Omg! This book was so good! I loved Wicked Saints and loved this one just as much.

I'm shook at that ending! WHAT IS THAT ENDING!? I really hope it ends well, in the next book.

I'm in love with Malachiasz and that's all there is to it. I love Nadya and so many in the book. Everyone is just broken. Can anything be fixed? I'm soooo freaking sad for so many! Please, please let this be fixed in the next book!

I'm leaving it at this as I don't want to give anything away, I will revisit my review closer to release date!

*I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for hte opportunity to read this book.*

Happy Reading!

Mel

I really was looking forward to reading this after Wicked Saints and was super excited to receive an e-ARC from Netgalley, but now that I'm finished with it, I'm just left with an overall feeling of confusion.

I'll start with what I liked, though:
I did like the theme of power. That there are all different types of power and different types of corrupting power. I thought that was interesting. I also really enjoyed Katya's character, although her reason for being involved was never explained, so I definitely have questions on that. She was intriguing to say the least, though! I also continued to enjoy Serafin's character. I thought his relationship with Kacper seemed more of a side note than an actual romance that impacted the story (like Malachiasz and Nadya), so I felt like that relationship detracted from the story. Other than that, I enjoyed Serafin's internal battles. Poor guy really struggled to understand who was good and who was bad and who he should believe and who he shouldn't believe. I related to him because I felt the same way!

What I didn't enjoy:
Why was Nadya trusting Malachiasz??? I just did not understand that at all. He betrayed her so many, many times yet she continually went back to him. That really annoyed me because it made zero sense to me why she kept putting her trust in him again.
The plot at many points became fuzzy and confusing. Even at the end, I was not clear on the story goal or the purpose. There just seemed to be too much going on and too many unanswered questions. Each character had their own goal but then each character was also uncertain of what they wanted and what their goal even was. The book ended up leaving me with a general sense of confusion.
Ostyia, Rashid, and Parj just fell in the background. They were lurking there, sometimes appearing, but didn't seem to have any bearing on the story. I enjoyed them in Wicked Saints so I wished they had more of a role.
So overall, I was just a little disappointed in this book. I had high expectations after Wicked Saints, and sadly, those expectations were not met.

WHIP OUT THE BLACK EYELINER AND CRANK UP THE HEAVY METAL
We're going on an adventure!

I must begin with saying that I am a big fan of second books in series. We already know the most important characters, we know the world, basic rules have been established. It's less introducing us to everything and more plot, more character development. Luckily, it was no different here. It felt a bit like coming home (well, if your idea of home are bleak, wet, snow-covered forests that house a bunch of monsters who may or may not want to kiss and/or kill you).
Emily A. Duncan has begun to craft a deliciously dark tale with Wicked Saints, and has only spun it further in Ruthless Gods - so much further. There is more of everything, more hurt, more angst, more betrayal (everybody is each other's personal hell basically :')) - more than once you are left to wonder who to even root for and it's the best thing), more lore, more body horror (so much body horror; it was wonderful), more romance too - just more, more, more. And that was exactly what I had craved after finishing the first book.

The writing hooked me from page one and has guided me through this fever dream of a monster book effortlessly and beautifully.
As I followed Nadya, Serefin (my snarkiest of moth children - I'd forgotten how funny he is) and of course the one and only Malachiasz - new #1 evil book boyfriend, it felt like I was sucked right into an eldritch nightmare and I trembled, laughed, cried and doubted right alongside all of them. We finally get to learn more about the gods the title mentions, and also get to explore the magic system (or magic systems rather) in greater depth.
Many questions are answered, but new ones rise in their place, and how I will survive until the next book - no idea. None whatsoever. All I know is that I can't wait to hold a finished copy of Ruthless Gods in my hands in 2020, and until then I will continue to blabber about it to anyone who will listen :)

Sidenote: I have seen the Something Dark & Holy series compared to the Grishaverse on multiple occasions, and have drawn my own comparisons from time to time, but it is very much it's own, distinctive thing; Emily's own tone and world. Much, much darker overall, and with a diverse cast of characters that is a hell of a lot lighter on the morals.
And for once I honestly find myself guessing about how all of this will wrap up - I have hopes that this series will continue to surprise me.

I was one of the people that really didn't care for book one. This one though hit it out of the park!! I loved it!! The writing was so much better and the story flowed so much more!! I still had issues connecting with the characters as a whole however, it is getting better. I feel like the author is really getting into the groove of how to tell/show a story and its showing in the writing. The ending to this one will devastate you to no end. And man I can't believe that I got this done so soon. Since this one isn't out until April 2010!! (this was reviewed on Sept. 2019 so feel my pain when I need the next title and have to wait almost 2 years for it).

Ruthless Gods....or as I prefer "Give me more Mal"......or an indescribably fascinating assemblage of words that left me IN MY FEELINGS .

This book is dark and bloody, both good things for the continuation of this story from Wicked Saints. The book is a road trip that splits the characters up into two groups, bringing them back together for the last of the story. This series gets compared to the Grisha series (which I also loved), but this is a darker book with an entirely different plot. I enjoy that the "Gods" are real in the story but not all powerful. The characters are all interesting, with romances that feel natural to the story. The ending left me anxious for the last book in the trilogy. I would recommend this book for teens and young adults looking for a thrilling, twisty, and fast-paced book.

I read the first book a little while ago and adored it and was fortunate enough to get a chance to read Ruthless Gods early through Netgalley. Let me just say, that this book blew me away. I stayed up very late reading it and I truly did not want to stop reading. The story takes place very shortly after the events of Wicked Saints and the action keeps coming. The characters are wonderfully done and literally everyone has an ulterior motive, which keeps you guessing about what will happen until the very end. Slight warning though, for anyone made uncomfortable by blood or eye horror, this book does get a bit gruesome, but its brilliantly done. The dark, gritty atmosphere was wonderfully written and I adored reading about this world. I can’t wait until the third book! I will definitely be buying a copy of this book on release and recommending it to all my reader friends. If you love dark fantasy, you will love this. Also there is a kick-ass heroine and the right amount of romance. Loved this book and it guaranteed that I will be reading everything this author writes.

So very weird and so wonderful. So vastly dark and deep. Everyone is whispering and everyone has so much to say. It's all so beautifully said and it's all lies. The forest is alive and wants to eat you.

I loved Wicked Saints with my entire weird-book-loving heart. I'm so happy to say Ruthless Gods is even better. Questions are answered. More questions are posed. They are all so anemic. EYE HORROR GALORE. It kills me that they're just children in over their heads. They're all so sad and have been through so much. THE SCENE IN THE FOREST CLEARING. Emily manages to make you understand just how small you are. And the freaking ending, yall, omg. 

I love this book so much and am in awe of it. I read Wicked Saints a second time immediately after finishing it. And I have every intention of reading Ruthless Gods again very soon.

Thank you so much, Netgalley, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I even start with Ruthless Gods..

Well let me start with this, I knew Ruthless Gods was going to be good. In fact I knew it was going to be incredible..but this book is just so far beyond those two words. This book is EVERYTHING I have ever wanted in a dark fantasy. If you've read Wicked Saints then you know these characters are each so different but they all come together and their stories intertwine so perfectly. Nadya, Nadya, Nadya. I love her so much as a MC her character development is just incredible. Emily Duncan has done an amazing job with her character and has brought her so far from Nadya The Cleric. Malachiasz. M a l a c h i a s z. I have never encountered a character like this before!! He is everything!! His jumps between the boy and the vulture are probably one of my favorite things about Ruthless Gods. and of course, my love, Serefin. I just can't believe everything he's been through, the lengths that boy goes to just to be free (before you finish the book make sure you DIDN'T just eat -fyi) and who he has become.

I love all the characters of course - Kacper, Ostyia, Parj, Rashid, Pelageya and even Kostya - they all fit the story so perfectly and I'm very excited to see where the third book takes them.

Now what REALLY has me messed up about this book and why I haven't stopped thinking about it for two days now is , the mythology of it all. Emily Duncan has done such an incredible job putting together the myths, the legends and fusing them into the reality of this book. All the folklore come to life, the little passages at the beginning of each chapter (Vasiliev's Book of Saints, The Letters of Wlodzimierz, Codex of the Divine, the Books of Innokentiy) It all ties in so perfectly with the story and I always read them to see if I can connect them into the story, which of course you can. the world building just gets to me because it just all feels so perfectly thought you.


I'm not posting this to my goodreads or my blog yet because I want to go through the story one more time and be a little bit more in depth about it but seriously this did not disappoint and I'll probably be thinking about it forever. are there unanswered questions? of course but theres also a third book so i'm just going to tell myself everything will be fine until then!


Ruthless Gods gets a 5 out of 5 from me

The second book in the Something Dark and Holy series follows the bad decisions made by everyone at the end of Wicked Saints as all the characters continue to make worse and worse decisions.

Serefin, Nadya, and Malachiasz are each at the whim of the gods and their own power. Serefin is now the King and drinking heavily to cope, Nadya is looking for answers about what Malachiasz has become, and Malachiasz is...something. Each character is working towards their ultimate goal of ending the war, knowing that it'll mean betrayal and heartbreak. Eventually everyone ends up on a journey together to visit a forest where they'll learn the truth of what the gods really are, and whew, mistakes are made. There's lots of blood, incoherent and prophetic ramblings, and kissing, and this book's ending will make you desperate for Book 3. Ruthless Gods is heartbreaking, kinda confusing at times, and really really smart. I enjoyed it in a way that kind of hurt.

As with the first book, I devoured Ruthless Gods in a day. The books are infinitely readable while also being so dark and unlike anything else out there right now, and Ruthless Gods pushed that boundary even further. Did you think this was a nice if bloody fantasy about a girl who was going to win a holy war for her country? THINK AGAIN. The book picks up after that chill-inducing, if vague and insensible, cliffhanger of an ending and then somehow gets WORSE from there until it's impossible to figure out how the main characters will turn this all around for Book 3.

Heck, it's impossible to figure out if they even WILL turn this all around in Book 3. Whatever the conventions of the genre tell the author to do, she seems to like gleefully doing the absolutely bonkers things instead, and it all works. Plus, the descriptions of the world and the vivid politics that drive it get deepened in this book, making it feel even more real -- as terrifying as that is to conceive of now that I've finished this book.

This is cosmic horror at its finest. Nadya, Serafin, and Malachiasz pull no punches in this nail-biting tale of false divinity and intricate politics. Nadya struggles with new revelations; Serafin grapples with his new role as king; Malachiasz straddles the line between man and monster. Forces of darkness stir, orchestrating a macabre show. With heart-pounding pacing, intimate characterization, and a world hanging in the balance, Ruthless Gods shocks and tugs at your heartstrings. Plot twists are plausible yet wildly unpredictable. The ending utterly destroyed me. I eagerly await the last installment.