Soul Taker

I initially had high expectations for this story, the description certainly caught my interest and I was looking forward to reading. However, this to me was a very, very slow story with only a few slightly dramatic events, which didn't build to a peak as I'd hoped and I found myself getting bored.
Too much discussion and not enough action for me unfortunately.
It's such a shame as I feel the actual plot could have lead to a really good story, and the characters certainly could have made this story alot more interesting, if they hadn't been so muted.
I liked the characters, and wanted more for them, they deserved the chance to shine but they weren't given that in my opinion.
The sexual attraction between Garren and Issie was clear and it did build to a certain extent but once again it didn't lead to the conclusion a reader would want. I mean come on, they were both consenting adults with the serious hots for each other and openly admitted they wanted each other but apart from a few kisses, nothing happened. Seriously disappointing and frankly not believable, especially with the added soul mate possibility.
A supposedly evil, bad guy, Alexander, who also failed to live up to his potential, I mean he's sucking souls out of human females, he surely should have been felt as dark/twisted but he was too stilted and he lacked the creeped out feeling I expect to feel from such an evil character. Too much discussion once again without showing us him in action.
This story had so much potential but for me, I was left disappointed and frustrated. It could have been alot darker and then it would have been more believable to me.
I received this ebook in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
#SoulTaker #NetGalley

4.25/5 stars

I actually enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would! I originally thought it would be one of those books where you could just pass the time and either you liked it by the end or forgot about it. This, however, will be a book that I will really enjoy rereading again over and over! I loved the dynamic between Isabella, Harrison, & Garran. The fact that they are a mix of species (necromancer, werewolf & vampire), makes their interactions and their own beliefs to be very refreshing and fun to read! What brings them all together is a monster that sucks the souls out of people and killing them, making it look like a heart problem. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to people looking for a paranormal/mystery type of book!

Someone is causing the deaths of women, to the medical examiners involved in the various cases, it looks like heart failure, though they aren't equipped to deal with the real cause of these deaths. Enter Garren, a Scottish vampire sired by a Baobhan Sith, and Harrison, a werewolf. They are trailing the killer, dubbed the Soul Taker by Harrison, when they end up involved with Isabella Lucci. Her mother was a necromancer, but she hasn't had a chance to tap into her abilities and learn what she can REALLY do due to her overprotective brother Nick. Things take a turn for the worse when Isabella's best friend, Johanna, is attacked by the Soul Taker, and left fighting for her life in the hospital. Garren tries his hardest to keep Isabella out of everything preternatural, while trying to ignore his growing feelings for the human, however, he finds it increasingly difficult as she's not one to back down from a fight. Can they save Johanna in time?

So, I'm a big fan of urban fantasy, it was actually the genre that reignited the spark of my love for reading, I haven't read any for a little while as I've been genre hopping, so was excited to get into this one. I found the story enjoyable enough, it was fairly obvious with a few things, like Johanna's secret boyfriend that she wouldn't even tell Isabella his name, the whole soul mate thing with Garren was pretty obvious as well, that's okay though. I found that the story itself was mainly focused on the budding relationships of the characters, rather than the story line of the soul taker, I felt that it took a bit of a back seat to everything else.

I've read a series before that has a character who is a Baobhan Sith, so I already knew what it was of sorts, I did feel that there wasn't much explanation for people who probably haven't come across this term before. I feel like Isabella accepted this creature without actually knowing anything about it.

I found the pacing to be a bit slow at times, according to Goodreads, this book is less that 300 pages long, however, I found that it seemed SO long when reading it. I think this may have been due to slow pacing.

The characters were well written, though I sometimes found the phonetic use of the Scottish accent a little distracting, it worked well enough to give the authentic feel for Garren and Alexander's homeland. Not like other series I've read where the use of accents in the writing makes me cringe with embarrassment. This worked well for the characters.

I was a little annoyed with Johanna, even though she was somewhat of a background character, for being so naive, but I suppose that was the whole thing with her character. She was naive, innocent and shy, that's who the Soul Taker preys on. It does irk me a little bit that Isabella and Johanna kind of ended up being paired off at the same time, even though we didn't see what happened with Harrison and Johanna at the end, it still implies this from something that Garren says. I feel like there needed to be a bit more relationship building before the ACTUAL relationship, if that makes sense.

All in all, it was enjoyable enough, and I am interested to see what happens to the characters and how the evolve from here on out.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I loved it; easy, compelling, soul grabbing book!
Almost right from the start I was captivated with the story. From the Vampires, Witches/necromancers, Werewolfs, and the paranormal aspects of the story this book was phenomenal. The setting was well written. I think if you are looking for a story that could possibly keep you in the edge of your seat this may be it. I truly can not put into words how much I enjoyed this book! Good work to Karen!


I received an E-Arc of this book via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you to all them and the author.