Ruthless Gods
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.
Title: Ruthless Gods
Author: Emily A. Duncan
Genre: YA / Fantasy
Pages: 432
Publishing Date: April 7, 2020
Publishing House: Macmillan
Language: English
ASIN: B07S8K7L62
My Review
This novel was one of my most anticipated sequels of the year, if not THE MOST anticipated overall. Duncan's first novel, Wicked Saints, had left me at awe and I read it several times, on audio as well as in physical copy. (The audiobook is fantastic by the way. The narrator's accent is perfect!) What makes these novels so different are the Slavic folklore vibes infused with the gothic and grotesque, yet the writing is brilliantly beautiful in places.
Ruthless Gods has a bit of a different structure. The overall story arc doesn't build until you have read about 60% plus of the novel, and so as a reader, you find yourself in these situational pockets of circumstances and elements that need to be fitted together. With a cast of several characters, and the weaving in and out of a consciousness of a sort of dark underworld, there are many threads one has to hold on to before the picture overall comes together.
The Kalyazi and the Tranavians are still the main factions in this novel but a darker more powerful force is taking hold of the characters on both sides. Rumors of death and dark magic keep everyone guessing upon what is happening and what the reckoning will bring. Everyone lost something, everyone lost someone, and some lost it all.
Serefin is plagued by an inner voice about a boy in darkness, bred in lies and bitterness and the Gods aren't speaking to Nadya anymore. All she is is a Kalyazi peasant girl now. Notes on Kalyazi magic and blood magic keep her guessing about what is ahead. 'Her' magic should never be found in Tranavian spell books! How does it all intersect?
There's an infiltrated traitor among manipulating the outcome of a dooming prophecy and there is so much blood and bone and magic. It's dark, chilling, dirty and spiteful. Desires, hate, and revenge are the driving force of the plot until doubt brings it all to a halt, but a powerful force prevails.
Most of all the chapters begin with a proverb of some sort, like those from the Book of Saints or the Codex. Those read amazingly genius and I wonder how much was taken from old Slavic texts or others as inspiration.
I find it really difficult to review this novel because I don’t want to give it all away, but at the same time, I may not have caught everything that I should have in reading. Like the first book, it may require several rereads. I have no doubt that Duncan has had it all wrapped up in her mind, but I couldn’t follow everything exactly that was going on. My experience reading this novel was riddling in parts but I love the excruciatingly well-executed situational moments the author has created. With that, the culmination of events didn’t rise as steep and fell slightly flat for me, however, it is still a great read and Duncan’s voice has me at her command.
If you loved Wicked Saints and the writing style, give this a try. Some say it is much darker, but I would say, it just is more intense and powerful in ways of expression. It isn’t all gore or horribly graphic, though I cannot say that a dip in a fountain of blood may or may not happen ;)
Enjoy
I received a digital copy of this novel from Edelweiss and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thanks to the publisher.
All opinions are my own.
