Nadya is the only cleric who has direct communication with the gods. Serefin is an especially powerful dark mage, and despite her desire to stay and defend her friends, Nadya must leave. Kalyazin’s people and religion are at risk of extinction due to constant warfare with neighboring Tranavia, a country that long ago forsook the gods for heretical “dark magic.” As the story opens, the unthinkable has happened: Tranavian forces led by the scarred prince Serefin Meleski have invaded the monastery. The monastery in which she has spent most of her life, in the country known as Kalyazin, is situated atop a mountain, defended by 7,000 steps, monks who know how to fight, and the gods. Wicked Saints starts with a strong female protagonist named Nadezhda Leptova, or simply Nadya, in grave danger. While I was initially drawn right in, I found as I went further along that the plot was sometimes confusing, characters’ motivations puzzling, and the overall bloodiness just off-putting. I am not sure if I will continue reading when volume 2 comes out next year. I was not aware until I started writing the review that it is the first book in what will be a longer series, but that comes as something of a relief as the ending to this story left much up in the air.

Wicked Saints has strong Slavic overtones, evident in names and geography, which I find appealing because of my own personal interests.

It is also the story of two nations at war over politics and religion. It’s a fantasy story of a young woman, a cleric, who has a unique and powerful connection to the gods. I hadn’t heard of this novel before but saw it at the bookstore and thought it looked interesting.

Wicked saints by emily a duncan