Edition:
E-ARC (Net Galley)
Publisher’s Synopsis:
The stunning sequel to instant New York Times bestseller, Wicked Saints
(Remember when I said in the last review that they really couldn’t have made it clearer that it was a sequel? Yeah…witness me.)
“Ruthless Gods opens the door to a world of fallen gods and eldritch horrors… Gruesome, grotesque, and so, so glorious.” – Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows
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. Their paths are 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.
In her dramatic follow-up to Wicked Saints, the first book in her Something Dark and Holy trilogy, Emily A. Duncan paints a Gothic, icy world where shadows whisper, and no one is who they seem, with a shocking ending that will leave you breathless.
“Ruthless Gods will leave fans demanding the final installment in the trilogy.” – Christine Lynn Herman, author of The Devouring Gray
My Thoughts:
This entry into the Something Dark and Holy trilogy is, as previously mentioned in my last review, the one that started it for me. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It’s tonally much, much darker than Wicked Saints was, and that one was pretty damned dark. And those little bits of body horror that I was enjoying so much? ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE. And it makes me so happy I want to dance!
There’s more blood, more transformation, more…eyeballs, and lots more physical discomfort. Be still, my heart.
It picks up sometime shortly after the first book ends, and things are not exactly coming up Millhouse for anybody. In fact, it’s pretty shitty for everyone just then. Good feelings have bad results, so…no good feelings then.
“Would it be hope, then, that killed her in the end?”
Ruthless Gods, Emily Duncan
The Black Vulture got cooler, and scarier, and in turns both more and less conflicted than he was before. The gods are much more in the middle of things than they were previously, and we get to encounter some different ones than before.
“The creeping shadows slither from the dark; retribution falls from the sky,” she murmured. “You have time, but fast it slips. And slip away it will. Things are set in motion and you must see if you will stand or fall.”
Ruthless Gods, Emily Duncan
Duncan uses the descriptor “eldritch” a lot in this entry, which is very apropos. That eldritch horror is strong in this one. The monsters have gotten so much monstery-er…and so have the gods. I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT.
As trilogies go, this is a strong second entry. The first built it up, the second clarifies and solidifies the breadth and scope of the hero’s struggle (and this one does that in a big way), and the third one brings it all back around. To be quite honest, I can’t wait to see how this nightmare is going to end. I hope there’s blood (jk, I know there will be)!
About the Author (from GoodReads):
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.
Rating:
The second entry is miles better than the first, and I really, really liked that one!
Ruthless Gods Something Dark and Holy Trilogy By Emily Duncan Wednesday Books Horror, Fantasy ISBN: 9781250195692 Expected Publication: April 7, 2020 Hardcover, E-book, Audio 432 Pages Author's Website
