The Virtue of Sin is a captivating novel from beginning to end. As it mentions in her bio, author Shannon Schuren, has never joined a cult but after reading this book you might question that. She provides details that make you feel immersed in the story and it feels quite real. The characters she created were described so well that you felt like you knew them personally. One thing that didn’t feel authentic was the language, especially religious profanity. Given the setting and the religious beliefs, it felt out of place to have characters speaking that way. Besides the language, it was still an excellently written book. A lot can be learned from this story, namely to not follow someone blindly as well as the importance of ensuring that all individuals of any gender are treated equally and have a voice. Those interested in seeing what life in a cult might be like will enjoy The Virtue of Sin.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Philomel
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 16 religious exclamations; 31 mild obscenities; 2 religious profanities; 3 derogatory names; 20 scatological words; 8 anatomical terms; 12 f-word derivatives.
Violence/Gore: Many (29) brief incidents including character joking about hurting self or others; a character says another is dead to him; metaphor about killing an animal; character wants to hurt another; character has a scar on his face; reference to animal carcass; husband hit his wife; reference to death and murder in a book; second-hand report of murder; a few incidents of adult characters fighting; female character slaps male character; male character slaps female character; adult son hit by father; character tightens collar to choke another; character falls out of bed; suicide.
Sex/Nudity: Many (33) brief incidents including character dreams of holding another’s hand; touching and holding hands; kissing; arm around; married man has arms around another man’s wife; reference to sexual immorality; innuendo; joke about dancing naked; reference to breasts; brief non-detailed discussion about sex between a married couple; references to sex; character is homosexual; married female character purposely lets shirt gape open for male character other than husband to see; reference to prostitution; book references immorality; reference to adultery; married men touch girl’s arms, shoulders and head; implied sex of married couples; a few incidents of implied/reported adultery.
Mature Subject Matter:
Extreme male chauvinism; teen runaway; suicide; adultery; cult.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
One incident of characters drinking wine.
