Sword of the Seven Sins follows Ari and Eva through a dystopian society that emerged from the failures of humans to control their seven deadly sins. Now they are living in these overly controlled bubbles where they are born from labs and given their careers at age seventeen. When Eva is given her position as warrior and protector she is the first female and becomes a mentee of the charming and lethal Ari. Lust, being one of the seven deadly sins, makes their attraction to one another impossible. Or is it? There is a rebellion on the brink. Which side will they fall on?

I could not put this book down. This is one of the best slow burn romances I’ve read in a long time! I’m over here sweating over a forbidden hand hold. The world is so developed that their fear of their feelings is palpable. Although their relationship is not overly sentimental, you can FEEL their attraction to one another. The story and pacing is very well done and like I said, I just wanted to keep reading. I would HIGHLY recommend this book - it actually had my heart pumping and I was thinking about long after I was done reading.

Great for fans of Delirium or Divergent!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this!

I love this story! I was hooked from the very first line.

I absolutely loved how Eva and Ahri interact with each other, it's so entertaining and funny. I love how badass Eva is.

I can't wait to start the second book!

The main characters of this book are everything!! The snark, the sass, the loyalty is just perfect. Not to mention the slow build from possible allies to friends to lovers. I cannot wait for more from Emily Colin!!

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.

I thought this book was fantasy but it is actually more dystopian sci-fi. I liked the characters and the dual pov, the world building was interesting and reminded me of handmaid's tale with its religious undertones. I enjoyed the pacing of the story and the writing was enjoyable. Handmaid's tale meets hunger games.

GREAT POTENTIAL, LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHERE THIS IS GOING

Overall, I liked this book. It captured my attention, I breezed through it and I want to continue this series. I did have some things that bothered me, but I am hopeful that the next book will sort some of these things out.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Dystopian society: The dystopian society that this story is set in fascinated me. It was remiscent of Gilead from The Handmaid's Tale in regards with focus on religion and controlled procreation. But this had some interesting twists all on its own. I hope the coming books will dive deeper into this society and give us even more exposition on how things are done.

Ari and Eva: Our two MCs Ari and Eva have great chemistry right from the beginning. It's easy to spot the attraction between them and I found myself rooting for them from the beginning. My heart almost stopped during a particularly loaded scene (which totally reminded me of that flex from the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film adaptation) and I was SO there for it! Still, I did feel like the relationship became too intense too fast. I loved the suspense at the beginning and the tension and I was sad that it went away too early.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Inconsistencies: A few times I caught some inconsistencies in the world building that left me a bit confused and annoyed. For instance, Eva says she has no clue what the words "wife" or "daughter" means because this society doesn't have wives or daughters. Yet Ari, who has grown up in the exact same society, has no problem understanding the word "parents" even though this world has no parents...

Confused genres: For the most part this was clearly a dystopian sci fi book, and I was so into it. Until.... the ending kind of mixed up some genres, IMO. Whereas the first part of the book was heavily reliant on science and fitted right into the sci fi mold, the end drifted into fantasy. Some of the 'science' felt very unrealistic and it killed it for me, slightly.

This book is a Dystopian book that I was hooked into that I just couldn't stop reading.

Sword of the Seven Sins is a Dystopian that is an easy read and it was very quick to read. It is fast-paced and it keeps you entertained.

I absolutely love the story. It is believable.

I can't wait to read the next book.

"The first time I condemned a man to death, I was ten years old." And bang, the story begins on a gut punch.

This book is reminiscent of Huxley's A Brand New World, Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and Orwell's 1984. It was advertised as being of the Fantasy genre, but I believe it is more dystopian/sci-fi.

I really enjoyed the story. It was an easy, quick, enjoyable read. I would easily of rated it four stars if not for the following ...
Firstly, anybody who reads my reviews regularly will know I have an issue with 'insta-love.' I struggled to decide whether this book contained the dreaded instantaneous love or not. In the end, I decided that there was insta-love, but that it was forgivable because it was true-to-story. From a phycological perspective, if you've been raised to believe lust is a deadly sin (Even in the medium of thought) then you've already practically forfeited your life for the sake of a kiss, making the relationship very serious, very fast.

Secondly, the story was problematic in the middle. Upon being ambushed by the Bellatorum, Efraim thanked Eva for her 'excellent work,' in betraying Ari and the Brotherhood, in what I assumed to be a sarcastic tirade. Eva, however, then went on to stand at Efraim's side. "I understood my orders sir." A few chapters later and, during a discussion with Ari, Kilian reiterates her betrayal by saying, "She was their nice little marionette, she played along with them - right up until it looked like your life was on the line." Again, implying that Eva had been implicit in the attack on the Brotherhood.
"She was betraying him the entire time!" I thought. Alas, this was apparently not the case. Later, it is explained that she pretended to acquiesce in order to save Ari, but the language used to do this was wrong, and created the wrong impression to the reader. It was confusing and put our main protagonist's character under scrutiny.

I received this book as an eARC from Netgalley. All opinions are my own!

Eva and Ari, both raised in the Commonwealth, both prepared to live and die by the code of the Seven Sins. When the two uncover the dark secrets of the Commonwealth, will they make the right decisions, or will they live to regret the world that comes crashing down?

I'm not sure how to even begin to describe the feelings that this book made me feel! Eva and Ari are trapped in a world where even the most human of feelings are considered the height of sin, and the way that this came to life on the page had me feeling suffocated by the Commonwealth as well. Watching them discover what it means to be human and to love and be loved was so special to me as the reader.

I also loved the world that was created in this book! The pacing was wonderful, in that secrets of the world itself were revealed slowly and yet the action was happening fast enough to keep me sucked in. Everything that Eva and Ari uncovered only made me need to know more and more about their world. It was like I was in their shoes, and I love that about any good book!

If you like a dystopian world filled with romance and emotions that will set your heart racing, this book is for you!

This story was not what I was expecting based off of the book description. I expected something that was much more fantasy driven and instead it was a not-entirely-successful dystopian novel more like The Giver or Divergent.

I enjoyed this story for what it was but there were two things in particular that kept me from giving it a higher rating. The first is that the book couldn't quite decide if it wanted to be a high tech or low tech dystopian novel to the point that parts of it did feel like they could have been out of a fantasy novel. The Commonwealth's soldiers, or warriors, are called Bellators and they dispense justice with the sword. Except that behind the scenes there is also high tech gene splicing and genetic manipulation going on. The world building just seemed to be all over the place.

I might have been able to live with that if the main relationship hadn't felt so forced. I'm not sure if the author is trying to go for one of those soulmate type of bonds (there's a piece of information we learn late in the book that might point that direction) but every romantic scene between Ari and Eva feels forced. Almost as if the writer has certain scenes she just really wanted to write so she shoehorned them in there.

All in all, enjoyable but nothing spectacular. I might read the second book if I have an opportunity to but it's not one that I'm hunting down.

Eva is born into the strict Commonwealth where religion is core to their daily life. This one had a bit of The Handmaid's Tale vibe to it which made it fascinating and slightly creepy in a way. It is a YA novel which I think lots of young readers will enjoy. It is a really interesting concept having a young woman be chosen to become a Bellator, or executioner, a fate foreshadowed right from the first page. Which, by the way, that first line hooks you right away. The chapters vary between Eva's POV and Ari's which is a nice way to get inside each character's mind and learn more about them and connect with them. There's a lot of action and budding romance and high school readers will love this one. Lots of twisty layers, complex worldbuilding, secrets uncovered, and so much more.

As I have seen in other reviews, I also thought this would lean more towards fantasy instead of taking the dystopian route. That being said, it wasn’t a bad read. But I did have trouble connecting with the characters.

This story was not what I was expecting based off of the book description. I expected something that was much more fantasy driven and instead it was a not entirely successful dystopian novel more like The Giver or Divergent.

I enjoyed this story for what it was but there were two things in particular that kept me from giving it a higher rating. The first is that the book couldn't quite decide if it wanted to be a high tech or low tech dystopian novel to the point that parts of it did feel like they could have been out of a fantasy novel. The Commonwealth's soldiers, or warriors, are called Bellators and they dispense justice with the sword. Except that behind the scenes there is also high tech gene splicing and genetic manipulation going on. The world building just seemed to be all over the place.

I might have been able to live with that if the main relationship hadn't felt so forced. I'm not sure if the author is trying to go for one of those soulmate type of bonds (there's a piece of information we learn late in the book that might point that direction) but every romantic scene between Ari and Eva feels forced. Almost as if the writer has certain scenes she just really wanted to write so she shoehorned them in there.

All in all, enjoyable but nothing spectacular. I might read the second book if I have an opportunity to but it's not one that I'm hunting down.

New dystopian world, with action, betrayals, danger and twists! A good read!

In a completely changed world, our civilization has changed, and the citizens thrive and live under the Commonwealth. New rules and values are defined: committing any of the Seven Sins is punishable by death, and emotions are seen as the main reason why the previous world turned into chaos. The young are taught that emotions are a sin, and that one must not harness relationships or attachments to the people around you. At 17 years old, Eva reaches the Choosing Eve: the day where she´ll be given her assignment to one of the factions in the Commonwealth. Always despising the Bellators, the faction in charge of executions and control, she is the first female to be chosen to be part of this group. There, she is assigned to Ari Westergaard as her mentor. His indifference to Eva hides a terrible secret: since he first met her at 10 years old he has been secretly obsessed with Eva loving her from afar in a world where love is a death sentence.

Overall, the plot is incredibly interesting, and the world the author builds is amazing. It’s a future world but pretty regressive in its way of thinking, bringing in a twist of limitation of emotion, with the use of the seven sins like wrath, lust, pride and greed as enemies to the prosperity of the world. Harsh in its treatment of the citizens you are able to follow the thoughts of both characters and the doubts and misconceptions that they have about the world they live in, with chapters from both Ari and Eva´s point of view.

At only 300 pages I expected this to be a quick read, yet it was not a one-sitting read for me. Although enjoyable, exciting and entertaining enough, the character development was a bit flat at the beginning, making it difficult to create true bonds with Eva and Ari. Only toward the end of the book did I become a bit more committed to their story, their fight to freedom and their love affair. The main reason was because not much time was spent creating bonds between them. I would have liked to have more details into the weeks of training between mentor and mentee in order to establish more depth to their relationship, not just an I´ve loved you from afar let´s rebel against this world situation. I need more depth, a bit of suspense, even a sense of low simmering romance in order to yearn for them to be together. This does not happen, and you are thrown quickly into action, betrayal, and rebellion.

Regardless, the overall plot was entertaining enough that I will probably read the second book, hopefully with a bit more development of the relationship between the main characters as well as more insight into the dystopian world and the rebellion that will soon follow.

Enjoyed this. It was a solid, good read. Being the first book in the series, the author does a good job of introducing the characters, establishing the setting and the system, and setting up the events that you know will happen in the next book. If you enjoyed Roth's Divergent and Aguirre's Enclave, you will enjoy this. The two leads, Ari and Eva have undeniable chemistry, and are great foils for each other. There are more than enough hints that Eva is more than what she seems, and you'll want to read the next in the series. 3.5 stars.

Eva Marteinn never wanted to be a killer. Raised in the Commonwealth, where citizens live and die by the code of the Seven Sins, Eva is sickened by the barbaric punishments the High Priests inflict. When she’s Chosen as the first female bellator, Eva is devastated. But she is inordinately gifted at the very role she abhors. When she falls for her mentor, Ari Westergaard, she knows they should do anything to avoid each other. Balanced on a razor’s edge of desire and betrayal, the two uncover a secret that could overturn the Commonwealth itself. Eva must decide to either turn her back on Ari, and remain loyal to her home — or stake her life on the boy she’s come to love.

The relationship between Ari and Eva is fascinating. It is wonderful to see how they met and got to know each other. It's a terrific book with great characters.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC.

Four and a half
This started in such a way that I was instantly enthralled by Eva and also the world she lives in. The author has somehow managed to meld together numerous genres as Eva lives in a society that has risen up following the Earth being depleted of many natural resources so I guess you expect me to say dystopian . Well actually this book is more than that, a whole lot more !
Eva has been raised by the Commonwealth, a society that is blinkered by the teachings of its Priest's who rage against sins. Wrath, greed, pride etc but rather more crucially lust which brings me to a salient point, fornication is punishable by death or banishment . Children are created in laboratories and test tubes without parents to raise them and instead live in groups with caregivers. Touch, gentleness and feelings are frowned upon and punishable. I've seen some comparisons to the Hunger Games but honestly I got much more of a Handmaids Tale vibe.
Eva knows she's somehow different to those she has been raised with but hides her unfathomable abilities. Expecting to be assigned to work in technology she's absolutely floored when picked to be the first female Bellator, an elite killing squad. Here's she's mentored by Ari a confident, dangerous recruit who unknown to Eva has been watching her secretly for several years !
This story gallops along and just pulled me with it. I liked that even though it's technically dystopian we aren't hit over the head with eco warnings and instead its just a simple background. What I didn't like was from the start children are excited to watch executions and it felt as if humanity and emotions had been stifled. Also if not conforming to perceived desirable attributes people were ostracized, bullied and generally treated like slaves so a truly unpleasant society. Luckily the plot is essentially about Eva and Ari and their relationship. Things happen at breakneck speed which kept me glued to my kindle. There is almost a science fiction element here but it doesn't feel futuristic and actually much more totalitarian. The irony is that the Bellators, who truly are little more than assassins actually have a lot more freedom than those they oppress. This surprised me constantly and definitely kept me entertained and I cannot wait to read more about these characters and the dangerous situations that await them.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley