Tag: something dark and holy

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

Ruthless Gods Book Review

Megan Nicole

Ruthless Gods Emily DuncanRuthless Gods by Emily Duncan, Book 2 of the Something Dark and Holy trilogy

Overall: ****

Romance: ***

Reading Rate: ***

Release Date: April 7, 2020

Pages: 432

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Purchase on Amazon here

I recommend if you liked: The Bear and the Nightingale, Shadow & Bone Trilogy, Throne of Glass

*Spoilers for Wicked Saints- click here to check out my spoiler free review of book 1.

This book hurt so good! As soon as I put down Wicked Saints I needed the sequel right away…. And now I need the final book soooo bad!!! Ruthless Gods picks up shortly after Wicked Saints left off with the Nadya dealing with the silence of her Gods, Malachiasz missing after his betrayal, and Serefin trying to deal with his new status as king as well as being God touched.  If you enjoyed Wicked Saints you will love this journey as our main characters and also some new faces try to fix the cracks they made in the world… but will their quest to right their wrongs for each of their countries right the wrongs, or break the world entirely.

In the beginning this book was little more difficult to get through and did a lot more world building and filling in some of the knowledge gaps on the gods from books 1. I honestly feel I need to read the book again to really get everything, and I certainly will when the physical copies release! Several times a character’s section had me saying what on earth was happening and rereading entries several times. But all of that building (and Malachaisz/Nadya teasers) was well worth it in the last quarter of the book, and OMG what and ending and set up for what is sure to be an AMAZING final installment. Duncan did such a great job of stringing me along needing answers and holding out hope for my favorite characters redemption, I love it when an author keeps me guessing! I have no idea how I am going to handle to wait for  book 3 to find out how everything ends!

While book one seemed heavily inspired by the Grishaverse the author really changed things up and left that path for book 2. It almost had Bear and the Nightingale vibes with the mythology and creatures added in.

I am usually great at predicting how books are going to flow and Duncan steps up to say challenge accepted. I may get part of the idea but then she jumps right on over it an rips my heart out… and I love it so much!

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.

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.

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of Ruthless Gods in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Reviews, Products I love!!

Wicked Saints by Emily Duncan Book Review

Megan Nicole

Overall Rating: ****

Romance: ***

Reading Rate: ****

Wicked Saints was so hyped I was nervous to read it as I thought there was no way it could live up to everything being said about it, but it did! Not to mention the gorgeous covers that were available! I am always a sucker for a pretty book. Wicked Saints by Emily Duncan Book Review

I loved how dark this whole book was from the characters to the countries. I thought the author did a great job of raising a lot of religious and moral questions without being pushy in either direction. It was more of “In a world where all everyone knows is war are anyone’s hands really clean”? It was serious Shadow and Bone vibes,  Malachiasz and The Darkling may have to battle for my dark little heart…

What I liked:

  • I found myself really enjoying all of the characters, but at the same time not knowing if I should trust any of them (which I also loved)
  • Because of the morally grey and mysterious nature of the characters I think readers could choose different sides or a variety of ships. I think this book would be great for a book club discussion.
  • I think the author did a great job of giving just enough information about the world and characters to allow you to understand the story, but left you wanting more and forming so many more questions.

What I didn’t like:

  • It was not very original. While I did feel that it elevated elements of other series it also made a lot of things predicable. This is why I left it a 4 stars instead of 5. Had this been a series I read before the Grishaverse books or Sarah J Maas I would have rated 5 stars. I am really hoping to see some deviation from the inspired story line into something more original and surprising in future installments.

This is the first book in the Something Dark and Holy series by Duncan so I am so sad I have to wait until next year to read the sequel!! If you are a fan of the Grishaverse or Throne of Glass I would highly recommend giving a read.

Official Synopsis:

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…

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Release Date: April 2, 2019