WINNER of the 2021 North Carolina Indie Author Award in Young Adult Fiction
FINALIST for the 2020 Foreword INDIE Award in Young Adult Fiction
SHORTLISTED for the The Manly Wade Wellman Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy
From New York Times bestselling author Emily Colin comes a story of one young woman's battle for freedom in a future world where love is the ultimate sin.
Eva Marteinn never wanted to be a killer. But the Commonwealth didn't give her a choice, and she is eerily good with a sword.
The Commonwealth, where citizens are terrorized by the code of the Seven Deadly Sins and the barbaric punishments of the High Priests.
The Bellators of Light, the Commonwealth's conscienceless executioners.
Eva, horrified to be chosen as the first female bellator, but strangely gifted at killing.
Her mentor, Ari Westergaard, who alternates between taunting her and tempting her with feelings she doesn't understand.
Ari hides a gentle heart behind a brutal exterior. He's loved Eva since they were children.
When Eva falls for Ari too, she knows they must do anything to hide it. In the Commonwealth, love equals death.
Balanced on a razor's edge, Ari and Eva uncover a secret that would overturn the Commonwealth itself. Now Eva must make an impossible choice: turn her back on Ari's rebellion and remain loyal to the Commonwealthβor risk her life for the boy she's come to love and a chance at freedom.
This young adult post-apocalyptic romance with wildly unexpected twists will appeal to readers of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Selection.
"A hot, fast-paced, beautifully written story you won't want to miss!" -Caitlin Sinead, author of Heartsick