Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. The premise of this book sounded good, but I battled to stay interested. I’d say the last 5% really hooked me, the rest was just okay.

The main characters felt one dimensional and there was not much said for the side characters, except for in a few chapters.

I thought her journey was appropriate if a little wobbly and rushed at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for access to this title. All opinions are my own.

A new series is hitting our bookshelves this March and it is a dark romantasy featuring that fallen angel, Lucifer. I was seduced by that delicious cover and I stuck around for the story.

If you're looking for a spicy romance with a devilish MMC, then this is the book to keep you up at night or early in the morning. Our setting is New York City, where the Seven Deadly Sins have their footprint on the Big Apple. It somehow falls to their brother, Lucifer, a successful billionaire to keep them all in line. Of course, Lucifer has problems of his own, he is enigmatic and successful and the media finds his rare appearances to leave them craving more. When his company hires the young Charlotte, herself fleeing her traumatic religious upbringing, the two find themselves caught up in a mystery and a fake romance.

Blame it on Tom Ellis but I kept picturing him as Lucifer all throughout this story even if that isn't who the author had in mind. 🤣 I liked the close proximity and fake dating element of the story. The jury is still out in how I feel about Charlotte, our main female protagonist. However, the fact that she had a crazy stalker ex did make the story more interesting.

Not that I need another series added to the TBR but I feel like I am going to stick around and see where we go after that ending.


#OriginalSinner #NetGalley.
Expected Publication 25/03/25
Goodreads Review 09/01/25

Original and spicy take on the Fallen complete with secrets, betrayals, zealots, and though focused on Lucifer the gang is here along with some visits from their not so fallen brothers along the way. Clever and highly entertaining!

I mostly enjoyed this book, it gave more YA than NA though. The romance between the two characters wasn't fully believable but the banter was good and I enjoyed the spicy scenes. Often times it felt as though it dragged on. I also didn't grow up in a religious household, so it was hard for me to relate to the FMC. I wanted to like this and I was hooked at the start but then started to lose interest around the 70% mark. Then the ending felt very rushed and I struggled finishing it. I wish I enjoyed it more, but I struggled, even with the spice.

Thank you for the arc read!
This book was HOT, if you're into the idea of the seven deadly sins then this book is for you.

Charlotte, escaped from her abusive very religious family to NEw York to start a new life the way she wants to, no parents breathing down her neck on what she can and can't do. She gets a job working for Lucifer as an assistant and somehow ends up I'm a fake marriage with him.

The smut was 😘👌 where can I find my own Sin?! I was hooked from the start!

I do not think this book was for me, I stopped reading about 20% of the way in. I just couldn’t get on with the writing style, it felt clunky and a bit immature. As I did not finish it I have not written any reviews on my platforms. Thank you for the opportunity to read it though.

If you think you’ve seen every Seven Deadly Sins trope, Original Sinner rolls in, serving up enough wit and originality to steal the show.

Charlotte, fresh from an abusive, hyper-religious upbringing, bolts to New York with dreams of crafting her own life - no rules, no guilt trips, and definitely no one telling her how to live her life.

Naturally, she lands a PR gig working for Lucifer, Himself. Yes, that Lucifer, His Infernal Majesty. Filthy rich, witty, gorgeous, and frustratingly narcissist to his core, he's unapologetically all the things she's been warned away from daily, since birth. Vexed and charmed by him, in turn, before she knows it, Charlotte finds herself fake-engaged to the Prince of Darkness, in order to straighten out a PR nightmare right out of Hell.

I was hooked and read it in one shot. There's a little mystery, plenty of laughs, and a lot of delicious steam! Even the supporting cast shines, making me preemptively obsessed with the stories of the other Sins (hurry up and publish those already!).

I’m absolutely diving into the rest of the series, the wait is going to kill me!

All in all this was a very entertaining take on Lucifer as the morally gray anti-hero. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I wish more time had been spent building the relationship. There were some inconsistencies in the story that took me out of the moment, especially in the spicy scenes, but I’m sure that was fixed in the final version. Might check out others in the series in the future.

Thank you to Kait Ballenger and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.


Wow! I really wasn't sure what all I was getting myself into here, but I was not disappointed. This is obviously a "darker" romance, but I really enjoyed how the MMC didn't feel as controlling as others in this genre typically are. You felt like the FMC had some modicum of control over the things she did in the book, after she'd finally escaped her old life back in the Midwest. And I really felt for her as a character because all she wanted for herself was safety. She wanted to feel as if she could choose her own path in life, and not have to live as an abused daughter in an abusive, arranged marriage. Things that literally shouldn't be too much to ask for.

I've never read another novel where Lucifer himself is the MMC, so it was interesting to get inside his head from his POV for once. He's written in such a way that you really feel like he's not the evil entity that society has made him out to be. I wish we would have seen more of his siblings, The Originals, who were the embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins, but perhaps they will be explored a bit more in book 2, which I cannot wait for!!!

Lucifer may not be the book boyfriend we want, but he’s the book boyfriend we deserve. And truly what an angel he is.

I do wish there was more depth to the story and I wish that the date of the met gala hadn’t been changed, because it felt so strange to have the story take place in summer/early fall when nothing else mentions that. And maybe it was just a show of his power over the city but there had to have been a better way.

💥ARC review 💥
Original Sinner @kait.ballenger

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Oh boy did I devour this book. I am hooked. I want more originals and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Small cliffhanger to set the mood for the next book. Lucifer is everything you would want in an MMC. He’s tall dark and handsome, plus brooding and the ultimate villain who will do anything for the one he loves✨ I hope I can read the next books in the series because this one seriously left me thinking about the next one

This book was a WHIRLWIND! I couldn't put the book down! It was absolutely incredible and I need more yesterday! The entire time it kept me fully on my toes!

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the idea of the sins being people and them taking control of the world. I loved the romance and how messed up, but cute it was in it's own way. I liked how Lucifer realized things in the end of the book. I liked seeing the other sins and how they play a part in everyone's lives. I enjoyed this!

This was such a fun book! The MFC gets a job as an assistant at the work place of the Devil. After a frustrating meeting, she journals on her laptop her feelings about her boss and the next thing she knows it somehow gets published to the media. In order for her to fix it she now must become her bosses fake fiancé. It definitely doesn’t take long for it to get spicy.
Also didn’t see that ending coming and how Lucifer was involved the whole time.

Who ever thought sin would feel so good with the prince of darkness!? This book spicy level is off the charts! Let’s just say don’t drink anything with ice while reading this book, it’ll be melted.
This book is about a woman named Charlotte who finds herself in the city that never sleeps. She finds herself sticking out like a sore thumb until her boss, Lucifer is enchanted by her. This is where the story picks up. It’s a quick read and the scenes were spicy 🌶️. I love the anticipation and the build up with the book. The characters in the book were all relatable and realistic which is always a positive in any book. The chemistry between the two characters is very electric so much I felt the chemistry while reading. You should definitely read this book!
Spicy level 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Explicit scenes 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Thank you to Kait Ballenger, Montlake and NetGalley for providing me with an Arc! I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#OriginalSinner #NetGalley

Thank you to Kait Bellenger and her team for the ARC of Original Sinner. Dark romantasy is a newer genre for me, and Original Sinner did not disappoint. I was expecting a retelling on the 7 deadly sins upon reading the introduction to the book, however the way this is spun into a modern, complex family gave it a different feel. The FMC has a traumatic past with her ultra-religious upbringing, so landing a job for Lucifer is about as far away from her past as she can possibly get. There is a nice mix of steam, drama, and a hint of mystery as you read through this book.
I am interested in seeing where this series leads with the Original Sinners lives and look forward to reading what Kait Ballenger has in store next!

Kate Ballenger, the amazing author you are! Now let’s talk about her book ‘Original Sinner,’ the first book in a seven-book series. This book is not short of a wild wild ride that will keep you hooked. Charlotte, a small-town girl, escapes her super strict religious background and ends up working PR for Satan himself in NYC!

Lucifer is the hot, filthy-rich CEO with a wicked sense of humor and an ego the size of Manhattan. But instead of the same typical brooding bad boy, this devil’s got some personality- not without some daddy issues. I mean, if God is your dad… what do you expect?)

The best part? Charlotte somehow ends up fake dating Lucifer (Yes, the devil himself!)

The chemistry between the characters is off the charts. We are talking spicy scenes that will make you fan yourself- don’t worry, it’s all consensual, just spicy! The story moves quick, and before you know it you are few hundred pages deep at 3 AM wondering where the time went!

The book has so much going on like the Seven Deadly Sins walking topside, living the modern and happening lives in NYC for… (no spoilers!) The evangelic side with the messy love story is just amazing. The author also threw some awesome diversity in the mix with many characters, which was quite refreshing. I love the blend of the side characters in the story and the right amount of attention without them overshadowing the narrative.

Sure, there were some hiccups as well, like Charlotte can be a bit slow to uptake for a reader, and the enemies-to-lover transition feels a tiny bit rushed. The plot gets chaotic at the end, but you know what... you’ll be too hooked to care!

All in all, I would give this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars. The book is not perfect, but perfectly entertaining and sometimes it’s exactly what you need!

The book has beautiful tropes like:

-Fake dating

-Paranormal romance

-Billionaire talk, dark and handsome vibes

-Crazy/Stalker ex

-Innocent FMC

- Touch her and you….

Heads up: Now I am obsessed and I am waiting for the next book in the series. The wait is going to be torture!!!!!!!!

 Thank you NetGallery for the ARC!

Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for an eARC of this book, and this is my honest review.

I initially requested this book based on the concept of the 7 deadly sins and was really curious about how the plot would unfold based on the blurb, and I have to say that I was amazed! While at some points the plot felt very much like Fifty Shades of Grey, I loved the world-building surrounding the lore of the 7 sins, even if sometimes I felt lost in the plot - I felt like the plot became very rushed towards the end of the book (I was on the edge of my seat at all the twists!).

I really liked the FMC Charlotte, and was inspired by the strength she shows as the story developed, and how she overcame her deeply traumatic upbringing. Lucifer was 😍 - at the beginning he came across as a very cold character, with a deep dislike of humanity, but I loved to see that attitude change as he fell in love with Charlotte.

This book was spicier than I expected it to be (certainly not a complaint!) and contains BDSM elements that were definitely for fantasy entertainment purposes only and has quite a few trigger warnings that feature heavily around religion and abuse.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be checking out more of Kait Ballenger’s books in the future! 💖

Thank you to Montlake for the ARC!

A dark, modern romance fantasy adventure featuring a heavy focus on the Seven Deadly Sins, with Lucifer as the star of the show.

Lucifer is a dark and twisty character who is arguably more than a little morally grey but has a redemption arc. Charlotte is a previously sheltered, abuse survivor who is finding her feet and confidence in New York City.

I truthfully wasn’t expecting as much focus on the escape from highly religious, traumatic upbringing. But it definitely added to the plot and gave Charlotte’s storyline much more depth than just a starry eyed, naive FMC.

The spicy scenes are 🥵🫢🌶️, allowing Charlotte to shed some of her past while she discovers new preferences.

Super excited to see how the rest of the series plays out!

Absolutely loved this book! The pace was perfect, the story was perfect. That's Netahlley and to the publisher for the ARC.