SINS OF SEVIN by PENELOPE WARD

“I have so much love inside of me that’s all yours, and it’s been trapped inside. I need to give it to you, because holding it in is killing me. I know your heart belongs to me. But I’m selfish. I want all of you. I want you.”

We’re overcome with emotion! What twists! What turns! What a story! Oh our hearts! This is one of those times we are going to beg you to trust us and trust the author, to leave your preconceived ideas at the door and go into this book blind, letting the story and the author guide you. Do so and you will be rewarded!

*Sniff, sniff* you’ll have to excuse us a minute while wipe tears off our Kindles. Wow! What an emotionally charged story that was! We’re pretty sure our notes were stained with tears as we relived the story through highlighted quotes, welling up time and again as we chatted about and reflected on Sevin’s story which quite literally moved us to tears!

“I wish I could rid you from my heart, but you are my fucking heart.”

We’ve been a bit leery of picking up books claiming ‘forbidden romance’ of late because in more cases than not, the author has tended to focus on the mechanical sexual taboo factor of the story rather than the emotional pull we so desperately seek in this theme. All too often it’s the shock factor of forbidden sex that is favoured over the soul stirring emotional and personal conflict of forbidden ‘love’.

Well not so in Sins of Sevin because Penelope Ward crafted an incredibly powerful, stirring, evocative, passionate and heartbreaking story of a forbidden love between two people whose love ran soul deep and whose choices would have disastrous effects on themselves and those around them.

“You’re my truth.  The only thing that has ever felt natural to me is loving you. No one is going to tell me I can’t love you.”

The sexual chemistry between Evangeline and Sevin was clearly evident and tangible from their first meeting however this took a back seat to the deeper connection we immediately felt between them. Theirs was a comfortable relationship, almost as though we felt them expel a big breath upon their first meeting. They were soulmates in every sense of the word. So comfortable with each other, their love so inevitable, it was as though they could finally just ‘be‘ with no lies or pretences.

“I’m lucky that you’ve trusted me. I’ve gotten to see your passion and your vulnerability…your need to be loved.”

We feel to divulge anything, to even give a hint as to what unfolded in this story could lessen the emotional impact, the surprise and shocks some revelations will have on you. We will say, be prepared to experience a rollercoaster of emotion because for every up Penelope Ward delivers, there is a down, for every second of calm there is an abundance of turbulence and we felt every single moment as though we held our breath and gripped our Kindles from start to finish.

‘There’s got to be more to life than living in fear of punishment.’

Sevin was a sensitive and lost man, a man who gave every part of his heart to a woman who was his other half, who showed him he was worthy of loving and being loved, even if he didn’t believe it himself. Their love went against their teachings, morals and consumed them with guilt and we felt it all as Penelope Ward delivered an alluring and emotive story that shook us, excited us, broke us and gave us hope. The direction she took and the manner in which she delivered her story only served to showcase the brilliant talent of this author. We just wished this beautiful story hadn’t been cheapened by ‘Abs Marketing’ – we wish that whoever made or suggested this cover had actually drawn from the incredible poignancy of Sevin’s story.

‘Evangeline could pretty much rip out my heart, stomp on it, then feed it to me, and I’d still hand it back to her. She owned it.’

A piece of advice….have tissues on hand. If you’re anything like us….you’re going to need them! LOT’S OF THEM! We can’t wait to hear what you think of this one!

“Sometimes, we don’t get over painful things, we just learn to live with them.”

**Reviewed off an ARC copy provided by the author, with thanks.**