Malady

I’ve read this book twice now. I intend to read it a third when I get my physical copy.

Because it’s just that good. Seriously. I don’t generally reread things, but I honestly felt like I had to in this case, and I still constantly feel the urge to pick it up again (even though I have so many other ARCs to read) just to enjoy Annie’s experience again.

Watching a woman who has been so beaten that she can only think of herself as a weapon is a beautiful experience. Devolving into madness because she’s not supposed to feel things, doubly so.

Other than that, my original review stands, and is posted below:

Once again, I am forced to consider if I should be worried by how much I relate to a character.

Unhinged vigilante to the public, Malady is actually totally sane, witty, and incredibly intelligent. All of her victims have something in common and I can't disagree with her choices, tbh. If that makes me a bad person, so be it. It helps that she's really hot. And really relatable.

I went through a very wide range of emotions in this one, folks. Confusion, pride, anger, hatred, joy, fear—truly an emotional wringer. This woman is going to be stuck in my head until the day I die, and actually, I think I'm okay with that.

I don't even know how to put the rest of my feelings into words, so have some quotes that made me feel things or whatever:

"You know my lesbianism doesn't revolve around how successful it is, right?"

"You want me to monologue? Now?"

"Call it irony that the deranged sociopath is a hopeless romantic."

"I think I might need something other than coffee and Adderall."

"I don't want to hurt you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"I want the toast."

5/5

Saphly, I feel truly blessed to be one of the first to experience what Malady has to offer. To say I devoured this book feels like an understatement. I am categorically a Sloth of a reader and yet I blitzed through this as I simply could not put it down.

This is a dual POV. Our titular lady, Malady, is viewed from first-person, whereas our key 'witness', Zeta, is curiously seen from the third-person.

With only a cursory glance at the blurb, I jumped into this mostly blind. I didn't know it was a tale of superheroes. I certainly wasn't aware it was Deadpool and The Boys had a queer baby (though it was definitely giving the vibe) until nearly halfway through. I also felt like there was a side of Worm in there but can't be sure.

I do want to take a moment to highlight the trans rep in this as I feel it's really important and awesome to see it here. As it is one of the tags that I initially ignored, I don't feel it 'spoilery' to bring it up. I'm not trans myself, so I can't wholly relate to everything, but I really enjoyed it's depiction in this and would love to hear how future readers from the community feel it was handled.

Ok. Buckle up, kids, 'cause Lady Christmas is coming to town and this trolley ain't got brakes.

All Hail Lady Jesus

Mourning Star's Malady: Saints is violently unhinged, unabashedly sexy, and most importantly, insufferably vulnerable.

There's a common character trope of one being 'too angry to die'. If Malady doesn't fit the bill, then I don't know who does. She is Big mad. At everyone. The superheroes. The supervillians. The pedophiles. The big corpos. The liars… Malady, in not so many words, all but declares War on the World. But there's only so much damage a lonesome vigilante can get up to… right? After reading, I'm not so sure anymore. Perhaps one woman can, in fact, change the world. One splattered meat sack at a time.

Classic.

But there's more to Malady than the dangerous, steely eyed, brain splattering, maniacally cackling serial killer. To Zeta Russo, CEO of the largest company of corporate superheroes, she's just her Annie. Her Annie is sweet, caring, loving, and though damaged and full of secrets, honest to a fault. If only she would ask the right questions.

I cannot recommend Malady: Saints enough for any enjoyer of doomed-from-the-start romance and scifi nonsense and gutting moments that leave you pouting "My babies :(". I'm overjoyed to know that a sequel is already in the works because the cliffhanger was brutal and I am absolutely salivating for resolution.

Buckle up and be prepared! This is satire at its most extreme. It’s a masterpiece.

Malady is Fierce and bad*ss and full of rage… but only for revenge.

(Can we call it that?)

For taking down the evil that has haunted her for her whole existence!

Should we blame her? I think not. I put myself in her shoes, plenty. She was doing the right thing, right?

The problem is, Malady is the only person who thinks what she’s doing is the right thing.

But there’s more to it…

There’s more to her…

Zeta Russo knows all about that.

This isn’t your average love story.

There’s blood and gore.

There’s heartbreak and hatred.

Secrets and plot twist that’ll have you

questioning your sanity

And love, of course there’s love… right?

And there’s yearning. So much yearning. So intense it made my breath hitch, had

me reaching for her touch and left me with

an insatiable craving for the connection,

the desire, to feel anything at all.

“It’s not a happy story. It doesn’t have a HEA.”

Or does it?

A beautiful take on just how dystopian superheroes could be, and the slow descent into “villany” is just the icing on the cake.