“‘Curse of the Seven’ gave me everything I needed and more. Betrayal, revenge, found family? Truly the best recipe for an incredible fantasy.” — Emily Michelle
Curse of the Seven is the first book in the Redemption of Omnia series.Dive head first into Alexia’s story, following her on her mission and having a laugh and the occasional cry along the way.
Alexia Novak had been fantasising for many Coronations on exactly how she would kill the King of Omnia.
As a young girl, she watched as this tyrant slit the rebellion leaders’ throats—her parents’ throats. Ever since, she took it upon herself to walk in their shoes. To create a rebellion of her own. But without an army, Alexia scoured the kingdom in search for those who aligned with her cause. And with her newly found family, she set out to avenge her parents.
But will Alexia succeed in her mission? Will it all go to plan? And who can you truly trust in a kingdom prophesied for damnation?
I’ve been writing in all forms my entire life, but the fact that I am now published is a dream I never thought possible. Writing and reading have been there when others have not, these fictional characters may be just that… fictional. However, they have made me laugh, cry, fall in love, a hundred times over. I have lived so many lives and so have you. I cannot wait for you to live in mine. Happy reading!
Hi! I’m K.S. Elliott, the author of Curse of the Seven.
I actually screamed the moment that I saw this and now everything is slowly starting to cement in my brain. I’m an author! Writing has always been a passion of mine, and I know everyone says this, but it’s true. I’ve been writing in all forms—songs, poetry, books—for all of my life and I never actually thought I’d ever publish anything. My songs and poems have always been so sacred to me and so was this book, but now it’s here. For the whole world to see and I cannot wait for you to jump into the world of Omnia and follow Alexia’s story.
You can read Curse of the Seven on the 22nd of August, but pre orders are available on Amazon now!!
This is an example of why you shouldn't rush to publishing the first book you ever right. K.S. Elliot has heart but clearly does not understand even the most basic of writing conventions. Characters are flat and unimaginative- no flaws, unique traits, or arcs to speak of. They aren't even consistent. The book keeps going on about how moral and anti-crime briar is in chapter 2, but chapter 3 begins with him literally complaining that he cannot find any crime to do. Alexia is toted as a strong, independent woman, but she immediately becomes submissive upon meeting her psycho boyfriend. Nyasaki is a literal serial killer, but the book just... never seems to think that might make him a bad person? It really makes no sense at all. There is no discernible plot structure. Characters jump between city to city for essentially no reason other than the incredibly vague goal of "killing the king" (very original there Ms. Elliot). Why do they want to kill the king? something something vengeance of course! This is about as far as an explanation as you are going to get with this book.
Worldbuilding is incredibly shallow and uninspired. Its the magic system of avatar, but without any of the cool quirks or technological applications that made avatar's magic unique. Like the characters, and the plot, and everything else, the magic system is consistently inconsistent. People with water magic need an actual source of water to control, but people with fire and nature magic can just create their elements out of thin air. Children get their magic when they're ten years old, but in chapter 2 there is a toddler running around throwing fireballs. K.S. Elliot also does not understand how to deliver her worldbuilding in anything other than long, maid and butler style exposition dumps.
All of this stuff goes along with the fact that K.S. Elliot just doesn't understand words. Like AT ALL. A lot of fantasy books use the word "moon" as a measure of time keeping. K.S. Elliot sees this and thinks that means its acceptable to use the word "moon" to entirely replace the word day. You have characters walking around and going "wow its such a beautiful moon today" when it is bright and sunny out and the moon is nowhere to be seen. Its like a monkey that just copies whatever it sees without thinking about WHY the thing it sees is being done. Things like this just make the book confusing without adding anything fun or original. Even simple words like "barter" are misused. K.S. Elliot uses the word barter like one would use the word "haggle", which is weird because children learn what the word barter means in the fifth grade.
Honestly I wouldn't buy this book unless you really want to support an indie author which is a commendable endeavor in all honesty, but if you are looking for something original this book is not for you.
I have mixed feelings about this book! First of all the story was great, and I love the magic system super unique and I love the idea of the stones and the back story behind it! But I also feel like it lacked depth in some places. I know it’s the first book in a series but I feel like I don’t know as much about the world at all or the characters. That being said I am excited to hopefully learn more as the story continues. I felt the first half of the book dragged but the second half went way too fast and I struggled to grasp how we’d gotten to that point already if that makes sense. I absolutely LOVED the interactions between characters and can’t wait to see the relationships/friendships within the core group to develop. Some great moments of friendly banter and some great small insights into the backgrounds of our characters.
Overall great story and premise, I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book and I also love that with a debut novel you get to see where the author has started in terms of writing style and see how they continue to improve that skill as their works continue on! I can already tell K.S Elliot is going to be one of those authors!
I read this book in the beta stages and I am not a big fantasy reader or a YA reader but this book was amazing and I loved every second of reading this book!
Update: I have finished this now in the ARC stage and I still cant believe what I have read! such a beautiful story, and a cliff-hanger ending! I just need more ASAP
An epic YA urban fantasy set in a kingdom built for damnation where not even the gods can save them.
Alexis works alongside her best friend as an assassin. Their latest job. Kill the king. Alexis has a particular agenda for this as he is responsible for her parents executions as well as many other hidden crimes.
Along the way we meet the full cast of characters who bring to life the found family. I loved getting to know them & it helped in understanding each city & its designated crystal magic.
KS Elliot’s writing flowed perfecting for this YA setting & it bleed through the characters & truly immersed you into the tropes. She has captured the nostalgic essence of this genre & audience with each character so many will relate to.
I adored seeing our FMC & MMC grow & change into who they became at the end of the book. There is so much depth to these characters & I can’t wait to see more of this unfold in the sequel.
Okay the ending….lets just say I’m glad I could read book 2 immediately 😹
With this being and I cannot stress this enough… A DEBUT NOVEL I ABSOLUTELY enjoyed reading it!
The adventure aspect of this book, not forgetting to mention the world building was really fun and I liked the journey the characters went on, and how they got themselves out of some sticky situations. The banter was TO DIE FOR and I found myself giggling along at some of the things that were said at times. Alexia was a character DEFINITELY was the bad ass bitch I expected her to be, and I loved the characters that were introduced along the way. I swear Damien came out of nowhere but he ended up being the one I favoured the most! And Slater 100% was GIVING BROODY BAD BOY vibes and we FUCK WITH THAT SHIT. Addie and Sage were bad bitches in their own way and we loved the potential romantic parings with Briar and Nyasaki.
Also, I’m sorry BUT WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ENDING?! They were so close to having what they were searching for all this time but then THAT FUCKER comes in, fucks it all up and NOW I AM FUMING! I KNEW they were up to no good FROM THE START. UGH. I swear there better be some sort of vengeance because that fucker NEEDS. TO. GO.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book!
This was a really enjoyable fantasy read with a lot to love. The characters were engaging and the emotional beats hit in all the right places.
That said, there were moments where the pacing felt uneven. Some scenes flew by, while others lingered longer than necessary. The worldbuilding was rich, but at times it leaned a bit too heavily into info-dumping, which slowed the momentum. I found myself wanting just a little more balance between immersion and clarity.
Still, the strengths of the story far outweighed the flaws for me. It’s clear that K.S Elliott has a strong voice and a vivid imagination. I’m excited to see where she takes this world next and would definitely pick up the sequel!!
I stopped reading this book half way through because I struggled with this arc read, but if you like a plot driven narrative with an amazing magical structure this book is for you 🫶
Unfortunantly this book was not for me. There was a lot of inconsistancies in the storyline, and it felt like it jumped around alot and I was getting very confused. DNF'd @ 30%.
This was a really fun read and I love that the author wrote Alexis both strong and soft it was a great balanced! I really enjoyed the unique magic system and the storyline and that cliff hanger.... girlllllllll 😦 The only thing I struggled with was how fast paced the storyline was and at times I found that I struggled to connect with the characters (however that's a me problem)
A bit of a late review, but I was one of the lucky beta readers chosen, and I highly recommend giving Curse of the Seven a try. While there were a few things that needed a bit of editing in the early stages, the overall plot was well thought out and executed, and the experience of reading this book was intriguing and never boring. I felt that some parts could be a little predicable at times but it never took away from the enjoyment this book gave. It is also very character driven and I found myself liking and connecting with most of them, which is impressive considering there is a fairly large main cast of characters. I can often enjoy a book but not care much about continuing the series, but right from the last word I knew that this was one I would be keeping an eye on for book 2. Congrats to K.S Elliott on your debut as an Author!
K.S ELLIOT you brilliant being. WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?? From the very first sentence to the last word, I was completely hooked. This book had EVERYTHING you could ever dream of in a fantasy. Magic? CHECK Love story? CHECK Betrayal? DOUBLE CHECK. I was gasping and sobbing so hard in the last chapter, my mom had to tell me to shut my mouth. The ending was something I didn’t see coming at ALL. I was shocked, to say the least. If Goodreads allowed me to give six stars, I would’ve. Because I don’t think five stars can even start to compare how I feel about this book. I CANNOT WAIT for the next one, and all the ones you’ll write after. This book was amazing, thank you for having me read it!💜
K. S. Elliott's debut novel, Curse of the Seven did not disappoint! Randomly searching on Instagram one day, her video advertising her debut novel event popped up onto my feed and the elements of the story drew me in from the get go! Kylah is such a heartwarming individual, showing such excitement during her launch day in the Gold Coast. She mentioned that chapter 14 was her favourite, and she did not disappoint. I feel as if this chapter was the turning point in the book. It was the moment in which you got to see attributes of two of the main character more clearly and see them from someone elses point of view. My favourite quote from this scene is: "Revenge is all that I have... no, little fighter. You are retribution". I cannot wait to see how the duology explores this concept more.
While chapter 14 did such a great job at exploring their journey and their purpose throughout the books, chapter 17 holds one of the best moments in the book for me. For me, this is the moment where we really see the power of the FMC Alexia, and the description beautifully links into the cover art of the novel. Not to mention, the combination of chapter 14 and 17 for Slater's arc?? Tell me they are soulmates... please!! The dynamic between Alexia and Slater is swoon worthy, Luca who?? The small little moments of care and affection hit the spot.
In terms of world building, I really loved the idea of the prison. The way in which cells were built to have three walls, with an open drop to death as your fourth really allowed you to explore this idea of survival. Who of those confined would decide to end their life, and who had more to live for? This really shows that there is so much more to Nyasaki. I want to know his backstory and his will to live. i hope to see this explored in the next book!
I loved the idea of building the team throughout the novel, the way in which they were found and added to really helped to build on this idea that they didn't necessarily have a plan from the start, it was a work in progress. I will say, I would love to understand each character a little more, even if we had snippets from their POV. During Alexia's flashes, I would love to experience what the others saw going down!
Alexia as a character was top tier. I love the fact that she is scared and doubts herself. As the author stated, she gave Alexia her worst traits, because characters aren't meant to be flawless. They are meant to be relatable and I know if I was on a mission to domino the downfall of a King that I would be scared out of my mind. Sage sums it up well: "It's okay to be scared, nothing good comes from staying still... Do it scared, because it matters, Alexia. What you're doing matters." There is so much to take from this, so much that each person who reads this will resonate with.
All in all, I am hooked. I cannot wait to see what happens in book two to wrap this duology up. Especially after that cliffhanger!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
K.S. Elliott’s Curse of Seven launches the Redemption of Omnia series with a dark yet heartfelt tale that balances vengeance with themes of loyalty, legacy, and found family. From the opening pages, readers are plunged into Alexia Novak’s relentless mission to topple the tyrant king who slaughtered her parents before her eyes. The trauma of that moment becomes the fire that fuels her rebellion, and following her journey feels both heart-wrenching and empowering.
Alexia is a heroine who refuses to be broken. She is sharp-witted, stubborn, and unflinching in her resolve, yet Elliott gives her enough vulnerability to feel human. It’s this duality that makes her so compelling—she isn’t just a symbol of vengeance, but a young woman carrying the crushing weight of her parents’ unfinished fight. Her bond with her chosen family is perhaps the novel’s greatest strength, adding warmth and humor that soften the darker edges of the story. These relationships bring depth and balance, showing that rebellion is not fought by one person alone, but by many hearts bound together.
The kingdom of Omnia itself is richly imagined, steeped in prophecy, danger, and betrayal. Elliott weaves an atmosphere that is at once tense and immersive, with just enough worldbuilding to draw readers into the looming threat of damnation without overwhelming the central narrative. The presence of prophecy and questions of trust add an air of mystery that keeps the stakes high and the reader questioning motives at every turn.
The pacing is generally strong, moving swiftly through Alexia’s quest with high-stakes confrontations and poignant emotional beats. However, there are moments where the narrative could have slowed slightly to let key emotional revelations or political intrigue breathe more fully. Even so, the urgency works in favor of the story, underscoring the desperation of Alexia’s fight against a ruthless king who seems untouchable.
What shines most is the book’s balance of tones. One moment you’re gripping the edge of your seat during a brutal confrontation, the next you’re laughing at the banter among Alexia’s makeshift family, and then suddenly, you’re left aching in the quiet aftermath of loss. It’s this ability to weave together action, emotion, and humor that makes Curse of Seven stand out as a debut.
As described, the book is a young adult novel, the first book in a series. It is a very strong YA novel with all the good magical tropes and a bit of YA friendly romance. I found the story very engaging and such an amazing adventure with a group of outcasts working towards a common goal. The twists were well thought out but a tad predictable, at least I found them predictable, but my partner likes to tell me I have a good mind for plot twists - he both loves and hates this about me. The characters were well fleshed out and each had their own unique story making them excellent additions to the group and the cause. I did enjoy Slater and Alexia as characters and hope their friendship leads where I think it will. If you love YA and are a sucker for magical adventure then you will love this book. I highly recommend it for you YA readers especially if you grew up enjoying the likes of Deltora Quest.
I was lucky enough to be provided an ARC for Curse of the Seven and loved reading it!
If you love a YA fantasy novel with lots of magic, action and chosen family, you will love this book.
It felt very nostalgic to me when reading it, which is a feeling I love when diving into a YA.
Alexia is a strong FMC, she’s very engaging and I liked seeing all the layers to her and I’m excited to see what will come with her and Slater next (as well as everyone else)
The world building was well thought out and I found it easy to follow and very clever. The plot twists, even if you could predict them, were fun and great to read.
It was fast paced a lot of the story but found some parts dragged a little and the narratives difficult to read.
All in all, congratulations on a wonderful debut novel K.S Elliott! I think lovers of YA fantasy everywhere will enjoy this story and can’t wait to see what comes next in this series!
Curse of Seven is a fast-pace fantasy novel. Elliot does a great job of showing, not telling, about the magical world of Omnia.
I think Elliots imaginative world and story is compelling - a girly with a chip on her shoulder to kill the king? Count me in! I appreciate our teen protagonist ability to navigate dual love interests without engaging in a triangle. I enjoyed the magic system & the political components in the world (imo the best parts of the novel!)
The book has a pretty big cast for being short (300 pages), which I think does a little bit of a disservice to the character development. There wasn't enough time to fully appreciate/feel the motivation of each character. I am hoping we get more 1:1 time with the group in book 2.
Curse of the Seven by K.S. Elliott was an enjoyable read, and i’m genuinely proud of how far the author has come. The world building and premise were intriguing, and i could see the passion and effort poured into the story. briar was hands down my favourite character, very well written and i was literally just sitting here waiting for any scene briar was in.
that said, something felt like it was missing throughout the book, not here to drag anyone down, i absolutely loved this book. the book was very plot driven and thats not something i usually look for in a fantasy book.
still, i think this is a very good book and i will be recommending this to alot of people. im excited for the next book!!
I DNF this book at 50%. I really tried to push through and finish and do think this book could have potential! I was really excited to support the author cause I saw her on instagram, knew she was self publishing, and love a fantasy book.
There were 2 main problems for me. The first was there was a lot of grammatical errors which made it difficult to read. A few would be fine, but it was enough that I was getting frustrated trying to read.
The other main problem was the plot. To me there were no challenges and everything just worked out? The FMC would meet someone and suddenly they are in a group traveling together. Not only that, everyone is just ok joining in to her little rebellion with plans to get revenge with her. No questions asked. It all just felt very flat to me
The world building in this book was incredible! I loved how the seven are basically the elements and how everyone belongs to one certain group, although you can travel between them and all integrate!
I loved the FMC but I did feel like it started like most fantasy novels. once I got past the first few chapters of how she is a poor girl from the disadvantaged group and got into the travelling and adding more characters I was hooked! I loved the way they were assassins and never knew where they would go next. the love interests of the FMC were something else and I am definitely team bad boy ;)
I was fortunate enough to receive this as an ARC copy.
If you enjoy a fast paced fantasy YA book then this is for you!
I thoroughly enjoyed the unique magic system and the storyline.
The ending… I hate cliffhangers 😭
I will say, as a fast reader I did have to stop myself from reading this at certain times as the pacing of the book is quite fast and I felt that I wasn’t as connected with the characters as I could have been.
That being said, the small flaws did not outweigh the positives of Curse Of The Seven!!
i’ll start by saying the author of this book is amazing i follow her on tiktok and her passion for writing is amazing. for the book i did find it confusing not being a big fantasy reader i think may have been a big thing of that but i would definitely pick it up again just as the author said on tiktok this book isn’t perfect and you do see the writing slowly improve through the book which the author did want to be shown. i will be honest i couldn’t finish this book but again that’s just because i don’t understand it but i really do think it’s worth the read.
Wow! This book is so full of amazing potential - the character development is addictive and leaves one wanting more! This is one of my first YA reads and it’s been an eye opener!
I’m looking forward to what’s to come next and excited to see more!! I’d say with fantasy being my favourite genre, this story and plot had me sucked in from the beginning with fast paced action and growing bonds between the characters- this is set to be an amazing series.
This is her debut book?? I’m sorry?? It was bloody brilliant!! The cons: - the second book isn’t available yet - you can tell the difference in her writing from the start to finish (to be expected for a debut book) The pros: - you won’t be able to put it down - the characters are incredibly thought out - the plot had me hanging onto every word - the magical system is new and different!!
Curse of the Seven is a fast paced YA Fantasy, which is what is promised, and if you love YA you might love this. This read like an animated disney movie in the best way! As a debut, it’s a captivating, easy, story driven read. K.S Elliot’s storytelling and creativity have a lot of promise and I’m excited to see her grow with each release and strengthen her own voice and style within her stories.
I really wanted to love this. The premise and magic systems are interesting, and I liked the whole idea and found family adventure vibe. But overall it didn’t click for me. I found the pacing uneven and I was often confused, which made it hard to stay immersed or feel connected to the characters and world. I could see the potential, but it just wasn’t my vibe this time.
Curse of the Seven completely knocked me off my feet. The author weaves together mythology, suspense, and heart in a way that feels both epic and deeply personal. Each twist surprised me, and the stakes only kept rising. The characters are richly drawn, and I was rooting for them all the way to the last page. Highly recommend to anyone who loves fantasy with a dash of mystery and danger.
I was fortunate enough to receive an arc of this book, and I must say I was so excited to start this book. I love everything about it. I didn’t want this book to finish it was so good! This book pulled me in from the start and has me like wow at the ending!