Title: Ruthless Gods
Author: Emily Duncan
Series: Something Dark and Holy
Page count: 532 pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Darkness never works alone…
Book Blurb
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’m going to freely admit, while I did love this book it took me awhile (over a month) to finish it. I wasn’t even sure if I should write a review of it because it took me so long. But, here I go.
As far as sequels/middle books go, this one was pretty solid. It did a good job of expanding on the universe and delving into side characters that were otherwise neglected in the first book. While it confirmed a few things that I expected (Serefin being gay) it also kept the mystery of a few others (Nadya’s parents). It also did a better job of explaining the various magic systems than the first book did.
This book was so heartbreaking. From Serefin making so many sacrifices for Tranavia to the tragedy of Nadya and Malachiasz, it will definitely have you in tears. I just want everyone to love happily ever after goddamit.
I definitely recommend rereading the first one before this because I had definitely forgotten a few things and needed a lot of reminding. I’m excited to see the conclusion of the series and will try to read Blessed Monsters as soon as I get it.
The Book Lover's Coffeehouse 