Fantasy

Ruthless Gods

Ruthless Gods

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  • Create Date：2021-05-14 11:55:23
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Emily A. Duncan
  • ISBN：1250759617
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Summary

Darkness never works alone。。。

Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore。 Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him。 Malachiasz is at war with who--and what--he’s become。

As their group is continually torn apart， the girl， the prince， and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined。 They’re pieces on a board， being orchestrated by someone… or something。 The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness， the ones that Nadya believes are her gods， the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world， and they refuse to stay quiet any longer。

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Reviews

Samiha Ilom ，

My god， words can not describe what I felt reading this book。 The world build up， plot is amazing。 My heart breaks for Nadya and the black vulture。 They have all grown up from the last book。 What have they all done。 Some parts are too chaotic for me to understand。 I hope the 3rd book will clear up the confusions lol。 I have been in a different world while reading this。 Such strong words， such strong emotion it evoked in me。

Melissa ，

so many crazy twists and truns！

Erica ，

*3。2

Rachel ，

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review。 This novel was INSANE！！ This definitely did not second book lull syndrome， which seems to happen often in trilogies。 This was a unique and powerful story as we continue on with our three main chracters， Nadiya， Serefin and Malachia。 And oh my goodness， how these three get so intertwined！ It feels a bit confusing as you are reading the novel and trying to figure things out and then when you finally get some answers they are I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review。 This novel was INSANE！！ This definitely did not second book lull syndrome， which seems to happen often in trilogies。 This was a unique and powerful story as we continue on with our three main chracters， Nadiya， Serefin and Malachia。 And oh my goodness， how these three get so intertwined！ It feels a bit confusing as you are reading the novel and trying to figure things out and then when you finally get some answers they are BEYOND what I thought they would be！ This was intense and had so many twists and turns and I am quite excited for the next one！ 。。。more

Kelly ，

DNF， couldn’t read another page of it。

Patricia Puckett ，

Good， but it was really slow in the beginning。

ada *ੈ✩ ，

I。 FUCKING。 CRIED。LIKE A TRILLION TIMES。YOU THINK YOU’RE SAFE。AND THEN IT’S JUST PAIN ALL OVER AGAIN。THIS BOOK IS EVIL。 DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO HAVE YOUR HEART RIPPED OUT AND LITERALLY STEPPED ON。 there were so many moments where i thought malachaisz was truly gone， and then SOMEHOW nadya managed to bring him back 。。。 AND I DONT KNOW HOW SHE DID IT EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME。 BUT SHE DID。 AND THANK GOD SHE DID。 but when she did bring him back， he was on the edge again and the endle I。 FUCKING。 CRIED。LIKE A TRILLION TIMES。YOU THINK YOU’RE SAFE。AND THEN IT’S JUST PAIN ALL OVER AGAIN。THIS BOOK IS EVIL。 DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO HAVE YOUR HEART RIPPED OUT AND LITERALLY STEPPED ON。 there were so many moments where i thought malachaisz was truly gone， and then SOMEHOW nadya managed to bring him back 。。。 AND I DONT KNOW HOW SHE DID IT EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME。 BUT SHE DID。 AND THANK GOD SHE DID。 but when she did bring him back， he was on the edge again and the endless cycle of not knowing whether or not he was redeemable just kept on REPEATING。 it’s honestly a sick game and i loved it。but fuck malachaisz we need some serefin appreciation。 YES， HE WAS A DICK。 FOR LIKE 9/10 OF THE BOOK。 BUT HE WAS TRYING HIS BEST。 AND IT’S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS。 honestly someone needs to get him 3 strong shots of tequila and a licensed exorcist because SHIT he was going through it goddamn。 but honestly i want to give him the biggest hug pls it hurts watching him hurt 💔but that ending。 death。 killed me。 i couldn’t breathe for a good minute。 it left me stunned。 it was evil。 no。 pain。 can’t do this anymore。 sad。 pain。 。。。more

Alisa ，

I liked The Wicked Saints， but this book went downhill really fast。 I don't even know where to begin。 Okay， let's start with the writing。 English is my second language so I don't know how to explain what exactly was wrong but nevertheless something was definitely wrong。 So many words were repeated， so many scenes were described similarly。 I felt stupid at times because there were scenes that made no sense to me and yet the characters understood what was going on。 Like， how and would you care to I liked The Wicked Saints， but this book went downhill really fast。 I don't even know where to begin。 Okay， let's start with the writing。 English is my second language so I don't know how to explain what exactly was wrong but nevertheless something was definitely wrong。 So many words were repeated， so many scenes were described similarly。 I felt stupid at times because there were scenes that made no sense to me and yet the characters understood what was going on。 Like， how and would you care to share with the rest of the class？Speaking of characters。 The only one I liked and remotely cared about was Serefin。 His sarcasm was great。 The rest of them got worse。 Nadya was supposed to become strong and all powerful and yet I still do not understand what the fuck can her power do。 Like， it's just a rotting arm， what exactly can you do with it？ Also， she needs to grow a fucking brain。 One minute she's like:"I am never trusting him again， he is a liar and he betrayed me" and the next minute she goes all horny。 I get horny but there is a time and place for everything。 Malachiasz literally stabs her all over with his claws while they are making out。 And not in a sexy way， but in a way where she almost bleeds to death。Speaking of bleeding。 I am so tempted to go through the book and count how many times the words blood and bleeding and bled were used because someone was bleeding from somewhere in EVERY chapter。 I started to roll my eyes every time it was mentioned。 Considering how much time these characters spend bleeding they should all be dead already。 Malachiasz。 What the actual fuck。 He has no personality to speak of because all his actions are not made according to who he is as a person but in order to make the story "interesting"。 He claims he loves Nadya then he turns around and betrays her and that happens a few times。 That girl is just dumb， honestly。 In every kind of sexual encounter they had he would back her into a wall， corner her， lift her chin。 Pretty much every time。 And then she would go weak in the knees and forget all the promises she made to herself。 Repeat this cycle over and over。The book was over 500 pages but had very little plot。 First， we are going to the weird caves。 Why？ Fuck if I know。 Then the bad boy（and he is always "the boy"， stop it already） for some reason agrees to join the group。 Why？ Because。 Then they all go the weird place that is very fucking far away。 Should I mention that in the said place there is an actual pool of blood？ That Nadya has to swim in。 Very on brand。 Oh， why we are going to this stupid place？ Again， fuck if I know。 Weird shit happens and the book ends。 There you have it， that's the plot lol。 The gods and that witch were so annoying here。 Everyone spoke in riddles and provided no useful information。 I have no idea what the witch was even for。 All she did was say some cryptic shit that made no sense and that was it。 Like， Oh you little children， you know nothing， you see nothing， I see blood and bones and blabla。 And she claims one of the characters should have died and they haven't， so what use are her prophesies anyway。The princess added nothing， what was she even for。 Basically I really disliked this。 I should also add that I severely dislike those 3 new Star Wars episodes。 They made zero sense for the canon and that weird romance was stupid as fuck。 Actually， I would have liked that romance but in a different setting， not in my beloved Star Wars。 And as I was reading this book it was especially obvious that the romance here was supposed to be like that one， but it is just bad。 。。。more

Ylva ，

Typical middle book syndrome。 Not much happens overall and I had forgotten a lot from the first book but I still enjoyed it， mainly due to the writing style and because I wanted to know the Gods' plans。 Not that much world building but what was there was good。 Very curious for the finale now。 Typical middle book syndrome。 Not much happens overall and I had forgotten a lot from the first book but I still enjoyed it， mainly due to the writing style and because I wanted to know the Gods' plans。 Not that much world building but what was there was good。 Very curious for the finale now。 。。。more

Petita Vera ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 El problema fue meter un viaje donde cada vez u cuando entre ellos se hacían preguntas y preguntas que no hiban al caso y entre Nadya y Malachiasz se volvió aburrido como no confiaban， dudaban pero se querían， se hacían daño pero igual se querían， llegando ha ese final donde Serafín sufrió tanto por lo que le pasó al volver a la vida y tener ahora un Dios en su cabeza que lo soluciona tan fácil y sin tener ningún sentido， fue tanto relleno que la historia se volvió aburrida。

Alexandria ，

Heartwrenching and filled with betrayal， yet I couldn't put it down。 Heartwrenching and filled with betrayal， yet I couldn't put it down。 。。。more

Tracy ，

Well I listened to the last 15% of the book again。 I guess I didn't miss anything。 Nothing shocking happened that wasn't foreshadowed。 Apparently the stakes got higher？ But I'm left thinking， "So what？？" Maybe my expectations were a little high。 Well I listened to the last 15% of the book again。 I guess I didn't miss anything。 Nothing shocking happened that wasn't foreshadowed。 Apparently the stakes got higher？ But I'm left thinking， "So what？？" Maybe my expectations were a little high。 。。。more

Becky ，

I’m not sure where to start。 It dragged sooo badly。 So little conversation， too much inner turmoil。 Real， progression was staggered and unimpressive until the end。 Too much detail but not the kind the reader needed to still fall for the characters。 “I just can’t with this book” I kept telling myself。 But I’m not one to give up so I kept on and just glad it’s over。 I’m not sure if I’ll read the next one。

Emily Vincent ，

I'm not one to do reviews， not my thing。 But can I say， this book was amazing。 I literally was on edge for most of it and was easily pulled back into the world though I read the first book last year。 It definitely is dark and I may add to this review in the future when its all sunk in。 But amazing book。 I'm not one to do reviews， not my thing。 But can I say， this book was amazing。 I literally was on edge for most of it and was easily pulled back into the world though I read the first book last year。 It definitely is dark and I may add to this review in the future when its all sunk in。 But amazing book。 。。。more

Cassie ，

A marvellous journey。 Can't wait for the next！ A marvellous journey。 Can't wait for the next！ 。。。more

Angel ，

Ese final！！ Amo a los personajes， y esa pareja， me los veía venir desde el primer libro， me encantan juntos， también no puedo creer que no hiciera la conexión de quien era la reina antes de que dijeran， era tan obvio y yo tenia teorías que nada que ver， todo parece estar de la chingada， quien sabe como lo arreglaran， pero es un alivio el epilogo aun asi

Miranda ，

Too gruesome for me！ These kids are constantly "losing more blood than they thought possible" and hanging out around skeletons and stuff。 Plus， all the political intrigue and worldbuilding I liked about the first book is totally replaced by new rules about magic that no one （including the reader） can understand。 The relationships feel stagnant （except Casper， who made the difference between a one- and two-star rating）。Big takeaway for me is that I should probably think twice before reading books Too gruesome for me！ These kids are constantly "losing more blood than they thought possible" and hanging out around skeletons and stuff。 Plus， all the political intrigue and worldbuilding I liked about the first book is totally replaced by new rules about magic that no one （including the reader） can understand。 The relationships feel stagnant （except Casper， who made the difference between a one- and two-star rating）。Big takeaway for me is that I should probably think twice before reading books where all the main characters are younger than 20。 。。。more

SyaSya Syed Nasir ，

Decided to DNF this on page 205。 Gosh， so many things happening but I don't enjoy every single thing of it。 The only character I enjoyed was the villain。 Other than that， lol， nonsense！ I cannot understand them。 All of their actions give was really confusing。 However， I would like to give a credit to the author because I really do enjoy her writing， even though it is not enough to keep me reading。 Decided to DNF this on page 205。 Gosh， so many things happening but I don't enjoy every single thing of it。 The only character I enjoyed was the villain。 Other than that， lol， nonsense！ I cannot understand them。 All of their actions give was really confusing。 However， I would like to give a credit to the author because I really do enjoy her writing， even though it is not enough to keep me reading。 。。。more

GavShire ，

Really worth the read。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Ben Truong ，

Ruthless Gods is the second and penultimate book in the Something Dark and Holy series written by Emily A。 Duncan。 It centers on Nadezhda "Nadya" Lapteva – a Kalyazi cleric and Serefin Meleski – Tranavian High Prince as the two fight in a holy war of gods and blood magic。Serefin Meleski is king of Tranavia， but the court doesn't trust him – Malachiasz is the Black Vulture， a monstrous magic wielder， but he still doesn't have the power he sought， and Nadezhda "Nadya" Lapteva can no longer hear he Ruthless Gods is the second and penultimate book in the Something Dark and Holy series written by Emily A。 Duncan。 It centers on Nadezhda "Nadya" Lapteva – a Kalyazi cleric and Serefin Meleski – Tranavian High Prince as the two fight in a holy war of gods and blood magic。Serefin Meleski is king of Tranavia， but the court doesn't trust him – Malachiasz is the Black Vulture， a monstrous magic wielder， but he still doesn't have the power he sought， and Nadezhda "Nadya" Lapteva can no longer hear her gods。Nadya and Malachiasz continue their doomed， toxic， intense romance even as they work at direct cross-purposes while Serefin figures out that he likes Kacper and fights a voice in his head。 Meanwhile， gods stir and manipulate mortalsRuthless Gods is written rather well。 Dual narration from Nadya's and Serefin's perspectives， with additional narrative interludes takes readers on a road trip to a scary forest where everyone has a goal that involves killing one of their reluctant allies and sort-of friends。 The pacing lags early on before settling into a steady forward direction， and the prose veers toward overwrought， leavened by charmingly snarky， contemporary-sounding dialogue。All in all， Ruthless Gods is written rather well and is a good continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series， which I plan to continue in the very near future。 。。。more

Violet Stone ，

I finally finished。 It took me 6 months to read this book。 I just got so frustrated with the writing and the characters。 There were so many words and so much nothing。Why， every time there was a kiss scene between Nadya and the boy ， was there blood？ There was the alter of blood and bones and then another was: she just got done dunking herself in a pool of blood。 And。。。please stop。And I hate that I even want to read。。。rather skim the third book just to know what happens。 Ugh。

Harley ，

3。5 Stars

Marie ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I was reading other people's reviews prior to this- one focused on what they liked about the growing relationships and the other was just a filleting of the word choice， the sentence choice， how things jump， repetition， and more。 I loved both reviews。 These books are good， but they're not polished at all- it's why i have so many ？？？？ and "what is this jump？ where did this come from？ where was the foundation？" notes。 I didn't like this one as much as the first just because this one made you sit w I was reading other people's reviews prior to this- one focused on what they liked about the growing relationships and the other was just a filleting of the word choice， the sentence choice， how things jump， repetition， and more。 I loved both reviews。 These books are good， but they're not polished at all- it's why i have so many ？？？？ and "what is this jump？ where did this come from？ where was the foundation？" notes。 I didn't like this one as much as the first just because this one made you sit with betrayal for a much longer period of time。 Plus， because it's not a perfect equation book， you sit there thinking you either are missing puzzle pieces or that， again， scenes are lacking foundation。 We start in a dungeon with Zanata and Mal is talking to her to let go。 my note was "the black vulture character is all over the damn place- i get that people are complicated and all that， but WTF- there needs to be some build。" and that， my friend， really sets the tone for the series as a whole。 10/774 i'm already mad that there has been a jump in time and people are dumb。 Serefin didn't go talk to his mom to get all the dirt （bc guess what- dad is dead） and the MC should be going through literally all of Mals stuff bc she CAN。 LEARN ABOUT YOUR MATCH。 dumb。 IT WAS A FOUR MONTH JUMP- DO BETTER。 He's then complaining that politics are messy- kid use the CLERIC。 she can be a pawn and at this point it doesn't matter bc the world is shit。 Also， he says he can't go into the cathedral。 SEND THE DAMN CLERIC- she has energy and i'm certain mal put some protections on her bc he still cares and doesn't want her dead。 32: "how did he decide on the path he took？" You want to help the ones you love。 also Parijahan in this convo is like， if you wanna know what mal knows， why the heck aren't you in the cathedral？ the BV wasn't hitting up the palace lib on the regular。 bc guess what。 on page 40 she finds exactly that so fast。 and it's all about her。 which means that he has been plotting a LONG time。 53: I make the guess that they are brothers。 bc duh。 and i'm pretty sure I thought that first round too。 84: weird witch and BV， WW says "they let you taste power too young"87: it's BV internal monologue about how the cleric gave him soo much， but he ruined her bc it wasn't enough。 90 Great appreciation for the foreshadowing and WW speech about how you can't go back， but if you want it back， the pain will be greater than anything suffered before。 like it's probably going to be achieving and losing immortality while simultaneously losing her。 107， it's BV's number 2， and she is pleading for some cleric intervention。 I love that the 2 is talking to N tho- it screams bigger crisis。 but N says "i。 don't。 care。 he built that hell for himself， let him rot in it。" and that is the energy that every single one of us need when we have been betrayed。 WHen asked why she still is here， she says that she is "rotting， too。"112 i liked the line "only thing he gods ever leave behind is heartbreak"118 S is actually curious to know if M would make a good king。 128 WW is like go back and pine after the boy who broke your heart， something you let happen。 And my thoughts are that everyone is operating to the best of their ability with the most knowledge they have。 135， i kinda hate the paragraph on second read， but it's about whether his destruction is worth your salvation。 [that end scene-ugh]319， literally jumping 200 pages lol。 it's some weird banter about playing the game and about ashes after a fire。 and shes saying shell get him to beg and he's like nah。 THIS IS BIZARRE。 like what。 why is there forgiveness。 why is he here。 we just don't have a separation between mal and black vulture and that really needs to be explained more and better。 346- you know what I hate？ a good dual read。 I couldn't care less about SM's story line 99% of the time。 411- i am bored in this section of the book。 that was my note。 it slows down without a great goal。 498- real hot scene- pretty much her friend died bc of Mal and she's mad。 He won't give up the name of the vulture who killed。 so， she cuts him， and lays it out where they are。 that he chose his country and blood but not her。 she sees that but she won't stand for being played。 She considers murdering him[she should have]。 bc he went to the vultures and warned them。 and at the cost of her and her made family。 pretty much it's a power scene。 and then it's tied back to the on the knees scene of 319。 great end of chapter here。 I am mad that she thinks herself cruel bc he was so much worse。 I would have loved to level a "is this cruelty？ is what you did to me cruelty？ or is it prioritizing others above each other？" I am mad he gave up the name easily。 he needs to be better defined- where is the divide。。。 anyway- the rest of the convo bores me。 509 it's her and him trying to figure her out， and he's like "divinity tastes like copper and ash and a fractured halo" and then literally cuts her hand and tastes her blood。 and then losses focus as whatever she has is probably much much older。。。 and more powerful。 long story short， i think it would make her his equal or greater。 512 im convinced gods lie to save face519， Parj thinks that mal is in love with her （or at least her power。。。 IMO_547 took until here to figure out the brothers thing584， faced with death he is very tender with her588 her internal monologue is 'what if there was a girl who could call down the magic of the divine and dredge up the power of the dark and sift through the magic of the forests？" my comment is "this question was a BIG jump， you know？612 intersection of divinity allowed the two to talk？ please elaborate more。。。629 great imagery as the wall comes down。 not all is garbage。 662 veylos goes "you are deeply melodramatic， i hope you know that。" we needed more of that blatant attitude691 was really hoping SM was going to do a sacrifice thing [and then thrones combine。。。]Epilogue: upset to see his isn't dead。 so apparently there are bonus scenes I'm just reading。 but im annoyed shes showing any interst bc i'm annoyed at mal。 but， the scene is a call back to the first meetings， so i can appreciate the nostalgia。 the other extra scenes were blah and I didn't care。 。。。more

bringsolemnwarnings ，

I would still die for Malachiasz。

Jen ，

I didn’t proofread this review because because fuck this book。 It took up enough of my time already。This book is 500 pages of Nadya being a dumb bitch。Take a shot every time the author uses the words boy， monster， or anxious to describe Mal。 I promise you’ll have only died a couple of times。 All that to say this book is， quite frankly， terrible and I realized that within the first 100 pages。 Book 1 barely had any worldbuilding and this book has even less。 The only worldbuilding that ever happene I didn’t proofread this review because because fuck this book。 It took up enough of my time already。This book is 500 pages of Nadya being a dumb bitch。Take a shot every time the author uses the words boy， monster， or anxious to describe Mal。 I promise you’ll have only died a couple of times。 All that to say this book is， quite frankly， terrible and I realized that within the first 100 pages。 Book 1 barely had any worldbuilding and this book has even less。 The only worldbuilding that ever happened was Nadya saying that “Tranavia has lakes， Kalyazin has forests。” That’s it that’s that world。 And even though the “barrier” keeping the gods from Tranavia has fallen， the reader doesn’t even get told what the ramifications of that are for Tranavia aside from “””chaos。””” The fact that the characters leave Tranavia within 100 pages never to return in this book doesn’t help matters。It was also very strange to me how out of nowhere creatures such as rusalki and the like are all of a sudden casually mentioned like they were always a part of the world。 And while technically they were， they were never mentioned in book 1 and then casually breezed past when Nadya uses her super special magic to get rid of the rusalki （honestly though， this scene where the rusalki attack out of nowhere didn’t even last a whole chapter and then stuff like this never happened again。 This book is solely character interaction and nothing else）。 As for the magic system part of the world， that’s not explained anymore either。 When Nadya and Friends are attacked by rusalki out of nowhere， all that is said is that Nadya “reaches for power” and nothing else is mentioned but BOOM the rusalki stop attacking and go on their merry way。 And I forget who， but one of the characters then says to Nadya that “Magic doesn’t work like that。 There are rules，” and EXCUSE ME but where exactly are those rules？？ Because the magic system in this book is either praying to eldritch beings or smearing blood on a piece of paper and being the most powerful mage in your country because it’s that easy。 I also can’t over when Serefin asks what are Tranavia and Kayazin even fighting the war for， the only answer he gets is “You’re heretics，” LIKE THAT IS EVEN CLOSE TO A GOOD EXPLANATION。 The “holy war” this book uses as a cute backdrop literally means nothing and makes no sense because it’s never talked about。 Every time the war is mentioned， all it comes back to is the word “heretic” with nothing else behind it because the author is grasping at straws when trying to create the world。 I am left wondering how a book that lacks any coherent worldbuilding and only shitty dialogue got published。Moving on to the characters， I repeat what I said at the beginning of my review: Nadya is a dumb bitch。 She spends the whole book mooning over Mal， going back and forth between calling him a monster and saying that she just wants to be with him， while never really proving that she feels anything else。 Serefin。 I have nothing to say about Serefin which is surprising since this is supposed to be “his” book as per what the author said。 For this book supposedly being about Serefin， Nadya and Mal making out takes up more time than anything else。 I guess all I really have to say about Serefin is that he has no personality beyond the author saying that he needs a drink in all of his chapters。 Serefin the Drunk is all the reader gets。 Occasionally he talks to the old fallen gods， but that’s about it and I wasn’t left feeling any sort of way about his character。Mal。。。is a boy and a monster according to the author。 The text doesn’t really go into anything else。 I just finished reading the book and I can’t think of a single thing to say about him aside from that his and Nadya’s relationship makes absolutely no sense。 He literally rips out a person’s heart and eats it right in from of Nadya and honestly that only seemed to make her more horny for some reason and also think that it wasn’t a big deal and that he can still be redeemed even though he gained that power of a god through the ritual at the end of book 1。 Honestly， this whole book Nadya just thought that if she believed hard enough that Mal was actually a good guy that it would happen， but Surprise！ Turns out that didn’t happen。As for the side characters， they did not matter one single bit。 You can take every single one out of the story and absolutely NOTHING would change。 It’s like the author themselves forgot about them constantly。 I mean， the author tried to make them relevant by adding in random POV chapters for them on occasion， but those chapters were pointless for the most part。Honestly， the author only cares about writing dialogue between characters rather than trying to breathe live into them。 When it comes to explaining their plans and actions， the writing falters。 When Serefin flees the capital， it's explained away as "his mother will rule while he's gone" and then nothing。 That's not enough information。 They never talked about it before it happened and his mother is barely a C character in this book as well as the first。 And after Serefin leaves， it’s like what’s happening in Tranavia doesn’t matter。Let’s move onto the plot。 The main goal of the Goth Crew is to travel across Kalyazin to get to what is basically the seat of the gods， with each of the main three needing to go there for different reasons。 Serefin has to go there to unleash the olds gods， Nadya has to go there to stop Mal from killing the gods and to stop the old gods from re-emerging， and Mal has to go there so he can kill the gods and also become a god。Sounds all well and good until you realize that it takes so fucking long for it to get going。 The first 150 pages or so are wasted trying to find some random character named Zaneta who doesn’t actually matter， even though the characters just spent 150 pages saying they needed her to stop a civil war in Tranavia。 Once they get to her， Nadya， who was supposed to save Zaneta from the Vultures， decides to go “you know what， never mind I have kiss Mal。” And then Zaneta is never mentioned again。 Also Tranavia is never mentioned again。 Even though Serefin is the king now and he was worrying about a civil war a few pages ago。 And then it’s another 100 or so pages for anything else develops and then suddenly you’re 300 pages in and you realize that barely anything has happened。But really， nothing in this book mattered more than calling Mal a monster and Nadya wanting to fuck him even though she won’t shut up about how she can’t trust him because he lied to and betrayed her。 The writing。 Oh my fucking god the writing。 Nothing about the writing is good because， quite frankly， this book is mostly dialogue because the author absolutely refuses to write anything other than their characters snarking at each other。 When the author does try to write anything other than dialogue， they breeze past them by fading to black with the characters talking vaguely about what just happened before pretending it never happened。 For example， several times throughout the book， Nadya “””uses her power””” during an action sequence where she’s supposedly about to fight for her life and then the chapter just ends。 The next chapter then picks up hours later with barely a mention as to what had happened。 There’s no description of Nadya using her own magic and that thing that was just about to kill her is simply gone。 Let’s also not forget that weeks pass within a single sentence and suddenly this book has taken place over the course of several months but you never realize because the author doesn’t care。 Because of this， the reader never once feels the impact of time on the world or the characters。 Each chapter is just one chunk of dialogue after the next with nothing else in between。 Another downfall to the writing is that the author assumes the reader has read their mind。 When reading this book， it feels like you’re missing half the information， but when you try to go back and find it， you realize it was never there in the first place （and then the author gets mad on twitter when you say their book is confusing）。 After I read the first book， I found a review for either this book or book 1 from Nomadic Reader where they say “this world doesn't feel real--it feels like the novelization of a pinterest board，” and that， in essence is what the writing in this book is like。 There is no depth to anything， not the world， not the plot， and not even the characters。 Anyway， the book ends with the Kalyazi gods removing the knowledge of blood magic from the Tranavian’s minds。 Nadya somehow gives Mal power， but of course the how of it isn't explained because the author thinks the reader should just know。 With that power， Mal somehow kills the Nadya's god， Marzenya， and Nadya is the shocked Pikachu meme even though Mal said he was going to do that from the beginning。 Serefin released the old gods by laying down and becoming one with some moss。 The side characters didn't do anything and were hardly mentioned so it was like they were never there。 Serefin stabbed Mal and supposedly killed him。 Nadya is Big Sad。 Mal isn’t actually dead。 The end。 This book was bad and it should feel bad。 。。。more

Nadia Steyn ，

I really enjoyed this book！ It is a challenging read though。 It has a very dark feel to it so it can be heavy at times。 It also requires a lot of imagination on the reader's part as there are sometimes quite a few holes to fill in the world building。 I really enjoyed this book！ It is a challenging read though。 It has a very dark feel to it so it can be heavy at times。 It also requires a lot of imagination on the reader's part as there are sometimes quite a few holes to fill in the world building。 。。。more

Amanda ，

The theology and history in this book is fantastic。 And you genuinely like the characters。 4 stars because some parts of the book felt slow， but other than that， I highly recommend。

Taiyeaba ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book is sooooo unreasonable。 Like decide first what you want peeps。 Do you want to kill each other or not？！ Why regret after doing it。 Serefin - Maybe the only one I kinda liked。 He has it bad。 Caught up in middle of all the gods and all。Nadya - Girl you're the main problem this book was on a constant spiral。 Make your mind girl ffs。 You knew something will happen to him when you crossed that forest thn why were you shocked？ He wouldn't really kill me but my best my friend died saving me🤦‍♀ This book is sooooo unreasonable。 Like decide first what you want peeps。 Do you want to kill each other or not？！ Why regret after doing it。 Serefin - Maybe the only one I kinda liked。 He has it bad。 Caught up in middle of all the gods and all。Nadya - Girl you're the main problem this book was on a constant spiral。 Make your mind girl ffs。 You knew something will happen to him when you crossed that forest thn why were you shocked？ He wouldn't really kill me but my best my friend died saving me🤦‍♀️ And in the end she was mad at serefin because what。。。。he saved her？ Killed Malachiasz？ Even if he didn't mean to？ Even if he was killing your gods？ And one second away from killing you？🤷‍♀️ Malachiasz betrayed her， killing her people， locked them up， tortured them， stole their backup power resource or something so they can't fight， he was direct about his intentions of killing her gods。 Without。 Any。 Remorse。 And her reaction？ Oh I should hate him but I don't 🤦‍♀️ And you wonder why everyone keep using and betraying you。Malachiasz （irdk if it's right） - At least he's upfront about his plan and his deeds。 You guys keep believing and trusting him your fault。 I didn't get his reaction for nadya's betrayal。 Like you're allowed to do that but she can't？ Even your whole plan was to go there and kill her god？ It was like "oh no， she betrayed before me"？ What about your constant betrayal and lies and all those manipulations？ And guess who feels guilty after all this shit？。。。。。。。 Yeah。 Our nadya！ Is she gonna keep groveling for the next book？ Even he never even properly apologized for any of his actions。 Damn I'm already dreading it but I can just hang this series。 Anything important happen it swept up in the next chapter like oh it was nothing。 Unnecessary drama， chaos。 And did I mention nadya literally saw Malachiasz eating a fresh heart and fainted？ Yeah she didn't even think about that like it's nothing unusual。 I think it's the definition of toxic relationship。 。。。more

Chloe ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Literally the world building and logic turns to sludge to the point where it’s all weird poetics and impossible to understand wtf is happening in the last half

Sabrina ，

The book itself got。。better-ish。 But it still falls into the SJM trap of constantly reusing certain words and phrases to the point that it’s annoying。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Ruthless Gods

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Ruthless Gods&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Ruthless Gods&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0