Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) By Emily A. Duncan [Review]

RELEASE DATE: April 02th 2019
AUTHOR: Emily A. Duncan
GENRE: Young-Adult,  Fantasy, Adventure, Magic, Romance .
PUBLISHER: Wednesday Books
SUMMARY:

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..

“Blood and blood and bone. Magic and monsters and tragic power.”

Wicked Saints is the first installment in an all new YA Fantasy trilogy called Something Dark and Holy. This was one of the hyped books with mixed reviews and let me tell  you guys, it was a definite hit for me. I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. It has all the dark Grisha Trilogy vibes which I really loved. The characters, and the setting was pretty good. I can’t believe it was the author’s debut novel. It wasn’t a total perfection. It has its ups and downs but the story never failed to grab my attention and that is all that matters to me.

The story follows three people, a girl named Nadya Lapteva who was blessed with a unique gift and  possesses the powers of all gods. A prince named Serefin Meleski who’s desperate to save their country and himself, and a mysterious boy named Malachiasz Czechowicz who hides a dark secret. These three come from different paths, but they all share one goal kill the King Of Tranavia and stop the war.

I enjoyed Nadya Lapteva and her strong determination. She grew up among monks who worships the old gods. Nadya has strong faith for her gods until a mysterious travanian boy makes her start questioning her beliefs. Serefin Meleski is a ruthless prince with complex personality. I really wanted to like him because I love morally grey characters but some of his actions were unforgivable. I seriously can’t root for this guy even though he’s on the right side. Malachiasz Czechowicz was an interesting character. His mysterious and dark personality was the first thing that intrigued me. He reminded me a bit of Darkling, my favorite anti-hero. I seriously loved his character. The secondary characters were okay but no one intrigued me as much as the main characters. I wish they were a bit more fleshed out.

The plot was interesting filled with royal politics, dark magic, and forbidden romance. It started out slow but It didn’t bother me much.  I was hooked to the plot from the very first page, but It did took some time for me to get familiar with the world and the characters names. Once I was completely into the story, I flew through it. I loved the forbidden romance between Nadya and Malachiasz, and I’m strongly rooting for them. I really hope there won’t be any triangle in the next installment because I seriously can’t handle another Alina and Mal in this series. The twists and turns were pretty good. Some of them were predictable but they still kept me engaged till the end. The author’s writing was captivating, I loved it. The book was told in Nadya, and Serefin POV’s(third person) and I seriously needed Malachiasz POV because he was my favorite character.  I really liked the world building which was inspired by Russian background. The magical system was dark and weirdly compelling. It might be gruesome and violent for some people so read with caution if you’re aren’t into dark and bloody things.

Overall, this was an exciting ride! Loved the morally gray characters, the blood magic, and the dark plot with Gothic vibes.  I really had a great time reading it and I can’t wait to check out the next book.

Recommend it?

If you like dark YA fantasy like Grisha Trilogy, and And I Darken, then definitely give it a shot.

Art by Therese at warickaart!

 

MY RATING:

[4/5 Stars]

So, What do you think of this book? Have you read it yet? Do you Plan to read it?
Please feel free to comment below!

See You In The Next Post and Have a Great Day! 🙂