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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
I definitely experienced a rollercoaster ride of emotions when it came to my anticipation for Wicked Saints prior to its release, and before I actually read it once I received a copy of the book in my April OwlCrate box. I started out feeling very excited to read Wicked Saints prior to its release; but my excitement for the book started to wane a little bit after watching several reviews for the book on BookTube, which is one of the reasons why I didn't start reading it as soon as I got my April OwlCrate box in the mail. When I finally started reading Wicked Saints, I just couldn't get into the plot of the book, or become invested in the characters. I've always described myself as being a "mood reader", and a part of me is wondering if this simply wasn't the right time for me to read Wicked Saints. I might try reading this book again at some point in the future, see if I enjoy Wicked Saints more after reading it a second time. That being said, when it comes to how I feel about Wicked Saints at this point in time, I just couldn't truly get into it at all, so I ultimately didn't like it very much at all.
My Rating/Score: 1 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads' rating system. 1 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
My Rating/Score: 1 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads' rating system. 1 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
SEP 29 2024: wrote the review below and then found out through other reviews below that Emily A Duncan is a part of a racist group of white writers working together to harass Black and Asian emerging writers. Will not be buying the rest of the series and will not support this writer going forward.
Original review:
Hits the ground running and doesn’t let up while still giving space to breath and let the internal narrative happen. Nayda has a severe perspective that is fascinating to read and it was interesting watching her battle against her ideas on ethics and faith. The writer leaves you enough clues as to some of the mysteries going on to keep you engaged and then turns those clues against you. I didn’t see some of the major twists coming at all. The romance is great, classic enemies to lovers with a fresh voice and enough intrigue to have you love/hating the romantic lead. The visuals were also new and all consuming. The writer brought this world to life. Around the end of the 2nd act I questioned character development, as the convictions of the protagonist seem to waver yet also stand firm. The character development went full circle in a satisfying way.
Great YA read. Can’t wait to read more from this author!!
Original review:
Hits the ground running and doesn’t let up while still giving space to breath and let the internal narrative happen. Nayda has a severe perspective that is fascinating to read and it was interesting watching her battle against her ideas on ethics and faith. The writer leaves you enough clues as to some of the mysteries going on to keep you engaged and then turns those clues against you. I didn’t see some of the major twists coming at all. The romance is great, classic enemies to lovers with a fresh voice and enough intrigue to have you love/hating the romantic lead. The visuals were also new and all consuming. The writer brought this world to life. Around the end of the 2nd act I questioned character development, as the convictions of the protagonist seem to waver yet also stand firm. The character development went full circle in a satisfying way.
Great YA read. Can’t wait to read more from this author!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Soft DNF, may revisit at some point
Well that was dreadful. I really, really wanted to like this book. Chapter 1 had me swept up and ready for an epic dark tale. Sadly, it was all downhill from there. A book that should have taken me two weeks to finish took months, because I couldn't read more than a few chapters at a time before becoming lost or bored. I am not even sure where to begin....
The plot was intriguing, but I felt that the author never fully flushed out the magic system in this world. The story crept along slowly so I found myself getting bored often and forcing myself to push through. I also never understood the specifics of how spells were used (other than the obvious mysterious divine speech and blood), any limitations on the power, or who was capable of doing what.
But the thing I struggled with the most while reading Wicked Saints was the writing style. For the first half of the book I couldn't quite put my finger on what was making this book so hard for me to read. Then it clicked. I felt as if the author only edited this book to a dull sheen rather than a polished shine. Some sentences were eloquently written and helpful in description. These sentences flowed effortlessly with the story. However, I felt the author forced unnecessary, superfluous descriptions into EVERYTHING. This book could have been half its current length. I can't tell you how many times in the last 10 chapters I read some iteration of the phrase "blood fell from the sky". It was raining blood. We get it. Move along. The writing told the story in a choppy, verbose manner that did not flow well and did not always make sense.
Lastly, the ending was very rushed and left me wanting. There was so much potential for an epic conclusion, but instead of fireworks, it was a short lived fizzle.
I did not hate the book, and I won't stop anyone from reading it, but the writing drove me crazy. I give this book 2 stars simply because the premise and the potential of this world was interesting and for the few well written sentences. But I would not recommend it.
The plot was intriguing, but I felt that the author never fully flushed out the magic system in this world. The story crept along slowly so I found myself getting bored often and forcing myself to push through. I also never understood the specifics of how spells were used (other than the obvious mysterious divine speech and blood), any limitations on the power, or who was capable of doing what.
But the thing I struggled with the most while reading Wicked Saints was the writing style. For the first half of the book I couldn't quite put my finger on what was making this book so hard for me to read. Then it clicked. I felt as if the author only edited this book to a dull sheen rather than a polished shine. Some sentences were eloquently written and helpful in description. These sentences flowed effortlessly with the story. However, I felt the author forced unnecessary, superfluous descriptions into EVERYTHING. This book could have been half its current length. I can't tell you how many times in the last 10 chapters I read some iteration of the phrase "blood fell from the sky". It was raining blood. We get it. Move along. The writing told the story in a choppy, verbose manner that did not flow well and did not always make sense.
Lastly, the ending was very rushed and left me wanting. There was so much potential for an epic conclusion, but instead of fireworks, it was a short lived fizzle.
I did not hate the book, and I won't stop anyone from reading it, but the writing drove me crazy. I give this book 2 stars simply because the premise and the potential of this world was interesting and for the few well written sentences. But I would not recommend it.
• 3/ 5 •
It was a very interesting read. The concept was so complex, which is why it was hard to get through. There’s just so much information. The names also made it quite hard. This was quite a challenging read. But soon it become easier.
I wouldn’t say it’s amazing, but I would say it’s a very different book. The ending really add the extra 0.5 star for me. The writing didn’t really clicked with me. But I think the concept and characters are well developed.
It was a very interesting read. The concept was so complex, which is why it was hard to get through. There’s just so much information. The names also made it quite hard. This was quite a challenging read. But soon it become easier.
I wouldn’t say it’s amazing, but I would say it’s a very different book. The ending really add the extra 0.5 star for me. The writing didn’t really clicked with me. But I think the concept and characters are well developed.
NOTE ON 4/5/2021: I do NOT recommend this series or this author to anybody. This author has shown their true colors in the past but more and more keeps coming up about her (see here and here for starters) and I felt the need to include a warning on my reviews and a note that I will not be supporting them or their books in the future.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
This. Book. Alright, now that I've gotten my thoughts back into some semblance of an order, let's get to it.
Wicked Saints is about a girl (Nadya) who has been blessed by the gods -- she can channel their power as a cleric and do magic unlike any other. Accompanied by new friends, she sets off to end the war between her own country (Kalyazin) and a neighboring one (Tranavia), one that practices blood magic, heresy.
As the main character, Nadya was kind of all over the place. She is at once immensely powerful and immensely naive. She is devout, yet willing to go however far it takes to accomplish her goals. However, Wicked Saints is told in alternating POVs, and our other main character, Serefin, is far more interesting. The prince of Tranavia, we watch as he transitions from a determined warrior to a suspicious and leary court member. While Nadya ultimately propels the story and Serefin's chapters sometimes felt a tad unnecessary, I felt like they balanced each other out nicely.
But let's talk about Malachiasz. Introduced early on as the mysterious love interest, I'll admit, I was intrigued by him. However, his character is largely static for the majority of the book, especially as Nadya is falling for him. It's an enemies-to-lovers trope, and while I'm an absolute sucker for those relationships, this one just didn't have a good payoff. I shipped them more when there wasn't really anything going on between them because of the potential than when things started to progress more. The reason is this: Malachiasz never really opens up to Nadya (and subsequently to us, the reader) and never actually gives her a good reason to trust him or to fall for him. While I know that this is because he's ~mysterious~ and also because of plot reasons, it made me get bored of him about halfway through.
This book was a roller-coaster in terms of quality for me. The beginning of the book? Absolutely stellar. I saw Melanie Parker (meltotheany) comment that it was the best first chapter of a book she'd read in a while, and I wholeheartedly agree. Wicked Saints started out very strong. However, it then began to drag a little, and the introduction of the Rawalyk, a [b:The Selection|10507293|The Selection (The Selection, #1)|Kiera Cass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322103400l/10507293._SY75_.jpg|15413183] esque competition to marry Serefin shocked me with its ridiculousness. This book is Dark, and inserting the Rawalyk and making it a major plot for a while felt bizarre and didn't fit the tone at all. The book began to pick back up when Duncan essentially abandons the Rawalyk in favor of the main plot, and I was pulled back in. The end though...again, it didn't hold up. It felt a tad rushed, and as the machinations of all of the characters played out, I couldn't quite muster too much investment.
This book felt like a TV show that had an amazing pilot that the rest of the show could never quite live up to. That's not to say that I didn't thoroughly enjoy this book on the whole, because I did. I (and reviewers in general) tend to harp on the negatives in the aftermath, but the truth is that I blasted through this book in an afternoon, having fun all the way and wishing I was reading it every time I wasn't. While there are certainly things that I might change, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy. Will it be the best thing you've ever read? Probably not. But will you be highly entertained and relish your time with Wicked Saints? I think so.
ARC provided via NetGalley.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
This. Book. Alright, now that I've gotten my thoughts back into some semblance of an order, let's get to it.
Wicked Saints is about a girl (Nadya) who has been blessed by the gods -- she can channel their power as a cleric and do magic unlike any other. Accompanied by new friends, she sets off to end the war between her own country (Kalyazin) and a neighboring one (Tranavia), one that practices blood magic, heresy.
As the main character, Nadya was kind of all over the place. She is at once immensely powerful and immensely naive. She is devout, yet willing to go however far it takes to accomplish her goals. However, Wicked Saints is told in alternating POVs, and our other main character, Serefin, is far more interesting. The prince of Tranavia, we watch as he transitions from a determined warrior to a suspicious and leary court member. While Nadya ultimately propels the story and Serefin's chapters sometimes felt a tad unnecessary, I felt like they balanced each other out nicely.
But let's talk about Malachiasz. Introduced early on as the mysterious love interest, I'll admit, I was intrigued by him. However, his character is largely static for the majority of the book, especially as Nadya is falling for him. It's an enemies-to-lovers trope, and while I'm an absolute sucker for those relationships, this one just didn't have a good payoff. I shipped them more when there wasn't really anything going on between them because of the potential than when things started to progress more. The reason is this: Malachiasz never really opens up to Nadya (and subsequently to us, the reader) and never actually gives her a good reason to trust him or to fall for him. While I know that this is because he's ~mysterious~ and also because of plot reasons, it made me get bored of him about halfway through.
This book was a roller-coaster in terms of quality for me. The beginning of the book? Absolutely stellar. I saw Melanie Parker (meltotheany) comment that it was the best first chapter of a book she'd read in a while, and I wholeheartedly agree. Wicked Saints started out very strong. However, it then began to drag a little, and the introduction of the Rawalyk, a [b:The Selection|10507293|The Selection (The Selection, #1)|Kiera Cass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322103400l/10507293._SY75_.jpg|15413183] esque competition to marry Serefin shocked me with its ridiculousness. This book is Dark, and inserting the Rawalyk and making it a major plot for a while felt bizarre and didn't fit the tone at all. The book began to pick back up when Duncan essentially abandons the Rawalyk in favor of the main plot, and I was pulled back in. The end though...again, it didn't hold up. It felt a tad rushed, and as the machinations of all of the characters played out, I couldn't quite muster too much investment.
This book felt like a TV show that had an amazing pilot that the rest of the show could never quite live up to. That's not to say that I didn't thoroughly enjoy this book on the whole, because I did. I (and reviewers in general) tend to harp on the negatives in the aftermath, but the truth is that I blasted through this book in an afternoon, having fun all the way and wishing I was reading it every time I wasn't. While there are certainly things that I might change, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy. Will it be the best thing you've ever read? Probably not. But will you be highly entertained and relish your time with Wicked Saints? I think so.
ARC provided via NetGalley.
Edit 23/6/19: I'm dropping my rating from 3 stars down to 2. I just read this review, and while I don't agree completely with everything, the review did hit on a lot of issues that I actually do have with the book but didn't quite know how to express. Especially the analysis of the religious aspects of the the book.
I honestly don't know how to rate this. On one hand [b:Wicked Saints|36118682|Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy, #1)|Emily A. Duncan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1539378101s/36118682.jpg|57709985] was fine for the most part. But I'm also disappointed that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.
So overall I think the world that Duncan is building in this series is great, and I'd like to see more of it, but there were just some things that I was (not positivily) surprised to see.
First of all, personally, I had expected it to feel eldritch if that makes sense? Like there are some weird descriptions sure, but it didn't measure up to what I expected based on fanart and the stuff I've seen/read on tumblr and twitter about the book. I expected to feel unsettled by parts, but I wasn't. I get that the blood magic can be triggering, but that's not the parts I have in mind here. The book just didn't make me feel how I expected, and it's a bit disappointing.
I did not expect Duncan to write something like the Rawalyk into the book. Luckily it didn't take up as much space as I feared it would.
So I'm multilingual, being fluent in Danish (my first language) and English, understanding and being able to read Norwegian and Swedish and speaking/reading some German and French. But I've got to admit that Polish is not on my list of languages I plan on learning, which means that most names of character, places and things in this book reads like an absolute jumbled mess of letters, which absolutely sucks. I know the author has a pronounciation guide somewhere on her social media, but I'm not going to look that up while I'm reading. I'm not entirely sure why the guide isn't in the actual book? I'd take a pronouciation guide over a map any day if I know there's a lot of hard to pronounce words/names in a book.
It just sucks so much that I didn't like this as much as I thought I would! I absolutely loved Duncan's short story in [b:Crows on Heartstrings: An Anthology of Doomed Love Stories|31428174|Crows on Heartstrings An Anthology of Doomed Love Stories|Aubrey Meeks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470938447s/31428174.jpg|52121682]. I guess I got too hyped for this..
Oh yeah! And this book smelled horrible when I got it. I have no idea what it was, but it took well over a week to get the smell out. I think that might have been the most disturbing part of reading this book!
I honestly don't know how to rate this. On one hand [b:Wicked Saints|36118682|Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy, #1)|Emily A. Duncan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1539378101s/36118682.jpg|57709985] was fine for the most part. But I'm also disappointed that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.
So overall I think the world that Duncan is building in this series is great, and I'd like to see more of it, but there were just some things that I was (not positivily) surprised to see.
First of all, personally, I had expected it to feel eldritch if that makes sense? Like there are some weird descriptions sure, but it didn't measure up to what I expected based on fanart and the stuff I've seen/read on tumblr and twitter about the book. I expected to feel unsettled by parts, but I wasn't. I get that the blood magic can be triggering, but that's not the parts I have in mind here. The book just didn't make me feel how I expected, and it's a bit disappointing.
I did not expect Duncan to write something like the Rawalyk into the book. Luckily it didn't take up as much space as I feared it would.
So I'm multilingual, being fluent in Danish (my first language) and English, understanding and being able to read Norwegian and Swedish and speaking/reading some German and French. But I've got to admit that Polish is not on my list of languages I plan on learning, which means that most names of character, places and things in this book reads like an absolute jumbled mess of letters, which absolutely sucks. I know the author has a pronounciation guide somewhere on her social media, but I'm not going to look that up while I'm reading. I'm not entirely sure why the guide isn't in the actual book? I'd take a pronouciation guide over a map any day if I know there's a lot of hard to pronounce words/names in a book.
It just sucks so much that I didn't like this as much as I thought I would! I absolutely loved Duncan's short story in [b:Crows on Heartstrings: An Anthology of Doomed Love Stories|31428174|Crows on Heartstrings An Anthology of Doomed Love Stories|Aubrey Meeks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470938447s/31428174.jpg|52121682]. I guess I got too hyped for this..
Oh yeah! And this book smelled horrible when I got it. I have no idea what it was, but it took well over a week to get the smell out. I think that might have been the most disturbing part of reading this book!
I received this book as one of the monthly Uppercase Boxes, but I've gotten so behind in my print books, so luckily found it through my public library as an e-audiobook. I really wanted to love it, but I had trouble getting into it, first of all. The accents were done amazingly, but everytime the male narrator spoke, it sounded like he was speaking in italics and so everything had that forward-moving, plot-progressing information that is said with some emphasis. Everything. I'd tune out to the mundane descriptions, only to realize important things had been said, all because it all sounded the same and since I listen while driving, I enjoy most audiobooks when I don't have to focus on every single word. I did get tired of the same internal dilemmas of the characters (mainly Nadia) being said constantly, though I'm not sure if I was just more aware of them because I was listening to the audiobook or if it would have bothered me as much if reading it in print. It took me until the last quarter of the book, perhaps, before I really got interested and the very end to feel that craving to keep listening. I think I'll continue the trilogy when they come out because I am curious as to what happens next.
Infuriating. The Russian-inspired fantasy really excited me but, wow, I was just bored. And the romance was toxic and I couldn’t even begin to try to root for it. I’m so disappointed and don’t want to touch the sequel.
Overall: waiting for this book to be good was like waiting for rain in this drought. Useless and disappointing.
Overall: waiting for this book to be good was like waiting for rain in this drought. Useless and disappointing.