Wicked Saints drops us almost immediately in the action and expects the reader to keep up with both the history of the world and the mythology. It's actually something I really liked, because the book has been inspired by archetypes from Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy themes (I don't want to call them tropes exactly because they haven't been tropey so far). It's easy to understand Nadya's faith and powers without much explanation, and though I haven't read any other POV character yet, her views and language are accessible and interesting.

I noticed as the story continued, pacing did a you-go, no-you-go kind of dance. I noticed it most in the narration, like the jump from Nadya thinking killing the king was impossible to suddenly wanting to do it for revenge when in chapter one making her first kill almost blindsided her. Overall though, I really like the history between the countries and the differences evident between them from Nadya and Seferin's POVs.

(more details on my GR review; star rating may fluctuate)

This is a dark tale full of blood magic and monsters. When picking it up I immediately thought of The Grisha books. There is a similar Northern European vibe to the world as well as the lush infusion of magic but that is where the similarity ends. In this world there are Gods and Goddesses, terrible blood mages, and a protagonist who defies her own prejudices to achieve her goals. While I really enjoyed this there was also a lot of confusion. The story and action jumps a lot for instance in one scene the Prince is suddenly having a drink and assassin's appear out of nowhere and attack. The story seems so focused on moving the plot along that it leaves the reader in the dust wondering what just happened. But the magical structure and snippets of stories from the book of saints keep the story engaging.

I don't have enough words to convey how much I loved this book! The author not only develops the world and the characters fully without bogging the reader down, she makes the reader love the characters! Even the bad guys! I will be writing a more detailed review when I re-read prior to pub day.

I'll be leaving reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, IG, and my blog site, www.travelingthroughthepages.com

This book was really hyped for me and I was so glad when I was approved to read it!

Likes
First off, I’ve been reading a lot of books with dual POV lately and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. In this case, it really worked. I loved seeing Nadya’s views as well as Serefin’s and quickly learned that they were more similar than different. That being said, Serefin was easily my favorite character. His development throughout the story stood out to me and I felt he was the most relatable. He was one that you kinda hated in the beginning and soon learned there was more to him. I thought that the way the conversations with the saints and Nadya were illustrated definitely added something more to the story for me. The cover is also absolutely gorgeous and well-designed. The whole premise of the saints was incredibly interesting and I thought that it was unique. It reminded me a little of the Grishaverse with the saints but the take was completely different. The twists throughout the story also left me on the edge of my seat! I also thought the world-building was done well and I truly got into it.

Dislikes
I found myself slightly let down by this book. I enjoyed it enough to say that I liked it, but it wasn’t pushed over the edge into love for me. I think the hype made me expect more but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great book. While the characters were likable, I didn’t feel as much of a connection with Nadya as I expected and she was integral to the story. She is who I wanted to know more about and her background. The first chapter was absolutely riveting and I didn’t feel like the rest of the book was as riveting until the very last few chapters. I think that the ending certainly left a lot to be resolved and that is why I am interested in reading the next book in this series! Endings really matter to me and even if I didn’t love a book, if the ending hooks me, that is important to my picking up the sequel.

Emily A. Duncan has created a fascinating world of magic and religion. I found that the story went quickly, so I was able to read it in less than 24 hours, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, I hope the next title can live up to the first.

*Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc*
Trigger warning: Self harm, abusive parents

This completely blew me away. Absolutely everything I could ever want in a book: monsters, magic, swoony dark boys, WINGS, blood, power, did I mention MONSTERS(?), and of course all the Russian and Polish inspired aspects of the world. I'M IN LOVE.

This book was so good that I didn't want to read it. I just didn't want it to end so I greatly prolonged the process. This would be a world I would want to live in and a squad I desperately want to be a part of.

This is why I so rarely read series nowadays without all the books being published because I am terrible at waiting once I've started a series! How am I supposed to wait over a year for the next installment?! Emily A. Duncan is definitely a new favorite author for me just from reading this one book. I loved her writing style, luscious world, and heartbreaking characters. I am rooting for all of the characters at once when they all have completely different goals, how did Duncan do that?!

I HIGHLY recommend this book for fans of the Grishaverse and other deliciously dark stories.

3.5 stars

This book doesn't release for over a year, so obviously a lot of changes could happen between the ARC I read and the finished copy (like what happened with Furyborn). BUT that being said... this story is a really creative concept that so many people are going to love!

"You could be exactly what these countries need to stop their fighting... Or you could rip them apart at the seams."

I knowww everything is "for fans of Bardugo" right now to the point where that phrase is starting to lose all meaning of credibility, so when I say that fans of Leigh Bardugo will love this I mean it's a dark, gritty, magical world with Russian influences and complex, flawed characters. It's a bit violent at times, but you come to care about the characters. However, this story was a bit too dark, bleak, bitter, and violent for me personally. Usually I can roll with that if I care about the characters and am really invested, but that didn't happen here. I still think a lot of people will love this, though! A lot of parts reminded me of Ruin and Rising. Fans of And I Darken would probably love it too.

I'll say more closer to the release date, but just wanted to share some initial thoughts for now!

Very intricate and fascinating world-building in this book. The pacing in the final third of the story accelerates thrillingly for a near-cinematic set of final scenes. It's an exciting story, and I think readers will be especially drawn in by the intense love/hate chemistry of the central couple. This book reminded me of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows, and although I found this one to be a compelling and page-turning read, I found myself longing for more of the humor and complexity of Bardugo's characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy of this book!

This book had potential and has so much momentum about it in the YA community behind it but it fails to deliver. The cover is stunning, the title grabs at you but it is clearly written by a first time author and when compared to other YA debuts the deficits are clear.
It’s exciting to see an entry in YA with a fresh take on Eastern European mythology but the excitement ends there.
In synopsis you have snow, you have churches, you have gods and you have magic.
Sounds great but unfortunately, in readingitwas like post-holing through 3 ft of snow.
The book mostly suffers from lack of forward plot advancement or clear character goals, inconsistent characterizations and far too mich repetition.
The classic YA trope of entirely out of character decision making, (a weak device that reinforces the idea that YA is “bad” writing”) is used to such an effect in this book that the plot needs it to advance. Characters are introduced and then are dispatched with little fanfare, exposition or valid reason. Magical powers are vaguely described and most egregious to me, as an action fan, is the inconsistent fighting prowess of the lead.
If you’re looking for a strong female lead, well written action and romance or a weird, different take on the reluctant hero theme, than this book is not the one.

Wicked Saints started with an intriguing and unique concept, but I found it hard to keep interested as the story progressed. I did enjoy reading about the mix of religion, politics, and power and how the author intertwined them to create such a distinctive world. However, I found myself confused over aspects of the plot and the character development left something to be desired. Overall, I would recommend this book to people who like novels with rich world building and lore, but would tell those who enjoy character and relationship development to skip it.

First of all, thank you so much to the publishers, author, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Wicked Saints in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5 rounded up only because it took me forever to read this and I was feeling a tad like okay, get to the good stuff already and I felt like some aspects of the book were too reminiscent of other YA fantasy novels I have read. It happens. Hah! However, overall, I loved the story and the uniqueness that was presented by the magic and the Gods. The writing was very impressive as well!

I would highly recommend this book to fans of the Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I’ve seen others say this brings back memories of those books and I would have to agree! Although, I hated the main character in that trilogy, it was still a fun series. I would have to say in Wicked Saints, I also wasn’t a huge fan of the main character. All that being said, I still enjoyed the book and may purchase it on the release date! I will definitely continue the series in the future. It’s a series with great potential for sure!

Wicked Saints has been on my radar ever since it was announced in 2018. It sounded so good - a heavy dose of fantasy with all the usual bravery of YA characters and let me tell you, I was not disappointed.

The world-building is wonderful; Duncan provides enough information on the history, magic system, the harsh world, and the variety of nations at war without being info-dumpy. At the same time, he also left some mystery for the future installments as well. This is truly how the world-building of the first book in a series should be presented. Accompanied with simple and engaging prose, even with the slow pacing, I found that there was always a sense of suspense while reading the book. I was addicted.

No pages were wasted; the book was utterly tension-packed and contained a very endearing cast.

I’m serious here. I’ve said countless times before that I prioritize characterizations over everything, and a crystal clear talent for characterizations was displayed from the first chapter. The main characters Nadya, Serefin, Malachiasz were extremely well-written; but what amazed me further was how in-depth the characterizations were for EVERY character in this book. The characters were flawed, and none of them stayed the same as they were at the beginning of the story.

The magic breathing off these pages is only enhanced by the beautiful cover candy. To say I am anticipating the sequel is an understatement.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this title for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Actual rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5.

This was a fantasy book that reminded me why I love fantasy books. It is sweeping; the world-building is immense; the magic is overwhelming and dark and beautiful and scary; the characters are flawed and intense and deeply convicted. I am so glad that I read this one and now can not wait to read the rest of the trilogy. Having to wait years seems vaguely unrealistic and unfair.

Nadya is the last remaining cleric, one who can commune with the gods. What makes her different though is that she is able to use the powers from all the gods, not just her patron goddess of Death. She has been raised to know that she has to use this power to help her country win the war agains the godless Tranavia and bring the gods back to the heretics of that country.

Serefin is one of the most powerful blood mages in his country and the crown prince. He has long suspected his father is going to kill him to take his power, but now his paranoia actually seems justified. He is called back to his home country of Tranavia to find a consort, although he fears the reason is something much darker.

Malachiasz is a defected Vulture, one of the deadliest groups of blood mages the country of Tranavia has to offer. He has joined Nadya and a group of rebels who are headed to the court to try to kill the king.

But none of these people have any reason to trust the others. And all are technically sworn to kill their enemies for the goodness of their cause and their deities.

This was fantastic. Highly recommend. Give this to readers of Holly Black, Leigh Bardugo, and Cassandra Clare.

This book is one of those that I have a hard time reviewing and rating. I was drawn into the story with its gods and darkness. I was turning page after page to get back to both the POVs stories to see what is to happen next. However, at the same time I felt torn. Yes, a fast page turner for me and one I was invested in but not sure why I have a sour spot. Maybe explaining what bothered me will help. I was torn with the theological debates that are going on and would like a stronger representation that ALL believes have merit. Is the “some gods require blood” purely a bad thing or does the followers take it too far? Even with this question in my head I still loved this title and would recommend it and want to continue the story. Sadly, there was not much else that bothered me with this story and I would say that Emily is a wonderful writer seeing that I was hooked from page one, something that Six of Crows took me about 150 pages to do. Overall, I loved the darkness of this book and find that it may be on my shelf one day.

This dark and bloody tale of holy wars, forbidden romance and the battle for power will pull you by the heartstrings. As a reader you’re unsure of who is trustworthy and what is truly good and that constant question permeates Wicked Saints and makes you page turn well into the night! This new YA fantasy is perfect for any reader who loves villains and has a thing for the bad boy (or is he truly bad?!)!

I loved this book. It’s not a perfect book by any means, but it appealed to me on a spiritual level. It’s got that comforting vibe that lets you fall into it from the first page, and then once it gets going, it really gets going and doesn’t stop. I’m honestly just so pleased to have fallen in love with a YA fantasy again. I don’t think I truly enjoyed a single one last year, but Wicked Saints feels like something fresh. That’s not to say it doesn’t feature common YA tropes – it does – but it plays around with them in new ways.

Let’s talk about the romance first. I…adored the romance, which is monumental. But I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, this is marketed as being perfect for fans who shipped Alina/The Darkling. Indeed, I love dark, angsty, twisted relationships, and Malachiasz gave me that; he’s so different from the usually bland YA love interest fare. His character is so fascinating. Don’t expect the Darkling – Malachiasz is his own creation. Equal parts awkward, anxious, ambitious, and a bit insane, he’s an alluring and enigmatic character who jumps off the page. Every scene he’s in is magnetic, impossible to look away from. But he’s not the only character who shines: the cast here is pretty large, but they all come to life in their own ways, even if they only have minor roles. There’s just something about the way the author has written them that makes them all endearing and charming.

The emphasis on gods and divinity is strong here, and if y’all know anything about me, it’s that I love stories that feature gods in any way, shape, or form. There are several fascinating discussions that take place about theology: the significance of faith, the meaning of divinity, etc. It’s very intriguing and plays into the mystery surrounding who the gods Nadya talk to actually are and where they came from. There’s an epic feel to all of this, with the promise of ancient mysteries to be revealed.

And that’s a good transition to my main issue with this book, which is that there’s too many unanswered questions. First, there’s the magic system, which is fascinating to be sure, but also somewhat confusing. It’s never very clear exactly how the magic works. This isn’t always necessary – there are plenty of authors, like N.K. Jemisin, who are adamant that magic systems don’t have to be scientifically broken down because they’re, well, magic, and they won’t always make perfect sense. That said, I would have liked a bit more elucidation because I wasn’t sure if I just didn’t understand how things worked, or if the magic system was purposely ambiguous and will be explained further as more of the world is revealed.

The ending also left me feeling very confused and frustrated. I don’t think I understood half of what happened in the last forty or so pages. There were so many events occurring one right after the other, twists and shocks and forward momentum without a second to pause and digest what was happening. When I finished I couldn’t be sure if I just hadn’t understood what happened or if the unanswered questions are meant to be answered in the second and third books. But even if that were the case, I would have still liked someanswers. I feel like we should have gotten at least one big, definitive reveal; instead the second half of the book simply asked a lot of questions and answered absolutely none of them.

That said, I want to emphasize again that I truly loved this book. It’s gritty and occasionally gory and has a certain Gothic flair that I think will make it a fandom darling (I can’t wait for the fanart and gifsets). Oh, and I love the Russian/Polish influence. I know Russia is common to see in YA fantasy, but I’ve never actually seen a strong Polish influence before, and that was very cool. And despite our main setting being these countries, the author still incorporates characters of color in meaningful ways, which was great to see.

A very enjoyable and memorable read! Can’t wait for the second book!

This was one of my most expected debuts of 2019 but sadly it wasn't for me. I found it confusing, the writing subpar (particularly the pacing and rythm in action scenes), and wasn't interested in any of the characters except Serefin.

Wicked Saints is an incredibly imaginative dark fantasy debut, full of secrets and surprises, zealots and heretics, magic both divine and deranged, with royal machinations and court intrigue, assassins around every corner, war and death and so much blood, sprinkled throughout with unexpected humor and even a little romance, and in the end heartbreak. It is achingly, desperately, beautifully perfect!

**Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.**

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.:) Thank you so much to the Publisher and Author. This review is based on my personal opinion.

Wicked Saints is a Gothic YA Fantasy Slavic inspired. As a fan of Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy, I was intrigued by the blurb and it did not disappoint me. It is a book who deals with politics and religion and it was done well, however, it was not the main focus of the plot, as it is a character-driven story, showing us their internal conflicts over the clash of opposite politics and religions with other characters and its consequences.
We have three main characters and the book presents us the point of view of two: Nadya & Serefin. Nadya is a Kalyazi and she represents the Clerics, she was raised in a monastery and her power is very unique and so she is hunted.
Serefin is a Tranavian Prince and blood mage, a master commandant in war and apparently invincible, and yet when he is allowed to be just himself we learn of his humanity.
Malachiasz, is another Tranavian but with a dark secret. You see him mostly through Nadya's pov: he is supposed to be a monster, but is he? You keep guessing till the end.
From all of them, I think that Serefin was the better well-written character as I got more character development from him than Nadya (and we don't have a pov from Malachiasz). Nadya started out strong but as she let herself be swayed by personal conflicts without taking into account the bigger picture, she was a bit lackluster at the end. However I did like her and not even once I've thought of her as weak: usually, readers want badass heroines from the beginning to the very end, but I liked the way the author balanced Nadya making her strong and yet making her very human with her weaknesses; I love flawed heroines and considering of how she was raised and her age, her reactions were normal. Malachiasz was a brilliant morally grey character and I had a hard time trying to decide if I liked him more than Serefin or not.
The presented "hate-to-love" relationship was very exciting and I absolutely loved it. I did not think it was insta-love but it was close. I did not mind much but personally, I'm a fan of slow burn romance and I would have liked to see it develop more slowly (the same for the friendship). Nevertheless, that relationship was one of the big points for me to make me eager to read it, as I'm more of a romance fan than politics and I'm more of a fan of characters than plots. There was not a love triangle and kudos to the author for that. I felt a love triangle could be developed in the sequel and honestly I wouldn't be against it as I love both characters, but if it remains without it I think it would be more fresh and less cliché. The only thing I liked less was that the supporting characters were given very little depth and I had trouble in trying to "define" them in my mind. They looked like random characters everytime they appeared and their connection to the protagonists was not strongly built, no matter if they were friends or villains. However, I understand that supporting characters cannot have so much screen time as main ones, but I think we could have learned much more to them, to what makes them really unique and individual and not just "the companions or villains". BUT I'm completely in love and satisfied with the main trio, which I love so much that I don't mind the others.
There is a final twist and a sort of small cliffhanger and I loved every bit of it (this book was hard to put down), can't wait to read the sequel. It was an awesome reading, solid 4,5 stars:)
If you like Hate-to-Friendship or Hate-to-love tropes & Dark characters or you're just looking for new book boyfriends, then you'll probably enjoy this:D (I'm going to pre-order it because I cannot wait to have that beautiful hardback in my hands to re-read it!) This book will certainly appeal to the fans of The Grisha Trilogy from Leigh Bardugo and Ember & Ashes Quartet from Saaba Tahir.

I received this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book started out so well, and I was getting all the dark and twisted feels I needed…until I got slapped in the face with insta-love. The relationship in this book took away from the story and it made the book follow the typical route of ya fantasy stories but set in a different world. I was hoping for a dark and monstrous book but instead I got a typical and predictable story, that left me disappointed.

I thought the world building in this book wasn’t bad. I haven’t read a book in a world like this before, and I thought the premise of the novel to be very interesting and I just wish that the author could have explored those topics more as I found myself wishing we had gotten some more expository information as the author dove straight into the world and then built the world as she went along.

Character development in the novel was not very well done. This book has been one of the highest books on my TBR and one of its main selling points for me was that the book boasted to contain morally grey characters. The book did deliver with Malichiasz and I enjoyed that! The supporting characters were given very little depth into there personalities, and I found that a shame because the small snippets of information we got on them seemed interesting. Nadya started out strong but her character grew wishy-washy as she started to “fall in love”. Why is that authors always write female heroines that start out strong, but grow weak when the insta-love kicks in? You can have strong female heroines in relationships y’all!!

The plot of this book could have been better developed as it started out really well and interesting, but then it veered onto a predictable track and all in all I didn’t find it very engaging.

All in all this book wasn't bad, and I could see myself reading the next book in the series. It is a good start for a debut author!