I was super excited to receive this ARC because I had been anxiously waiting to find out what happens next! I thought this was a good sequel to the first book and it had me hooked from the beginning. It started off right where the first book left off so you are just thrown right back into the story.

The characters were basically all the same from the first book, but you get to learn more about them as the story goes along. I always like the sarcastic banter between Nadya and Malachiasz. I am always rooting for them to find a way to be together. I like that they test each other and then at the same time almost compliment each other. We learned more back story of the other side characters and it was interesting and make you want to learn more about them.

The plot of this story moves along nicely and keeps you entertained and wanting to see what was going to happen. I like the chapters are different perspectives of characters so you get to see different parts of the story. I am very interested in seeing what happens now that Serefin has severed his connection with the God trying to take him over.

I really overall enjoyed the book and am now eagerly anticipating the third one so I know what is going to happen now that it seems all hell has broken lose in the world! I definitely would recommend this book.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an earc of this book.
As this is sequel, it’s a little harder to review without mentioning book one, so this contains a few spoilers Wicked Saints!

Ruthless Gods is full of gothic imagery, eldritch horror, blood mages, a very unsettling forest, insane divinity and a lot of chaos. It is also full of some very stupid teenagers – which I say with a lot of affection. It’s pretty safe to say that I loved it. Gothic horror imagery is definitely my kind of thing, and this book delivers it in bucket-loads. It contains eyes where they definitely don’t belong, pools of blood, monsters, mythology, razor talons, blood magic and snarled black hair filled with bone fragments. There’s a fair bit of body horror, so it’s not for the squeamish, but it was one of the things that made this book stand out from anything else I’ve read recently, and I loved it for that. All of this combined definitely left me desperate for book three!


The setting for Ruthless Gods (both Tranavia and Kalyazin) is beautiful and bleak, menacing in its darkness and I really enjoyed how each place seemed to reflect what was going on with the characters. There was a lot of internal struggle, fighting and despair going on, and the settings (especially that of the forest) became part of that fight. I’m torn between wanting to visit them, but also wanting to run as far away as possible from the very idea of them. The struggle that Nadya, Serefin, Malachiasz had because of their settings never really changed over the duration of Ruthless Gods. Everything had a sense of displacement. Everyone was uncomfortable, no matter where they were. Their longing to be in another place, or further along their journey made them seem unsettled. Even when they were in their ‘homeland’, everything was still against them, and added to the tension of the book.


I really enjoyed Nadya so much more in this book. She’s become stronger and more determined. She still followed the path others set out for her, but she grew in strength, started questioning things, became her own person and a character I really care about! Nadya is fierce and brave even though she’s scared. I love her relationship with Malachiasz, which really built upon the foundations laid in Wicked Saints. They are so bad for each other, and yet their magic is tied together, and they can’t escape the draw that they hold to each other. I loved their banter, their journey and their romance. Malachiasz is probably my favourite character. He’s morally grey, morally questionable, a monster and also just a boy who is really out of his depth. He’s got so much going on, physically and mentally and I honestly just want him to be OK. I loved seeing more sides of him, and he is my favourite chaos monster. Finally, we have Serefin to round off our unholy trio. He has a really tough time in this book. After dying in the last book, I really didn’t think things could get much worse for him, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. Not that the other characters didn’t suffer too, but I really felt for Serefin. Please, someone just let him have some alcohol in peace! I honestly love so many things about all the characters in the books, their interactions, their journeys and most of all, some really stupid decisions they make. The new characters we met along the way were also a lot of fun, as well as getting to see more of Kacper, Ostyia, Rashid and Parijahan, who we learnt more about, and who I also love (especially Kacper). I can’t wait to find out what awaits them next.

For me, one of the best parts of Ruthless Gods was that questions of morality and mortality are looked at in a way which makes everything so confusing. Everyone thinks that what they believe in is right, even when they’re questioning the outcomes. There are so many questions about the divine and the self. Every character has a crisis of faith and self after the events of Wicked Saints, and yet they all keep holding onto their beliefs despite that. Their faith is constantly shaken and confronted by something new, making them have to call into question every aspect of their lives. The unquestioning belief in their country/religion vs the truth of what they have seen and learnt keeps shifting their desires, and makes everyone seem so much more human.


One thing I really wanted more of in Wicked Saints was getting to know more of the history of the pantheon, more about the gods themselves and what divinity really means in this universe. We started to slowly get answers here which made everything feel like it’s slowly coming together. The monstrous and divine are so enmeshed in this series in a way I haven’t seen before. The conflicted imagery is so perfect, and it’s one of my favourite things about this series. Definitions of divinity from the different perspectives are also fascinating here, and I have so many questions.


I really can’t wait for book three. Ruthless Gods was a chaotic masterpiece of a book, and the only downside for me was that there were a couple of things I would have loved to see more of, or have further explanation on, but I’m hoping I will get those in the next book. I’ve pre-ordered my finished copy already, and I’ll definitely be re-reading it soon.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read Wicked Saints last year and didn't love it but also didn't hate it. The ending was enough to push me to continue on with the series. Sadly, I didn't love this book. All the issues I had with Wicked Saints were here but more in book two. I think this is a me thing because I know a few people who loved this book. I think I'm just burnt out on YA fantasy and all the tropes galore you find in the genre.. I won't be continuing.

I had kept putting off the first book as I had heard so many mixed reviews so when I saw this book on NetGalley I knew it was finally time to delve into this world.

Oh my god, I am obsessed.

This world, these characters and Emily A. Duncan’s Writing style are just captivating.

These characters are so morally grey but I can’t help but love them all, including the side characters. Nadya and Malachiasz’s relationship is so infuriating but I can’t help but finding myself wanting more! It was interesting to watch the two’s character development along with Serefin who goes through so much in this book that my heart honestly goes out to him.

There were points in this book that I had to re-read paragraphs as there is so much information to take in and one little distraction leads to confusion on my part. It was also a little bit hard to get my head wrapped around the new gods and monsters that were introduced in this book but after a little while it all just clicked into place.

The book also felt a bit slower in places in comparison to the pacing of the first book Wicked Saints but the more I read on I realised that this was needed in order to set up for the end of the book and the next book, which I am honestly so excited for!

Overall this was an amazing second novel with twists and obstacles which will have you hooked. I honestly do recommend giving this a read!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Ruthless Gods is a bloody knife in the dark!

Emily’s writing style is contemporary and yet not. There is something very studied and antique about the worlds she paints, and I felt like I was reading some lost religion book about a world filled with monster-gods. It was gothic YA at its bloody finest.

The plot slowed a bit in the middle, which is why this is a four-star read, but that ending alone was worth all the stars in Serefin’s eyes—even though it ripped my heart out!

The romance between Mal and Nadya continues, and while Emily almost made my heart explode with some of the more precious scenes of them together, I felt like I still didn’t have a clear grasp of what they meant to each other. Of course, this was done by Emily’s choice, but I felt like the second book was the time to tighten that part of the storyline. Who knows, maybe it will be revealed in book three, but knowing Emily, she’ll probably choose to torture us with the unknown:)

Speaking of book three, I need it now! So many things happened in Ruthless Gods, and I can't wait to see how it all ends.

*Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan*
E-ARC Review
Release Date: 04/07/2020

I don’t even know where to start. I finished this book half an hour ago and I’m still weeping like a baby. I had originally read Wicked Saints to get over a book slump to which I did and I didn’t know what I was going to do if I had to wait till April to read Ruthless Gods so I went on NetGalley and will be ever grateful the book overlords decided to accept my request.

I would like to start by saying this book is one of a kind and the only book that even comes close to it is Shadow and Bone but only because of the love interest between the Darkling and Alina. I will fully admit I did not look at the pronunciation guide and yes, half the names, I know how I say them are not even close but that’s beside the point. The detail in the culture of the book is amazing there was no questions or plot holes or anything that didn’t add up. I am 75% sure this is Russian and that made me love it even more because I could just visualize Tranavia and the characters. I have never read a book that I didn’t want to skip over a page but alas, here this gem is, every single word was immaculate and perfect. If you haven’t read the first book I won’t spoil anything but essentially Nadya is a cleric for her Kalyazian gods, Serefin is the king of Tranavia tied to a fallen god, and Malachiasz is a boy who wants to save his country and kill Nadya’s gods. Their paths cross and the war they are trying to stop is fueled by them. Love will become poison and poison will become the new definition of love. Who will succeed in the quest and who will change there destiny?
Personally I think it is amazing that Mrs. Duncan wrote a book and it ripped our hearts out and put them back in just to repeat over and over. This is also her first series. I am so excited to see future books from her. I will say this, if you get squirmish by blood this is NOT the book for you . . . or read it and I’m sure you will still fall in love. The love interest in this story, Malachiasz and Nadya, broke my heart countless times to the point where I was just crying the last 100 pages. While I love a good love, I also was pleasantly surprised to discover Nadya would throw everything away, Malachiasz, herself, to save her people and her country. I kid you not the amount of pain this book brought my heart was so great that I would reread it 1,000 times and still feel the same.

In conclusion, I would 100% say that this book is 20 fold better than the first one and I did not know that was possible. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this before its release and thank you, Mrs. Duncan, for forever changing my world, you and your book will always hold a special place in my heart.

Darkness never works alone...

Another one of my most anticipated read of this year. I was so happy when I got en email of Netgalley saying that I was approved for an e-arc.

Ruthless Gods is the sequel to Wicked Saint and was really more dark and violent.

Nadya is struggling with both losing the voices of the gods in her head as well as with a huge betrayal that had happen months ago. Also, she doesn't trust her own magic anymore.

Serefin, him is trying to keep is sanity as he's hearing a voice inside is head that doesn't belong to him and trying to get is kingdom to be taken by the Ruminski.

Malachiaz fail is attempts to become a god and is a war with himself and what he's becoming after killing his father and become the Black Vulture.

I really have loved this sequel and looking foward for the last book in the trilogy with how the end left us.

I was so excited to get this arc from NetGalley! I loved the first book so much, and the sequel did not disappoint! Like Wicked Saints, it was unpredictable and unreliable and I loved EVERY MINUTE! I cannot wait for this to be released into the world!!

I absolutely loved this follow up to Wicked Saints. As soon as I dove into the first chapter I knew I was in for a crazy ride. The extra world building and new politics were so cool as well as the character development. I so can't wait for everyone else to read this book because I need people to gush about it with!!

After finishing (and enjoying) the first book in this series, Wicked Saints, I was left with a lot of questions about this world of magic and gods. How exactly does all this magic work and where does the power come from? Why are there different kinds of magic? Are the gods the good guys or the bad guys? Whose side is the witch on? I was hoping to get some answers in this second book, Ruthless Gods.

Now that I have finished Ruthless Gods, I think I have a couple answers. But I still have so many questions! I know there is still another book to come that will (hopefully) help me to understand this world and what is going on it, but after reading two books, it is a little frustrating to get to this far into the story and still have so many unanswered questions.

Ruthless Gods jumps in where Wicked Saints left off, and I'm not going to include a summary because I don't want to spoil the first book. There were many parts of Ruthless Gods that I liked. I like Maliachasz and his twisted relationship with Nadya. Even though it is toxic and unhealthy, I am still routing for them to make it work, for better or worse. I also like Serefin and we get see more from his perspective in this book, but I wanted to learn more about him. I liked the overall plot of the story-- with the whole group of characters setting out on a road trip through a dark and dangerous forest leading to a showdown with the gods...it's a great setup for an interesting adventure story.

But this book is really long, and ultimately, not a lot happens. There is plenty of blood and gore and darkness. This is a creepy book for sure! But it's not action packed and didn't end up being the adventure that I was expecting. Much of the book felt like "filler" material, which seems to happen often with second books. I think this second book could have been much shorter, with more action and less introspection from each of the characters.

In the end, I didn't love everything about this book, but I am still invested in this story and eager to find out how it will resolve in the third book.

Fantastic read with twists and turns and bitter discoveries. Ruthless gods follows up on Wicked Saints seamlessly and fills in the missing gaps to continue the story with intrigue. Well done on a secondary installment.

This was an amazing sequel to an equally fantastic 1st book! Can’t wait for more! I enjoyed it very much.

4 Stars

So the word "boy" in this series is starting to make me react the same way as I do to the words "male", "female" and "mate" in the ACOTAR series (that is to say, to hiss aggressively and cower away like a vampire exposed to the sun), but that is honestly the main thing that bothered me about this book. That, and the fact that the main romance really doesn't work for me sometimes.

Don't get me wrong - I love the constant threat of betrayal and the rather refreshing (for YA) way in which the characters put their own interests above their love interest's to the extreme. However, the actual romantic bits? Blegh. I think at least half of it's the "boy" thing, to be perfectly honest. Like a few times is OK, but it was seriously overdone to the point it was just annoying and infantalising rather than implying some kind of vulnerability in Malachiasz. Show don't tell, please!

Pretty much everything else about the story I loved, however. Yes, I was often a bit confused (partly because the plot is WILD) but never in a way that deeply impacted my enjoyment of the book. Moving onto characters, I still absolutely adore Serefin. He's a Nikolai type, so of course I was always going to like him, but my love for him only grew in this instalment. Katya is a new fave of mine, and I enjoyed there being more of a focus on Parijahan's story too. I do wish Kacper and Ostyia got more screen time (especially Ostyia - she seemed to keep getting lost throughout the story!), and Rashid deserves more attention too, but what we do see of them is great. I also really appreciated all the Serefin and Malachiasz scenes - that last one in particular really got to me. I think they might have been some of my favourite parts of the novel.

In theory I shouldn't really like this series. I've never really been drawn to "edgy" stories in any genre, and this definitely seemed to be aiming for edgy in a way that would usually make me go "uh, no thanks". But Something Dark and Holy has a tender heart, and its blood runs warm. I'm really looking forward to the next instalment.

There will be spoilers for book one (Wicked Saints) in my review.





Wicked Saints was one of my favorites last year, so I had pretty high expectations going into Ruthless Gods.  It didn't disappoint me.  I *may* have even liked it more.  The book took me about two hours longer than normal to read, but there was so much to take in.  This book is dark and detailed.  I love Emily's writing.




Ruthless Gods starts off months after Wicked Saints ended.  Malachiasz is gone and Nadya had been hiding out with Serefin.  He is back from the dead and needs to be the king.  Serefin isn't sure why he's hiding an enemy, but he does it anyway.  Until someone decides they want to take over and they know Nadya is there.  The witch had some predictions before they left.  




Nadya hasn't been hearing from the Gods anymore.  Serefin has an old God living inside of him.  There are actually two people and they use his eye to make him see.  The voices are constant and getting to Serefin.  Malachiasz is lost being the Black Vulture.  His humanity is almost gone.  He and Nadya are connected somehow through magic.  She has to find him, make him realize who he is, and take him to a holy place that will likely kill him.  Nadya both loves and hate Malachiasz.  The boy she fell in love with is still there, but the Vulture is always there, too.  She has to choose between her country and the gods and her love for this boy.  Nadya woke up something dark that she needs to stop.




"Things are waking up.  Old things, dark things.  The old ones who have slept for so very very long.  You set it into motion.  You and that Vulture."




Everyone in the book is battling something in their heads.  Serefin is getting worse every day.  The God inside him is slowly taking over.  Nadya is battling with her feelings for Malachaisz, her new power, and that she had been kept in the dark about a lot of things by the people who loved her.  Malachaisz battles to keep any part of himself.  Parj has a secret she battles with.  So many enemies are working together for different outcomes.  There is a closeness between all of them.  None of them are all good or all bad.  They believe their reasoning is right, even when it tears them up inside.




"But things are as simple as good and evil."  "Are they?"  Nadya thought about the voice, about her dreams filled with monsters.




The old Gods were banished and kept secret from Nadya.  They are not content and seek revenge.  Malachaiz is needed for it in some ways.  For Serefin, Velyos needs Serefin to kill Malachaiz.  Nadya needs him to enter into a forest that will likely kill him.  Malachaiz has this power inside of him, begging to come out.  Nothing good can come out of the plans any of them made.




"What happens when a monster tries to become a god?"




My review is so very random and vague, but I don't want to ruin the story for anyone.  So much happens.  There is so much blood and death.  The darkness is larger in this one.  Betrayal is definitely a big theme and I had to remember that I couldn't trust anyone.  And again, we were left with a twist at the end of the book.  I am so sad that I'll have to wait over a year for the third book, but I know it will be worth the wait.




Warnings for cutting, blood magic, war, and death.  Pretty much everything from Wicked Saints.




Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.  I gave this book 5 stars.  Quotes were taken from an early copy and may change before final publication.

Cannibalism. That’s right cannibalism. It feels like the YA
books coming out in the past few years try to push boundaries of what should be alluded to in books for young adults and what should not even be there. This has some of that in it. It is incredibly violent in parts. If this were a film, the MPAA would rate it R. Which speaks to what the proper market for the book should be. That being established, the rating from me would be higher if it were marketed as an adult fantasy.

Duncan has firmly established herself, in my mind, with the likes of Jay Kristoff with this violent, gothic, conflicted narrative. I also feel she successfully bested her first in the series, Wicked Saints. In Ruthless Gods, readers get a bit more character development, the plot is not as linear, and the mystery of the old gods and where the magic comes from slowly unravels itself. Sure, it lags a bit on the way, but Duncan has done some research work into the incredible complex world that is medieval Russian/Polish folklore and mythology. Like any other historical writer, it is completely okay to show off the knowledge and work a bit. Those craving some intellect to go along with their fiction will/should appreciate it.

The drawback for me, in addition to the content not matching the audience, is the insane amount of melodrama. While it works for some, I’m not into it. The doomed love dynamic took up the entirety of the book, and many of the side characters I grew attached to suffered from lack of exposure because of it.

While I realize some who read my review may be thinking, “then don’t read it.” I don’t just read for my enjoyment. I teach students who read YA. There are parents who still care what media their children are exposed to, so when I get asked about a book, I know what to tell them and don’t just stand there uselessly shrugging my shoulders at them. This one will definitely come with content warnings from me.

I was so overwhelmed by WICKED SAINTS, the first book in this series, that I was unable to ever really formulate a solid review that wasn't just incoherent keyboard smashing and yelling about monster boys and kissing and blood magic and horror. So now take all of those feelings and dial them up to a 10 and you have my feelings about RUTHLESS GODS.

Emily's got a real gift for writing these characters who are at times complete moronic cinnamon rolls and also capable of extremely horrific magic that oh yeah, is also very gruesome. Our 3 main characters - Nadya, Malachiasz and Serafin - both deserve all the hugs in the world and also a good solid shaking to knock some sense into them.

If eldritch horror, a magical system that truly does make you pay a price for it, and enemies to lovers (seriously, Emily makes no bones about the love interest being very bad but also very tempting and that is why we love her) is your thing, do yourself a favor and pick up this series right now! As a sequel, RUTHLESS GODS is bold, exciting and risky. Trust me when I say there's no sophomore slump happening here.

Oh, and if lots of eyeballs freak you out...read at your own risk.

I enjoyed Ruthless Gods more than I expected to only because I enjoyed the first novel so much that I did not dare hope it would be as good. I am pleased to say that this dark read and all it's weirdness is really just as good.

It’s been so long since I reviewed Wicked Saints on this blog. I was so excited about reading it that I read it in November 2018 and then reviewed it first thing in January 2019. Then I went to the release day event in Columbus in April 2019, and I feel like I’ve talked about this book in at least two or three recommendation posts. I own a lot of copies of Wicked Saints too: signed hardcover, signed OwlCrate edition hardcover, hardcover that I annotated, e-book, and audiobook. Do I plan to buy the paperback in April? Yes, I do. Oh hey, if someone has either version of the Wicked Saints ARC, I’d really love it/them for my collection.

Clearly it’s obvious that I absolutely adore this book, which was why I pretty much started crying when I was granted the e-galley for Ruthless Gods. I was so excited to jump back into Nadya, Serefin, and Malachiasz’s world and story.

Obviously I hoped that this book would live up to my high expectations after how much I loved its predecessor, but I am happy to announce that it lived up to and blew away my expectations. So much happened in this book.

The characters are struggling with the changes since the events of the first book, and they are dealing with the fallout and consequences of their actions. Nadya just wants her gods to talk to her again, Serefin wants this mysterious voice in his head to stop talking to him, and Malachiasz is…well, he’s Malachiasz.

I will say that there were a couple plot point twists/revelations early on that I was able to quite easily predict, but I was still just so hooked on this story. Overall I ended up reading it in one day (well, technically two, if you count the fact that I stayed up quite late in the night to finish it).

Yes, this book is a bit more Gothic Horror, and there was definitely some eye horror going on in this one, which Emily A Duncan warned people about, but it really helped to build on the atmosphere of this world.

I feel like we learned more about the two main countries and their history with each other in this one. The worldbuilding was definitely expanded upon in a very interesting way. I loved getting to learn more about the gods and the war and the history of these peoples.

And I feel like I can’t really talk about the ending, though yes it is a wonderful shocking twist that makes me even more anxious about any piece of information about the concluding novel to the trilogy.

It’s difficult to review sequels because you don’t want to give out any spoilers, but I can just say that I absolutely adore these books, and I’m ready to continue to obsessively fangirl over Emily A Duncan for many years to come.

Oh–and last year when I went to the Wicked Saints release day event, I took Emily A Duncan a set of dice because she was partly inspired to write these books because of D&D. I’ll just say that I already have another set of dice for the release of Ruthless Gods, so I hope that I’m able to get to a book tour event this time around as well.

**I was given an ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I should start out by saying: I did not love Wicked Saints. I thought it was an average book, but I could feel it building towards something, which is why I was excited for this one. I had high hopes for this book to be much better than the first, but it fell flat for me. This will be non-spoiler, since the book hasn't come out yet, but I will touch upon some things that happened in the first book, so if you didn't read that one, you might want to steer clear of this review.

In the first book, it felt like a lot of build-up and it read very much like a debut novel, which of course, it was. I didn't feel particularly attached to the characters, except Serefin. I had hoped that this book would win me over, but unfortunately, my opinion remains the same of many. I really really wanted to love this book. But this, like the first, was an average read for me.

Anyway, onto the review!

This book, jumps right in and immediately begins building the plot, where in the first, it took 150 pages to get some semblance of what was going on. It was definitely faster paced than the first one, which I did enjoy, but some parts of the book did drag and when they dragged, it seemed to go on forever. This is, as well as the lack of page numbers in the e-ARC (which of course has nothing to do with the book), was part of the reason was I read this book so slowly.

This book isn't very action-based, it's plot-heavy, so if you're in the mood for a lighter fantasy read, you're in the wrong place. Some of the chapters are steeped in information and I found that it wasn't something I could give half my attention to and still know what's going on, which lead me to have to go back and read a few things multiple times.

That being said, I don't dislike Duncan's writing style. I like a lot of her use of description, she paints really vivid images of specific scenes, specifically of Malachiasz. The plot was a lot better and was definitely more interesting than the first, but it was also complex. I love the voice she puts into her characters, it's really distinct in each of them, which is something I enjoy, though I do still feel really distant from many of them despite that. Maybe first person POV would have helped to bring me closer, even though I generally prefer third.

I like how original the magic system is in this book, even if I don't completely understand how it works. Other than the Tranavian blood mages, much of the magic within this world I haven't encountered before. I only wish I knew more about it. We learn a little more about the gods in this book, which was nice. The title is about as accurate as they come.

I really liked how there were "interlude" chapters, in which it wasn't Serefin or Nadya's POV, but some of the side characters. I can't really call them main characters when I still feel like I know next to nothing about some of them.

I love plot (so much), but I am a very character-driven reader, and if I'm not connected to the characters I'm not as invested in the story. I think that's my main problem with this book. I didn't feel completely connected to the characters, or like the characters enough to give this book any higher of a rating. It might just be me.

I did like how Parj got more page time, but there's something spoilery that I can't talk about now that has to do with her. I don't really know why it's completely relevant, maybe it will have some significance in the next book.

Also full disclosure: I deadass could not remember for the life of me who Kostya was. Whoops. Moving on to more important things.

I don't see the appeal of Malachiasz. There I said it. He's not some angsty misunderstood teenage boy. He's not some soft boy who made a single mistake in his life that led him on the wrong path. He's legitimately evil. He's a literal monster with horns and apparently, as it was mentioned about 25 times, clusters of eyes opening up on his body (mainly on his cheek). He has a few one liners here and there, but I don't even think he's a completely compelling villain. I feel like Duncan definitely took some inspiration from the Darkling to create his character, but it doesn't feel as well done as the Darkling does. The Darkling was likable, understandable and a captivating character, where Malachiasz is the type of character that makes me want to roll my eyes. He's also a pathological liar, but I'll get to that later. He isn't a redeemable character. Just because he has pretty eyes and anxiously bites his fingernails doesn't make him likable. The amount of times that the word boy is used to describe him is ridiculous. Some variation of "horrible, beautiful boy" of "terrible, monstrous, gorgeous boy" is used in almost every chapter in Nadya's POV. Well, I suppose I should address my opinion of their pairing.

I want to say that I am a huge fan of enemies to lovers. It is one of my favorite trope and I am usually a sucker for it. I cannot stand Nadya and Malachiasz together. Like at all. I don't understand why Nadya's so drawn to him. He literally does something so disgusting in one of the early chapters of this book and a chapter later she's talking about how "misunderstood" he is. I just don't understand it. She keeps talking about how she'd love to get revenge on him for what he did to her at the end of the first book, but at the same time she looks at him and forgets that he did any of that. She keeps trying to think the best of him and he's not someone that deserves that. He's also a liar. He spent all of the first book straight up lying and he's not exactly forthcoming in this one either. Yes, because this is a healthy way to build a relationship. And Nadya knows this and she still walks around willfully blind to every wrong he does. Literally Serefin shows up at hears Malachiasz say one sentence and knows he's full of shit. I just can't stand their relationship. And everyone else just sort of doesn't react to it? Like this is a good or normal thing?

Nadya is definitely not a favorite protagonist of mine, mostly because of how naive she still is, even after everything. I'm going to call it naive and not stupid like I read in someone else's review. I just feel like she has the common sense to put things together or to understand more things than she lets on, but again, she's willfully blind to so many of the things that go on around her. But there were quite a few things that happened surrounding her in this book that I'm excited to see come to fruition in the next book.

Anyway, I won't say much about her since she's a brand new character, but Katya's POV was an interesting one to get, especially since I feel like I know next to nothing about the actual monarchy in Kalyazin. I don't know how their government works, but I assume its somewhat similar to Tranavia's. Now that I think about it, there was more information about Akola's government that there was of Kalyazin's. Either way, I don't know if I love her as a character, but I definitely think she's intriguing and know she'll be vital to the plot of the next book.

I think it's time for me to finally talk about Serefin. I love Serefin. He's by far my favorite character in this book. He's having a rough go of it after everything that happened in the first book, btu I definitely found myself most excited for his chapters. I think that he's a far more compelling character than Malachiasz, and I honestly would have preferred him as Nadya's love interest, but knowing Duncan's love of Star Wars's Reylo, I knew that wasn't going to happen. He's such a complex character is in the midst of further development throughout this book. But pretty much everything that I could possibly say about him is spoilery, so I'm going to just leave it at that.

The ending of this book was by far my favorite part. From about the last 7 (maybe?) chapters onward I was a lot more invested in the story than I had been throughout most of the book. The pace changed completely and the ending few chapters felt rejuvenated. It's a crazy ending, if I'm being honest. I won't say anything about it, but I will say that.

Lastly, I feel that some of the ideas in the book are sound enough, but they aren't executed in a way that particularly hit the nail on the head for me. It was sort of a half-hit. I will read the last book when it comes out since I dedicated myself to the first two and I hope that I enjoy it more than I liked these.

That's pretty much all I had to say, but if I think of anything else, I'll come back to this review and add.

Thanks for reading:)

I don't know why I forget how dark this book is. It just has such a heavy and depressing aura and air about it as soon as you start in to reading it. I almost feel like I should be wearing heavy eyeliner and dark clothing to really get in the mind frame to read this book (sadly I don't feel inclined to do either, so I must grin and bare it).
This book, like the first one, skipped around be a lot. There was a lot of jumping between character stories. I don't mind multiple character stories being told congruently, per se. It's when there are so many that it's easy to forget what has happened in one because the author hasn't been to some storylines in awhile - I as the reader have no idea what is going on it's been so long since the author has picked up this characters' storyline, I've now forgotten what's going on. It's confusing.
Now let's talk about the cliches (cause let me tell you they are there). Like in the first book and it's "onyx-eyes", this book has "a beautiful Tranavian boy" or "tortured beautiful boy" or "this sad lonely boy" every time to describe Mal. Gag me now. Is Duncan trying to subconsciously get us to feel sorry for Mal?
Let's move come to the next trainwreck for this book - romance or maybe I should say the trainwreck of romance in this book. I understand this is a YA book (though there is more blood and darkness in it than some of the "adult" novel I read). What I don't understand is how Duncan thinks that the unhealthy "relationship" Nadya has with Mal is romance? I understand darkness and allegory and all that stuff but her character development continues to enable him.
I leave you with this - it had the potential to be a fantastic fantasy but got sacrificed in to a world a muddled love story.

** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. **