Book Review: Seven Devils (Seven Devils #1)

Seven Devils

Laura Lam and Elizabeth May

3/5

Eris faked her death to escape from an empire that controlled her her entire life. But it's also an empire that is controlling everyone and she has committed herself to taking it down. Joined by several other defectors and military masterminds, they form a group designed for that very purpose. It's a combination of flashbacks and present day, blending it all together to create a narrative of betrayal and rising above the predestined paths of life. 

I'm going to be honest, I lost focus for a lot of this book. That's probably mostly on me for not being much of a sci-fi person and for being lazy, but it was on the progression of the novel too. I think that there were great bones to it but the flashbacks made it feel like we weren't spending enough time developing the current dynamic of the team. They all just felt way more invested in each other than I had any reason to believe they were as a reader. Three stars because I think my tendency to hate multiple POVs and just space stuff got the best of me (this was my book club read for the month so I finished it through obligation). But using nanites and biomechanics as a blanket explanation for everything really doesn't fly for a 400+ book. The pacing was just off. 85 percent boring, the last 15 percent really saved the rating because that's where the action really was.

Characters I could've done without: Clo and Ariadne. POVs I could've done without: Clo and Ariadne of course plus Nyx. I was living for Eris and really only Eris. But Clo was the biggest queen of double standards I've ever met and it was beyond frustrating. Going along with the plot pacing, the pacing of their characterization was also thrown off by the flashbacks. I didn't see any growth on the page and then I was just being told that they had grown. Their tragic backstories were also way overhyped and boring in actuality. 

Sorry I roasted it, it's easier to roast than to compliment. It was a good representation of a female-driven space opera, definitely liked it more than some of the Star Wars stuff I've read/watched. If you're a fan of sci-fi, you would probably be a fan of many of the elements of this story. If you're not though, I would steer clear.