Ruthless Gods is the second in Emily A. Duncan’s Something Dark and Holy series, the sequel to Wicked Saints. Ruthless Gods actually just came out in April and it was one of my most anticipated reads of this year. It definitely delivered!

If you like dark, fantastical stories with powerful forces like gods and monsters waging war look no further. If you like forbidden romances and creepy forest vibes, read this. While there is a war on the battlefields in this series, the focus moreso lies in the much bigger war, one that most people don’t realize is even happening. There have been powerful beings at work, manipulating humans (along with those who have become not so human) for a very long time. Our main characters seem to be irrevocably wrapped up in the goals of these higher beings and in this second book, we get to see even more of what that means.

As always, I adored the fairly twisted relationship between Nadya and Malachiasz. It’s just done so well. I was also really stoked to get all this new Serefin development. I love the characters in these books and the interesting dynamic of their interactions with each other. Is Serefin my new favorite? It’s so hard to say! It’s also hard to say which I love more about these books, the characters or the rich world building that gives me so many D&D and Skyrim vibes with a gothic edge. And that ending...wow. The first thoughts I wrote down at the end of reading this book were, and I quote, “Ummm whaaaaat????”

Sometimes I like making playlists for books I read (though it’s a bit scattered, like my reviews haha). Here’s the one I put together for Ruthless Gods:

1. “Didn’t Break It Enough” / Griff
2. “What Have You Become?” / MNQN
3. “Never Enough” / Loren Allred
4. “Don’t Matter” / Derik Fein
5. “Unbecoming” / STARSET
6. “Doubt” / Twenty One Pilots
7. “Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts” / Trevor Morris
8. “My Demons” / STARSET
9. “all the good girls go to hell” / Billie Eilish
10. “Animal” / Miike Snow
11. “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” / Florence The Machine
12. “Enemy” / Mystery Skulls

Wicked Saints: 4/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Ruthless Gods: 4/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
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Gorgeous descriptive language. A Kylo Ren/Rey romance between Malachias and Nadia that makes me greedily want more of them on every page. Just like “Wicked Saints” this epic Slavic fantasy/horror novel is full of gods, monsters and twisted dreamlike sequences that leave you wondering if you’ve confused up from down. And of course, lots of romantic angst. And ooo… Casper and Seraphim were delicious! Will not spoil the end, but I can’t wait for book 3!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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This book is dark and bloody, both good things for the continuation of this story from Wicked Saints. The book is a road trip that splits the characters up into two groups, bringing them back together for the last of the story. This series gets compared to the Grisha series (which I also loved), but this is a darker book with an entirely different plot. I enjoy that the "Gods" are real in the story but not all powerful. The characters are all interesting, with romances that feel natural to the story. The ending left me anxious for the last book in the trilogy. I would recommend this book for teens and young adults looking for a thrilling, twisty, and fast-paced book.

I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. Unfortunately, there is still always a risk of slight spoilers despite my best efforts. If you feel something in my review is a spoiler please let me know. Thank you.

I would normally do a blurb here, but I honestly don't know how to do that with this book. Sorry about that.

Likes:
~Gothic
~Dark
~A very hot romance
~A very surprising and highly welcome secondary romance. Honestly my favorite part of this book
~This book has some crazy moments

Dislikes:
~I'm super confused about what's going on
~This book moved at a snail pace for me
~For whatever reason I can't get into the story as much as I'd like to

So my very first thought after finishing this book was FINALLY. It took forever to read and felt even longer. I had to force myself to keep going. It's one of those books that are too good to give up on, but not good enough to really want to finish. I had similar feelings about the first book. But I was so hoping that this one would be better. Honestly, I thought it was about the same. Will, I still read the next book? Yes. I've come too far to give up now. Plus I'm still holding out hope for the series to improve and I have to know how it ends now. I'm not going to lie though, I'm hoping the next book is the last of this series. ( )

Soo... Let me start by saying, I am truly broken by this book. The book got darker and darker and darker. My love for the characters I should hate grew more and more. And my mind become a bloody mess reading this. I loved it and that is basically want I want to say. Also reading this in the spooky season was great as well. Totally recommend it, especially if you love dark, gothic and eccentric vibes. ( )