Review: "Wicked Saints" (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan


Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy..
 





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REVIEW

Lo and behold! A book about blood magic, war, morally gray characters, and romance and great betrayal! I still can't get over the feels and seriously I am thinking of listening to the audiobook too! This new world inspired by Russian folklore and brought to you by the amazing Emily Dunkan, will capture you and keep you tightly in its black claws.

A long standing war between the nations of Kalyazin and Tranavia, where Kalyazin has its magic from their Gods and Tranavia has blood magic and blood mages, bring together our main characters: Nadya, the girl who can call the powers of all gods by praying to them, Serefin, the prince of Tranavia and a general of the Tranavian army. But Serefin is called back home to Tranavia with his best guards Ostyia and Kacper, to follow the tradition of finding a wife. Nadya then is discovered by Parijahan and Rashid two Akolan refugees and Malachiasz, a deserter.

Now while I did think of a love triangle here, everything that followed in this fast-paced book didn't leave any space for any love triangle. I'll not spoil you, but from the moment all characters slowly reach Tranavia, more plots are set in motion and the surprises keep coming one after another.



Also, trigger warnings everywhere about the blood and the willing cutting. Actually, I was worried most about Nadya than Seferin. Yet after what read in the final chapters, and had my heart torn in pieces in the process, I believe that these two will play a vital role in the upcoming book.

The final chapter? It gutted me because the road for ultimate power is also filled with great regrets.
READ THIS BOOK! If you enjoy dark, settings, gods that may be more than you think and surprises then this beauty is for you!



About the author:

“Emily A. Duncan was born and raised in Ohio and works as a youth services librarian. She received a Master’s degree in library science from Kent State University, which mostly taught her how to find obscure Slavic folklore texts through interlibrary loan systems. When not reading or writing, she enjoys playing copious amounts of video games and dungeons and dragons. She is represented by Thao Le of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.”

Review/Rating Policy: I am a creature of many strong wills and book opinions so I only rate books I deeply adore. Everything else is just marked as read.

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