When I first heard about this it was described as a “feminist space opera” and honestly that’s all I needed to know.

I’m thrilled to say, this lived up to my very high expectations!

This features a great plot. We have a group of women from very different backgrounds, escaping the Tholosian Empire and fighting for the Novantaen Resistence. The story kicks off as Eris and Clo are sent on a mission to infiltrate a ship, and there they find three fugitives escaping the planet below. They face twists and turns along the way, and the story really keeps you pulled in and on your toes.

But what makes this novel shine is it’s cast of characters. It’s such a diverse group of women (in many different ways). Eris is a trained killer and the former heir to the galaxy, who faked her own death to join the rebellion. Clo grew up in the drug fueled slums. Nyx a highly trained solder. Rhea a cortisan to the elite. And Ariadne the young technical genius. I’m normally wary of multiple POVs as there’s usually some you enjoy more than others. But I honestly loved every one, and loved every character.

There is a fantastic range of representation here. And although I can’t comment on how good the representation is, what I can say is that it all felt very natural and nothing was made a big deal of. It’s great to see diversity like this that’s just part of who the characters are and not the focus of the story. This includes: f/f romance, trans rep, ace rep, a panic attack.

Overall, I really adored this book and am desperate for the sequel! In the meantime, I definitely will be checking out previous work from these authors. I really enjoyed the writing style!

Seven Devils is the first of a series and in a lot of ways it's a classic space opera - a plucky group of rebels band together against the oppressive empire, so if that's your kind of thing then you should probably pick up a copy. I'd assumed it was a standalone, though, so as the number of pages remaining began to dwindle, I started to think that I'd been slightly misled.

Anyway, on to the overall plot - the book is set in the Tholossian empire, which is ruled by an Archon who chooses his successor by pitting his clone children against each other and seeing which one comes out on top. The empire has been particularly successful, expanding widely and controlling the majority of its populace using advanced brainwashing techniques, including a chip implanted in people's brains so they literally believe that dying for the empire is a good thing. It also makes unthinking hatred of anyone who's not like them easy to create and there's been a longstanding war with another group of humanoids who have some mind control abilities of their own.

One of our protagonists is one of the Archon's children, discovering late on that she doesn't want to be feared, she wants to be loved. She's been paired up with a woman who was raised in the slums of the planet where the Archon's palace is, who has discovered her secret identity and understandably resents the hell out of her (not to mention the fact that their last abortive mission cost her a limb). Unwillingly partnered once again, Clo and Eris stumble across other would-be rebels and a complicated plot ensues to steal Tholossian technology. Since this is book 1, naturally things don't go to plan.

Seven Devils is competently written but I found the pacing lagged at times and I struggled a little to get through it as a result. I also question the number of points of view that were going on - we're literally in 5 people's heads, with also their past and present day experiences. That made transitions very clunky and I felt could have been cut down. For example, one of our other points of view is a former soldier whose experiences are very much like Eris's own, except without the royal trappings, with a lot of shared experiences. I probably won't pick up the sequel, as it didn't really leave me wanting to know what happens to these characters, but if ragtag rebellions are your thing, it's definitely going to work much better for you.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Man did this boy take me on a wild ride! Filled with a whole host of kick ass female leads, rebellion, romance and treachery I got swept away by this epic Sci-Fi book and am desperately in need of the sequel.

When Eris and Clo, old friends ripped apart by a deadly secret, are asked to take part in a dangerous mission neither are too happy to be stuck with the other. The mission is simple enough, sneak onto a Tholosian ship said to carry a deadly weapon and plant a tracking device... easy peasy. Except when they get on the ship what they find is a lot of dead bodys, some rocks and 3 Dona's, women bread for pleasure. Eris and Clo soon come to the realisation that not everything as it seems, only one of the women is a true Dona, the other two are a Tholosian fighter and a genius child. They are seeking the Novantaen resistance, not knowing that they have two fighters in their midst. When Eris and Clo get in touch with resistance HQ they agree to let the women join on one condition, they need to find out whether the rocks on the ship are weapons and if so, what Damacles intends to do with it. the 5 become unlikely allies, all with their own strengths and their own secrets. But what they find doesn't just effect the resistance but the whole galaxy and it will take them all working together if they are to save the Galaxy as we know it.

Seven Devils is told from five different perspective and flits between the past and the present. Eris, the former Princess Discordia and heir to the Tholosian Empire; Clo a natural born raised in the slums, genius mechanic and one hell of a grudge holder; Nyx a former Tholosian soldier deprogrammed from the Oracles influence; Rhea a former Dona to Damocles himself, she hides a secret that makes her the rarest thing in the galaxy and Ariadne, raised by an AI she has lived her life in solitude until the tech whizz took a chance on two other women. Each character has their own strength and weaknesses and I thought the throwbacks were expertly done, they give you insights into how the characters ended up where they are, the trauma that follows them all and shows the strength it took to stand up and risk their lives for the resistance/each other.

The world and species that the author's created for this book were brilliantly rendered. I'll admit to being a little lost in the first few chapters, but once we start our flashbacks it all starts to makes sense. The Tholosian empire is a somewhat future version of humans if we had travelled into space, they take what they want from any planet leaving death and destruction in their wake. Their armies are vat born, ensuring only the strongest survive and are controlled by an AI implant called the Oracle that instils in them the need to fight for their empire, shadowing them from the horrors they face in battle and ensuring their loyalty to the Archon. This is the main species we meet in the book, the other being the Evoli. The Tholosian's and the Evoli have been at war for hundreds of years and hate for them is as instilled into the Tholosian soldiers as loyalty to their army is.

Every character in this book has dealt with some sort of trauma and we are able to get insight into this and how they are trying to overcome it from the flashback chapters. Eris is still afraid that somewhere deep down inside she is no better than her father and brother, mindless killers who think nothing of those below them. Clo had to watch her mother die and flee with the resistance to survive. Rhea was the personal play thing to Damocles himself and would regularly be laid out and covered in delicacies for soldiers to feast on. Nyx is very aware of how many lives she ended whilst she still fights to stop the Oracle's influence, and Ariadne, until recently had never left the four walls of her room. Raised by an AI she has little skills when it comes to interaction with other people and feels a loneliness deep down inside that is somewhat tempered by being part of something. I really felt that the authors dealt with all these different issues well, they really get into the characters psyche which helps us as readers to empathise with them.

I always worry when I read a book by two different authors that the writing style wont match and it will feel like you are reading two completely different books. That was not the case here at all, I honestly couldn't tell you who wrote what character/chapters. The writing and plot flowed effortlessly. Though a denser read than I expected, it still has everything I love about a good Space romp, plenty of adventure, battles, explosions and character interactions. There were definitely a few WTF moments and plenty of plot twists to keep us guessing on certain plot points. It is also a book filled with diversity! We have a queer romance *swoon*, a trans woman as a central character and a diverse cast of totally kick ass women... there are men in the book, but they are few and far between and usually the bad guy... sorry fellas.

This is an easy 5* read for me. Anyone looking for a high stakes adventure, filled to the brim with a diverse cast of women and some truly epic fight scenes should definitely check this one out.

I was like, should I do 4 or 5 stars? I feel like this one is going to be both one I remember, and I am eagerly waiting for the sequel, so 5 stars it is 😍 I just love this merry band of women coming together for the good of ALL, although begrudgingly, among the stars.

This space opera is a character driven story with enough danger and backstory to keep the story moving at a consistent pace. It is told from five different POVs, but I never felt like the voice where similar enough to confuse (the two characters with the most like back stories are Elis and Nyx, and you still can kind of tell which POV you are in because their priorities and alliances are different).

Our bad ass women:

-Elis: the dead-not-really princess who escaped her tyranical family in order to make them pay for a wrong they caused her. She was raised as a killing machine, but somehow, along the way, she started to get *shudders*feelings which she was totally unprepared for. Now she is fighting for the resistance and hoping to bring her family down.

-Clo: An air pilot/mechanic, Clo is no friend of Elis'. She grew up dirt poor, has a space dialect that is literred with scottish (and/or) Irish words. She joined the resistance partly because really there was nothing else for her to do, and because the empire is of course the face of all evil. DOES NOT LIKE ELIS, which might have something to do with why Clo uses a prosthetic leg. She is a very angry person, let's just say that--she was also the most forgettable of the group (at least for me).

-Adrienne- GOSH, HOW I LOVE THIS GIRL! She is the youngest of the group, but also the SMARTEST. Since birth she has been raised in captivity, which means she has basically never been around people (like ever). Nevertheless she is the heart and brains of the group, her lively interactions with everyone puts them at ease and she is super f ing helpful. Basically without her nothing could have really happened.

-Rhea - an ex-courtesan who was connected to Eris' brother and heir (but not by choice); and also sometimes to their father? Rhea is empathetic to the extreme as she is able to calm those around her as she has a nack for knowing what they are feeling. She was the pretty bird kept inside a cage until she grouped up with Nyx and Adrienne and managed to escape.

-Nyx - Oh, Nyx <3 She was raised as a soldier much like Elis, however while Elis always had free will (to a certain extent) Nyx was injected with a chip that allowed the all knowing Oracle/One to program her and basically keep her complacent (this is not just her, as I think 95% of the people in the empire have this chip). She only earned an individual name because of her prowess in battle-Nyx was always unlike those around her though, because she was one of the lucky few who managed to find her own voice in spite of her programming.

Together they make a bomb team who are looking to basically take down the patriarchy--even though not all of them sign up for the job. While Adrienne is my favorite of the bunch (I love me socially unsure characters) this book is basically Eris' story--and it is a very intriguing story at that. All of the characters have done bad stuff in their pasts, so no one is a saint (not even Sweet Adrienne) which only makes for a more juicy/complicated story.

I'd call this a lite sci-fi novel cause the sci-fi elements didn't actually get "explained" as much as the technology is used, and it does what it does and that's that. But that is totally fine with me cause I wasn't looking for hard sci-fi anyhow. I was looking for a space opera full of action, intrigue, fantastic female relationships, and great representation, and by gods that is what I got.

This book instantly reels you in with its Star Wars vibes. There is an all evil empire, hell bent on tyranny; and a resistance, hidden away on a sandy planet. But that is about where the similarities end. Seven Devils distinguishes itself with its intricate and realised worldbuilding, some very interesting characters, and a series of ITI missions (Impossible to Infiltrate).

Our heroes are not some rag-tag team, though they may seem like it. Each one of them brings something to the table, and they have trained for that for years. They all carry the burden of a sorrowful and, sometimes, dangerous past; and they all approach it in different ways. They all carry their scars on their sleeves, which is a refreshing sight from the long line of 'suffering hero with a hidden past' trope we are all used to. I really liked that even though they all have a good moral compass, they travel into the greys often.

The narrative gives space to the characters to express themselves all the while keeping the reader focused on the plot. They are intertwined with each other quite beautifully, so much so that it is hard to separate them and apply different lenses to them; which is something that I really enjoyed. While the storyline seems straightforward, the twists and the turns hide in the shadows, surprising and stressing us. The characters are so endlessly fascinating; you get morsels of their self, their past, and then you are left wanting for more, never to be satiated. They are artfully created and the tender moments they share are a sight to behold.

The book contains bisexual, lesbian, asexual, autistic and a physical disability (prosthetic) representation for three out of its five main characters, out of which the bi and autistic reps are ownvoices. There is also a side character who is a trans woman. In my opinion, all of these representations were handled gracefully, never once detracting from a character, making them seem monolithic or limiting them to their rep.

The book gives us simplistic and yet thought provoking writing. With an enchanting premise and execution, the book left me hungry for its sequel. If you are looking for a new adult or space scifi, I would highly recommend picking this up.

Thanks to DAW and Gollancz for providing me an ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest opinions.

"Yes, beautiful things were always underestimated."

🌈Fury Road meets Guardians of the Galaxy, and make it queer🌈
This was such a wild, emotional ride. It quickly became something I could not put down. This has so much detail. It's about a rebellion and a group of women who fight against the reign of a dark tyrant. Different cultures and beliefs are what builds up a war and people are being monitored and controlled by an AI.

The characters in this book are off the charts. Each of them has conflicts that lead them to wish for a downfall of an empire. We read through five characters' perspectives with regular jumps in time. And these jumps add so much characterization and emotion. The book has a way of switching between hilarious dialogues of women who would kill each other at first sight, to chapters that hold so much softness and comradery.

To summarize: soft women that will break you into pieces, queer romance, heartbreaking moments that will pull out your soul, deep cultures and political systems, and LOTS OF SPACE.

I'm honestly speechless. Thank you DAW for approving my request to read this, this was the best experience I've ever had with a scifi book. And... that untitled sequel?? Yes, please.

Before picking up this book I recommend reading the content notes Laura Lam has featured on her website. This book features graphic violence, abuse, misogyny, racism, transphobia and death. The authors have deliberately avoided on-page sexual violence.

A feminist space opera with an ensemble cast that embodies some of my favourite archetypes, Seven Devils is an adult science fiction story that delivers a promising start to a high stakes, expansive, and brutal conflict spanning across a galactic empire.

Our cast:
Eris - The Traitor Heir
Clo - The Ace Pilot and Mechanic
Nyx - The Decorated Soldier
Ariadne - The Youthful Engineer
Rhea - The Elite Courtesan

The characters are a highlight of Seven Devils, with a diverse cast where each person feels distinct and developed. It’s no small task to juggle five main POVs and make them all interesting and entertaining, but Seven Devils accomplishes this handily. Having a cast of predominantly women in a ‘take down the evil empire’ story was also a delight, as that’s not usually the case in media when this narrative is explored. Both the inner life of our main cast and the relationships between them are portrayed in realistic, human ways, and the interactions between them was largely what kept me reading.

The huge cherry on top for me was having queer women as protagonists and a WLW relationship depicted on page. There is also a trans woman as a central character and one of the protagonists seems to be asexual though the word itself isn’t used, so that was awesome as well.

The worldbuilding in this novel intrigued me from the get-go, and its presented in a way that makes the odds feel utterly overwhelming against our protagonists while still affording them opportunities to make progress. I also appreciate that there’s consideration given to how messy and morally complicated being on the side of the rebellion can be—often those aspects are painted over in favour of the clear delineation between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides. There are AIs, multiple species, lots of planets, tons of space travel, interesting tech, and compelling villains and antagonistic forces at play, which makes for an entertaining sci-fi read.

My only critique for Seven Devils is pacing. The first half of the book consists of a lot of setup interspersed with backstory flashbacks for the main cast, which made the reasonably slow pace feel even slower. By contrast, the ending is lightning fast and action packed, with a cliffhanger of the ending that reminds me why duologies are not my personal favourite cup of tea. I’m hoping the second installment will provide a more linear story since we already know the characters and their history.

Overall, Seven Devils matches the author-provided comps quite well. If you liked the space opera tension of Rogue One, the kick butt feminism in the face of the dystopian patriarchy of Mad Max: Fury Road, and the found family in space against an overwhelming enemy vibes of Firefly—except make it mostly women and some of them LGBTQ+—Seven Devils is definitely worth a read. I’m so excited to see where this story goes in its second and final installment and this is a book I’ll be adding to my recommendation toolkit.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

So, there’s an evil, genocidal, monolithic evil empire and a scrappy resistance...
Ah, heck with it. Just roll with it! It’s a good time and a fast read. There’s nothing wrong with a little light escapism!
It’s not a great book but it is a good time,

So many sci-fi/spec-fic properties glorify empire and war. SEVEN DEVILS takes a cue from what we saw glimpses of in ROGUE ONE - the darker, uglier, nastier parts of what has to be done to win a revolution - and builds a story around the people - the women - who are willing to do them. And at the beginning of their accidental mission, it's really the only thing Eris, Clo, Nyx, Rhea, and Ariadne have in common. As the stakes get higher, however, and more lives are put at risk, as individuals come together as a team, readers see what war does to hearts and minds, what it takes to be a soldier and to become a civilian again after, the ways in which power corrupts, and the ways in which all different kinds of love can change the course of history.

I also appreciated the LGBTQIA+ rep in SEVEN DEVILS and they way in which it was part of the characters without being the focus of the story. Something the genre is still working to achieve is a balance between stories in which queer is part of the plot and those in which it's a character trait but not a story device.

Most definitely hoping there is more to this story.

I tried reading this one, but I just could not get into it and decided to DNF as per my review policy. I do not think it's a bad book, but it was not my kind of science fiction story and I really was not enjoying it. I appreciated the diverse representation, but I just found the actual story to be too flat. I typically do not publicly rate or review books I do not finish. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.