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A review by the_ya_assassin
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron
2.0
Judge my worth on who I am, not what I'm not.
Okay, so . . . this was book was JUST okay. I don't feel strongly either way - I don't hate it, nor did I love it. I've read books with similar ideas - [b:A Song of Wraiths and Ruin|49629448|A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, #1)|Roseanne A. Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576673547l/49629448._SY75_.jpg|65116439] and Children of Blood and Bone. This book is said to be for fans of SJM books - this is nothing like them. This book fell flat for me (I am not sorry because it is what I felt).
Why? Because it was REALLY intricate. There is a fine line between too much and just enough, and this was just TOO MUCH. All of the different gods made me really confused. I liked the different tribes, and I wish there had been more focus on them versus Arrah in the city. There's just too much in one book and there are hardly ANY backstories for the characters.
My biggest problem? Arrah herself (the MC). Almost the WHOLE freaking story, she feels sorry for herself - that she doesn't have magic and that she can never be the daughter Arti wanted her to be. And then when Arti kills the children to make Efiya, Arrah only feels grief about her friend, Kofi! I was so happy when she had to die to save the world. (But then she had to come back to life, of course -_-)
In addition, the pacing was way off. The whole story went fast, then slow, then fast again in a NEVERENDING cycle. I was sooooooooooooooo tempted to DNF this book. Only thing that kept me going were the gods (I wanted to see what parts they played) and the hope for Efiya's death. It was unnecessarily dark as well.
AND THEN the romance between Arrah and Rudjek takes the leading role. I love it when books have romance, but that's not the issue I have with this book. My issue is when the only thing that keeps Arrah going is her love for Rudjek. Romance is NOT meant to be a plot progresser. And then some of the plot twists were so obvious and I could see them a mile away.
THE ONLY THING THAT I LIKED ABOUT THE ENTIRE BOOK - The fact that Rudjek was part craven and then the plot twist when the chieftains' give Arrah their kas
But overall, I'm only reading the next book to see who wins out - Arrah herself and "good" or Dimma and the Demon King.
Okay, so . . . this was book was JUST okay. I don't feel strongly either way - I don't hate it, nor did I love it. I've read books with similar ideas - [b:A Song of Wraiths and Ruin|49629448|A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, #1)|Roseanne A. Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576673547l/49629448._SY75_.jpg|65116439] and Children of Blood and Bone. This book is said to be for fans of SJM books - this is nothing like them. This book fell flat for me (I am not sorry because it is what I felt).
Why? Because it was REALLY intricate. There is a fine line between too much and just enough, and this was just TOO MUCH. All of the different gods made me really confused. I liked the different tribes, and I wish there had been more focus on them versus Arrah in the city. There's just too much in one book and there are hardly ANY backstories for the characters.
My biggest problem? Arrah herself (the MC). Almost the WHOLE freaking story, she feels sorry for herself - that she doesn't have magic and that she can never be the daughter Arti wanted her to be. And then when Arti kills the children to make Efiya, Arrah only feels grief about her friend, Kofi! I was so happy when she had to die to save the world. (But then she had to come back to life, of course -_-)
In addition, the pacing was way off. The whole story went fast, then slow, then fast again in a NEVERENDING cycle. I was sooooooooooooooo tempted to DNF this book. Only thing that kept me going were the gods (I wanted to see what parts they played) and the hope for Efiya's death. It was unnecessarily dark as well.
AND THEN the romance between Arrah and Rudjek takes the leading role. I love it when books have romance, but that's not the issue I have with this book. My issue is when the only thing that keeps Arrah going is her love for Rudjek. Romance is NOT meant to be a plot progresser. And then some of the plot twists were so obvious and I could see them a mile away.
THE ONLY THING THAT I LIKED ABOUT THE ENTIRE BOOK - The fact that Rudjek was part craven and then the plot twist when the chieftains' give Arrah their kas
But overall, I'm only reading the next book to see who wins out - Arrah herself and "good" or Dimma and the Demon King.