Title: The Soul Thief
Series: Angel of Death Series #1
Author: Majanka Verstraete
Genre: YA, urban fantasy
Publication date: November 2014
Published by: Booktrope Publishing
Source: For review from publishers via Netgalley
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Synopsis:
When sixteen-year-old Riley is injured in a car crash and sees a girl stealing a boy’s soul, she’s convinced she’s hallucinating. But when she sees the same girl at the hospital later, she knows she wasn’t dreaming. That’s when Riley learns her secret heritage and who she really is: a halfling Angel of Death.
Riley must come to terms with her new reality and supernatural abilities, but before she can do this, girls her age start dying in mysterious circumstances. It’s up to Riley to figure out why, what the innocent victims have in common, and what she can do to stop them.
When I first saw this book I knew I had to have it. I mean, Reapers, Angels of Death, souls? This stuff is definitely my cup of tea! But unfortunately, I did not enjoy it quite as much as I wanted or thought I would.
The Good: 1.) The mythology. I loved the mythos in this book! It was so clever!
2.) The whole thing about the teenage girls getting murdered was intriguing. You know how much I love murder mysteries, so I was excited for this. The synopsis made this seem like it would be a big part in the story, but in actuality we didn’t even get into the investigation part (AKA the good part) until about 65% into the book! And even then, there really wasn't much to it.
The Bad: The things that bothered me were a bit more extensive, unfortunately... 1.) The romance. For some annoying reason I wasn't into the romance in this book whatsoever. I'm not sure, but I think it may be because it was very reminiscent of Twilight. I just didn't care for it, and actually, I found myself rolling my eyes so much I thought they would fall out of my head.
2.) Riley was very frustrating sometimes. When she found out she was an Angel of Death, she didn’t ask questions! Even throughout the book I felt like she didn't do this, like she wasn't curious enough. Sure this news is super overwhelming, but isn’t that why she should be asking ALL the questions?
3.) The grandmother. It felt like Riley’s grandmother conveniently appeared in the story when was needed, and was just conveniently there for Riley with convenient information on the family's convenient heritage. Quite convenient, if you ask me.
4.) It was SO incredibly predictable. I guessed who the killer was even though Riley hadn’t even met the person yet. And I even guessed why they were killing! It was so glaringly obvious it was frustrating. There was just nothing remotely surprising about the “plot twists.”
5.) In a way, everything is pretty much nullified in the end. The relationship I absolutely did not like to begin with was a waste of time, all because Riley had a sudden change of heart... I still don’t know why. Also, the very last sentence left me yelling, “You’re so stupid!” at Riley. All that they worked so hard to accomplish... and now she was going to take it all back...
And the Dirty: ... Oh wait. Just kidding. I think I’m quoting Panic! at the Disco again ;)
All in all, I loved the overall world and mythos, but everything else was incredibly frustrating. Will I continue the series? Probably not... maybe? I’m actually quite curious, but I’ll have to wait and see.
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! :)
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