First sentence: The first time I condemned a man to death, I was ten years old. I was standing with the rest of the Commonwealth of Ashes in Clockverk Square, beneath the giant clockwork tower that stood watch over us all.

Premise/plot: Sword of the Seven Sins is a dystopian YA novel set in the future starring Eva, our heroine, and Ari, our hero. They live in a very unforgiving, strict, life-or-death society. There are, you guessed it, seven sins. And breaking any of the sins could lead to exile or death--most likely death. The sin tempting both Eva and Ari is the sin of lust. Now in this society, men and women do not fall in love, get married, have a family. Babies are conceived in a test tube and raised communally. There are no family units. No bonds between parent and child, no bonds between siblings, no attachments allowed ever. Well, you're supposed to be super-super-super loyal to the Commonwealth and serve where you're supposed to serve. But essentially, you're not supposed to be all feely-feely and think about the meaning of life.

Eva had hopes of being chosen to be a computer tech, but, she's chosen instead to be a warrior. Ari is her mentor/trainer and fellow warrior. These warriors are called bellators.

The first book is all about world-building and initial conflicts leading to bigger conflicts. The goal of book one is to make the heroes feel angsty about the world they're living in and to get them to start questioning big things, little things, everything.

When the two begin to have some big doubts about the Powers That Be, will they risk everything to do what they think is right?

My thoughts: It has been a while since I've read a new-to-me dystopia. I've revisited dystopias off and on through the past few years. I've started rewatching some dystopian movies lately (Hunger games series, Divergent series, etc.) and so I was in the mood to revisit what used to be a favorite sub-sub-genre of me.

I liked it. I did. It is very much a YA DYSTOPIA.

You might be wondering...is it "ruined" with a love triangle?!?!?! I can say that there is NO LOVE TRIANGLE!!! That is fantastic news. Is it "ruined" with insta love??? That's more complicated. Romance is a super-strong element of this one. If you absolutely HATE romance mixed in with your dystopia, then I can see this one might drive you crazy! If you don't mind romance so long as it feels right and not forced, not rushed, then you might enjoy this one. It is intended to be a steamy read. And the last bit of the novel especially is all let's explore each other bodies now that the big chase scene stuff is over!

What agenda(s) does it have? This future nightmarish world is brought about due to climate change, bad immigration policies, and racism.

A good YA post-apocalyptic read. I enjoyed this one. It was a quick and easy read with two main characters, Eva and Ari, each not quite fitting into the mold of the Commonwealth, fighting against sin.

Things I liked were the world itself. Built on the remnants of the USA (although this isn't really overt) after the Fall of mankind due to overuse of resources, followed by a war, areas were sectioned off into commonwealths where humans were genetically bred for intelligence, beauty (blonde hair and blue eyes mostly), and physical ability. Science is still heavily relied on, but so is religion, with society being based around cutting out all sin. Citizens are punished and executed for committing the seven deadly sins (greed, gluttony, lust, etc.). I actually would like to see more of the world building developed further.

I liked the main characters, especially Eva. She's pretty strong and is a survivor. She has a strong sense of justice that doesn't always fit in with the society around her, and it's interesting to see how she gets around that.

The love story is just a bit heavy handed for me. I like a good romance, but I felt it was a bit overdone.

Overall, this definitely has promise, and I look forward to seeing where it goes next.

This is a fast paced, action packed dystopian romance with twists and turns. Eva, the main character, is a strong female lead. The world building is just so versatile and in some ways reminded me of Divergent but holds it's own characters.

The forbidden relationship between Eva and Ari adds extra spice to the story. I really enjoyed this book and definitely worth a read.

Five Stars!

"The first time I condemned a man to death, I was ten years old."

Author Emily Colin hooked me into this novel right away when she opened the books with those words. They might have to go down as one of the best first lines in a book that I have read in a while.

Synopsis:
In this reimagined dystopian fantasy novel, Eva Marteinn has spent her life in the Commonwealth, a community completely governed by the code of the Seven Sins. Minor infractions result in intense punishment from the High Priest and the Executor, all in the name of remaining pure. The will of the Commonwealth is said to be protected by the Bellators of Light (think of them as the enforcers) who are trained to injure and/or kill those who do not fit their way of life.

When Eva is selected to become the first female bellator, everything she has ever known about herself gets turned on its head. Suddenly, she finds herself exceling in a role she despises and trained by her mentor, Ari Westergaard, a boy who has haunted her thoughts for longer than she can ever admit.

While Ari tries to keep his distance from Eva, he can't hide the attachment he has to her from himself. Ever since they were children, Eva has always held a place in Ari's thoughts.

In a world where love and attachments are forbidden, feelings can be a death sentence.

When Eva and Ari stumble upon the many secrets the Commonweath Executor has been keeping, they must make a choice between everything they have ever known and what they could have with a little freedom.

My thoughts:
Okay, I am not normally a big fan of dystopian books, but Emily Colin did this book so well, that even I was completely sucked in.

I fell in love with the characters. From the beginning, Eva was questioning things and maintained a sense of morality, even when raised in a world that doesn't allow for it. Ari had a strong personality and I really enjoyed his character development. The dual viewpoints were very well done in this book and maintained a sense of clarity for the overall story.

The action and adventure is fast-paced, well written, and imaginative! At points, I felt like I was there with the characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to reading more of the series as it comes out! I need to know what happens!

Keypoints:
- Two viewpoints
- dystopian fantasy
- romance, but not too much to take away from the story
- interesting societal choices
- great action scenes!

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and Blue Crow Books in exchange for an honest review. This in no way effects my review.

Fear Is The Enemy

Emily Colin smashes the typical dystopian novel to smithereens. She did an amazing job creating a world that readers will find themselves easily lost in. Characters that were loveable and easy to connect with and a plot not dense enough to chew on but just enough to keep you entertained without being too confusing!

I received an e-arc of this from netgalley for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"The first time I condemned a man to death, I was ten years old." WHAT AN AMAZING FIRST SENTENCE 👀 I was immediately gripped and needed to know more.

OH MY GOSH, I can't say how much I loved this! It was suspenseful, entertaining and throughly enjoyable! The plot was so interesting and I had so much fun figuring out the twists and turns, seeing if I was right or wrong!

The characters in this book were so phenomenally written.  I loved and hated characters in equal measure. The two POVs were expertly written and left me wanting to continue on as I had to know what happened next!

I am excited to see where the author takes this series 😍

“The first time I condemned a man to death, I was ten years old,”
I was hooked from the opening line of this book! It reminded me of a mix between The Giver and the Divergent series, with a great mix of action and romance. Once I started reading, the action was fast paced enough to not want to put it down!
Ari and Eva, the main characters of the story, were both very likable. They turn into rebels with a cause, fighting between what they’ve known as law their whole life, and how maybe their way of life isn’t the only true way to live. The story follows their journey as they fight between what they’ve known the be right and wrong, and how maybe it isn’t so black and white.

I really, really enjoyed this. Eva and Ari are such interesting characters and it is genuinely wonderful to see their relationship unfold. Normally you see the woman submitting to the man. In this case, Ari voices his own surrender to her, but really, they both submit to the other. Beyond their relationship, the world is undeniably intriguing. What would happen if the seven deadly sins were taken so literally? Well, this book tell you just that. No love, as love leads to lust. No friends or attachments, as they can lead to love and then lust or even greed, pride, or envy. I can't wait to see what's next.

The book had potential. I liked the premise and it does draw you in quite quickly. I found the world building to be a bit rushed and therefore thin - you don't get much of a sense of life outside of the Bellator's section, because the main character ends up there so quickly.

I did find the insta-love distracting and frankly, bizarre. That's down to not really having a good sense of who these characters are. They are rather 2 dimensional.

Still, it was an entertaining read for the most part and I was curious to see where things would go in the next book.
I received an ARC from Netgalley for this review.

I really enjoyed this book. The dark and twisted beginning had me immediately intrigued. I love how fast paced the book was and how I feared putting it down because I didn't wanna miss anything.

This was a promising start but I had trouble with some parts. They felt like microagressions but I couldn't be sure. I was sent the second book as an ARC so I kept going even when I started getting weird vibes. The ending was pretty decent, and I wasn't wowed but was still curious about the second book.

This is a new genre for me and I am glad I tried it! This story is richly woven with details that pull you into Eva’s and Ari’s world. Then the story feels like it takes on a life of it’s own which makes the book difficult to put down. I completely enjoyed the experience of reading this story and can NOT wait for more!

For fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.

This story starts us off in a strange world similar to the setting of The Island (2005), where citizens are held up to the moral code of avoiding the seven deadly sins and adhering to the seven virtues. Punishments can be severe. They are quite public and can even lead to expulsion.

Lust and relationships are off limits, so everyone has been conceived in test tubes. Almost everyone.

Lies are apparently not part of the seven deadly sins, so thats interesting.

Sci-fi, post Fall(post apocalyptic?), with a strong root in certain mythic folklore.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the romance and the dark dystopian feel of the story. Highly recommend!!

A YA start of a series set in a dystopian world where the High Priests use virtue and sins to keep people in line. One young girl Eva wants to fit into the society but she has questions and sees things that are not accepted. In a surprising turn she becomes the first female bellator where her mentor is Ari Westergaard. Their relationship is the heart of the book and I loved the banter, annoyance, mutual respect and loyalty between them. Both are strong willed individuals and forces to be reckoned with. The story is fast paced, the plot gives you new tidbits of information whenever Eva and Ari discover something and I found myself wanting read every spare minute I had to find out what would happen next. The book ends in a way that immediately makes you want to pick up book 2 of the series. Well worth your time if you like dystopian worlds, romance and strong lead characters.

***An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. ***

The beginning of this book had me hooked right away. I loved the eerie darkness feeling I got when reading it. The two main characters Eva and Ari were well written. They had great chemistry and I loved the romance between them. The story was fast-paced and there was never a dull moment. I am eager to read the next book in this series. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I enjoyed this exciting new story! The creepy dystopian world it is set in is perfect, and kind of reminiscent of the current world right now! The main characters were very engaging, and I need to know what happens! Ari and Eva have so much going on! Especially Eva. This was a perfect beginning to a new series!

One of my friends recommended this book to me, and I see why. The beginning I was a little cautious going into it, as it seemed like just a rewriting of The Giver. But as the book continued and changes started happening I got really into it! This is a fun series and I'll definitely read the next one.

Swords of the Seven sins has to be the most Unique way I have ever read and seen the Us of Virtue and Sin.
It takes place in an isolated society called the Commonwealth where your life revolves around forbidding sins and following virtues. In this society the children are raised in groups by maternal people choosen. Men separate from Women and you are assigned a job. Babies are made from test tubes supposedly hidden how its really done. Natural born children are treated like slaves and are given menial tasks. The goal is to have a sinless society and the construct is quite instrumental.

Eva Marteinn's choosing day is coming up and she is an expert at what she does in her extra time. With her Choosing day coming up she is hoping for a job similar to what she works in... How her how life is going to change.
Ari Westegard a Few years ahead of her is a Bellator defender of the Commonwealth and really great at what he does. Only 19 and upcoming dedicated to defending.

They are taught outside this Commonwealth the world is full of Barbaric People. Sinners and people who don't care and love each other. Willing to do anything to kill anyone.

Parts of this Book gave me giggles, laughing, knucklebiting, really upset, its a rollarcoaster full of emotions with amazing writing.

Arc was given to me by Netgalley and I'm very glad I got to read it.

The sword of the seven sins is a ya novel set in a dystopian world. Eva is the first female bellator and falls for her mentor Ari in a slow burn, suspenseful romance.

I was completely hooked from the very first chapter of this book. I highly recommend this book, from the romance to the world building, it is a phenomenal sci-fi/dystopian ya novel. The main characters, Ari and Eva, are charming and the tension between them is so well written - I just had to keep reading.