"All magic comes with a price." ~Rumple S.

I was so looking forward to this book that when I received an email saying that "my NetGalley wish had been granted"
I literally screamed... ( Ask my mother... it's true)
So I had real high expectations going into this story.

The thing is/was, this is one of those books that really have to sink in and you have to give it time to do so.

The story itself is amazing, there is background stories and different point of views, it is a lot.

The more I keep thinking about it, the more I'm liking it. I think I may have had way to high expectations going in
to this and when the time line seemed crooked to me, I felt like it was a let down.
But when I think about the book as a whole now, I am really liking it and I am very curious about the next book
and how all the new details will fall into place.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers and of course the author; Rena Barron!

story 4/5
characters 4/5
writing 4/5
audio/paper I received an e-Arc from NetGalley.
reread? I will. I also want to read the next books in the series.

I tried so hard to like this. I really, really did. The idea is brilliant and the writing is amazing, rich and descriptive, showcasing this fantastic new world and its myriad cultures. The two or three main characters are well written; minor characters suffer a bit in comparison, but still stand out well enough.

I think the main problem I had is that there's *so* *much* going on. There's a lot of relevant history, there are a lot of different tribes that all figure into the story, a lot of politics both large and personal. Our POV is almost solely in one character's head, and because she's grown up knowing all this stuff, it's not always relayed to us.

I know this book is getting a lot of positive reviews, and I'm really glad about that. It just wasn't for me, sadly.

This book. THIS BOOK. Barron knows how to tell an emotional and rich story. I felt like I was *in the story* while reading this (most of the time I feel like I'm watching a movie). She grounds you so deeply into every scene, and then she hits you with all the feels. I can't imagine wanting something so badly that I'd trade years of my life for it, but Barron helps you understand why it's so important to Arrah, even while everything is hitting the fan.

You grow so attached to the characters, all of them, so you're screaming at the book, then also crying, and I know this review is kind of a mess but that's just an indication of how good this book is. I want to be left speechless and stunned when I finish a novel and Kingdom of Souls did that and more.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review!

Array is a 16 year old girl who comes from a long lineage of witch doctors but has no magic of her own. When evil threatens the land and her loved ones, she trades in years of her life in order to wield magic to fight back. So far so badass. I was intrigued by this story on 2 fronts - first she’s like Batman - no super powers but still willing to fight and stand up for the little guy. Secondly, it’s set in a mythical West African world where Orishas roam the world and the customs and names are very familiar. I was grateful to get an ARC from netgalley so was excited to read this.

I have mixed feelings - I like it but I don’t love it. First of all it took too long to get going. I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing, then all of a sudden the bad guy is revealed and all hell breaks lose. It gets good as morality becomes blurred and you realize nothing is pure black and white. It then ramps up super quick in scale and pace and becomes very confusing. I get the author was world building but we are introduced to a LOT of characters who have very little depth. At one point the main characters are talking about someone called Tam with familiarity and I’m confused as I don’t remember reading about this person before. I feel like the author crammed way too much for the debut to the series and it should have had a tighter edit. I also get that it is a teen/YA fantasy but there are certain things that Arrah says or thinks that don’t make sense and are profoundly irritating.

All that being said, if you strip back the noise and the extraneous characters, the major storyline is interesting. It is dark but not morbidly so. I found myself reaching for it and racing through the pages as i was interested to see how it would end, even as I winced at the writing style and how pointless some of the sub plots were. For me this is 2.5 stars but the fact that I kept reading till the end takes it up to 3.

I have never, ever, been so glad to get to the end of a book. Seriously. Three-quarters of the way through I wanted to abandon it but persevered. I cannot say I am glad I did apart from a sort of sense of achievement. Normally I keep an eye on how much longer I have to read in a book because I do not want it to end, not this time. Really! Have I still got another two hours worth? Anyway job done – now just the review.

On the plus side, it did remind me of the Lord of the Rings trilogy inasmuch as it is a fantasy novel; it is set in a mythical kingdom and has strange creatures with weird names and it’s very own language. So to be coupled with Tolkien must be a good thing, yes? Similarly though I did struggle with Tolkien for the very same reasons. It is very dark with all the murderous intent and bleak with all the fighting and the sheer desperation of the heroine’s plight. As for the characters, sorry didn’t empathise with any of them: well, perhaps a little for our heroine’s sad relationship with her mother.

I found this to be a weighty book in terms of volume and content. The language is sophisticated and somewhat lyrical, particularly in the sections that outline the base line of the story which is then interspersed with the expanded narrative of events. Even with all these fine things, I cannot say that I enjoyed it. I respect the body of work and the great skill and efforts of Ms Barron but it just did not delight and left me somewhat confused. Be assured though, I am confident that my voice may not be the only one in the wilderness, but I suspect I will not have many companions and they will be defeated by the masses that will sing praises aloud.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

My knowledge of the mythology that Kingdom of Souls uses is based entirely on having read Children of Blood and Bone, and N K Jemisin's hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and elements of the mythology are common in all three. All three are also very good!

Arrah is from two lines of witchdoctors, her parents are strong in magic and from two different tribes - but she doesn't have magic. This makes her a disappointment to her mother - who is the Ka-Priestess (most senior figure at the Temple) - and Arrah can never be enough for her mother. She has a good relationship with her story-telling father, and a good set of friends, but she still longs for magic. The only way she can get it is by trading some of her years for it, a dangerous path she's forced down when she's desperate to find some missing children - and the truth behind their disappearance becomes horribly clear.

Sometimes it's a little confusing to keep track of who everyone else, partly because whilst some of Arrah's friends are well-drawn, not all of them are and it would have been nice for them to have been a bit better developed. There wasn't a lot of space for that though, as there was a lot going on! Many of the other characters had their own arcs going on as well, again I'd have liked to see more of that - a sign that the world building has worked, I want to explore it further! Even the bad character has a reasonable motivation, and some gleams of who they once were, which makes for a much more complex story than it seems on the surface.

It deserves to be huge.

It's not often that I put a book down in the middle of reading it because I can't bear to know what happens next. But Barron's story was so good that I picked it up again once I'd come to terms with what was about to happen.

I loved all the characters in this book; their stories and motivations all felt fully realised and reasonable for their own perceptions of the world. So many of them I wanted to spend more time with, not just Arrah but her father as well, and all her friends. I'd also love to read more just about Tamar, they were so well written you could imagine them fully but I want to know everything about them too.

The storyline was brilliant and felt complete, in that the next book is going to be the next step of a journey. Sometimes series books can feel a little like they've been cut short too soon, this was cut perfectly. These storylines have mostly come to their full completion, but a few introduced right at the end are keeping me hooked for the next book. It's a great balance of satisfaction at reading a finished story, and hype for the next instalment.

My only quibble is that I feel the blurb doesn't do Arrah justice, she's a strong, caring, clever, protagonist with or without magic. We see a lot of her determination and sense of justice and you should read it for all of those qualities too.

Kingdom of Soul lived up to the hype and exceeded it.

I read Kingdom of Souls in one night. the story engrossed me to the point I couldn't put the book down. It was well worth missing out on a couple of hours of sleep to finish it.

Kingdom of soul writing is vivid, descriptive and magical. The magic isn't just in the story but laced in the worlds. The story is intriguing, compelling, fast-paced which keeps you on your toes. I enjoyed the multiple POV, the story is Arrah, but the others give more context and drama to the story.

The dynamic between Arrah her family and friends create moments that range from sweet to oh no to f**k to laughter. I knew I would like Arrah when I read the below comment.

"Although it's quite pretty, I prefer my trousers. They have pockets."
As my copy is an ARC I don't know for sure if it will be in the final version but I hope it is.

The world that Renne has created is layered, complex, fascinating. It is a world brimming with history and multiple possibilities. The melting pot of cultures and people captivates me to the point where I would read a book detailing just the different clans.

Kingdom of Souls is perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Rin Chupeco, Hafsah Faizal and S.A Chakraborty.

My rating for Kingdom of Souls is 5 out of 5.

‘My sister is every scary story my father ever told about evil witchdoctors – only she’s so much worse.’

‘Kingdom of Souls’ is the first YA Fantasy novel by Rena Barron. And what a fantastic debut it is! I requested the ARC of this book from NetGalley because I was intrigued by a story about witchdoctor. That’s not a popular theme for fantasy books, it made this one stands out from the very beginning.
Arrah is born to a family of powerful witchdoctors. Her parents and her grandmother are the most magickly gifted people in all tribes. But so far, all she can do is seeing traces of magic in the air, but she can’t command it. And with every year she becomes more desperate, because being gifted with power after your seventeenth birthday was unheard of. Her mother doesn’t even try to hide her disappointment. There is some other way to gain the magic Arrah desperately seek, but it’s coming with a great prize – one’s own life. But can she resist this chance, while the children in her city are disappearing without a trace and no one is doing anything about it?
The book is starting with a young girl longing to belong. She is treated like an outcast because she can’t command magic, while most people from tribes can learn from a very early age. Her mother, a powerful High Priestess also not helping, treating her daughter like she’s just another girl, not her own child. I thought the book will be about her struggles and how she finally turns to the temptation of generally despised blood magic. But this book is so much more! Very soon, Arrah uncovers the dangerous plot, and the book turns very dark. And when I say dark, I mean demons are eating souls, mind-controlling curses are cast and betrayals waiting in every corner.
‘Kingdom of Souls’ is not another cheery YA fantasy book. In most of the novel, the most dominant feelings are despair and helplessness. Even when Arrah manages to make an earthshattering discovery, she can’t do anything about it. And just when you think, that situation can’t get any worse, it does. And then again, and again, until the point that every effort seems futile and doom becomes inevitable. I’ve heard that for some people it was a bit too much, but for me it was captivating. When I wasn’t reading it, I was continually thinking about how this story would end and if it possible to our main character to survive.
I loved the world the author painted. The tribes with their strange magic, commanding different aspects, praising ancestors, dark rituals, lively festivities, orishas walking among the mortals… it’s a lot! I’m glad this is the first book in the series because we will see more of this amazing place and learn more about its history and people.
I also liked the characters, most of them were very complex. There were no good or bad people there, everyone had their share of morally disputed deeds, even people who you would never suspect of any wrongdoings. There is also romance here, and to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. Finally, it was not a love from the first sight trope so popular in YA books.
I enjoyed reading this book immensely, and it was one of the best debut YA Fantasy I have read recently. It’s very original, and the story is captivating. If you are not fazed by very dark and sometimes brutal plot twists, you’ll love this book as much as I did!

I picked up this book thinking it was going to be another girl thinks she has no magic, oh wait now she does and she saves everyone books.

I was wrong this book had some great twists and turns in it. The villains are heroes in they own stories, which is not something we see often any more. The magic used has a price and isn't just free for all to use (which is really did like). There is a twist in the love aspect of it which I enjoyed

There is great flow in this book, the way it's written is easy to get lost in quickly and when you stop and start again, it grabs you again.

Very good book and I can't wait for the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for granting a wish and letting me read a copy of this.

I was completely gripped from the first page. Rena Barron weaves a wonderful tale and a magical land that draws you in and doesn't let go.

I can't wait to read others in this series!

I don't think my ka will ever be the same.


I received this book for review from Netgalley and HarperCollins UK. And man am I glad they granted this wish.

Arrah is a girl who is from a line of powerful witchdoctors that desperately wishes for magic that just won't come. The dissapoinment that she has because of this and the coldness of her mother lead her to make some pretty costly choices in the pursuit of magic.

This book was so wonderful. The descriptions, the characters, the world. Everything was on point. It was gratifying to read about Gods and magic systems from Africa. Although I'm happy to have been able to read this ARC, I'm also sad because now I have to wait for the sequel to see what happens next.

Well, reading this book was weird. On the one hand, picking up my Kindle to read it felt like a chore every single time, but on the other if I had the sequel in my hands I would start reading it inmediately.

A West-african inspired fantasy Kingdom of Souls is filled with a rich, detailed and fascinating world-building, beautiful writing and compelling and well-developed characters. And while I enjoyed all of it, I almost DNFed it because of the pacing. The first half moves along at a glacial pace and although during the second half it picks up and things start happening crazy fast it still felt draggy to me. The problem, I think , is there is too much of everything: orishas, demons, blood magic, tribes, origin stories, rituals, a thousand characters... Though I think it would've benefitted from cutting a hundred pages at the same time it would've need quite more to properly developed some of the plots and themes introduced. Like I said, weird.

In spite of all this, the ending and the final twist make me eagerly anticipate the sequel.

I started this book tentatively awarding it a five stars. It just felt like a five stars; it should have been.

The world building is exceptional. Magic is woven into every scene, rippling under the surface - it genuinely feels like a tangible presence. The intricate lore and diversity are compelling and make this book initially appear as though it has been written by a seasoned fantasy veteran, not a debut author.

Arrah is the daughter of two high-ranking witch doctors, a powerful gift bestowed at a young age. At aged sixteen she should have expected to have come into her own powers by now, particularly given her lineage, but she hasn’t experienced even a glimpse of this happening. So when darkness and demons threaten her village and children are being snatched from their beds, Arrah decides to acquire magic another, far mostly costly, way with devastating consequences.

The plot seemed interesting at first, and combined with intricate lore and dark magic this should have been a perfect fit for many fantasy readers; early reviewers claim that it is. But, for me, the impact of the lyrical world building was significantly reduced by slow pacing, poor character development and an imbalance of mood.

This book is so dark. Not in a whimsical or malevolent way which would typically pull me in, but rather in a “everything is bad news” kind of way. There’s a significant lack in light and shade here, with almost all of the narrative consisting of terrible things happening, copious murders and very little hope of light at the end of the tunnel. It’s imbalanced and makes for quite a dense, harrowing read.

The pacing is completely off for me - so much so that the plot became boring very quickly despite how much I loved the setting. At 50% still very little had happened, which makes the prospect of reading another 50% an almost certain slog spent measuring how far you’ve got left to go to reach the end rather than it actually being enjoyable.

The characterisation is good, very good in fact. The cast is huge, diverse and features many people of colour within a setting we see very little of in fantasy. Arrah was a great protagonist with some grit about her, but she was also the only character I found likeable - which is lucky because the remaining characters had questionable expiration dates. I’m all for a sadistic plot device and actually find unexpected character deaths really clever when done well, but this book has multiple needless deaths which happen so often that they lack impact. It’s particularly difficult to become truly invested in a book when you have few attachments with the characters and they’re dropping like flies.

This should have been a much higher rating, but it felt as though the author had lots of complex ideas which would have stood alone very well if they’d had more room to develop. Instead, she attempts to make many ideas come together in one book, rushing plot devices and dragging out dialogue, and it just doesn’t work. Lots of potential, but it wasn’t for me.

16-year-old Arrah is the daughter of powerful Witchdoctors. But she doesn’t have the magic that her parents have, and she so desperately wants it and the approval of her mother. That she does everything she can to get it. She loves her dad dearly and closer that her mother. When children start to missing Arrah finds out that it’s her mother who is responsible, trying to summon a Demonic king. So Arrah performs a ritual to get magic so she can stop her mother. But it takes years off her.
Kingdom of Souls is a unique fantasy tale of Witchdoctors, magic, demons, gods in a world of an African setting. It had great characters especially Arrah who trying to get approval from her mother and yet going against her trying to get rid of the demon king. I thought it was beautifully written and I really enjoyed it until I got a bit confused of what was happening at the end. 4 stars from me.

The story follows Arrah, born into a family of powerful Witch doctor's but with no power of her own. She feels the only way she can live up to her namesake is to behave like the charlatans and ask the Gods for magic, but as they say in all the stories magic comes with a price and this one is years of Arrah's life. It takes the mysterious disappearance of children from the capitol to make Arrah finally decide whether she is willing to pay that price and the decision she makes sets her off on a journey no one could have anticipated.

I mean, I had heard rave reviews about this book but nothing really came close to describing just how amazing it was. Arrah is a fantastic heroine and lead character. Headstrong and loyal,she is determined to change the world for the better. I got so invested in Arrah's storyline that there were parts of the book I was literally screaming at the pages hoping beyond hope for a good outcome. Arrah is not the only character in this book that I adored, Barron manages to bring in a multitude of smaller side characters, that even if they are only mentioned in a few sentences, make an impact big enough for you to notice and bond with them.

The romance in this book is beautifully written, Arrah and Rudjek, star crossed lovers. Their parents hate each other and their friendship has had to be contained to the shadows, with only their closest friends in on the secret. I thoroughly enjoyed following the progression of their relationship from the sweet to the almost steamy, I was so invested in their outcome.

Some debuts tend to fall short on the descriptions, either giving us too little or using that many descriptive words it almost doesn't make sense. I would never have guessed that Kingdom of Souls was a debut book if I hadn't already been told. Her descriptive writing is magnificent. Whether it is describing a setting, a character or simply a scene, I found myself dragged head first into Arrah's world, and found it increasingly hard to remove myself from the pages the more I read. The world-building was truly immersive and I was swept away following Arrah on her journey throughout the magical kingdom that Barron creates.

This book had me in pure states of anguish at parts, and this seems like a good point to bring up some trigger warnings you should know before picking the book up. The book features heavily on blood magic, blood is used in multiple spells and is not used sparingly. There are an awful amount of dark topics explored throughout the story including parental abuse, sibling abuse, mass murder (off page) and the loss of a loved one. At parts I felt my heart racing with anticipation, and at other parts I was in tears of both anger and sadness. Barron truly knows how to bring out emotions in the reader and I went through sooo many whilst reading this book.

There was an underlying story flowing parallel to the story you are reading, that of the Devil King and the God he fell in love with. We get hints throughout the book that this should be relevant, and it stays in the back of your mind right until the end when BAM! Barron throws a massive curve ball I just didn't see coming. Talk about ending on a cliff hanger, I very nearly threw my book across the room knowing that I would have to wait over a year to read more in this wondrous world, and learn the outcome of that torturous ending.

I honestly cant recommend this book enough! Looking for a kick ass heroine, a sweet/steamy romance, a fresh and beautifully described magic system and world building to die for... well then this is the book for you. To say I gave this 5/5 would be an understatement, I loved this book, I turned up late to work so I could finish this book and I cannot wait to read the next instalment.

My blog post will be going live on 5/9/19 on the below link, and I will post to my goodreads (link below) on the same day.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a battle of good v evil...demon against magic...

a strange tale of a girl who comes from two powerful magicians but magic avoids her, and then the stories abound of children going missing but can she avoid grasping at magic that will end her life by taking years off her...

i found this one to be very good but also confusing with the gods..as i couldnt make out who or what they were...were the good or evil...mixed emotions over this one but the fight scenes were good especially with her sister

The tribes are blessed with magic, some stronger than others. Arrah has to deal with being the dud of the family. She yearns to use magic like everybody else, but she should be careful what she wishes for.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in a West-African inspired world, where magic is a necessary part of life, Arrah is the daughter of two of the most powerful people in the tribes, and her grandmother is <i>edam</i> - another powerful witch-doctor and tribal leader.
Everyone expects amazing things from Arrah, but... the years go by and are filled with disappointment, as magic fails to connect with her.

I really liked Arrah, and can really sympathise with her. She has to grow up with the weight of all the expectations, made worse by the fact her family is very prominent and she can't hide from the judging eyes of the tribes.
All Arrah wants is to be accepted and loved for who she is. Her father and her best friend/love-interest are both very supportive; but they don't make up for the fact that her mother is cold and distant, not hiding her disappointment in her daughter.

The world that Barron has created is amazing. With gods, demons, a civilisation laced with magic and so much history behind it. I thought the story-telling was the perfect balance between conveying the depth of this world; but keeping it light and interesting.

The first half of the book was brilliant, and I was completely hooked as Arrah tries to uncover the mystery of the children being stolen from their homes. It is totally unforgiving and isn't afraid to hit hard.

The second half... I really wanted to keep loving this book, but it lost its pacing after what felt like a natural climax of the story. It could have stopped after the resolution of the kidnapping mystery, and the uncovering of the villain, and I would have been satisfied. Instead, it felt like a second book was being tacked on.
The second half spends a lot of time in a place where time doesn't exist, as it does in the real world. Unfortunately, as a reader, it also felt like that for me. Arrah mourns the life and friends that she's lost, and contemplates the darkness and danger to come. And round in circles we go.
The second half of the book is also a lot more cerebral, with a lot of stuff happening on different planes and within minds and memories.

Overall, this was a 3.5 out of 5 for me. I enjoyed this book, it had a lot of potiental, despite its debut flaws. I would read the rest of the series.

Trigger Warning: Kingdom of Souls contains scenes of violence, sacrifice, blood magic and parental abuse. Proceed with caution.

"For she will rise from the ashes alit in flames.
For no water will ever quell her pain.
For no redemption will befall her.
For we will never speak her name.
-- Song of the Unnamed"


Nothing I will ever write will give you an idea of how truly wonderfully written and amazing Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron is. I was lucky enough to be part of the “traveling book initiative” in which a single ARC was sent from hand-to-hand in order for readers to join in on the KOS hype train before release.

If it hadn’t been for work and other daily annoyances, I would have finished this book a lot faster than the three days it took me. But when I did finish it, at 11 o’clock at night with The Big Bang Theory playing quietly in the background, I couldn’t help thinking I could never read another fantasy novel the same way again. I clutched this book to my chest for an hour, wanting to scream about it from the rooftops but not finding the words to describe how desperately you all need this novel in your lives.

Coming from a family of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah can’t wait for the day her own magic presents itself. But after failure after failure in calling for her own powers every year, Arrah is willing to try one last thing: trade her own life years for magic.

When the kingdom’s children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate to find the culprit using her own powers. Alongside friends, she makes powerful sacrifices and takes a dangerous journey in discovering who she is and what she was born to do.

I’m gonna say this now: this book would not have been this fantastic if it had been written by a white woman. Barron threads her own experiences and history into the story, weaving a web that does not fail to capture its audience. Arrah is steadfast and headstrong, determined to make a difference in the world and I felt that right in the core of my being. Who doesn’t want to make a name for themselves? Who feels like they’re failing when they don’t seem to be moving forward? I know I do. Not only are the characters so well-developed that they leap off the page, but the kingdom itself is pure magic. The writing brims with power as Barron describes the city Arrah lives in; the marketplace she visits; the tight family bond she has with her father. It’s impossible to not fall in love with the world built upon the pages of Kingdom of Souls.

Make no mistake, though. Kingdom of Souls is not an easy book to read. There’s blood and violence (a lot of the magic relies heavily on blood magic) and a lot of dark topics are explored that may make you uneasy, so please proceed with caution.

Preorder this book. Rave about it. Buy it for your mum and your grandparents. Buy it for your dad and your uncles. Buy it for your colleagues, your new date, your best friend who doesn’t really read much. There’s a little something for everyone in Kingdom of Souls, and it should not (CANNOT) pass under the radar.

I love the unique style of this book and the fact the topics in this book aren't overly done so it made this book so much more enjoyable, I was hooked with this book by around the 10% mark and have hardly been able to put this book down . The characters in this story are so well written and thought out, the story its self really does grab you from early on and only builds as you go on to say I had some "heart in the throat " moments in an understatement I mean you really won't see them coming. The myths and fantasy aspects of this book were breathtaking and beautifully done I cant wait to see what will follow this book.
This is one I would recommend to any and all.