Once again: thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this.
For some reason, I barely remembered ANYTHING from the first novel even though I only read it earlier this year so apparently it didn’t stick very well so I was pretty confused in the beginning of this novel waiting for some recap explanations. Reading my review of the previous novel, apparently it’s a theme for this series.
And the relationship dynamics between Nadya and Mal-blah-blah-blah do NOT improve in this book. Lies, betrayal, suspicions, mistrust, but they still somehow just have to keep colliding together. I admit they do have some chemistry but there’s a very delicate balance between the bad and the good for complicated fictional relationships that has to be followed to be compelling and worth reading, mostly with the love interest having actual redeemable qualities that tip the balance, and the author hasn’t quite gotten the formula down. I just opened the ebook and began it by taking a steadying breath and reassuring myself “yes Mal is going to be a complete bastard and villain in this one too” so I was right, I guess *insert Oprah gif of her shrugging with her hands*
The plot however was very intriguing and quickly paced so it was easy for me to get through and entertaining. I will probably read the next book but my wishes for the end game relationship (which so happens to take up a significant amount of the conflict in the series) can be summed up as: kill him permanently and be done with him and call it a day. Nadya would feel so much better

This book was so well-written, just like the first one! But I just found myself not really in love with the story or the characters. The concept is very cool and unique, though! I’m sure plenty of others will love it!

I love love love this series and i could not wait for this one! it did not disappoint. I think this story is so weird but so good. My library will be purchasing this book. I will also be recommending this book to my friends and family.

“Can you love someone and ask them to shatter themselves for you?”

I… honestly don’t know what to say. Rest assured though, that whatever dark magic Emily Duncan had woven into writing Wicked Saints, it has become tenfold in this one.

Ruthless Gods is everything dark, terrifying, and bloody but also ironically, impossibly sweet and funny and so very endearing. It was everything I wanted in a sequel. As a follow-up to one of my most loved reads of 2019 I didn’t think it possible that I could love the characters more than I already did. But blood and bone, I do. I DO.

I’m terribly sorry for keeping this review vague but this is one of those books you just have to read for yourself to fully grasp how utterly amazing it is. How utterly terrifyingly brilliant it is. Suffice it to say, Serefin is still just as drunk and lovable and a heart stealer. Nadya is still the most badass, reckless heroine I’ve come across. Malachiasz is just as broken and charming and beautiful and I just want to give him the biggest hug. Rounding out the trio were Parj, Kacper and Ostyia, who were just as incredible.

Ruthless Gods had so much going for it. SO MUCH. Turning every page was both scary and exciting at the same time. My heart barely survived reading this. But dammit I want book three now. (2020 is gonna be a very, very long year for me)

Book 2 and im just still wishing for more Serefin. I feel like his story is the strongest and there is just still a lot about him we don't know. Nadya and Malachiasz are so toxic to me. And he's nearly it's kind of boring. I really wish I liked these books better because they are good stories. I also really hoped for more backstory into the gods and stuff

This is a hard one to write, as I did DNF this one. But I want to explain why, hopefully in a way that is fair to the author.
I read Wicked Saints and felt a bit on the fence after reading it. On one hand, I loved the premise and the magically dark world Duncan created. I really digged the love interest and how dark and dysfunctional it was. However, I never felt fully pulled into the story, as the character dialogue got a bit confusing in parts and the multiple viewpoints just didn't feel cohesive to me. I think telling a story from multiple viewpoints requires a lot of skill by the author and I just felt lost in WS.
Going into Ruthless Gods, I was hoping that maybe I would have a different experience and get back into the story. I had to go back to my copy of WS to remember where things left off, and despite feeling disjointed at first, I just chalked it up to getting into a sequel when you've been away from the action for a while. However, even a fourth of the way through the book, I was still lost. There is something so disjointed and confusing about the way character dialogue is set up that I found it hard to emotionally connect to any of the characters or even understand their thought process. It really could just be me, but I felt like there were gaps in the storytelling that made this book hard to read. I like reading complex stories, but they can't be so complex that I have a hard time following the action. Like I said, really could just be that Duncan's style of writing isn't for me.

<i>*This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for a honest review*</i>

This time around, I feel like my heart was breaking for everyone. New characters were introduced and old characters become more multidimensional for me. I think this book was even better than the first, and honestly the scene in the forest?! It seriously crossed over from fantasy to horror there! Again, the ending left me broken and am really terrified. Can Emily be more cruel? (yes!! 😭) How will they move past this? Can they ever find happiness? Are we all doomed?!?

Amazing sequel to Wicked Saints! It was dark and intense! I was in the edge of my seat the whole time! I loved all the characters!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own

Just sitting here, trying to think of how best to describe this book. Once again, the characters are just incredible. They are complex, shrouded in all kinds of shades of gray. I don't know who to trust. I know that someone will betray someone, or several someones, but still I read and I hope that somehow, they will overcome their different end goals to just work together. The thing is, each one of these characters has likable and redeeming qualities and each one has made some terrible and desperate decisions of which would normally paint them the villain of the story. And yet- I can't quite call any of them a villain.

Except these damn beings calling themselves 'gods'. *Shakes my fists*

<i>In this stunning sequel to Wicked Saints, Nadya is struggling to understand what it is she can do, wresting with distrust of her own dark magic, the boy she loves and shouldn't, and what it is her goddess is asking of her. Serefin finds himself fending off beings in his head as he fights for control of himself and his mind. And then there is Malachiasz, at the front of complicated war within himself and what he is becoming.

They find themselves entwined together, each on the path to the same place with different goals, manipulated by beings and monsters. But who is it who is controlling the pieces on the board, hidden in the dark?</i>

Listen, there were times when I was a bit confused as to what was happening. The world of these gods and monsters keeps expanding to the point where I am not quite sure who is truly the ones we are meant to be afraid of, but maybe that is the point? Although I felt that the plot and pacing of the story stumbled a couple of times, it all came together beautifully in the last third to quarter of the book.

And of course, I am so weak for Malachiasz and Nadya. Their relationship is just so complicated and infuriating and I love it all at the same time. The character building I think is truly phenomenal. I can see their struggled, their development, for better or worse, and it's believable and palpable and I feel as if I could pluck these characters right off of the page and they would hold up in the real world.

The climax and ending of course had me taut with suspense and even though a lot was happening, it all came together in an explosive, exciting finale that has left me eagerly anticipating the third and final installment.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Wednesday Books for the e-arc to review!

Ruthless Gods continues Duncan's deep dive into cosmic horror while also deftly balancing teenagers who are coming of age in war and political/religious/magical upheaval around them.

After finishing the Ruthless Gods, I was genuinely upset, but I couldn't pin why. I took a week or so to ponder and realized it wasn't because I didn't like the book, but because the actions and reactions of these characters, while at times completely enraging, are SO accurate. Adults who read this book need to keep in mind that this is written for and includes characters who are still figuring out where their morals, beliefs, and emotions stand. These are characters who are truly dealing with trauma from the past and present––trust, family, beliefs–– while grappling with real-world confusions regarding their sexual and emotional awakenings. The fact that Duncan is able to balance all of that is a huge feat, a testament to her keen eye for telling stories of humanity and love but in a blood-soaked, war-torn, fantasy world. Duncan is introducing a whole new genre and generation of cosmic horror in YA.

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.