Read for: Request Review/Netgalley & Anticipated Release
Synopsis: "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."
My Review: I was pretty excited about this book, especially with the reference to Joan of Arc as an influence. It started out really great, we get to know Nayda and what she stand for and a bit about her power early on. The world building is great in the beginning, learning about it a little at a time as needed, it does get lost later in the book. I also enjoyed the slower pace at the beginning allowing for plot and characters to develop but things really get rushed about halfway through and about the last quarter of the book all pacing is lost and things get very convoluted. By the end of the book we loose sight of Nayda's power and values. We also end up with, I think, 3 different perspectives but they are very closely connected and often in the same room seeing the same things. The climax of the book also really starts skipping around and I felt like I missed whole chunks of what was occurring and why. The romance was really underdeveloped and kind of thrown in with out much payoff. I was a bit disappointed with this book, it really did start out great but the second half just kind of fell apart and became rushed. I do also hope in the finished copy there is a list of gods/goddesses, map and a pronunciation guide.
My Rating: I was really looking forward to this one, and I am glad I read it. I did really enjoy the world with all the darkness and power, but it just got so confusing near the end. I do think this would make a good audio book. I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.
I received a complimentary copy of Wicked Saints from the publisher via Netgalley. The above is my honest opinion.
Wicked Saints is now available and you can obtain your own copy in print or digital format from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or check your local bookstore or library (if they don't have it they can probably get it for you).
Emily A. Duncan was born and raised in Ohio and works as a youth services librarian. She received a Master’s degree in library science from Kent State University, which mostly taught her how to find obscure Slavic folklore texts through interlibrary loan systems. When not reading or writing, she enjoys playing copious amounts of video games and dungeons and dragons. She is represented by Thao Le of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
Check out her Goodreads Page, Website, Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr
No comments:
Post a Comment