Shadows of the Seven Sins — Emily Colin

Cordelia Navarro was born to blood and sacrifice. She was also born to love cherry puff pastries, especially the ones from Dev Adelman's family's bakery on the City Road… So begins the spellbinding short story collection set in the world of the award-winning Seven Sins series, from the New York Times bestselling author of Sword of the Seven Sins. In the oppressive Commonwealth, where defying the High Priests and the vicious Bellatorum warriors means execution or exile, people live and die by the Seven Deadly Sins. In the world beyond the Commonwealth's borders, an ancient species fights for the right to survive. In one society, love is punishable by death. In the other, royal blood dictates marriage. In both, no laws can govern the heart. Enter the thrilling world of the Seven Sins in these interconnected short stories. Two childhood friends, one shape-shifting royalty and one a baker's son, secretly fall in love. When his family suffers a horrible tragedy, he convinces her to use her influence to go to war. But is he acting out of love, or revenge? When a teen in the Commonwealth spies his best friend, Ari, kissing a girl, he knows the punishment for Ari is death. In that moment, he realizes something else: he is in love with Ari. When a band of bellators passes nearby, Gentian risks his own life to keep Ari's secret. But can he protect the lovers from certain death? A boy the Commonwealth's bellators have always underestimated uses his unique knowledge to aid the rebellion—and changes the course of history. In the pages of this gripping collection, dive deeper into the stories of your favorite characters from the Seven Sins series and meet new ones. Discover dark secrets they've been hiding. And witness the courage of rebels who risk their lives again and again for love, justice, and freedom. Praise for the Seven Sins Series WINNER of the 2021 North Carolina Indie Author Award in Young Adult FictionWINNER of the Gold IPPY Award in Young Adult FictionFINALIST for the 2020 & 2021 Foreword INDIES Award in Young Adult FictionSHORTLISTED for The Manly Wade Wellman Award for Science Fiction and FantasyWINNER of the 2022 Gold Moonbeam Award for Best Book Series I couldn't stop reading. This is the best book I've read in a long time. —Michelle MacQueen, author of We Thought We Were Invincible, for YA Books Central Powerful, hopeful, sexy, and unsettling. —Heidi Ayarbe, award-winning author of Freeze Frame Sizzling hot and exploding with tension.—Lisa Amowitz, award-winning author of Breaking Glass An absolutely mind-blowing, spine-tingling, action-packed extravaganza…an electrifying, imaginative, phenomenally well-written book. —Emerald Book Reviews With the propulsive action and addictive romance of Shatter Me, the high-stakes twists-and-turns of The Hunger Games, and the fantastical world-building of From Blood and Ash, the award-winning, slow-burn, romantic dystopian fantasy Seven Sins series will pull you in, break your heart, and never let you go.