Ruthless Gods was a hell of a sequel to Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints, and leaves me waiting with baited breath for what comes from the last installment of this trilogy.

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. (Goodreads)

I received an eARC of Ruthless Gods from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I’ve been trying to write this review for two weeks. Ruthless Gods was a lot to read, in a good way. It is chaotic and it is magical. It is horrifying and it is beautiful. I loved it.

Because this is a sequel, I’m assuming that you’ve read Wicked Saints before starting this one. Many of the same trigger warnings apply. Ruthless Gods does need a few trigger warnings that weren’t necessary for the first book – minor drug use, imprisonment, body horror, and massive eye trauma. You can see more information about that directly from the author.

Duncan fleshed out many of the existing characters in this book, expanding on relationships and making it all a little bit queerer. We also got some great new characters to fall in love with, fear, and fear for – including gods that are new to both the protagonists and us as readers.

A lot of things changed in Ruthless Gods, which makes it hard to talk about, but I am so excited for book three to come out. If you liked Wicked Saints and body horror doesn’t bother you, I highly recommend Ruthless Gods.

You can pick up a copy for yourself from Amazon, Book Depository or Bookshop through our affiliate links. I think you’ll enjoy yourself.