This gorgeous dark fantasy debut perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s ‘Grishaverse’ and Emily A Duncan’s ‘Something Dark and Holy’ is ultimately a study in how we choose to navigate grief and trauma, and how those choices affect our relationships with those we love.

You’ve got religious zealotry controlling the government, magical classism, and a murder mystery— all wrapped up in renaissance Italy/Vatican vibes. The in-world history is just well developed enough that we have an idea of what’s going on, but there are no lengthy exposition dumps (for better or worse, depending on your lore preferences) to drive up the word count and slow the pace. The city of Ombrazia and the culture of the seven Saints creates an atmosphere reminiscent of political oppression and impicit religious trauma. While the ongoing war, power structures, and threat of rebellion really only serve as backdrop for the murder mystery and romance, it all provides sufficient context for Roz’s and Damian’s motivations and differences of opinions.

The mystery itself progresses in a fun, crime drama episode type format, with a couple of twists and periodic interludes into the killer’s POV. If you thrive on solving the crime before the protagonists, you’ll have little trouble with this one, but that doesn’t detract from the pacing or satisfaction of the big reveal. You may even find and aspect or two of the reveal to be genuinely surprising.

As for Roz and Damian, both have solid narrative voices and are easy to differentiate. Both feel well developed and grow organically, and Lobb provides in them an inversion of a common romantic dynamic where this time the FMC is the jaded one who imagines she will never be good enough for her LI, and the MMC is soft and traumatised. The emotionally fraught childhood friends to teenage sweethearts to resentment to reluctant attraction to lovers provides great character tension outside of their own personal struggles. The only aspect truly lacking in development is in the secondary characters, and honestly with two POV characters who are so wrapped up in their own pain and feelings for each other, that feels very natural.

With a strong conclusion and solid foundation laid for the sequel, you won’t be throwing this one across the room from a cliffhanger ending, but you will be eager to see what comes next without feeling heated or incomplete.

A good read -- I thought the characters were well-developed and I really enjoyed their dynamic/chemistry. Loved the murder mystery theme in a fantasy book!

3.75 stars

CWs: death, blood, mentions of suicide, war, grief, ptsd

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I thought the world was really interesting, and I really liked the concept of the seven saints and the disciples who have magic. I thought the political aspect of the story was well done, and the war aspect played into it really well. It also contributed to Damian’s character development really well, and I liked that.
I wasn’t a huge fan of either Damian or Roz, and I found that at times I was just annoyed with the characters. I did like their individualizations, and I thought both characters were really well developed. I did root for the characters at times, but I also struggled to really develop feelings about them. I wish that there had been more about Roz as a disciple because I wanted to see more of her in that world. Even though she didn’t like it, I thought it was going to be a bigger part of the story.
I struggled with reading this one a lot, and I’m not sure how much of it was my mood and not wanting to read in general, and how much was that the story wasn’t working for me in a few ways. I felt at times that there was so much going on that it was hard to become invested in the plot. I also found it quite slow at times. There’s the murder and the mystery-solving part of the plot, but there’s also the rebellion, and the romance and history between Damian and Roz. It was just a lot at times, and I felt like the murder plot often took a backseat to the relationship plot. I did find that the pacing picked up around the halfway mark, but then it felt like it dragged again around 75% and the ending was a bit rushed in the climax and then drawn out with the aftermath. I did like the writing style, and I felt like i was really drawn into the world. I just struggled to stay focused on the different parts of the story.
I think that this one will really appeal to a lot of readers, and I’m definitely intrigued by the ending and would probably pick up the sequel.

This book robbed me of my senses in the best way. Lobb pulled me into the current of a new world and I was happily swept along with fascinating characters an incredible magic system and a murder mystery my little heart went wild for. Highly recommend.

Thank you to TBR & Beyond Tours and Little Brown Young Readers for an eARC and finished hardcover in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

This book was so imaginative and I really enjoyed it.

Seven Faceless Saints follows the story of childhood sweethearts turned enemies: Damien and Rossana. Damien, a former soldier with PTSD, is now chief security officer for the city of Ombrazian. When citizens keep showing up murdered, he’s tasked with finding out who killed them.

Roz has changed since she and her mother were sent the severed head of her father. Now Roz is juggling taking care of her mother, being an active part of the rebellion and a disciple to the Saint of Patience. When she sees Damien, she strikes a bargain with him to help him solve the murders which includes one of her friends.

I really enjoyed our two main characters. They were equally relatable and compelling. Though I’ll say I always looked forward to Roz a little more bc she is a stabby bisexual 🥰. The pining between these two was so well done. I shipped them so hard 🥺.

I really enjoyed the world of Ombrazian. I definitely want to know more about the various saints and the training disciples go through and how their powers work. I cannot wait to see what will happen next!

I cannot adequately express how glad I am that this book lived up to my expectations for it--it was one of my most-anticipated reads of this year, and it was just what I hoped for. There was a murder mystery. There were fantasy politics and corrupt religion. There was an enemies-to-lovers arc. There were also things I didn't expect but was really happy to see--demisexual rep, mental health conversations, and a Soft Boy/Angry Girl pairing to die for.

As a preliminary note, if this is any endorsement, many parts of this book/its vibes reminded me of The Helm of Midnight by Marina Lostetter, another book that I absolutely loved. Both books contained a mix of fantasy and murder mystery, featuring protagonists dealing with serious past trauma, set in a world with many saints, one of whom has allegedly disappeared but might be resurfacing. This book is less complex (only one magic system instead of multiple, slightly faster pace, fewer fight scenes) and has more romance, but really does feel like a YA counterpart for that story.

Now, on to the actual review!

What's not to like about this book? It's dark, it's bloody, it has a twisty investigation with a satisfying villain reveal, and it takes the time to develop its protagonists thoroughly. Indeed, Damian and Roz are effectively two sides of the same coin: both were faced with extremely traumatic experiences, but they've responded in opposite ways. Damian feels too much and finds himself constantly pulled back into the past and his guilt; Roz pointedly ignores her feelings and channels everything into rage and a need to commit change. They both struggle to be vulnerable with each other, clinging to their secrets like fragile lifelines in their politically tumultuous world. The result is some very serious angst and mutual pining, the sort that had my chest constricting a little as they made certain declarations. (This is a compliment.)

The flipside of all of that is my two tiny complaints. First, all of that angst sometimes comes at a price: in a few scenes, characters went on what I can best describe as monologues. Though those extended declarations are certainly dramatic and written well, they also felt a little out of place or inorganic when placed next to the rest of the story; it might have been better to make these a bit more conversational and less dramatic. And second, for all that Roz and Damian are developed incredibly well, the side characters suffer somewhat in the same regard. Though we see some striking loyalty from Damian's friends, and we see Roz's deep care for her fellow rebels, those friends and fellows come across as a bit more two-dimensional. I'm hoping that at least some of that will be resolved in the sequel.

Speaking of the sequel--that ending was excellent. This is a perfect example of how to write a proper cliffhanger: the story arc from this book completes, there's a period to calm down and let the ending settle, and then the final pages reveal a complicating factor that opens the door for a sequel. I will say, interestingly enough, that the cliffhanger twist was the only part of the end that I predicted correctly. And now, I am absolutely dying to see where the sequel goes; I already have some theories as to what might happen next.

Finally, my obligatory note on the ace rep--Damian is canonically demisexual, something which he describes plainly to a friend in one scene (though, as this is a fantasy world, the term "demisexual" is not used). It isn't treated as if it's related to his past trauma, but rather just considered a regular part of who he is. It isn't touched on much outside of that scene, so it might be easy to miss if you aren't looking for it (or extra-sensitive to things like this), but I think it is a nice qualifier to the relative intensity of his relationship with Roz. It's easy to forget that folks on the ace spectrum can (a) experience romantic feelings, (b) experience some sexual attraction in specific circumstances, and (c) actually have and enjoy sex, and this book debunks all of those common misconceptions. (Related side note: there is one steamy scene--not graphic in detail, but also not closed-door.)

To sum up: satisfying mystery, plenty of romance but never overrides the plot, strongly developed main characters, and only a few tiny sticking points that prevented this from being a five-star read. If you like your YA on the darker side, this is a great choice.

You know what? This wasn't bad at all. Knocking a star because it was wholly unoriginal, BUT it was extremely enjoyable, and the writing was very fast-paced. Will definitely be picking up book 2.

“How strange it was, to be alive. To feel at once important and so incredibly insignificant.”
— M. K. Lobb
•••••••••••••••••••••••

Born without the blessings of any of the seven saints of Ombrazia, Damian Venturi feels like his life is meaningless. He served in the war for his city, but couldn’t handle that either, so now he works as the head of security at the Palazzo, protecting the disciples even though he will never be one of them.

Rossana Lacertosa is a disciple of saint Patience but she hates it. Her father was brutally murdered after he refused to fight in the war, for which she—rightfully—blames the saints and their descendant disciples, so she joins the rebels with the hopes of getting justice for the unfavored. No one cares about the unfavored of Ombrazia, the magic-less citizens who are not descended from the seven original saints, and Roz seems to be the only person with powers who sees their misery and mistreatment.

When two accursed citizens are found dead, Roz becomes determined to find the person who did it. Then a disciple is murdered and Damian is tasked to catch the killer. Once upon a time, Damian and Roz used to be best friends; maybe even a little more. Will their search for the killer finally bring them back together or will their differences drive them further apart?

A captivating, action-packed series-starter, SEVEN FACELESS SAINTS by M. K. Lobb is a fantasy thriller full of twists and turns, magic and murder. Well-crafted with engaging characters and astute world-building, this is a debut not to be missed! I loved the magic system and can’t wait for the book two!

Thank you, NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

In the city of Ombrazia, there are saints and their disciples, ruling with terror and unjustice, while others struggle to survive. When the Ombrazian military kills her father, Rossana is determined to do whatever is in her power to bring this system down. Like tapping in her powers as disciple of Patience, joining the rebellion, facing the boy who hurt her. Damian is the youngest captain of the Palazzo security. He should serve the saints, be devoted and strong, ruthless and without compromise, but after years, now he's tired and with scars, ready to confront the girl he left behind. With a murderer on the loose, the military happy to overlook it, Damian and Rossana have to join forces after a disciple becomes the newest victim. Facing their buried emotions, each other's feelings and struggles, they have to dig deeper in Ombrazia's underbelly and discover sinister plots. Will they be ready to face the evil threatening the city or everything will be lost?

Seven faceless saints is a brilliant dark fantasy written by M.K. Lobb and I truly loved everything. The setting is fascinating, engaging and so so involving and I was so involved in the story. Not only for the saints, the ruthless and unfair system, but also for this characterization and how Rossana and Damian are brilliant and different and forced to join forces, even though their difficult and hurtful past.
The story is really captivating, I loved the murder mystery, their investigation and how they slowly discover things about the city, saints and also themselves.
I absolutely recommend this story, with twists and moments, moving, brilliant and so thrilling. So so recommended.

This was a bit of a miss for me. I wanted to love it, but I just couldn’t get into the mystery and didn’t find myself caring about the characters. However, I did appreciate that the central plot revolved around a murder mystery and not your typical fantasy plot.

The writing style felt a little flat and straight forward, which might have contributed to the lack of connection I felt with the characters. The magic system was fine. Overall, it felt very middle of the road YA fantasy, but I’ll still be checking out future works by the author and this series .

Thank you to NetGalley, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and M.K. Lobb for an e-arc of Seven Faceless Saints in exchange for an honest review.

Seven Faceless Saints is a light fantasy enemies to lovers murder mystery… literally what’s not to love!! And by enemies to lovers I mean childhood friends to potential lovers to a couple split up by Damian going to WAR and then becoming enemies because Damian’s dad had Roz’s dad MURDERED while they were at war it’s a lot to take in

And now murders are happening around their city, and they’re happening to regular townspeople and not mattering, but of course when someone who lives in the palace is murdered everyone freaks out so Damian is investigating that, and Roz wants to solve the “normal people” murders, and they realize it makes sense to work together and maybe they also realize they actually still love each other

We have bi and demisexual rep, PTSD exploration, female rage, and just the sweetest instance of two people getting to know each other again and a juicy mystery to boot

This was an enjoyable read with very interesting and unique worldbuilding. Having gone to Catholic School my entire life I loved seeing the rather blind faith in a fantasy setting. I also loved how angry Roz was. It's rare to have a truly unlikeable female character like her in YA and Lobb's portrayal of her unapologetic rage was much appreciated. Overall, I am looking forward to the sequel and reading the conclusion of this story.

My first read this year was Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb- it’s an ARC I had for a while and was super excited to get to!

If you’re a fan of magical murder mysteries and powerful female characters, I can highly recommend. Especially if you love angsty romances as well! If you’re looking for some new YA fantasy for your TBR, add it on for the release in February!

An upper YA debut that sets up an intriguing murder-mystery in a deeply unjust society with a setting superficially based on historical Italy. The story tries to question faith, religion and juxtapose this against the greed and violence of practitioners but gets a little lost along the way, weighed down by childhood friends to lovers to a one-sidedly acrimonious relationship to second chance romance between the two leads that was given equal weight as the fragmenting of an empire.

Did not live up to my expectations and I’m very sad about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review .

i cant 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 isnt 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 couldnt 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.

thank you, little brown books, for the ARC!

The first thing about M.K. Lobb’s debut novel Seven Faceless Saints that caught my attention was the cover. The young adult dark fantasy that lies within the boundaries of the cover is evocative and imaginative, and the murder mystery that the main characters find themselves at the center of is juicy. If you love Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper books or Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books, then this would be an excellent choice for you.

“That was what it meant to have power, wasn’t it? You could simply destroy that which didn’t serve you.”

The worldbuilding is dynamic. I loved how the author took a classic idea of a system where religion is the dominant power in a given civilization, and developed the idea of the seven faceless saints. The Saints exist at the center of the religious power base, so those not blessed by the Saints (“The Unfavored”) are regularly forced to fight in a war they have no part in. The attempt to remove Chaos from the history books is a tactic that shows up commonly in this type of a story, and usually sets the stage for a later conflict. However, despite this being a common archetype it still felt unique in the context of the story.

“Everything that reminded me of home - everything that reminded me of happiness - centered around you.”

Roz and Damian are at the center of the story, and there are a lot of unresolved feelings there. It was an interesting dynamic, to have Roz be the grumpy stabby character and Damian be the soft tender hearted figure. The contrast also extends to Damian being such a fervent supporter of the Saints while lacking any ‘blessings’ or powers, and Roz being the exact opposite. Communication is essential for any relationship to function, and there are a bucket load of miscommunications between those two over the course of the story (and even before the story begins, with them being childhood friends to enemies to lovers).

Overall, this was an excellent read and I’m excited for the sequel Disciples of Chaos. I did predict the ‘what’ of the ending, but I was pleasantly surprised by the ‘who’. The big reveals were well earned, and I really enjoyed how the story flowed. Narrators Barrie Kreinik, Sean Patrick Hopkins, and Saskia Maarleveld did an excellent job bringing the story to life with their performances in the audiobook version of the novel. I hope they bring them back for the next book.

Thank you to the author, the publisher Little Brown Books for Young Readers, NetGalley and the team at TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book as part of my participation in the tour. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review Seven Faceless Saints immensely. Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.

Sadly this just never took off for me. The story felt fairly similar to many YA fantasies lately, especially with the death magic. While that in and of itself is probably okay, the characters didn’t help in setting this apart either. I didn’t feel like either Damien or Roz were well developed, often just feeling like copies of your typical YA leads.

The romance element felt uneven and not very captivating and the entire premise for the two former friends reuniting felt really weak in terms of why the murder mystery even matters to either of them. It feels like the stakes SHOULD have been high, but just never felt that way, either to the reader or the leads.

I struggled with this one. It has a gorgeous cover but these characters were so clearly adults that the author aged down to teen because adult SFF is harder to break into. The writing was very wordy and I had trouble connecting to the plot or characters. It also was giving Serpent and Dove vibes to me.

I always love a good murder mystery. I’d never make a good detective, but I just love sifting through the clues and piecing together the mystery as the story unfolds. I rarely guess the ending correctly but books like this one pull me in immediately and keep me entertained. Throw in some fantasy and a bit of romance and you have the recipe for what I think is a great YA debut.

A murderer is stalking the streets of Ombrazia. In the midst of war and rebellion, the city is ruled by factions of religious saints and their disciples. Citizens with inherited magic are called disciples and control the wealth and economy while those born without magic are the unfavored, relegated to the fringes of society and struggling to survive.

Damian is a former soldier of the Ombrazia military turned captain of the Palazzo security, dealing with post-war PTSD as he investigates a murderer threatening both the city and his position. His actions are very calculated but he spends too much time worrying over his past and present.

Both had honed their misery into something vicious. She only had to remind him that vengeance was sweeter than spirits.

Rossana, on the other hand, is angry. Born with late blooming magic, she is a disciple in the Patience guild but disgusted with the circumstances of her privileged position and yearning for change. The loss of her father has torn apart her family, and she wants nothing more than to seek vengeance against those that killed her father and the institution supporting it.

Damian wasn’t the only one who wanted justice. Roz wanted it too, and she wanted it more. For Amelie. For Dev. For everyone deemed unimportant in this city. She wanted the justice her father had deserved.

If you’re looking for something fast paced, this book isn’t it. It takes nearly 100 pages for Damian and Roz to even see each other again after so many years apart, but I enjoyed the slow pacing. We jump back and forth between Roz and Damian’s perspectives but these early chapters really take the time to introduce the characters. By the time the two finally join forces on the investigation we know exactly who they are and the circumstances surrounding the tension of that first meeting.

By this point the book starts to pick up and the mystery itself really pulled me in. We learn bits and pieces of the religious lore as the investigation begins in earnest and I’d love to have seen even more of it. I know this is just the first book in a series though so I hoping it gets explored in more depth in the sequel. I was surprised to find that I did manage to guess the killer in the end, but I enjoyed trying and I overall I think the mystery aspect of the story was well written.

While I normally love romance, Roz and Damian’s relationship turned out to be my least favorite part of the book. I love a good enemies to lovers trope but Roz’s personality was a little too strong for my taste. She’s a character ruled by her emotions, and in this case it just happened to be primarily anger. Damian certainly wasn’t perfect but his character appealed to me more and I enjoyed reading from his perspective more than Roz’s. While I didn’t love the romance it also didn’t detract too much from the story and I still really enjoyed the book. The book left off in a good spot and I’m looking forward to seeing where the sequel takes us.

Book Review

Title: Seven Faceless Saints (Seven Faceless Saints Book 1) by M. K. Lobb

Genre: Dark, Fantasy, Young Adult

Rating: 3.75 Stars

When I requested to join the blog tour for this book I didn’t know anything about but the stunning cover really drew me in. After reading the synopsis it gave me vibes similar to Nevernight and Stalking Jack the Ripper and I couldn’t wait to get into it. The opening to Seven Faceless Saints was interesting as it seems to combine classic high fantasy with a murder mystery element. While the religion and political aspects don’t make much sense right now that will come later, right now what I know if that the world is divided into disciples and non-disciples. The disciples are those born with the gift of the saints and they are treated as more important than the regular people. Damian is a regular tasked with investigating the murder of a disciple but he has no idea how it happened. We also learn that the country is involved in its second war which Damian was a part of but he is suffering from PTSD. He also had a relationship with Roz but after she presented as a disciple and Damian was shipped off as a soldier they haven’t spoken at all.

Seven Faceless Saints was giving me Nevernight vibes and despite the issues I have with that series I really liked the comparison especially in how Lobb and Kristoff’s worlds are based on real world places and are completely vivid in their descriptions. The saints and disciples issue was also becoming clearer for me as I understand it the disciples are those born with a percentage of their ancestor’s power and their abilities are the backbone of the economy of Ombrazia so they are favoured while the non-gifted like Damian are used a fodder in the war against the heretics, those who following the fallen Seventh Saint, Chaos. Roz was a really interesting character to follow as she is a disciple but presented late and she isn’t happy with her role as she carries around a lot of anger. However, due to their past relationship and the current murder Damian is investigating the pair are thrown together all over again and I couldn’t wait to see how it played it.

Roz and Damian are attempting to work together in order to solve the murder of the disciple but their relationship is emotional whiplash to get through as they bounce back and forth between detachment and lust for each other similar to Ash and Mia’s relationship in Godsgrave. The way Lobb handled dialogue and tone is emotionally scenes was something that took getting used to as it isn’t a style I have experience with but when you finally settle into the switching between POV’s and emotions you see the contrasts between the characters and it really pushed the character development to another level for me as you get to know these characters on a very personally level and from the detached perspectives of other characters as well. Essentially you get to see how they view themselves and how other people see them and the crossover of these two ideas which was an amazing move from the author.

I was loving Roz as a character because she had the hardness and determination that I loved in Mia Covere but unlike with Mia we are meant to side with Roz although there are times where the author makes us question this decision because all these characters harbours regrets, anger and the desire for revenge although it presents in different way. Damian was a nice counter to Roz as he sees himself as a failure and many others do as well because of his lack of abilities and because he suffers PTSD from his time in the war. It was nice to see the strong female with the more emotionally fragile male character than the other way around but Damian was a little frustrating at times as you wanted him to stand up for himself or others and he repeatedly backed down so it was nice to see Roz step into this role as she holds more weight in this society anyway.

One issues I did have with the book was the religious commentary which I felt was a little over the top but I understand the direction Lobb is looking to take the series later on so I pushed through those moments. Obviously as this is the beginning of a series, the action mainly centres around the murder mystery element but I can see Lobb setting up a fall from faith arc for Damian and maybe a finding faith arc for Roz which would parallel and support each other perfectly. I did also want more from the saints and how their powers came to passed on and things like that were kind of glossed over in this book. Nevernight did the same thing in the first book but there was a lot more world development in the second book especially around the religious and political systems and I hope Lobb follows Kristoff example in that aspect of their writing. Overall, Seven Faceless Saints was a decent start to the series and I am looking forward to seeing what Lobb does with the series and how they make this series stand out from the multitude of other high fantasy books.