Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron

Welcome Back, Booklovers!

This was one of my favorite reads of 2019 and I've recommended it on here a few times but never actually posted a review. The first street team I was ever on was also for this book and I have the cute stack of character cards as proof.

I was excited for this story after reading the synopsis and seeing the gorgeous covers but I truly didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised as I could never truly tell what direction this story was going in. I'm actually having a bit of a difficult time putting my feelings into words because I don't know where to start.

The pacing is not for everyone and I have heard a few people say they had a hard time getting into it because there is some repetition at times. Arrah is horrible at magic and can't call it the way the rest of her family can. This point is emphasized over and over.But once it starts getting into the action it moves past that repetition.

Even though at times it was a little difficult keeping track of the different characters, tribes, locations, and other terms I enjoyed the world that Rena Barron built. She really put a lot of thought into the world and the magic system. Luckily there is KingdomofSoulsBook.com which contains a recommended reading guide. Great for someone like me reading the book of the course of multiple days alongside another book who needs a refreshing on some of the terms.

I find some writers will include detailed violence just for the sake of violence to make the story darker. Every death felt impactful and personal instead of something done purely for shock value. Arrah was not the chosen one heroine who everything comes easy to which was also something pleasant and different. It does initially kick off to a slow start with pages of Arrah yearning for and failing at calling magic before the real story kicks in. Though it was a slow burn this story truly captured me. I never saw that ending coming and now I have many questions to be answered in the sequel.

I will say the romance did not intrigue me. I understand in previous drafts the story was to be duel pov but Rujek just hasn't captivated me as a character yet. I didn't feel the chemistry between him an Arrah yet. And the parts where Arrah was waxing poetic about Rujek really slowed down the momentum of the story. But I am intrigued at the direction his character will take moving forward and maybe in book 2 I'll warm up to the idea of them more.