Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan -- Restarting July 7th 2023

[Alaina]

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..

[Alaina]

Ch. 10: (view spoiler)[ooo I'm liking this so far BUT every time I read Tranavian it makes me think about where I used to work - travinia. then i can't stop laughing. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch. 20: (view spoiler)[that battle was so freaking good but weird at the same time. why did the vultures kill her? (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Chapter 30: (view spoiler)[low-key, not really liking the romance part of this. I thought she would end up with the high prince but at least this is interesting enough. totally saw the betrayal coming a mile away though. (hide spoiler)]
Finished: (view spoiler)[well that was a bit anticlimactic for me. I thought the little battle would be more than that. The cliffhanger wasn't really one but I don't know. I figure this guy was going to betray them but what happened to the gods - why did they leave her? (hide spoiler)]

[Isabelle]

through Ch 8 - (view spoiler)[I still don't feel like I have a good grasp on any of the main characters, but I'm building sympathy for them so that's something. Sensing a love triangle coming and hoping it doesn't actually happen, because I think Nadya has enough to contend with, having all those gods whispering in her head. (hide spoiler)]

[Isabelle]

through Ch 17 - (view spoiler)[and the plot thickens. I was hoping they were going to kiss, they were definitely close enough when they were casting their disguise/misdirection spells on each other ... but I'm glad they didn't, it's still a little too early in their relationship. also, I'm fascinated by the conspiracies Serefin is up against - literally life or death for him, with very few people he can trust. (hide spoiler)]

[Isabelle]

through Ch 25 - (view spoiler)[oooh, sh*t is getting real. I'm curious to know who this "former" god is and what they want with/from Nadya, and what the prince is going to do with the Vulture he knocked out. (hide spoiler)]

[Isabelle]

Finished - (view spoiler)[honestly I'm just disappointed. I felt like we never got to know Malachiasz in the first place, and now the boy is apparently gone and replaced by the Black Vulture (so to speak). I wish he had at least gotten a POV passage before the epilogue, because I would've loved to get inside his head. meanwhile, I guess Nadya and Serefin were alright but kind of underdeveloped?

I don't know. I just never really connected with this story. (hide spoiler)]

[Klancy]

Starting this today!

[Klancy]

Page 47

I’m already addicted to this book and had to stop myself before I barreled through the beginning. I really want to take a minute to absorb the names of all of the characters, why the war started, and the magic system. But I can already tell I’m going to love this book!

[Klancy]

Page 47
(view spoiler)[Nadya is a cleric and she summons magic by calling on gods with prayer beads. Serefin is hunting Nadya because they are on opposite sides of a holy war. He summons magic with his blood, pressing it into pages of a spellbook (hide spoiler)]

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

I tired to read some on a road trip yesterday but I had to keep stopping. I am going to really start today sometime.

[Klancy]

No worries! I had to put Wicked Saints to the side today to get further into an audiobook, so I’m hoping to read more of it tomorrow. The beginning was fantastic, though!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

I am only a few chapters in but I am enjoying it so far

[Klancy]

26%
(view spoiler)[Serefin is headed back to Tranavia because his dad ordered him to return home in order to find/take a bride. I think Nadya might be headed to Tranavia as well because Parajihan suggested they kill the king. Also, I probably butchered all of these spellings lol (hide spoiler)]

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Chapters 1 to 5
(view spoiler)[I am really enjoying this book and how the author is melding the myths of the Slavic gods in the story. I don't know how I feel about Nadya but I am liking the High Prince Serefin. I am sure I will end up loving all the characters. Though I do have to say that Parijahan is one of my favorites so far.

Don't worry I probably butchered everything too. I am glad I am listening to it cause I would probably say all the names wrong. (hide spoiler)]

[Klancy]

Page 197
(view spoiler)[Nadya is traveling to Tranavia with Parijahan, Rashid, and Malachaisz to kill the king. Serefin believes his father will try to kill him, and he suspects that the Vultures are using his father as a puppet (hide spoiler)]

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Going to get back to reading this tomorrow

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Chapters 6-10
(view spoiler)[I still don't know if I like Nadya but I do like all the other characters. I did think that Malachaisz was either a prince or a Vulture so I guess I was right. I want to learn more about them and their experiments. I also want to learn more about Malachaisz past and if there was a relationship with the high prince Serefin. Like were they friends or did they even know each other. Also will the groups team up to kill the king? (hide spoiler)]

[Klancy]

Finished
(view spoiler)[

I'm a little underwhelmed...Like, everyone's identity has been revealed? Serefin recognized Malachiasz the instant he met him and barely noted it later. Wouldn't that be important? And I figured that Nadya and Serefin would start working together, but her opinion of him instantly changes after talking to him one night at a dinner. How does one dinner sway her to believe he is a nice person when he literally tortured her best friend and destroyed the only home she ever knew?



I just didn't get it.

Oh, and Malachiasz basically betrayed Nadya by performing the ceremony himself, which I didn't see coming because I don't feel like it was hinted at in the book at all. Like where was his backstory? His motivations? I wanted to hear more about how he became the Black Vulture. And he's weirdly obsessed with grabbing Nadya's chin.



Please stop.

And why was killing the king so important when we never learned what his intentions were after he gained that power? And why did it matter when he was killed in like 2 pages? He's a puppet of the Vultures. Why wasn't that explored in the story more? So much confusion.

And the whole rawlyk/marriage competition/ceremony was just pointless. We got one scene with all of the women and that was it, and the scene didn't involve any of them at all. Just some random girl who insults Nadya and fights her to the death later, which sounds cool until you actually read the fight scene.

And why Malachiasz and Nadya needed disguises when they were basically identified by the high prince - the guy they are LITERALLY trying not be identified by - when he finds out who they are by the end of the book and is cool with working with the cleric he wanted to kill is beyond me. Sure, I guess he was an 'ally' of them and that's why he could see Malachiasz but like...Doesn't Malachiasz's disguise only show his true self to his friends? Wouldn't that mean Serefin shouldn't be able to see through Malachiasz's disguise because Malachiasz sees Serefin as the ENEMY?


(hide spoiler)]

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

I should be done with it tomorrow

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

I am finishing it up now

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Finished (view spoiler)[I have mix feelings about this book. I should say I don't know how I should feel. It still up there in my top reads I have read so far this year. I am also really glad I got the audio of the book too. There were somethings I did predict about the characters but others surprised me. I hope the next book we learn more about Malachiasz past and why he did what he did. I think there is a past between Malachiasz and Serefin that wasn't mention in this book. Now time to wait for a year for the next book. (hide spoiler)]

[Ari ☾]

Starting this today (:

[Krystal]

Starting tomorrow!

[Krystal]

I haven't gotten very far, only about to page 13, but so far the idea of what is going on is pretty neat.

[Krystal]

I am really behind on this book but plan on finishing it tomorrow.

[Krystal]

Up to chapter 5. (view spoiler)[ I really like how she can commune and work with all the gods but I hope she isn’t overpowered and Mary Sue like. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Up to chapter 14. (view spoiler)[ I am
Now just noticing the beginning of the chapters talk about each god. I’m going to have to go back and read each one when I’m
Done. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Lizz wrote: "Chapters 6-10
[spoilers removed]"

Ohh, I would like to know that as well!

[Krystal]

I definitely (view spoiler)[ Do not like Nadya’s way of magic, even though I think the gods are interesting. The fact that their way is the only way and anyone else are labeled heretics is extremely annoying. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Finished yesterday. (view spoiler)[ Hated the ending and was co fused for most of it. I understand M became basically a god but I just... I hated the ending. I also really didn’t care for N. She wanted to push her religion on an entire country and break the veil, and that isn’t right. Stop a war, yes, but she was so pushy about her way, her way, her way. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Klancy wrote: "Finished


I'm a little underwhelmed...Like, everyone's identity has been revealed? Serefin recognized Malachiasz the instant he met him and barely noted it later. Wouldn't that be important? And I..."

Yes to all of this, seriously... yes!

[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date changed. Restarting November 12th 2020. Happy Reading ☺

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[Brinley]

Up to chapter 7
(view spoiler)[ I’m super confused by Nadya’s plot line. I’m not even sure why, we just got introduced to so many characters at once, and I have no idea what their motivations are. I like Prince Serefin though, he’s interesting. I’m hoping that the author doesn’t end up pushing him and Nadia together, or at least do a good job if she does. (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Up to chapter 13
(view spoiler)[ So far, I’m just not interested in this. I mean, it’s an interesting magic system, but the plot just isn’t working for me. I don’t care about Nadya at all. Her chapters confuse me, and I’m always waiting for them to end. I’m also super tired of her heretic stuff, I get that she’s religious, but it’s getting a bit old. I love Serefin though! He’s just more relatable, and actually has a personality.

Also, I get that this is Russian inspired, but I wish the author had let up on the names a bit. I can’t stand to read books in which I know I’m not pronouncing a single name correctly, and that’s this book summed up. It also makes remembering characters super difficult, because all of the names are like fifteen letters long and full of consonants, (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Up to chapter 17
(view spoiler)[ I still don’t care about Nadya, and I can’t stand these random romantic moments between her and whatever his name is. There’s no chemistry there, not even friendship, so why are they slowly getting together?? This was supposed to be forbidden romance, enemies to lovers. I’ve been shipping Nadya and Serefin since we met him just because it feels like there’d be actual angst, and something to ship. Nadya and Mal have no spice at all, it’s just flat and bland. (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Up to chapter 20
(view spoiler)[ I am so tired of prissy ya heroines who can’t make the hard decisions. We’ve been told for the entire book that she’s going to kill Mal, she’s going to kill the king, she’s going to kill the prince. Yet somehow, she can’t kill the girl that’s trying to kill her??? I’m sorry, sometimes you need to make the hard decisions, keep your deception going, even if it costs an innocent (they aren’t) life. I really don’t like Nadya (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah A]

Chapter 3: (view spoiler)[ So I am not sure how I feel about this book. I have had to reread the first couple chapter and I am so confused. Maybe it is everything I can't say, so I am so stick on trying to figure out names and not getting the plot. (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Sarah wrote: "Chapter 3: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yah, I’m like halfway through this, and I’m still confused. I agree with you about the names though, I’ve just given up on trying to say them. I just skim over them, which makes differentiating between characters quite hard (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Up to chapter 29
(view spoiler)[ Ok, so this is marketed as the reality in which Alina chose the Darkling. There are soooo many problems with that. For one, the darkling had a personality, and there was chemistry and angst between him and Alina. There is literally no chemistry between Mal and Nadya. Their romance is just bland, and repetitive, and BORING. And the Darkling, ya know, was actually a bad guy, he was ruthless, and willing to make sacrifices. Mal guy just sits there, and doesn’t even talk tough. He’s not even the leader of the vultures at this point, he’s just there!!!! This is sooo disappointing. I’m so ready to be done with this and get it out of my sight (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ You know that feeling when you’ve been anticipating a book for a whole year, because it’s sold to you as an enemies to lovers dark fantasy with morally grey characters and it ends up being one of the biggest disappointments of the year? Because that’s how I’m feeling right now. This promised to be everything I love in books, but it just ended up being everything I hate in fantasy. Poorly written, confusing, with bland characters. Yuck. Now, this is going to get very ranty, so I apologize in advance.

The romance. This was supposed to be if Alina chose the Darkling???? The Darkling was compelling, had complex motivations, and wanted to make the world a better place, even if it was through the wrong methods. Now, please tell me what Mal’s motivation was??? He just wanted power... I think? He was fake, completely uncompelling, and the worst villain character I’ve ever read. Villains need to be interesting, and have something that makes you want to empathize with them. Mal had none of that, and I’d literally scream with happiness if he fell off a cliff.

As for the plot, I have no idea what happened over this book. Like, I think I just chose to forget it even as I was reading it. The world building literally confused me to death, and I really can’t deal with it. The pacing of this was also off, I swear we got two hundred pages of Nadya mooning over her “bad boy”.

As for more of the plot, the ending was TERRIBLE. Talk about violating all of the rules set up in the first 370 pages. And talk about a ridiculous resurrection. I already hate it when characters are randomly brought back after death, but what the heck is going on with Serefin??? Like, he got murdered and then came back with an aura of constellations and moths?? What’s the significance there?? How is he still ALIVE????? Don’t get me wrong, I like him better than everyone else, but why is he alive?? I’m soooooo confused.

This had so much potential, but I honestly don’t understand how anybody could love it. If you do, I’m sorry, please don’t be offended, but I honestly don’t see a single redeeming factor in this mess (hide spoiler)]

[Saar The Book owl]

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Date changed. Restarting September 19th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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[Jenn]

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Date changed. Restarting July 7th 2023. Happy Reading ☺

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[Maddie]

I'm sorry Vanessa I had to sell my copies of these books for money so I won't be reading them!

[Cinthia]

30.0% End of ch 10: this is interesting. (view spoiler)[ So Nadya is more or so a goddess? And malachiasz is a monster that uses blood magic, forbidden by the goddess Nadya serves. However, he and his group are helping her and at the same time need her to kill the prince that obliterated her family and friends. I like the magic so far and I can't wait for the romance. (hide spoiler)]

[Cinthia]

60.0% (view spoiler)[ They finally made it to the palace! Will she be able to kill he prince? Malachaisz? And this damn duel is to th death? The prince is finding a liking to her now and if she becomes his consort she could someday become queen. I kinda want that for her because they killed her people! I still don't know how I feel about her relationship with malachaisz. He is a monster. Poor guy. (hide spoiler)]

[Cinthia]

2.0% Omg. Heresy!!! (view spoiler)[ She kissed a monster. I'm glad. But idk how yo feel about it. (hide spoiler)]

[Cinthia]

84.0% End of ch 28: so it's all malachaisz (view spoiler)[ fault that the king wants to become a God. And strafing and malachaisz are cousins?! So much info dump. I don't like the witch. I think she knows Nadyas ultimate plan. I love that malachaisz is the king of the vultures. (hide spoiler)]

[Cinthia]

Finished.... (view spoiler)[ So is serafin a God then? And what does that make malachaisz? I can't believe he has planned it all along!!! I'm so mad at him! He had Nadya love! I'm glad no one but the king died and that Nadya came into her own powers. (hide spoiler)]