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A review by rosemarieshort
Soulless by Jacinta Maree
5.0
I was only a little surprised to find myself absolutely loving this book. The premise totally had me gripped from the get go- a girl who, in a world filled with people trying to suppress memories of countless past lives, has none.
Nadia is a brilliant heroine. Strong, brave, flawed, intelligent - all the things I look for in a teenaged protagonist. She took a little while for me to warm up to, but once I did I was absolutely all in. She is also the perfect foil to blacklisted criminal Diesel - who is absolutely my favourite male protagonist in eons. I am used to badass heroines with fairly non-descript, paint by numbers male counterparts / love interests. Not so with Diesel - he is as flawed as they come, with plenty of character development here to work with.
The romantic elements, I felt, were handled brilliantly. As I have said in previous reviews of other books, I am absolutely sick of the run of the mill “first kiss leads to eternal love and happiness” versions of romance. It’s not a healthy way to see sex, love or relationships. Maree really fits the few romantic interactions between characters in with the tone of the novel - nothing is painless in this book and nothing is without its complications.
The world building is strong, but with Soulless being such a fast paced read there are still lots of questions left needing answers. There were a couple of instances where it felt a little “and then this happened, and then this happened…” but I soon got over that and was swept along by Maree’s writing. For those who find themselves often chanting “move it the hell along!” when reading first installments - this is for you. There are very few inconsistencies in tone, which is a great and pleasant surprise from a debut author.
The warning accompanying this, advising it for mature audiences only, is right on the money. One of my favourite things about Soulless was that it was DARK. Characters peak your interest right before they’re brutally killed off. Loved ones turn on each other. Society has no care for individuals who are not part of the “Elite” overlords. It’s brilliantly harsh and I absolutely love that. A book with this sort of subject matter couldn’t very well do with being anything but painfully cruel.
I am so, so excited for the next installment in this series. An absolutely must read.
Nadia is a brilliant heroine. Strong, brave, flawed, intelligent - all the things I look for in a teenaged protagonist. She took a little while for me to warm up to, but once I did I was absolutely all in. She is also the perfect foil to blacklisted criminal Diesel - who is absolutely my favourite male protagonist in eons. I am used to badass heroines with fairly non-descript, paint by numbers male counterparts / love interests. Not so with Diesel - he is as flawed as they come, with plenty of character development here to work with.
The romantic elements, I felt, were handled brilliantly. As I have said in previous reviews of other books, I am absolutely sick of the run of the mill “first kiss leads to eternal love and happiness” versions of romance. It’s not a healthy way to see sex, love or relationships. Maree really fits the few romantic interactions between characters in with the tone of the novel - nothing is painless in this book and nothing is without its complications.
The world building is strong, but with Soulless being such a fast paced read there are still lots of questions left needing answers. There were a couple of instances where it felt a little “and then this happened, and then this happened…” but I soon got over that and was swept along by Maree’s writing. For those who find themselves often chanting “move it the hell along!” when reading first installments - this is for you. There are very few inconsistencies in tone, which is a great and pleasant surprise from a debut author.
The warning accompanying this, advising it for mature audiences only, is right on the money. One of my favourite things about Soulless was that it was DARK. Characters peak your interest right before they’re brutally killed off. Loved ones turn on each other. Society has no care for individuals who are not part of the “Elite” overlords. It’s brilliantly harsh and I absolutely love that. A book with this sort of subject matter couldn’t very well do with being anything but painfully cruel.
I am so, so excited for the next installment in this series. An absolutely must read.