12 must-read new YA book releases to get us through April

Ruthless Gods – Emily A. Duncan

This highly anticipated sequel to Emily A. Duncan’s fantastic fantasy debut Wicked Saints is as equally intense as its predecessor full of magic, betrayal and questions of divinity and fate.

Ruthless Gods picks up shortly following the cliffhanger that closed Wicked Saints, as Nadya struggles to figure out why her gods won’t talk to her anymore, Serefin is hanging on to his new crown by a thread, and Malachiasz has become more monster than man.

As the story continues, these three characters remain connected to one another by bonds of blood and magic, and the gods – or whatever they are – that seem to direct the actions of all three. Facing a coup by his own court, Serefin and Nadya set off to track down Malachiasz and find answers – both to what he’s trying to do, and what has happened to Nadya’s magic – and her gods along with it.

Ruthless Gods is a dark, dark tale full of violence, blood and vengeance – and one in which it seems very unlikely that there are happy endings waiting for anyone.

The official synopsis describes the story as follows – and hints that we may get some answers to come of our questions at last..

"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."

Ruthless Gods is available on April 7.