5 August 2022

Pride (The Call for Finis Book 1) – A.J. Torres

Synopsis

Seven sins. Seven hosts. One city purged. After everything you’ve learned, can you still stand with your faith, or finally rise up against it?

Salvia VerdaderaFe has signed a pact with Ultor, a demon of Infernos, to enact the end of all and purge the world of sin. Ultor and six others were granted permission to enter the middle world of Eldara, bound to mortals by the Seraphim of Hevellum. Upon his arrival a messenger of Hevellum should have been waiting to assign him his task, unfortunately the messenger did not appear and thus his mission is a mystery. Along their journey through the country of Marlela, they are set upon by a group of Templar Equitums, bearers of virtue and enforcers of the Cirine faith. From their encounter their destination is revealed. Their journey to Lumen Magnum begins.

Review

*Trigger warnings? Lots of pain, wounds, blood and death. All kinds of abuse, but not descriptive.*

Salvia is a young woman whose town was destroyed and everyone she loved was killed. She was chosen as a vessel for Ultor, a demon sent to eat the soul of sinners.

This pact granted her some powers like controlling fire and being able to point the sinners through it.

Lumen Magnum was a city where the religion was used to control people. Under the leadership of the Papa Regem, the city grow full of sinners that felt better that any other specie, even race. In brief, it was a city full of sinners and the Almighty One decided to put it a stop.

Ultor and six other demons were allowed in this world to perform a ritual called Finis. Basically the end of the world, but in this case just inside the corrupted city and without damage to the innocents.

This book was NOT what I expected, but in the best way.

It is written in omniscient narrator (third person) and in present tense. I don’t like present tense, this always bothers me, but this is just personal taste. About the narrator, this was my favorite when I first started reading, before I discovered first person books, but then I got so used to these that I had a hard time getting into the book at first. But once I got accustomed again, the story became extremely engaging.

For some reason I just assumed the basic plot would be a romance between Salvia and Ultor. But I was absolutely wrong.

At least for me, the real plot and the best of this book is the change of mind that Baldric and Zinnia are forced to affront when they find out the truth about their religion and that they have been told lies all their lives.

I absolutely loved this book, even thought it felt a little like a bucket of cold water. It’s one of those stories that leave you thinking. Totally recommend.