Fantasy

Wicked Saints

Wicked Saints

  • Downloads：1366
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-20 09:53:00
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Emily A. Duncan
  • ISBN：1250195667
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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。

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Reviews

Ama Kuruppuarachchi ，

…。。 I am so confused。 The ending was a roller coaster of confusion and question makes。 For starters the book gave me whip lash about the consistency of the writing ， most of the time I found the book to be fairly dull and dragged with a few pages in each chapter captivating。 There were definitely situations where I had to force myself to continue reading and times where I couldn’t put the book down。 This lack of consistency was interesting， I did finish the book and I want to say I liked it but …。。 I am so confused。 The ending was a roller coaster of confusion and question makes。 For starters the book gave me whip lash about the consistency of the writing ， most of the time I found the book to be fairly dull and dragged with a few pages in each chapter captivating。 There were definitely situations where I had to force myself to continue reading and times where I couldn’t put the book down。 This lack of consistency was interesting， I did finish the book and I want to say I liked it but I was left overall confused and dazed with everything about this book 。。。more

Bethany McPherson ，

A well imagined， paced， and plotted debut full of characters that leap off the page。

ellie ，

this book was alright; the world building is so interesting and i love the slavic inspiration but i didn't connect with the characters。 they were just so flat and uninteresting。 the plot was predictable and i found myself reading things again because i simply could not understand what the author was trying to say。 i lost interest incredibly fast but things kicked up again towards the end。 i don't think i'll be reading the next book though。 this book was alright; the world building is so interesting and i love the slavic inspiration but i didn't connect with the characters。 they were just so flat and uninteresting。 the plot was predictable and i found myself reading things again because i simply could not understand what the author was trying to say。 i lost interest incredibly fast but things kicked up again towards the end。 i don't think i'll be reading the next book though。 。。。more

Youssra ，

❗️Problematic Author ❗️I bought this book before the author was outed as problematic but still decided to read it since I paid for it。 I liked the story overall and the characters as well， which I didn’t expect。 I will be buying the rest of the books second hand because I don’t want to support the author but I'm excited to see what’s going to happen next。 ❗️Problematic Author ❗️I bought this book before the author was outed as problematic but still decided to read it since I paid for it。 I liked the story overall and the characters as well， which I didn’t expect。 I will be buying the rest of the books second hand because I don’t want to support the author but I'm excited to see what’s going to happen next。 。。。more

J Dillon ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Good overall， but a few plot/character points that fell flatThis book had a lot of promise when I read the premise。 I was excited and looking forward to something new and fresh， but strong with the hints of elements that make certain dystopian novels better than others （like The Hunger Games or Divergent）。 Although this book was set in a completely different world than the aforementioned series （which seem to take place in post-war America）， it did carry some of those aspects， like some subtle b Good overall， but a few plot/character points that fell flatThis book had a lot of promise when I read the premise。 I was excited and looking forward to something new and fresh， but strong with the hints of elements that make certain dystopian novels better than others （like The Hunger Games or Divergent）。 Although this book was set in a completely different world than the aforementioned series （which seem to take place in post-war America）， it did carry some of those aspects， like some subtle brainwashing （1984-esque， or slighly cultish）， lots of blood， and characters that have plenty of flaws for others to exploit。However， the relationships between characters felt poorly thought out。 Nadya and Malachaisz， for example， have a very two-dimensional relationship that seems overly cliche/trite。 This book also seems to go back and forth on its stance on self0harm as a way of gaining power for/over yourself （which， while understandable due to the varying viewpoints， was not something I particularly enjoyed）。 Nadya also was pretty quick to discard her beliefs about the gods， especially considering she had been in a monestary for most of her life and SPOKE to these beings for a long， long while。There's probably more that I'm forgetting， but I'm tired and ready to go to sleep， so that's all for now， folks。 。。。more

Ry Thorne ，

IN WHICH I COMPARE WICKED SAINTS TO THE GRISHAVERSE: Wicked Saints has， by many reviewers before me， been compared to The Grisha Trilogy， and rightfully so， because there are many similarities。 between the two。 But where the Grisha Trilogy excels， this novel fails。I will recommend reading chai ♡ and Kiki's reviews for this book （Kiki's focuses more on the religious aspects of this book）。PLOT:Wicked Saints follows Nadya， Malachiasz and Serefin， who are all brought together by fate and tasked to k IN WHICH I COMPARE WICKED SAINTS TO THE GRISHAVERSE: Wicked Saints has， by many reviewers before me， been compared to The Grisha Trilogy， and rightfully so， because there are many similarities。 between the two。 But where the Grisha Trilogy excels， this novel fails。I will recommend reading chai ♡ and Kiki's reviews for this book （Kiki's focuses more on the religious aspects of this book）。PLOT:Wicked Saints follows Nadya， Malachiasz and Serefin， who are all brought together by fate and tasked to kill the king。 Nadya is a cleric; she can communicate with the pantheon of twenty（？） gods her people worship。 Hiding in a holy monastery， she's being trained by priests who believed that she was the salvation of her country。 Well， until the monastery's attacked。 Nadya is forced to leave the only life she's ever known behind， but not before swearing vengeance。Cut to Serefin， the High Prince of Tranavia， the enemy country， and a blood mage of great credibility。 He has an aptitude for cruelty， and couldn't care less for anything that doesn't involve alcohol。 But he's forced to- care， that is- to be more aware of his opponents。 Next up， we have Malachiasz， a deserter who Nadya is forced to trust， despite his true intentions remaining unclear。 Nadya discovers that she's essential to a dark， bloody scheme that will enable the gods to take over the world。 And thus， our story begins。Nadya's story is very similar to Alina's （local orphan has rare gift that could make the salvation of Russia。） But while the Grisha Trilogy has a compelling plot （or the turns， at least）， Wicked Saints was confusing to get into， and the plot was， often， non-existent。 I still am not sure if the assassination was the main plot。WRITING AND CHARACTERIZATION:The writing in the Grisha Trilogy was average， and thus very easy to get into。 Wicked Saints tried to include lush， magical， chilling writing， but the end-result isn't even remotely commendable。 The only thing that makes it stand out is how confusing the writing is。 We were thrown into action scene after action scene， with the occasional lame jokes and monologues。 There were quite a bit of typos， too， in my edition。The characters had a lot of potential， but， sadly， remained 2d。 I couldn't connect with any of them to really care about the story and what was happening-and would happen-to them。 I had quite a bit of ecpextations from Serefin， but， alas， they were short-lived。 Their voices all felt monotonous and similar; there was nothing uniqueabout any of them。 Alina from the Grisha Trilogy was more likeable， because not only were we reading from her first-person perspective， she also had a clear， definitive character。 Nadya， Serefin and Malachiasz， however， were all over the place， and often blended in with each other to form the same， drab shade of black; their personalities were the most similarly differently similar things I'd ever read。WORLD-BUILDING:The world-building in this novel is very lacklustre。 We are introduced to two warring countries， Kalyazin， which reveres and worships the gods， and Tranavia， the "heretics"。 Although their geographies must differ， being two different countries， I could only see ONE land while reading the book。 One cold， snow-covered woodsy land with a little boundary to mark the start of the other's territory。 With the Grishaverse， you have Ravka， Fjerda， Kerch， Shu Han and the Wandering Isles， all based on existing countries in our world。 Unlike in Wicked Saints， the countries' differences in religion， culture， language etc。 are made very clear。 The world feels real。In Wicked Saints， the world is just a rough sketch; there is no definitive outline， no colour。 （Viewers/ readers of Coraline will know what I'm talking about）。 The world is unmemorable and forgettable， the very idea of Flat Earth。 Get too close to the edge and you'll fall。RELIGION: this is where Kiki's review comes inThe theme of religion is present heavily in this book。 The Kalyazin have only condemned Tranavia because they turned away from the gods， which leads us to their decades old holy war。 This is Duncan's first mistake; religion alone does not start wars。 You cannot hope to speak of war and forget to credit politics， class warfare and money。 Money is- and will always be- the root cause of all evil， despite it making the world go around。 The religion in question is not properly explored either; it's all over the place。 It's polytheistic， so we have a pantheon of 20 something gods， all of whom are allocated to a certain attribute。 Being a cleric， Nadya can talk to each of them and borrow their gifts， of course not without a price。 This practise is shown to be very easy; just pray to them and boom。 Every god demands a sacrifice， something I have yet to find in this novel。 Although she was raised in a monastery， and the significance of her existence revolves heavily around the gods， the only time Nadya remembers her religion is when she's using magic or cursing the heretics- and it's mostly during the latter。 Is this how Duncan sees monotheists and polytheists？ Is religion only to be remembered in the darker hours？ Do we not remember or thank our god（s） when we are triumphant or relieved？ We are never introduced to any rituals， any core beliefs， any prayers。 Duncan believes that just by cursing heretics and using divine magic， she can convince of the strength of Nadya's faith。 It is never even specified why Tranavia abandoned worship all those years ago， and what is the cause of their "heresy"。 But what ticked me off the most was how the "religion" wasn't realistic at all。 Religion does not abide on the concept of "seeing is believing"; we do not worship our God（s） after seeing them or speaking to them。 These Gods are even giving distinguishable personality traits （Horz， the God of the Heavens and Stars， is said to be "obnoxious" and Veceslav "chatty"）， which makes them look less of a god and more of a person。 Faith is often based on both respect and fear。 There is a certain amount of fear we must harbour for our god（s）， without which we will not be able to worship them properly。 In Islam， Allah is both the Most Merciful and The Punisher。 If a Muslim was not aware of the punishments that sinning would entail， they would never be as particular in their faith as they are now。 This fear exists only because we do not know what Allah is thinking。 He is an entity we can not comprehend， and， as much as we deny it， we are all victim to the fear of the unknown。 This keeps us in line， and so we are careful about what we do and say。 In Wicked Saints， these gods have been reduced to people， and not of the regal， sophisticated kind。 Nadya knows them， knows what to expect of them， so can her subservience to them really be called faith？ She's told them to shut up， uses their gifts without consequence， and thinks of them as people。 Their divinity and mystique is lost。 Therefore， these beings are not Gods。 At least， not anymore。 they read more like Disney princesses animal companions， if I were to be brutally honest。FINAL VERDICT:1 star。 Wicked Saints tries too hard to deal with complexed matters like religion and warfare， and fails tremendously at both。 The end result is a vaguely-detailed， average and bland fantasy book; a "love-letter" to wasted and undiscovered potential。 。。。more

Cass✨ ，

It was ok over all。 But the ending chapters were confusing。

Diane Galaz ，

I’m gonna be honest。 My review is more like 3。5 stars as I have some mixed feelings about this book。 Overall， I loved the concept of the story。 I thought it was super interesting and I was attracted to it。 However， at times， reading it felt rather underwhelming。 One of the key reveals， which is a turning point in the story， was definitely underwhelming。 I’ll give the author the benefit of the doubt and predict that， much like the main character， this reveal was something that had to sink in and I’m gonna be honest。 My review is more like 3。5 stars as I have some mixed feelings about this book。 Overall， I loved the concept of the story。 I thought it was super interesting and I was attracted to it。 However， at times， reading it felt rather underwhelming。 One of the key reveals， which is a turning point in the story， was definitely underwhelming。 I’ll give the author the benefit of the doubt and predict that， much like the main character， this reveal was something that had to sink in and that’s why there weren’t any big reactions from her or from myself when reading it。 After all， we find out right along with her。 And if this was the intention， it was executed well！ It’s just that I enjoy reading books that generate bigger reactions。 I like to be shocked and moved because it just adds to the experience for me。 Aside from that， things got REALLY good in the last few chapters。 This was the only part of the book in which I just had to keep turning pages and couldn’t peel my eyes away！ I would’ve loved to see more of that in the rest of the book and would have been even happier if there was a little more excitement around this part。 Overall， it’s an interesting story and I do like that we get to read from different points of view。 If you want to read something that isn’t super intense and allows you to share in many of the same feelings as the main character， this is the book for you！ I think this time around， I was just looking for something different。 I’m curious about how the rest of the series plays out though！ 。。。more

Dani ，

I was in a bit of a reading slump so I kinda rushed through the book so my experience was around 3。5 stars even though the book was 4 stars ish。 I liked the romance （and representation ofc） and the magic but it was very confusing。 I thought there was a big analogy that only somewhat worked。

Victoria ，

I don't know how the female lead was feared。 In all honesty， the plot could have moved without her。 Will I read the next book， yes， mostly because I don't have much going for me。 I don't know how the female lead was feared。 In all honesty， the plot could have moved without her。 Will I read the next book， yes， mostly because I don't have much going for me。 。。。more

Patricie ，

I loved this book！ The environment， the vibes， the legends of the gods written before the chapter。。。

Sin ，

A lot about the book I loved to start with， but I did find it harder to enjoy the further I went on after the similarities between this and another series kept getting in the way。The series it really heavily kept making me think of was Shadow and Bone， which I loved， but I struggled with the immersion once the similarities/comparisons became overwhelming。 The similarities where they were overshadowed the differences in the rest of the book for me。I'm hoping the rest of the series manages to stri A lot about the book I loved to start with， but I did find it harder to enjoy the further I went on after the similarities between this and another series kept getting in the way。The series it really heavily kept making me think of was Shadow and Bone， which I loved， but I struggled with the immersion once the similarities/comparisons became overwhelming。 The similarities where they were overshadowed the differences in the rest of the book for me。I'm hoping the rest of the series manages to strike out on its own a bit more。 。。。more

Tabatha ，

I loved the characters， don’t ask me to spell their names because I can’t and I did struggle and that got annoying real quick （maybe audio next time？）…The world building was interesting though complex at times and found it a slow read， that I almost could not finish but the writing improves as the story progresses…Interested enough to see where this is going but not holding my breath unfortunately…

Nora ，

Un libro muy parecido al grishaverse。 Fantasía oscura pero muy predecible。 Muy， muy predecible。 El romance。。。。puffff da mucha pereza。 No me ha gustado mucho。。。

Bridget ，

Not for me！ I'm particularly uninterested in relationships where people trusting in one another blows up spectacularly。 Not for me！ I'm particularly uninterested in relationships where people trusting in one another blows up spectacularly。 。。。more

Damien ，

Loved this one。 Highly recommended

Trigger Warning Database ，

Trigger & Content WarningsAntisemitismParental abuseSelf harm for blood magicAlcohol consumption & abuseMurderTortureKidnapping

Juan Vorágine ，

En resumen， Santos crueles es un gran inicio para la trilogía Algo oscuro y sagrado， en el que destacan sus increíbles personajes， el fantástico mundo creado por la autora y ese final que nos deja intrigados pensando cómo volverá a sorprendernos su autora。 Reseña En resumen， Santos crueles es un gran inicio para la trilogía Algo oscuro y sagrado， en el que destacan sus increíbles personajes， el fantástico mundo creado por la autora y ese final que nos deja intrigados pensando cómo volverá a sorprendernos su autora。 Reseña 。。。more

Mallory ，

DNF'd @ 20%。 I'm disappointed because this sounds like it would be RIGHT up my alley and the gothic atmosphere is stunning。 But I just can't get fully into it。 The pacing is rushed and the characters are a little too flat to carry the plot forward and keep me interested :（ DNF'd @ 20%。 I'm disappointed because this sounds like it would be RIGHT up my alley and the gothic atmosphere is stunning。 But I just can't get fully into it。 The pacing is rushed and the characters are a little too flat to carry the plot forward and keep me interested :（ 。。。more

Anna Sharma ，

So incredibly boring - the plot is confusing from start to end， nothing makes sense， characters are underdeveloped and there is absolutely no interesting suspense that keeps me wanting to read more of this book

Sumintra ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The writer is very descriptive and paints a vivid picture of events。 It's an interesting story about a girl who grew up in monastery believing that the war between her country and the rivals were black and white， good and bad。 That her side believed in "Gods" that so happen to bless her with "abilities" that can be granted through prayer to the God or Goddess of her choice。 The opposing side believes God doesn't exist and those who do believe they exist thinks of them as unfair beings （use that The writer is very descriptive and paints a vivid picture of events。 It's an interesting story about a girl who grew up in monastery believing that the war between her country and the rivals were black and white， good and bad。 That her side believed in "Gods" that so happen to bless her with "abilities" that can be granted through prayer to the God or Goddess of her choice。 The opposing side believes God doesn't exist and those who do believe they exist thinks of them as unfair beings （use that loosely here） Further down in the book。 Other main characters emerged and other stories unearthed。 Which leaves elusive questions 。。。 Does the God she pray to truly Gods？ Or are they by theory mentioned in the book possibly humans who elevated to godhead？ Who is the person or spirit that resides in the spiral engraved pendent and what is his intentions？ They are many loose strings that keeps readers engaged and curious to continue the trilogy。 However I minus 2 stars because of the way some scenarios were poorly executed and me being bias to how Nadya is being portrayed as a love sick woman。 Like come on， he made a error once twice three times and she still wants to forgive him。 Sigh。 Nope 。。。more

Ava THE Banana ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Hi this is my first review！ :DFirst of all， I thought the overall story was really interesting！ The beginning of the book starts off with lots of action which really had me hooked！ The biggest complaint I have about this story is the characters and the development of the main romance。 The only character I really felt any connection to at all was Nadya。 I feel as though she was really the only character who had any development and purpose。 Parijahan and Rashid were present for most of the book bu Hi this is my first review！ :DFirst of all， I thought the overall story was really interesting！ The beginning of the book starts off with lots of action which really had me hooked！ The biggest complaint I have about this story is the characters and the development of the main romance。 The only character I really felt any connection to at all was Nadya。 I feel as though she was really the only character who had any development and purpose。 Parijahan and Rashid were present for most of the book but they barely had any interesting dialogue and all I really know about them is that they are from Akolan。 This had me feeling really disappointed。 These characters had the potential to be very compelling but ended up falling flat。 I also found myself skipping through Serefin’s pov in the book。 He was supposed to be a main character but I ended up feeling zero connection to him， the only things I remember about him was that he has a sucky dad， likes to get drunk， and he’s a prince。 I personally love a good enemies to lovers story however Malachiasz and Nadyas romance felt really sudden and rushed。 I felt like their relationship was built entirely on lies and deception and that honestly left me with a bad taste in my mouth。 I really wanted to like them as a couple but I just couldn’t， especially towards the end when we find out Malachiasz is the king of the vultures。 I enjoy a good plot twist however finding out Malachiasz was deceiving them the whole time was really frustrating for me because We spent most of the book watching their relationship develop and to find out that it was all for nothing and he wasn’t really on their side just made me sad。 D: Overall the book was fast paced and the concept was really interesting I just felt that the characters were to flat to create a compelling story。 。。。more

*。゜｡: vy hates you ！¡ 。゜｡* ，

this book FUCKED ME UP like bro bro nah this is just wtf。 wtf。 wtf。 YOU CANT JUST DO THAT TO ME？？ like i shipped serefin and nadya BUT BECAUSE OF MALACHIASZ I WAS LIKE “hmm maybe nadya and malachiasz are cute” NO FUCK THAT I WAS SO WRONG AND UGH IT WAS SOOO GOOD THAT I SAW NONE OF THIS COMING？？ maybe i was blinded BUT WTF my brain hurts。 my heart hurts。 i love them but i just ugh I HAVE SO MUCH ANGER RN JUST WTF。

Krista ，

Ughhhhhh。 I’m just sad… and confused。 Seriously， WTH were those last few chapters？ I had so much hope for this series and now I’m just going to go sit and brood over this monstrous waste of my time。 *sigh*

Jennifer ，

This book was ehhh。

Irene ，

I got recommended Wicked Saints on BookTok， so I started reading it without any expectations。 Needless to say， it has surpassed ALL of them and it has probably become one of my favorite books。 Proof of it is I read the entire book in less than 24 hours， during which I had a lot to do。The realism of the characters is fascinating and， for such a distant world， their humanity felt almost real。

Hannah ，

I feel like this book could've had so much potential。 The inner dialogue of the main character is confusing。 The cover and summary of the book allude to dark fantasy。 The writing is juvenile at best。 I enjoyed it on a surface level。 I feel like this book could've had so much potential。 The inner dialogue of the main character is confusing。 The cover and summary of the book allude to dark fantasy。 The writing is juvenile at best。 I enjoyed it on a surface level。 。。。more

Addy ，

Fuck no， haven't read it but fuck no Fuck no， haven't read it but fuck no 。。。more

Jm Nelson ，

A little jumpy and hard go follow at times， but an interesting and compelling world。

Madison Terry ，

This book I’m gonna give a 5 but it’s more closer to a 4 but that end really does help it push to a five。 I loved this book a lot but there were some slow parts and some things that the characters do that I don’t like or understand for doing。 But oh man this was good！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Wicked Saints

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

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