Wicked Saints will give you a saint who can ask (and be granted) God for powers, a boy from the 'other side' who doesn't believe in God, a prince who's apparently cruel, loads of blood magic and power harnessing, heartbreaks, and heart flutters.


"We're all monsters, Nadya."
"Some of us just hide it better than others."


The plot of this book impresses me like no other. It combines beliefs and thoughts into understandable chaos that certainly mashes up to, unfortunately, force you to take sides. But you can't! Because the characters are complex and they believe in what they believe in, and there won't be a point where you can clearly call one right and the other wrong. It's a great fantasy that is built on the power of magic.

"And who are you that you can do what countless others have failed at over a century?" No one. Just a girl. Some small scrap of divinity. She shrugged. "I'm the first person who refuses to fail."


The characters are amazing. Nadya is on the run from the cruel prince or anyone from the enemy side, her beads working as a connection between her and the Gods. She's gifted but is also intelligent, smart, and uses her heart on the right occasions. Serefin is the prince whose father is eager to sacrifice him for power, his hands adorn a cut every now and then when he uses his blood magic. He's not too keen on emotions but he's definitely cunning to find a way out of anything. There are other characters who I'm not mentioning for spoiler purposes. Just pick up the book already!

"How do you do it? Live without faith?"


The writing is another aspect that I would love to appreciate. It stunningly encompasses every emotion and setting while developing the story in a very subtle manner. You'll never know when you start loving (OR HATING) a character and suddenly there's a twist. The alternate POVs are always hard to execute so well but I guess Emily Duncan can help you learn through this book.

"You have your monsters; they have their demons."


Finally, I don't know what else to say about this book without either spoiling it for you or sounding repetitive. So trust me, just pick it up and trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Initial Reaction: There's only darkness inside me. This book helped me realize it. Very. Grateful. Also, my heart is in pieces, it's broken. I'm dead. Everyone, read this when it comes out on April 2nd so I'm not the only one who's dead. Pre-order!

Quotes are from an advances reader copy so might differ from the final release. I received a digital copy of this via Netgalley but that, in no way, influences my rating and/or review. Thank you, Wednesday Books and Emily A. Duncan!

My only issue with this book is one we're going to get out of the way really quickly: I was a little lost and/or overwhelmed at the start. It starts pretty intensely, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, I just didn't know if I cared, you know?

But it's okay, because as it turns out, I did care, yay! The chapters begin with little snippets of tales of the past (presumably potentially wicked) saints, whose stories are all brutal, dark, and utterly enticing. A good way to segue into each chapter, not only because they're awesome, but because it is almost like a tiny breather. You know, if by "breather", you mean "anecdote about how some poor bastard met their doom", but I digress.

Even though I definitely enjoyed the darkness and intensity of this book and world (and make no mistake, I did), the characters are ultimately what won me over. Nadya is just so... human. She doubts herself, she gets completely pissed at herself, she makes mistakes, she's strong, she's so damn relatable. Little morsels of her inner dialogue would have me practically yelling at her in agreement. I just understood her on some level, even though I am not exactly a magical cleric or what have you. And I loved the male characters, too. I couldn't (and maybe never will) decide where anyone stood with Malachiasz, only that I want to root for him, even when he makes it difficult. Serefin is also relatable, but in a humorous way- his antics are never dull.

Obviously this world is dark, as I have mentioned. And the author does a fabulous job setting it up as such. It's bleak, it's desperate, it's basically hopeless. And it's one of those extra-special morally gray situations where maybe everyone is the bad guy and no one deserves to come out a victor. OH! And there is a journey, and wow am I a sucker for a journey. Add to it some romance, friendships that I love (Parijahan for life), secrets, and betrayal and well, you have a recipe for a damn entertaining book.

Bottom Line: I can't decide which is better: The twisted, brutal world, or the twisted, brutal characters. Both are absolute wins.

It took some time to get acquainted with the language, the world and name pronunciation. Wicked Saints is a true YA fantasy world novel, down to every detail. I had some issues with the writing style, but that’s just personal preference. I would recommend this book to fans of fantasy fiction.

This book was thrilling from start to finish. I absolutely loved the main characters, the surprise elements to the plot and the added information provided by the ‘excerpts’ at the beginning of each chapter. Duncan’s writing style is fun and engaging throughout. I could see some simalarities with the The Grishaverse, in only a positive sense, I loved how it draws on Russian/eastern block style language and terminology. The world is described well and the characters develop in interesting ways during the course of the story. It has been a real pleasure reading this ARC, I am so happy that this book is the first install,ent of a trilogy. I highly recommend this to fans of YA fantasy.

*3.5 stars*

Wicked Saints was one of my most anticipated novels of the year, though I was a combination of excited and wary to read it. This seemed like one of those plots that I would really get into or just not enjoy at all. And while I didn’t absolutely love it, it still ended up falling into that first category and I had a pretty good time with it. From the vivid characterization to the unique and intriguing magic systems, I was sucked into this novel very quickly. A dark tale full of diverse characters and a vividly depicted setting, this proved to be an interesting read.

The countries of Kalyazin and Tranavia have been locked in a war that has spanned nearly a century and there still seems to be no end in sight. Nadya, an orphan who has lived within a monastery all her life, is not only there for training but also for her own protection. She is the first Kalyazin in many years to possess magic—a magic that allows her to communicate with the gods and goddesses and receive powers from them. If she were to fall into the hands of the Tranavians it would mean the downfall of Kalyazin. As she runs from the Tranavians, desperate to survive and determined to keep the religion of Kalyazin alive, she must draw on her great bravery to try and end the war while accepting the help of some people she is hesitant to trust.

The narrative starts off extremely fast-paced—perhaps a bit too fast-paced. We are thrown into the action immediately and while I do like books that really get into things quickly, I felt that it would have been nice to have a just little bit more exposition in the first few pages. There is not a whole lot that lets us know who the characters are, their relationships, nor what their situation is. Also, we know very little about the initial setting before we are thrown out of it. This made it a little hard to form my first connections with the characters and I felt that the scene that ensues definitely needed that.

That being said, when Duncan begins to reveal more information and backstory throughout the following chapters, she does a good job of working it into the narrative. I found things to be a bit confusing for a little too long at the beginning, but I felt that everything was cleared up at some point. There are no major info dumps or any slowing of the pace as she reveals these facts, which is a trap that is quite easy to fall into.

Each piece of description about the characters and the magic system fits into the moment—they are relevant to what is taking place in the main narrative and are seamlessly sewn throughout the plot. Formatting the story this way also allows Duncan to show rather than tell while building the world. She does a great job of giving the reader knowledge of an aspect such as the characters’ personalities through showing their exchanges with each other and how they interact with the environment.

Speaking of the characters, they were a very strong element of this novel. She does a good job of not only creating three-dimensional characters but also depicting how they change and evolve over the course of the narrative. The good guys were easy to love and the villains were fun to hate. I particularly liked the portrayal of the gods and goddesses and how Nadya interacts with them. I also really liked Serefin and how Duncan built his character (at this point, I’m fairly sure I just have a thing for bad boys). I found him to be a particularly interesting and complex character who captured my attention right from the start. My only complaint character-wise was the romance. To be fair, I am extremely hard to please when it comes to romance in novels and this was one I was just not sold on.

Duncan builds the world in which this story unfolds very well. Her descriptions are very vivid and detailed—they truly pull the reader in. She has a wonderful talent for writing. Her words flowed beautifully and easily carried me all the way through to the final page. Very lyrical and captivating, her words were so enjoyable to read. I absolutely loved the Russian and Polish influences in all aspects of this book. Duncan clearly put a huge amount of time and effort into incorporating these cultures into the creation of everything from the setting to the magic systems.

The magic was one of my absolute favorite parts of the plot. Nadya’s magic as a cleric particularly caught my attention. As I said early, I found it to be extremely unique as it was completely based around the gods and goddesses of the world in this novel. I loved learning about each of the gods and goddess and what sort of powers they each bestowed on Nadya. I did feel that she fell a bit into the “special-snowflake” category, but that did not bother me as much as it can in some stories. And though she was not as strong a lead as I hoped she would be, I still liked hearing her story. Overall, I quite enjoyed this novel. I am definitely interested enough to continue on with this series as the next installments come out.

Arc generously provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed Wicked Saints. It had every possible advantage; female MC who can literally speak to a whole pantheon of gods/goddesses, her patron saint of which is the goddess of war and destruction, a badass Prince who really just wants to get drunk and chill, a mysterious deserter who questions MC’s beliefs, all things that should have made for a wonderful story.

But it just wasn’t.

I seriously almost fell asleep while reading this, and I started at noon.

I was intrigued by the “holy war” situation, thinking that this would be a great opportunity to break down internalized prejudices, learn that other people have value even though they don’t believe the same things you do, you know, just a general “we are all humans and arguing over religion is pretty pointless” thing. I thought that Nadya would start out with all this bigotry (which she does) and slowly learn better and evolve as a character (which she doesn’t). Even as she falls into a relationship (more on that in a minute), she continues to call these people heretics, and literally nothing ever sways her from her belief. I admit, she has a couple brief moments of doubt, but they are written off so quickly that it’s almost as if they never happened. And even when she does have a lingering doubt, her actions don’t reflect any meaningful change of heart. Even though she <spoiler> loses contact with the pantheon in Tranavia, she never even considers that maybe bringing the Veil down might be a bad idea? And that, I don’t know, maybe these gods/goddesses don’t actually have your best interests in mind? Also, her newfound powers did not have near enough value to the story. They were discovered, then used, then blended, and now I just don’t know what’s going on. </spoiler>

I found the writing extremely hard to follow, especially in certain action scenes, and one whole chapter was basically indecipherable. Some parts were fine, but others were just choppy, and I didn’t get a good enough explanation of what was going on to understand why the characters were reacting the way they did.

As far as the characters go, here’s my breakdown:

Nadya- I hate her. She just never became all that likable, and the ease with which she just forgot about Kostya makes me extremely upset. She also never behaved in a way that made sense with the feelings she was having. Like, she would be thinking that *someone* is a heretic, and not to be trusted, but the next moment, they’re kissing?? Most of the time, she wasn’t doing anything useful, just pining and whining about boys.

Serefin- Also, not a fan. Nadya never holds Serefin accountable for any of the horrible things that he has done, and I assume I’m supposed to just forget and love him anyway because of sucky parenting?? Sorry, that doesn’t cut it for me.

Malachiasz- You know, in the beginning, I saw him as kind of a Rhysand from "A Court of Thorns and Roses". But the amount of times that we flip flopped from trusting him, not trusting him, trusting him again, was just exhausting, and it made me stop caring. I will admit to shipping him in between the boredom, but not with any real passion.

Everyone Else- Anna, Ostyia, Kecper, Parijahan, Rashid, all of our side characters just. Didn’t. Make. An impression. I didn’t care about any of them. EXCEPT KOSTYA. And we don’t see him past the first few chapters. The pantheon of gods isn’t even that fully fleshed out. I feel like this was the rough outline of a decent sounding plot that never got past the spark note stage.

Suffice it to say, I was extremely disappointed in "Wicked Saints". This was one of my most anticipated books of 2019, and now….I just need a nap to sleep off my frustration. Some people are comparing this to the Grishaverse, and in the multiple saints aspect, I suppose it is. They even have a Saint Alena, goddess of the sun, remind you of anyone?? But past that...it just doesn’t measure up.

As one of my most anticipated book on 2019, I had a sky high expectations for Wicked Saints. This book promises dark stories and blood, and it truly delivers. The magic is harsh and the world-building is rich; it sets in a world where the landscape is wide and the gods are blood thirsty creatures. However, the similarities made me uncomfortable. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoyed it; I did! Plus, the story is super intriguing and I can’t wait to see where it would go next!

I was approached with the incredible opportunity to participate in the Wicked Saints launch tour and since I’ve been anticipating the release of Wicked Saints since April 2018, I signed up. And a month or so later (time is a construct that I struggle with), I got news that I was one of the people selected to be part of the tour. Whoo! *In case that’s not clear enough, I received an ARC of Wicked Saints in exchange for a review and I’m participating in the blog tour portion of the book launch. As honoured as I am to be among these amazing bloggers participating, none of this influenced my rating or review of Wicked Saints.
Let me start off by saying that Wicked Saints is a roller coaster ride of emotions. You will love this book, you will shed tears because of this book, you will gasp and you will take deities’ names in vain, you will mourn and your heart will clench and break and there will be so many emotions ripping through you that you will suffer emotional whiplash and sit there for an actual hour after finishing the book, thinking to yourself “what am I supposed to do with my life now that it’s over? How will I survive until the next book comes out? Why did I have to read this?”
Before I lure you in with how much you should read this book, I want to get the content warning out of the way. Because this book has some triggering content and y’all need to take care of yourselves. If you have any issues whatsoever with self-harm, past or present or just get queasy at the idea of reading about mages whose magic is blood-sourced, I strongly caution you about reading Wicked Saints. I speak from experience when I say that it is hard to ignore the temptation when you see it in media and this book centres around mages who use their own blood for magic. Please, be careful in your reading if you choose to read Wicked Saints.
Ms Duncan brings to life a rich and bloody world that is brimming with bits of Eastern European beauty. I took a bit longer than usual reading this simply because I wanted to be exact in my pronunciations of names and I have, like, next to zero experience with Slavic languages. I know maybe two words in Ukrainian and three in Russian and I learned them through osmosis. Consequently, I was refreshingly challenged with Wicked Saints. I knew very little about the language or how closely enmeshed religion is with everything. I got to have a little enlightenment with my entertainment, which I always welcome.
What we need to know first off is that Wicked Saints takes place amid a century-long holy war between Nadya’s country of Kalyazin and Serefin and Malachiasz’s country of Tranavia. Tranavia no longer worships the gods and practises bloodmagic which isn’t okay to Kalyazin or the edicts of their pantheon of deities. The Tranavians wanted to ‘eradicate’ the gods from Kalyazin like they had from their own country and the Kalyazi wanted to bring the gods back to the ‘lost’ Tranavians and stop the profaning of their deities (the practise of blood magic).
Wicked Saints has three principal characters. Nadezhda Lapteva, or Nadya, is a cleric residing at a secluded mountain monastery. The priests and priestesses of the monastery are trained in battle, but in the event of an actual battle, Nadya was to be protected at all costs. Because she could speak with the gods and work their magic. Serefin Meleski, the Tranavian High Prince and a powerful blood mage. Serefin has so much going on, as is the per usual with royals, I feel like somebody *cough* Ostiya *cough* needs to be there for him 24/7 to have his back because dude. I worry for his liver and I also want to hug him and bundle him up in a handknit afghan and give him some tea, dude needs some TLC in the worst way. Serefin rose to the rank of general, six months after going to battle at sixteen because his father sent him to the front and his mum is too worried about her ownself to worry about her son. Serefin’s hard and untrusting and scary and hurting and terrifyingly cruel and he is so tired of fighting, and, oh yeah, his battalion (is that the word?) just invaded Nadya’s monastery. And finally, Malachiasz Czechowicz is a Tranavian deserter and not just any deserter, but a Vulture. Malachiasz showed so much promise as a bloodmage that he was sent to become one of the elite Vultures who are sect of Tranavians with a grotesque amount of power and this guy defected. Malachiasz is wandering Kalyazin with his two Akolan companions, when they encounter Nadya fleeing the monastery battle. And the fate of their countries lie in their hands.
Wicked Saints switches POVs between Serefin and Nadezhda throughout the story but is told primarily from Nadya’s view. Normally POV changes bother me because the transitions are so haphazard within chapters and the characters aren’t very distinguishable from each other. But not so with Ms Duncan. The transitions are well-timed and each chapter is labelled with the character whose POV it’s written in. That is so thoughtful! Ms Duncan pulls off differing POVs beautifully. Nadya’s POV and Serefin’s POV have vastly different ‘voices’, you won’t mistake whose POV you’re reading.
I enjoyed the interactions between Nadya and Malachiasz, there were the Kalyazi-Tranavian vibes where they butt heads over their beliefs but there’s also the friendship that slowly forms between them and the slow sparks that start showing up along the way. And then, you toss in their magics melding and working together as the book progresses and I squee. I don’t care if squee isn’t a word. It’s there. The end.
I sped through Wicked Saints because I had to know what was next in store for our principal triad and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. There was torture and there were battles and court deceptions and a betrothal battle because that’s a Tranavian custom that I am totally here for and there is a library that I would sacrifice my nephew for (the problem child one, he’d understand, he’s a bookworm), and a cathedral and I love cathedrals so much. They’re pretty and they’re spooky in the dark, okay? Anyways my heart was all over this book and I need to get my hands on the next book, like, yesterday because this is a trilogy and you cannot leave me like you did. I have feelings, y’know!
I’m not going to lie. None of these characters are going to be nominated for the Humanitarian of the Year or anything, but I’m going to fangirl over Nadya and Malachiasz and Serefin because they were written as flawed and they’re gritty and they are so fed up with the status quo and something has to change and they each have the ability to do something so why not try? Also, I was curious so I went and found out that ‘Nadezhda’ means hope. Excuse the tears but I am having emotions and I cannot control the feelings. NADEZHDA MEANS HOPE.
I’m giving Wicked Saints 5 stars because I loved this book so much and it tore me apart, glued all of my pieces back together, and I still asked for more at the end. I have so much more to say on this book but I’m closing in on the 1500 mark and I am not writing an essay on this book, dang it! I want to thank Meghan H. from Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press who decided to include me in the bloggers approached about participating in the Wicked Saints launch tour, I’m truly over-the-moon ecstatic and honoured to have been included in this endeavour. I hope I’ve done justice to it.

This has already been posted to Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2374873309

I honestly am not sure what to rate this book. While I thought that the premise was initially unique, I didn't end up connecting to the story line and the characters like I had wanted to at all. Unfortunately in the end, Wicked Saints didn't work for me.

I’ve got to be honest…… I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I LOVED IT. There’s gods, and human monsters, and magic, and badass women characters, and dark broody male characters that you can’t help but swoon over. So basically, it has everything for a great YA fantasy novel. There were some Throne of Glass vibes (sneaking into the castle and posing as someone else to assassinate the king) and I was TOTALLY living for it!!

Nadya slowly moved up to one of my top favorite YA female characters- probably number 4 or 5. There was so much character development. She starts out as a firm believer in her faith and learns what it is to question things outside of what she has been blindly taught. Personally, I was even switching between who I thought was right and who I thought was wrong in all of the debates between Malachiasz and Nadya. And normally I would be a little annoyed if this awareness was brought on because of a male character, but in this case I didn’t mind it. I adored Malachiasz and all his sinister ways. ALSO, if you shipped Alina and the Darkling from the Grisha trilogy (like me) then this book is for you my friend!!!!!

The world and the magic system is so unique! It’s a very dark book, probably one of the darkest that I have read! I thought that it was going to deter me early on, however I was pleasantly surprised at how much I soaked up the world.

Oh, Wicked Saints, you were just a whirlwind to read, and I was so happy be caught up in your storm. As a fantasy novel, Wicked Saints started off with a bang . . . but a very confusing bang: chaos and war proceeded throughout the pages and I was desperately scrambling to understand the magic system and who was who. In all honesty, it took me about 15% of the book to finally familiarize myself with all the names, who had what powers, and understanding the political and religious powers that fueled the war littered throughout the pages. But once I started to understand the holy mess and revolutions that ensued, I could not put this book down.

As a rarity among society, Nadezhda can speak with gods. With this commodity, she can call upon her divine powers, but the power-granting gods hope for something in return. As Nadezhda tries to break the veil for the gods to finally return and stop a war, she is thrown into political intrigue and religious turmoil. The country and kingdom are crumbling, while her path interweaves with a drunken prince who has seen nothing but war and blood throughout his young adulthood and she joins ranks with a band of misfits (and an often-smiling, monstrous boy) who seem all too trusting and too good to be true to see as allies.

You guys, you need to prepare yourself for the dark character agencies and merciless blood magic that saturates Wicked Saints. There are jaw-dropping moments of lies, deception, bloody kisses, and utter betrayal. And you know what, I am so here for the next book to knock me off my feet.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

First off, this is very much a 5-star book. I just need a little more time to gather my mind about a few points which I don’t understand yet and can’t bring myself to officially call it a 5-star read until I do.

If you’ve seen my tweet, I proclaimed that Wicked Saints by Emily Duncan FINALLY drew up my enjoyment for fantasy fiction to the surface. Some time within last year I seemed to have lost my liking for it and couldn’t bring myself to feel enraptured by the genre. Until now.

The beautiful magic of the Kalyazins and the darkly-tainted spells of the Tranavians amped up the sweeping beauty of the Russian-inspired backdrop. Reading about the actions scenes was actually entertaining and mesmerizing! Coupled with the slow-burn romance, I was just loving it! My love-interest radar was confused for a good part of the book but I still enjoyed it. I don’t know how she did it but Emily Duncan managed to infuse such intimacy and desire into a kissing scene. Only kissing! You could feel the charge emanating from the pages.

“Iron must be tested.”
Told from dual-POVs, one of Nadya’s and the other, Serefin’s, I enjoyed both and appreciate how it let you see two sides of the story. It illuminates different facets of the whole battle and that they might actually both be right and wrong! Dash in some gray areas, mistakes, betrayal, deception and revelations, my mind was tugged back and forth between the two warring sides.

Nadya was also a protagonist you could understand. Her beliefs were challenged, what she knew to be truths doubted, everything was a chaotic mess for her. It made you sympathize hard for her predicament and the great responsibility placed on her shoulders. It was realistic how inexperienced she was, an aspect which I loved about because I often wonder how on earth a young adult/teen knows JUST what to do in a dicey situation!

There’s also something else I liked about Wicked Saints but I can’t mention because it’s a spoiler. I’m hoping my hunch is true because I’ve been WANTING to find a story with this trope.

Also, can I just say how thankful I am of Emily Duncan got the Russian naming right? That female names have an ‘a’ at the end and males do not. For e.g. ‘Nadezhda Lapteva‘ is correct, whereas in Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, it was ‘Alina Starkov’. This was what spoiled it for me in Shadow and Bone as it took me out of the story.

I’d say that Wicked Saints is a rich-fantasy, in that it’s not quite a high-fantasy but still has sufficient worldbuilding. It’s dark, majestic, luminous, strong but most of all, human. It is an honor to be a part of it’s blog tour and I do look forward to the sequel 😉

Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints is a dark and gritty fantasy that captivated me and kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. It’s also a multi-layered story that features a religious war, political intrigue, morally gray characters, and a pretty hefty dose of secrets and lies.

At the center of the novel is a war between two lands, one is a land filled with heretics who rely on blood magic, while the other, a more religious land, is filled with those who worship saints and with clerics who can communicate with the saints and borrow their powers. The heretics loathe all that the religious land stands for and the King of their land has made it his mission to wipe out his enemy. This war has been raging for a long time and the King is so close to his objective, he can practically taste victory.

In fact, there is only one cleric left, a teenager named Nadya. As the last in her land who is able to call magic from the saints, Nadya had a target on her back and therefore has spent most of her life hiding in a monastery. When the novel opens, the monastery is under attack because the King’s men, including his son Crown Prince Serefin, have figured out where Nadya is hiding and have been sent to kill her.

Nadya manages to escape but is on her own until she meets up with a band of rebels, led by Malachiaz. The rebels say that they want to bring this war to an end, and when Nadya says she does as well, they hatch a plot to work together and assassinate the King. Since he’s the one driving the war, they think eliminating him is the key to peace.

When they start implementing their plan, however, it becomes clear to Nadya that nothing and no one is as they seem. She begins to question everything and has no idea who she can trust, if anyone…

Can Nadya bring an end to this war and bring peace to her people or is she destined to fail?

* * * * *

5 REASONS WHY WICKED SAINTS SHOULD BE ON YOUR MUST-READ LIST

Wicked Saints sounds pretty epic, right? Now I want to dive just a little deeper (in a non-spoilery way, of course) and share some of the highlights of the story for me. If you love these qualities as much as I do, then Wicked Saints is a must-read for you!


1. Nonstop Action and Suspense.. I’m all about action scenes when I read fantasy, and this book is filled with intense fight scenes. They’re violent and bloody and probably not for the faint of heart, but they are an adrenaline rush for sure. Think Game of Thrones and you’re in the right ballpark!

2. Incredible Worldbuilding. It’s a Russian-inspired world and it is beautifully done. The snowy, rugged landscape, the magic system, the lore surrounding the Saints — all of it combined to make a very atmospheric read. If you’ve read Leigh Bardugo, there’s a slight Grishaverse vibe, but I actually preferred this world.

3. Morally Gray Characters.. The characters in Wicked Saints really drew me into the story because each one has his or her own agenda, whether political, religious or something else altogether, and all of them are willing to do whatever it takes to try to achieve that agenda. Some motives seemed purer than others, but I found myself constantly second guessing which characters were the monsters but still liking them all even if I started to consider them villains. I really liked Nadya, Serefin, and Malachiaz pretty equally even though they all couldn’t possibly be heroes. And in many ways, the character who turns out to be the most monstrous ended up being my favorite, which I totally did not see coming and was fascinated by my own reaction..

4. The Magic.. Nadya’s use of magic was just so cool. Most clerics have the ability to communicate with a single saint and to borrow that saint’s magic as needed. As we learn in the opening pages, however, Nadya somehow has the ability to do this with all of the saints. She therefore has a pretty powerful arsenal of magic at her disposal. While she may be the last cleric, she is a mighty one. What I loved most about her magic is that she literally has conversations with these saints in her head and they talk back to her..

5. The Vultures.. I don’t want to say much about this little band of creeps, but they are just deliciously evil and add an extra layer of danger throughout the story, which helped to ratchet up the suspense. Everyone is aware of the Vultures and how menacing they can be, but what no one anticipates is that these villains are somehow able to weasel their way into the castle and become unexpectedly tight with the King.


I have to admit that I was really nervous when I first started reading Wicked Saints. I had been in a fantasy rut for a while – nothing I was reading was holding my attention – and I worried that Wicked Saints would fall short for that reason. I’m thrilled to say that I had absolutely nothing to be worried about though because Wicked Saints is everything that I love in a dark fantasy. The story is riveting and gritty throughout and it ends with a jaw dropping cliffhanger that has me anxiously awaiting the next installment. Thanks to Emily A. Duncan for a read that was so entertaining it busted me out of my reading slump!

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

When I first read the summary of this book on Amazon, I was so excited and immediately put it on my wish list. I mean, "A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself" sounded pretty intriguing to me. When I received an ARC from NetGalley, I was over the moon!

In hindsight, I should have been a little less optimistic.

The first few chapters of the book were a bit slow going and the action that was present was not really all that exciting, but I was willing to push past it because that's just how some books start. However, as I kept reading, I got less and less interested and kept looking down at my phone trying to see just how close I was to finish it.

I think the two biggest issues I have with this book is that the descriptions were just so bland and dull, and the characters were just as equally as boring. I couldn't connect with any of the characters on any sort of level. They didn't stand out or do anything worthwhile that made me care for them. The only time I ever felt anything towards any of them was probably annoyance at both Nadya and Malachiasz.

My annoyance at Nadya stems from the fact that she was so steadfast in her beliefs and determined in her abilities, but after she meets Malachiasz, it all just goes downhill. She becomes somewhat obsessive about him and it seems as though she doesn't care about anything else except for him. I know love can change people, but man, this change happened far too fast and felt unrealistic.

As for Malachiasz, I just got tired of him and his lies. He reminded me of The Darkling from the Grisha trilogy, except less cunning and more... childish. To be honest, Malachiasz wasn't more of a villain as he was a gnat.

I know Emily stated that this book is to be a trilogy, but in all honesty, I don't find myself excited to invest any more time in this series.

I received Wicked Saints as an advanced review copy thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I finished this book earlier tonight and I’m still not sure how I feel about it.
I had trouble in the beginning of the story with the world building and the two alternating perspectives. Because the two characters came from different places, they had significantly different views on the world and the politics within. So, going back and forth between the two while trying to learn about the world and which countries thought what and which terms meant what was a little confusing for me. But that wasn’t long lasting. I got the hang of the world and found myself completely immersed in the story. The other thing I want to mention with learning the world was the character names. I don’t think I could save a single one of them if my life depended on it. So I gave them all nicknames in my head, but until I did that some parts were tough.
The book starts out action packed and leaves you wanting more, but also immediately caring about the safety of the main characters. I loved this set up for the story. Things calm down for a bit as we learn about the world we’re in and how things work. This is where we really start to get to know the characters.
I immediately like Serefin even though I think we weren’t supposed to. I liked his complete distain for the things he’s ‘supposed’ to be doing.
Then there’s Nadya who does what she’s supposed to almost all the time. She was interesting. And I’m still not sure if I completely liked her. She took risks even when she knew they were risks and somehow was still surprised when it all backfired in her face. I thought her powers were incredibly interesting. I would have enjoyed seeing them used with the gods a bit more though. I’m interested to see where her story is going to go with the way this book ended.
Finally, Malachiacz. I wanted to like him. I really did. But I preferred Seferin the whole time. There was something about Malachiacz that I didn’t like and didn’t want Nadya to involve herself in.
Overall, the world and the magic systems in it were complex and interesting. I’d love to learn even more about them in the next book. I’m also hoping we get to travel a bit more and see some of Nadya’s home country. The characters were interesting and entertaining. There was some diversity which is always appreciated. I totally loved all the supporting characters. Wicked Saints was action packed and full of fun. Though the ending had me a bit confused and definitely wanting more. I’m not sure how I’m going to wait so long to see where this story goes next.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I wanted to love this one so bad. It sounded right up my alley. I can't pinpoint why exactly I didn't super love it, but I didn't. That being said, I didn't hate it either. I actually quite enjoyed it, it just didn't completely live up to my expectations.

The beginning started off wonderfully. We jump right into the action and the world building isn't hard to follow at all. Unfortunately, after about the first 15%, it slowed down a lot. I thought about DNFing it several times until the 50% mark. Though picked back up again after that and I enjoyed the last half of the book.

I loved that Nadya can talk to the gods. I found this super interesting. I also think it's really cool that each god grants her magical powers. She is fighting for her country, Kalyazin, and her gods. I am very curious to know if we will learn anymore about the woman who abandoned her at the monastery.

I also really liked Serefin. Serefin is the Tranavian prince who has been at the front of the war since he came of age at 16. I don't think anyone under the age of 25 should be as tired and damaged as he is, but I get why he is. He wants what's best for his country, even if that means getting his people to do awful things. Speaking of his people, I absolutely adored Ostyia and hope we get to learn more about her in the next book. I also really liked Kacper. I almost thought there was going to be something romantic between Serefin and Kacper because of how touchy feely they are, but I guess not? Maybe in one of the next books.

Malachiasz. He is a Tranavian that Nadya ends up working with. I really can't say much about him because of spoilers, but I will say that he is an incredibly intriguing character.

Parijahan and Rashid are Akolan (a country torn between Kalyazin and Tranavia.) They are traveling with Malachiasz when Nadya meets them all. I loved them both a lot and want to know more about them, especially Rashid. We learn a little about why Parijahan is on her way to Tranavia, but we don't really know why Rashid followed her.

Anna is a woman from the monastery who escapes with Nadya, but is only in the book for about half of it. She was a bit of a dull character with not very much personality, but I have a feeling she will be in the next book.

I both loved and hated the ending of the book. I did have a lot of questions and some confusion in the end, but I'm confident they'll be answered by the end of the trilogy. I can't wait to see what happens next though!

Overall it was not a bad book at all. I enjoyed most of the characters. The plot was slightly lacking, but I feel like it was overall a strong debut.

This is not the type of book I would typically teach for... at all. I was sucked in by the title and the cover and went in completely blind. The beginning felt a little tedious and slow for me as foundation was being built for this world of magic and lies. Once it got rolling, however, I really got into it. I feel like I can’t say much without giving away anything, but I am definitely looking forward to the next in this series!

This book. Oh my goodness, THIS BOOK. It’s been one of my most anticipated reads for 2019, and when I was invited to the blog tour I about lost it. I am so thankful I was given an opportunity to be on the tour, because this book was such a joy to read and will be going down as one of my favorite reads of all time!

The characters immediately pulled me in. I’ll admit it’s usually a bit difficult for me to get into stories with multiple points-of-views, but I had no such problem with Wicked Saints! I was sucked in by Nadya and Serefin’s voices. They were both delightful to read from, and their stories had me flipping the pages (well, scrolling through my Kindle) until my eyes could stay open no longer! I am absolutely obsessed with the whole cast of characters. Each of them felt real, and I was desperate to know more about each of them. I was not disappointed!

Ostyia, Kacper, Parijahan, Rashid, and Malachiasz will always have a special place in my heart. The interactions between both sides, Nadya with Parijahan, Rashid, and Malachiasz and Serefin with Ostyia and Kacper, was excellent to read. This cast was unforgettable. And this wasn’t even the full cast. There were other equally as wonderful characters, too!

I am absolutely obsessed with the setting and the monsters. This book completely immersed me in the narration. I felt like I was there. While I was reading, the rest of the world disappeared. The monsters were excellent, too. The Vultures were so interesting to read about. During their first appearance I was both amazed and terrified of them!

The constant struggle between what is good, what we’re told is good, and what could be good, was awesome. I especially loved seeing the dynamic between Nadya and Malachiasz. She’s been devoted to the gods her and entire life, and she views Malachiasz as a blood mage heretic. Unravelling the different nuances between the way they practice magic was fantastic as well as how they could maybe work together. The moral ambiguity was delightful and so much fun to read.

I could probably ramble on and on about how much I absolutely adored this book. It had everything I look for in my favorite books: enemies, moral ambiguity, a hint of blood (okay, more than a hint), and so much more. Did I mention yet there’s blood and chin grabbing? No? Well, yeah, there is, and you need to read this immediately.

I’m serious. Please read it. I need to cry to someone about how much I loved this!

Also, another side note, this book is a totally awesome aesthetic. That cover? Wow, I’m obsessed (if you couldn’t tell yet).

So, it took me a few chapters to really get into this. But once I did, I was very intrigued by this world, and their use of magic, and their gods. This story was so complex and there was so much to follow and learn about as I read. It took me a little longer to read because of that, but then a fantasy story like this always does as you get the world-building going. Of course we know that Nadya is our good side, the one we are rooting for, but it is also easy to wonder if her fighting for her gods is something that maybe she does need to take a step back from. Her travels and tenuous truce with Malachiasz to work together towards their supposedly common goal were full of so many twists, and especially once they reached the capital city in Grazyk, it almost gave me whiplash, like watching a tennis match, wondering who was really the bad guy. Who could Nadya really trust, who was really on her side, were the feelings she was developing for an assumed enemy ones that could be trusted, or was she being tricked?

The monsters that we were worried about at the beginning became allies. And those that Nadya thinks are allies may be the true monsters, more than she even realizes until it is too late. But I could see a bit of redemption or want of redemption even in our monster at the end, and I look forward to another book for this story, to see just what is real and what is not. That's a warning for you, that while this isn't a cliffhanger really, it doesn't end in a way that things are all wrapped up. We must have more. Hopefully when the next one comes out, I'll be lucky enough to get a copy to read and have plenty of time to read it.

This is an amazing dark and rich fantasy story about two worlds that can not survive the battle they are fighting. The heart of this story is all about magic and which country is correct in their use of it and those that want to control everything. On one side of the battle we have blood mages who use blood and spell books to work their magic. On the other we have a cleric who has been blessed to speak with the Gods and control magic by that blessing. This is a dark fantasy in that it a bloody war and not always sure who can be trusted. It moves along at fantastic clip told from different view points as we travel the path the war takes. I am eager to see how the story plays out and how the battle of magic is finished..