4/9/21 Disclaimer: this review was written before I learned about Emily's bullying of authors of color, antisemitism, and attacks on CSA survivors. To read my statement about that, click here. Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
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. I am so in love with this novel. Maybe even more than I loved the first in its series, Wicked Saints. Dark and holy, bloody and monstrous and yet, so deeply romantic, it’s just my style. I’ve mentioned before that I’m growing into a dark fantasy person, and this book is one of the catalysts. I’m having a hard time even writing this review because all I can do is scream about how addicted I am to this trilogy. Please! If you haven’t started already, make Something Dark and Holy your priority! First of all—it is absolutely unfair of Duncan to torture us with these characters. They all need hugs. Immediately. Malachiasz especially. The found family dynamic is strong in this novel, continuing the trend from Wicked Saints. Parijahan continues to be another favorite of mine, and I was glad to see that her character was more fully explored in Ruthless Gods. I don’t think I can get through this review without a whole paragraph on the ROMANCE, so I’m sticking it up here. Nadya and Malachiasz have my whole heart. Their relationship is all about emotion, and how they challenge each other and worked their way under each others’ skin and into their hearts. I didn’t expect to fall so hard for this relationship, but for me it’s the emotional crux of the novel. So dark! So gothic! Every time I read one of their scenes, I end up clutching my e-reader and squealing. It is terribly unbecoming of me, but I can’t hold in the feels anymore. This is the very definition of an enemies-to-lovers romance, which is my favorite trope. In fact, I also love that Nadya and Malachiasz remain somewhat enemy-adjacent, as they often have theological debates that turn into somewhat blasphemous romance scenes. I love this. It’s a very effective way to make me fall in love with a book. I’m also in constant adoration of Duncan’s writing. Nadya’s dry wit, Serefin’s suffering, Malachiasz’s light masochism and divinity-seeking—all bleed through the pages and straight into my heart. Her character voices feel so authentic. Even those I disagreed with, I completely understood their reasoning and had empathy for their arcs. It’s interesting to me how some of the characters paths intersect and mirror each other—I’m no spoilers here, so I won’t specify, but read the book and then come talk to me! In terms of plot, I’m blown away by her deft handling of what seems like endless threads of gut-wrenching twists. Everything in this book feeds into itself later, and I find myself making connections across chapters to things I’d thought unimportant earlier. The pacing was *kisses fingers like a chef* MARVELOUS! Duncan struck the right balance between action and character building, which is hard in a fantasy novel. I appreciate a good slow burn plot, and this is perfect. I think it’s faster than Wicked Saints, but the sheer length quite makes up for that. The plot in general, is simply genius. There’s so much intrigue and internal conflict in all of the characters, which adds to the complexity and uniqueness of the story. I am so excited for book three, and really sad that I have to wait a whole year for it! I think I was spoiled in receiving this ARC, as I now have a longer wait between now and book 3, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. (To help me with this, I wouldn’t say no to an ARC of book 3 when they’re made… *wink wink*) If you can’t tell, Ruthless Gods is a total 5/5 for me, and one of the books I will forever be yelling about. Please, please, please, if you listen to a single one of my recs, hear this one! The Something Dark and Holy trilogy has changed. My. Life.
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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