This book is cruel and dark and WONDERFUL. Everything it was destined to be. Onyx and obsidian, laced in blood. An inky and monstrous gem of a sequel.

I don’t know how I was lucky enough to get my hands on Ruthless Gods so early, perhaps it’s a gift from the divine or something far more sinister. Perhaps both? You’ll probably have to read the book to find out. And read the book you should.

Wicked Saints completely shattered what I believed was possible in fantasy and Ruthless Gods grabs those possibilities by the chin and yanks them into a deep embrace until they’ve been twisted into something that’s almost out of the scope of our understanding. Truly cosmic horror at its supremacy.

If you thought Nadya, Serefin and Malachiasz have suffered, prepare yourself. You have not seen the extent of their suffering and after reading Ruthless Gods, I’m certain I haven’t either.

This story examines the desperation of love and lies and the love between them. It examines the mortality of faith and the fragility of the mind. It examines the consequences of choices we make while seeking peace, identity and our humanity. There are no good options and one cannot have all of these things.

Your favorite characters are exhausted and their free will is slipping out of their grasp. There’s kissing and broken boys and girls with blades and lots of blood.

You might go into thinking you’ll devour this book, but plant your feet firm because it will devour you.

This book completely shattered my heart and I have no idea how I'm going to survive until the release of the third book. As ecstatic as I was to receive an ARC of Ruthless Gods, I realized that I'll now have to wait even longer for the next book. Ruthless Gods was absolutely perfect; it completely blew away all of my expectations. It was so much deeper and creepier than Wicked Saints (which was absolutely amazing as well). I could go on for hours about this series and the characters. Malachiasz is probably my all-time favorite character from any book, but I love all of the characters in this world. I'm continually amazed that this is the author's first series.

<i>Ruthless Gods </i> picks up where the first book <i>Wicked Saints</i> left off, and the base characters are quickly reintroduced into the plot as Nadya, Serefin and Malachiasz each have their reason for making the journey to the place of the old gods.

The Something Dark and Holy trilogy is confusing because I never know how I feel about the books after I read them. It's a series of books that I want to like and actually do want to read, yet when I'm in the middle of reading them I don't particularly enjoy the book (and yet I'll still read the third one in the series when it comes out). As a few other reviewers have said, the book's pacing is so sluggish that it becomes a chore to get through. A lot of the plot and description is repetitive (how many do blood and eyeballs need to be repeated?). There are also places where the characters don't seem like themselves (ex: Nadya drops the f-bomb twice in the book in relative quick succession, but never before and never again. It stands out as odd).

Like the first book, the most entertaining part is the last 30 or so pages. Duncan packs a lot of suspensful action in those page, and that part is what saves the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This was a thick tome of a book but a good follow up to the first book. The world building was more fleshed out, and the characters were all pretty interesting. It was a decent book but I fear I may be done with this series, I probably won't be seeking out the final book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!!

Rate: 3/5 stars

OKAY. MAJOR SPOILERS OF WICKED SAINTS HERE. A quick review full of spoilers so I can get to Ruthless Gods.
So, I bought Wicked Saints when it came out, cause some of my friends were freaking out about the good trash(TM) that was the main couple. The thing is - I didn't quite enjoyed as much as I thought I would. There were a lot of inconsistences, plot conveniences, useless secondary characters, confusing fighting scenes, characters on stand-by while things are happening all around them and ohhhh the drama!!!!! Nadya was just annoying. She's naive and doesn't know how to impose herself, and her hatred towards the others characters who don't follow her religion is totally arbitrary and oscillates (Serefin, the dude that destroyed her home, seems okay and should live, but Malachiasz, the dude that - at that point of the story - hadn't done anything wrong, is BAD). Moreover, I really hated the fact that one of the main plot twists (Malachiasz being the Black Vulture) is TOLD to Nadya by a character so whatever that I don't even know why is there (although now I have a suspicion).

RUTHLESS GODS (minor spoilers, I guess???)
DISCLAIMER: I know this isn't the final edition. I leave this comment based on what I read, which can be different when it's published.

This book was very nice in some aspects and really terrible in others, The highlights, like the first one, is the writing - Emily writes beautifully. There's something almost poetic in the way she carries the narrative. The other highlight was the gods. I really enjoyed making theories about what exactly was happening to Serefin, what happened to Malachiasz and what the hell is Nadya - I didn't get everything right, and some things of the first book were clarified in this one (yayyy) and other stuff remained in mystery for the next one. The difference was that, in the end of Wicked Saints, I had the feeling that this whole god-thing was a massive plot whole, but it was mostly explained in this sequel, and the things that stood open in this one will totally be explained in the last one (or at least I got the feeling that it would).
However, for me, it had a lot of flaws. OBS: all of this inconsistances, here and in WS, could have been fixed with the help of an editor. It seems to happen a lot in american books, though, this lack of editing.

1) The structure of the book
In Wicked Saints, we have three main characters and two POVs (Nadya and Serefin) and one Epilogue (Black Vulture). So we would hope that in books 2 and 3 the POVs would intercalate - Nadya and Malachiasz and Serefin and Malachiasz -, but what we get is one Prologue (we didn't have that in the first one), two POVs (still Nadya and Serefin), one Epilogue, and multiples interludes with POVs of Malachiasz/Black Vulture and other secondary characters that didn't make sense at all. The only ones that actually added something for the narrative were Malachiasz's. The others could be easily cut off, because we didn't get the chance of caring about those characters in the first one, so why force them on us in this one? It really seemed like the author was trying to say: hey, look, I know I didn't care much about these people in WS, but here they are important!! I just didn't buy that. And there were a few inconsistances INSIDE this main inconsistence - like a POV of a secondary character outside an interlude, in the middle of Nadya's POV, and two interludes in sequel (an interlude should be something different between two equal things, so what is the point of one interlude right after the other?).

2. The characters' development (or lack of) and the political background
Nadya was an absolute IDIOT in this book. I have no words for how raging I was while reading her chapters. In WS I didn't understand why she got so infatuated with Malachiasz, but it was okay, I accepted that, but in this one things got OUT OF CONTROL. She kept telling the reader she wouldn't repeat her wrongs of the first book, she wouldn't trust people she knew couldn't be trusted, but guess what::::::: she did and then she had the audacity of being surprised. I can't even. I just can't pinpoint why she's so dumb when she was sold out as the badass female protagonist. A lot of wrong choices because of a not-washed dick, and all of the questions that come up about her own gods are also made because of him, and not because she feels like she should make them. I guess I don't like how Nadya (and her decisions) orbitates around him.
Serefin was okay in this one (poor child), but I didn't like how he STILL acts as a teenager when he should be an adult already, and a king for all matters. In fact, even in WS, I found ridiculous how the prince (now king) wanders around with nothing but his cousin and one guard to watch his back. The fact that (SPOILERS OF THE BEGINNING) he just left his palace with his enemy and his two friends/guards and we didn't even get to see him talking with the person he was going to leave as a regent was absolute WTF. Everything concerning the politics in this book was completely WTF. He doesn't know how to rule (weird, cause he's a prince, therefore he should have been prepared for it) and he makes such poor decisions with vague motivations that seem only convenient for the plot.
The new character - the tsarevna of Kalyazin - was also a big WRECK. I was hoping to love her so much, given that I'm really done with Nadya, but I found awful how she just (SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!) chooses to travel with one unreliable cleric and, I don't know, four or five people of her enemy country WITHOUT ONE SINGLE GUARD; it's absolutely laughable. I couldn't take her seriously after this. I won't even mention the dialogue between them - not fitting at all for royalty and people of importance. For multiple moments I felt like this was a rom-com book disguised as fantasy.

3. The romance
Soooo we have two couples and a hint of a third one. The whole Nadya and Malachiasz thing seemed a replay of WS - desire, distrust, betrayal, bla bla bla. The make out scenes were very aethestic (ughhh I hate gore but I understand that this was in the description of the book soo, can't judge), but, again, since we're looking at it from Nadya's perspective, I just couldn't enjoy it, all due to her annoying inner speech and lack of self restraint. Other things that happened between the two of them also annoyed me (SPOILERS!!!!): how they would fight, and Malachiasz would go from nice boy to monster in one second, and then they would make up and make out, only to repeat this cycle in the next chapter, Give me development that a second book should have or just drop this couple, goddamnit. Also, I can't even count how many times I read "anxious boy" or "horrible, beautiful boy" or just "boy" in general in this book.
(SPOILER!!!) The romance regarding Serefin also annoyed me. We didn't get one single hint of it in WS, and now it's all over the place, and not in a subtle way. Also the fact that hierarchy and duty are completely ignored here really makes me mad, especially because we're in Serefin's head, and he SHOULD think about these things.

Last comments: Pelageya still is absolutely unnecessary (though I have a feeling, and a theory, that it will change in the last one) and shouldn't be used as a resource to tell the characters and the readers about major twists of the plot. Things that happened in WS weren't explained in RG (like what happened with the ladies of the Rawalyk?? Why Serefin didn't continue the competition to get himself a wife and appease his court??).

The rest was fine, I guess. Malachiasz remains a question mark. The cosmic horror and eye horror was definetely there and it was disgusting - like promised - and very well written. I kinda of liked the ending, though I feel like it was WS all over again (maybe repetition is a thing in this series). Again, I REALLY like the whole plot of the gods, especially in this book. Maybe if the characters were more mature and the political background was better developed, this series would be VERY good. Now it's just okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!!!

This was a great follow up to Wicked Saints and a perfect read to kick off October! There was a lot more character development in the follow up and lots of twists and turns to keep things interesting. Ruthless Gods is not for the faint of heart. The characters are so broken and this book is filled with so much angst and betrayal its hard to read at parts, yet you can't look away. The second installment was filled with MORE, more romance, more horror, more gore. Malachiasz is EVERYTHING and my heart breaks for Serefin. You can't help but love these monsters. Ruthless Gods answers some questions left open in Wicked Saints but opens the door to so many more! Emily Duncan is a really innovative writer and you can't help but be drawn into her dark and gothic world. The ending will leaving you dying for the next book. It can't come out soon enough! Counting down! Full review to come closer to the release date.

I requested this book as I was reading the first book at the time but unfortunately it was not for me. The writing was hard to understand and the character were hard to relate to.

Kinda ambivalent about this sequel (as I did with the first one). It has such a beautiful setting and characters with so much potential, but ultimately the plot drags on and the ending seemed to leave it at the same place, where the first one ended. Mysterious powers, uncertainty, and questionable intentions.

Six months have passed since the ending of the first book, Serefin is king but the country is in turmoil after the death of his father. The nobles are also trying to overthrow him through political machinations. He's got a voice in his head that keeps trying to manipulate him. Malachiasz has become the Black Vulture and rules from the Salt Mines, where eldritch horrors exist. Nadya on the other hand no longer has her gods and she decides on something that involves bringing Malachiasz back.

This plot is the main focus of the book. Nadya finds Malachiasz, she helps him remember and then they travel around the country until the climax of the book. Sure, there are some other cool things like Serefin meeting the actual queen of Kalyzi, who wears a necklace made out of vulture teeth, and her helping him. But that's it. The whole book is centered around Serefin battling the voices in his head, being whisked away to an enchanted forest and then magically finding Nadya headed in the same direction as him.

Honestly, the ending of the book was the most interesting part of the story because stuff actually happened. Spoilers ahead. Malachiasz reveals to only be interested in dethroning all the gods and ancient beings and restructuring the divine hierarchy. Serefin wakes up the ancient beings, who want revenge. And Nadya hints at finally becoming dark by betraying Malachiasz. In fact, the ending is enough to keep me wanting to read the next book to find out what happens.

Overall, the slow pacing and Nadya's characterization and lack of clear motives were my biggest issues with the book. I've always wanted a young adult book that featured a questionable male love interest, but I don't find Malachiasz that interesting. He wavers between being forbidding and simpering, which is more annoying than unique. Nadya's obsession with him seems to have ulterior motives, but we really never get an explanation or a clear indication of her future plans. In this book, Nadya questions the source of her power and it leads her to somewhat of an existential crisis, but this primarily left in the background. And while I'd really like an ~*evil*~ female heroine, Duncan is not really clear on where her protagonist is going or what she's thinking.

The word boy is used 185 times in this book, and most of those are in reference to Malachiasz, and I just really wish that number were cut down by at least half.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book in the near future with an honest rating and review.

Ruthless Gods, the sequel in the trilogy Something Dark and Holy, picks up right where the first book ended and throws the reader right back into the depths of emotional turmoil and heart-wrenching decision making that could alter the entire course of history for Tranavia and Kalyazin forever. Though many questions are answered, there is still so much more to learn, leaving the reader yearning to find out what happens in the last book of the trilogy. The way the author develops this story guides the reader through the trials and tribulations the characters face, leading to an unexpected journey and whirlwind of an ending.

***I would like to add that this book makes the reader fall in love over and over and have their heart broken by the bad guy, the enemy you never knew you wanted to love, just as many times as Nadya. I can’t wait to see how it all fleshes out in the final installment!***

I was glad to see the development of many of the side characters. This addition helped to provide background information for questions the reader might have left over from the previous book. I also feel like the author did a better job world building in this book, allowing the reader to have a better understanding and visualization of the entire mythos of the world the characters live in. However, some of the organization within the book confused me while reading. There were times where I needed to go back and reread a passage because it seemed some things jumped around and there was a quick turn of events that didn’t feel like a smooth transition.

As a youth services associate, I would suggest this book (and series) to any teen that loves dark fantasy/adventure with a deep cut of hopeless romanticism in a world where gods and monsters exist. It’s a fast-paced, page-turner that could easily become a favored series to many of the teens I work with. This is definitely a title our library would purchase, as I could see this series becoming a bigger hit with each new book.

Altogether, I would highly suggest this book to my teens and even my fellow coworkers! I had fun reading it!

I received a digital advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read Wicked Saints when it came out in April of this year and it had to be one of the bloodiest and darkest novels I have ever read. But Ruthless Gods takes the cake, it is bloodier and darker than its predecessor by 100 percent

I did find the story to be a bit repetitive. It felt like I was rereading Wicked Saints with more blood and gore. I did really like this better than the first of the series, which is saying something because I truly enjoyed Wicked Saints.
The pace in this book was much faster than the first book and the action definitely keeps you in suspense and glued to the page.

The ending had me really confused, but I think that it was part of the books magic because even the characters seemed really confused. My heart breaks for Nayda. I really just want things to work out for her. Malachiasz and Nadya will be the death of me, I am sure of it. I just want them to get their happy ending. I find their story so compelling and I just want all the happiness in their chaos ridden lives.

I cannot wait for the next installment. It is such a good read. I hate that now I have to wait even longer since I got this one early!

Thank you so much to Emily Duncan, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for sending me a digital copy of this book for review. This review will be posted on www.featheredfables.wordpress.com closer to the publication date.

Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow. This sequel was everything! It was filled with blood, horror, romance, deception, magic, and of course, betrayal! It hurt so so good!

We finally get to see the mess these characters have created for themselves. And they are then thrown into so much more mess. Nadya is struggling with her magic, and with hearing her gods. Serefin is struggling with a voice and his new magical eye. Malachiasz is struggling with... well, being Malachiasz. All of them are tied together and their journeys wind up on the same path. I'm not going to spoil what that path leads them to!!

This book is much much darker than the first book. You have been warned. There is much more blood, much more gore, and much more overall dread. It is absolutely spectacular. This series feels like it was made for me and I will not stop talking about how great it is!

"'I'm going to push you into this river.' 'I can't swim!' 'That's a shame. I guess you'll die.'"

THE ENEMIES TO LOVERS CONTENT WE'VE ALL BEEN SEARCHING FOR IS RIGHT HERE! Nadya and Malachiasz have stolen my heart. Again. They remain my OTP. I will never not root for them. They hate each other, they love each other. They try to kill each other, they kiss each other. They tell one another to go away, then they're right back to snuggling. I AM NOT OKAY, OKAY?! Every tender interaction between these two made me want to weep. They are just so. freaking. cute. I'm pretty sure I highlighted all of their scenes. I love them and I can't stand them. If Ms. Duncan does not make them endgame I don't know what I will do but my life will be over. They were made for each other and I will die on this hill.

"'You're horrible.' She leaned up on her toes, kissing him once more."

Serefin, our Bisexual King, finally gets his romance too! (Which I did see hints of in book one!) I don't know if it's a spoiler so I won't say who it's with but they are adorable. It's not really a main focus (yet) but still! Serefin deserves to be happy. They all do, but Serefin just seems The Most Tired Of This Shit. Serefin's eye is...weird. It causes that poor boy so much stress and pain and misery. And trouble. There's a lot of eye bleeding in this book, in case that freaks you out! Like I said, it causes him a lot of trouble! Just like the first book I wasn't as invested with Serefin as I was with Nadya. He's great he's just...not Nadya. I found myself much more interested with her chapters although his story was engaging as well. Sorry to all the Serefin lovers!

I've never read about a stranger group of people. They all care for each other but they are also all trying to kill each other. It is fascinating. We meet a new character in this book. Tsarevna Yekaterina Vodyanova, or just Katya. She is amazing, and she is GAY, and I hope she and Ostyia have endless flirting in book three! She's also a Vulture hunter and, yes, she also wants to kill Malachiasz. Basically, everyone's MO is to kill Malachiasz. My poor baby. I don't know how they're all going to make it safely out of the mess they've created. I don't know if they all will make it out safely. The ending of this book was Pain x1000. I just want peace and happiness for this deranged little group. It's all I want okay? That and for Nadya and Malachiasz to live happily ever after ;)

I adored this book. It's language is rich, as are its characters, religion, and legends. Like truly good horror, I was cringing quite often and sometimes wanted to look away, but couldn't.
I loved what the author says is "cerebral" about this novel. There are moments where I had no idea what was happening and it made me feel out of control--as if I were one of the characters, too. It is vivid and lovely and dark. It is not for the faint of heart. Ms. Duncan has outdone herself here. I'll be stuck with these characters for a very long while.

The story was good. A little less action than the first, but the characters and plot more than made up for it. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

This book was received as an ARC from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own Thank you so much Wednesday Books @wednesdaybooks

The stunning sequel to the gripping New York Times bestseller, Wicked Saints
A nightmare full of unseen terrors! The author has masterly created an intricate web of terrible myths, Godlike monster so terrifying and real when you are reading about them you can actually feel them. I love this book because it's so confusing and violently dark. and weirdness makes it stand out from other books.

The writing hooked me from page one and guided me through this feverish dream called Ruthless Gods... A monster book effortlessly and beautifully that for one of this years unique and creative books of 2019.
This sequel answers many questions that I was left with after book one, but there are so many more unanswered questions. While most of Wicked Saints took place in Tranavia, this book takes places in Kalyazia and you learn more abou the magic and history.
What a dramatic cliffhanger hanger of an ending.
I am patiently waiting for more of the dark blood soaked torn world of Emily Doncan

*This is a non spoiler review, I will be posting an updated version on my Book blog and IG account, closer to the release date.*

“The forest is alive and wants to eat you.”

"RUTHLESS GODS opens the door to a world of fallen gods and eldritch horrors... Gruesome, grotesque, and so, so glorious." -


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Okay so, first off, I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley, I have died.

I loved WICKED SAINTS and was so excited for RUTHLESS GODS, but with a healthy helping of nerves that it wouldn’t live up to my hopes and dreams. Nerves? Don’t know them. This book exceeded my expectations! The body horror, the constant sense of dread, the hopelessness, the dry exhaustion of my three favorite terrible people. I love it.

Nadya, Serefin, and Malachiasz are all disasters and you know they’re trying their best but wow what a mess. I have never rooted for such soft but at the same time horrible people more in my life. On top of a great primary cast, the side characters add so much to the story. Kacper and Parj, especially seem to keep everyone somewhat level.

I can’t wait for the next book in this series and will continue yelling about it to strangers who mention an interest in books or Eastern Europe (or moths.)

I knew what I was getting myself into with Ruthless Gods.

Like Wicked Saints, I was expecting blood magic. To be transformed into a beautiful gothic landscape involving saints and voices and visions. The second book in this series far exceeded my expectations. The first book had teeth, this one has bloody fangs.

I can't wait to see what happens in book 3!

I really struggled to get through this book. I enjoyed Wicked Saints and was really looking forward to the sequel. I just got lost so many time when reading this. The plot tends to be needlessly complicated. I love the three main characters and they are what kept me going. However, there were so many secondary characters that I struggled to remember who was who and where everything was taking place. I will still purchase this book for my library collection because the first one has been checked out multiple times.

** Will be posted on my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on March 7, 2020, closer to the publication date**

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

Wow, Ruthless Gods. So I just finished it and I amstill processing how I feel about it. I keep wavering between 3.5-4 stars so I’m just rounding up and keeping it at 4 stars.

Wicked Saints, the first book in this series was bloody and dark. I think Ruthless Gods is bloodier and darker…but somewhat at times repetitive. Malachiasz (I will never know how to spell or say his name right off the bat 🤷🏻‍♀️)has turned into a monster after his quest for knowledge and power. Serefin is possessed by some god he doesn’t believe in, and Nadya is bereft that her god has stopped speaking to her and is still confused by her feelings for Malachiasz. Their descent into hell, or this war between gods, seems to have only begun.

The mood for this brutal, strange, scary world is spot on. It is dark, bleak and full of monsters or should I say gods? There is nothing shiny and bright in this world – there is bitter winter and darkness for the setting. The author definitely does a great job creating an atmosphere that is full of mysticism and things we humans cannot quite comprehend. At times I didn’t understand what Malachiasz even was…does anyone really know? Is he a god? Or does he just have god powers? Is he still evolving? Sometimes I felt like this book was one big question mark. It questions magic, divinity, power and humanity.

Serefin is in an internal fight with a god who is trying to control him. He is such the opposite of Malachiasz who wanted all the power and knowledge. Plus if you thought there was a lot of self-harm with the blood magic in the first book…well, this one takes it there and then some! Some parts were just gruesome, at least for me since I’m weak when it comes to horror.

Malachiasz, this boy…seriously. I don’t trust him, at ALL. And he has turned into something so monstrous. Nadya shouldn’t be trusting him at all either…but he is her weakness. They are such a strange couple, sweet at times, totally bad for each other most times and a bloody mess together (literally) all the time. It just gets messier between them by the end of the book. There is so much angst between them, a little too much for me. I just wanted someone to make the right decision and stick with it (looking at you Nadya!).

And Nadya…she might have frustrated me the most because no one knows what she is or what her power is. All the speculation was starting to test my patience. I’m just ready to find out something more concrete about their situations. I did enjoy the break from these three main characters when a new character enters the story to shed more light about the gods.

Overall, as a second book I think it was better than Wicked Saints because it was faster paced and with a greater sense of urgency that I thought was missing from the first book. There is more suffering, more wondering, more horror in this book but that’s pretty much the tone of the story, destruction and rebirth. Emily A. Duncan is definitely creative and staunch in her world building. If you want bloody, she give you bloody in this book.

I’m ready to see how this series ends and I wonder if any of them make it out alive.