Unfortunately this book was archived before I was even able to download it. I'm not sure this is the book for me, having read some reviews of the book.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Createspace Independent Publishing Platform for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I feel like novels about ancient Egyptian gods can be a hit or miss honestly. Which sucks because ancient Egypt is one of my favorite times in history to learn about, and I’ve always wanted to have more YA novels that do a great job talking about them. There are maybe a couple out there that I’ve read about that I ended up really liking, but again it’s rare.

This one I’m still on the fence about, which was probably why it took me a while to read and review it. I mean, I think I got approved for this novel back in 2018 when I first learned about ARCs and Netgalley, and before I took a really long hiatus, I never ended up getting to this novel. Now I have, almost two years later, and I wish that I could say a lot more about it than I’m about to.

I think that Nightingale had a valiant effort trying to combine the past and the present in this novel and give the proper respect due. Meaning that I feel like she did her research to make sure that this was as accurate as it could be, but I still felt like it fell short. Not too much to completely have me write it off or anything, but I feel like some parts were missing.

I’m not sure if I would read the second one, but I hope that the second one got better.

Nadine Nightingale did a wonderful job with the plot for Book of Souls!

First thought - thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Really, I feel like authors are on to me lately. I love a good story involving mythology and especially Egyptian. I wholeheartedly blame "The Mummy" movie from the 90's for this addiction and I have zero regrets. Give me all the history and myth!

ON TO THE THE ~no spoilers~ REVIEWING! :) haha

“I’d have more faith in Ramsay Bolton.” And that counts for something, considering he’s the most deceiving, mass-murdering Game of Thrones character ever." - Nadine Nightingale, Book of Souls

I'm going to be a bit more streamlined this time with my review and break it down per my ratings. So let's talk plot and story. The plot was fantastic! The story follows a woman named Nisha Blake. Nisha sees death. Not your traditional grim reaper of death but Anubis the Egyptian God of Death. She's spent her life attempting to block out this gift but her cozy Shepherdstown locals won't let her forget and make her a legend. THEN enter's a new player, whose name is Blaze. He doesn't care for the legend and instead cares for the woman.

Nadine Nightingale did a fantastic job with all her characters. Blaze was a fantastic side lead. A little hard headed but overall sincere and you root for him a lot. Nisha would sometimes frustrate me with her denial but I understand why she wants to block things out. I also really loved the side characters in this book. Her cousin and school friends really rounded out the novel and made it for me.

Dialogue was excellent. I enjoy good banter and also sassy friends. This book has both! hahaha In my opinion, when characters show lots of fight or angsty - it adds a bit more to the book to me. This didn't disappoint~ ALSO! The references to pop culture are frequent and fantastic. I loved it. <3

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys mythology and also action. Maybe if you enjoy a little mystery as well. If you too enjoyed The Mummy growing up, give this a go! It'll make you nostalgic at the very least. :)

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars
Plot: 4 Stars
Character Development: 4 Stars
Dialogue: 3 Stars
Writing: 3 Stars

Happy Reading!
~Ash

The author did a great job creating a very detailed and robust plot. It is clear she did her research and I appreciated the fine details which created an intriguing story line. I would however, have preferred if the characters were adults and not teens as I had a hard time connecting with them.

This book was...pretty bad. I enjoy mythology based books. I enjoy fresh spins on old things, however this book felt like it dragged on because I found it to be rather boring...

The world-building was a bit sparse and the infused mythology parts not well explained. Like the synopsis says, Nisha is the outcast of her town. Minus her friends who stick beside her despite the fact she has the nickname of Angel of Death because of all the things that seem to happen around her. Having hallucinations definitely doesn't help her cause.

As a result Nisha has adopted the negative, moping MC persona. The support characters weren't all well fleshed out. Most have no back story or additional parts short of supporting the plot and main character. This leads them and Nisha to have an almost one dimensional feel.

The romance...insta-love is one of my pet peeves and this was no exception. Nisha may 'try' (if you want to call it that) to avoid it, but fails rapidly. I'm fine with the bad boy image, when it is decently well done. Blaze was...meh.

This book honestly felt like something written originally as a fanfiction or something. It didn't have the depth or sophistication of a book written by an experienced author. It didn't feel like there was a lot of research put in behind it. The characters weren't fleshed out much. The plot was near non-existent.

The dialogues were sometimes awkward. All in all, I was disappointed.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. Any time I wasn't reading it, I really wasn't all that excited to jump back in. But once I did, I enjoyed it. Some parts were really interesting and good, while others really annoyed the heck out of me.

What I liked:
- BLAZE. I loved that boy. Despite his appearance (which was no doubt quite the tattooed hotness) he was such a good guy. He was sweet, loyal, and stood up for those he thinks are wronged. And then those kittens? Be still my heart.
- The Egyptian mythology going on here. This was a new subject for me. Most of my knowledge about the Egyptian gods and goddesses comes from watching Stargate, so it's pretty sketchy at best. I really liked learning about some of these myths and people, and can only assume it's legit.
- The whole idea of what's going down here definitely got me into the story. Reincarnation, powerful books, banished gods trying to come back, and Anubis collecting souls? I'm game.

What I didn't like:
- The word "GEE". For the love of anything , please stop having Nisha think that word before practically every time she thought something in her head. It was incredibly annoying, and half the time didn't even make sense!
- 90's music is not old. The girl is 17. Saying that music from the 90's is "old people music" is absurd because that would mean people who are only in their 20's are old. And that's stupidly inaccurate.
- The amount of YA/cultural references made, from books to movies, was obscene in it's overkill. Let's disregard the fact that I got most of them. I don't read one author's books to read about another's work over and over. I can maybe see once or twice, but the amount here was ridiculous.
- I find it near impossible to believe that the most popular boy and girl (who've been a couple since before first grade, by the way {roll eyes here}) in the school are also saints. Popular kids are never as nice and caring and all that jazz as these two were.

Nisha killed me. At first I liked her character because she was really believable and, for many people, I'm sure easy to relate to. But then she slowly started to really tick me off more and more because she would ALWAYS cower when confronted and would accept the abuse heaped onto her as if she deserved it. I get that she really does blame herself or whatever, but it was so frustratingly annoying. Then we get closer to the end and she starts making the most absolutely stupidest decisions. I just wanted to bash her in the head at this point.

Ever since Nisha walked into her father and mother being murdered, she has believed that she's losing her mind. Worse, she's been labeled the angel of death in the town because of the numerous times people have died when near her. She hates it, but what can she do? She believes it herself. She knows when it's coming too because every time she sees Anubis there to collect the soul. Lately, her mind has been starting to crack more and more. She has such vivid hallucinations that sometimes she can no longer tell reality from not. When Blaze transfers to her school and tries to befriend her, she does her damnedest to push him away. But Blaze is a much better person than she expected and he refuses to let her. It's a moot attempt anyway because the draw between the two of them is too strong for either to walk away from.

Things really pick up toward the end and we push the highschool drama aside for a bit. Secret societies are out to get Nisha, one to use her and one to help her. Her ancient past is coming back to her in fragmented memories and terrifying powers. A past that Blaze has no idea about but is tightly connected to. And Nisha makes one dumb decision after another all culminating to possibility of chaos being unleashed upon the world because of her actions.

It's so hard for me to say whether or not I'd want to read the next book given the chance. I liked this book more than I didn't but with how things ended I'm just not sure how excited I am to continue. I guess we'll see.

Unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of this one.

The synopsis of the book was more interesting than the book itself. Lacks world building, and the main character was pretty flat. I found myself unable to connect with her.

My other issue was with the writing style itself. It felt a little amateur to me. This is the first book I have read of this author, and will give her another shot with a different title. This one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to to review this book! I hope another reader enjoys this story.

Awesome read, well written with a great plot and characters. I was engrossed from start to finish. I couldn't put it down. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.

Really good story line , characters were ok. I like that this YA story did not focus on any one giving up their V card.
I would read the next one.

I had taken a break from blogging due to a busy personal life, but I am back and I bring with you a book review! I wanted to like this book so much! The synopsis seemed so interesting, but I felt like I was just waiting for something to happen. I know the author wanted to set up the story but I was a bit bored. Nisha is a good character but the way people treat her is just despicable and I was so sad that she believed everything they through at her. The entire time I was screaming at her to grow a backbone. I really liked Blaze but he seemed almost too perfect and the almost instalove between Nisha and Blaze was too much. I will say the Mythology was great, Nightingale obviously did her homework but it just wasn't enough.

Sorry but I couldn't get into the book at all. I tried though, I'm so sorry for my ADD brain.

I received an free ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

No, I am sorry but I did not like this book.
- The characters were dull and annoying
- the plot was boring. I mean the setting was even clearly stated
- Too much reference to modern shows, I mean one reference on one page is okay. More than 5? Not okay. Its trying too hard for my liking.
- I just could not connect with it at all.

I was blown away by this book. I cant wait to see where book 2 takes us. It's a must read.

If death wants you, he’ll get you. Some cross his path sooner, others later. But we all rendezvous with the reaper at some point. He’s rarely as handsome as Joe Black, yet always as insidious as Michael Myers.

Nisha Blake doesn’t fit in, the locals call her the Angel of Death. Little do they know how close they are to being right. Death finds those close to Nisha. The friendly store clerk, her teacher, her friends, her neighbour, they all died in her presence. Not even her parents were safe.

Nisha is a complex, battered character. She is bullied and harassed constantly, she has suffered a phenomenal amount of loss, she has been traumatized by the deaths. She has night terrors, sleepwalks, suffers from hallucinations and she is convinced she might be going insane. Her shrink thinks that her visions of Anubis are her brains way of dealing with her losses. Her Egyptian heritage and her families love of Egyptian mythology and folklore could be why her hallucinations manifest in this form. When Blaze comes into her life in cuffs, she is immediately drawn to him. She has to push him away, she doesn’t want him to get hurt. Plus her hallucinations are getting worse, she is losing time, she is losing herself to the visions.

One of my pet hates in ya books is when parents are pretty much absent. The kids can come and go with no parental input. In the Book of Souls, Nisha has a strong family group. Her Aunt does work a lot, but it works within the story, it doesn’t feel like its being used as a way to let the kids do whatever they want. Her cousin is her biggest champion. Her small group of friends have her back, even though Nisha does try to keep everyone at a distance.

The bullying and violence in this is brutal. It’s constant and heartbreaking because Nisha is convinced she deserves it. She is full of self loathing and never fights back. The small town bullshit is all directed Nisha’s way. They fear her, because of all the death surrounding her, so they threaten her, they lash out at her and they justify it to themselves, and then when you get a group of them together they get especially dangerous, they are violent and the mob mentality takes over. It’s pretty sad when a person allows themselves to be treated badly, because they think they deserve it. I actually thought all the bully type characters were going to have a different role in the story near the end, but I was wrong.

The Book of Souls is a romance with a paranormal twist. I found it contained a lot of the tropes we find often in ya romance. It has the bad boy, the girl who doesn’t think she is anything special, it hints at a love triangle (blergh, hate them). But where it differs from everything else, is the Egyptian mythology throughout and the violence. The violence is quite graphic in places, which I like. It doesn’t shy away from a dead body or two. And the Egyptian angle is fascinating, it digs into the lesser known myths and draws a picture for you. The writing itself is good, a touch repetitive at times. “Lapis Eyes” – This was mentioned so many times I had to google Lapis.
His lapis eyes burn a hole in my soul.
Aah, I love these types of books, the angst, the hotties. Sometimes they just fill a need in my book nerd soul. The progress of Nisha and Blaze’s relationship was sweet. Blaze was an absolute sweetheart who adored Nisha from the outset. It seems like a case of insta love, but it’s not really, yay for reincarnation, so it didn’t irritate me. I found that the story managed to surprise me and make me laugh at times, other times it was slow and I skimmed. But my curiosity over where the book was heading, was enough to make sure I kept reading. And damn it, I need the next book now, because that cliff hanger!!! Brutal.


All in all, Book of Souls was a fun read.

***4 Stars***

Not gonna lie, that cover was the hook. I saw it HAD to see what the book was all about and I don’t think I pressed that request button fast enough.

Angel of Death?
Has ties Egypt legend and lore?
Young girl believing she’s going crazy?
Hot as sin male joining the party?

Ummm...yeah sign me up and WHOA.

I expected some of the cray cray, but not ALL of that. I also didn’t expect to have my violent tendencies rear up and want to grab that spoon of mine to gut a few people, but that all happened and more as I followed Nisha on this crazy, twist and dark journey that pulled out all kinds of feels from me.

I loved Nisha, I did. This girl is surviving in a world that basically hates her, but she is doing it. I had my moments where I wanted reach out and Gibbs smack her ~ badly ~ but I got it and was fascinated by her. She is a teenager struggling with life and with the added crazy going on with her, I have say the girl held it together pretty well.

Outside of Nisha, I loved and adored her circle of friends and family. These people are all kinds of goodness. They aren’t perfect, but they are ones I’d have at my back any day and would lay my life on the line for. Then there is Blaze. He was quite a complex and fascinating character, he epitomizes the whole “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” thing. He pretty much checked off all the marks on the Book Boyfriend list and more.

From the first words I was hooked, I wasn’t expecting all that happened in the prologue, but it definitely set the tone and I liked how everything unfolded in the story and how Nisha was connected Egypt and the reasons why the people in her town called her the Angel of Death. I will say here that what Nisha experienced at the hands of the townspeople pissed me off, I just couldn’t ~ hence the violent tendencies ~ but I didn’t toss my Kindle into the freezer because it was balanced out by goodness (her friends and family). This book is YA, but there are dark elements, so be aware of that. That cliffhanger...yeah, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next book because I need to see how this all plays out.

Incredibly cliched and poor writing. The writer depends heavily on telling rather than showing.

This is a great bpok for fans of rick riordan. Egyptian gods and teens?! It was amazing

I really wanted to like this book, because the premise of it sounded so cool! Ancient Egyptian gods meets modern day times? A girl who is considered an Angel of Death? Sign me up!

I got to chapter 6 and had to put the book down. One of the things I just couldn't get past were the pop culture references. At first, I thought it was pretty cool that they mentioned them, but by the time we were introduced to Scooby and Shaggy, (yes those are actual character names) I couldn't handle it anymore. It was a new reference every page and was just too much. It kept taking me out of the story and I couldn't enjoy what was going on because of it.

The other thing I couldn't really get past was Blaze. Yes, his name is Blaze. And everytime he is mentioned, they always describe how hot he is and how sexy his smile is.
For example: "His posture screams "confident", his smile is sexy, and his lapis eyes promise kindness." or "The intensity in his eyes makes me gasp for air."

Usually I don't have a problem with insta-love and extreme descriptions of how hot a guy is, but when its on every page the guy is on, combined with the pop culture references, I just couldn't do it.

I have so many other books on my TBR that I am more excited to read than this one, so its a pass for me. However, there have also been a lot of people who love this book, so if it interests you, give it a try!

A little slow starting, I struggle with reading about bullying so I did have to stop at one point, but the characters are well written, the story flows easily, for an introduction it was good and damn that ending. Looking forward to the next one.

Received from NetGalley

Nisha's life is very hard. She thinks of herself as Angel of Death, because people die around her all the time. She gets bullied a lot, by peers and adults alike. It was very hard reading about the way she was treated and the way she though, she deserves that kind of treatment. On top of all that she gets nightmares and very vivid hallucination.

Hallucinations get worse, when new kid arrives to school. Blaze is the ultimate bad boy. The more she tries to keep him away, to keep him save, he is kin on getting to know her.

Slowly she discovers, that there is a reason for all that is happening and everything is not what is seems.

I like the idea behind the story, but had trouble connecting to the story.