TW/CW: Warnings for graphic violence, self harm, and child abuse.

Wicked Saints is a young adult fantasy debut and it’s a goth kid’s dream. Seriously, if you have a thing for anti-heroes, dark magic, and things that are simply metal as fuck, this book is for you. There are some issues that are common in first books of a fantasy series. It took some time to familiarize myself with the world and the mythology, but Wicked Saints was an atmospheric, creepy ride that met my expectations.

Before we get into the book, I really want to note how beautiful this book is in person. Beneath the jacket, the book is blood red and the cover is embossed with “Let them fear her” in white lettering. The end pages have a gorgeous filigree design and there’s a map. I have a weakness for maps. If buying this as a physical copy is within your budget, I highly recommend that you do so.

Oh, my heart. pic.twitter.com/mLBlt73A3V

— emily a. duncan (@glitzandshadows) March 8, 2019

The countries of Kalyazin and Tranavia have been immersed in a century-long war, though the Tranavians have become increasingly aggressive in invading Kalyazin lands. The Travanians are ruled by blood magic and have cast out the gods. Kalyazin is the opposite; it’s a devout polytheistic country but its magic users have been hunted down and rooted out during the course of the war.

Nadezhda “Nadya” Lapteva was left to be raised in a monastery, hidden away until the time is right to help Kalyazin end the war. Nadya has the power of the gods and it’s fucking awesome. Around her neck, she wears beads that bear the symbol of each god. When she wants to commune with them, she touches the bead and reaches out to them. Each god has distinct personalities and not all of them are as willing to grant Nadya their blessings. However, Nadya patron in Kalyazin’s pantheon is Marzenya, who happens to be the goddess of magic, sacrifice, and death.

*heavy metal air guitar riff*

When the war literally ends up on Nadya’s doorstep, she must flee and stay alive at all costs. It’s a tall order given that the Tranavian High Prince Serefin Meleski is hot on her heels.

The book switches back and forth between Nadya and Serefin. It reminds me of reading George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, a series in which multiple characters are experiencing events parallel to one another. In Wicked Saints, both main characters have their broody ragtag group of murderous adventurous and fighters. But because it alternates in such a fashion, it gave me the same frustration that Martin’s series did. It will switch over when I don’t want it to! No, I don’t want stop the banter between Serefin and his trusted eye-patch wearing, lesbian confidant, Ostyia! At times, the switches in point of view slowed down the pace or caused it stutter and I’d lose my reading momentum.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about what all happens, as there are many twists and turns and character secrets. The ending is a cliffhanger, but with this being the first in a trilogy, I wasn’t too surprised. I kind of expect those things with this sort of set up.

The characters are amazing. There wasn’t a single one I didn’t like, aside from the obvious shitty villains. There’s depth and humor and I struggle to call any of the characters “secondary,” given how developed they were. Even the gods were so much fun to meet and discover. I was constantly wondering how they would bestow their powers to Nadya. What could the god of silence do for her? How would the god of war manifest his blessing?

Here’s a passage where Nadya calls to Zbyhneuska, the goddess of healing:

The healing goddess was a mute one, working in feelings and visions. Of the pantheon, she was the gentlest, though soldiers had a tendency to send all their prayers to Veceslav instead of her; something about how a god of war was more likely to shield and heal them during battle than a goddess. A ridiculous superstitious. Most would live through battles longer if they burned a candle to Zbyhneuska.

Thanks to Zbyhneuska’s silence, Nayda always felt like she could work through her problems with her.

Nadya also notes how praying to the gods and goddesses is a double-edged sword. Those going to battle may pray to the god of war, but Veceslav feeds off war. His best interest isn’t for a war to end.

Honestly, this book is just cool stuff. f you’d prefer to have it boiled down to a more digestible format, I’m addicted to this twitter thread by C.J. Listro who has been counting down the things she loved about Wicked Saints. I’m with her on pretty much everything.

And, heads up, there is a romance! It’s enemies to lovers and I do love me a misunderstood, goth boy bloodmage, in case you didn’t realize that from our very silly RT podcast episode. There’s already fanart, which I’ve been devouring. However, this is a fantasy novel first and while the romance is there, it’s not the focus.

Back to the physical construction of this book, because it was rather important to my reading experience. At first, I started with an ARC edition and the map hadn’t been finalized. I’m one of those people who always appreciates a visual, especially when we’re talking about cities and their spatial relationships to one another. When I received a finished copy in the mail, courtesy of the publisher, the map was a huge help for me. I needed that. It’s possible that the map might be available on the author’s site (as of right now, there isn’t, but Duncan does have a pronunciation guide), though, which would be wonderful for those who opt for the digital or audiobook version of the book (which I’m excited to try because it has dual narrators).

It’s always a great feeling when a book has been worth the wait, and I can definitively say that about Wicked Saints. I struggled a bit until I had a map to reference, and the narration often changed when I was most engaged with it. There is a lot of information to retain, like which gods did what, and I did some flipping back and forth to previous chapters. I’m a woman who loves a dang reference sheet and getting used to such a complex world with tons of moving parts added a few speed bumps. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this book; I did, and I am looking forward to the next one.

If you ever had a goth phase in your life or if you’re still in that phase, crank up the Evanescence, find your old spiked jewelry, and slather on that eyeliner to raccoon-level proportions, because you’re in for a real treat.