Seven Faceless Saints is a murder mystery which a gothic-esque setting and had me feeling goosebumps. For a debut novel, this novel has an amazing and fleshed-out religious system that involves seven different saints.
The setting had me thinking of a darker version of Vatican City. The two main characters are both fleshed out and have unique backgrounds that add to the story. The dark magic lurking in the system and causing more chaos in the already corrupt system adds flares that I know I will see in the sequel.

Extremely grateful to have received an arc of this book. I had this book on my tbr the moment I found out about the book deal on Twitter. I’m so grateful to have an arc of this one-of-a-kind novel. I look forward to seeing the release in February and then start begging for the sequel.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for this eARC, these opinions are my own. M. K. Lobb takes the reader for a ride with this one! In Roz’s country those descended from one of the seven saints, along with having magic, have all the power. Years ago one saints, Chaos, disciples had to much power so the others wiped them out. Now the unfavored, those not descended from a saint, are poor, hungry, and seen as expendable. Forced to fight in a never ending war. Rox, though a disciple of Patience, will not rest until the unfavored are treated equally. But when unfavored and disciples start turning up dead she will have to work with the last person she wants to. Damian also had a stint in the war and is traumatized by it. Now in a cushy job as head of secretary for the government he has been tasked with finding the killer, even if that means working with the girl who he loves and has reason to hate him. Will the two find who did it? Or are they just stumbling on a more sinister plot? Can they trust each other? I think one of my favorite things in the book was the continuous betrayal! Normally I often think it’s too much but there is something about the way Rox and Damian betray each other that was enjoyable to read! The mystery was intriguing and kept me hooked! It does start off a little slow but it doesn’t take long for it to hit its stride and then I couldn’t stop reading! If you like fantasy’s with murder and mystery you’ll love this book! Can’t wait to read it again when it comes out!

I went into Seven Faceless Saints pretty much blind, but really wanting to like it, unfortunately it just didn't quite work for me. First up, I love an unlikable female lead, we absolutely need more of them, but there also has to be a counterbalance to that lead. Instead, Roz is constantly raging and acting impulsively and being encouraged and vindicated for her actions constantly. She routinely talks about how the system doesn't work and how it only causes pain for the "unfavorables" which is probably true (honestly, the book has a whole lot of tell instead of show) but Roz comes from a place of privilege. She has power while others do not, which elevates her in society and while she experienced a trauma three years ago, that does not make her an authority on how best to change the system. She routinely lectures people who have it much worse off than her including Damien and at no point does anyone really push back on her except Nasim who is forced to apologize to her by the end of things. It was pretty infuriating.

Damien is a good character but also could have used a better balance for himself. From the get go, I was on his side entirely which made it so that Roz always felt like she was pushing someone who was already down. There could've been a bit more nuance for Damien instead of just the great soft boy character who only wants to help. His worries about losing his mind could have been expanded a lot more.

I also just wish there was more showing us how the world worked instead of just experiencing the small subset where Damien and Roz live. I don't know who runs things, I don't know what exactly Damien is meant to be in charge of, I don't know anyone on the other side of the war. Everything felt so narrow that I wanted to understand what Roz was talking about when referencing the hardships people faced but honestly it's never shown.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the ARC. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy Seven Facelss Saints as much as I was hoping to. I couldn't get into the writing style.

Before we get into this review of Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb, let us take a moment to thank netgalley and Little, Brown for the arc. All quotes have been taken from the advanced reader copy, check with the final published copy.

In war-torn Ombrazia, it's a death sentence if you're born without magic. Well, practically speaking. Based off of medieval Italy, the country is carved into guilds and each of the seven crafts has a patron saint. Those descendant from such a saint could be born with some of their ancestor's magic and are called disciples. Disciples' ability to craft is highly valued by the economy, so they are favored by society. Everyone else goes off to die in a war fought over trade routes against heretics who seceded for following the disgraced and fallen seventh saint.

Prickily and determined, Roz is a disciple, though she isn't proud of the role. Righteous in her anger, she does not believe in the saints nor does she the society their worship has constructed. Damian is head of security (a cop), a descendant without a gift, and guilt-ridden after his stint as a soldier at the frontlines. They were in love before he was shipped off, but everything had changed between them by the time he returned. Now, they're just strangers with history and strangers who have to team up together to solve a series of mysterious murders targeting both the unfavored and the disciples.

I want to make it very clear from the beginning that this is a secular review. I'm not religious. I'm not Christian. I was raised Muslim. The most I know about Christianity is the one week of Vacation Bible Study I led when I was in high school because I needed volunteering credit, the Book of Job analysis I had to do in my high school AP Lit class, and just talking to my Christian friends about their faith. So really, I don't have a horse in this race.

First and foremost, I had a little bit of fun with the Italian setting. I make fun of Italians mercilessly (mamma mia), but the Italian words thrown in here and there were fun. Developing a guild system as a political basis was also a good idea, but I wish the execution had been better.

The prose is very passive. It almost comes across as detached, which is a hurdle to overcome when connecting to characters. Many actions are overly wordy and simply described. For example, there are a lot of "the blank was a blank thing" (the glow was a somber thing, the sound was a deafening thing) which is cute once or twice but with the frequency I noticed it only aided in the detached style of writing. Also, it's a personal ick. The only time the writing feels alive and you actually feel connected to the characters is when the main couple is attracted (see: horny) to each other, which means that was the best part of the book, but it also means that literally everything else falls flat.

The main pair's relationship is extremely emotionally jarring to get through. And not in the good way. There are moments where the characters will switch from anger to humor to regret to horniness within one page with practically no sinew connecting the thoughts. Complexity of emotion is expected, but there has to be some continuous layering or transitions between them, or I'm just going to get whiplash. There are chapters of emotional buildup and when the characters finally standoff, there is an uncalled for casual air to the entire conversation. There are chapters ended on extremely emotionally intense dialogue, and when the POV switches into the same scene, the same character will deliver another line of dialogue on the complete opposite side of the emotional spectrum and I don't know how they traversed that entire gap. The emotions of the chapters contrasted, but the author refused to elaborate on how the character could say something so charged before changing her tune, only why she changed her tune.

So, we have a roller coaster of unconnected emotions making it difficult to connect to the characters. Especially Roz. I do enjoy the hardened female character, but she came off as entirely one note to me. Personally, I think it's because the author did not allow her to be wrong about anything. She let her desire for revenge and anger get the better of her from time to time, but it was clear throughout every discussion in the book that we were meant to side with Roz. She had very little to learn or understand about other characters, practically nothing outside of a romantic context. It was a boring viewpoint to be in, and it sapped the intrigue out of what could otherwise be compelling dialogues.

I liked Damian but that's just because the pathetically obsessed man is one of the archetypes I am most fond of. Call it the Raoul de Chagny print. Men who are complete losers >>>. But the way this man was written frustrated me to no end, because MK Lobb could've made his arc great but then just... didn't.

Disinterested prose and disjointed writing aside, the biggest problem with this book is how the author approaches religion. Seven Faceless Saints desperately wanted to be a commentary on religion, or at least religious systems. It wanted to have Damian have a fall from faith arc. But it could do neither of those things, because the book did not care to introspect on what could inspire people to religion or give them comfort. It did not develop a political system built around the ideals of a religion, even though it said it did. And no dialogue on religion was a true dialogue, because it was always, always cut short. Three times the dialogue is interrupted or written off because... the author did not want to write the other side? I'm at a loss.

If Lobb had chosen to take the saints out of the equation entirely, the worldbuilding would be the same. People with more magic are more useful, so they are favored by society. The disgraced society is fighting its war over trade routes. Lobb calls them heretics, but they're not fighting for a holy cause, they're fighting because their kingdom is dying. Why is it called a Second War of Saints? When Roz and Damian initially learn that they do not have powers, their first thought is toward Damian's inevitable enlistment. It's extremely pragmatic, extremely practical, and does not revolve around the ideas of any sort of higher power.

Damian's grappling with his faith is embarrassing to read. One of the first times Roz calls his faith lazy, his internal monologue basically throws in the towel, saying, "He couldn't do this with her. The saints were his understanding of the world, and he wasn't interested in hearing anyone tell him otherwise. It was how he'd been raised." It was such a cartoonish depiction of what an atheist would think a religious person believes, I couldn't believe it. He might have well looked into the camera and said "I'm brainwashed." And as he begins to doubt his faith, he does it on the basis that "not all the stories are true" or "if the saints aren't alive and aren't hearing my prayers then I'll look stupid for believing them". Which... is a choice.

This is all exasperated by the fact that you only ever hear 1.5 religious stories and none of their specific beliefs, so instead of having an actual religion to critique, we're left with the vague shadow of Christianity or Catholicism since that's the clear inspiration (see: Italian Saints). One of the stories shared is this world's version of Genesis. Roz flippantly comments that she does not believe that it is real, that the saints existed but did not carve out the world, and Damian has to antagonize with that possibility. Once again, it is embarrassingly flat. Like a child learning that Santa isn't real. But while adults know that Santa isn't real, they still in believe the spirit of Santa, the joy he inspires, and the importance of keeping that alive. Belief and faith, and all these things are not dipoles, they're a complicated gradient.

While it is certainly true that some Christians believe in Genesis verbatim, many understand that many bible stories exist to be metaphor. If religious stories weren't open to interpretation, then there wouldn't be a billion denominations. The bible has been studied and questioned for thousands of years, with scholars dedicating their lives to questioning what it means. Regularly, Roz comments on how people who are religious simply accept things without question and how much it annoys her. It's incredibly close-minded and ignorant, and I'd almost think that she was set up to be wrong except for the fact that the narrative backs her up. When Damian starts to question his faith (oh no the stories aren't 100% factually correct), it crumbles near instantly.

There are no central religious morals the citizens seem to follow. There are seven guilds, do any of their interpretation of the stories differ? Are there cultural differences between the guilds due to their different beliefs? If there are differences between the guilds, are some looked down upon by others? Do the different saints stress different morals that people who follow them feel compelled to? The unfavored citizens seem not to follow a guild, but do they still worship the saints? These may seem like extraneous questions, but they're questions you need to answer if you want to make a commentary on religion. It's hard to critique how a set of ideals can be corrupted and enforced on people when you don't have a set of ideals. You can't have saints without sinners, and Lobb never bothered to write sin. There's a source of evil, in a classical fantasy sort of way, but there is no belief of mortal sin. And it could've made the book so much better.

Damian is defined by his guilt. There is a lot he regrets. Yet, he never prays for forgiveness. There's a big difference between "if the saints don't exist, I'll have dedicated my life to nothing" and "if the saints don't exist, then who can forgive me for what I've done?". The possible drama. The angst. The yearning. The lack of it drove me insane. It could've been so good.

Instead, we just got empty appeals to his patron saint, asking him for guidance and asking what he did wrong to not be blessed with a gift. A plea that rings hollow because we don't know what his saint's morals are. How did Damian dedicate his entire life to a code of conduct that his saint set up? Is he mad at himself for being imperfect, for breaking it, or is he mad that he forwent his own sense of right and wrong to follow it and it still resulted in nothing?

Damian's saint is Strength, but the narrative regularly brings up how he's too soft, a sense of disappointment from his father. Which, wasn't lost on me, but we could've turned up the volume. Just imagine the drama if his father was a stoic follower of Strength, and believed in following the callous will of Strength before any other saint. Damian, on the other hand, could believe in the importance of balance, and felt that all saints have important teachings that they must consider. Or even, maybe Damian's fall from faith would be the fact that he couldn't dedicate his life to a cruel saint that made his father cruel. There would be an ideological rift between them, one that we never get to know because we don't even know what Strength's code of conduct is. We don't know what descendants of Strength are supposed to believe. If it was mentioned in the book, it must've been a throwaway line. But, I must've been sleepwalking through this book then, because shouldn't the religious beliefs of these people be baked into every other line?

Near the end, the narrative does dip its toes within the actual dangers of belief and religion, but it's more of a commentary on extremism than it is on any sort of organized system. I'm just... very disappointed. I watched Midnight Mass two weeks before reading this book, and maybe if I hadn't watched that near-flawless, gripping, commentary on religion, then maybe I'd be kinder. But no, I've seen how it's possible to show the dangers of religion while showing empathy to the people who believe. It also just makes for a better story. Dressing your book in religious imagery does little to actual imbue it with the inherent drama and stakes that actual religious belief bestows. Hell, even Book of Mormon, as flawed and blasphemous and problematic as it is, is a more nuanced take on belief than this is.

The commentary on cops is a little sus in places, but I ultimately think it checks out. I think. There's so much telling in this novel, I don't know why the author would feel the need to tell us that there are good people in the police force and that Damian tried to get rid of the bad apples (as if this is something to be applauded), but leave the bits about the system getting rid of good, merciful people (because it's inconducive to their goals) up to critical interpretation. The worldbuilding as a whole needed to be bolstered to make these kinds of commentaries.

I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel. Frankly, I can't see any continuation of the story that would interest me based on where the characters left off. There is more teased, but I just don't care about this world and I certainly don't care about the characters that much. I did quite enjoy the climax of the novel, and found myself gripped by the scene. It is emotionally satisfying, but beyond it could not make me care. The plot itself is whatever, I didn't find it clever, but it wasn't a bad mystery. Perfectly serviceable. The pacing didn't drag, though I did find myself growing annoyed with the mismatch of emotions and lack of worldbuilding after the 40% mark. Before that point, I had high hopes for this book. It had slayage potential. Unfortunately, it did not slay.

2.5/5

Religion in fantasy is a tough sell for me, but I really enjoyed this one!

Seven Faceless Saints felt like if Serpent & Dove (the first book) was a murder mystery, with a big focus on the religion/saints from Six of Crows. This world of magic and disciples and saints was so compelling and unique, and the writing is excellent. Damian was a delightfully complex, layered character, who is just too much of a cinnamon roll for the world he’s in, bless. Roz, very much a classic ‘unlikeable’ female protagonist, did have some fantastic moments, even if I had trouble with some of her character. I’m DYING to know more about the saints themselves, particularly Chaos, who I wanted to know everything about. Hopefully we’ll get that in the sequel!

Also, that COVER. Gorgeously creepy and precisely fits the book.

On the whole, this was a stunningly unique, complex world, with a cinnamon roll boy and a stabby girl—a match made in heaven. I’d recommend for fans of Six of Crows, Serpent & Dove, and Vespertine.

Extremely grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

-A

The story follows Roz and Damian as they try to uncover the recent deaths of three victims. Former lovers turned enemies turned allies must find the killer before they strike again in this riveting story.

The author crafted a world with a magic system that I found interesting and set it in a gritty world inspired by Italy. The saints give individuals magic and society gives them power. Their lives are valued more than those that do not have power from the saints.

Roz wants to change things and Damian is trying to keep himself out of the war that has scarred him. Both characters stories were interesting to read.

The mystery kept me engaged though the villain revelation was a let down for me. It just wasn't built up to it though the villain could have been so interesting. I think the best part about this book was the magic and atmosphere.

Overall I would recommend this book to those that like the grisha vers.

Thanks netgalley for the early e-arc! This is my honest opinion.

Honestly, I expected to devour this book - and while I did end up enjoying it by the end, I am a little disappointed. I liked the world-building, the mystery, but the characters fell flat to me. I just could not seem to care that much about Damian or Roz. There just wasn't a whole lot of depth between them (although Damian had more than Roz). Still, the end has me curious enough to check out the sequel when it releases. I'm interested to see how the author grows from this debut (and the cover is still amazing).

I honestly did not know what to expect when I started Seven Faceless Saints, and, WOW, I was swept off my feet into a fascinating world of magic with morally gray characters and a corrupt political system. The story is told mainly through two POVs, both of which are written in a way that allows the reader to really get to know both the POV character and their observations and knowledge of the other characters. For example, I loved Roz's chapters not only because I liked learning more about her and her inner demons but also because I felt I was able to learn more about Damian through her. The same goes for Damian's chapters. To that end, the characters are well-developed and are strong both on their own right and together. The side characters are also great (I especially loved Kiran and Siena). Finally, I loved the political intrigue that flows throughout the novel.

For a quick summary - the book follows Roz and Damian as they both struggle to find justice for past wrongs and solve the mystery behind a string of ongoing murders throughout their city. They are differently motivated, and where one is hard, the other is soft. However, that doesn't mean that the "soft one" doesn't have a darkness stirring. There is magic, romance (sort of enemies-to-lovers), murders, political intrigue, betrayal, rescue attempts, and so much more. I can't believe I have to wait until 2024 for book 2. I will be pre-ordering immediately.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC!

I want to start off by saying that I really loved this book. Fantasy murder mystery with magic and a bi MC? Yes please. I've never been especially good at solving murder mysteries, but that doesn't mean I don't absolutely love reading them. And I was actually able to solve the murder in this one, so that was really fun for me.

I loved the world of this book, but what stuck out to me the most were the characters. Roz and Damian, the two main characters, aren't perfect. They're complex, and they're messy, and so is their history with each other. But they feel very realistic, and they also both have very endearing traits to them. I personally was a big fan of Roz, even though the author said that the favorite character is usually Damian. (I can relate to Damian a lot, though, seeing as we both simp for Roz).

Overall, I really loved this book, and I can't wait to see what the author does with the sequel! Will definitely be purchasing a copy of this when it releases in February.

Such a cool debut book in what sounds like the beginning of an epic dark fantasy series. You have childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, a complex magic system that’s built around centuries-old saints and lore. I’m already hooked.

And that ending!! O.O

So excited to see the direction this series will go from there!

I've been anxiously waiting to get my hands on this book since I first heard about it months ago, and I'm so pleased to say that it did not disappoint. Seven Faceless Saints is beautifully crafted, with spectacular world building, two flawed main characters I wanted to both root for and wrap up in a blanket, and a central mystery that kept me turning the pages. It's a spectacular dissection of faith and learning to forgive, and the central love story between Roz and Damian was heart-wrenchingly real.

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown publishing for this ARC.

A stellar debut. Dark enough to thrill, but not deter. The world Lobb crafted was imaginative and well thought.
Damian, bless this cinnamon roll shake boy, is a heart stealer. I am looking forward to the next book.

3.5

Dark and gritty, though it is very classical YA. Solid plot with world building and development of the characters. With the two forefront characters, I found myself mostly drawn to Damian, due to how he was written with more nuance compare to Rossana. I think I would've enjoyed this a few years back compare to now. Overall a very solid novel,

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Now THAT's a debut. This book had ton of suspense, in-depth and well rounded characters, and a plot like no bodies business. I was pleasntly surprised to be sucked into the story immediately, and with fully devoted interest. I love a good story about enemies to lovers, but especially if it comes in sprinkled with a little childhood friend drama. Great world building, intense growth and overall, a fantastic story. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

This was an excellent YA Fantasy debut. Dark and gritty, I read it in a night and am already excited for the sequel.

This was super good. It's been a long time since I was this invested in a fantasy story. If you like the enemies to lovers trope this could definitely be for you.

We follow Roz and Damian as a series of murders start appearing in their city of Ombrazia. There's some forbidden romance and of course, a rebellion thrown in the mix. I do think that this book was trying to do too much sometimes. I thought the war talk was interesting but I won't lie it got to be a little tedious. I'm having a hard time comparing this title to any others, and I really think that's a good thing since most YA has felt the same in the last few years. This book was refreshing and kept me on the edge of my seat. I appreciate that I wasn't able to guess the whodunnit on my own; usually with mysteries I can guess who the villain was pretty easily and with this one I didn't.

Overall, I'm grateful to the publishers and think that this could be a great series because the ENDING was not something I saw coming! I'm sad I have to wait for another year or so!
Edit Review

One of my absolute favorite pairings of stabby, (rightfully) angry girl and soft, sad boy. I absolutely loved the stark difference in voice between Roz and Damian, and their chemistry!

Dark and gritty, this was a wonderful start to a magical series featuring twisted Saints, fiery rebellions, and two characters, once friends and now enemies, who have to deal with their own inner monsters while trying to find the one murdering those of the lowest status to those who walk amongst the Saints.

I really enjoyed this! Seven Faceless Saints is a fantasy murder mystery with a heavy dash of romance set in a world reminiscent of Italy, where those favored by the Saints have power and the unfavored... well, don't. The pacing was fast and hooked me in the entire time--I stayed up late to finish this book and couldn't wait to get back to it when I put it down.

The main characters, Roz and Damian, are complex and interesting, and I really enjoyed seeing the development of the relationship between them. They were set up perfectly to stumble over their own mistakes, so I found myself anticipating the fallout at the same time as internally screaming at them to get themselves together. I also enjoyed the themes of power imbalance, grief, and questioning your beliefs about the world.

The book set up well for a sequel, and I'm excited to see where this series goes. There are definitely triggers in here, so check the author's website for content warnings.