Kingdom of Souls by Rena BarronMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
All Arrah wants is to have just a little magic. The way her parents have it, the way her Grandmother, the great Aatiri chieftain, wields it and sees visions of the future. But she doesn't, and when children start disappearing in Tarah, Arrah does the forbidden: exchanges years of her life for the taste of magic.
Kingdom of Souls is involved and complex. Gods walk the earth, the Demon King is manipulating humans for his freedom, and Arrah is caught in between, powerless. It's beautifully crafted, bringing you into a world of witch doctors and magic, an eternal battle of good vs evil--except who is good and who is evil? Barron turns your expectations upside down, creating a pantheon of gods who are both good and evil, powerful yet fallible. After all, they created this mess. Now they need to fix it.
Arrah is a compelling character--as she needs to be as the voice of this novel. It's fascinating to sink into her view of the world, the outsider always wanting to fit in, the outcast desiring the one thing that would finally make her accepted by her society. It's made even stronger as her most precious relationships are tested and tried, exploring the question, what is love? Does her mother love her even in the midst of her frigid nature and her pursuit of revenge? Can Rudjek really love her in the face of the opposition of both their families?
The gods come into it here and there, with brief interlude chapters that sound like monologues. It's a little jarring, but does give some context to everything that is taking place.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harper Voyager via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Kingdom of Souls releases on 19 Sept 19.
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