Wicked Saints: A Novel

Description

When Nadya prays to the gods, they listen, and magic flows through her veins. For nearly a century the Kalyazi have been locked in a deadly holy war with Tranavian heretics, and her power is the only thing that is a match for the enemy's blood magic. But when the Travanian High Prince, and his army invade the monastery she is hiding in, instead of saving her people, Nadya is forced to flee the only home she's ever known, leaving it in flames behind her, and vengeance in her heart. As night falls, she chooses to defy her gods and forge a dangerous alliance with a pair of refugees and their Tranavian blood mage leader, a beautiful, broken boy who deserted his homeland after witnessing his blood cult commit unthinkable monstrosities. The plan? Assassinate the king and stop the war. But when they discover a nefarious conspiracy that goes beyond their two countries, everything Nadya believes is thrown into question, including her budding feelings for her new partner. Someone has been harvesting blood mages for a dark purpose, experimenting with combining Tranavian blood magic with the Kalyazi's divine one. In order to save her people, Nadya must now decide whether to trust the High Prince - her country's enemy - or the beautiful boy with powers that may ignite something far worse than the war they're trying to end.

EMILY A. DUNCAN works as a youth services librarian. She received a Master's degree in library science from Kent State University, which mostly taught her how to find obscure Slavic folklore texts through interlibrary loan systems. When not reading or writing, she enjoys playing copious amounts of video games and dungeons and dragons. Wicked Saints is her first book. She lives in Ohio.

**Indie Next Pick for the Spring 2019 Kids' List** THE NERD DAILY, "The Best Fantasy + Sci-Fi Books of 2019 PASTE MAGAZINE, The 19 Best Young Adult Novels of 2019 SEVENTEEN, The 70+ Best Young Adult Books of 2019 So Far BOOKRIOT, "20 YA Dark Fantasy Books For Your Winter TBR" BUZZFEED, 29 YA Books You Absolutely Must Read This Spring GOODREADS, "32 Big Books that YA Fans Can't Wait for in 2019" CULTRESS, "19 books we can't wait to get our hands on in 2019" EPIC READS, The 16 Most Anticipated YA Books to Read in April SYFY, 6 April YA Novels That are Out of This World If you like your young adult fantasy full of ice, blood, and angst, Wicked Saints will sweep you up in its wintery embrace. - NPR, 3 Young Adult Novels To Help You Out Of Hibernation This dark fantasy starts off with a bang... The upfront presence of the gods adds an intriguing twist to a brutal story. The ending is as powerful as the opening, and there are explosive elements waiting to detonate in the expected sequels. - BOOKLIST "If you love dark fantasy this book promises to be a brutal, enchanting gem, full of terrifying blood-magic." - BOOKRIOT, "20 Dark Fantasy Books For Your Winter TBR" "Rarely does a dark, magical epic have so effective a character-grounded sense of humor." - BULLETIN OF THE CENTER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS Filled with stunning landscapes, engaging lore, and an enemies-to-lovers plot for the ages, Wicked Saints is a dense epic about magic, sacrifice, love, and betrayal. - NERDIST, 8 Books to Enjoy Until Netflix's SHADOW AND BONE Emily A. Duncan's debut YA novel does not disappoint. It's thrilling and brutal, reading like a heavy metal song. And it's the first book in a trilogy! I cannot wait for books two and three--and for whatever else this blistering new talent writes. For Fans of: Authors of dark fantasy novels, like Leigh Bardugo. - PASTE MAGAZINE Will leave readers hungry for a sequel. - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY I highly recommend WICKED SAINTS to fantasy readers. Emily Duncan's writing style reminds me of Leigh Bardugo's. If you enjoyed the setting of Grisha Trilogy and the characters of SIX OF CROWS, I believe you will enjoy WICKED SAINTS. Duncan's debut novel is perfect for readers looking for intrigue, dark magic and betrayal on every page. - TEENREADS