What a huge disappointment. I was impressed with the first book in this series, as I felt it surmounted the somewhat cliched structure and had interestingly ambiguous characters. This follow-up is, quite frankly, a mess. Huge plot points don't make any sense at all, the characters seem to be stumbling around blindly, moved only by their angst and suffering. And, where my review of the last one remarked that although bloody, the gore was never gratuitous, this time I would say the opposite. I don't think I will bother with the next one.

Emily Duncan continues to deliver. This pikes up after the chaotic events with all the characters now having to find a new path.

I don't want to review the plot, I think plenty of other reviewers will do that so these are my impressions of the overall book:

First off, I was unaware this was book two so when I received this story I decided to read book one. That story blew me away so I immediately read this one and boy, did the author blow me away again!

I don't know which book I liked best, but this book is darn near perfection. The story line, the characters, the plot, the descriptions, the atmosphere… all perfect!

There is never a dull moment in this book. No time to stop, relax and take a breath. Even in the slower moments, the author creates a tension or atmosphere that leads the reader to the next action. As a reader, my next heart beat seemed times to the words on the page. I could not get enough!!

The characters are unique, deep and well detailed. I've never read a book with such interesting and different people. They are all complex, both good and bad, strong and weak; all so realistic.

I will be wanting a book three. I have found a new favorite author. I received an ARC via NetGallery and I am leaving an honest.

#NetGallery #RuthlessGods #StMartinsPress #EmilyADuncan #EpicReads #PerfectReads

Ruthless Gods goes from goth fantasy to full-on eldritch horror and I am LOVING IT. Duncan's "disaster children" are being pulled by forces beyond their control, player in a game they never quite comprehended. Desperate to hear the voices of the gods again, Nadya undertakes a journey to a sacred site, but she'll need the help of the Black Vulture, once a boy named Malachiasz, to get there. Meanwhile, the voices in Serefin's head (and eye) are less than welcome and his kingdom and his sanity are on the line. Duncan masterfully pushes her characters together for taut, tender moments, and in the next beat rips them apart to suffer the consequences. This book is full scale warfare both emotionally and physically and will have readers by the neck until the last heart-stopping chapter.

4,5 stars!!!!

I just can't with this series anymore, what do you want miss Duncan? Do you want me to claw my own heart out?

Well, this book did it to me, it was so emerging and gripping. Nadya has my heart I love her so much I just want her to find peace and be happy (tear my heart out why don't you) and the boy/monster I just can't with all the angst, it's too good. This book is such a great followup to wicked saints it picks off right after the events of the last book. And I swear I thought we were going to have a Hades and Persephone type moment in the book and that would have made my life complete, just saying.

The lies and unreliable narrators really keep you on your toes, and can I just say what the hell is up with these scary-ass gods? Not to mention how the ending will have you curled up in ball crying your eyes out, yeah... life is good.

I really regret reading this book in advance because now I have to wait until forever to read the conclusion... My bad.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher, my opinions are my own.

Thank you so much NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I just finished Ruthless Gods and I have mixed feelings. It was definitely a different speed than the first book, and there were at on of moments that I really loved, but also I felt mildly confused throughout. I struggled picking a rating for this one, and settled on a three, because I really felt the middle of this book was a lower rating than the beginning and end. I enjoyed how things started out following the end of Wicked Saints, but I think I became disinterested during the traveling center portion as they make their way to the forest. Post forest? Excellent content. Interesting cliff hanger - I almost wanted more of a cliff hanger!

Emily Duncan is an amazingly artistic writer who has a knack for visually horrific scenes. I just don't know if this particular writing style is my preferred type to read. Just my own, honest opinion about the series. I like it, but I feel as though I don't love it for this reason.

*Spoilers-ish*

I'm going to digest, then reread both books, but quick comment on our leading lady and gents-

Nadya - she frustrated me quite a bit, more so in this book than the last, but again, post forest I started to like her more. There were moments in RG where Nadya had some great moments, but I felt that most of them were due to Mal and Serefin.

Mal - more more more more more I want more of his chaos. Something about his relationship with Nadya I loved (especially as they neared their doom). I can't wait to see the fan art that comes out of this. I will need it all.

Serefin - I actually enjoyed his character the most in RG. I found him genuine, true to his nature, consistent and the most interesting of the bunch. I cannot wait to see how his character is going to manage what Nadya has left for him back home. I also need more of his relationship.

Woah woah woah... that was so unfair, I want some
more please *Oliver Twist Voice*!!!

Nadya and Malachiasz will be the literal end of me. How am I supposed to go on? What with _ not knowing about _ being possessed and _ and the betrayal and the tension!!!!!! Help!!!

Anyway. Read this book. So good!!!

I was not the biggest fan of the first installment of this series but I decided to give her another shot and now I think I am done.

I loved this way better than the first book for sure. The characters all have grown is an amazing way. Loved this book.

I was so excited to get my hands on this sequel to Wicked Saints! I don't think that I've ever read anything so fast in my life! I gobbled up this phenomenal read so quickly I can't wait to see what's next! This is a great teen series and would make a great TV series or movie series. I absolutely recommend this series to everyone!
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly wasn’t sure how to rate this book. I really enjoyed the ending. I think it came together well, was intense, and left readers wanting more. However, I seem to have a disconnect with these books. It’s like the time line is off or disjointed. I find myself wondering if I’ve skipped thing or missed key elements. I get confused and wonder how I ended up where I’m at in the story. I don’t know if it’s just the writing style, but it makes it hard for me to flow through the book. It took me about a week for this book when it only should’ve taken 3 days. The characters are intriguing, so this book definitely has great aspects. It’s just choppy, so I never know what to think.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Godsdamn... that was something!
A bit expected, but thrilling nonetheless.

To just get the negative criticism out the way: There was a somewhat more redundancy to the language this time around. You can only read “dark” and “blood” and “monster” so many times before growing weary of hearing it page after page after page. But I get it. My other complaint is something I let slide in the first book, but here, it was a little ridiculous. And it’s simply this: I hated every time Nadya forgave Mal. Their romantic relationship still confuses me, and I am to the point where my dislike of it is 80/20 (it’s toxic). Whenever a character in literature says something along the lines of, “You hurt me, but this pull I feel for you is too strong. I hate you, but I love you.” And then they usually end up kissing aggressively... I will never understand it. Maybe because I’ve never felt that way before, but regardless, I find it infinitely annoying, and it just so happens to occur about a dozen times in this series between Nadya and Malachiasz. Betray > Forgive > Kiss. Rinse and repeat.

A few things: I have to applaud the authoress for her slow-burn building of the romantic relationships. I prefer it when they’re not so completely obvious. One was oh so very vaguely alluded to in Wicked Saints, but I was never really sure. And the fact that the LGBT inclusivity was amped up to 100 here in book 2 is surprising, but an altogether welcome surprise.

This book ups the dark and bloody content tenfold! It seemed as though every page a character was bleeding and/or stabbing something/someone. There’s a particular section that was especially grotesque and disturbing. It was very reminiscent of a gothic Hellraiser. For those passages alone, this book should be tagged as horror (and I do love that genre!).

If I were to say what I liked most about this book, it would definitely have to be how often I was constantly left guessing: Who to trust? What to believe? Was that a lie, or the truth? — There are no easy answers. Nothing is black and white, just shades of blood-spattered gray. The story deepened significantly, making the reading experience that much richer. Each of the three main characters (Nadya, Serefin, Mal) had/have the potential to be the one(s) whose journey is the correct (or, the most close to “right”) path, but their circumstances were always shifting and changing dramatically... and that’s exciting! The narrative for sure keeps you on your toes, and I totally dig that level of creeping suspense. Even most of the side characters (old and new) had their own side-plots/backstories elaborated on, and each were pretty intriguing.

I seriously regret getting to read this a year early, because I now have to wait TWO YEARS for book 3!!!!!

**Many thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book**

To finish this monstrous book on Friday the 13th and on full moon is a sign. A sign that this terrible, erratic, weird but beautiful book means something special to me. Three days of my life were solely dedicated to it. I was so engrossed in the story I couldn't properly eat, sleep, or do anything normal like interacting with people. But who cares about interactions when you have the whole world unravelling at your fingertips. Gods, this book is like a corrupted memory that gets stuck in your brain, infesting every cell with its maddening force. But I was a willing victim for the second time since Wicked Saints came out and captured my mind.

What I love about this series the most is how hard it is to grasp the reality inside the story: you never, for 100%, sure what is going on, you never know who to trust, you never fully understand that terrifying world inside the book. It's so gothic, so dark, so repelling with its bloody horrors coming off the pages, but it's also so unique and different from so many books I've read before. For sure, Ruthless Gods as well as Wicked Saints is not immune to cliches and eye-rolling situations. But it's nothing compared to the thundering of my heart in my throat because I am so terrified for the characters - of the characters and what they might do, what they might unleash. Nadya, Serefin, and Malachiasz mess up SO MUCH in this part, I can't even express with words how terrible they are but beautiful.

It's like Emily A. Duncan knows exactly what she is doing by creating absolutely irredeemable characters and making you care about them.
Because it doesn't matter how monstrous Malachiasz is.
It doesn't matter how delusional Nadya in her pursuit of holiness.
It doesn't matter how much corruption is inside Serefin.
YOU JUST SIMPLY CARE BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BEST DAMAGED CHARACTERS YOU WANT TO SAVE.

Jeez, I don't even know where to start with the mess this book was. Threads of the plot and events were so messy and twisted. So much happened I still can't understand. Don't even get me started on that ending! I've noticed Emily is getting more wicked with her endings. No mercy! The stakes are higher, the world is in chaos, betrayal is in the air!

Malachiasz and Nadya are still my OTP, and I will go down with this ship, I swear! I can't express in words how every scene, every dialogue between them hurts to the core. They care about each other so much, they don't want to hurt each other, but they constantly do: they betray, they stab, they regret. But they can't stop the vicious cycle because they are enemies on the opposite sides of the war. Gods, enemies to lovers is by far my favorite trope, but when you add star-crossed lovers to it, my heart is ripped out still beating and bleeding.

Serefin is my baby! I wanted to hug and take care of him. He's gone through hell and back, literally! The horrors that were done to him, the atrocities he was made to do - Serefin will never be the same, but I want him to be happy all the same. It's a conundrum, really, when you want a happy ending for the characters you love but deep down you understand they can't have it. Can they? I ask you, Emily A. Duncan, how much will they suffer before they can rest?!

And the plot, which was a nightmare full of unseen terrors! I wouldn't be able to explain the intricate web of terrible myths the author created, so terrifying but so real when you read and feel them. I love this book because it's so confusing and dark and refreshing and because its weirdness makes it stand out from other books. I needed something so utterly dark in my life. Though I must confess that I wanted some stuff to be a little bit 18+, but I am perfectly happy to prolong the depraved dream inside my mind *turns on the hot stuff*.

This review is a far cry from coherent, structured thoughts. But I didn't want to postpone writing it, because I wanted to catch the essence of my feelings, to re-read it later and to feel those fresh emotions rolling off of me after just finishing a book that made a lasting impression on me. It's the magic of feeling alive when for a long time you couldn't catch that fire with any other book.

Gods, I've missed that fire! And I hope book 3 will turn it into an inferno.

*For more visualizing, while reading this book, please check out author's Pinterest board. I swear, it's worth checking out! *shudder**

This book is incredible! It plays with your emotions and it's like being on a rollercoaster ride of pain and sorrow. Emily puts these characters through their paces, and they are constantly suffering all for her pleasure of making the reader cry the entire time. Everyone in this book deserves happiness and with each chapter I read, I could feel that hope getting squashed and my dreams of their happiness being shattered. Definitely buy this book.

Ruthless Gods
By: Emily A. Duncan
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis:

Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who--and what--he’s become.

As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone... or something. The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness, the ones that Nadya believes are her gods, the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world, and they refuse to stay quiet any longer.

My Thoughts:
First and foremost thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the early eARC in exchange for my honest opinion...
In her dramatic follow-up to Wicked Saints, the first book in her Something Dark and Holy trilogy, Emily A. Duncan paints a Gothic, icy world where shadows whisper, and no one is who they seem, with a shocking ending that will leave you breathless.
Absolutely direvative, dark, and all consuming!! The power and energy of the writing never stops right up until the end... Even then it continue to grab you and pull you in. I loved every second back with the characters, their very unique and the building and world building is incredible. I loved the use of russian mythology mixed in there as well!! Truly cant wait this release and seems there may be a third book?! Come on Emily pleeeease tell me there is more of these characters and their incredible powers and world?!?!?!? Dont miss this release April 2020!!

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).

‪5 STARS for Ruthless Gods and all its MONTROUS excellence!!!‬
‪Another book to remind me why I keep reading.‬
‪It made me laugh and cry.‬
‪It made me tremble with fear.‬
‪I had moments of great elation and giddiness.‬
‪It sent me through a whole damned gamut of feels.‬