This book will be perfect for lovers of high fantasy, complex worlds!

I wanted to love this book, but it just didn't suit my tastes — I tried to get through this book despite the info-dumps and the confusing worldbuilding, and though it got a bit better as I kept reading, it wasn't enough for me to keep going. I hate DNF-ing books, but I had to with this one.

Please don't take this as a deterrent, though — this could be the ideal book for you!

There are so so many moving parts to this, and while I loved a lot about the concept I had trouble finishing off the book. The ending was really solid, so worth finishing, but I think a hard edit would have been really helpful . Maybe more world building? That said it was a pretty solid read, and I'm glad I finished the book. Curious what will happen with the next installment - I see a lot of reviewers couldn't finish, and again, the middle was a bit of a slog. Very fun, and worth pushing through.

This was a very complex story with a lot of moving parts as well as a lot of people, places, and new vocabulary to keep track of. It is an extremely dense new adult fantasy story. It follows Miscellaneous Stones, a necromancer and worships the goddess of Death. Her whole family is made up of dealers of death, assassins, executioners and necromancers. Being dealers in death they are surrounded by it every day, but she suddenly finds herself an orphan and about to lose everything because of family debts so she must call home her older sister, who is vicious, manipulative and cruel. But with little other choice she must endure. But it does not end there and Miscellaneous will have to learn more about her powers, learn to fight both the dead and alive, and power-hungry bride of the Rook Kingdom, in order to save what is left of her family and to discover herself and her connection to saint death.
There is so much going on with this story. I loved the first half of this book, it was interesting, and I loved the magic and complex characters. Lani (Miscellaneous) was so interesting, the descriptions of her powers and how she could use them amazing and unique. I found her sister vile from the first movement. The author did a great job of writing her. I would have liked a little more world building and explanation of powers, and the political system. There were some things that did not make sense to me because they lacked explanation. I feel like this story could have been cut in half because of parts that seemed like filler. It was so long and about 65% of the way through I lost interest for a time. It did pick up again at the end with a number of twists and a surprise ending that sucked me back into the story. Which was great, but that middle could have been removed. The number of names of people and places and even terms I was not familiar with, was a lot to keep track of. They would pop up and I have to go back to see if there were any past references that I missed. Overall, I did enjoy this story, but I think it feels overwhelming at times. Also, a more in-depth description of how the world is set up would have been helpful. There are a number of possible triggers, this is a story about necromancers, so just be aware.
Trigger warnings: murder, cutting, animal abuse
I received an advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

"Stoneses die young," her big sister explained patiently. "We have to grow up fast if we're to grow up at all."

And indeed, the Stones family has a complicated history of untimely deaths, mostly told through the footnotes at the end of each chapter. But that is not the only thing that makes them special: they have historically served as assasins to the royal family of Liriat and, most importantly, they all have rather extravagant names. Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones is the youngest member of this family, and after her parents' deaths she and her sister must find a way to pay all their debt and avoid losing the family home, getting tangled up in some dangerous schemes along the way.

This story was incredibly ambitious, there was a lot of worldbuilding to do and a lot of ground to cover plot-wise, and yet the book didn't feel incomplete. There were some points I was left wondering about, like the exact workings of the magic system or other types of wizards, but all that was shown made sense. As for the plot, it was a bit dense for me, especially because it didn't move that fast until about halfway through the book, and so the characters (except for the protagonist) didn't seem to have that much room for development and connection with the reader. It also left a few loose ends, so I'm hoping for a sequel that will round everything up, but the book also works as a standalone.

Finally, I would like to mention the writing style, which was flowy but still made for a great narration. I think it was perfect for this story, with its aristocratic setting and eccentric characters. It felt humorous at just the right moments (the footnotes were a really fun aspect and their "serious" tone was perfect), but it somehow also made me feel worse for Lanie at her lowest moments. The weird family names were also a great touch, if a bit confusing at first, but they made complete sense after knowing a bit more of the family history throughout the book.

All in all, this was a great read. It's definitely not for reading in one afternoon, but if you like fantasy you might want to give this book a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK!!! Iwas gripped completely by this book and read it in one sitting missing a meal to finish it. it was so well written with well developed characters and a chilling feel that left me with goosebumps. It was so interesting and completely enaging. I really enjoyed it.

Amazing and gripping read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

If you like detailed, action-packed fantasy with a macabre vibe, this book might be for you.
I couldn't put it down.
I liked the academic style of writing, with footnotes and information about magic and the different beliefs and cultures, as they suited the main character.
Lainie is a necromancer who is very young at the start of the book, but she grows into her power as the story unfolds.
This stood apart from other fantasy plots for me because it wasn't just about romantic relationships. It was about a girl who had been raised in an environment where she couldn't trust her family, and didn't get any love for them. The story shows her developing friendships and forging a family of choice, as well as pulling off some impressive magical acts.
The characters from different cultures and faith backgrounds reminded me a bit of Raybearer.
The aesthetic is part Addams family, part Shadow and Bone.
It's definitely worth checking out.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand I did enjoy it. On the other I have no interest in continuing with this series.

This book had an interesting premise, a necromancer with an allergy to violence is born into a family of assassins.
Because of her relationship with the Goddess of death, she finds herself “courted and threatened by powerful parties”

Unfortunately this book was long and the story short. I felt so bogged down with characters and tidbits of backstory that I couldn’t fully enjoy the story I was trying to read. And even with an abundance of information and character development I still found myself confused.

Saint Death's Daughter had an excellent premise, and therefore I was excited to read it, however I couldn't finish it.

The book was slow, with information showered from the start, which doesn't stop. The large amount of processing was too much for a book that was honestly boring. A whimsical nature often fails to intrigue me, and therefore C. S. E. Cooney's book couldn't capture my attention, leaving me confused and lost very early on. Many characters which confused me were barely relevant for the plot (of which I read), the names were confusing, unnecessary and only added to the overall despair I felt whilst reading the book!

Perhaps the writing may have pushed me away, however I feel that despite the engaging synopsis I couldn't get into the book, therefore I have given it 2 stars- which may be generous.

This one took me a while due to having to deal with replacing a tub that took upwards of a damn month (and because it’s a bit of a brick of a book), but every time I opened this to get through another bit, it was a luscious treat. The Locked Tomb series is going to be the first thing that people will draw comparisons to, because queer necromancers, but this is honestly an amazing world unto itself. It’s got very deep and intricate worldbuilding, but also the humor of Discworld, and doesn’t hesitate to make fun of itself both in the text and in the extensive footnotes. That humor and the inherent queerness in it brings some levity to what can be a really fucking dark text at times. It seems like Cooney is throwing a lot at the reader at first, but it all lands, while still setting up a few threads for future books. Laney, Granny, and her family and friends are all amazingly developed and fun to follow, and I can’t want to see what comes next here. Pick it up, it’s more than worth your time.

this was a very long book that left me mostly confused. i was very excited when i read the synopsis but i feel like the execution of the book failed to keep my attention and excitement up, this is one of those books that left me wondering about how i felt about it long after i finished it (which was a bit of a struggle) and then realising that it didn't make me feel any particular emotion while reading it.

This book is a bear. There are so many things to keep track of: new months, days, gods/goddesses, places, and characters. There are footnotes about historical events and characters that don't really matter to the main story. They're funny, but in a story with so much going on, it just made me more confused. I applaud the author for diving so deep into the world, but this should be scaled back a bit so things aren't as bogged down. Maybe some of these characters we could learn about in the sequel?

The main character is Miscellaneous "Lainey" Stones. What I liked most about her is that she sometimes makes mistakes, chooses wrong, and needs to learn to stand up against others. It made her more real and relatable and her love for her family helps show that Lainey is trying her best. I also thought Lainey's niece Datu was a funny character, even when she wasn't trying to be. She's very ambitious and always up for a story about past Stones family members and what they got up to.

There were parts I didn't quite understand because there's an overload of information. There's a lot of information and some names and titles I struggled to pronounce. I did think it was a fun book overall and maybe listening to an audio of it would be helpful. I am still interested in what the sequel will contain and maybe now that I have the layout of everything, it will be an easier read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Solaris and NetGalley for the copy

An interesting fantasy read. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys young adult fantasy. I rate it a three out of five stars.

Yeah... not for me I'm afraid. Bounced off it so many times, I like world building and there is a clear and potentially really interesting world in here but - just too much of it. So the story felt utterly overwhelmed and by the time I hit 12% (please please put page numbers back into meta data publishers), I just wanted story without the world but it was just hard work and the information dump just became too much.

Sorry.

This book is certainly very different from everything I've read so far and I quite enjoyed it!
The beggining of this book was really confusing to me, since the reader is dropped in the plot without any background knowledge or explanation. Also, sometimes the plot is quite dense and moves too slowly, other times it's very exciting and intriguing.
However, I loved the ending and the plot twist!I also really enjoyed how inclusive this book was! There are many diverse characters and I think that's great!
I loved Lanie and Goody's friendship and Mak's love for his child despite him being enslaved by his child's mother. Canon Lir was a character that surprised me a lot for various reasons!
Overall, this is a good book, so if you enjoy necromancy and sorcery, give it a try!

Trigger warnings:
-Death and murder
-Mentions of child abuse, murder, sacrifice and cannibalism
-Violence and Enslavement
-Torture, mutilation
-Implied sexual content and orgy

Saint Death’s Daughter is not for the faint of heart! This is not a light, fluffy, read-it-in-a-weekend novel. This is a high fantasy saga with a fully developed magic system that is deep, complex, and brimming with intrigue. Perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, Leigh Bardugo, or V.E. Schwab, this book has a dark side, so if you’re drawn to worlds filled with necromancers, reapers, and death magic, this one’s for you.

It’s a massively ambitious book, at nearly 500 pages, and with dozens of characters to keep track of (plus an incredibly complicated magic system), it’s an intimidating read, for sure. I’ll admit that it was challenging for me to keep the details straight as I read; I usually like to be reading more than one book at a time, but I couldn’t hold anything extra in my head with this one!

But the world-building is second to none, and the fascinating combination of royal assassins, looming family debt to settle, and the influence of the goddess of Death made this book worth the effort. A solid 4-star read!

——

Thanks to C.S.E. Cooney, Rebellion/Solaris, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A very interesting story of new magic, necromancy, poor relationships between power hungry people and the effect people have on each other. The names are super unique and I love that they all mean something and are plays off words that associate with their surnames!

Aw I’m so conflicted by this one.

This book had the potential to be absolutely incredible, like maybe one of the best fantasy books ever, dare I say it!? But it wasn’t.

Okay. A book with a load of different gods, magic, necromancers, an mc who has an allergy to death but can communicate with the dead in a way, fucking people that are also birds, magical royal executioners?! Honestly all of these, and just the blurb makes it sound insane, and it was in many moments. But oh boy was I confused a lot.

Right at the start there’s a guide explaining some characters, who the gods are and also what the days of the week and months are. At first I though ooh how helpful. But I was reading this on my super old tablet and it’s just impossible to flick back. And what is the necessity in changing what the days of the week and the months are?? There’s still the same number, it just makes it confusing, and often thinking when it told you the date, how long has this been since the last bit???

And I don’t even know how many names were mentioned throughout, a lot. More than there’s ever been in any book. And it switches between there actually name and nickname without any kind of help that they’re the same person (their names are really weird so it’s not obvious nicknames like Tom from Thomas eg. The mc is Lanie from Miscellaneous).

Not just the names, but weird words for things with no context or explanation.

However, when I did sort of know what was going on, it was really good! And I loved the characters of Lanie, Mak and Datu. And I thought the ending was great and not what I’d expected at all! It has been left as it could end with that or there could be another book. I would definitely read the next one but won’t be expecting as much.

Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book; it was brilliant. I loved the complex world building, the intricate plotting and the wonderful prose which sometimes morphed into verse. It's possibly a tad long but overall is absorbing throughout.

I honestly really hate DNF'ing books, but I just couldn't get into this one unfortunately! I got to around 25% and just couldn't continue.

The synopsis sounded so interesting and I was really keen on getting into it, but we were introduced to so many new things so quickly - like a whole set of new months, days and a bunch of gods at the very beginning. Truth be told, I usually struggle to sit and learn what's happening when provided a list at the beginning of a book without the worldbuilding to back up my understanding, so this may have been a me problem! I was still a little confused, but I decided to try and push on and hope that I'd get it more as I went along, but there were so many characters and the worldbuilding was also quite complex, so my brain was struggling to keep track of everything!

I might pick it up again in the future and try and give it another go, because the synopsis sounds so incredibly promising, but for now I'm DNF'ing it sorry!