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 really enjoyed this one! The Slavic influence was fun, if occasionally confusing - my minimal exposure to the Russian and Polish languages gave me a lot of help. I found both Nadya and Serefin to be compelling protagonists, although I never quite bought Nadya's attraction to Malachiasz; I look forward to seeing them interact with each other more in the next book, as I suspect the events at the monastery (specifically surrounding Kostya) will set up some interesting tensions.

Probably my favorite part about this book was the way it acknowledges, challenges, and accepts faithfulness, deities, and spirituality. Religion and faith are a huge part of many teens' lives, and we rarely get to see YA protagonists who are dedicated to their faith, or who get to explore in depth the nature of faith, and I loved the way the pantheon in this particular novel was set up. I'm definitely excited to see how it will all tie together in the rest of the series.

This was a really solid, fun read that I'm looking forward to sharing with my library teens, and I will definitely pick up the sequel (...eventually)!

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!

Great book. Will post full review on release day as to avoid spoilers, but thank you so much for letting me review this title. What an excellent book.

I am absolutely in love with this narrator, this plot, this book! I haven't posted the review on Fictionist yet but oh my. I wasn't sure what to expect but I have no regrets.

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. 

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. - Goodreads

I didn't know what to expect when I began reading this. Was I going to get a love triangle that would piss me off? Would I get a character that does nothing until the last moment or in a fit of rage? Or most importantly, would I get a book that is so detailed its boring or not enough detail to make it feel lacking?

Here is what I thought of this book . . . it was good.

The best part of the book was Nadya and her ability to talk to Gods. This was the main focus of the novel and it was tastefully done. At first I thought Nadya would be naive and couldn't hold her own. But very quickly the author shows you that isn't the case. Nadya may have been sheltered to a certain extent but knows how to defend herself, she knows how to accept help and she is knowledgeable. 

As much as I would love to tell you about the prince and the monster, I'm not because that would mean there would be spoilers and I am not about that life in this review. But what I can tell you is monsters come in different forms and even though people may not consider themselves a monster it doesn't mean that they aren't, no matter how good their intentions try to be. 

But beyond the main characters, the surrounding characters brought the much needed smiles, laughs and valid points none of the main three were willing to see. The author did a really good job using these characters as fillers and connecting pieces to the story.

Beyond this, the book itself is a slow burn. What kept my attention was Nadya and the monster. The prince. . . well he is something that I can see why people love him but I don't. 

Nothing really major was wrong with this book. It brings a lot of things together such as religion, fantasy, romance, betrayal, war and history. So the author makes sure that she get readers at every end. 

Overall, I am interested in seeing what happens next. 

3 Pickles

I mentioned in one of my status updates that I was swinging back and forth a lot while I was reading this between "Omg I love this so much" to "ehhh I'm not too sure" and think I've ultimately decided on a happy medium between the two.

I was instantly drawn to the premise for this book. Gore, religion, political strife, characters with prophecies, oh my! Specifically the religion and saints is what pulled me in and throughout the book I was really interested in the conversations surrounding that and how the two different countries (territories?) were at war over this. I did find myself getting lost in a few places, and would've liked a little more backstory on, well, everything, because there were times that the more I read the more I felt like I was trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

It also jumped quite a bit and there were times I wished it could just slow down and settle in the moment. Perhaps this is something that will happen more in book 2, since I usually find sequels to books like this to drag a bit more since they have more time to build up to the final book and we are already familiar with the characters/plot/setting/etc.

Additionally, I did really like Nadya's chapters much better than Serefin's, and I wish I could've gotten some chapters from Malachiasz's perspective (again, perhaps this will come in book 2). I found Nadya to be a really interesting character and she goes through a lot throughout the novel, but I did not buy how fast the connection between her and Malachiasz was. It felt so sudden and as a result I was extremely skeptical of them as the plot progressed, though I found him extremely entertaining and interesting too.

Overally, I actually really really enjoyed it, and would be very interested in reading the sequel when it's published (in 2020?). There's a lot of potential with the cliffhanger at the end and I can't wait to see where the characters will end up!

I think this will become a cult favourite. Even though it feels like there have been many Slavic stories, the characters and setting in this one is unique enough that it stands out. It's a dark book and there should definitely be trigger warnings for cutting/self-harm, but it wasn't nearly as violent as I was expecting. I will be recommending this to my more mature students.

4.75 stars.

I really, really liked this book. It reminded me of Leah Bardugo's work, but I confess I preferred this. The story manages to tackle big questions about magic, divinity, and humanity without hamfistedly breaking through its very-well described universe. I could have done without the romance (which is true of most of the YA fic I read), but it wasn't totally out of the blue.

Wicked Saints lives up to and exceeds all hype. If you enjoy fantasies set in Russia/Eastern European inspired worlds (like Leigh Bardugo's Ravka, Naomi Novak's settings in Uprooted and Spinning Silver, and Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy), the setting of Wicked Saints is lush, immersive, and believable. Each chapter adds layers to Duncan's Kalyazin and Tranavia, not only in atmosphere, but in who inhabits this world and how they relate to it.

With as few spoilers as possible, the magic systems are fascinating and at the heart of the two nations' seemingly never-ending conflict. So much of this is done through the smart usage of chapter epigraphs and they also aided with the world-building to really get at the history of these two states. The politics of Tranavia, more so than Kalyazin, drive the events of the story; I hope that the sequel will flesh out the Kalyazi context more.

The characters are fresh, exciting, and most of all, entertaining. Nadya is a superb protagonist and her crises of faith and self are relatable, especially since readers get her POV. Malachiasz is a very compelling ally and/or enemy. Going into the book, I wasn't expecting Serefin (the second POV) to be my favorite character, but he is fantastic. He's a fascinating exploration into the tragedy and pain of unhappy family situations and how can one remain loyal to oneself when pressed with other duties.

Last but not least, Duncan does a great job hinting at, but then subverting common tropes in YA fantasy. There could be a love triangle, but one is never manufactured for the sake of having one. She plays with the concept of a "queenstrial" or marriage competition, but doesn't let it drive the plot. In my opinion, these subversions of trope make Wicked Saints so fresh and exciting.

Loved the world building and most of the characters. The story was fun, even with how dark it was. Seferin was by far my favorite character and I always looked forward to his chapters. The very obvious attempt at copying the Darkling and Alina was a massive let down.

I was first told about this book by my friend Signy Cullen, and she told me that it was an amazing dark fantasy read. So I started doing a little research about it, and ended up starting to follow Emily on Twitter. There I discovered that we like a lot of the same music, and that she also went to Kent State University and earned an MLIS. Then Emily mentioned that she had gotten the idea for this book while playing Skyrim and that it was inspired by/influenced by clerics in Dungeons & Dragons.

Pretty much that all spoke to my soul, and I absolutely needed to read it. So, I prepared an e-mail and sent it in to the publisher, hoping to be granted early access to this book. I didn’t care if it was an e-galley or an ARC. (Now that I’ve read it, I really really would like an ARC of this one to keep in my collection). It was my first time actually approaching the publisher; typically I just request books on NetGalley. Thankfully, this time, I can say that my request was answered, and I downloaded this book.

Wow, okay, so two paragraphs in to my thoughts, and I haven’t really said anything about the book, just background details. Sorry.

I tried to take my time with this book, because I knew it wasn’t being released until April. I was reading about 15-20% a day at work. But then I had a day at work where I had a few hours with no work to do…so like any responsible book blogger, I read. And I devoured the last 60% of this book in that one sitting at work. I was so enraptured by this story and these characters that I could not stop reading.

As a little backstory before I make my next point, I play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons, and the primary class that I play is cleric. There’s just something about their divine nature that really appeals to me. Emily’s writing about talking to the deities, and channeling the magic, and just every aspect of the cleric lifestyle was so on point to what I know from all of my characters. So imagine my surprise when I talked to her on Twitter and found out that she has actually never played a cleric in D&D. It is immensely impressive that she so perfectly writes out Nadya’s character. I am honestly just in awe. Of course I can say that Nadya is different from most D&D clerics because she actually can talk to and channel the power from all the deities in the pantheon, not just one. Which is very intriguing to me honestly.

Oh, I suppose I should also put out a possible content warning out there for some of you. There are a number of blood mages in this book, and they cast spells by first cutting themselves and channeling power from the blood. So if cutting/self-harm is a trigger for you, then maybe pass on this book…or at least make sure you are in a good mental health position before you dive in.

But I simply adored the characters in this. There were some revelations in this book that surprised me in the best way possible. Nadya and Serefin and Malachiasz all had different motivations, and I loved seeing how the various relationships amongst the characters developed. If you were a fan of the Darkling in the Grisha trilogy, then you’re probably definitely going to like Malachiasz.

So, writing this review has made me want to read this book again. Let’s just admit that I’m probably going to read it again soon, and then I’ll probably read it again once the final version is printed.

I loved this book so much. That’s all I can really say.

I really loved this book and was so excited when I was approved for an arc. The world is interesting, the characters are interesting and the writing was well done. I enjoyed the pacing and mostly I enjoyed the setting of the story. I feel like there was a good tone overall and written in a way that made me feel the chill of the snow right there with the characters.
I also really enjoyed the interactions and personality of the MC.

This is Emily Duncan's debut novel and it was amazing, I'm so excited for the sequel and I also am pretty in love with the cover artwork as well.

"Wicked Saints" was an absolutely wonderful YA fantasy. We plunge into this world with a holy war- Tranavians against Kalyazins. The Tranavians possess blood magic and do not answer to the gods - they use spell books combined with their blood to cast powerful spells. The most potent blood mages are the Vultures, whose bodies and minds have turned into something darker- and more powerful. The Kalyazins view this as an abomination. They worship the gods, and most of their people are without magic, except the clerics who are given this gift by a patron god.

Nadya is a cleric who has been raised in a monastery. She does not answer to only one god but can call on most- whether and how they answer is up to them. The monastery is under attack by the Tranavians, who are led by their high prince, and the Kalyazins are desperate to save Nadya- she is the only known cleric and their hope for winning this hopeless war. Nadya escapes and encounters other people along the way, two Akolans and a Tranavian who is working against the Tranavian side. Together, they seek to travel to Tranavia and kill the king to end the war. Along the journey, Nadya begins to explore what divinity means and religion, as well as power in its many forms.

In other chapters, we follow Serefin, the high prince, who is a powerful blood mage (not a Vulture though), and who is ready to end this war. He is surprised when his father calls him back to the capitol for a Rawalyk, a ceremony to choose his bride. As Serefin travels back, we learn more about Tranavian politics and even more sinister plots.

This book was impossible to put down and I absolutely loved every second of it. We see the world from both sides of the war and all the complications along with them. This was a fascinating and truly unique story- I don't want to say too much to avoid spoilers, but AHHHHH! There are so many twists and turns and unexpected events, and I loved it! Fans of dark YA fantasy will need to add this to their TBR for sure. I cannot wait for the next one!

As a final note, I will add warnings for self-mutilation/harm (with the blood magic) and also for a bit of a cliffhanger ending. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.