Original Sinner by Kait Ballenger
Dark romantasy. Present tense, alternating POV. Erotica elements including BDSM.
New York City is run by Lucifer and the seven deadly sins. Brothels, elite bars where sex and temptation are the only part of the menu, and sin is the name of the game. The media and paparazzi follow the power players for the salacious news stories. It is not a playground for the innocent.
Yet, NY is exactly where Charlotte goes to escape her religious and restrictive past. She gets an assistant PR job where she ends up working directly for Lucifer, who cannot resist her. He can’t see her sins and it’s driving him mad. If he can’t see any of her sins, he’s going to make sure he gives her a few she will never forget. The PR job turned fake relationship turned play room kink drives both Charlotte and Lucifer to the unknown.

Enrapture, domination, anger, pleasure and lust. Just the tip of the emotional entanglements.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

There’s a lot going on in this exciting romance. When a survivor from an almost cult like religious organization moves to New York and gets a job working in a company owned by Lucifer, things get very interesting very fast. And yes, I did picture Tom Ellis as Lucifer. The spice level is up there and plenty of trigger warnings were detailed. I read this fast because I couldn’t put it down. It was thoroughly enjoyable. I read this on Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

A dark and gripping tale that explores deep emotions and complex relationships. The plot is both suspenseful and thrilling, making it a must-read for anyone who loves a captivating romantic mystery

I was a bit nervous going into this one as Dark Romance genres are ones I generally avoid. With it featuring the 7 Sins as elites of NYC however I wanted to give it a try. It was a great read, lots of elements that I enjoy from paranormal romances and although there are definitely dark parts (please check the warnings) I found this was my kind of thing.

I enjoyed the characters of Charlotte and Lucifer, the way they interacted with each other and the other characters was interesting and helped build them up. Lucifer having family problems and Charlotte wanting a fresh start after a difficult past was definitely relatable even if people's circumstances might not be quite the same.

I will be looking out for more books in this series as I'm intrigued by the other Sins but I'd also love to see more of the characters Jax and Imani. I feel like there's a lot more to come.

I'd recommend this to people for sure, it's not too dark but just has enough elements that it would be a good place to start. We all like a bad boy right?

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


A steamy slow building romance featuring Lucifer himself. Charlotte is a repressed woman trying to find her way. She gets a job working for Lucifer and finds herself in his clutches and in between him and his siblings.

The scenes are steamy with standard dating woes thrown in. It's a one sitting read that is more provacative than the series Lucifer.

What a great book! I absolutely loved how twisty and clever this one was! I was totally engrossed from beginning to end and would definitely read from this author again, So, so, so good!

It was a pretty good book. I liked the characters and the plot. I hope to read more books by this author.

Original Sinner by Kait Ballenger is a dark romance set in a world where devils roam the earth. Charlotte grew up in a religious cult but escaped and ended up working for Lucifer. I really enjoyed the banter between Lucifer and Charlotte and the forced proximity boss/subordinate tropes throughout the book. I can't wait to read more from this author!

I enjoyed this book and thought it was an action packed fantasy romance.

Things I loved:
❤️ High stakes. There were so many on edge moments. I loved this.
❤️ Solid romance
❤️ An FMC to root for

Things that had me a bit overwhelmed:
😕 There were so many characters and their specific skills to learn that I found it hard to keep track.
👄 I got a bit lost with all the fantasy wordings such as the week and times.

I thought it was a bit long too. Overall I enjoyed it but it left me stressed that I couldn't remember things so couldn't fully immerse myself in the story.

A short summary of this book would be if modern day NYC was ruled by the Princes of Hell, with major Fifty Shades of Grey vibes. 👀

Honestly this book was so much fun! It was spicy and intriguing and tbh exactly what I needed right now.

I was thorough hooked in the first half, but the plot got a bit lost after that. It’s a very cheesy book and not a literary masterpiece, however I loved the concept and it was an enjoyable read.

I enjoyed the banter between the FMC and MMC and the build of their tension/relationship. I do wish there was more background on the Originals but also we all know the story so understandable to be semi-vague. I felt like it adds to the mystery of the MMC as well.

A very different book to what I usually read and I really enjoyed it. A unique plot that I haven’t read before.

This has a lot of the tropes/scenes that I expected from this type of dark romantasy, but the premise and worldbuilding kept it feeling original. Charlotte and Lucifer’s POVs each had a distinctive voice, and the writing of being inside their heads was such that they felt real almost immediately. The world the author built — and the sort of religious dichotomy they played with — was really interesting, especially seeing how it was integrated into NYC. This was a strong start to what I think will be a really intriguing series.

This book was simply amazing. I loved everything about it and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of reading it. It was a blast.

I had high hopes for this adaptation of my favourite retelling (hades/persephone) but I was sadly let down as the story felt disjointed and incomplete in areas and over embellished in others. This left a FMC that felt somewhat contrived and a plot that at fell just short for me,

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. The premise of this book sounded good, but I battled to stay interested. I’d say the last 5% really hooked me, the rest was just okay.

The main characters felt one dimensional and there was not much said for the side characters, except for in a few chapters.

I thought her journey was appropriate if a little wobbly and rushed at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for access to this title. All opinions are my own.

A new series is hitting our bookshelves this March and it is a dark romantasy featuring that fallen angel, Lucifer. I was seduced by that delicious cover and I stuck around for the story.

If you're looking for a spicy romance with a devilish MMC, then this is the book to keep you up at night or early in the morning. Our setting is New York City, where the Seven Deadly Sins have their footprint on the Big Apple. It somehow falls to their brother, Lucifer, a successful billionaire to keep them all in line. Of course, Lucifer has problems of his own, he is enigmatic and successful and the media finds his rare appearances to leave them craving more. When his company hires the young Charlotte, herself fleeing her traumatic religious upbringing, the two find themselves caught up in a mystery and a fake romance.

Blame it on Tom Ellis but I kept picturing him as Lucifer all throughout this story even if that isn't who the author had in mind. 🤣 I liked the close proximity and fake dating element of the story. The jury is still out in how I feel about Charlotte, our main female protagonist. However, the fact that she had a crazy stalker ex did make the story more interesting.

Not that I need another series added to the TBR but I feel like I am going to stick around and see where we go after that ending.


#OriginalSinner #NetGalley.
Expected Publication 25/03/25
Goodreads Review 09/01/25

Original and spicy take on the Fallen complete with secrets, betrayals, zealots, and though focused on Lucifer the gang is here along with some visits from their not so fallen brothers along the way. Clever and highly entertaining!

I mostly enjoyed this book, it gave more YA than NA though. The romance between the two characters wasn't fully believable but the banter was good and I enjoyed the spicy scenes. Often times it felt as though it dragged on. I also didn't grow up in a religious household, so it was hard for me to relate to the FMC. I wanted to like this and I was hooked at the start but then started to lose interest around the 70% mark. Then the ending felt very rushed and I struggled finishing it. I wish I enjoyed it more, but I struggled, even with the spice.

Thank you for the arc read!
This book was HOT, if you're into the idea of the seven deadly sins then this book is for you.

Charlotte, escaped from her abusive very religious family to NEw York to start a new life the way she wants to, no parents breathing down her neck on what she can and can't do. She gets a job working for Lucifer as an assistant and somehow ends up I'm a fake marriage with him.

The smut was 😘👌 where can I find my own Sin?! I was hooked from the start!