I LOVED this book!
The premise was amazing-a book about an assassin’s daughter with a gift for Necromancy and an allergy to violence was almost impossible to mess up.
The lead character, Lanie, is strong and quirky, and very likable, but it was her sister-Anita-who I really fell in love with.
It’s hard to say too much about this one without giving away the whole book, but it’s enough to say this-check it out! 4 BIG ⭐️‘S!

I gave 2 out of 5 stars because for me I didn’t really enjoy the story at all. There were some good highlights for me, like the fact that there was a character with the pronouns of them/they/theirs. The story was told mostly from Lanie’s POV alone so the reader gets to know her quiet well and has a front row seat to her growth. The magic system wasn’t explained in detail but seemed tedious to practice or understand, at least for me. It was so tedious for me to read that it was unintentionally DNF’ed because it expired on my netgalley shelf before I could finish it.

Although there were some interesting eiejj my ents in this book, it was way too info dumpy. There was so much telling, not showing that it was hard to get into the story.

Wow - I'm really thoroughly impressed by the dark atmosphere conveyed here, the writing was straight-forward yet somehow rich, which I think is a rare balance to achieve... unfortunately didn't really connect as much with the actual plot and had several pacing issues, but I will check out this author in the future. I think the subject matter maybe just was not for me

This book has such an interesting premise - the world is both cutthroat and fairy tale like. The one thing that really held it back for me was the amount of info dumping that went on, as well as the tangents that appeared to have absolutely no effect on the story.

The whole book has a very surreal aspect to it, it spans many years the magic itself seems to change. Though again, the world building is sparse where there is actual action or dialog - for me the book could have been 50% shorter and it would have been perfect.

The characters themselves were really unique, I wish we could have seen more character development throughout and had a more concrete idea of their motivations.

It also should be mention that a male is kidnapped, held against their will and raped though none of this is directly mentioned

Overall the premise of the world was good as well as the foundation of the characters but more world building and character development is needed and less info dumping.

DNF - giving this a 3/5 primarily because of its complexity. The world that the author has created is so vast and has many levels, that I couldn’t keep track and ultimately lead me to not be able to finish. If you like complex fantasy worlds then this is a great choice!

I really struggled with this book, even with the glossary at the beginning there was a bit too many new words.and phrases for me to pick up on.

I love the cover, first o fall. Second of all, while entertaining, this book got confusing with the world building. I found it hard to keep track of things in my head and had to stop and wonder at some terms and throwbacks to different gods and such. I love anything with a a manifestation of Death as a guy in it, and this was a nice outright quirky look at things rather than a very dark romantic Death or the complete opposite.

dnf sadly

Thank you, NetGalley for the arc!

I was super excited to read this book but right off the bat, I was introduced to a whole list of strange names. New names for every month of the year, every day in the week and 10+ gods and god knows what else. There was so much info-dumping and so many terms and characters that I didn't know and added absolutely nothing to the plot nor to the character's development. I had no idea what was happening there was so much going on and I am still so horribly confused. The idea was great, and I was super stumped when it didn't meet my expectations.

What a fun, interesting book! I did find it hard to get into but once I was immersed, I enjoyed the ride. The characters (Miscellaneous especially) were fleshed out and unique and I enjoyed Miscellaneous’s character growth. At times, the book dragged on a bit and I found myself confused in some places with how many characters were being introduced. But I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. Who doesn’t love necromancy? Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion for providing me an e-ARC

★★.5/5 stars

"Nothing complicates life like death."

The synopsis completely hooked me into reading this story. Not to mention that the world building in this book is completely wonderful. But sometimes it's hard to keep track of the new days of the week. And there are lots of info dumps too.

This story is perfect for those readers who prefer fantasy books with a complex world building.

This is a fast-paced fantasy that is both funny and well written, with vivid characters and hilarious situations. The two daughters of Liriat's Royal Assassin and Executioner couldn't be more different. Amanita Stones is a cheerful psychopath who has bullied the younger Miscellanious (a.k.a. Lanie) since birth. But Lanie has a rare gift for necromancy -- and the Goddess of Death Herself as a patron. Amanita and Lanie will have to work together to save their ancestral home, Stones Manor, from the ambitious Scratch family. And when Liriat's Queen is murdered by the notorious Blackbird Bride and the Parliament of Rooks, Lanie is going to need all the help she can get.

Author CSE Cooney is a World Fantasy Award winner. It would not surprise me to see Saint Death's Daughter in the running for this year's award. This book will appeal to lovers of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Many thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fun and goofy and a bit different. I loved the main character and I loved how the author worked with different gender's pronouns in order to make the story even more intriguing!
A young, female protagonist with an allergy for death who has the ability to master necromancy and can speak with the ghosts , who's hunted , wanted by so many important families who dream of using her powers for themselves ... amazing !

I wanted to love this so much, I loved the concept and the blurb

However, there was so much introduced in regards to new months, days, gods etc that I couldn’t retain it all to fit it into the interweaving plot line.

Complex and complicated worldbuilding, a necromancer who is allergic to death, and a series of murders that need solved and debts that need paid. Took a bit to get into, but once I did, I was hooked!

~Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book!

4⭐𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫
•The concept of this book had me enthralled right away and the lore and magic imbued in this world were stunning!

𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭
•The plot is the reason this book got docked. I felt it was slow or there wasn't much of a plot. I love fluffy parts of books and filler in some senses but I feel that this book just dragged on with no real stakes set very high. If this book was shortened, I feel it would've been a lot better in plot and pacing, and it would definitely help the idea of there not being much of a plot. Besides this, the book was still good, just dragged.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
• The author clearly spent a lot of time on developing characters and they did an amazing job at it. I got attached to most of the cast, and the unique races were very interesting to learn about. Development and actual human emotion were written so well in this story, and it was a key component in this story.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠
•This worldbuilding was DEEP and so so good. The different types of magic, rulers, courts, states, festivals, days of the week, etc, were all so fleshed out and are what really grabbed my interest. If the worldbuilding and characters were not this good I would have rated this lower due to the plot but they saved it and far exceeded my expectations for it.

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥
•This book was good. Long and slow, but still good. Improvements on pacing and plot could have been made but this is still a solid and interesting book.

With many thanks to #NetGalley for an advance copy of #SaintDeathsDaughter, which enabled me to read the book ahead it’s publication date and let you know that you should a b s o l u t e l y check it out, if you enjoy the Locked Tomb stories, Addams Family circus (with more heartwarmth than the opening chapters might suggest), and a healthy mixture of humorous and macabre in your SFF. A queer-by-default world, family values clashing with found families, a really colorful, lush and humane take on necromancy, an unflinching portrayal of the price of violence and privilege and at the same time, a really over-the-top trashy sexy evil villainess, complete with her harem of wizards — so many things tossed into the mix, and the end result is a very gripping read. I swear, I was making noises along the lines of “I’ve no idea where this book is going” at 10, 20, 50 and 80% of the book and was so pleased to be stunned by plot twists up until the very last chapter. I admit I very rarely feel blindsided by the trajectory of the ride when I open the book, so I enjoyed very much when that happens. It’s not as breakneck as Nona the Ninth, but it’s also a much warmer narrative, with compassion and craving for community that infuses its pages via the narrator. I enjoyed the snarky footnotes, found the glimpses of magic other than that of Lanie’s intriguing (and hope for more info on them on them in later books), and generally found the book an enjoyable ride.

This was an absolute gem of a book! I don't make comparisons to Gideon the Ninth (or its sequel) lightly- but this absolutely has the same strange, beautiful, disgusting, messy love of life and death in all its forms permeating through every word. Lanie Stones is a wonderfully realised character (how fantastic to have a necromancer who is in love with life as well as death!) and her world is as detailed and well thought out as she is.

That last thing is what worried me going into this book- I loved the ideas and imagery in Cooney's Desdemona and the Deep but found the plot and characters a bit undercooked. This is something that Saint Death's Daughter absolutely corrects. There were several developments that I didn't seecoming at all but made absolute sense in the context of the characters and their world, and by the end I felt like I knew Lanie, Lir, Mak and Datu like old friends.

It's a beautiful book, honestly. I'm going to buy a hard copy when it comes out, and it's going to sit alongside The Goblin Emperor as one of my all time comfort reads. Thank you!

I have to admit that I found this book difficult to read. Right from the beginning there's a ton of new information to try and sort through - new days of the week, new months and new gods. This is on top of the footnotes throughout the rest of the book and the new stoneses that get introduced.

I appreciate the author is trying to create a whole new world in depth but I think that can be a little lost when there is so much to take in, it becomes an info dump.

The writing style isn't the type I'm used to or even prefer so that also made it hard for me to get immersed in the plot. I hate to DNF but unfortunately I just couldn't make it through to the end.

*Thank you to @rebellionpublishing and @netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

How do you review a book sensibly when all you really want to do is scream ILOVEITILOVEITILOVEITILOVEITILOVEIT!? I mean, I fucking loved it. But it did come from Netgalley so I feel obliged to make some sort of attempt. Reasons I loved Saint Death’s Daughter:

1. Lanie, the main character. She’s sensible and strong and whimsical and passionate and vulnerable. She puts mouse skeletons back together to resurrect them and then cries when she has to let them die again! SHE IS SO PRECIOUS I CANNOT. Also, imagine being born into a family of assassins while having a violent allergy to death. Yikes. It’s tempting to list fifty things Lanie does that make me adore her, but that would be kind of spoilery, so believe me when I say the mice are just the beginning.

2. Datu. I would die for Datu. That is all.

3. Canon Lir. I would also die for Canon Lir. They are the best.

4. There are in fact a lot of people in this book whom I would die for.

5. Whimsical gothic is one of my favourite aesthetics and this book hits it squarely. There are assassins, necromancers, lots and lots of dead people, mind control, a whole bunch of underground stuff, murder up the wazoo… and all of it is treated with a lightness of hand that makes it simply delightful. It’s serious too, at times. But also whimsical. I mean the main character is named Miscellaneous Stones. MISCELLANEOUS STONES. Was there ever so perfect and beautiful a name? No, never.

6. Found family. Another of my favourite aesthetics. There is nothing warmer and yummier than a sad lonely character whose family are a bit shit finding people who welcome and accept and adore them, particularly when they totally don’t expect it and all of a sudden realise that their life is FILLED WITH LOVE. The best.

7. The worldbuilding. ALL the worldbuildinggggggg. I mean, for simple plot purposes you could take out half the worldbuilding in the first few chapters and it wouldn’t change a thing, but books aren’t just about plot, are they? The little details and stories we hear in those first few chapters are just so fun and a great way of introducing us to Lanie and the world she’s grown up in, because really, Stones Manor is her world, at first, and it feels like a big complex one. We only get reminded of how small and narrow it actually is when Lanie finally ventures out into the wider world, which makes that revelation all the more effective.

8. The plot. It’s fun and engaging and I always find myself caring about whatever Lanie is trying to do. There are a couple of nice twists, and I’m super super eager to find out what’s going to happen in the next book, too.
This list feels entirely inadequate for a book that delighted me so much, but I’ve done my best. I really hope there’s going to be an audiobook, because I’d absolutely love to listen to this story, too. I already have my physical copy on pre-order. Anyway. Read this!