Splintered Souls

3.5 stars!

After her father’s unexpected death, Ava decides to move with her mother and younger brother and attend University of Maine, rather than Georgetown. Set in more of a high school atmosphere than college, Ava finds herself befriending a clique of girls who enjoy nothing more than gossiping about, or kissing, hot guys.

Ava is drawn to a mysterious hot guy herself, and when he finally introduces himself, Ava’s world quickly spirals out of control. Caught in the middle of a centuries-old curse, which is revealed slowly throughout the book, she finds herself caught between twin time-traveling brothers, Maddox and Laith. There are twists and turns along the way, leading to a surprise cliff-hanger ending.

‘Splintered Souls’ was a quick and easy read. I enjoyed the tension between the clique-ish girls and battling brothers. Best of all was the connection between the main characters and the involvement of soul-mates as a way of explaining the supernatural link between them. Looking forward to the next chapter in the Flames of Time series!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unique paranormal romance that kept me guessing. Twin brothers vie for the love of their soul mate in a tale that kept me guessing and trying to predict what would happen next. Because of the struggle between the brothers, this is a much darker novel than the author's other works. I am a fan of her work and loved this book, but because of the darker nature of the story, it didn't have some of the charm of her other books. However, if you are looking for a story that will draw you right in and keep you hooked until the very last page, you have found it. This is the first book in a new series and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us in future books.

4 Stars

Okay so I enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down, although I did have some issues along the way I still enjoyed it and have no problem recommending this to anyone who wants to read it.

Characters

Ava is our main character she gives up her chance at a really nice big college to go to a local community college to stay with her mom and brother because her dad recently has died. And I get that she's trying to do the right thing here and be there for her mom but I don't really like that decision it felt like giving up on her self to live for someone else.

General comments

but anyways I think this book is very interesting I hadn't read anything like it before, understanding the time traveling was a bit tricky for me but I caught on I really enjoyed everything except for the being kept in the dark. I don't like when characters are obviously not telling the full truth right to our main characters face thats when I usually get annoyed and just stop reading if it keeps happening. But I was too interested in what was really going on to stop.

At first I had a favourite twin it was easy for me to decide that but at a certain point the author brought me and ava in the same situation because I felt her indecision over both her confusion with not knowing all the facts and doubting what was really going on.

Overall I give this book 4 stars because in the end I actually enjoyed it despite my little nit picking over things and I will be looking forward to reading the next one

I received a copy of this book from Red Adept Publishing, LLC via NG in return for an honest review.

Okay, this review will be blunt and honest.

First of all, i don't think the blurb accurately portrayed what we were diving into- with this book.
I say this because 1. I got the mother of all love triangles and 2. the love triangle includes one girl two brothers. Did the blurb mention that? No. Am I slightly annoyed? Yes, i hate love triangles and love triangles with brothers involved, is death to my soul.

So from this point, I'll do a reiteration of what the blurb is actually about.

Lady Catherine Fairchild was desperate and very pregnant.
In her desperation she makes a deal with a witch,
but magic always comes with a price.
Her idea was for her baby to find his love - his soul mate,
what she didn't count on, was the fact that she was carrying two babes and in the midst of this conflict,
their souls are forever bound to love the same woman.
Splintered souls they call it and they must travel through time to find her and fight each other for her love.

THERE! THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO!

You know when I started this book I actually really liked it. It was good, fascinating, new and who doesn't like the idea of soul mates?
See everything was nice and dandy, especially when a good looking boy on a motorbike makes an appearance... but then the story (to me) was thrown out of whack and i just stared at my screen internally screaming.

"The draw I'd felt toward Laith all day shifted, and suddenly, my soul yearned for Maddox."

WHY!? WHY A LOVE TRIANGLE WITH BROTHERS INVOLVED!? JUST WHY?

And this one was freaking confusing as all heck!

This annoys me a great deal, because Erica Dean has an awesome writing style and this story was flowing like a freaking waterfall and then i hit the rapids and i drowned.

I went from being intrigued to liking it, to then rage my way through it.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad story, not a bad plot either and the writing is nice.

It simply wasn't for me but have a go and see how you like it!

I'm going to leave it there and let you make up your mind, but for me we weren't sympatico.

In 1654 a soon to be mother turns to a witch to bless her child before it is born. She asks that her baby will always be able to find his soulmate. Little does she know that she is about to give birth to twin boys and this blessing will turn into a curse.

In the present day Ava Flynn gave up her dream to attend Georgetown after the death of her father. She agrees to move with her mother and younger brother and attend the local college to keep the rest of their family together. When Ava spots an intriguing mystery man she feels an instant connection with him.

I would warn that anyone that has an intense dislike of instant love or love triangles would probably not enjoy this story at all but I actually found myself completely hooked on this book and didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed all of the characters and loved that the author found a way to make the brothers each have their own personality.

This will certainly be one that I will be watching for the next book in the series as my only complaint would be the ending just had to be a cliffhanger.

Overall, curses, time travel and a intense love triangle, would definitely recommend.

The story begins in the 1600s with a woman desperately seeking a witch to have her unborn child blessed with true love. The witch reluctantly agrees but warns of the potential devastating consequences.

Now hundreds of years later, we meet Ava. After the unexpected death of her father she gives up her dream of going away to college to stay with her mom and brother and move to Maine. Right away Ava is drawn to a mysterious, thought consuming, electric connection, type of guy. She finds herself caught in the middle of a blessing-turned curse and one heck of a love triangle.

While I had a few issues with the book, it was a quick and enjoyable read. The tension between the college girls Ava befriends adds a little humor to the story. Right away I found myself enjoying the connection between Ava and Maddox. While it does seem to have that whole "instant love" thing that we find in so many YA books, it didn't bother me here. When the plot elements are unraveled it just makes sense that they would feel that instant connection. Along comes Laith and changes everything. From the get go you get that bad boy vibe from him, but is he really? I found myself sympathizing for him and questioning both his and Maddox's motives. At the end I wasn't quite sure which side to take and with the cliffhanger ending, I still don't.

My biggest issue with the book was the time travel, and that is not something I typically take issue with. I'm not exactly sure what bothered me so much about that element but it just didn't work well for me. All in all I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next book.

I am very happy that this book held up to my expectations. i look forward to the next title in the series as this story with Ava was fantastic. I am very happy that the protagonist was so likable and that the story was compelling! Great job

I really Enjoyed Splintered Souls. I am not the biggest fan of love triangles but what was unique about this book was i really couldn't make up my own mind who i liked better. Usually I'm not a fan of a triangle because i have a clear favourite and i don't like anyone standing in the way of that. However, i adored all the characters and I really shared the heroines confusion. There is plenty of mystery and nurture and Splintered Souls is an extremely gripping book that i just could not put down.

Kindly provided with an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.....

Oh, this story just restores your faith in destined love and soul mates !. What a fabulous start to a series.

A brief round up......Ava (our stories leading lady) decides to move home and attend a local college after the death of her dad. Not what she planned, but she is a loyal, loving person so she chooses to support her mum and bother. With me so far ?......

At said new college Ava gets to grips with all the typical drama associated with being the "new girl" and trying to fit in.....been there, done that. I digress....

Ava very soon claps eyes on a seriously well described guy *fans self*, but she is a bit weirded out that she is the only one who can see him. Getting interesting now !!!!

As the story unfolds you find out it's not one supa hot guy but TWO !!! Brothers Maddox and Laith !!!! Be still my beating heart.

I really am NOT going to give anymore way, except to say that it is definitely a really great spin on the time travel concept.

Would I recommend this book....that would be a big yup. Do I wish I had book 2 now.....that would also be a BIG yup !!!.

5 "You are my one and only" Stars from me !

Well done Erica x

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this cool story xx

Later peeps xx

Gah and dognammit!

I admit to making an ASS out of U and Me here by assuming this would be a little standalone mystery - perhaps a nice ghost story/haunted house jobbie, or that's what I'd guessed from the blurb, anyway. And it certainly was a mystery, with breadcrumb after breadcrumb laid out, and even when we got answers, they felt uncertain and unsafe. So, needless to say, when the book ended in a horrendous, massive and quite literal cliffhanger, I turned the air around me blue for a good five minutes, because I really was ready for it to be wrapped up and done with.

As a mystery with some fairly clever twists and big reveals, it's going to be very hard for me to say much about the actual story, but in terms of tone, this was quite a young-feeling YA, and would perhaps be perfect for the Twilight, Vampire Diaries, etc., crowd (minus the vamps), as it comes complete with all YA the requisites; new kid at school, love triangle, lots of angsty angst.

I probably wouldn't be tempted to read the next one as I wasn't invested enough, but do bear in mind I'm am not really the target audience here.

3 Stars ★★★ A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Splintered Souls By Erika Lucke Dean is a romance and sci-fi and fantasy read.
When Ava Flynn walks away from a scholarship to Georgetown and moves into her grandmother’s abandoned summer home in coastal Maine, she steps into the center of a centuries-old curse. On her first night, she notices a mysterious leather-clad stranger looking up at her third-story window. For weeks, everywhere she goes, Ava catches more glimpses of him, but she can never get close enough to find out who he is.
This was a very good read. With good characters. My favourite character was ava. Although slow In places it was a lovely feel good read. 5*. Thanks to netgalley for the arc.

I really enjoyed this book.
Was well written and easy to follow . Liked the characters and world building just as much

Hundreds of years ago a pregnant woman rode off in a storm to beg a witch's blessing for her unborn child. That choice would plague her into madness.

Ava is the new girl in town. She has recently lost her father and has moved with her Mom and little brother into her deceased grandmother's house. On her first night she sees "lamppost guy" as she calls him, a handsome hunk who seems to be staring up at her window. As suddenly as he appears, he is gone. The next day she thinks she spots him in a store where she's shopping with her mom, but while trying to catch up with him she crashes into her soon to be new bestie and lamppost guy disappears again. Suddenly everywhere Ava goes, she feels his presence, until at last they meet. Ava feels an instant connection as if they are soul mates, but she doesn't know that's only half the story!
Full of romance and suspense without graphic sex, this is a perfect read for young adult fans of paranormal romance. 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Personally, I loved the story line and how the author put in parts from the past. It was really intriguing, but at the same time I didn’t connect with the characters very well. I think Ava is a bit naïve, Maddox just irritated me with all his cockiness…and Laith..he just seemed to be more sincere simply because he wasn’t lying, he was kind of up front with what he wanted and I can admire that.

But despite the fact that I couldn’t fully connect with the people, since I loved the story/plot I am super intrigued to read what happens next because…YES…it’s a freaking cliffhanger!!

Ok, so I accidentally clicked this one on Netgalley and was auto approved, so I had to read it. Now I will admit that I have only read one other of this author's stories and I did not like it at all. This was a surprise for sure because I enjoyed it. So I guess there is something to be said for happy accidents.
I don't want to pull from the story you will read too much but let's just say it had some classic things in it I am over(love triangles for one and major) but this was a refreshing read for the most part. I had more questions than answers by the end of the story and I'm a hater of all things cliff hanger as of late because I need the instant closure, so I guess I'll be checking out the next book.
All in all it was a good read, and if you don't abhor love triangles or instant love than you should really enjoy it. This was a complimentary advanced copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

The prologue in this one gets right into action. A historical backdrop with the conflicts from the time of Charles II is established. A woman is pregnant and fears that her child will be deemed the son of a traitor. Her husband is missing, perhaps captured. In desperation, despite the dangers involved, she turns to a local witch.

When we start the story proper, it is modern day. In many ways it reads like a typical YA Romance story about a girl about to start college. The father died, the family moved, and she's going to live at home while attending a small campus. She meets a few local girls, one of which takes an instant disliking to her and is really bitchy. So far ticking all the boxes, including spotting a cute guy.

However, there's a mystery to the cute guy. It takes quite a while to get back to the historic part of the story or for the time travel element to come out, but when it does the title makes perfect sense and the concept is actually rather intriguing and original. The writing is also good so although I'm not really into college settings, it kept my attention.

The second part of the story really drew me in and got very exciting, but then it stopped on a cliffhanger ending. I presume another book is planned as some of the salient points were never explained, like how the time travel aspect works, though there was a good opportunity. Also, a few inconsistencies in the characters began to emerge so though the writing itself is very good, the plotting left a lot of holes and the ending was far too abrupt.

Thanks, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange of my hones review.

I would class this book as YA. It had the same feel about it as Fallen by Lauren Kate. Saying that it was still a good read and it did not take long to read.
The start of this book is set in 1654 and a heavily pregnant Lady Catherine turns to a local witch and begs her to bless her child before it is born, she stipulates that she would like her child to always can be with their soul mate. She does not know that she is about to give birth to identical twin boys and that what started out as a blessing becomes a curse.
In the present day. Following the death of her beloved father, Ava gives up her dream to attend Georgetown and moves with her mother and younger brother to her Grandmothers abandoned summer house in Maine, she enrols at the local college.
On her first night in the new house, she glimpses a handsome leather clad figure outside whom she nicknames ‘Lamp post boy’ because he was leaning against one.
Ava seems to start seeing him everywhere (even at a party), but starts to wonder if everyone else can see him or is she seeing a ghost.
When at last they meet, Ava feels an instant connection, could they be soul mates? Little does she know, Maddox is only ‘half’ the story.
At first I was rooting for Maddox, but towards the end I feel like I would like to get to know more about Laith before I reach my final judgment.
I will be looking out for more books from ‘The flames of time’ series.

Splintered Souls is about a blessing, turned curse, that seems hopeless. In 1654, Lady Catherine Fairchild visited a witch to bless her unborn child. In that blessing she asked for him to find and possess his soulmate. Despite the warnings of the witch, she insisted on the blessing. That blessing turned into a curse when she had not one baby, but two. Twins who share a soul who will long for the same soulmate.

Holy Moley, I'm so confused! There is so much going on in book one. There is no way to describe without spoiling the story. We've got time travel, a good twin, a bad twin or are they both good and bad? Has the curse driven Maddox and Laithe mad or just desperate in their longing for their one true soulmate? I have no idea who to root for. I'm not sure if one twin is more deserving or not and can't imagine how this can end happily. Ava is their soulmate so even if they can sever one of the ties, then that twin will not have a soulmate. It's too bad she can't have both! ARC provided by NetGalley.

Splintered Souls is the first book in The Flames of Time series. It's the present day story of a young girl, Ava, who unbeknownst to her, plays a vital role in a horrible deal gone wrong by a desperate mother in an effort to protect her unborn child back in 1654. Ava is dealing with her own issues in the present day on account of the loss of her father, a move with her family to a new town, and starting college. There were times when I found myself getting a little annoyed with the immaturity of some parts of the book. The author made the college scenes seem like high school with the rumors flying around and dramatic scenes taking place in the cafeteria. It was pretty distracting from the rest of the story. The most interesting parts of the story, for me, were the flashbacks in time, time travel, and the unique take on the splintered souls love story. The author definitely left a nice cliffhanger for the next installment, which I'm looking forward to reading.