By Emily A. Duncan
Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan
Released: April 2, 2019
Pages: 385
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Overall: 2/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
Setting & World-building: 4/5
Emotional Investment: 1/5
"We're all monsters. Some of us just hide it better than others"
So writing this review hurts me a lot because I genuinely had such high hopes for this book. It was a little bit of a disappointment which was upsetting because this is the oldest book on my GoodReads tbr.
Quick Summary: Nadezhda 'Nadya' Lapteva is a cleric with the rare ability to speak to the gods and use their power through prayer. Serefin Meleski is the heir to the throne and the most powerful blood mage of the opposing country. Malachiasz Czechowicz is a monster with many secrets. These three people's lives are entwined as their respective countries are in a century-long war over politics and religion.
Okay, that summary was kind of bad, but only because I can't explain much without having to explain the entire magic and world system or without spoiling the entire book. The first thing I noticed about this book is the VERY heavy emphasis on religion. The different perspectives on if gods exist or not, and if they do exist do they give us magic or not, are basically the entire core issue of the book. I think because of the sheer complexity of the names of the gods, I couldn't remember any of their names. Also the little snippets of the two groups "bible" was fun to read but because there were so many names that seemed similar, I couldn't understand what I was reading. Also, there is a surprisingly large amount of blood involved in this book. Someone is almost always bleeding, which I get is how blood mages practice magic, but still.
I thought the world-building in this book was actually pretty good. Everything made sense and the actual countries and their magic systems and religions made sense until the last like 20 pages. That's when everyone's powers went crazy and there was no explanation for them so suddenly there were moths and halos. I would say the last bit was also the more exciting parts of the book also. It was just a slow book, with weird pacing. For example, Nadya and Malachiasz will be talking and there will be a clear space indicating usually a new scene with different characters but instead, it was just Nadya and Malachiasz again but after a nap. The plot twists were also lost on me. I just wasn't screaming excitedly about them and their delivery was not enticing.
Nadya was a disappointing character. Her entire being was about her growing feelings for another character. That and her interacting with Serefin and Malachiasz is heresy because her magic is from the gods, and magic from blood is heresy. She was just boring, even when she was mad she instantly got over it. Serefin on the other hand was a great character. He was relatable and funny and just a very complex character, In the beginning, I really didn't like him but as I got to know him more I could see how much he was damaged. I wanted to hug him. Malachiasz was just straight up confusing sometimes. I liked him but his motives were always unclear making him sort of hard to connect with.
In the end, I did finish this book and I wasn't horrified. It was a little bit difficult to finish but I did it. I probably will read the next book but only because I want to read more Serefin. I really hope he has a happy ending because I'm kind of his biggest supporter.
Quotes
"I will not trade my safety for his life"
"Don't be a martyr. We don't need another saint"
"Oh, is this how it goes? I'm murdered and everyone has orders to kill me on sight? Just to rub it in?"
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