good ending like that.

Oh, I see how it is. I'm just supposed to finish reading this and be okay. Wow, alright, well joke's on you because I am NOT okay and y'all need this book on your TBR. So much dark goodness with a murder mystery, magical saints, a touch of rebellion, and a romance to die for.

Second Read: It's changed quite a bit since the first time I read an early draft yet it somehow got that much better and it can actually have 6 stars instead.

There were some interesting elements in the Italy-inspired setting, but ultimately the execution fell mostly flat in that it sparked little emotion, both positive or negative. Roz had some potential as a flawed/unlikeable heroine that could've been developed further, but the romance arc felt jagged and unconvincing. The murder mystery plot was all right, but again the payoff didn't inspire much shock or surprise. Overall, not a terrible read, but also not one that'll stick in my mind.

This was a solid debut! I was very pleasantly surprised that this book that has a lot of familiar elements that felt fresh in a unique setting. This wasn't an earth-shattering entry into the YA Fantasy genre, but it was entertaining and fast paced with the perfect amount of darkness and magic. HUGE kudos the the design team, the cover is chef's kiss.

Thank you so much for the review copy!

The first 75% of this book I kept going back and forth on whether I was enjoying this book. I found myself having to force myself to pick it back up even though I genuinely wanted to see where the story was going. For a long time it felt like it wasn’t really going anywhere. I also felt like the Saints and magic system wasn’t really explained and I’d love to have more info on that. I loved Roz as a character. She’s badass, strong, independent. Damian was the sad boy who was easy to love as well. I ended up deciding on 3 stars for this because while I did end up enjoying it in the end, I had to work to get there. I’m not sure I’ll remember much about it a month from now.

What I loved:
Extremely immersive worldbuilding and dynamic characters.
Fantastic political intrigue
Secret sects and fast pacing

I had been looking forward to this book for over a year and it absolutely did not disappoint.

I spent the last couple of days devouring the M. K. Lobb’s debut novel, Seven Faceless Saints, which is the first book in a new series! Today is my stop on TBR & Beyond Tours’ Bookstagram release celebration tour for Seven Faceless Saints by M. K. Lobb! Today I’ll be sharing my review here on Instagram and some of my favorite quotes from the book over on my blog!

One of my favorite genre combos around is fantasy and mystery! Combining the mystical worldbuilding of fantasy and the high stakes investigations of mysteries is the perfect book recipe for me. Seven Faceless Saints blended these two genres masterfully, creating a supremely engaging novel that I couldn’t put down! I especially loved the use of multiple character perspectives that M. K. Lobb brought into the story. These were the perfect way to establish the characters and the world they live in, while simultaneously upping the stakes on the mystery plot!

My Recommendation-
If you love fantasy novels with an element of mystery to them, you need to get a copy of Seven Faceless Saints! I would especially recommend this to fans of League of Liars or In the Ravenous Dark!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of “Seven Faceless Saints” by MK Lobb. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book felt a bit like YA soup where the author was just throwing in tropes and YA buzzwords at the expense of telling an actual story. It somehow felt both dated and like a book only meant to be hyped on social media. There’s a boring murder mystery. There’s a bunch of characters and world building and magical factions thrown at you right at the beginning and it’s hard to tell what’s important. There’s some kind of war, there’s rebellion against the war, there’s unlikeable characters in an equally unlikeable romance. YA soup.

The main couple wasn’t fun to follow. I liked the male protagonist a little more but I thought the author was building an interesting twist for him that didn’t end up happening. The female main character was awful. I’m not against unlikeable characters but readers have to be able to care about them and I just did not enjoy being in her POVs. The male main character was so smitten for her since childhood but we’re never shown why just told over and over and over how he’s so attracted to her and she’s so amazing. Why is she sooooo amazing? I read this whole book and I have no idea.

Very early on in the book, the male main character says he’s going to stop dwelling in the past. Which was a huge lie as both he and the female main character spend much of the page count spinning in mental circles about the past. It grew very tedious and repetitive.

There was a point at the end where I thought the author made a bold choice and killed off the female main character but it turned out to be just an illusion. I might have picked up the second book if it hadn’t been an illusion or if the male main character had been revealed to be the chaos saint or whatever. Neither of these things happened so I will not be continuing.

3/5 stars

Seven Faceless Saints is such a beautifully written dark fantasy thriller. The world-building is outstanding. The story is well written with an enchanting storyline and well-developed characters that engage from start to finish. The world is atmospheric and feels real with vivid descriptions and rich imagery. I cannot get enough. Highly recommended. Be sure to check out Seven Faceless Saints today.

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

My Review:

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review and place on this blog tour – thanks!

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I am always a bit hesitant diving into a new YA fantasy series, as I find that sometimes there is a lack of world building in favour of characters, but Seven Faceless Saints does an excellent job at balancing between character building and world development. I instantly fell into the writing of this book, and had a hard time putting it down until I was finished.

Ombrazia is a city state that seems to be heavily influenced by Italian/Roman references. I quite enjoyed the way that the state itself was built up in this book, and I look forward to the next book’s building up of the other/rival state as I think that is one piece of the story I felt was missing here. The magic was built into the story seamlessly, in a way that did not feel like an info dump which I have been getting used to in fantasies recently.

Damian and Roz are both very complicated characters, and at times it did become a bit overwhelming. They have a very complicated, imo toxic, relationship with one another. I hope that there will be more development between them in the next book, otherwise I think the skip over the lovers to enemies to lovers(??) again might have been too soon. All I am asking for is a true slow burn!! Will I ever find it again???? Stay tuned.

At the heart of this books is the murders, and Damian and Roz’s attempts to solve them. I do have to say, Damian does not make a very good detective. There were a lot of red flags I saw and wanted to shake some sense into him to see them too. His worldview is cracking, especially with the ending of the book, and I hope in the next book we will get to see more development. That being said, the mystery was really well written and although I had my suspicions, they came together in a way I hadn’t entirely been expecting.

All in all, Seven Faceless Saints was an impressive debut! I really enjoyed this story and Lobb’s writing, and I imagine I will be continuing this series when the next book comes out.

Seven Faceless Saints released February 7th, 2023

I’d love to interview M.K. for my podcast, Raise Your Words. Seven Faceless Saints is such a good sci fi book!!

Damien and Roz's romance is my favorite part of this book. I enjoyed the story and the premise around saints and religion, but I tend to read fantasy more for the pining these days. This one delivered, with two characters who definitely did not like one another at first. The tension and forced collaboration was excellent.

A debut with a fascinating world and enough religious allusions to personally interest me, SEVEN FACELESS SAINTS creates a fascinating world, with characters that are unfortunately a little bit harder to connect to. While I wasn’t completely disconnected while reading it, they didn’t stay on my mind when I wasn’t actively reading, and if I wasn’t intrigued by the mystery elements and plot, I likely wouldn’t pick up the next book. However, if you’re more interested in the mystery or worldbuilding elements (or the comps like Kerri Maniscalco), I would recommend checking this out!

SFS creates a world of saints, disciples, and murderers. The entire world concept was probably the most interesting to me, and seems like it’ll be further explored in the sequel (which I think will be a definite plus). Some of the basic elements of how it’s all set up weren’t particularly unique, but the overall lore of the saints, while not explored as much as I would have liked, kept me reading.

As far as characters went, I think they were sufficiently unique and somewhat interesting, I just didn’t particularly find myself caring. The relationship between Roz and Damian never particularly drew me in or felt like it had sufficient chemistry. The personal stakes never felt truly risky, and I wish as a whole everything in this category had gotten more developed. Despite a few standout moments, as a whole I was just underwhelmed.

Finally, the plot is kind of the in between element for me. I found the mystery decently interesting and as your resident oblivious mystery solver, I was fairly stumped (although I wish I’d cared more about that or the reveal). As a whole, the plot was decently easy to follow and interesting. I just needed to feel more personally connected for it to really hit. Ultimately, I think it serves as a pretty good setup for a sequel, so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed to see what M.K. Lobb delivers there!

This is such a rich, wonderful debut YA fantasy! I very quickly got sucked into this story, and I loved the characters so much. They're messy and imperfect, and I think that's what made them so compelling and relatable. There were moments I didn't see coming, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book and how this world expands, and where Roz and Damian go from here!