Reviews

Seven Devils by L.R. Lam, Elizabeth May

akkarah's review

4.0

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this to read and review through NetGalley.

The feminist, highly diverse range of characters in this book was really refreshing. It focuses on the efforts of a resistance, attempting to overthrow a traditionally patriarchal, corrupt, resource bleeding society. The story is told from various points of view, switching between the present and past to build the narrative and back stories of our main cast. I loved the diversity of the book, particularly the representation of same sex relationships and non-binary characters. Instead of painting the resistance as purely "good", the moral aspects of fighting for a resistance and potentially causing harm to those you are fighting to free are explored.

My one tiny gripe: That the male leader of the resistance (Sher) turns out to be a bit of a dick (albeit through the empire's mind control, but still) was a little disappointing - for me it gave the novel a feel of "anything male sucks" rather than the "women uniting the universe" feel it had had until that point.

That being said, I'm eagerly awaiting book 2!

fairylux's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

e_shan13's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

libroscontecito's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book had like, 2 good moments. One at a 75% and the other at a 80%. The plot dragged. I would've DNF if it wasn't because I was curious about what would happen with a new character that was introduced halfway through (and what happened to them was not interesting at all). 

learas's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

rikerandom's review

5.0

Originally published on RikeRandom - find the full review and others there.

Content notes for Laura Lam and Elizabeth May’s Seven Devils: violence, racism, homomisia, transmisia, abuse, sexual violence (off page)

Detailed content notes:

Spoiler

There is a variety of on page violence, including bodily violence such as dismemberment, as well as allusions to sexual violence and abuse but no on page depiction of it
The the Evoli, a human civilisation with empathic powers (still love how they share a name with my favourite Pokémon) is subject of xenophobia and racism
There are instances of mental abuse, abusive parents & relationships and physical abuse (see first point)
The Empire where this story takes place is a deeply mysogonistic and queermisic place

Representation: Lots of queer characters (bi, trans, ace rep on page and a f/f relationship), autistic rep, amputee rep

Ah, space princesses! And space queers fighting the patriarchy! Two sic-fi themes I just cannot resist. Not that I really want to, because the last novels with space princesses I‘ve read all were queer sci-fi glory! And Elizabeth May and Laura Lam‘s Seven Devils is no exception – it‘s basically „be gay, do crime“ set in space, with lots of action, quite a bit of violence and an adorable ragtag rebel crew.

[…]

Also, huge plus points for this novel because I am a mythology nerd and basically everything in Seven Devils is somehow connected to Greco-Roman mythology. Eris and Discordia? The Greek and Roman version of the goddess of strife. Most other characters’ names? Also taken from mythology or, in Cloelia’s case, Roman history. Their communication devices? Called Pathos after the Greek word for emotion and experience but also suffering. Even the empire of Tholos – apparently tholos is an architectural term associated, among other things, with the seat of government. But the best thing about this whole mythology angle? The authors still managed to make this more than just some whitewashed SciFi version of the Roman Empire.

In conclusion: I adored Laura Lam and Elizabeth May’s Seven Devils. I loved the characters and their relationships, I really enjoyed the world building and the story was captivating. Feminist space opera for the win! And I am already looking forward to the second part of this duology, Seven Mercies, although that unfortunately won’t be released for another year – on 18 January 2022.

sudili's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

ameserole's review

4.0

Seriously. I had no idea how good Seven Devils was going to be but it was. I'm a little annoyed that I waited so long to jump into this beautiful book because it was so much fun. From each and every character to the amounts of betrayals and revealing unfolding before me. It was intense and I enjoyed every second of it.

If you asked me for a favorite character I would probably be in shock and not answer you. It's so hard for me to pinpoint just to one. They were equally amazing in my eyes - even when they did me and everyone else dirty. I'm not sure what the next book is going to do next but I'll try my best to get my heart prepared for it all.

In the end, I will give a piece of my soul and an unborn child to dive into the sequel before it gets published. Maybe even a kidney. Pretty please - pick me!

alicia_ann_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed this book and it gets a solid 4.75 stars! There were a few instances of plot things that irked me. 

Otherwise really excellent! Some moments of this book were so tense and really brought out the anxious feelings. 

Cool technology, space, infiltration, heist like action, character growth, second chances. 

maudalorian's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

A straightforward, energetic space opera with a strong and refreshingly female cast of characters. I thought

the mass mind control by AI

was a clever way to create a truly evil antagonistic force. A dark world but a light read.