I really enjoyed this book! I loved the idea, the setting and the characters. Yes, this is not a perfect book but I cant wait to see where this series goes.

I love the setting and the world. There is not a lot of world-building needed, not as much as in a fantasy book anyway. We are in space, on different planets and different ships. But I enjoyed the slow but detailed build of how the empire and the oracle (IT system) works. Everything essential to understand the world is giver very early, but it's not info-dumping. The details are giver in flashbacks and when the information is needed. I never felt like I was confused or needed more information. So yeah well done!

Character-wise, I loved Clo and Eris. Clo is the mechanic with a wide repertoire of swear words and lack of respect for authority. She is awesome! She also lost her leg during a previous mission with Eris and the tension between them are so good! And I like how she keeps referring to her prosthetic leg without it being a constant reminder, but its always there and it affects her life as it should.

I love Eris' coldness, her lack of emotions and her brutalness, but with a hint of caring. I love how she is so focused on not showing emotions so people can't tell that she can feel. Like, she needs to keep her face on so people don't know she has emotions, but also it's in her training.

The writing was very well done. For a jointly written book, I couldn't tell which part was written by who. Every single chapter felt written by the same person. I have to say tho that I don't know exactly how they co-wrote this book, but I'm used to two authors two narrators; one character per author. This was not like that. There were 5 narrators and they all felt like they were written by the same person without it feeling monotone. So well done again :)

Seven Devils, by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May, is a character-driven feminist space opera in which a thrown-together collection of badass women put their differences aside to help an embattled resistance strike back against the powerful Tholosian Empire. Once firm friends before bitterness and anger drove a wedge between them, engineer Clo and soldier Eris reluctantly team up again for what should be a relatively straightforward mission, only for things to be complicated by a trio of Tholosian defectors. The information provided by Ariadne, Nyx and Rhea gives the mismatched group of rebels the chance to strike a powerful blow to the Empire and save countless lives in the process, but in order to succeed they’ll each have to confront the pain they suffered at Tholosian hands.

There’s plenty of action and excitement right from the off, with all sorts of technological marvels and high-stakes sneaking about as the group gradually bonds, but the strength of this story is the time that Lam and May take to explore their characters’ emotions, histories and past traumas so that the setbacks, betrayals, tragedies and victories hit home with real impact. If you’re on the lookout for a smart sci-fi story with a compelling world, sharp dialogue, and a pacy, entertaining plot, featuring kickass women with well-described histories, motivations and development (not to mention queer representation), then look no further than Seven Devils.

I raced through this pacy and engaging feminist space opera. I thought Eris was a really complex, well-realised character and I loved how she was raised to be a certain type of person but was (at times struggling to become) another. I always found her story compelling, and I think her POV could have carried the whole novel. Similarly I found the plot genuinely intriguing, even though it's pretty clear from the beginning where the conflict was going to end up I still enjoyed the journey. I did feel like other characters apart from Eris, and perhaps Ariadne, had much less clear motivations, and were much more similar (Nyx felt extremely similar to Eris, and Clo also often read like a more jaded Eris). Also, I felt like much of the conflict between Eris and Clo was forced, in order to keep conflict within the group scenes. However, I really did enjoy this novel and would definitely read the sequel when it's available. It's similar to feminist space opera Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings.

I’m not sure how to summarise Seven Devils because so much happens! We have 5 main characters: Eris, an ex-heir to the throne; Clo, a natural born, mechanic; Nyx, an ex-soldier; Rhea, a courtesan for the empire; Ariadne, a teenage genius behind the workings of the Oracle. We kick of this novel with Eris and Clo being sent on a difficult intel mission, one where neither wish to be with the other. During this mission they end up colliding with Nyx, Rhea and Ariadne, Tholosian fugitives looking to join the resistance and escape the Empire. However, with the Empire’s new plans for a truce with their previous sworn enemies and suspicious findings, things don’t seem to add up, so these five are forced to work together to uncover and prevent the Empire’s plans. The fate of the entire galaxy and millions of lives rests on their success but can they pull it off when al the odds are against them?

What a fantastic read! Seven Devils has pretty much everything you could want from a sprawling space saga: great characters, detailed back story, well-built worlds and so much action! And I love where the name for the book eventually came from – nicely done!

I really enjoyed the five main protagonists that Lam and May created. Their diverse characteristics were subtly woven into the plot bringing different elements and so much more depth. With each chapter being told from one of the five perspectives we experienced such a range of emotions and responses.

I appreciated having no repetition in the chapters as we switched between characters, instead it was either a flashback or the next step of the story. The flashbacks themselves were really useful and added a lot of context to the plot and world-building without requiring a ton of effort. It almost felt like we’d read a prequel! I also loved that there were so many ‘events’ plus twists and turns within the story which didn’t all end in doom, halting the progression of the story and requiring some farfetched solution. It was refreshing to see the characters face difficulties but find ways to get through them meaning we got so much more story and the plot continually moved forward without losing out on the drama. The Sci-Fi element was pitched perfectly for me too. There was enough for us to understand the different empires, races, space craft, technology etc. without it being too overwhelming and confusing. Elements like the Oracle’s all knowing, all controlling influence were neat little complexities Lam and May added to their novel.

The chapters themselves were short and easy to get through but I did find the pacing in the first half of the book a little slow and I didn’t always feel compelled to read the next chapter. I think part of this was because Lam and May were fleshing out both the characters and the worlds. It completely paid off though! The story reached a gripping crescendo, and cleverly one that left us wanting more, despite all the action. Seven Devils ended with so much drama, I could hardly believe it when they wove in such suspense for the next novel. It had me checking to see when Lam and May were planning on releasing it (please be soon!) as they’ve proved themselves to be a stellar writing duo!

There has been quite a bit of discussion around categorising Seven Devils as an adult novel or a YA. In my opinion it’s definitely aimed more at adults, but reading is subjective so if this sounds like your thing I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gollancz for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Ok, you had me at feminist space opera, there was no coming back from that, I knew I was going to love this and it didn’t let me down. What I loved was the great mix of women that we have here, no carbon copy one dimensional characters to be found, full three dimensional fully developed and on a journey females, a real diverse cast of characters and full of representation too. The writing and world building is amazing, hooked me from the start, drew me in and wouldn’t let me go. I found myself remind3d of Firefly reading this, so that was a win for me and another reason I loved it. But basically this book is just freaking amazing, it’s shiny, it’s everything I wanted and more and I want more.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

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!

Plot:
Seven resistance fighters come together from across the galaxy to help defeat the ruthless Tholossian Empire. When the resistance gets word of a heavily guarded Tholossian ship carrying deadly cargo, they send out Eris and Clo to gather intelligence. Unfortunately, the two women have been at each other’s throats ever since Clo found out that before she joined the resistance, Eris was the heir to the corrupt Empire. The mission goes from bad to worse when they discover three fugitives on the ship and just how dangerous its cargo is.

My thoughts:
I really loved this incredibly queer and feminist book and can’t wait to see how it concludes in the sequel! I’m not a huge sci fi fan and often find it very confusing but this book was just so easy to sink into and I really enjoyed reading it.

This novel’s strong point for me was its characters, they were all incredibly diverse (sapphics, a trans woman, an asexual character and many were people of colour) and unique and I really loved their relationships and team dynamics. It was so easy to sympathise with each of them and their cause and root for them all to succeed. They felt very real and all had their own issues and motivations that were explored in their point of views which I found impressive for such a large cast (5 POV characters, 7 main characters total). I loved the way they bonded and their jokes and the found family vibes (which is one of my favourite things ever). I also really loved the romantic relationship that developed between two of the girls, it was so natural and soft and sweet.

I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book (or should I say galaxy building?). This is where I would normally get confused and lose interest in sci fi but everything was explained so well and gradually that it was very easy to follow. The actual structure of the world (or galaxy) was really interesting and I’m excited to hopefully see even more of it in the next book! This book had a good amount of action scenes and I found them very well written, the authors were great at building tension and raising the stakes and it felt like I couldn’t look away. There were also several plot twists that I just didn’t see coming which really impressed me.

My only complaint about this book was that it felt a bit slow at times. I think this is mostly down to the amount of chapters set in the past. Although I understood the necessity of them and enjoyed them, I wondered how necessary it was to have all of them? It sometimes felt like they were slowing down the pace of the book and acting as a filler. I’d say the Princess Discordia ones were necessary but the others I’m not as sure about.

Overall, I highly recommend this book! If you’re looking for a fun queer sci fi with found family vibes and a semi-functual team of misfits battling a corrupt empire then this is the perfect book for you!

“We’re all well acquainted with impossible by now.”

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of this book for review. After being so excited to read Goldilocks at the start of the year, I knew I could not pass up the opportunity to read this one.

If you’re a fan of the crew of Firefly and Guardians of the Galaxy, loved the AI in Illuminae and the villains of Aurora Rising (look, I haven’t read/watched many sci-fi things, don’t judge), you’ll probably like this book. ...Unless you’re a raging misogynist who believes women are capable of nothing...
The crew of this book are amazing. Fierce. Feminist. Five women form a ragtag team and try to save the day. You have a princess in hiding, a pilot and mechanic, a reformed soldier, a child-genius engineer and a courtesan with a secret. They shouldn’t fit together and yet they all do. Each gets the chance to tell their own story, each having their own turn at the narrative, and there was no one story I wanted to skip. Don’t ask me to choose my favourite. (Although there are some stories I can’t wait to learn more about in the sequel.)
The span of this book was immense, covering galaxies and the universe. There were different species and planets and intrigue. Layers of the world, good and bad, beautiful and ugly.
There’s an incredible f/f romance in this too. Usually, I don’t like a romance unless it’s necessary and, whilst I wouldn’t strictly say it was necessary here, it worked. It didn’t take away from the story itself, it was just a small thing at the side. I quickly become invested in it and, whenever something happened, I felt all warm inside. It also wasn’t quick. It was intimate in the way where it’s laying yourself bare and telling all your secrets, not jumping on each other at every opportunity you get.
I’ll be honest, I had a little trouble with the pacing at the start of the book. I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go. It was a lot of information and characters and flashbacks and changing POVs to immediately be thrown into. It felt a little slow at the start, but I *flew* through the second half.
The end left me with a lot of questions. A couple of things snuck up in me, a few I saw coming, but I really can’t wait to see where it goes. It didn’t leave me in the middle of a battle, but it did leave me in the middle of a galaxy-wide mess and I’m looking forward to seeing how it gets fixed.

It's unusual for me to not finish a book once I've started but I am not finding the characters or the plot particularly interesting. At 30% of the way through with plenty of other books on my tbr list I'm calling it a day with this.

I've given two stars for effort here. I like that there are female main characters and, so far as I have read, some suggestions that not everyone is straight. I also like the idea of military sci fi with women at the helm, and strong female soldier types. I'd like to see more books with these elements.

However, the characters lack depth in my opinion, and this means that I don't care enough about them to want to know what happens to them. The name Princess Discordia feels like it would belong better in one of my 5 year old's cartoons rather than in a book branded feminist sci fi.

The plot hasn't really got going by a quarter of the way through. Although we've seen Eris and Clo on their mission it just hasn't been that interesting. Their mission hasn't felt important or gripping, so I find myself in a position where I don't mind if I never find out what happens next. Hence, DNF.

Ms. Lam, Ms. May... I hate you! Why do you have to do things like eat and sleep and live your lives? Why can't you just write all the time and make me happy?! Seriously - your grocery lists would be readily accepted. "Seven Devils" is just sooooooo good... better than good... The characters are beyond awesome, the plot is intense, the writing is out of this world (and probably beyond this galaxy). I laughed, I snorted, I gasped, and a few tears escaped. "Seven Devils" has everything I want in a book (and some extras that I didn't know I wanted), and then gift wraps it... with a sparkly bow. Can I give this book 6 stars? Please?!

My thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

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.

An absolute rollercoaster of a ride full of fantastic female characters- spiky, awkward, furiously angry, broken and gentle and alive in a way that, even in 2020, few female characters get to be. I loved this book from start to finish. It reminded me of that initial, giddy rush of watching Guardians of the Galaxy, except much funnier and emotionally hard-hitting, and with better written women in it.

It's only a week until this releases and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to a wonderful sci fi story with lots of cool, different women, lots of different ways to resist, and also, lots of explosions.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I love a good space opera, especially one that features strong female characters, so this book was right up my street! The plot was fast-moving and engaging and the relationships between the characters felt very realistic. The diversity of the characters and the relationships was great, and I can't wait to read the next book.

Excuse me while I SCREAM. This book is SO DAMN GOOD. The ending has got me feeling so many things. I need the sequel immediately. Listen, for a long time I didn't think I liked sci fi, but when it's done right, sci fi is incredible. Seven Devils is one of those books that came to me at the right time and I'm so glad it exists.

Some things I love about Seven Devils:
Friends to enemies to friends again
Autistic rep
Bi rep
Trans rep
Ace rep
Rag tag team coming together to fight
Several POVs
Learning about each character's past
Betrayal
Shocking turn of events
So much hope
FEELINGS
F/f relationship
Communicating through thoughts

The ending of this book messed me up. Several parts of this book messed me up, actually. In a good way, I think. All of the main characters are likeable and that's impressive. Every POV was good to read, there weren't any that I disliked or wanted to skip. I think Rhea and Ariadne are my favourite characters, but I found Princess Discordia's POV the most interesting and I really love Xander. I'd love to see a spin off about Xander, even just a short story would do. I'm feeling so many things. Please read this book, you won't regret it.

I love both authors of this book so, obviously, I was super excited to get the chance to read it.

However, I wound up tired of the characters pretty early on and rolling my eyes. This is supposed to be an adult book but a lot of the characters acted like teenagers and I quickly tired of it. Plus Clo's vernacular was hard to read at times.

I will give this book plus points for some excellent action scenes and for being wonderfully diverse.

But it just wasn't for me sadly.

You had me at "feminist space opera".

I bloody love a good space opera anyway, but throw in some epic female leads, fantastic explorations of different types of relationships (romance, friends and family), a universe in peril and you've got me hooked.

The first book of this gripping duology follows a group of resistance fighters, from different backgrounds, coming together to fight against the Tholosion Empire who have been destroying other worlds, civilisations and races for centuries.

Each chapter is told from a different character's POV, cleverly weaving the storylines together as the characters come together.

We have fantastic queer lead characters, a trans character - whose existence and narrative is not based on being trans, she just is, and she kicks ass, and women supporting women. We love to see it.

I can't wait for the next book to continue this amazing story.

This book joins the ranks of various other 'unlikely squads in space' books that we've seen emerge over the last few years. I'm not averse to books with squads in space but I've read some that I just haven't enjoyed lately and, having been a little disappointed by Laura Lam's Goldilocks, I was nervous going into this book - was I going to be presented with blah feminist science fiction that expected me to love it because of that label?

I'm glad to say that this book is pretty intersectional as far as feminist fiction goes - I'd even go so far as to say that, for me, it gave me what I was looking for in 'ladies being revolutionaries in space' terms. I think Goldilocks might appeal to many readers looking to read a very human experience whereas this book edges more into the unfamiliar side of science fiction (which I think may be the side on which I am more comfortable residing...is it because it's closer to fantasy? Probably). 

The book opens with Eris and Clo but other characters soon join the cast (and we get POV chapters from almost all of them). I enjoyed Eris and Clo's dynamic and I liked the way the book was told through a mixture of action in the 'present' as well as flashbacks. I'm always here for a book that gradually reveals the motivations of a character and this book does it well. I do think that some chapters fall a little short, feeling like they are written from two perspectives rather than the one, which can make things feel unnecessarily jumbled. As with most books with a large cast of characters, I think the second book will likely be stronger just because it will have to do fewer introductions. I have to say I think my favourite characters were Clo and Ariadne - though there wasn't a character I didn't like - which is very unusual for me.

We have WLW representation as well which I thought was well done, you definitely get the sense that the authors wanted to write romantic scenes with a focus on consent and I actually thought it worked very well (having read examples where it felt clunky). That romance is a nice breather in a book that has quite a lot of difficult and dark segments.

There is a lot to keep track of in this book - and I will say that I had a hard time finishing this. I don't know if it was the difficulty of reading it in Ebook format - not being able to see how much was left - or just the complexity of the plot but it took a while. Typically I can read a book of this size in a day - maybe two if I'm particularly busy. And...ok it did only take me three days but it was a concerted effort to get to the end. I think the pacing is just a little off at times and it makes certain segments drag. It also - due in part to the aforementioned introductions - takes a while to get to the meat of the plot which can add to that sense of a book taking longer than it 'should'. 

That being said, once I finished this book my overwhelming impression was that I had enjoyed it. I liked the characters, I liked the plot, I liked the romance - I liked pretty much everything. As far as 'space squads' go this is probably the best one I've read. I think it might be one to re-read in the future now I have a better idea of who and what is important to the story? So I'll pop it on my 'to reread' list and probably get to it in three years! 

Overall I'd say if you enjoy YA science fiction I think you'll enjoy this book - it's probably also a good crossover book if you like both YA and Adult, it's somewhere in the middle. It has some solid ideas and I think it's intersectional enough that it can wear the 'feminist' label proudly. 

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley - all opinions are my own. 

Seven Devils is out August 6th!

I adore Laura Lam's writing style anyway, but when paired with Elizabeth May it just gets even better. Who even imagines up a YA feminist 'Guardians of the Galaxy' style romp in space with queer characters, a heist and incredible technological voodoo?! This is a truly brilliant read with relatable characters and plot and is one of those books where I wish I had waited to read it as I need the next one immediately!

I enjoyed this story and the characters who were forced together and ended up becoming family. I really liked all the characters and how they were all different and yet managed to slowly work together.

However i did find the story took a while to get going and dragged at times but it is a complex world so i can see that we need time to learn the world and understand the politics and the situation each of the women found themselves in.

We get a combination of chapters in flashbacks and present day so we got a lot of background information of each of the characters which helped to flesh the characters out and help us to understand why they made the choices they did. There are a couple of morally grey characters but it was interesting to see how they tried to make up for all the death that they wreaked.

I really enjoyed the second half and the way they had to try to stop the empire from enslaving even more worlds although i did find the ending a bit rushed and everything happened so quickly. I wish we had gotten to see more of the ending and everything that happened.

Overall i enjoyed the story and i am looking forward to seeing where the story will go next.

It's quite a slow read, taking me most of a full day to read it. I'm not quite sure why - on the surface it feels like it should be very action packed. It's not slow in a bad way, more a richly-written way.

My favourite part was the exploration of brainwashing and how conditioning can remain even after people are "free". We see this in the soldiers who have their implants removed (the whole oracle conditioning is frankly horribly 1984 level of manipulation taken up a notch to neural reconfiguration and *shudders*) and how part of Eris seeks the approval of those who have abused her.

It's a big world, not flashy and glamorous (the settings that are more glam are shown to have a rotten core), but very dirt. I could feel the oil and grime of the spaceships, could see the different climates and worlds they visited. I could have gladly spent more time exploring with them.

Despite all the alien technology and far-future world, it didn't feel like a techno-babble world without care for the laws of physics. I could more or less follow it all, and didn't have to suspend my disbelief too much. The only comment I do have on the world building was that I wasn't quite sure exactly what the One was or how it was related to the Oracle.

I really appreciated that we knew about Eris' identity almost from the get go (like 4 chapters in?). It meant that the consequences of that and her backstory could be really dug into, rather than it being sprung as a big reveal.

This is a book that has a lot of chapters in the past, which dig into the characters' motivations and experiences. Eris, being the main character, gets the most time - her twisted relationship with her brothers and father.

Clo's dialect is the best, voiciest part of the characters. I could tell her apart immediately from everyone else. The others' voices ran together a bit, but not hers, and her slang made me chuckle.

The title doesn't really fit, in my opinion. With a title like that, given the blurb, I'd been expecting seven POV characters, instead I got five. Two were the primary characters, taking more than half the page time between then - if not two thirds - and the other three were secondary. One of the three smaller POVs took a long while to feel necessary.

So why the title? "Seven Devils" is a swear used in the book, and then at the very end, they look around the team (plus two extras) and go "yeah, we should be called the Seven Devils". One of the seven has a very minor role, and the other non-POV is a late edition.

The book doesn't quite have the massive cliff hanger ending typical of a duology, as there's space for a slight resolution. However, it's very much a "things have gone badly" ending that makes me want to read the next book.