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The Sin Collector #1
The Sin Collector
"The Sin Collector" follows the life of Liliana, a born Sin Collector. She has spent over 100 years absorbing people's sins so they may rest in peace come death. However when she meets another Collector, one who insists everything she has been taught is a lie, Liliana must make her way from Sunny L.A. all the way to the streets of Madrid. Searching for answers to a question we all share. Why are we here? The friends and enemies she makes along the way only seem to blur the line between right and wrong. Can Liliana fight the Castus, an organization bent on killing off every Sin-Eater? Should she trust her head or her heart when the two most important men in her life are fighting alongside her?
Then there is the worst question of all, who will be left when the dust settles.
Then there is the worst question of all, who will be left when the dust settles.
147 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
7 people are currently reading
473 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Fortunato
5 books59 followers Jessica Fortunato writes a rare combination of Paranormal/ Supernatural/ Religious Literary Fiction. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family, a clumsy black cat, and year round Halloween decorations. Rarely seen in direct sunlight, reports of Jessica’s vampirism remain unsubstantiated.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
February 26, 2012
Since there have been Sin Collectors there have been Castus. Sin Collectors may come from demons or from God, there is no absolute certainty. At the time of death Sin Collectors "collect" the sins of the persons soul that is passing on to secure their place in heaven. The Castus is an organization that hunts down Collectors. Their belief is that Collectors are abominations, that they allow corrupt souls to pass into heaven when they should not be allowed in.
Liliana was raised by her mentor Olexander to take her place in society. When she is a young girl, another Collector passes through with her ward and Lili and William become quick friends before he leaves town a month later. Once she turns 20 Olexander leaves her on her own, because Collectors can not handle being around each other.
After 100 yrs Lily is working at a library and William happens upon her in his search for information on Sin Collectors. He asks Lili to accompany him on his search and when they reach Dublin she reunites with Olexander, who has found a way to mingle with their own kind. Olexander is certain that The Castus are after Liliana and has come to rescue her. Now Lily must make the decision on who to trust and not to trust. Both William and Olexander are hiding secrets that could get them all killed.
This was a really good novel and I enjoyed reading it. The genre is refreshing in that it hasn't saturated the "market" yet. I look forward to reading the rest of this trilogy =)
Liliana was raised by her mentor Olexander to take her place in society. When she is a young girl, another Collector passes through with her ward and Lili and William become quick friends before he leaves town a month later. Once she turns 20 Olexander leaves her on her own, because Collectors can not handle being around each other.
After 100 yrs Lily is working at a library and William happens upon her in his search for information on Sin Collectors. He asks Lili to accompany him on his search and when they reach Dublin she reunites with Olexander, who has found a way to mingle with their own kind. Olexander is certain that The Castus are after Liliana and has come to rescue her. Now Lily must make the decision on who to trust and not to trust. Both William and Olexander are hiding secrets that could get them all killed.
This was a really good novel and I enjoyed reading it. The genre is refreshing in that it hasn't saturated the "market" yet. I look forward to reading the rest of this trilogy =)
March 6, 2012
The Sin Collector was first and foremost, a rewarding read. The story is fresh, and invigorating. I was immediately engrossed by the first three sentences. The ability to pull the reader in that fast is a talent unparalleled.
In a world where too many seem to be obsessing over vampires, werewolves, fallen angels, and most recently zombies, Jessica Fortunato has gone above and beyond and created an sensational, capacious and entirely unique paranormal "species". She proficiently introduces you to a new player in the paranormal world: Sin Collectors. I personally LOVED the idea of the Collectors. They are a group of immortals whom absorb the sins of humans so they can obtain peace in the afterlife.
The book was filled with characters who, not only have profound depth, but have a massive potential for growth as well. Her characters are relate-able and even by the end of the book you find you have become attached to even the antagonist, a truly rare find in a book (and trust me I am a sucker for bad guys). As far as the protagonist goes, she was a decent character with good values, although I will say I found myself disapproving of her quick temper. She got outrageously irritated over the slightest provocation.
The Sin Collector was relativity short, not unheard of for a debut novel. It leaves you wanting more. The book ended in a satisfyingly good place, although I would have liked a peek into the next installment. As I read this novel, I was completely hooked. I had not anticipated finishing this book by the deadline let alone in a few days. I ended up procrastinating packing up my home for my too-soon-move to delve further into Jessica's world. I even walked up the stairs with my nook too engrossed to tear my eyes from the story unfolding before my eyes. My favorite books are the type such as this. Nothing is better than a new and unique world. When I start thinking of a book in terms such as "I wonder what is happening with Lily.." I know that I am truly hooked.
One issue I had with the book was the story line seemed to sneak up on me. One second I knew exactly what was happening and the next, I felt like I skipped three pages. In that sense it was a tad sporadic. A good example was when Angeline was introduced by name, I hadn't even recalled reading that name to begin with; she was just the Italian lady previously. I found some errors throughout the book with sentence structure that I had to reread several times to understand, however the punctuation and spelling was good. On an unrelated note, as an Italian-American myself I appreciated seeing the correct usage and spelling of Jessica's choice Italian phrases (Good Job!)
Now the *SPOILER* section
Lily was an overall enjoyable character. She was relate-able with wonderful values. I love how she was too compassionate or "human" to continue her destiny. She adapted to her statuses and any situation good or bad with quick wits and undeniable sincerity. She did seem a tad confused as far as the men in her life went. Which brings me to the men featured in the book.
William was to me untrustworthy from the beginning. I saw through his guise and knew he would end up being the antagonist (although there were times I wondered if there were in fact TWO antagonists). William, despite being the aforementioned antagonist was a good guy deep down. I think any man who goes through seeing his mother murdered would end up a shell of a person. He sometimes genuinely seemed to care for Lily and sincerely hate Olexander.
Moving onto the oldest male in the novel, Olex had a lot of regret shrouded by what appeared to be abandonment issues. Were I him and cared for Lily as much as he I would have at least attempted to write in 100 years. On that note, I didn't wholly approve of a romantic relationship between Lily and Olex. The age difference made it was far to reminiscent of a certain couple in an incredibly popular book that rhymes with "Kwilight".
My favorite character was Julie, she was so cute and innocent, although I don't recall ever encountering a twelve year old who would tolerate a bedtime story.
I would seriously be interested in a history of the Sin Collectors. I do wish the author would have delved into their society a little more, I kept wondering how they come into existence. Are they born to humans? There is a part that suggests such, but I cannot be sure.
The Good:
Incomparable plot
Relate-able characters
Addicting cliff hangers
Room for sequel without compromising the ending of the book
The Bad
Plot Jumps a little
Some issues with sentence structure (completely fixable)
Overall, This book was fantastic and honestly wonderful books such as this are the reason I enjoy reading and reviewing debut authors. I anticipate hearing more about Jessica Fortunato in the future and I will definitely purchase the next installment.
In a world where too many seem to be obsessing over vampires, werewolves, fallen angels, and most recently zombies, Jessica Fortunato has gone above and beyond and created an sensational, capacious and entirely unique paranormal "species". She proficiently introduces you to a new player in the paranormal world: Sin Collectors. I personally LOVED the idea of the Collectors. They are a group of immortals whom absorb the sins of humans so they can obtain peace in the afterlife.
The book was filled with characters who, not only have profound depth, but have a massive potential for growth as well. Her characters are relate-able and even by the end of the book you find you have become attached to even the antagonist, a truly rare find in a book (and trust me I am a sucker for bad guys). As far as the protagonist goes, she was a decent character with good values, although I will say I found myself disapproving of her quick temper. She got outrageously irritated over the slightest provocation.
The Sin Collector was relativity short, not unheard of for a debut novel. It leaves you wanting more. The book ended in a satisfyingly good place, although I would have liked a peek into the next installment. As I read this novel, I was completely hooked. I had not anticipated finishing this book by the deadline let alone in a few days. I ended up procrastinating packing up my home for my too-soon-move to delve further into Jessica's world. I even walked up the stairs with my nook too engrossed to tear my eyes from the story unfolding before my eyes. My favorite books are the type such as this. Nothing is better than a new and unique world. When I start thinking of a book in terms such as "I wonder what is happening with Lily.." I know that I am truly hooked.
One issue I had with the book was the story line seemed to sneak up on me. One second I knew exactly what was happening and the next, I felt like I skipped three pages. In that sense it was a tad sporadic. A good example was when Angeline was introduced by name, I hadn't even recalled reading that name to begin with; she was just the Italian lady previously. I found some errors throughout the book with sentence structure that I had to reread several times to understand, however the punctuation and spelling was good. On an unrelated note, as an Italian-American myself I appreciated seeing the correct usage and spelling of Jessica's choice Italian phrases (Good Job!)
Now the *SPOILER* section
Lily was an overall enjoyable character. She was relate-able with wonderful values. I love how she was too compassionate or "human" to continue her destiny. She adapted to her statuses and any situation good or bad with quick wits and undeniable sincerity. She did seem a tad confused as far as the men in her life went. Which brings me to the men featured in the book.
William was to me untrustworthy from the beginning. I saw through his guise and knew he would end up being the antagonist (although there were times I wondered if there were in fact TWO antagonists). William, despite being the aforementioned antagonist was a good guy deep down. I think any man who goes through seeing his mother murdered would end up a shell of a person. He sometimes genuinely seemed to care for Lily and sincerely hate Olexander.
Moving onto the oldest male in the novel, Olex had a lot of regret shrouded by what appeared to be abandonment issues. Were I him and cared for Lily as much as he I would have at least attempted to write in 100 years. On that note, I didn't wholly approve of a romantic relationship between Lily and Olex. The age difference made it was far to reminiscent of a certain couple in an incredibly popular book that rhymes with "Kwilight".
My favorite character was Julie, she was so cute and innocent, although I don't recall ever encountering a twelve year old who would tolerate a bedtime story.
I would seriously be interested in a history of the Sin Collectors. I do wish the author would have delved into their society a little more, I kept wondering how they come into existence. Are they born to humans? There is a part that suggests such, but I cannot be sure.
The Good:
Incomparable plot
Relate-able characters
Addicting cliff hangers
Room for sequel without compromising the ending of the book
The Bad
Plot Jumps a little
Some issues with sentence structure (completely fixable)
Overall, This book was fantastic and honestly wonderful books such as this are the reason I enjoy reading and reviewing debut authors. I anticipate hearing more about Jessica Fortunato in the future and I will definitely purchase the next installment.
June 15, 2012
I was recommended to read this book some time ago, and it had been in my Kindle for a couple of months. I decided to make it jump up in my TBR list and it seems it is one of the best things I could do. It is an amazing story that kept me reading for hours without ever thinking of putting it down.
Liliana is a sin collector. She can feel other people's sins and help them to go to the next life without the heavy burden of their sins. When she starts finding clues that lead her to think that maybe someone is tracking Collectors down, she feels she must be in danger. Follow Liliana in an incredible journey in which she will discover new things, new secrets, and new people. What if you find another Collector? What if those Collectors you meet hide things? Can you trust everybody who try to help you? Read this amazing story and find out the answers.
The pace of the story is very fast, keeping the reader reading non-stop, not letting the reader's mind wander over unnecessary or too long descriptions. A wonderfully crafted story, with well-defined characters and a good plot. It reminded me of a movie I saw many years ago, in which I was changing my mind constantly about who was the evil character. In this story you cannot be sure of anything till you reach the end, so the suspense is very well achieved. Unexpected twists and secrets unveiling before your eyes, this story won't disappoint you.
I will definitely read more of this author. Well done!
Liliana is a sin collector. She can feel other people's sins and help them to go to the next life without the heavy burden of their sins. When she starts finding clues that lead her to think that maybe someone is tracking Collectors down, she feels she must be in danger. Follow Liliana in an incredible journey in which she will discover new things, new secrets, and new people. What if you find another Collector? What if those Collectors you meet hide things? Can you trust everybody who try to help you? Read this amazing story and find out the answers.
The pace of the story is very fast, keeping the reader reading non-stop, not letting the reader's mind wander over unnecessary or too long descriptions. A wonderfully crafted story, with well-defined characters and a good plot. It reminded me of a movie I saw many years ago, in which I was changing my mind constantly about who was the evil character. In this story you cannot be sure of anything till you reach the end, so the suspense is very well achieved. Unexpected twists and secrets unveiling before your eyes, this story won't disappoint you.
I will definitely read more of this author. Well done!
March 11, 2012
Jessica Fortunato, the author of "The Sin Collector" allowed me the rare opportunity of taking a look at her book. I was completely ready to wade into it. Any opportunity to wade into a book...
I am so glad that I began reading this book immediately. It afforded me another rare opportunity. It gave me the opportunity to read one of the best books I've read all year, and I read a lot. "The Sin Collector" is that good! Hell...Good? It was fantastic!
Liliana Hayes is a sin collector who has lived for over 100 years, absorbing the sins of those that need absolution for their sins.She has held onto these wrongs for many decades.She has no idea how she came to be or where and whom she comes from (God or the Devil, Heaven or Hell). She cannot get injured or sick, or apparently die. When unusual circumstances cause her to leave everything she has gotten used to, she is plunged into a situation that brings her past back into her present. I hate to be so vague, but I do not want to spoil a book that I thought was one of the most unique books I have read for a while.
The author's strong point is her characters. Liliana is a little wise-ass (which I like) but she's also a little world-weary, which I thought was realistic of someone that has been alive for 100 years. There are many times in this book where the fact that she and other collectors cannot be injured, seems to be a foregone conclusion and is used as a joke. I liked this because it shows that weariness that Liliana has at being what and who she is.
Another favorite character of mine is Olexander, her mentor from many years ago. That mentor/mentee relationship really shows through. He really seems to care for Liliana and Ms.Fortunato did a great job with these two character (and truly with all of the characters in this novel). They really seemed to pop off the page and act like real people. Books are about people (whether they are about aliens, fantastical creatures etc.) and the characteristics and emotions that people encounter. Ms. Fortunato creates a real world, with real people that I believe in.
The history of sin-eaters, or collectors, as they like to be called, was very believable and took some thought. I really want to know more about these people and why they exist. The interweaving of fantastical elements and the theological was great for me. I really enjoyed the environment and history that this story was surrounded by.
There were some great themes in this book as well, whether intentional or unintentional. One of my favorites was the theme of how we can hide what we are from the world. This is not a new theme in literature, but it was handled very deftly by Ms. Fortunato as she explored what a 100 year old world-weary sin-collector feels about people as she is walking down the street. This rawness of how we walk the world with no idea who we are walking next to is mirrored again and again throughout the book! Excellent!
This book should be your next read, no doubt. I you like YA, with a little that is not for the kiddies, I would whole-heartedly recommend "The Sin Collector" by Jessica Fortunato. She is a great author and I will be following her career and the "Sin Collector" series in the future. 2013 and the next book cannot come fast enough!
I am so glad that I began reading this book immediately. It afforded me another rare opportunity. It gave me the opportunity to read one of the best books I've read all year, and I read a lot. "The Sin Collector" is that good! Hell...Good? It was fantastic!
Liliana Hayes is a sin collector who has lived for over 100 years, absorbing the sins of those that need absolution for their sins.She has held onto these wrongs for many decades.She has no idea how she came to be or where and whom she comes from (God or the Devil, Heaven or Hell). She cannot get injured or sick, or apparently die. When unusual circumstances cause her to leave everything she has gotten used to, she is plunged into a situation that brings her past back into her present. I hate to be so vague, but I do not want to spoil a book that I thought was one of the most unique books I have read for a while.
The author's strong point is her characters. Liliana is a little wise-ass (which I like) but she's also a little world-weary, which I thought was realistic of someone that has been alive for 100 years. There are many times in this book where the fact that she and other collectors cannot be injured, seems to be a foregone conclusion and is used as a joke. I liked this because it shows that weariness that Liliana has at being what and who she is.
Another favorite character of mine is Olexander, her mentor from many years ago. That mentor/mentee relationship really shows through. He really seems to care for Liliana and Ms.Fortunato did a great job with these two character (and truly with all of the characters in this novel). They really seemed to pop off the page and act like real people. Books are about people (whether they are about aliens, fantastical creatures etc.) and the characteristics and emotions that people encounter. Ms. Fortunato creates a real world, with real people that I believe in.
The history of sin-eaters, or collectors, as they like to be called, was very believable and took some thought. I really want to know more about these people and why they exist. The interweaving of fantastical elements and the theological was great for me. I really enjoyed the environment and history that this story was surrounded by.
There were some great themes in this book as well, whether intentional or unintentional. One of my favorites was the theme of how we can hide what we are from the world. This is not a new theme in literature, but it was handled very deftly by Ms. Fortunato as she explored what a 100 year old world-weary sin-collector feels about people as she is walking down the street. This rawness of how we walk the world with no idea who we are walking next to is mirrored again and again throughout the book! Excellent!
This book should be your next read, no doubt. I you like YA, with a little that is not for the kiddies, I would whole-heartedly recommend "The Sin Collector" by Jessica Fortunato. She is a great author and I will be following her career and the "Sin Collector" series in the future. 2013 and the next book cannot come fast enough!
February 14, 2012
Have a look at the cover, though the graphic is very simple it just turns on your own imagination towards this novel, first I thought about a historical fiction story due to the old lettering style of the title.
Once I read the introduction on the book I thought I wasn't very wrong about my intuition afterall. One of my favorite genre in fiction was historical fiction and this combined with some fantasy just made me interested so much more to read what is going on.
As you might have realized it is all about the sin collector, the first book in the trilogy. All is based on Liliana Masson the main character in the story, she is one of the Sin Collectors. What makes it interesting is she is immortal, remained at the age of 20 and didn't grow old for 120 years, don't we girls all look for remaining young physically. I am still young, though.
Back to Liliana Masson only looking into her eyes may uncover her true age, but no one up to 2009 did see, she never stayed long in one place so her cover remained unharmed. She was born human and grew up to her 20th birthday, the day when she collected her first sin by absorbing the bad thoughts of dying people is when she stopped ageing and became immortal, she became the sin collector. That doesn't mean she cannot be harmed lethally.
Let's go on, we are on to follow Liliana on some adventure on her way she meets with her old friend William from childhood and her Mentor Olexander who taught her everything about their kind. But there are some things she didn't know, something that hasn't been told to her.Enemies are not far away and the time is running out, will she be able to save her kind and find the answers she is looking for. Did I catch up your attention, read the book and you will know all.
For me it was everything that I could dream of. First I couldn't understand the beginning but reading through, it fell all in place. The story was rich in imagination and colorful with descriptions. A new form of fantasy where anything is possible on an adventurous journey around the world. I am definitely interested in following up with the sequels.
Once I read the introduction on the book I thought I wasn't very wrong about my intuition afterall. One of my favorite genre in fiction was historical fiction and this combined with some fantasy just made me interested so much more to read what is going on.
As you might have realized it is all about the sin collector, the first book in the trilogy. All is based on Liliana Masson the main character in the story, she is one of the Sin Collectors. What makes it interesting is she is immortal, remained at the age of 20 and didn't grow old for 120 years, don't we girls all look for remaining young physically. I am still young, though.
Back to Liliana Masson only looking into her eyes may uncover her true age, but no one up to 2009 did see, she never stayed long in one place so her cover remained unharmed. She was born human and grew up to her 20th birthday, the day when she collected her first sin by absorbing the bad thoughts of dying people is when she stopped ageing and became immortal, she became the sin collector. That doesn't mean she cannot be harmed lethally.
Let's go on, we are on to follow Liliana on some adventure on her way she meets with her old friend William from childhood and her Mentor Olexander who taught her everything about their kind. But there are some things she didn't know, something that hasn't been told to her.Enemies are not far away and the time is running out, will she be able to save her kind and find the answers she is looking for. Did I catch up your attention, read the book and you will know all.
For me it was everything that I could dream of. First I couldn't understand the beginning but reading through, it fell all in place. The story was rich in imagination and colorful with descriptions. A new form of fantasy where anything is possible on an adventurous journey around the world. I am definitely interested in following up with the sequels.
July 2, 2012
I received this book via Read it and Reap from the Shut Up and Read group.
This book did start out with a lot of promise, I loved the first page and the scene setting of the sin collectors. The story centres around a sin collector called Liliana who is trying to lead a normal life even though she clearly isn't normal. She meets a guy from her past and all of a sudden strange things start to happen.
It would have been cool to have some more information about the sin collectors but seeing as this is book one in a series it might be saved for later.
There were a few issues which I note have come up with other reviews, I must admit I was a little relieved that other people picked up on it as I thought it was just me. I thought it was a little bit creepy that Liliana and Olexander ended up together at the end. I'd pictured him as someone who had been her Guardian while she was a child and to have them together at the end just felt a bit wrong. Had he been her Guardian when she was a teenager then it might have been a bit different, but he saw her growing up! Perhaps if there had been a bit of backstory about the collectors and how they lived this might have worked out differently, but seeing as no adult collectors could have lived together before without the ritual then it still seems odd.
Another issue was that I thought Liliana would be a little bit more worldly wise being alive for over a hundred years. At times she seemed wise but at other times she seemed dreadfully naive. Her relationship with William/Billy seemed a perfect example of this. Was she naive? Had she had relationships before? How had they gone? I was disappointed with how the relationship developed and given that ***massive spoiler alert*** Billy dies then it seems sad that he couldn't have reprieved himself at the end by sacrificing himself to save Liliana or Julia, or hell, even Valentine or Olexander.
Overall I really liked the concept. In some places the writing was excellent and in other places I wished the backstory could have been emphasised a bit more. I feel really bad giving it two stars but I really didn't like the ending as I've explained above.
This book did start out with a lot of promise, I loved the first page and the scene setting of the sin collectors. The story centres around a sin collector called Liliana who is trying to lead a normal life even though she clearly isn't normal. She meets a guy from her past and all of a sudden strange things start to happen.
It would have been cool to have some more information about the sin collectors but seeing as this is book one in a series it might be saved for later.
There were a few issues which I note have come up with other reviews, I must admit I was a little relieved that other people picked up on it as I thought it was just me. I thought it was a little bit creepy that Liliana and Olexander ended up together at the end. I'd pictured him as someone who had been her Guardian while she was a child and to have them together at the end just felt a bit wrong. Had he been her Guardian when she was a teenager then it might have been a bit different, but he saw her growing up! Perhaps if there had been a bit of backstory about the collectors and how they lived this might have worked out differently, but seeing as no adult collectors could have lived together before without the ritual then it still seems odd.
Another issue was that I thought Liliana would be a little bit more worldly wise being alive for over a hundred years. At times she seemed wise but at other times she seemed dreadfully naive. Her relationship with William/Billy seemed a perfect example of this. Was she naive? Had she had relationships before? How had they gone? I was disappointed with how the relationship developed and given that ***massive spoiler alert*** Billy dies then it seems sad that he couldn't have reprieved himself at the end by sacrificing himself to save Liliana or Julia, or hell, even Valentine or Olexander.
Overall I really liked the concept. In some places the writing was excellent and in other places I wished the backstory could have been emphasised a bit more. I feel really bad giving it two stars but I really didn't like the ending as I've explained above.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2012
*I THINK THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME LITTLE SPOILERS AHEAD*
I was eager to start this book as soon as possible!! Why? Because I've never heard of Sin Collectors. The kind of book that I love (urban fantasy, paranormal, romance) usually are all about the same old thing: vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, angels, mermaids and so on.
For this reason, I started the book right away. I didn't expect to like it so much!! The plot is simple, interesting and covered with mystery!! You don't know what will happen until the last few pages!!
The main character is Liliana, a hundred-year-old-Sin-Collector (they also can be called Sin-Eaters)!!
She is in LA, living in an apartment with her cat, Valentine and working at a library. She is even best friend to Sofie and George!! Ah, I forgot to say that despise her old age she still looks like a twenty year old normal girl. So, even though she misses someone of her kind to talk to, she's somehow happy and relaxed. Suddenly, this almost perfect piece of life she has created goes upside down when she finds that her boss is looking for a book about Sin Collectors. From there everything changes. Her boss goes away, George dies and William (her childhood sin-collector-friend who now can be simply called Billy) is back and she sees her boss again but now dead.
There's also another character, Olexander. He was Liliana's master. I liked him instatly.
So to put it simply there's also a love triangle (even though the book was very short and the love triangle didn't develop as strong as in the other books.) The funny thing was that she didn't trust both of the guys!!
BTW I'm Team Olexander!!
Olexander tells Liliana that they are threatened by Castus, a group of humans hunting and killing every Sin Collector that is out there.
Now it begins the journey. Olexander, Liliana, Billy and some other sin collectors (among those was Jules, a human child who got my heart right away. She's so cute!!!!!) board on a yacht to go to Madrid.
All in all this is a very good book (This book also earns bonus points for not having a cliff-hanger in the end)!!
I was eager to start this book as soon as possible!! Why? Because I've never heard of Sin Collectors. The kind of book that I love (urban fantasy, paranormal, romance) usually are all about the same old thing: vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, angels, mermaids and so on.
For this reason, I started the book right away. I didn't expect to like it so much!! The plot is simple, interesting and covered with mystery!! You don't know what will happen until the last few pages!!
The main character is Liliana, a hundred-year-old-Sin-Collector (they also can be called Sin-Eaters)!!
She is in LA, living in an apartment with her cat, Valentine and working at a library. She is even best friend to Sofie and George!! Ah, I forgot to say that despise her old age she still looks like a twenty year old normal girl. So, even though she misses someone of her kind to talk to, she's somehow happy and relaxed. Suddenly, this almost perfect piece of life she has created goes upside down when she finds that her boss is looking for a book about Sin Collectors. From there everything changes. Her boss goes away, George dies and William (her childhood sin-collector-friend who now can be simply called Billy) is back and she sees her boss again but now dead.
There's also another character, Olexander. He was Liliana's master. I liked him instatly.
So to put it simply there's also a love triangle (even though the book was very short and the love triangle didn't develop as strong as in the other books.) The funny thing was that she didn't trust both of the guys!!
BTW I'm Team Olexander!!
Olexander tells Liliana that they are threatened by Castus, a group of humans hunting and killing every Sin Collector that is out there.
Now it begins the journey. Olexander, Liliana, Billy and some other sin collectors (among those was Jules, a human child who got my heart right away. She's so cute!!!!!) board on a yacht to go to Madrid.
All in all this is a very good book (This book also earns bonus points for not having a cliff-hanger in the end)!!
July 19, 2012
Wonderful characters, quotable dialogue and a terrific sense of humor. This was a refreshing change from the usual paranormal fiction I read. Well done, Jess! Where's part 2?!?!?!
October 1, 2012
The Premise:
Liliana, Sin Collector, an immortal and invulnerable creature who seems to have made Last Rites into a supernatural power, is suddenly confronted with a creepy clan of angry humans who have figured out how to kill Liliana’s kind – the Castus. What started as a fun globe-hopping adventure with a cute guy she knew from childhood turns into a miasma of Sin Collector politics, a love triangle, and the Castus trying to kill everyone.
The Good:
I had never heard of a paranormal story with quite this brand of creature before. I love the idea of the Sin Collectors and what they do. In short, the Sin Collectors are born to perform what is essentially the Last Rites for the dying. They draw out the sins of the subject and take those sins upon themselves, allowing the subject to pass unburdened into the next life. It’s a fascinating mythos, and I wish it had been explored further.
The villains were pretty spiffy, as well. Seeing themselves as a holy order, the Castus are outraged that Collectors would dare absorb the sins of the truly evil and allow genuinely bad people a chance at salvation. Honestly, I can see that happening. Just look at some of the religious conflicts that go on in the world today. They all pretty much boil down to “We’re good people, and you’re not, and you’re only worse because you claim you’re good people, too.” Underneath the magic and the sorcery, the hatred of the Castus is very true.
The work is too short to allow for really deep character development, but I liked most of the characters and could feel a strongly-developed backstory even for minor characters. The world is well-fleshed out, and so are most of its inhabitants. Honestly, one of my favourites only barely got any screen time. I would have loved to see more of the mysterious Rebecca, a Collector so old she is actually beginning to show her age.
Liliana’s character also starts out very strong. She is exasperated with her life, tired of her job, deprived of a real purpose by modernity’s rejection of the supernatural, and she adds a lovely dose of snark and humour to her narration. Unfortunately, that leads me to
The Bad:
For a hundred-and-twenty-something immortal who has seen far more than her fair share of death, suffering, and evil, Liliana comes into her whole ordeal with a startlingly juvenile mindset. She has a tendency to storm off in a fit and slam doors when she gets upset. I had thought for a while that she might be psychologically frozen at twenty years, when some people do still act like that, but other Collectors were shown as wise and hyper-mature as a result of their age and experience. I would have liked to see more of that in Liliana.
***BEGIN SPOILERS***
While Liliana is portrayed as being very smart and worldly, some of her actions do not reflect that. For instance, when her childhood friend William, another Collector, reappears more after more than a hundred years of no contact, she leaves behind the entire life she has built and goes to Ireland with him. While I can understand her boredom and thirst for adventure, the impression I got is that she is willing to leave everything she has worked for primarily because William is hot.
When she begins to suspect William of being traitorous and possibly homicidal, she pushes her suspicions under the rug and has frantic end-of-the-world sex with him. The line is actually “LiLi this could be our last night on earth. Don’t you think we should enjoy it?” There is no mention of her regretting this decision when her suspicions are proven right. It really felt more like an excuse to insert sex, however tastefully described, than an attempt to move the plot forward.
And then, once the traitorous William has been disposed of, Liliana falls in love with her father-figure. Granted, this father figure is physically stuck at twenty years old, like all Collectors, and granted, Liliana has not seen him for some time; however, he is still more than four hundred years older than she is, and he raised her from a small child, and he did kidnap her in order to perform a magical ritual on her against her will.
In some ways, the hostility between William and Olexander (the father-figure) reminds me of the Edward-Jacob dynamic in Twilight, not least because the hostility apparently stems entirely from the two of them fighting over the girl.
***END SPOILERS***
Finally, the book could use a good copyedit. Nearly all of the dialogue is incorrectly capitalised and punctuated. Where there should be a comma and a lowercase, there is nearly always a period and a capital letter, and vice versa. Since the capitalisation and punctuation are consistent, I am more inclined to think that they are not merely typos. I am a strong proponent of using sentence fragments for emphasis, but in The Sin Collector, their frequency is distracting, and in several places, a sentence changes directions in mid-thought or is missing a necessary word.
In Conclusion:
I enjoyed the story. I found it well-paced and highly original, though I felt that the love triangle eventually overshadowed the element of suspense and danger that I liked so much. I hesitate to call Liliana a strong female lead, but as this is the first book in a trilogy, I feel she could easily evolve into a powerful woman. Anyone without my grammar-nazi tendencies could probably get past the syntax issues.
The Sin Collector was not exactly my cup of tea, but I will probably be looking for the next book in the series when it comes out in 2013, and I can see this developing a massive following.
Liliana, Sin Collector, an immortal and invulnerable creature who seems to have made Last Rites into a supernatural power, is suddenly confronted with a creepy clan of angry humans who have figured out how to kill Liliana’s kind – the Castus. What started as a fun globe-hopping adventure with a cute guy she knew from childhood turns into a miasma of Sin Collector politics, a love triangle, and the Castus trying to kill everyone.
The Good:
I had never heard of a paranormal story with quite this brand of creature before. I love the idea of the Sin Collectors and what they do. In short, the Sin Collectors are born to perform what is essentially the Last Rites for the dying. They draw out the sins of the subject and take those sins upon themselves, allowing the subject to pass unburdened into the next life. It’s a fascinating mythos, and I wish it had been explored further.
The villains were pretty spiffy, as well. Seeing themselves as a holy order, the Castus are outraged that Collectors would dare absorb the sins of the truly evil and allow genuinely bad people a chance at salvation. Honestly, I can see that happening. Just look at some of the religious conflicts that go on in the world today. They all pretty much boil down to “We’re good people, and you’re not, and you’re only worse because you claim you’re good people, too.” Underneath the magic and the sorcery, the hatred of the Castus is very true.
The work is too short to allow for really deep character development, but I liked most of the characters and could feel a strongly-developed backstory even for minor characters. The world is well-fleshed out, and so are most of its inhabitants. Honestly, one of my favourites only barely got any screen time. I would have loved to see more of the mysterious Rebecca, a Collector so old she is actually beginning to show her age.
Liliana’s character also starts out very strong. She is exasperated with her life, tired of her job, deprived of a real purpose by modernity’s rejection of the supernatural, and she adds a lovely dose of snark and humour to her narration. Unfortunately, that leads me to
The Bad:
For a hundred-and-twenty-something immortal who has seen far more than her fair share of death, suffering, and evil, Liliana comes into her whole ordeal with a startlingly juvenile mindset. She has a tendency to storm off in a fit and slam doors when she gets upset. I had thought for a while that she might be psychologically frozen at twenty years, when some people do still act like that, but other Collectors were shown as wise and hyper-mature as a result of their age and experience. I would have liked to see more of that in Liliana.
***BEGIN SPOILERS***
While Liliana is portrayed as being very smart and worldly, some of her actions do not reflect that. For instance, when her childhood friend William, another Collector, reappears more after more than a hundred years of no contact, she leaves behind the entire life she has built and goes to Ireland with him. While I can understand her boredom and thirst for adventure, the impression I got is that she is willing to leave everything she has worked for primarily because William is hot.
When she begins to suspect William of being traitorous and possibly homicidal, she pushes her suspicions under the rug and has frantic end-of-the-world sex with him. The line is actually “LiLi this could be our last night on earth. Don’t you think we should enjoy it?” There is no mention of her regretting this decision when her suspicions are proven right. It really felt more like an excuse to insert sex, however tastefully described, than an attempt to move the plot forward.
And then, once the traitorous William has been disposed of, Liliana falls in love with her father-figure. Granted, this father figure is physically stuck at twenty years old, like all Collectors, and granted, Liliana has not seen him for some time; however, he is still more than four hundred years older than she is, and he raised her from a small child, and he did kidnap her in order to perform a magical ritual on her against her will.
In some ways, the hostility between William and Olexander (the father-figure) reminds me of the Edward-Jacob dynamic in Twilight, not least because the hostility apparently stems entirely from the two of them fighting over the girl.
***END SPOILERS***
Finally, the book could use a good copyedit. Nearly all of the dialogue is incorrectly capitalised and punctuated. Where there should be a comma and a lowercase, there is nearly always a period and a capital letter, and vice versa. Since the capitalisation and punctuation are consistent, I am more inclined to think that they are not merely typos. I am a strong proponent of using sentence fragments for emphasis, but in The Sin Collector, their frequency is distracting, and in several places, a sentence changes directions in mid-thought or is missing a necessary word.
In Conclusion:
I enjoyed the story. I found it well-paced and highly original, though I felt that the love triangle eventually overshadowed the element of suspense and danger that I liked so much. I hesitate to call Liliana a strong female lead, but as this is the first book in a trilogy, I feel she could easily evolve into a powerful woman. Anyone without my grammar-nazi tendencies could probably get past the syntax issues.
The Sin Collector was not exactly my cup of tea, but I will probably be looking for the next book in the series when it comes out in 2013, and I can see this developing a massive following.
April 1, 2012
First of all I would like to thank the author for giving me a free copy of the book [hey,it was for an honest review.. :)]
When I first saw tweets about the book,i had to quickly go for the blurbs as the title of the book 'The Sin Collector' was itself too TEMPTING !!! for someone like me who got a big thing for things like myths,legends,paranormal,fantasy,etc. When I read the blurb,I just knew this is just the book for me.
The whole concept of a 'sin collector' was new to me and quite fascinating,and i really enjoyed reading it.Liliana is a sin collector who lived for 100 years absorbing sins of people(yeah,and that includes murderers,rapist,etc)to let them die in peace.The characters were so real,Liliana seemed lonely (try living for a century on your own) tired of carrying sins of so many people for so many years (imagine carrying it for a century,i can't even think of absorbing a person's sin,it will be too heavy and an extra burden added to my own - we humans do commit unintentional sins most times so what about the ones intentional,when you start counting them you might even lose track and forget what was your first 'sin'.It made me think of my first wrong doing),and now that she is trying to live a normal life - a decent job in the library,a place she can call home to finally feel at home, a pet cat Valentine (i love this cat). she is strong,hilarious, and sometimes immature for her age.Well,she must have lived for a 100 years collecting sins,but she was 20 when she really started collecting and for someone being frozen at 20 to what seems eternity(she cannot get injured,hurt,or die),she must still have those traits that a normal 20 year old would have deep inside her though hundred years of living on Earth must have taught her various lessons through experiences to understand life better and take a better *mature* approach. But isn't there a kid in each one of us no matter how older we get.
this could be seen when she meets Jules.i liked the way the author could show this. Another thing i liked about the character was she seemed world-weary after living for 120 years...that makes it more realistic, honestly,i can't think of living past 75 or maybe 86 for the maximum but even that would be too much. :)
Everything seemed normal until a man from her past,William a.k.a Billy shows up and she realizes that everything she learnt from her mentor Olexander (who she never met ever since he left her on her own the day she turned 20) about her kind may not be all true but just partial truth,she begin to question her existence after all who created them ? God or Devil ? Heaven? Hell ? .A trip to Dublin to learn more of her kind leads her to Olexander and other collectors.And everything is not what it seems when the other collectors start getting killed by the Castus (who think collectors are an abomination as they help sinners who according to them don't deserve eternal peace die peacefully) and both man seem to hide something from her,left me guessing who the real traitor was.
The other character i liked the most besides Liliana and Olexander was Rebecca,i always seem to have a particular liking of the silent types.
Olexander genuinely seemed to care for Liliana in brotherly,fatherly way...no wonder he was her mentor, but he did hid things from her with that made me doubt him so many times,and I still do....now i don't want to add much more or else it will spoil the fun.
The book has spirituality,suspense,action,humor (often sarcastic and i loved it),elements of good and evil,not good vs evil,reasoning and deeds(action) and quite entertaining.Its hard to come across such books,and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who want a joyful read with all elements mentioned above. Just go for it !!!!!
There were so many moments I laughed so loud that if someone had shared a room with me they would have wondered of I gone crazy.I thoroughly loved it,it was gripping to the end,but it was a little too fast.....but hey its a small book and comes with a bite and it did do justice when it comes to the length. :D
Eagerly waiting for the rest of the series...i hope the year ends soon as I can't just wait,it left me wanting for more.And i will hopefully spend my time re-reading it .
I give it 4.5 .
When I first saw tweets about the book,i had to quickly go for the blurbs as the title of the book 'The Sin Collector' was itself too TEMPTING !!! for someone like me who got a big thing for things like myths,legends,paranormal,fantasy,etc. When I read the blurb,I just knew this is just the book for me.
The whole concept of a 'sin collector' was new to me and quite fascinating,and i really enjoyed reading it.Liliana is a sin collector who lived for 100 years absorbing sins of people(yeah,and that includes murderers,rapist,etc)to let them die in peace.The characters were so real,Liliana seemed lonely (try living for a century on your own) tired of carrying sins of so many people for so many years (imagine carrying it for a century,i can't even think of absorbing a person's sin,it will be too heavy and an extra burden added to my own - we humans do commit unintentional sins most times so what about the ones intentional,when you start counting them you might even lose track and forget what was your first 'sin'.It made me think of my first wrong doing),and now that she is trying to live a normal life - a decent job in the library,a place she can call home to finally feel at home, a pet cat Valentine (i love this cat). she is strong,hilarious, and sometimes immature for her age.Well,she must have lived for a 100 years collecting sins,but she was 20 when she really started collecting and for someone being frozen at 20 to what seems eternity(she cannot get injured,hurt,or die),she must still have those traits that a normal 20 year old would have deep inside her though hundred years of living on Earth must have taught her various lessons through experiences to understand life better and take a better *mature* approach. But isn't there a kid in each one of us no matter how older we get.
this could be seen when she meets Jules.i liked the way the author could show this. Another thing i liked about the character was she seemed world-weary after living for 120 years...that makes it more realistic, honestly,i can't think of living past 75 or maybe 86 for the maximum but even that would be too much. :)
Everything seemed normal until a man from her past,William a.k.a Billy shows up and she realizes that everything she learnt from her mentor Olexander (who she never met ever since he left her on her own the day she turned 20) about her kind may not be all true but just partial truth,she begin to question her existence after all who created them ? God or Devil ? Heaven? Hell ? .A trip to Dublin to learn more of her kind leads her to Olexander and other collectors.And everything is not what it seems when the other collectors start getting killed by the Castus (who think collectors are an abomination as they help sinners who according to them don't deserve eternal peace die peacefully) and both man seem to hide something from her,left me guessing who the real traitor was.
The other character i liked the most besides Liliana and Olexander was Rebecca,i always seem to have a particular liking of the silent types.
Olexander genuinely seemed to care for Liliana in brotherly,fatherly way...no wonder he was her mentor, but he did hid things from her with that made me doubt him so many times,and I still do....now i don't want to add much more or else it will spoil the fun.
The book has spirituality,suspense,action,humor (often sarcastic and i loved it),elements of good and evil,not good vs evil,reasoning and deeds(action) and quite entertaining.Its hard to come across such books,and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who want a joyful read with all elements mentioned above. Just go for it !!!!!
There were so many moments I laughed so loud that if someone had shared a room with me they would have wondered of I gone crazy.I thoroughly loved it,it was gripping to the end,but it was a little too fast.....but hey its a small book and comes with a bite and it did do justice when it comes to the length. :D
Eagerly waiting for the rest of the series...i hope the year ends soon as I can't just wait,it left me wanting for more.And i will hopefully spend my time re-reading it .
I give it 4.5 .
March 11, 2018
Read more: http://cjlistro.blogspot.com/2012/07/...
The Basics: The Sin Collector is a rare beauty in a paranormal market overwrought with vampires and the occasional witch. Exploring the old obscure sin-eaters myths of England and Scotland, it creates a hidden world of Collectors that feels both ancient and breathtakingly new. Liliana is a childlike character with the wisdom of a century under her belt and a sarcastic tongue that keeps the tone light and makes for laugh-out-loud pages. While the other characters aren’t as strong, they’re sufficient to prop up a fast-paced plot. Once I started reading, it was a trick to put it down.
Plot (5/5): On the whole, the plot shows very tight design. Details are planted in the beginning and woven carefully to an exciting end. Since Lily doesn’t know quite whom to trust, you as reader are also left guessing—and the final traitor, while not a complete surprise, is still a satisfying discovery. Some parts feel thin, mostly surrounding the two romances in the book (which I’ll omit to avoid spoilers). The first, I felt was strangely intense for its underpinnings. The second, I thought a little eerie, considering the previous relationship of the two characters. However, in general, the book moves at a quick and exciting pace that keeps you reading. The ending promises a thrilling sequel.
Concept (5/5): I have little to say about the concept except “Wow!” Fortunato has a talent for breathing life into old myths and making them modern and fresh. The aesthetic reminds me of Anne Rice and her Egyptian demon vampires. On two points, however, I wished for more detail. The first is the Castus, the evil group tracking the Collectors. There were hints of their motivations, but I felt I didn’t understand them deeply enough. The second and most important is the collecting. Sin-eating is the most exciting part of this concept, but for a long time, we only hear about it. When we finally witness the ritual ourselves, the moment passes quickly and with only routine description. For such a cool idea, I would have loved to see a much more in depth exploration of the process and how it really feels.
Characters (5/5): Lily was a little childish for 100, but it didn’t bother me. She never really went through the adult rites of passage. It made sense for her to be a little broken. Julia was the next best character, in that I got a good sense of her immediately. Both Olexander and Billy fell a little flat. Also, this might just be me, but I was imagining Olexander as a sort of Donald Sutherland type from the beginning and didn’t realize that he, like Lily, does not age. I just couldn’t feel as comfortable with the others as with Lily, who was very deeply portrayed.
Style (4/5): The style was generally good and simple, a backdrop for a fast-paced plot. Lily’s voice felt consistent throughout. The only hitch was dialogue. The characters rarely used contractions and in some places, their speech sounded forced. This would pull me out of the story when it happened. However, in general, the style didn’t overpower the plot.
Mechanics (3/5): Commas were a persistent problem, in that they were either missing or misplaced. There were a few odd grammar points. In general, the spelling was typo-free and the formatting was good.
Take Home Message: If you’re looking for a quick read that packs a punch, pick up Jessica Fortunato’s debut—and look out for her second offering, coming this month!
The Basics: The Sin Collector is a rare beauty in a paranormal market overwrought with vampires and the occasional witch. Exploring the old obscure sin-eaters myths of England and Scotland, it creates a hidden world of Collectors that feels both ancient and breathtakingly new. Liliana is a childlike character with the wisdom of a century under her belt and a sarcastic tongue that keeps the tone light and makes for laugh-out-loud pages. While the other characters aren’t as strong, they’re sufficient to prop up a fast-paced plot. Once I started reading, it was a trick to put it down.
Plot (5/5): On the whole, the plot shows very tight design. Details are planted in the beginning and woven carefully to an exciting end. Since Lily doesn’t know quite whom to trust, you as reader are also left guessing—and the final traitor, while not a complete surprise, is still a satisfying discovery. Some parts feel thin, mostly surrounding the two romances in the book (which I’ll omit to avoid spoilers). The first, I felt was strangely intense for its underpinnings. The second, I thought a little eerie, considering the previous relationship of the two characters. However, in general, the book moves at a quick and exciting pace that keeps you reading. The ending promises a thrilling sequel.
Concept (5/5): I have little to say about the concept except “Wow!” Fortunato has a talent for breathing life into old myths and making them modern and fresh. The aesthetic reminds me of Anne Rice and her Egyptian demon vampires. On two points, however, I wished for more detail. The first is the Castus, the evil group tracking the Collectors. There were hints of their motivations, but I felt I didn’t understand them deeply enough. The second and most important is the collecting. Sin-eating is the most exciting part of this concept, but for a long time, we only hear about it. When we finally witness the ritual ourselves, the moment passes quickly and with only routine description. For such a cool idea, I would have loved to see a much more in depth exploration of the process and how it really feels.
Characters (5/5): Lily was a little childish for 100, but it didn’t bother me. She never really went through the adult rites of passage. It made sense for her to be a little broken. Julia was the next best character, in that I got a good sense of her immediately. Both Olexander and Billy fell a little flat. Also, this might just be me, but I was imagining Olexander as a sort of Donald Sutherland type from the beginning and didn’t realize that he, like Lily, does not age. I just couldn’t feel as comfortable with the others as with Lily, who was very deeply portrayed.
Style (4/5): The style was generally good and simple, a backdrop for a fast-paced plot. Lily’s voice felt consistent throughout. The only hitch was dialogue. The characters rarely used contractions and in some places, their speech sounded forced. This would pull me out of the story when it happened. However, in general, the style didn’t overpower the plot.
Mechanics (3/5): Commas were a persistent problem, in that they were either missing or misplaced. There were a few odd grammar points. In general, the spelling was typo-free and the formatting was good.
Take Home Message: If you’re looking for a quick read that packs a punch, pick up Jessica Fortunato’s debut—and look out for her second offering, coming this month!
June 28, 2012
(Book read and reviewed for {Read It & Reap 72} in the Shut Up And Read group.)
Liliana is a Sin Collector, an immortal human-like being with the ability to divest a dying person from her sins, so that swhe can find peace in death. However, her kin cannot be in the presence of each other, for fear of suffering terrible pain due to the weight of the sins they've absorbed; and so she's been living on her own for the best of 120 years. Until another Collector tells her that all she's been believing in until now was all but a lie...
This novel is packed with interesting ideas, which is what drew me to it in first place. The concept of eating someone else's sins to bring them peace was intriguing, all the more so that it raises questions such as "what about people who'd deserve to pay for their sins?". Liliana is overall a strong character, who takes the reins of her own life, doesn't let other people act for her, is trying to do the best she can with the terrible task and power she's been given, and tries to keep a cool head when faced with hard facts. The tension between some of the characters is efficiently kept up, through events as well as through their behaviours and the palpable mystery that surrounds them. Also, the antagonists' point of view and aim is, in a way, understandable, and I felt that there was more behind this than just a matter of 'being righteous'.
Some things I unfortunately found to be a little annoying in this story. For instance, while Liliana's behaviour is usually positive, she sometimes struck me as having disproportionate reactions, that didn't fit a 120-year-old woman (sure, she looks like she's 20, but having lived so long and led such a peculiar life, shouldn't she be more level-headed, and not react like she was indeed 'only' 20?). Recurrent punctuation problems were a minor flaw, but one that tended to be jarring all the same. I didn't fully get the relationship between Liliana and her mentor—what happens isn't really in tune with what the reader's presented with at first, and so it felt quite odd in the end. Finally, the story being a short one, a lot of details were left in the dark; maybe more will be revealed in the series' next novel, but in the meantime, I'd still have liked to learn more about the process of sin-collecting, about how the Collectors got to exist in the first place—in other words: more about what seemed to me to be the main theme of the book when I got it.
All in all, I enjoyed "The Sin Collector", and am torn between giving it 3 stars or 4. In the end, I'll keep it at 3, but I'm positive the author can and will do more with the next part. The promises her world and characters hold are strong and very much present.
Liliana is a Sin Collector, an immortal human-like being with the ability to divest a dying person from her sins, so that swhe can find peace in death. However, her kin cannot be in the presence of each other, for fear of suffering terrible pain due to the weight of the sins they've absorbed; and so she's been living on her own for the best of 120 years. Until another Collector tells her that all she's been believing in until now was all but a lie...
This novel is packed with interesting ideas, which is what drew me to it in first place. The concept of eating someone else's sins to bring them peace was intriguing, all the more so that it raises questions such as "what about people who'd deserve to pay for their sins?". Liliana is overall a strong character, who takes the reins of her own life, doesn't let other people act for her, is trying to do the best she can with the terrible task and power she's been given, and tries to keep a cool head when faced with hard facts. The tension between some of the characters is efficiently kept up, through events as well as through their behaviours and the palpable mystery that surrounds them. Also, the antagonists' point of view and aim is, in a way, understandable, and I felt that there was more behind this than just a matter of 'being righteous'.
Some things I unfortunately found to be a little annoying in this story. For instance, while Liliana's behaviour is usually positive, she sometimes struck me as having disproportionate reactions, that didn't fit a 120-year-old woman (sure, she looks like she's 20, but having lived so long and led such a peculiar life, shouldn't she be more level-headed, and not react like she was indeed 'only' 20?). Recurrent punctuation problems were a minor flaw, but one that tended to be jarring all the same. I didn't fully get the relationship between Liliana and her mentor—what happens isn't really in tune with what the reader's presented with at first, and so it felt quite odd in the end. Finally, the story being a short one, a lot of details were left in the dark; maybe more will be revealed in the series' next novel, but in the meantime, I'd still have liked to learn more about the process of sin-collecting, about how the Collectors got to exist in the first place—in other words: more about what seemed to me to be the main theme of the book when I got it.
All in all, I enjoyed "The Sin Collector", and am torn between giving it 3 stars or 4. In the end, I'll keep it at 3, but I'm positive the author can and will do more with the next part. The promises her world and characters hold are strong and very much present.
March 14, 2012
*Received e-book through the Authors Requesting Reviews (ARR) program on Goodreads for an honest review
**More like 3.5 stars, also posted on Amazon.com under Leanne
The Sin Collector is told by the point-of-view of Liliana “Lili” Genov, a nearly immortal being who has been trained to absorb sins from humans, usually before death. After abandoning those duties since WWII and living a quiet life as a librarian, she encounters an old sin collector friend, William (Billy). Billy surprises her by telling her he has never collected sins and she makes a choice to journey with him to Ireland to see others like him. At the same time, she finds her boss murdered and may be running from a sinister organization called the Castus, whose members kill sin collectors, believing they are abominations. As Lili travels with William, she encounters sin collectors being murdered, other sin collectors being hunted and banding together, and perhaps even a traitor among them working with the Castus. She must discover the truth before she is their next victim.
I adored the character of Lili. Fortunato, through witty monologues and vivid descriptions, establishes a connection with Lili from the first chapter. I felt sorry for her self-imposed isolation and her lack of direction, but loved her plucky, somewhat snarky personality. In addition, I liked the re-kindling of her friendship with Billy and the intimacy that developed between them. At the same time, I especially liked how Fortunato kept Billy’s character mysterious enough to create tension within the plot, as well as with the arrival of Lili’s long-lost mentor, Olexander. The hostility between him and Billy was palpable as Lili questioned both their motives and agenda.
On the other hand, I did have an issue with the lack of detail in the book. I was looking forward to reading more about the act of sin collecting itself, as well as the advent/creation of sin collectors. This was somewhat glazed over and resulted in confusion about Lili’s initial identification as a sin collector and the rituals she performs. This was a little disappointing as Fortunato based the novel on this rather unique premise and I think she missed an opportunity to enhance her world-building.
Overall, The Sin Collector was a fast-paced, enjoyable read. Fortunato set the foundation for future novels in this series well, and I would like to see more aspects of the sin collectors unfold. I would recommend this book to fans of YA paranormal fiction.
**More like 3.5 stars, also posted on Amazon.com under Leanne
The Sin Collector is told by the point-of-view of Liliana “Lili” Genov, a nearly immortal being who has been trained to absorb sins from humans, usually before death. After abandoning those duties since WWII and living a quiet life as a librarian, she encounters an old sin collector friend, William (Billy). Billy surprises her by telling her he has never collected sins and she makes a choice to journey with him to Ireland to see others like him. At the same time, she finds her boss murdered and may be running from a sinister organization called the Castus, whose members kill sin collectors, believing they are abominations. As Lili travels with William, she encounters sin collectors being murdered, other sin collectors being hunted and banding together, and perhaps even a traitor among them working with the Castus. She must discover the truth before she is their next victim.
I adored the character of Lili. Fortunato, through witty monologues and vivid descriptions, establishes a connection with Lili from the first chapter. I felt sorry for her self-imposed isolation and her lack of direction, but loved her plucky, somewhat snarky personality. In addition, I liked the re-kindling of her friendship with Billy and the intimacy that developed between them. At the same time, I especially liked how Fortunato kept Billy’s character mysterious enough to create tension within the plot, as well as with the arrival of Lili’s long-lost mentor, Olexander. The hostility between him and Billy was palpable as Lili questioned both their motives and agenda.
On the other hand, I did have an issue with the lack of detail in the book. I was looking forward to reading more about the act of sin collecting itself, as well as the advent/creation of sin collectors. This was somewhat glazed over and resulted in confusion about Lili’s initial identification as a sin collector and the rituals she performs. This was a little disappointing as Fortunato based the novel on this rather unique premise and I think she missed an opportunity to enhance her world-building.
Overall, The Sin Collector was a fast-paced, enjoyable read. Fortunato set the foundation for future novels in this series well, and I would like to see more aspects of the sin collectors unfold. I would recommend this book to fans of YA paranormal fiction.
March 27, 2012
The Good:
Voice: I loved the voice in this series. It was humorous, yet it didn't get overly snarky like a lot of books. I had several laugh out loud moments, such as Lily's whole balance and bike issues. The voice had a balance of light and dark moments when appropriate. It kept me interested.
Characters: I love Liliana. Yes, at times she can be immature for her age, but I think she is trying to cling to that last bit of innocence. I can really see this when she is with another character Juliana. The secondary characters are great as well. Each has their own personality and motivations. Jessica kept me guessing at who was the traitor for most of the book.
Story and Worldbuilding: The Sin Collector concept is something I have rarely seen. I think i have only heard of another movie perhaps a book that had anything like it. (I'll have to look those up again). Anyway, You know how we've talked about wanting to see a different type of race in Modern Fantasy. Well, here is your chance to read about one.
Themes: The main theme I saw through the book was finding home, whereever home was. I love this theme and Jessica has pulled it off. The story also touches on good and evil. Not just good vs. evil, but also intention vs action. If you have good intentions does that justify your actions?
The Bad:
Pacing: I loved faced paced books but I felt the pacing was little too fast on this. It is a short book, so it is like taking a bite and it's done.
Details: I felt the author could have shown more detail in certain points in the story. . I think this could have also helped with the pacing and gave us a deeper look at the characters. I had a few moments of confusion during the story, such as: "Wait, she on the ground? I thought she was standing." or "Where did she get that knife?" These were very few, but could have been cleaned up by going into more detail. Also, I would have loved for Jessica to go into the history of Sin Collectors more. I'm hoping she will in the next book.
Overall: Get this book. It was unique and entertaining!
Voice: I loved the voice in this series. It was humorous, yet it didn't get overly snarky like a lot of books. I had several laugh out loud moments, such as Lily's whole balance and bike issues. The voice had a balance of light and dark moments when appropriate. It kept me interested.
Characters: I love Liliana. Yes, at times she can be immature for her age, but I think she is trying to cling to that last bit of innocence. I can really see this when she is with another character Juliana. The secondary characters are great as well. Each has their own personality and motivations. Jessica kept me guessing at who was the traitor for most of the book.
Story and Worldbuilding: The Sin Collector concept is something I have rarely seen. I think i have only heard of another movie perhaps a book that had anything like it. (I'll have to look those up again). Anyway, You know how we've talked about wanting to see a different type of race in Modern Fantasy. Well, here is your chance to read about one.
Themes: The main theme I saw through the book was finding home, whereever home was. I love this theme and Jessica has pulled it off. The story also touches on good and evil. Not just good vs. evil, but also intention vs action. If you have good intentions does that justify your actions?
The Bad:
Pacing: I loved faced paced books but I felt the pacing was little too fast on this. It is a short book, so it is like taking a bite and it's done.
Details: I felt the author could have shown more detail in certain points in the story. . I think this could have also helped with the pacing and gave us a deeper look at the characters. I had a few moments of confusion during the story, such as: "Wait, she on the ground? I thought she was standing." or "Where did she get that knife?" These were very few, but could have been cleaned up by going into more detail. Also, I would have loved for Jessica to go into the history of Sin Collectors more. I'm hoping she will in the next book.
Overall: Get this book. It was unique and entertaining!
June 25, 2012
So, I have a serious thing for Sin-Eaters and Sin-Eater mythology. I've read quite a few books that have to do with it. So when I got the opportunity to read and review this book, I was like hell, yes! Not many people are really into Sin Eaters. I was pretty excited to see what the author was going to do with the concept.
The beginning was great, I thought. The background information on Sin-Eaters given a personal twist, the snippets of the past through Lili's eyes - all good. I liked the little interactions, the story of how she had come to exist as she was now. The description of the pulsing sins and the teasing pieces of the ritual were also good. And in general, her early interactions I felt were believable.
As the text went on, I had a harder time holding on to who I felt Lili was. Her reactions and suspicions were something I watched like a bug in a jar rather than felt. She stopped making sense to me. But I was still interested. I just kind-of wished the drama would recede a little so that more of the world and mechanics could resurface. The suspense was killing me. I wanted to connect to the character again, to be inside the story.
The pacing of the end felt very off, and some of the events and motivations never quite fit. The lead-up sort of promised something really epic, but the final showdown didn't quite deliver. A lot of questions were left unanswered (perhaps in nod to a sequel) and the epilogue was very mellow and unapologetic. No answers here it said.
Ultimately the pacing was a problem for me. The story was good, but I don't think it quite met the potential of its roots. When I first started reading I was really expecting something wonderful. What I got was an enjoyable story with action and romance and heartbreak, but the deeper sort of spiritual questions that had opened with the novel faded in the face of drama and love.
Ain't it always the way?
But it was a good quick tale of supernatural abilities, suspense, action and, you know, action. *winky face*
The beginning was great, I thought. The background information on Sin-Eaters given a personal twist, the snippets of the past through Lili's eyes - all good. I liked the little interactions, the story of how she had come to exist as she was now. The description of the pulsing sins and the teasing pieces of the ritual were also good. And in general, her early interactions I felt were believable.
As the text went on, I had a harder time holding on to who I felt Lili was. Her reactions and suspicions were something I watched like a bug in a jar rather than felt. She stopped making sense to me. But I was still interested. I just kind-of wished the drama would recede a little so that more of the world and mechanics could resurface. The suspense was killing me. I wanted to connect to the character again, to be inside the story.
The pacing of the end felt very off, and some of the events and motivations never quite fit. The lead-up sort of promised something really epic, but the final showdown didn't quite deliver. A lot of questions were left unanswered (perhaps in nod to a sequel) and the epilogue was very mellow and unapologetic. No answers here it said.
Ultimately the pacing was a problem for me. The story was good, but I don't think it quite met the potential of its roots. When I first started reading I was really expecting something wonderful. What I got was an enjoyable story with action and romance and heartbreak, but the deeper sort of spiritual questions that had opened with the novel faded in the face of drama and love.
Ain't it always the way?
But it was a good quick tale of supernatural abilities, suspense, action and, you know, action. *winky face*
July 3, 2012
Favourite Character: Olexander
Liliana is a Sin Collector. She collects the sins of humans, so they can move on from this world. Liliana was working in a library, peacefully living her life until one day a friend from her childhood shows up and before she knows it, she's leaving L.A. and on her way to Dublin. In Dublin she runs into Olexander, the Collector who taught her how to be a Sin Collector. Her life is turned upside down, not only is she fighting for her life and the lives of her new and old friends, there's a traitor in their midst and she needs to figure out who it is!
This novella is a mix of urban fantasy with a little paranormal romance mixed in. It keeps you guessing, although after a bit I had a fairly good idea of who the traitor was, but at some point I think you're supposed to know before it all comes out. If not, then I guess I'm just a good guesser.
I throughly enjoyed this novella, I thought the writing was excellent, descriptive but not boring and Fortunato gave you enough information to soothe your imagination but not enough that you wanted to put the book down. Again, I think the only reason it took me so long to finish it is because I haven't fully embraced ebooks yet. I like having the actual book in my hands.
Overall, awesome book, I would buy it to add to my collection and I will definitely be waiting for the next in the series to come out!
Liliana is a Sin Collector. She collects the sins of humans, so they can move on from this world. Liliana was working in a library, peacefully living her life until one day a friend from her childhood shows up and before she knows it, she's leaving L.A. and on her way to Dublin. In Dublin she runs into Olexander, the Collector who taught her how to be a Sin Collector. Her life is turned upside down, not only is she fighting for her life and the lives of her new and old friends, there's a traitor in their midst and she needs to figure out who it is!
This novella is a mix of urban fantasy with a little paranormal romance mixed in. It keeps you guessing, although after a bit I had a fairly good idea of who the traitor was, but at some point I think you're supposed to know before it all comes out. If not, then I guess I'm just a good guesser.
I throughly enjoyed this novella, I thought the writing was excellent, descriptive but not boring and Fortunato gave you enough information to soothe your imagination but not enough that you wanted to put the book down. Again, I think the only reason it took me so long to finish it is because I haven't fully embraced ebooks yet. I like having the actual book in my hands.
Overall, awesome book, I would buy it to add to my collection and I will definitely be waiting for the next in the series to come out!
July 2, 2012
(Received a copy of this book from R&R)
Quite disappointed. I liked the concept of the book and the cover. It was unique, i haven't really read a fantasy book about sin collectors and I kinda wish they really existed so I and a number of people can just skip church confessions and be at peace without the fear and humiliation of telling a priest or someone who may or may not help get rid of the unwanted emotions. For someone who lived for so long, I didn't appreciate that Lili would feel like an 18 year old human. Although they never age, Ollie sounded like a grandfather in the book and I was pretty shocked with how it all ended. Billy looked very suspicious from the beginning so I was not suprised when THAT happened. All the other characters, I didn't really notice as much. I cannot believe I struggled to finish a 152 paged pdf. I actually assumed that I can go through this in one day. The writing wasn't bad but it wasn't that great either. The second book "Sacrifice" will be released next year. (according to the last page of the file). Is it worth reading? Yes. If you want a fresh concept and if you want a short read. Otherwise... I don't know. It just fell short of my expectations and the story is a bit flat for my liking so not really sure if I can recommend it for any other reason.
Quite disappointed. I liked the concept of the book and the cover. It was unique, i haven't really read a fantasy book about sin collectors and I kinda wish they really existed so I and a number of people can just skip church confessions and be at peace without the fear and humiliation of telling a priest or someone who may or may not help get rid of the unwanted emotions. For someone who lived for so long, I didn't appreciate that Lili would feel like an 18 year old human. Although they never age, Ollie sounded like a grandfather in the book and I was pretty shocked with how it all ended. Billy looked very suspicious from the beginning so I was not suprised when THAT happened. All the other characters, I didn't really notice as much. I cannot believe I struggled to finish a 152 paged pdf. I actually assumed that I can go through this in one day. The writing wasn't bad but it wasn't that great either. The second book "Sacrifice" will be released next year. (according to the last page of the file). Is it worth reading? Yes. If you want a fresh concept and if you want a short read. Otherwise... I don't know. It just fell short of my expectations and the story is a bit flat for my liking so not really sure if I can recommend it for any other reason.
September 18, 2012
The title caught my eye, the blurb pulled me in, and the book itself did not disappoint. Overall The Sin Collector is a well paced, inventive paranormal-type novel. I found the premise especially unique and worthy of mention.
(Disclaimer - I'm horrible with names, so Main Char. is what you'll usually get out of me for review purposes :-)
Only a minor nit-pick... for some one who's been around the block for a while, I found the main character to be slightly naive when it suited the plot and the rest of the time she was spot-on. Perhaps in the next book the character will be more uniform in her behavior, but it's wasn't that big of a deal. Certainly not enough to detract from the rest of the story.
I was very surprised by the ending... certainly didn't see that one coming! Not sure how I feel about part of the plot resolution, so I'm anxious to read the next book to see where the author is taking it!
(Disclaimer - I'm horrible with names, so Main Char. is what you'll usually get out of me for review purposes :-)
Only a minor nit-pick... for some one who's been around the block for a while, I found the main character to be slightly naive when it suited the plot and the rest of the time she was spot-on. Perhaps in the next book the character will be more uniform in her behavior, but it's wasn't that big of a deal. Certainly not enough to detract from the rest of the story.
I was very surprised by the ending... certainly didn't see that one coming! Not sure how I feel about part of the plot resolution, so I'm anxious to read the next book to see where the author is taking it!
March 13, 2012
I was fortunate enough to get a copy of The Sin Collector from Jessica Fortunato. This is a book that you can't put down. The life of Lily was not always a easy one. She felt alone in her life because she was a soul collector and because of tat he was not able to be around people of her kind because it caused great pain. She meets up with men from her past because there are a lot of deaths happening from a group called Castus, they feel that the soul collectors are abomination . But the two men Billy and Olexander who should she trust. She also starts to get protective feelings for a young girl who is also a soul collector by the name of Julia, although she as not come into those powers yet until she turns 20. I would definitely get this book and give it 5 stars. I am also looking forward to the story continuing.
August 31, 2012
The friend who recommended me this book was right! It's absobing, well written and has a very good rhythm.
The only thing I don't like is... well... the bad character had really to be Italian?
Joking aside, this is the kind of fantasy novel I really appreciate. It's well developed without useless description or long digressions that often are typical of fantasy. The main charcter is a good one, but not so good that she seems fake. She is immortal, but she has her doubts, emotions and crisi as anyone else. The plot progress quickly and it brings you to turn the page, willing to read the next scene.
If I have to find a fault in this book, I can say that sometimes crisis and troubles are too easily solved. However the value of the book is not diminshed.
I can't wait to read the next episode of this saga!
The only thing I don't like is... well... the bad character had really to be Italian?
Joking aside, this is the kind of fantasy novel I really appreciate. It's well developed without useless description or long digressions that often are typical of fantasy. The main charcter is a good one, but not so good that she seems fake. She is immortal, but she has her doubts, emotions and crisi as anyone else. The plot progress quickly and it brings you to turn the page, willing to read the next scene.
If I have to find a fault in this book, I can say that sometimes crisis and troubles are too easily solved. However the value of the book is not diminshed.
I can't wait to read the next episode of this saga!
November 20, 2013
I loved this book. A friend recommended it to me. I read it a while ago and thought I had already reviewed it. I apologize. :( Anyway the premise is so original. I read it on my very long trip back from VA with two young children. It was great (minus the interruptions of he's touching me, shes looking at me lol)
Anyway the only thing that detracted from the story for me was the typos. Ugh I couldn't get past them, HOWEVER I did receive an email stating that there was an updated version. One thing that Amazon let's you know about. But I already read the book so I am not going back to re-read it and let you know if that is improved. They weren't to the point for me to warrant a terrible review, so there you go.
Anyway the only thing that detracted from the story for me was the typos. Ugh I couldn't get past them, HOWEVER I did receive an email stating that there was an updated version. One thing that Amazon let's you know about. But I already read the book so I am not going back to re-read it and let you know if that is improved. They weren't to the point for me to warrant a terrible review, so there you go.
July 6, 2012
Wasn't as good as I originally thought.
However it was ok, I found it boring at times and the wording of some things could have been better.
The twist at the end made me sit forward, it caught my attention and peaked my interest more. I thought the ending was quite fulfilling and very good but it doesn't actually want to make me read the next sequel.
I did love the little girl though she was so innocent and sweet:)
I'm glad the author gave me this oppurtunity to read this book in favour of a review. Only time will tell if I will read the next one.
However it was ok, I found it boring at times and the wording of some things could have been better.
The twist at the end made me sit forward, it caught my attention and peaked my interest more. I thought the ending was quite fulfilling and very good but it doesn't actually want to make me read the next sequel.
I did love the little girl though she was so innocent and sweet:)
I'm glad the author gave me this oppurtunity to read this book in favour of a review. Only time will tell if I will read the next one.
July 8, 2012
The Book was Better Than I Expected.But it still lacked in certain Avenues.
The story Ended abruptly,but i enjoyed reading it. I wish There was More info on what made billy to change Sides,but that might be for the later Books.
The climax could have been little built up, And the relationship between olexander and lilian A little more refined.
All aside, I want to read the second part, to know what Happens To lili And jules And to know how the author takes the story forward.
The story Ended abruptly,but i enjoyed reading it. I wish There was More info on what made billy to change Sides,but that might be for the later Books.
The climax could have been little built up, And the relationship between olexander and lilian A little more refined.
All aside, I want to read the second part, to know what Happens To lili And jules And to know how the author takes the story forward.
August 9, 2012
I was pleasantly surprised by this book The Sin Collector and certainly found
liliana's character fascinating. With more than a few twists and turns to keep the reader even more interested i really never expected it to end as it did and cannot wait to read book 2. i would definately recommend this book to my fellow book lovers.
July 24, 2012
I liked the story for this book. I wish that the characters were developed better. It was hard to understand the reasons behind their actions when little time was spent on what kind of people they were. Overall I liked the book. I hope that Book 2 has a better development of the characters ().
Received this copy for review by author.
Received this copy for review by author.
July 6, 2012
Very unique premise.
Not as heavy on the romance, but there was still some sweet nuggets in there.
Don't know who to trust.
More to come, with quotes. Overall, I liked it very much!
Not as heavy on the romance, but there was still some sweet nuggets in there.
Don't know who to trust.
More to come, with quotes. Overall, I liked it very much!
August 8, 2012
Upon reading the synopsis to The Sin Collector, I was definitely eager to jump into the book but as the bad reviewer that I am =P, I wasn’t able to get to the book for some time since my life and other books kept getting in my way! So the moment I sat down to read, I jumped in and refused to let anyone interrupt me. I can only describe my relationship with The Sin Collector as a complicated love affair.
The book isn’t so much a book but a novella, which surprised since I had been expecting a full length novel, but that did not deter me in the least from jumping right in. The story starts off strong, building up the curiosity from the beginning and keeping the reader interested pretty much throughout the entire read. The suspense is well built in certain scenes and some of the action is just as well done. I also thoroughly enjoyed the characters—for the most-part—and could relate to them, especially Liliana since the story is told from her point of view.
Liliana begins the novella with strength and sarcasm, two things I always appreciate in a heroine or hero. I instantly liked her and wanted to continue her story. Billy or William was sweet, protective, and cute. My favorite character though was Olexander. He’s wise, has a certain old world charm, and it doesn’t hurt he’s not hard on the eyes *wink*
As much as I did enjoy the book overall, there were just certain things that made me wish I had the Word document to the book so I could take a red pen to it and start reworking scenes, plot, and characters.
I don’t usually care too much about grammatical errors in books (or novellas) because most of the time there aren’t that many to really distract from the story. That was not the case though in The Sin Collector. Nearly every other page (perhaps every page?) had commas missing, sentences ending in weird places, or words needing capitalization. The first few pages, I just overlooked the errors because it happens. We’re all human and can miss a few things here and there but there were so many my eyes just kept locking onto them. I really just wanted to fix all of them so they would stop distracting me so often.
The book is written well, fast-paced, and reads with ease. All great aspects of the book and proves the author has actual talent. But that aside, the novella doesn’t work as a novella. Fortunato has come with such a wonderfully refreshing idea and I would have loved to have seen the concept developed through a full-length novel.
The characters are not fleshed out as much as they need to be to really know them. Liliana spends pretty much the entire novella TELLING the story to the reader. Everything feels like it’s being dictated instead of experienced which became frustrating since she was the only real character the reader gets to know. Billy and Olexander do have a backstory, somewhat, but their characters are overshadowed by Liliana constantly explaining everything in such abrupt ways.
The action scenes fall under the same predicament. Whenever a scene came up that would go in the direction of some type of action and the reader is filled with suspense and tension, waiting to see what is going to happen, the scene would suddenly be over and everything would quickly be resolved. It felt like sitting on a chair and someone kicking it out from under you.
Spoilers ahead!! You've been warned!!
But the aspect that just floored me with the novella and had me stepping away from reading (first time I had to step away from the story which I don’t often do) was when Liliana and Billy sleep with each other. The scene happened in the middle of an important mission and Billy SERIOUSLY said, “LiLi this could be our last night on earth. Don’t you think we should enjoy it?” then Liliana proceeds to ACTUALLY fall for the line and go with Billy into her bedroom. Even though she isn’t sure she can really trust him. Even though she’s on a mission to keep all of the Sin Collectors alive and rescue others. Even though Liliana is supposed to be not only smarter than that but better than that! Then the next chapter proceeds to only prove why Liliana shouldn’t trust Billy but she doesn’t really make any real comment about the secretive phone call. Then she proceeds to have a mini make out session with Olexander when he comes to help rescue her claiming he had always been the one for her!!!! (Insert near brain aneurysm here).
I don’t know why the author would decide to go down such a cliché and novice path. Clearly the concept to the book is unique and the talent is very much there so why fall under the bus of “been there, read that so many times before.”
I liked the way the novella ended though. It was sweet and nice. I also enjoyed the fact that the book didn’t end on a cliff hanger (even though I do enjoy a good cliff hanger). The ending fit the book and it was nice to see Liliana finally begin really living after everything she’s been through.
But The Sin Collector was missing the depth and fat to make it into the story it deserves to be. I so desperately wanted to rewrite the book. Strengthen the characterization and the dynamic relationships with each of the characters. I wanted to showcase the secondary characters a bit more since they do matter in the third half of the novella. I wanted to strengthen Liliana’s voice so she doesn’t fizzle out into a shallow, bossy and somewhat gullible character when she starts off the story as a strong and assertive woman. I wanted to fix all the missing commas because there were too many missing. I wanted to add another two hundred pages so the fluidity of the story and the various obstacles faced throughout have time to be played out better.
Here’s the thing, I really do LOVE the concept behind The Sin Collector. I know I’m repeating myself but I cannot say enough how the idea is refreshing and unique. The writing, outside of the above mentioned issues, is GOOD. The author has a relatable voice and is great at creating pacing and connection with an audience. I have passion for this book.
The Sin Collector is one of those stories where gut instinct tells you it’ll be great, it’ll be big, but it just needs more time before its ready.
I would still recommend The Sin Collector to fantasy and supernatural fans. It’s a short read and very much an enjoyable one.
The book isn’t so much a book but a novella, which surprised since I had been expecting a full length novel, but that did not deter me in the least from jumping right in. The story starts off strong, building up the curiosity from the beginning and keeping the reader interested pretty much throughout the entire read. The suspense is well built in certain scenes and some of the action is just as well done. I also thoroughly enjoyed the characters—for the most-part—and could relate to them, especially Liliana since the story is told from her point of view.
Liliana begins the novella with strength and sarcasm, two things I always appreciate in a heroine or hero. I instantly liked her and wanted to continue her story. Billy or William was sweet, protective, and cute. My favorite character though was Olexander. He’s wise, has a certain old world charm, and it doesn’t hurt he’s not hard on the eyes *wink*
As much as I did enjoy the book overall, there were just certain things that made me wish I had the Word document to the book so I could take a red pen to it and start reworking scenes, plot, and characters.
I don’t usually care too much about grammatical errors in books (or novellas) because most of the time there aren’t that many to really distract from the story. That was not the case though in The Sin Collector. Nearly every other page (perhaps every page?) had commas missing, sentences ending in weird places, or words needing capitalization. The first few pages, I just overlooked the errors because it happens. We’re all human and can miss a few things here and there but there were so many my eyes just kept locking onto them. I really just wanted to fix all of them so they would stop distracting me so often.
The book is written well, fast-paced, and reads with ease. All great aspects of the book and proves the author has actual talent. But that aside, the novella doesn’t work as a novella. Fortunato has come with such a wonderfully refreshing idea and I would have loved to have seen the concept developed through a full-length novel.
The characters are not fleshed out as much as they need to be to really know them. Liliana spends pretty much the entire novella TELLING the story to the reader. Everything feels like it’s being dictated instead of experienced which became frustrating since she was the only real character the reader gets to know. Billy and Olexander do have a backstory, somewhat, but their characters are overshadowed by Liliana constantly explaining everything in such abrupt ways.
The action scenes fall under the same predicament. Whenever a scene came up that would go in the direction of some type of action and the reader is filled with suspense and tension, waiting to see what is going to happen, the scene would suddenly be over and everything would quickly be resolved. It felt like sitting on a chair and someone kicking it out from under you.
Spoilers ahead!! You've been warned!!
But the aspect that just floored me with the novella and had me stepping away from reading (first time I had to step away from the story which I don’t often do) was when Liliana and Billy sleep with each other. The scene happened in the middle of an important mission and Billy SERIOUSLY said, “LiLi this could be our last night on earth. Don’t you think we should enjoy it?” then Liliana proceeds to ACTUALLY fall for the line and go with Billy into her bedroom. Even though she isn’t sure she can really trust him. Even though she’s on a mission to keep all of the Sin Collectors alive and rescue others. Even though Liliana is supposed to be not only smarter than that but better than that! Then the next chapter proceeds to only prove why Liliana shouldn’t trust Billy but she doesn’t really make any real comment about the secretive phone call. Then she proceeds to have a mini make out session with Olexander when he comes to help rescue her claiming he had always been the one for her!!!! (Insert near brain aneurysm here).
I don’t know why the author would decide to go down such a cliché and novice path. Clearly the concept to the book is unique and the talent is very much there so why fall under the bus of “been there, read that so many times before.”
I liked the way the novella ended though. It was sweet and nice. I also enjoyed the fact that the book didn’t end on a cliff hanger (even though I do enjoy a good cliff hanger). The ending fit the book and it was nice to see Liliana finally begin really living after everything she’s been through.
But The Sin Collector was missing the depth and fat to make it into the story it deserves to be. I so desperately wanted to rewrite the book. Strengthen the characterization and the dynamic relationships with each of the characters. I wanted to showcase the secondary characters a bit more since they do matter in the third half of the novella. I wanted to strengthen Liliana’s voice so she doesn’t fizzle out into a shallow, bossy and somewhat gullible character when she starts off the story as a strong and assertive woman. I wanted to fix all the missing commas because there were too many missing. I wanted to add another two hundred pages so the fluidity of the story and the various obstacles faced throughout have time to be played out better.
Here’s the thing, I really do LOVE the concept behind The Sin Collector. I know I’m repeating myself but I cannot say enough how the idea is refreshing and unique. The writing, outside of the above mentioned issues, is GOOD. The author has a relatable voice and is great at creating pacing and connection with an audience. I have passion for this book.
The Sin Collector is one of those stories where gut instinct tells you it’ll be great, it’ll be big, but it just needs more time before its ready.
I would still recommend The Sin Collector to fantasy and supernatural fans. It’s a short read and very much an enjoyable one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2012
I went into this book thinking what an interesting concept it was. However, it didn’t really live up to what I had envisioned, but maybe the rest will be rounded out in the next book . It was certainly an interesting read. Lillian, or LiLi as Billy called her is a Collector. She takes on all the sins a person has before they day. She is basically immortal, the only thing that can kill her is Castus dagger.
She has lived for over 120 years, and the best and the worst in mankind. After seeing all the death and destruction in WWII she stopped taking on others’ sins. She is trying to live as normal a life as she can, considering she can sense everyone’s sins. She is getty bu unti she runs into Billy, her first and only friend she had growing up. He too is a sin-eater, better known as a Collector. He lures her into believing that everything she knows is a lie; which is fairly close to the truth. She never had to take on anyone else’s sin; Billy didn’t. She become extremely frustrated with her former mentor, Olexander for never telling her these things.
All mentors leave the trainees after the trainee turns 20. This is when they have to learn to fend for themselves and begin to collect others’ sins. As Billy brings LiLi over to Dublin to supposedly relax while he visits with his mother (since no two Collectors can be in the same room without becoming physically ill). She passes out in a pub, because of another Collector being there. Billy believes that the Castus, a group of humans, who believe that Collectors should be eradicated, is nearby. As they begin to hunt for clues, Olexander and a group of Collectors pop up. LiLi is caught in the middle of Billy and Olexander. Each is telling her not to trust the other, and she begins to doubt who to place her trust in.
As the story continues, this is where I begin to have issues with it. Billy is the traitor; the Castus killed his mother and now he’s serving them. Why would anyone, especially someone who knows the history of the Collectors and the Castsus choose to serve them after watching his mother die a painful death? The author didn’t do a good job truly explaining why Billy would do this, and turn his old friend LiLi over to them? Was he truly that brainwashed?
Also, why is the Castus making a comeback now? They haven’t been around since before LiLi was born. Again the author provides no explanation. I do like that LiLi was able to see people’s Auras, but why did that happen? Maybe that will be explained in the next book. Rebecca, had that same gift, but she was extremely old, while LiLi is still quite young for a Collector. Also, it was interesting that Quinlan’s aura was red and orange, while another character who was not as evil had black around his aura. That seemed a little strange, I felt like Quinlan should have been the one with black intermixed with his aura. However, that’s just my opinion; the author could have had her own reason for showing Quinlan’s aura the way she did.
I will admit, I did cry at the very beginning of the book when George died. For some reason it really struck a chord with me, and I loved how he didn’t want LiLi to take his sins. That is a life well spent in my estimation. Overall, I would read the second book just to see if my questions are answered, but I’m not waiting for it on baited breath.
Grammatically, I didn’t notice a lot of errors. The one thing I did notice was that when the pdf format converted itself on my Nook, only 2 lines were typed before a space interrupted them. I felt like I was reading poetry. However, I believe that is purely a formatting issue with trying to read a pdf on a Nook. I doubt that the book is actually written like that.
She has lived for over 120 years, and the best and the worst in mankind. After seeing all the death and destruction in WWII she stopped taking on others’ sins. She is trying to live as normal a life as she can, considering she can sense everyone’s sins. She is getty bu unti she runs into Billy, her first and only friend she had growing up. He too is a sin-eater, better known as a Collector. He lures her into believing that everything she knows is a lie; which is fairly close to the truth. She never had to take on anyone else’s sin; Billy didn’t. She become extremely frustrated with her former mentor, Olexander for never telling her these things.
All mentors leave the trainees after the trainee turns 20. This is when they have to learn to fend for themselves and begin to collect others’ sins. As Billy brings LiLi over to Dublin to supposedly relax while he visits with his mother (since no two Collectors can be in the same room without becoming physically ill). She passes out in a pub, because of another Collector being there. Billy believes that the Castus, a group of humans, who believe that Collectors should be eradicated, is nearby. As they begin to hunt for clues, Olexander and a group of Collectors pop up. LiLi is caught in the middle of Billy and Olexander. Each is telling her not to trust the other, and she begins to doubt who to place her trust in.
As the story continues, this is where I begin to have issues with it. Billy is the traitor; the Castus killed his mother and now he’s serving them. Why would anyone, especially someone who knows the history of the Collectors and the Castsus choose to serve them after watching his mother die a painful death? The author didn’t do a good job truly explaining why Billy would do this, and turn his old friend LiLi over to them? Was he truly that brainwashed?
Also, why is the Castus making a comeback now? They haven’t been around since before LiLi was born. Again the author provides no explanation. I do like that LiLi was able to see people’s Auras, but why did that happen? Maybe that will be explained in the next book. Rebecca, had that same gift, but she was extremely old, while LiLi is still quite young for a Collector. Also, it was interesting that Quinlan’s aura was red and orange, while another character who was not as evil had black around his aura. That seemed a little strange, I felt like Quinlan should have been the one with black intermixed with his aura. However, that’s just my opinion; the author could have had her own reason for showing Quinlan’s aura the way she did.
I will admit, I did cry at the very beginning of the book when George died. For some reason it really struck a chord with me, and I loved how he didn’t want LiLi to take his sins. That is a life well spent in my estimation. Overall, I would read the second book just to see if my questions are answered, but I’m not waiting for it on baited breath.
Grammatically, I didn’t notice a lot of errors. The one thing I did notice was that when the pdf format converted itself on my Nook, only 2 lines were typed before a space interrupted them. I felt like I was reading poetry. However, I believe that is purely a formatting issue with trying to read a pdf on a Nook. I doubt that the book is actually written like that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2012
I don't normally mention this in a review, but I can't help stating this fact: I really love this cover. As you can see it's fairly simple in the sense that it's only various shades of grey and black. I think this is what draws me to the image every time I see it. The way the black corners fade from the grey is beautiful. When I stare long enough at it, the cover looks to be in motion. But I'm not one to judge a book by its cover. I gave it the rating I did for a reason. The reason was what is held between the covers.
What I really enjoyed from this book was the mythology behind the sin collectors, or Sin-eaters as they are also known. The concept that there are immortals roaming earth whose purpose is to remove the sins from a soul before it leaves a dying body was interesting. I was torn between finding this to be a good thing and that this could be too easy of a way out for heavy sinners. Lily mentions that she has performed the ritual on some utterly vile human beings.
What left me a bit disappointed was that there wasn't much of a history established for the sin collectors. It's true that even these beings have their own speculations about where they came from and why they were made. This doesn't take away from the book in the least. I think my yearning to know more about the collectors made me enjoy the story more. It also may have helped me sympathize with the collectors' own questions about their origins.
Enough about that though. You want to hear about the story itself, I'm sure. I was hooked early on and fell in love with some of the characters right away. One of them was George. He's an 87 year old widower who visits Lily at the library daily. He added some light to her long life and I enjoyed reading their conversations. I almost wish there were more of them.
Another character I enjoyed was one we meet later on, Rebecca. All I can say about her is that she's an ancient collector and very mysterious. I wish it could tell you more about her, but without spoiling anything and the addition of her reclusive nature I can't say much. With the little hints into her character that we got, I wanted to see more.
There were many themes touched on throughout the book. What should be focused on is one's part in the world, be it in a family, a place, or a "profession." The collectors tend to question their purpose in life. Why do they collect; what will become of them if they do get killed; etc. Most all collectors lead a solitary life because they physically can't survive being very close to the sins held within other collectors. When a way around is found, these questions start to get asked more and more often. I liked that the book focused on themes such as these but didn't make the reader stumble when they showed themselves in the reading. There was a smooth mix of story and "philosophical thought" that blended perfectly.
A final little bit I'll discuss is the ending. This won't be a spoiler so don't worry. It ended, and leads to the next in the trilogy. That's great. The way it ended was a big surprise to me. The reader and Lily were lead to doubt some of the characters until the very end. I couldn't figure out who I trusted more, and that's a hard thing to accomplish. I've been discovering a good amount of novels recently that have great unpredictable twists to them and The Sin Collector has joined those ranks.
Overall this story was a fast-paced read with a number of great characters, unpredictable plot turns, and a great mythology. I now want to go read some of the real world myths about sin-eaters to maybe satisfy my craving for the next installment of The Sin Collector Trilogy.
What I really enjoyed from this book was the mythology behind the sin collectors, or Sin-eaters as they are also known. The concept that there are immortals roaming earth whose purpose is to remove the sins from a soul before it leaves a dying body was interesting. I was torn between finding this to be a good thing and that this could be too easy of a way out for heavy sinners. Lily mentions that she has performed the ritual on some utterly vile human beings.
What left me a bit disappointed was that there wasn't much of a history established for the sin collectors. It's true that even these beings have their own speculations about where they came from and why they were made. This doesn't take away from the book in the least. I think my yearning to know more about the collectors made me enjoy the story more. It also may have helped me sympathize with the collectors' own questions about their origins.
Enough about that though. You want to hear about the story itself, I'm sure. I was hooked early on and fell in love with some of the characters right away. One of them was George. He's an 87 year old widower who visits Lily at the library daily. He added some light to her long life and I enjoyed reading their conversations. I almost wish there were more of them.
Another character I enjoyed was one we meet later on, Rebecca. All I can say about her is that she's an ancient collector and very mysterious. I wish it could tell you more about her, but without spoiling anything and the addition of her reclusive nature I can't say much. With the little hints into her character that we got, I wanted to see more.
There were many themes touched on throughout the book. What should be focused on is one's part in the world, be it in a family, a place, or a "profession." The collectors tend to question their purpose in life. Why do they collect; what will become of them if they do get killed; etc. Most all collectors lead a solitary life because they physically can't survive being very close to the sins held within other collectors. When a way around is found, these questions start to get asked more and more often. I liked that the book focused on themes such as these but didn't make the reader stumble when they showed themselves in the reading. There was a smooth mix of story and "philosophical thought" that blended perfectly.
A final little bit I'll discuss is the ending. This won't be a spoiler so don't worry. It ended, and leads to the next in the trilogy. That's great. The way it ended was a big surprise to me. The reader and Lily were lead to doubt some of the characters until the very end. I couldn't figure out who I trusted more, and that's a hard thing to accomplish. I've been discovering a good amount of novels recently that have great unpredictable twists to them and The Sin Collector has joined those ranks.
Overall this story was a fast-paced read with a number of great characters, unpredictable plot turns, and a great mythology. I now want to go read some of the real world myths about sin-eaters to maybe satisfy my craving for the next installment of The Sin Collector Trilogy.
April 7, 2023
The Sin Collector follows the life of Liliana, a born Sin-Eater. She has spent over 100 years absorbing people's sins so they may rest in peace come death. However when she meets another Sin-Eater, one who insists everything she has been taught is a lie, Liliana must make her way from sunny L.A. all the way to the streets of Madrid
Searching for answers to a question we all share. Why are we here?
The friends and enemies she makes along the way only seem to blur the line between right and wrong, and Liliana finds her faith and trust pushed to the limit.
Can Liliana fight the Castus, an organization whose sole mission is to kill every Collector?
Should she trust her head or her heart when the two most important men in her life are fighting alongside her?
Then there is the worst question of all, who will be left when the dust settles?
The first in a trilogy.
This took me a little while to read as I only read on Kindle at work.
Searching for answers to a question we all share. Why are we here?
The friends and enemies she makes along the way only seem to blur the line between right and wrong, and Liliana finds her faith and trust pushed to the limit.
Can Liliana fight the Castus, an organization whose sole mission is to kill every Collector?
Should she trust her head or her heart when the two most important men in her life are fighting alongside her?
Then there is the worst question of all, who will be left when the dust settles?
The first in a trilogy.
This took me a little while to read as I only read on Kindle at work.
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