Pride

by A.J. Torres

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

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

Content Warning/Triggers: Out of respect for my more sensitive readers, please be advised that this book contains the following: Adult Content, Adult Language, Violence, and Graphic Scenes that some may find unsuitable/disturbing.

Genres: Fantasy

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 27, 2020

About the author

Adlin(A.J.) Kennedy Torres is a writer first and an anime artist for fun. She enjoys Fantasy and Science Fiction stories. Adlin particularly loves to write Fantasy stories and getting immersed in books like The Goddess of Nothing at All and Aletheia. She’s loved Fantasy stories ever since she was a kid and picked up The Lord of the Rings and Eragon for the first time.
Nowadays you can find Adlin in the hot and horribly humid sunshine state of Florida, hanging out playing video games with her husband and chasing her son around the house with two needy dogs and a relaxed cat.

Reviews

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short read filled with adventure as the main character travels to another country to fulfill an important task. Although set in a fantastical world, it takes issues present in our own world by the neck, including racism, immigration and slavery. It is very thoughtful. I loved the world building and character development. The characters are realistic and so are their problems. The concept of angels and demons took a new dimension for me, one that I have never read before. I won't say it ended on a cliffhanger per se but there's going to be a sequel so I am looking forward to it.

The Call for Finis: Pride is book 1 of 7 the author's novella series.

[C.E. Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Call for Finis: Pride is a quick novella full of deeper meaning. Told in a type of omniscient third person POV that flows between the three main characters as needed, we’re presented with a story that may feel a bit familiar to some readers. The main character may be Salvia, but the reader is given almost equal page time with the knight Baldric and his companion, Zinnia as they travel the countryside—rather reluctantly at times—keeping Salvia safe as she and the demon within travel to purge a city of sin. It was an interesting look at demons and angels that flipped the traditional view of demons on its head. I really loved the demon, Ultor! The novella is also not subtle about the social issues it incorporates from our current world and places within this fantasy setting, keeping it very rooted in a world that is unnervingly similar to ours at times.

This novella manages to touch on the racism surrounding immigration, slavery, and even sexual abuse from powerful men within the “church”—yes, trigger warning for mentions of sexual abuse against children. It also reminded me very strongly at times of different Christian/early Judaism creation myths. Specifically the Passover and Sodom and Gomorrah, where the whole purpose of the character’s journey is to remove sinners from a particular city. You never meet any of the other people with demons—not really—the way we do with Salvia, so what they do on their holy missions isn’t seen, though the aftermath of the quest is on full display come the end. Which was a nice surprise for a novella that is the first in a series: the quest the characters set out to accomplish is completed, there is no cliffhanger, just the promise of more to come, which I rather liked.

I think the one thing that kept me from really feeling attached to the characters, was there were simply a lot of them for such a short novella. Between Ultor, Salvia, Balderic, Zinnia, and a few other brief side characters that pop in and out of the story, coupled with the omniscient style of the POV where the reader gets the perspective of the active character before it moves on to the next, often from paragraph to paragraph, it became hard for me to get a good sense of the characters or feel attached to any of them in particular. Outside of Ultor, who I found to be a refreshingly fun touch to an otherwise very tragic cast of characters, of course. And because the novella touches on so many important topics, it can feel a little slow at times as the characters discuss the social issues while they travel, which is why I am giving it 4 stars. However, I did find Salvia and Balderic’s arcs to be very well done and I loved the last chapter with them! Can’t wait to see where this series goes next, and thank you to the author for providing a copy for an honest review!

[Aidan Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice quick read. I don't have any criticisms, however, I do feel like it was a big story crammed in only a few chapters. Other than that I really enjoyed the story. I personally love stories with the seven deadly sins so this was perfect for me. Even though the pacing feels a little weird, I would defiantly recommend this.

[A.J. Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

**NEW**
Huh, I guess I forgot to update on here. TCfFP has been rewritten. It is now sitting at 236 pages, however it's been a while so I don't remember the final word count, but Pride has become a short novel instead of a novella. The pov is now entirely in Salvia VerdaderaFe's perspective. Scroll down to get any more info on this story as it's pretty much remained the same. That's all, enjoy the read.

**OLD**
Hey all, so I'm back to rectify my last announcement on here, and that is that instead of waiting until AFTER The Call for Finis series has finished to rewrite Pride, I've decided to just rewrite it. I have the means to do the interior formatting for this series, so, why not just rewrite it? I'm going to see if I can update Pride next year, so I will start my rewrite process later this year. It'll still be in novella length, that won't change, and I will make sure to keep the perspective solely in Salvia's POV. She was always meant to be my protagonist, and I want to do right by her. Until then, feel free to read Pride as this version will remain on Amazon until the rewrite is done and the file will be replaced. Thank you for reading.

**OLD**
Giving myself 5 stars now because I can and I don't care about those who get upset when an author does this to their own books.
Anyway, a bit of an announcement. Looking back on this book I realized I wrote it wrong, which is why I've decided to rewrite it AFTER the series is complete, BUT the new version will be going into the The Call for Finis Omnibus. By then it should be entirely rewritten in solely Salvia's POV, who was always meant to be the intended protagonist, but ended up sharing the story with 3-4 other characters. I definitely want to fix that. I don't know when the rewrite will happen, and I don't know how far into the future it will be, but admitting that I will do that has actually made me feel better about this book. However, I should also let you know that this version WILL remain in the market to buy. I'm still proud of this book and happy that I got it published. So look forward to that . . . eventually hehe.

**OLD**
It's weird that I can leave a review to my own book, but as so many authors do this, I figured why not. Let's hope GoodReads lets me post it without leaving a star rating lol.

The Call for Finis: Pride is book 1 of 7 of my New Adult Fantasy novella series. We will follow different characters in each book facing their own trials and tribulations. Book 1 is a short adventure story. A young woman travels to the country of Marlela as a demons vessel, vowing to reach the capital city to purge it of sinners.

The story is only 10 chapters long, 131 pages in total. It is available in ebook and paperback on Amazon.
https://smile.amazon.com/Call-Finis-P...

Trigger Warnings for violence similar in scope to other fantasy books. Mentions of rape, abuse, and molestation are included but are not graphically detailed. The book also explores themes of how some people twist religion/faith to further their own means and as justification for committing atrocities.

If you're interested please buy, read, and leave a review. Reviews really help indie authors like me get noticed and reach a larger audience. So if you have a chance help this small time author out. Thank you for your interest in The Call for Finis.

[Lex 🖤✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, The Call for Finis: Pride is an exciting and thoughtful read that is relevant not only to its own fantasy world but to ours as well. Unique and refreshing with realistic characters and an amazing world building.

CHARACTERS: 5/5
I really like the main cast of characters. They feel real, flawed but trying their best. Many characters go through a change of views and found their journey fascinating. The main character, Salvia is a catalyst for a lot of change in the other characters and she is honestly so selfless and gentle that I need to hug her. She is scared but is also persistent and I love that about her. I think we can all learn a little from her and from Baldric and Zinna’s growth throughout the novel.

WORLD BUILDING: 5/5
The world building is amazing. I enjoy the working of Eldara and how the magic is seamlessly woven in it. I really felt like I was there with Salvia and her travel companions. I love the concept of Demons that work alongside Angels, who feed off sinners instead of creating them.

EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT: 4/5
I loved the world and characters, and really enjoyed reading about them. The characters’ arcs were amazing and I feel they learned a lot from each other. That said, I was left wanting a bit more.

PACING: 4/5
Neither too fast nor too slow. I really enjoyed the pacing of this book, but the ending did feel a bit abrupt. That said, I feel there is more of this story we are still to learn. As far as I’m aware this is a series of several novellas and I look forward to reading the next one.

OVERALL:
I highly recommend this novella and can’t wait to see what else A.J. Torres has in store for us! I look forward to reading more about the world of Eldara and it’s inhabitants.

[DISCLAIMER: I WAS GIVEN A FREE E-ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW].

[Lois Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story about a young woman who is on a quest that she doesn’t know much about. She meets some people along the way who are forced to help her but become friends along the way. I loved the feeling of this book, I felt like I was in a time when King Arthur or Robin Hood would have been roaming around. This was a short book but was packed with a lot of adventure.

[Briana · Rating 5 out of 5]

To start, I enjoyed this story. It was a bit differently written than I am used to but was done well. The characters and world were nicely fleshed out and the world's mythology was fascinating. I am highly interested to see where this series goes from here. Even if the last chapter made cry a little.
4.5 stars.

[Belinda Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting short read that dealt with many real problems well. The characters were diverse and felt real.

[Lunnaris · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more reviews please visit awindowtomysoul.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PS: I just have to talk about the cover. Isn't it absolutely stunning?

[Lucy Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did! It was a fascinating and compelling exploration of the difference between faith and institutions.

[Mim_Who _Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Call for Finis: Pride by A.J. Torres is an engaging New Adult dark fantasy novella that blends thought-provoking themes with great characters and good world-building. The story follows Salvia VerdaderaFe, a young woman who harbors a demon within her as she journeys with reluctant companions to purge a city of sin.

The cast of characters is one of the strongest elements. Salvia, Baldric, and Zinnia feel real, flawed, and relatable, each bringing their own depth to the story. My favorite dynamic was the relationship between Salvia and her demon, Ultor, which added an intriguing layer to the narrative.

I absolutely loved the inclusion of Spanish phrases throughout the story. They felt natural and definitely helped improve the world-building. The concept of demons working alongside angels, feeding off sinners rather than creating them, was very interesting and entertaining. The author also does an excellent job weaving meaningful themes and social issues into the narrative, making the story both fun and relevant.

Having said that, the omniscient POV did slow the flow of the narrative a bit, making it harder to fully connect with all the characters at times. Even so, this is a thought-provoking must read that offers a unique take on faith and the supernatural.

If you like dark fantasy with moral complexity, interesting world-building, and character-driven narratives- you might enjoy The Call for Finis: Pride by A.J. Torres. It could also appeal to fans of stories that challenge traditional ideas of good and evil.

I’m excited to see where the series goes next!

Please read the content warnings.

[Crystal Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ review


I was excited to read this Novella by Aj Torres as the premise was so interesting…

Description: Seven sins. Seven hosts. One city purged. After everything you’ve learned, can you still stand with your faith, or finally rise up
The novella was interesting and the writing was very good. Unfortunately for me the book seemed to be pushing an agenda that was hard for me to overlook to enjoy the story. I don’t know if I would read another story from this author but I think I will not be reading anymore of this series