Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

DNF at 25%.

I really did try and want to like these characters, but I felt like they were being written into something they're not. The seven deadly sins were not deadly, our heroine was, in my opinion, annoying, and I just didn't feel any chemistry between the characters.

3.5 stars (rounded up)

Original Sinner is an urban romantasy reimagining of the seven deadly sins, who are ultra-powerful fallen angels controlling New York City. This story follows Lucifer (aka "Pride"), the CEO of Apollyon, and Charlotte Bellefluer, a mortal human feeling an oppressive fundamentalist upbrining. Charlotte finds herself working at Lucifer's company and lands herself in a fake engagement to Lucifer.

Overall, I found the chemistry and tension to be intriguing; however, the pacing was a bit too fast for what I enjoy in a romance. Their romance developed within what felt like a few pages and I couldn't feel the emotional draw between the characters. I liked some of the banter and "I'll burn the world down for you" aspects, but I wish I had more emotion to make me feel the chemistry between these two. The ending left me wanting to pick up the next book immediately, so I'm excited to continue on!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

wow wow wow!

this definitely goes into my favorites collection. I loved the story and and how things played out with Lucifer and Charlotte!

I was intrigued by the overall story of the Seven and can't wait to see more from each character!

Thank you Montdale and NetGalley for letting me read this bomb ass book! Okay, so I didn’t just read Original Sinner—I devoured it between coffee sips. Charlotte Bellefleur is my spirit animal—escaping Bible Belt oppression only to publicly roast the literal Devil of NYC. Spoiler: he retaliates with fake engagement PR tactics that burn hotter than sin itself, and—of course—I was all in. Lucifer is chef’s kiss. A sexy amalgam of mythic pride, corporate coldness, and surprising tenderness (he actually asks for consent in the playroom). I rooted for Charlotte as she dismantled purity culture and claimed her body and joy back. Sure, the world-building juggles murder mystery, romance, and fallen-angel board politics—and yes, I got dizzy—but by the final twist I was too invested to care. Pass the Gabriel, because I need the next in this sinful trilogy NOW!!! Spice Level: 5/5 — This book is gloriously, unapologetically hot. Think “playroom” dynamics, “yes, sir,” “good girl,” and temptation dripping off the page

Catching up on my backlog of reviews means I need to go back and recall some of the books I read months ago, but this is not a hard one to remember. An original take on both the Lucifer origin story and the seven deadly sins, this urban fantasy romance is dark, edgy, and sexy!

This book had some really unique plot points going for it, and I was invested in the storyline for sure. However, in many places, the characterization tripped me up. Lucifer is truly an asshole, and in some parts I found myself hating him, but then I had to remind myself that was sort of the point, so I can’t hold that against the book itself. Charlotte was a hit and miss FMC for me. I liked her recovering from a purity/evangelical background and gaining her independence and confidence. The overreliance on the spicy scenes and BDSM playroom dynamic sometimes felt a little too on the nose. What frustrated me the most though was the fact that we expected the couple to be together and into each other and yet it felt kind of like they loathed each other the entire novel? By the end, we are supposed to really buy into the notion that they love each other, but I wasn’t super bought into the idea… The sequel (review to come) complicated this even further. When I first read this I gave it 4⭐, but in reflecting further, I am bumping my rating down to 3⭐

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

A fantasy book featuring Lucifer? Bring it on!!

The Story:
Charlotte is new to NYC and discovers she is working under Lucifer, Prince of Hell. A misunderstanding throws them together more than each of them would like to. But will they be able to overcome their differences and work together? And can Charlotte ever trust the honey-tongued Devil?

My Thoughts:

🔴Book comes with a set of TW. Read before starting.🔴

Erotic books are a gamble for me. Sometimes, they start on the heavy stuff within 2 pages and I cannot bear to see people who don't know anything else about each other than their names boinking and declaring their deepest love for each other. On the other hand, if an erotic book doesn't have smut within the 50% mark, does it even qualify??

I am sure it is difficult to balance. And I am happy that author Kait Ballenger has succeeded in this endeavour. Sure, there is smut within the first 25%, but at least they are not declaring their undying love!!

That said, the love angle seemed underdeveloped. Lucifer and Charlotte hate each other's guts but suddenly they are developing feelings and caring for each other? While I could accept Charlotte doing this because of her naivete, I cannot say the same for Lucifer. You mean to tell me that an ancient being and the Prince of Hell, no less, found love with this human girl so soon? Well...

The story also deeply resembled both Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray. Substitute Lucifer with Edward/Christian and you end with Original Sinner. But one thing I liked was that Lucifer was not half as possessive as Gray neither as creepy as Edward. How he can be the Devil himself but also surpass other popular heroes in decency, I cannot imagine.

Anyhoo

The rest of the book was quite gripping. The murder mystery, the mystery of the mis-sent email, and the various intrigues of the different vices kept me coming back for more. Everything tied off neatly in the end, while also promising a good sequel where more questions will be answered. I was infinitely fascinated with Greed/Mammon and would like to read her book as soon as possible, please. As for Lucifer, I had a great time imagining Tom Ellis in this role.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for sending this ARC. This review is voluntary; all opinions are my own.

This book had me hooked right from the dedication: “To the women who felt shame and still turned the page … Good girl.” Damn! More, please!

Original Sinner is a masterful blend of mouthwatering spice (the devil has a playroom, y’all! This is not a drill!), a very real exploration of religious trauma and recovery, and moving discussions of love. The characters were fully fleshed out, funny, endearing, and sexy as hell. Lucifer, of course, was everything you’d want him to be and then some.

I love Charlotte. She’s so strong and goes after what she wants and I respect the hell out of her. But Lucifer…he’d burn the world for her, and I’d burn the world for him. Of all the book/tv versions of Lucifer (or Hades, etc.) I’ve encountered, this one just might be my favourite. (And that’s saying something, because I’ve yet to meet a Lucifer/Hades/whoever that I haven’t happily fallen madly in love with while wilfully ignoring every single red flag.)

And, naturally, the spice hits perfectly. It features “yes, sir,” “good girl,” and “Daddy.” It centres around temptation and wicked desire. There’s so much more that I wouldn’t dream of spoiling for you (and which would potentially get me banned from all of my review platforms if not censored properly) but just let me tell you…I immediately screamed at some of my friends to go read this book as soon as physically possible. And all of this spiciness is served atop a background of workplace romance turned fake dating. The very self-aware FMC even says, “We’re boss and employee. Enemies and lovers. And now, reluctant friends, it seems.” But like, with a sprinkle of some BDSM for good measure, not to mention a pulse-pounding plot. Bless you, Kait Ballenger. You’re officially one of my favourite people.

My only regrets with this book are that I got so bogged down with ARCs that this was well-published by the time I finally read it, but at least I was still on time to snag the ARC of the sequel. When I say I cannot wait…I mean that very, very seriously!

3⭐️ read for me! It was sexy and dark and romantic but it was definitely tricky to understand more of the plot sometimes. I enjoyed the idea a lot, but sometimes the pacing needed to quicken! I still think this was a great dark romance for beginners!

So Pride (aka Lucifer) is our mysterious, irresistibly tempting love interest, while his siblings are out here running brothels and being media influencers like it's a normal Tuesday. When our FMC's private rant about him gets leaked to the press, suddenly her job is on the line because whoops—he's her boss! To distract from family drama and power struggles, Lucifer decides to spin this as a lovers' spat and demands she play his fake fiancée. She just needs to smile for the cameras and be a good girl. But plot twist: his darkness is awakening her own wicked side, and maybe a little extra sin is exactly what she needs to heal from a lifetime of shame.

This book had me absolutely hooked—I devoured it in one sitting! There's mystery, plenty of laughs, and seriously delicious steam. Even the supporting cast of other Sins had me already obsessed and desperately wanting their stories (seriously, where are those books?!). Perfect for anyone who wants their devils devastatingly hot and their fake relationships steamier than hell itself!

1,5⭐️
Original Sinner had such a promising concept, a dark romantasy with Lucifer as a love interest, a city ruled by the seven deadly sins, fake dating, spice, chaos? I was ready for a wild ride… but unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me.

Let’s start with the good:
- The pacing was great. The story moved quickly, and even when I wasn’t loving the characters, I still wanted to see what would happen next. It had that kind of chaotic, over-the-top energy that keeps you saying “okay, one more chapter,” even if you’re side-eyeing most of it.

Now the not-so-great:
- The characters really threw me off. The FMC felt inconsistent, one moment she was an innocent good girl, the next a bratty, materialistic "celebrity girlfriend." Lucifer had potential (and yes, I was picturing Tom Ellis like everyone else 😂), but aside from his filthy mouth and broody vibe, he didn’t leave much of an impression.
- The romance? Super lust-heavy from the beginning, which made it hard for me to buy into the emotional arc later on. It’s marketed as enemies-to-lovers, but there wasn’t any real “enemy” tension, just immediate attraction and a lot of spice. I didn’t feel the connection between them.

Also, I have to say… the writing was not my style. There were way too many “growling” moments (like seriously, so many growls 😅), and a few scenes left me confused about what was happening, like we were missing parts of the character’s inner dialogue or transitions.

That said, if you’re into steamy, fast-paced romance with a darker twist and don’t mind when things lean more spicy than emotional, Original Sinner might be your kind of fun. It wasn’t mine, but hey, not every book has to be.🤷🏽‍♀️

Big thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC! 💜

Came across this randomly browsing and downloaded it because—Lucifer romance? Yes, please. The beginning was great, especially the first meeting and her first days at work.

The FMC is super young (23) and it shows—kind of immature and indecisive, though not enough to ruin it. I wanted more from side characters like her boss Imani and her friends, but those plotlines kind of went nowhere.

Some scenes were confusing or felt inconsistent, like mentions of aftercare or certain physical details that weren’t clearly set up. And a few emotional reactions felt way over the top, especially toward the end.

Still, I enjoyed it overall (minus one scene involving a belt—just not for me) and I’ll definitely read book 2.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I had such a wonderful time interviewing Kait about Original Sinner! What a freaking ride! Go pick up this book now!

Ballenger offers a dark, fun, entertaining twist on a well-known story in Original Sinner. The dual POV style allows readers to enter the minds of both Charlotte and Lucifer. The story is well-paced and engaging – not to mention, dark, sexy, and sinful. I loved watching the main characters get to know each other. Their love story, while unconventional and unexpected, was fun and entertaining. They helped each other grow.

Some of Charlotte’s behavior was contradictory, but I sense it is less due to storytelling and more because of her overcoming ingrained behaviors. Some descriptions were redundant, and some plot points are hard to keep track of. Plus, if readers haven’t guessed by now, triggering content and explicit language and scenes unfold throughout the story. Nevertheless, the story has plenty of twists and turns in addition to mystery and steamy moments.

This was one of those books that we wanted to like. It had everything you would be looking for in a dark sexy romance. Unfortunately the book just did not hit the mark for us. The reason why the FMC was hired is also the reason why she is criticized in this book. Lucifers motives and actions seemed to contradict themselves and when we finally make it to the end of the story, the reason why this is all happening really does not make any sense.

Lucifer, throughout this book, continually says that he does not want to be in the eyes of the public but forces the FMC, Charlotte, to be with him for him to help but the negates his previous sentiments in almost he same breath. It really did feel like a ping pong game. Although it was fun to learn about the other sins and try to figure out who was trying to sabotage the siblings, I felt this book was lacking in a lot of ways.

We do want to thank NetGalley and Kait Ballenger for sending us this arc in exchange for our honest review. What we want to come down to in this review is that this book was not for us. There is definitely an audience who will eat this up.

I really enjoyed this hot romantasy novel! Thank you so, so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title!

Blurb:
The seven deadly sins keep high profiles in the Big Apple: Lust runs brothels, Sloth’s a media streamer…you get the picture. Pride, though, he’s more mysterious. You might know him as Lucifer—temptation irresistibly embodied. The paparazzi are dying for some burning-hot gossip. So when someone publishes my scathing but private rant about him, they eat it up. And now my job is on the line. After all, he is my boss.

With his vicious siblings vying for his power, Lucifer needs to distract the press, so he reframes my tirade as a lovers’ spat, demanding I play the devil’s fiancée. I need to be a good girl, smile for the cameras, nothing more.

But cocky and cruel as he is, his darkness awakens something wicked in me. Sexy and in control, he might just be the cure—an extra dose of sin to heal me from a lifetime of shame and subservience.

And I like it.

This was a fantastic novel. Great story, with good spice. Kait Ballenger has become a must-read author. Looking forward to future books!

Thanks for the ARC!

Hot damn this book was spicy, and I was here for it. I loved the spice, the drama, the tension. And I can't wait for the next one!

In New York City, The Seven Deadly Sins are alive and well with a series of successful businesses. From popular media streamers to PR reps to nightclub owners, Greed, Wrath, Lust, Sloth, Envy, and Gluttony do what they want and take all they can. Pride, better known as Lucifer, does all he can to stay out of the spotlight. On the run from an abusive and very Evangelical ex-husband, a young woman steps into New York to try and reclaim her autonomy and sexuality. After an awkward run in with her new boss, Lucifer, someone secretly publishes her private rant about her new boss. The paparazzi goes wild over any information on Lucifer they can get their hands on. In an attempt to keep his dangerous siblings under control, Lucifer uses his new employee to pose for the cameras as his new fiancé. Both might be in danger, but they are having the time of their lives.

If you powered through all of the television show Lucifer and really just wanted him to introduce his love interest to kink, Original Sinner is for you. If you’re a recovering Bible scholar former Evangelical nerd, this book is going to rub you the wrong way. The demons in charge are named and shamed, but often with incorrect details for people who have spent way too much time reading about the Goetica for fun. Go in reminding yourself that this is a work of dark romance and not the Book of Enoch and you’ll be fine. Author Kait Ballenger doesn’t shy away from introducing the reader to Lucifer’s playroom or his kinks. This is absolutely a dark romance from page one, and Original Sinner never lets you forget that.

I more or less enjoyed this book. While I don't get how these two fell so deeply in love with each other after minimal time spent together, it didn't exactly make me mad. Really, I was pretty ambivalent about both of the main characters. While I'm happy that neither one of them annoyed me, they also didn't really make me care about them either. I do like the idea of the sins being real people and them being banished to live with the humans. It did have spice to the story, but I can't help but think that some of the more fun times ended up being more of a "fade to black" type thing where we don't actually get anything except after the fact.

So this first book centers around Lucifer. Unlike all his other siblings he has chosen to rarely ever make any sort of public appearance, so there is a huge mystery about him. Even so, he is the one that controls the city and he's determined to keep that control so he gets the prize at the end. But things get messy when he's accused of murder at one of his brother's clubs and later a scandalous article gets published about him.

That article's author? Charlotte. Charlotte had been raised in pretty much a religious cult and her father practically sold her to his biggest supporter to wed. She makes her escape, stealing what little money she could, and makes her way to NYC where she's determined to make her own life. And she's going to do that by working for one of the very evils her father preached about. She has no idea how she even managed to get the job working at Lucifer's company, let alone planned to find herself dumped into such an important role her first day. She worked so hard on her projects that when Lucifer tore her down in front of the rest of his board the only way she could expel her hurt and anger was to write it out all. And because she didn't delete it, all the horrible things she said about him get stolen and published for all to see.

So to fix that situation a plan was created to have Charlotte act as Lucifer's fiance until a set date. These two sort of play house and Charlotte starts to see the real man inside of Lucifer. Aside from that, we have Lucifer trying to figure out who was behind setting him up. Which honestly was more interesting. There was always something happening and people with dubious motives, all leading up to quite literally an explosive climax. Where we get a traitor (which was predicable at this point) and Charlotte's one really stupid action leads her to suffer worse than ever. The ending wasn't bad. I don't really know if I liked it, but I didn't not like it either.

Honestly, I don't know if I would want to read the next one. No, this wasn't bad. But it also never had me all that excited about it. Guess we'll have to see what the next one is all about because I'm sure I'd still give it a shot.