A review by oliverreeds
Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

when reading this book, you can tell that its the authors first. she is a great writer, but i feel like she didn't listen to her story in terms of which direction it was meant to take. the characters introduced at the beginning of the story didn't feel like the saem characters at the end of the book, and i had a lot of issues understanding where the motivation came from for their actions specifically
between Nadya and Malachiacz?? I don't and didn't understand how Nadya, by all means a sensible person, could possibly keep trusting someone who has fucked her over time and time again. I didn't understand why she, a rational human being, would trust something, someone she has been raised to hate.
i also felt as though the tension in Nadya between the gods and the heretics did not seem incredibly complex, and i couldn't tell if that was on purpose as a way to show that all bias is only as deep as your relationship with a member of the group you hate?? because at the end
Nadya still hates the heretics and is loyal to gods who don't care about her and refuse to answer her calls for help
. all in all, i thought the action was well-written; the writing style was incredibly compelling, and the relationships drew me in, but the characters seemed to fall flat in important moments and crucial ways. i wanted the author to listen to her characters and see if they would do what she was asking them to do. all this in mind, i plan on finishing the series and enjoyed the book while reading it. the casual diversity of queer people was a massive plus.
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