Of Fate and Fury: A Deadly Sin Anthology

by Lina C. Amarego

In a beginning, somewhere between everywhere and nowhere, a family lived. A family of seven children, born to the bloodline of the Fury of Death, a horseman of the gods, and a human mother. The union both blessed and cursed, the jealous gods condemned them, sending the other Furies to enact their vengeance, declaring the heirs abominations of nature, and burying them beneath the weight of unspeakable tragedy. But not all was lost. Through the darkness, the three fates granted the children an opportunity for redemption through reincarnation. Their destinies, written and woven into the books of fate. Their lives, lived over and over again, as the seven deadly sins. This collection of short stories follows the tales of Greed, Pride, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, and the forgotten eighth sin, as they navigate the trials of forgiveness, love, identity, and redemption. Even sins seek salvation.

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Fiction

392 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2022

About the author

Growing up on the east coast in small-town New Jersey, Lina spent her early days playing pretend and making up stories for her friends and family, a pastime that would soon turn into a lifelong passion for storytelling in all its forms. A recovering theatre kid at heart and a therapist by profession, Lina loves the study of human behavior and relationships, infusing both into her writing craft. When she's not scribbling ideas about fictional worlds into the margins of her notebooks, Lina spends her time reading anything she can get her hands on, driving her husband crazy with her wild daydreams, and snuggling her adorable pup.

Reviews

[Lucy Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

The moment I got my advanced copy I started reading because I was sooo hyped for this anthology. Seven deadly sins? I mean AWESOME. And let me tell you that I was blown away in every way imaginable. I couldn’t put the book down. Each character was so well written and so captivating that I could have read triple the amount I did read and not have been bored. This is an absolute must read (check trigger warnings at beginning of book).

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Tears were shed.
Laughs were guffawed.
Fates were Furied.

Such a great collection of stories that features masterful storytelling, representation, depth and intrigue. They were all intertwined and cleverly written. Honestly I will need to reread so that I can fully comprehend the Easter eggs and allusions. HOPE!

“I CARED, an unforgivable flaw.”

My goodness, this is such an admirable project. I truly applaud the authors for their efforts and the triumph of this undertaking. 👏

There's also a lot to unpack. The different ways people cope, or don't cope, with trauma and life events. Different methods of grieving and that even immortals with centuries of chances stumble and limp forward. The attention to mental health was greatly appreciated.

"Now her lips bent into a wretched shape, golden joy diving into vivid blue gloom, and she shrugged the shoulder that bore her violin."

I feel like there's something here for everyone. Unique voices, relatable struggles and difficult family dynamics.

“Despair had the distinct taste of acid and ash.”

Now I need a fanfiction where they all reunite for family dinner. 👀

ALSO THE ART. The chapter dividers were such a lovely addition to the story!

I received this ARC in exchange for a review however all thoughts and opinions and entirely my own.

[Merrit Townsend (always1morebook) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of fate and Fury is an anthology with several different authors writing their version of one of the 7 deadly sins.

I saw this book via a book tour and couldn't wait to join. The moment that this book hit my kindle, I started reading. What is better than 7 different versions of the seven deadly sins. What was so unique is that each author took their sin and made it their own with stories being told from contemporary, historical and paranormal views. I loved how original this book was and how it all came together. each chapter is a take on a sin. such an original concept and I loved every second. go give this one a look and enjoy. I give this story 4.5 stars due to a a few of the stories that didn't exactly flow but were still entertaining.

[Selena-Marie books_cats_andchemistry_tt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Omg that opening. This is the first anthology I've read and it's amazing. The personification of the 7 deadly sins, absolute perfection. The stories flowed seamlessly into one another which is absolutely amazing considering that each story was written by a different author.

The use of imagery was phenomenal. The use of colours and tastes to convey the characters' emotions.I could actually see what the characters are seeing and feel their emotions.

Definitely a 10/10 read. And will be checking out other work done by the authors.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

HAPPY TWO DAYS TILL RELEASE ❤️❤️

Of Fate and Fury is an anthology where seven children born as the seven deadly sins are condemned by the gods to live lives full of tragedy. But, the three Fates offer them redemption through reincarnation. And, there’s a secret eighth sin…

AHHHH!!! When I was approved for this ARC I was so excited! It was so fun to read and each story portrayed the seven deadly sins in a way that I haven’t seen before. It felt fresh and fantastical and maddening and tear-jerking??

I think my favorite part was seeing how, although each character embodied a specific sin, there were times where they would exhibit traits from others (AKA envy portraying wrath, etc.). It felt so natural to me and made it fun trying to figure out which sin was associated with each chapter. ALSO THE ART BETWEEN CHAPTERS IS INCREDIBLE!!

There are content warnings at the beginning of the book and I urge you to read them before you dive into the stories. Stay safe and read at your own risk ❤️

Overall 4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. Thank you again to my tiktok moot for the ARC and I can’t wait to see everyone’s thoughts once this comes out!

[EmeraldFae13 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book. Of Fate and Fury: A Deadly Sin Anthology was such a fun read. I enjoyed each author’s unique writing style and story line. I loved all the cameos of the sins throughout the book.

[Z King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story had me hooked from the beginning. The Prologue was told in such a unique way, I was left intrigued. The level of talent and sure uniqueness in this anthology alone, makes me wish it was longer!🤣 I did not want this one to end! It was beyond amazing.

[Caroline | caro.library · Rating 4 out of 5]

The interpretation of fates, furies (the four horsemen of the apocalypse), and the seven deadly sins in this anthology as reincarnating, cursed individuals is so creative and unique. Each short story brings a version of a different sin to life and stands on its own, but the stories are all interconnected, featuring recurring characters. It is clear that a lot of care and cooperation went into the creation of this anthology, including the interior layout of the book with stunning illustrations for the title page of each story.

The stories range in genre from historical to high fantasy to magical realism, typically featuring several flashbacks between the sins’ current and past lives while dealing with themes of guilt and forgiveness, grief and healing, pain and love. As is the case with most anthologies, I enjoyed some stories more than others, but the overall quality was very high.

This is a solid batch of stories from up-and-coming indie fantasy authors!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC.

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[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Even sins seek salvation."

Each child born to the Fury of Death, cursed with a different sin, chasing redemption through each incarnation. Each life, story, memory... hopefully bringing them closer to happiness that sticks.

Each story further into the anthology adds more pieces to the puzzle. It's so fun to have these little "ah ha!" moments throughout the book.

This book does a beautiful job showing trauma, hope, sadness, loneliness, joy. The sibling interactions are so believable are authentic.

This collection of stories shows how you can live hundreds of lives, and still struggle with what it means to be here, living. How small moments, single people, can stick with you no matter how short your time together.

I really enjoyed it.

[Emily ~ emhoardsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of Fate & Fury is an anthology that asks the question: What if the 7 deadly sins were siblings who kept reincarnating into hundreds of lives as punishment from the gods? And it is just as wild and wonderful as it sounds.

Each sin/sibling has their own short story written by a different author. I loved the uniqueness of each one. The authors were clearly able to weave in their own style while also balancing references to the other stories. I could tell they worked closely to create different stories that at the end still came together in a cohesive, satisfying way.

This anthology was magical and full of all the love and drama that comes with a big family. I definitely recommend giving it a try!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[A.J. Lexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of Fate and Fury: A Deadly Sins Anthology features 8 short stories by 7 talented authors. Each narrative examines the personification of the seven deadly sins as they reincarnate over and over again. This was an ambitious project that absolutely paid off and is perfect for anyone who enjoys subverted tropes and re-imaginings of lore.

Overall, the writing craft and interconenctive tissue across all stories was impressive. But as with any body of work featuring many different voices, there were a few stories that rose to the top for me.

I was blown away by my first dive into the sins with The Master of Nothing (Sloth), by L.E. Reiner. It gave off major Addie LaRue vibes with a protagonist I was fascinated by immediately. Reiner’s prose and seamless storytelling really tied all this in a neat, beautiful bow and left me longing to know more.

I might’ve smiled too much while reading Refuse Thy Name (Pride), by Lina Amarego. It had everything that gets me giddy about a story: a protagonist I love but feel like I shouldn’t, shameless banter, reluctant/forbidden romance and a slew of other gems. I loved the simplicity of the plot, but the complexity of the characters in such a short timeframe.

Another story that stayed with me was Forget Me Not (Greed), by Cass Maren. The prose was musical, emotional and completely not what I would expect from the sin of greed. I was already familiar with this author’s work, who has a talent for writing gritty characters. So it was an absolute treat to read such a soft, heart-on-their-sleeve, poised but strong character.

For all I loved within this book (and there’s a lot), there were some aspects I felt would’ve helped make this work even stronger. I sometimes got confused by all the different names. This made it a little tough to recall who was who, from story to story. There were times some of the stories felt too similar, mainly when it came to the types of magic involved. Lastly, I was a bit thrown at how some stories took place in the modern world and others in a completely different realm. This may be personal preference, but since all the siblings were from the same universe, I would’ve preferred if they’d all been from either the modern world or completely unique ones.

This level of collaborative talent is not something I’ve read before and I have a lot of appreciation for how the authors remained authentic to the stories they wanted to tell, while working together to craft a much bigger story. Not an easy feat!

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really wanted to like this book, but in the end it was just a bit too confusing for me. I liked most of the short stories individually but together they lacked cohesion. With each short story being told by a different author and having absolutely nothing to do with the previous short story’s plot line it was hard to follow, I’d get invested in the plot for it to end and be a dramatic change to a new story. And it would have been a little easier to digest if it wasn’t such a dramatic change between each story, like Lovesick and A million dreams were perfect together, the timeline was pretty similar and there were no drastic changes in setting, both were in normal town (I don’t recall them ever saying where exactly, I got the vibe of London or somewhere in England though…but none the less it was a simple normal town with normal humans) and because there was no drastic change in setting the two sins were able to interact in a million dreams. However there was the story Temptation of Magic where it was set in a magic town with magic users and Refuse thy Name was set in Rome and you get the point. The setting and time was constantly changing from story to story so it was hard to keep invested in the book as a whole.
Don’t get me wrong I liked each story individually…for the most part I’ll be honest I liked some stories more than others, but as a whole the book just wasn’t it for me. But as my first ARC read it will still always have a special place in my heart.

[Aliya Bree Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a really solid, enjoyable and creative anthology! I loved the personification of the seven sins, and adding the additional magical powers and family/curse backstory was a really cool premise. Technically I'd give this book 4.5 stars, because I did have a little bit of issues following some of the lore/familial connections and their connection to their respective sin; however, that might have been because I read it in multiple sittings too.

What I particularly loved was having the opportunity to read so many indie authors who I was either familiar with or had their work on my TBR list, and it's gotten me really excited to read more of their work! While every story was incredibly solid, three authors specifically stood out to me as personal favorites: C.A. McCann, Lina Amarago and Maddie Jensen.

I definitely recommend checking out this book if you're a fan of dark fantasy — and it was delightful to see the inclusion of a few LGBTQ+ stories as well!

[London Romeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're searching for a refreshing palate cleanser of a book with unique ideas, compelling characters and lush prose, Of Fate and Fury: A Deadly Sin Anthology may be for you.

This book convinced me that I might be fond of anthologies. I initially
thought that anthologies were not for me, but I took a chance on this book because I'm a fan of some of its authors. I'm glad I did. This book has excellent interconnected stories and an intriguing discussion of family trauma with a fantastical and engaging backdrop. I loved the idea of fates, furies and sins meddling in the mortal world and attempting to understand the world alongside regular humans. The concept of reincarnation also felt very well applied to a spectacularly tragic, dramatic and beautiful effect.

On the whole, Of Fate and Fury: A Deadly Sin Anthology is a criminally underrated gem.

[Sandra Damiani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of Fate and Fury is a collection of stories that features a diverse group of talented authors who have crafted complex characters with a unique twist - each one is cursed with a deadly sin rooted in their past trauma. But what sets this book apart is how each character is able to self-reflect and understand the impact of their past on their present, making for a truly captivating read. Trust me, you won't be able to put it down! Bright, shiny 5 stars!

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slightly biased opinion because I'm one of the contributors, but I think the concept of this anthology is so unique and fun (although there is a lot of drama, angst, and sorrow to be found in these stories!) There's a little something for everyone in here, and I highly recommend picking up a copy :)