The Sin Soldiers by Tracy Auerbach

The Quick Cut: A girl finds herself in trouble when a thievery goes wrong and she ends up integrated into an army that uses chemicals to induce one of the seven sins (& create a more potent soldier). 

A Real Review:

Thank you to The Parliament House for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

 What if the seven deadly sins could be used to create a more ferocious being? It's a frightening concept that isn't a new one, but still horrifying none the less. Using the weaknesses of your own against a person happens all the time in real life, but the method of turning them into chemical compounds is what turns this into a more science fiction tale. With the story of Kai, you experience what it's like to accidentally end up in this frightening scenario. 

 Kai is a thief whose robbery at Club Seven goes all wrong and gets her in the hands of an army of soldiers who use chemical compounds to induce specific sensations that over time turn them into more bestial soldiers. Red creates wrath, yellow is sloth, and blue is gluttony. Depending on a person's physiology, they will get a different compound to best bring out their vicious and perfect soldier persona. How will Kai escape before losing who she is? 

 When I read the concept of this story, I immediately wanted to read it. The deadly sins turned into a chemical solution was a fascinating idea to me and I wanted to see how the author played it out. Unfortunately, I was left wanting by the end of my time reading this one. 

 A good measure of how much I enjoy a book is how often I put it down and this one was dropped often. The science behind how the sins were made into physical form isn't nearly as explained as I hope - something that is a practical necessity for any good sci-fi tale. Beyond that, the characters really don't give you a reason to root for them. There's no distinguishing figures or struggles that makes you connect with them, which in turn makes the story fall flat. 

 An amazing concept without the benefit of a well told story. 

My rating: 2 out of 5