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The Sinner Sisterhood #1

The Sinner and the Scholar

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Amidst darkness and sin, two unlikely souls find themselves twisted in a forbidden affair that could cost them everything.

Ripped from an orphanage for her wicked ways, Thea was trained as a seductive assassin for the Hildegard Sisterhood and given a purpose as a Sinner: to bring balance to a world designed by men. She never expected to be brought to her knees by the arrival of an arrogant scholar from the all-male Team Saint.

Wesley is a relentless demon hunter for the most mysterious entity in the world—the Vatican. His mission is simple: destroy evil wherever it may hide. But when he meets the sassy and smart Thea, he can’t resist falling into temptation. She's the one he’s searched for his entire life, but she belongs to an organization he’s sworn to destroy.

Danger, deception, and desire collide when they discover a lost prophecy has the key to saving a loved one in each of their lives—but it will only work for one.

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned… I killed a man.”

The Sinner Sisterhood is a dark, steamy paranormal romance series featuring five bad girls fated to save the world… but only if they first make peace with their dark sides. If you enjoy stories like Buffy, Constantine, The DaVinci Code, and Supernatural… but want more soul-shattering romance, found family shenanigans, unapologetic heroines, and the men who would sacrifice the world to love them, then this is for you.

**Please Note: This series touches on taboo and dark topics, has explicit sexual content, violence, and is unsuitable for the young or those sensitive about religion, horror, and demons. HEA guaranteed.

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 2, 2023

699 people are currently reading
3621 people want to read

About the author

Lana Pecherczyk

61 books2,418 followers
Lana lives in Perth, Western Australia and loves writing Paranormal/ Fantasy and Sci-fi Romance. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her creating art and designing book covers. She also fights evil by moonlight, wins love by daylight and never runs from a real fight.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews
Profile Image for Rebecca (life's chaotic catching up).
395 reviews1,509 followers
July 7, 2023
"Girls who read romance grow to be dangerous women. We aren't ashamed of what we want. We ask questions and tell the judgmental pricks to fuck off."

WHY HAVEN'T I SEEN MORE PEOPLE READING THIS BOOK?!!! I picked this out based solely on the cover bc HELLLOOOO! But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up loving this!!! IT'S SO MUCH FUN!!! This is a paranormal urban fantasy, think Buffy meets the Davinci code meets a group of deadly female assassins! This book is like a love letter to all badass women and I loved it so much.

"We aren't nuns. We're not married to Christ. We lie. We screw. We steal. We kill. And we're unapologetic as fuck about it. We're Sinners Wesley."

Thea is part of an assassin squad of women for the church that go by the name The Sinners. When their male counterparts called, The Saints come to their HQ to work together they immediately distrust each other but when one of the sinners gets possessed by a demon, they must put their biases aside and work together to save their friends and also possibly the World from impending evil. Wesley the Scholar of the Saints seems to hold the information Thea needs to prove that the church has been hiding a dark secret for centuries and to save her possessed friend, and also why can't she keep her eyes off of him?!

"If the world believed Mary was a whore instead of Jesus' greatest confidant, perhaps even his wife, then equality between the sexes never existed."

Thea-I loved Thea sooo much!! She was cunning and deadly but beyond all that she is loving and loyal. She is a true and devoted sister to her fellow Sinners. All of the Sinners have such tragic origin stories that led them to this life of Assassins and daring to hope for a different kind of life is futile bc there is only one way out. Death. But when Wes comes along, something starts stirring inside of her. I loved seeing her character development and how she learns to accept that she deserves more than just pain. And there little back and forth saying of "Don't overthink it" was just about the cutest thing EVER!

"It means that I am the first to fall in love with one of you Sinners. The first to close the cracks between two teams that shouldn't work but do."

Wes- Oh this sweet sweet man! Wes is so sweet and so whipped for Thea! He tries to hold on to his preconceived biases but it is a losing battle bc Thea immediately gets under his skin and I loved how he really SAW her and would not let her run from him with her deflecting. He is conflicted between his secret agenda and his budding feelings for someone he is supposed to be destroying. I loved seeing how he evolves and changes his thinking and ultimately follows his heart.

"This is what you deserve, Thea. Pleasure. Bliss, and I will be the first man on this planet to give it to you."

I can't wait to read the other books about the other Sinners and Saints and see where the ongoing plot to save the world from evil takes us!

More awesome quotes I loved!
"Who hurt you" Never gets old🫠

"He's mine. If you want him, you'll have to go through me."

"You somehow know what I need when I don't. You are my anchor in this stupid world. I can't fathom a future without you."

"You make me feel safe. You accept me as I am, and that's the best kind of man in my book."

"Thea, I want that. I want babysitters complaining about kids that don't sleep. I want midnight walks with a puppy that shits itself when he's excited. I want you in my bed every night."

"Don't overthink it, love"
Profile Image for Angie.
1,395 reviews232 followers
June 2, 2024
"Don't overthink it, love."

5 stars!

Trigger warning: religious undertones, horror themes/demon possession, violence/gore


Even though I'm a huge fan of Lana's and her brilliant storytelling, I have to admit I didn't really know what to expect going into this novel as I haven't read the Seven Deadly Sins series, which takes place in the same world. However, I feel like Lana did a fantastic job of introducing this world to new readers without feeling like an info dump, while also making me want to read the original series even more due to the small cameos we get of her other characters.

Back to Wes and Thea... Their relationship was strained and complicated from their bloodied meet-cute. Both Team Sinner (badass group of assassin women) and Team Saint (group of slightly confused and quietly impressed men) have been led to view each other as the enemy in their fight against hell and evil. However as they are forced to spend time together, Wes and Thea slowly realize that they need each other in order to save their colleagues...and possibly the world. Though they fight each other and their destiny at every opportunity, the passion and chemistry between them is undeniable and steamy🔥

At first Thea's voice came off as a bit scattered and choppy, but I quickly grew to like her character as I got pulled into the story. I loved how we got to see the vulnerability in both Wes and Thea as they came together. Both are strong, incredibly smart characters and to see them support each other through their imperfections was so swoony. I loved all of the angst and drama, especially towards the end, and I cannot wait for the rest of the series!

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, hate-to-love-you, assassin heroine, scholarly hero, 'who did this to you?', opposites attract, slow burn, found family, STEAMY🔥

*ARC provided by the author, and I voluntarily reviewed it*
Profile Image for Mom Reads Romance.
711 reviews26 followers
May 17, 2023
How is this getting such high reviews? What am I missing here? Please tell me. Ugh. I was looking forward to this story too.
I slogged thru this book. The pacing was off so much so that moments that should have been fast paced were slower than molasses in cold weather.
I felt zero heat bt the two main characters.
None.
I skimmed the book after reading it halfway. Just to finish the thing.
I have read other books by this author and just seem to not like her writing style. To each their own obviously. If you have Kindle Unlimited it’s free to read her books.
Profile Image for Erica.
706 reviews847 followers
December 7, 2023
My Buffy loving heart was so happy reading this. Not only is it really well written, but the religious aspects really spoke to me. And the spice?? Um hello. That was incredibly hot. I can’t wait to read more of Lana’s books now! Because I ate this up.
Profile Image for adriana.
385 reviews10 followers
Read
August 19, 2025
dnf at 44%

I think I might be in a mood, but regardless my overall feeling when reading this was annoyance.

If a book is pegged as an enemies-to-lovers romance, I get annoyed with insta-lust, especially when the reader witnesses only a few short interactions between the mcs. That library scene where Thea & Wes were rubbing their groins together was so fucking cringe. That lust literally came with close to no buildup.

I absolutely LOATHED the heavy-handed, highly hypocritical catholic-based misogyny. It wasn’t just one character who held that prejudice towards women, but it was an overall theme of the story & it angered me. This didn’t come off as a theme that was supposed to make me analyze & sympathize, but rather shove the male self-righteousness down my throat, as the “evil” sexy women were using their sinful powers of tempting the “saintly” men.

The premise of the plot seemed interesting, but I was not a fan of how it was carried out. We’re introduced to the “saints,” but instead of giving us substantial interactions between them & the “sinners,” we mostly get Thea skirting class & burrowing in the library. Then we finally get a good scene where someone gets possessed, which was the first time the two groups had to work together, only for them to immediately have to call on a demon for help (what good are the saints for then?) which seems to be steering them on a treasure hunt. Idk, it just is not working for me.

This is my second attempt at a series from this author, & it seems her style of storytelling may not be for me, but I’m willingly to give it a third try. Maybe I’ll even try to pick this book up again when I’m less triggered.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ve (ve_xo).
671 reviews113 followers
May 6, 2023
Perfect for fans of Supernatural and Buffy. This world was curated at a great pace, I didn’t feel overwhelmed with the way the author weaved it all together.

In this world we see a war between humans and the underworld, there are religious concepts in this story but they’re all put together with great construct! I love the assassin nuns aspect, reminded me a bit of His Fair Assassins by Robin LeFever (or grave mercy as some know it). We have the men that are part of the Scholarly team and the women the sinners, both badasses in their own way.

I’m obsessed with the relationship between Thea and Wes, omg they’re just perfect… sort of like Spike and Buffy if you will. They’re enemies to lovers trope took over with a mix of who did this to you, and a slow burn. If you love steamy, the author put together hot pages in this one.

I can’t wait for more of this world! Especially since it looks like we’re shifting to Zeke..and can we say I have a bit of a crush on Asmodeous? Umm yea. But here I go with choosing the dark side.

Huge thanks to the author for gifting me an ecopy. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Thais • tata.lifepages •.
630 reviews1,052 followers
May 22, 2023
Review 4.5 stars! 😍

The Da Vinci code meets Supernatural in this seductive and thrilling first book in a paranormal romance series. This was such an original take on PNR, blending also religious aspects with a gothic atmosphere 💀🖤

I totally got some “Red Sparrow” vibes from the sinners , who are trained to seduce, spy & kill. All 5 girls were super intriguing and I loved their unique personalities! The historical references are super well written, you can tell the author put a lot of research into it! I felt like I was watching a steamy Angels & Demons, filled with old books, arquives, prophecies and combined with a supernatural twist 🔥 the author includes hand written passages and prophecies so it really feels like we are investigating alongside Thea! I really admired how Thea challenges the patriarchal construct, specially with the references related to Mary Magdalene.

The story is told in multiple POV so we also see what’s going on with the “saints” side 👀 these men have been sent by the Vatican to teach & support the sinners… however secrets & lies hide behind each of them 💀 and to top it off their chemistry is leaking off the pages !

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy for review
Profile Image for jordan.
354 reviews103 followers
May 6, 2023
the whole time i was reading felt like i was watching an episode of Supernatural and i never wanted it to end.

Thea and Wes. Sinner and Scholar. i wish there was more to their story, only because i never wanted the story to end. I NEED MORE! i cant wait for Leila and Zeke’s story next
Profile Image for (old.enough.for.fairytales).
565 reviews370 followers
May 8, 2023
If you read the His Fair Assassin series but now you’re looking to read about older characters, this is the PERFECT book for you!

It features some of my favorite tropes:
- found family
- enemies to lovers
- dark PNR
- strong heroines

And also gives major DaVinci Code and Buffy vibes 👀 I went into this book almost completely blind and I’m so glad I read it that way. I was surprised by this world along the way and found myself so intrigued to learn more about these Saints & Sinners and the roles they play in their world. It was also a super quick read because it’s just non stop action from the very beginning! And the author guarantees a HEA, so I didn’t find myself stressed out about the relationship 😂

Thanks to the author for gifting me a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Profile Image for Celeste Raine.
247 reviews204 followers
May 16, 2023
This was so average.

I just didn’t particularly enjoy the fact that this books plot frames religious trauma, misogyny and the patriarchy being in place because a female demon was scorned thousands of years ago and now hates men and wants people to suffer.
Sure the antidote is love and acceptance and bridging the gap between sexes. And the author has made that the goal.

The spice was fairly tame. Minimal scenes.
The story wasn’t very gripping.
It skimmed the surface of a lot of very heavy topics that I felt could’ve been given more depth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Maria Elena | pagesofmaria.
782 reviews235 followers
May 21, 2023
4.5 stars
3 peppers

The author pitched this as perfect for fans of a lot of incredible stories, among which is my love Supernatural. The statement is TRUE! I could totally picture Sam and Dean working with the Sinners and Team Saint.

Demons are creating havoc in our world. The Sinners, a secret sect of women assassins trained by nuns, are fighting against these forces though are wholly unprepared for this sort of threat. In comes Team Saint, their male equivalent, flown in directly from the Vatican to educate them on how to deal with demonic foes. The women are hot. The men are hot. The two teams don’t like each other. There’s one hot demon I’m hoping we’ll see more of. Let’s just say, this is a recipe for my new dark romance obsession.

Being someone who questions a lot of the patriarchal and misogynistic concepts of my family’s religion, I’ve had the time of my life reading about Thea voicing my same thoughts and flicking a metaphorical middle finger to it all. The way the Sinners are treated compared to their male counterparts—down to their names, Sinners/Saints—and the things they’re led to believe about themselves because of their training had me seeing red. But, if anything, the horrible hand fate has delivered these women as made it so that they found each other. The found family dynamic between my lovely badass warrior women was immaculate, and I can’t wait to read more about them. The men’s group was also very interesting (wink) to read about, and I’m so looking forward to all of them loosening up their buttons and surrender to my beautiful Sinners.

The romance was great, if a tad bit too fast in its development, but it worked, and the spice was perfection! Seriously, it was hot-and-bothered level of good.

This first book was a great start to a series that promises to be dark, mysterious, and hot as sin. Can’t wait to read the second book! The glimpse we got at the end of this one promises very good things for the romantic plot.

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. Opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Bea27x.
135 reviews15 followers
July 5, 2023
Great introduction to the story. This is the same world as The Deadly Seven series but a completely different side of it, which I think is interesting because it makes the series almost another genre entirely and in this way they can’t be compared, it’s a different thing; here we have demons, angels, heaven and hell, and as someone who grow up with Buffy and Supernatural I’m in. Amongst the action, the mysteries and the violence it tackles the themes of religion and patriarchy in the Church. Both the Sinners and the Saints seem like interesting characters and I hope by the end of it all the strong kick ass women in these books will learn that they are not doomed or unworthy and deserves better.

Thea and Wesley were a really good couple, not the most memorable ever but their chemistry especially was insane.

Loved Parker, Evan and Alice’s cameo.

Excited for Leila and Zeke and curious about Mercy and Cisco (I think they will be in book 3), then I imagine Raven will be with Dominic, that leaves Tawny.
Is it just me or Asmodeus and Tawny are going to be a thing later on? Because if that’s so I’m here for it, I’m already intrigued and I’m already obsessed with him. I mean, hot, dangerous, powerful, cunning and manipulative demon… a bit of a cliché but yes please and I need more of him; I love this type of character.

Can I have all the books in the series right now please?
Profile Image for Anja.
280 reviews6 followers
August 26, 2023
Hm, sadly I thought this would contain more demonic ritual stuff than it did. I really liked the premise and the characters (esp. Wesley, since he had a unique personality as a character and as a love interest), but somehow I just couldn't believe the romance. It just came out of nowhere.
Profile Image for kristin.
500 reviews
August 12, 2023
This was terrible. I've had more emotional connection with people I've made out with at bars and then never seen again than the couple in this book had with each other.
Profile Image for AJ.
21 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2023
"When Destiny's Child said, "Girls run the world," they didn't know the half of it. We do. From Joan of Arc to Margaret Thatcher. A clever woman is behind much of history" 🤮

I will never trust a random insta reel again
Profile Image for Giulia.
102 reviews3 followers
May 8, 2023
Well…. This was extremely underwhelming…

Everything was pretty meh, from the writing to the dialogue to the characters..

The concept incredibly interesting the execution.. meh

Profile Image for Courtneay Malek.
333 reviews7 followers
September 9, 2023
DNF at 50% - I tried but it wasn’t it for me. I think I can see what it wanted to do but it seemed forced and I had no desire to see what happened next. Nothing flowed in the story and it was choppy
Profile Image for Chiara | wordsbychiara.
691 reviews351 followers
May 13, 2023
THE SINNER AND THE SCHOLAR is a glorious ride from start to finish! With a compelling sisterhood of warrior women as its beating heart, a mystery that sinks its claws in demonology and challenges religious constructs and an addicting enemies to lovers/forbidden romance (3/5 spice rating) to hold it all together, this is the perfect reads for fans of Supernatural, Buffy and The Da Vinci Code. I read 70% of this book in a single day because I physically could not make myself put the book down. Super recommended, although I would encourage you to read the author’s note at the beginning to make sure you’re comfortable with the themes.

The book has a great balance of plot and characters, but the characters are undoubtedly what makes the plot all the more alluring! I loved the concept of the Sinners and the Saints. Both teams have their fair share of alluring characters that make me excited for the following installments, and I really enjoyed the forced proximity and collaboration between these two factions. Naturally, Thea and Wes are the two that captured my attention most since this was their story, and oh boy did I enjoy their banter. Thea is a headstrong firecracker with the killer skills to back up her attitude, and Wes is the definition of a gentleman in the streets, and a beast in the sheets *wink*. Sparks were flying with their every interaction, but I loved how every piece of banter also uncovered the hidden layers of these characters, their vulnerabilities and the secrets they keep buried deep.

I do think the story overall would have benefitted from a few extra pages at the end. The build-up between Thea and Wes was amazing, but the transition from attraction to love was a tad too quick. Even so, I deeply enjoyed this book and I’m so hyped for the next ones, which will be following another Sinner.

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. Opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Chey.
386 reviews8 followers
April 29, 2023
And here I’m again to talk of one more book by Lana… obviously I loved it.
This is the first book of a new series that will follow some characters (and themes) that we previously saw- the Sisterhood.
Here we have Thea’s story and how, in context of everything that happened in Cardinal City, the Sisterhood manages to still do their work. After the revelations, the Vatican sends a group of men (The Saint) to ‘unit’ forces with Sisterhood. Replete with intrigues, demons, supernatural forces, enemies to lovers, a lot of tension, traumas and secrets, this book put me at edge since the beginning (and yeah, I kind read the whole book in one single day). I loved the story and definitely I'm excited for Zeke's story (also… is it really wrong to like Asmodeus? Because, OMG, I love him already).
Profile Image for ꧁ Brutally Honest ꧂.
916 reviews33 followers
April 2, 2024
Incel Logic at its finest (or worse)

Name me one woman who appreciates it when a man tells them “you would be SO PRETTY if you do this one thing I find attractive” I.e. “didn’t have a nose ring!” Or “if you’d smile more!” 🙄 that’s this book in a nutshell

Sigh… I really really really wanted to like this book. The narration is super and I loved the idea of “sinners vs saints”. It’s so different and cool! It didn’t take very long for my heart to sink after realizing there is no way in hell I can finish this. Even so I will give is an overall 2 stars for the idea of the book, but -10 stars for the gross misogyny that was written.

I don’t know if this author has a hatred for independent women or just women in general. I get that the “saints” (the boys) are somewhat religious and come from that background but they really didn’t, or at least the way the story was written.

The author made the boys diverse and not very religious, but hate the “sinners” (the girls) strictly because they were “whores”. And that’s a word that is VERY prevalent throughout the book, almost on every page during the MC’s chapters. They don’t hate the girls because of anything else except that they are not virgins. Even though the author made it very obvious the boys like to sleep around. What kind of backwards thinking is that? I understand women seem to be going BACKWARDS in today’s society but can we please have our fantasy books, which are targeted towards the female audience, at least give us some hope???

And this is NOT new in all these new books being released on this site. It’s so prevalent in just about EVERY SINGLE STORY IN THIS GENRE! I cannot find a single good story where the women characters is not judged solely on the fact she is a she. Whereas the men characters always gets the best of both worlds: they rule everything, they are always immortal/prince/king/fae/“Other”, and get the virginal inexperienced girl.

Name me 5 books released in 2023 that doesn’t have various versions of THIS EXACT STORYLINE. PLEASE! I beg you, give me some good content that I, AS A WOMEN, can get lost in a wonderful fantasy world where I would not be oppressed simply for being me!

Anyways, the sinners are also mad at the saints but for a very good reason. They hate the double standards and being judged simply for wanting to live life like THEM. I think the author tried to push the “you shouldn’t judge a book by their incel logic” but fails miserably. I didn’t finish this book, but for some reason I do not understand I bought Book 2. Then started listening before realizing WHY I didn’t like book one. It takes one chapter for the absolute hate to bleed through.

I seriously think something is wrong with current authors for pushing this so much 😭
Profile Image for Dana.
105 reviews
June 9, 2023
I won’t mince words. This was not great.

It was, however, not the worst thing I’ve read this month. Take that as you may.
Profile Image for Abbie.
452 reviews32 followers
June 2, 2023
I did not know that this is part of a connected universe. So if you read this before The Deadly Seven series there will be some spoilers.

This book is a bit cheesy at times but Lana never disappoints me.

One of the funniest lines I’ve ever read in a book:
“You want me to spill my guts, but you’re so blocked up you need a laxative.”
Profile Image for Teela (bookdragontee).
526 reviews84 followers
May 20, 2023
NOTE: quotes included in this review come from an uncorrected proof/ARC, meaning the final editing stage hadn't yet taken place, so the excerpts included may be slightly different from the finished product.

As the dream evil spirit alluded, a tiny kernel of longing had bloomed in my chest. I see that now. I used to dream of an all-consuming love like in my old novels. Of making a home with someone who cared for me and wanted me. Dreams that sharp and deep never leave - they just get covered by the weight of judgement.

You're safe.

Prue's voice whispers from the recess of my memory. The ghost of her hand smooths my head, just like it did when I puked in that alley, and I smile. She was right. I might never have that home with a picket fence - the one with a banquet table where children play beneath - but I have my Sinner sisters.

You're safe.

Yeah, I fucking am. And I owe it to these women to make them feel the same.


I'm going to be very real with y'all - I have no idea where to begin or how to even write this review. It's left me with so many thoughts and feelings that I'm sure I'll be processing for the next few days, but I want to capture my initial thoughts while they're fresh, so bear with me.

I think one of the many things I love about Lana Pecherczyk is her knack for always exceeding my expectations. I always go into her books expecting one thing, and while she always delivers, then she gives me so much more, often giving me things I didn't even know to ask for that I ended up needing. The Sinner and the Scholar is no exception to what has basically become the rule for me. There is a very good reason why Lana is one of my absolute favorites, and this book is just a further testament as to why.

I suppose I should start off by divulging that I was raised in a very religious and conservative household. While my beliefs have evolved with age and my relationship with religion and a higher power has matured as I've grown older, there are so many parts of this book that resonated profoundly with me. It delivers on all the contemporary feminist goodness I could possibly want, while also driving home the fact that not only can good be twisted for evil purposes, our greatest enemy is within and the division or cracks it creates have rippling effects we can't even begin to fathom until its often too late. Are those effects supernatural in nature like in this book? Probably not. But one of the many overarching theses Lana covers is about the importance of the sexes being united in purpose, even with their differences... and it is timely and timeless.

I don't want to get too much into the actual plot because this story really does deserve to be experienced with fresh eyes and an unspoiled perspective, but I will say this: there were multiple instances that really hit home for me. I love that Lana essentially took something that I am so incredibly familiar with, and she managed to refashion it in a way that just spoke to me and where I'm at in my life right now. I don't know how else to describe it. There were so many aspects of Thea and Wes' relationship with each other, with their counterparts, and with themselves that I could relate to - especially with Thea.

The way she struggles with her own internalized shame and feelings of unworthiness - it reminds me of a moment in the book where Thea realizes The enemy is within. To sin is human. To forgive is divine. Will the cynics balk at that? Probably. But there is so much truth there - and isn't that one of the best parts of fiction? It is both a mirror and a teacher. But I'm starting to wax poetic here (this is what happens when a book makes me feel all the feelings - I get crazy introspective and philosophical, lol), so let me get back to the point...

The point is The Sinner and the Scholar may seem like a paranormal fantasy romance with heavy religious themes, demons, the threat of apocalypse, and hot sex on the surface, but in between the lines are nuggets of gold that Lana has scattered throughout, and it only serves as a reminder of why I enjoy her books so much - because they leave me with more than I ever could have thought to ask for.

Thea's insights, the way she views the world, and the way she develops over the course of the story - I have no notes or complaints. Her shame was my own. Her feelings of unworthiness were my own. And her ferocious, rebellious hope is my own.

And yes, the sexual chemistry between her and Wes is fantastic (omg the scene on the plane is going to be living rent free in my head for a while), but there's so much more depth to this story than meets the eye, and I honestly can't wait to see where Lana takes us next.

The Sinner and the Scholar is an excellent story with wonderful world-building, fantastic romance, exquisite tension, the right amount of horror and high stakes, and so much heart, it makes my own ache. Absolutely loved this book. 11/10 recommend.

Women are often underestimated because of our soft bodies and strong emotions. But if we don't listen to the ones underestimating, and we keep asking questions, then we hold power in our grasp.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for DebbieDoesBooks.
349 reviews22 followers
May 2, 2023
Lana P has done it again. At this point I'd read her grocery list and love it. There's assassins, demons, secrets, spice, action, just name a few of the amazing things going on here. WHAT MORE COULD YOU NEED?
Profile Image for Layla .
1,468 reviews76 followers
January 17, 2024
Entertaining but got cringy in some parts.
Will Watt got me through it tbh lol
Profile Image for Farrah | Hello, Darkness Darling.
97 reviews229 followers
May 26, 2023
| The Sinner and The Scholar Arc Review |
By Lana Pecherczyk

𝗔𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗻, 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

I DEVOURED this book. I legitimately could not put this book down and finished it in less than 24 hours. While the book is a paranormal romance, I found the plot to be extremely fascinating and unique. I’m still thinking about it weeks later. Lana uses religion as the most interesting plot device - I cannot wait to see where the journey takes our band of baddies. The Sinner and The Scholar is an absolute page turner and I am begging for book two. 📚✨

The story follows The Sinner Sisterhood, a small group of silent assassins that do the dirty work for the nuns. The sisterhood is willing to do the unspeakable to protect women from the harm of nasty men. As demons threaten Earth as we know it, the ladies of The Sinner Sisterhood are forced to work with Team Saint, the Vatican’s group of evil fighting good boys.

I really loved how each character is flawed and the women are incredibly morally gray. Seeing them corrupt the good boys is so satisfying. I also adore the feminist themes woven throughout the book through the introduction of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene - this had me doing a deep dive on google. 😅

If you’re into bad girls corrupting good boys while simultaneously doing a National Treasure/The DaVinci Code style quest, fighting demons, and saving the world, READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY. Took off .5 for the dirty talk (while the seggs scene was great and took place on a private jet 😮‍💨 I couldn’t get past the dirty talk making me squirm) and .5 for the slightly abrupt switch to lovers but honestly I wasn’t mad about it.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘳𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘗𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘻𝘺𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.
Profile Image for zoe.
111 reviews1 follower
July 26, 2023
3 Stars. I liked the plot of this book and the knowledge of Catholicism and the Bible. However, I wish this series wasn’t so focused on the romance as much as it is on getting the Saints and the Sinners to work together, overcome their prejudices, and save the world. Without the romance element, I think this series would be a lot more interesting and have space to be more clever. The plot of going to London was honestly so dumb and did not need to happen. It was plot convenience at its finest. Overall, I loved the relationship between the Sinners; their sense of sisterhood resonated with me…BUUUUUUUUT, I sorely disliked how misogynistic this book was despite trying to portray independent women. It rubbed me the wrong way when the main antagonist is a woman (Lilith) who is trying to separate men and women and turn their love into hate. Just a really poor juxtaposition. The romance between Wes and Thea felt rushed; like they had chemistry but a lot of the things that held their relationship back were glanced over and generally resolved quickly. Don’t know if I’ll continue the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Hailey.
335 reviews127 followers
June 14, 2023
4.5⭐️ That was a wild ride! This book was SO GOOD! I stayed up until 2am just so I could finish it. I was hooked!

TSatS follows our main character Thea who is a part of the Sinner Sisterhood- an elite group of female assassins who live in a nunnery. When demons start sneaking through the cracks into the world and causing problems, The Sinners must begrudgingly team up with the Saints (the “holy” and male version of the Sinners) to prevent the apocalypse. The Sinners and the Saints hate each other, of course. It’s scrumptious ❤️‍🔥

Thea has the hots for the scholar of the Saints- Wesley. She decides she wants to corrupt him.

If you like enemies-to-lovers (more specifically, rivals-to-lovers), this book is definitely for you. There is religious content (especially the darker aspects of religion), demons/possessions/exorcisms, and some angsty romance with spice. Loved it!!

This book is dark, explicit, and pretty brutal/gory- proceed with caution!
Profile Image for Anila.
499 reviews176 followers
March 25, 2023
I never seem to enjoy the first book in any of LP’s books and that didn’t change with The Sinner And The Scholar. It lacked the usual spark that her books usually have. Our protagonists, Thea and Wesley, were boring and flat. Their romance also didn’t have any sort of development. Nothing much happens either. The plot moved so slowly that I found myself wanting to DNF the book at times.

The last 25% was better and it does set up the next book pretty well. Despite my lukewarm feelings, I’m still excited to read Leila and Zeke’s story. The little bit we got of them at the end definitely got me interested.

All in all, like with any author, I’m not going to like every book they put out. I still love the Lana’s books and hope that I’ll fall in love with her next release.

Thank you to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
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