very informative and i made lots of good notes

*3.5 stars
the pain was unnecessary, but ugh
(triggers at the end)

fuck me, bro, like ?? am i wrong for not liking a lot of the plot, but really enjoying the characters? i found myself so pulled in when it came to specific POVs, but then other ones that I felt just didn't service much importance, I was skimming the hell over.

oddly enough, i enjoyed reading from our seraphim characters more than from karou and her gang. a lot of this book is her settling into new roles that occured to her during the gap between the first and second book, and it was a lot of internal issues and annoyance and feeling unappreciated, which i liked reading from her, don't get me wrong. but at the same, it felt like a lot of the same sentiments were going through her mind over and over.

so, due to that, and my annoyance at characters she had to interact with that were annoying for the plot, i enjoyed reading from akiva and his siblings a lot. i can't remember too well how i felt about akiva in the last book immediately, but i remember thinking he had a lot of potential to grow, and he did that. he became less of a good soldier and more critical about his roles, and it was great to read from. and his relationship with his siblings? i loved it um !! liraz and hazael come around to understanding him quite quickly, but i think that can be attributed to their closeness and bond. ugh i love sibling relationships so much :(

one thing i have to mention, and i'll put a big ol' SPOILER WARNING just in case, and it'll be in the trigger warnings so you can skip this part if you don't want to know. but oh my god ? the use of attempted rape was really abrupt, and kind of jarring to read. like the guy has BEEN giving off awful vibes and shit the whole book, but i felt like it was used for shock value? oddly enough, and to make us feel even worse about something that comes afterward :/ i detest using rape and sexual assault as a plot device to make your villain seem so damn awful, but not giving it too much more to it. i dunno like fkhhsdlkj it felt super abrupt and sudden and i couldn't even prep myself for it.

all in all, i liked this one,, kinda suffers from middle book syndrome, but i think the finale will be satisfying enough.

TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR
violence, rape (attempted, on-page), extreme bodily harm, grief, loss of a loved one

this was a fucking rollercoaster, but in all the good ways!
(triggers at the end)

there was no having a break while reading this, and i felt like the pacing was fantastic thanks to that. while there were times where characters annoyed me and i felt like the decisions being made were awful, i had to realize that was very reminiscent of what the author must've been trying for. having these girls who had been through so much, while also making mistakes along the way, humanized veronica and mik further.

i felt for them, and all that they'd been through, and i was rooting for them all the way until the end! there wasn't much of a mystery, though that might just be because i figured out the twist quickly, but that didn't hinder my enjoyment and the shocks i still felt.

really, this was good, and an interesting reworking of the picture of dorian gray.

*4.5 stars, but i'm rounding it up for marko's mother being a bad bitch

i love the direction this story is heading in, and i'm wondering where we'll be going after this. these characters keep getting more and more entertaining and multi-facetated and i can't help but adore them :(( like mentioned before, klara is a bad bitch,, the baddest bitch,,, so it alana, and gwendolyn,, honestly all the women in this story are my dream girls they're fantastic.

anyways, some good shit and i might just pick up the next one right now

*8.86/10 on cawpile, it was that close to that 5 stars

honestly, i think this might be my least fave installment so far ? i'm not sure, i like the introduction of new characters, new routes for forefront characters, it was just a few situations that had me like ://

but it was a good distraction from the stress of doing my taxes so

UPDATE: 04/06/2021
i will not be deleting my previous review, but i will indeed be updating my rating and discussing what has transpired as of recent. i feel it is important to talk on these issues and realize that you may have had an opinion one day that changed over to the next, and that is alright.

this author is .. quite awful, to say the least. they have had patterns on patterns of disgusting behaviour, that was brought to everyone's attention by the involved parties, but it was somehow brushed under the rug. i remember hearing about some of these scandals on and off, but nothing ever coming of it, bc the author has a way of denying things, gaslighting people, and laughing shit off. they also have a very tight knit group of author friends around them who bats at their plate every time something goes down.

*RECAP* for those who dont know and somehow see this review: emily duncan has a history of racism, ignoring and belitting authoes and readers of colour (especially AsianAm authors/readers, which is incredibly distasteful, and shines a light on cutrent times and how little they've changed), as well as harmful content in their story that went unnoticed on my part, sadly, and i apologize for not picking it up.

they have lashed out at authors of colour, ignored criticism and tips on how to be better, and laugh in the faces of those who call them out.

this author has also been called out for their anti-semitism that can be decoded within their book; the neopagan religion the magic system is built off of that heavily promotes nationalism within the eastern European countries, especially Poland and Russia, where the anti-semitic rhetoric is abhorrently clear in current and past times. the fact that the vultures, of which malachiasz is apart of, is described using harmful stereotypes attached to jewish folk (using blood magic = blood libel/sacrifice, descriptors of physical appearance, controlling the government or monarchy). honestly, seeing that lens is so disgusting in retrospect now, because i most definitely remember that in this book, and in the second one.

there is so much to go over here, I didn't touch on the insensitive and downright abusive treatment of AsianAm authors and readers who have had to interact with this author... god, please search emily duncan on twitter and find rin chupeco's thread.. but all in all, will not be reading from this author ever again


------

i really struggled to rate this wth,,, anyway like a good 4.25? around there. this is gothic and not too complex, but also a very lush fantasy world - which is exactly how i like my fantasies, truthfully.

what can i say? tortured, doubtful, and confusing morally inept characters are my shit, and all three of our main characters are exactly that. and shockingly? i truly loved them all, as well as the side characters, which is so strange.

anyway, i do get the polarizing feelings and i do feel them as well, especially in the second half of the story. i felt that the interest of the summary given dissipated and the plot morphed into something harder to understand, but getting over that stint and making it to the end was worth it, in my opinion.

nadya's inner turmoil could get repetitive, and i think that was some of my own bias bleeding in, mixing into annoyance for her character development but well- it was good, i have to say. she melds into a very interesting character, yet i felt her development was stunted, and could've been fleshed out further even. maybe book two will give me that. hopefully.

then there's serefin, the literal love of my life. he was so interesting in his struggles. a general and prince so emphatic towards a war he'd fought so hard for, and it was so tragic to watch him deal with that internally. also externally, he was a huge complainer, and i adored it. but i would like to hear more of his character prior to the book's development? like, he felt very present, and though i could see the struggles of his past haunting, i didn't see them all that consequential as i barely had any information of it. yeah, would like more from that, and more about jim at the end? HUH? WHAT WAS THAT?? i'm confused but... bisexual icon? sure. gimme more of that in book two, thanks.

finally... the most interesting charavter in my wholehearted opinion, malachiasz. i finally know how to say his name, bless. but yeah, he was truly the most intriguing? confusing? monstrous? absolutely amazing character and i would Love to see so much more about his internal relationship with himself. his story was hurtful right up to the end, and i still hate myself for getting so attached as i knew i'd be upset by the end. please. PLEASE, the way i love his characterization? impossibly large. yeah, love that for me.

it was entertaining and fast-paced to read, got me on my toes terrified for the fates of the characters. there's representation i wish was more explored, such at the characters of parijahan and rashid- GIMME MORE PLEASE, i maybe love parijahan too much already i need more from her. and i'm pretty sure there's sexual orientation diversity? with serefin and ostiya, who i think is a lesbian? a flirtatious, murdering queen. but tbh are any of these characters straight? that's the true question

content warnings/TW: self-harm (magic purposes, past self-harm), parental abuse, violence, body horror (kinda), war themes .

UPDATE 04/06/2021 RE: WICKED SAINTS REVIEW

yes once again, not going to be going into it again, but this author is super awful and i even indicated in my previous review on how they attack reviewers who give them less than stellar reviews

ok we're getting somewhere here, we are . somewhere good
(triggers at the end)

this book felt really quick and really slow, all at the same time. we got glimpses of all of these characters who i love dearly, and them together going on adventures was cool and all- but the objectives never really added up, nor did the outcome.

all in all, i enjoyed this book most for the characters we were following. it started as an iconic trio if you ask me, with geralt, milva, and dandelion. then, that turned into those three with regis and, later, cahir. odd as fuck and weird to get used to, but i really liked a ll of these characters- i mean, i knew regis from the games since we see him a lot in there, but cahir wasn't a character i expected to want to know more about.

lol i hope the rest of the series follows this one's tone and not the last two

Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for this ARC!
this was really what i kinda needed right now
(triggers at the end)

i've been in a weird life slump as of recent, and i don't know what it was, but i felt drawn to reading this book. i had the arc of it forever and never really thought to pick it up. i knew i enjoyed amanda lovelace's writing and her poems in the past have really resonated with me, yet something was just pulling me to pick this up, especially today. not too sure, but it was a great decision.

the formatting of this story is different between the parts; firstly it's between 2 sisters, the younger expressing her issues, and the older giving advice to her younger sister, then the next 2 parts followed regular modern poetic formatting, with the poems one right after the other, stylized however chosen. i really like the older sister providing advice part, it felt more personal- someone speaking right to you with a designated role that isn't simply "the narrator" made it more impactful. i don't have an older sister, since i am the oldest sibling myself lol, but it felt like i had one for these pages and was getting that advice i might tell one of my own sisters, but never myself. it was a format i think lovelace really worked well with, and the format of modern poetry using the 2nd person pronouns works fantastically.

then we have the themes throughout. it was very whimsical, following a narrative of a princess creating her own crown for herself rather than accepting one from a prince, and the poems followed suit. very much promoting a look at self-love, self-compassion, and understanding ourselves before we try to understand anything else. there was also a nice emphasis on spirituality and a lil witchcraft, which i understand the author is a practitioner of if i'm not mistaken, and there was a lot of emphasis on shadow work (using personal energy and intention to understand traumas we've experienced in the past to empower us for a better, more tranquil future), which i think was amazing.

even if you aren't spiritual or practice anything of the sort, you can take what she says and try to be more mindful of yourself, and i really liked that accessibility of it all. in school, we study about mindfulness and self-compassion, but it can be really hard to incorporate into everyday life for a lot of us, but having mantras you say to yourself in the morning can be good, or doing breathing exercises when you get into bed at night- or if you do practice some form of witchcraft, you can look into shadow work and mindful meditation with intentions at the forefront for peace, success, and self-love.

trigger warnings for
child abuse, toxic relationships, sexual assault, eating disorders, mental illness, self-harm (somewhat descriptive), sexism, suicide, suicidal ideation, trauma, harassment

*2.5 stars, but i can round up for jem content ig :/
EDIT: not the 2 stars LMAOOOOO pls don't attack me
(triggers at the end)

i don't know, y'all,,, this had a lot i should've liked: lots of queerness, drama, action, a murder-mystery plot. but every single one of those was not done well, at all.

any of these relationships frustrated me, and i think i've outgrown feeling any kind of pain at relationship drama within cc books. decisions were weird at best, down right idiotic at worse, there were times where characters acted completely different to what they'd been doing previously, and any relationships that began to build in this story weren't fleshed out enough for me to feel bad when they ultimately parted ways- in true cc fashion lol.

im booboo the fool, i know, i think it's time for me to hang it up with these books lmao i'm glad people are still enjoying them and these characters like trust me, i adore most of the characters in this book; but when odd subplots and romantic ties outdo character development, i gotta look the other way off.

not mention that ending was weird and rushed,,, or how they forgot abt the murders.

(reading half through this, i'm realizing maybe this isn't a 3 star read oop-)

i have more on my mind but it's much too late to conceptualize everything- i shall end with one thing i enjoyed in this story: the growing emphasis on mental health issues within the group of characters. we see it most in addressing matthew and his substance use issues and i'm really glad we got to see glimpses of what substance abuse can do to individuals. (though the ending kinda gave me the icks regarding this, i hope it's resolved differently in the next story

as i am weak, i shall be finishing this trilogy. too far in not to, but after this, i'm hanging up the steele

trigger warnings for
loss of a loved one, grief, past abuse, trauma