Kingdom of Souls

De: Rena Barron

Narrado por: Robin Miles

A girl with no gifts must bargain for the power to fight her own mother’s dark schemes - even if the price is her life.

Crackling with dark magic, unspeakable betrayal, and daring twists you won’t see coming, this explosive YA fantasy debut is a can’t-miss, high-stakes epic perfect for fans of Legendborn, Strange the Dreamer, and Children of Blood and Bone.

“Magnetic and addictive. This book is black girl magic at its finest.” (New York Times best-selling author Dhonielle Clayton)

Heir to two lines of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. Yet she fails at bone magic, fails to call upon her ancestors, and fails to live up to her family’s legacy. Under the disapproving eye of her mother, the Kingdom’s most powerful priestess and seer, she fears she may never be good enough.

But when the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate enough to turn to a forbidden, dangerous ritual. If she has no magic of her own, she’ll have to buy it - by trading away years of her own life.

Arrah’s borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal, and on its heels, a rising tide of darkness that threatens to consume her and all those she loves. She must race to unravel a twisted and deadly scheme… before the fight costs more than she can afford.

Set in a richly imagined world inspired by whispered tales of voodoo and folk magic, Rena Barron’s captivating debut is the beginning of a thrilling saga about a girl caught between gods, monsters, and the gift and the curse of power.

“Masterful.” (SLJ, starred review)

©2019 Rena Barron (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Great Story! Hoping for more!

I really enjoyed this book and the second half is far better than the first so stick with it. I'm really hoping the author writes more in this world.

Twists and Turns and so enticing

I loved the accents of the narration. I really felt the story come alive. Arrah starts out just a young girl who wants magic and it weaves a thrilling story from there of families torn apart, love, betrayal. I loved it all.

Fabulous all around!

I really enjoyed this book as a whole, the story, the writing, the characters, the narrator, awesome. And it was emotionally intense.

Amazing@

What did I like about this book? Everything! What did I dislike?.The fact that it ended too soon!

Just did not like the protagonist.

This young woman made me cringe. I think her age was the reason I could not empathize with her at all. I basically had two chapters left, I just didn't want to bother pushing myself to try to like this book anymore.

Loved it

Very well written and the plot was nice. I appreciated the twist and I look forward to seeing the dual personalities become at odds.

OMG so glad I found this book!

I will say that as a book this read more like a script than a book and it was a bit of a struggle to get thru the first 10 chapters as the story had a really slow start. Trust me I get it as the world needed to be setup as well as the characters. THAT being said when it did pick up OMG! SO GOOD! I would love to see this turned into a movie or a show because it a world that needs to be show in film media at some point. CAN'T wait for book 2 "Reaper of Souls" to be released.

this was pretty dope!

I really liked this book! the story had a lot of twists and turns, and kept you guessing what the real truth was. very good read.

Ok Story

Story was kinda dry IDK. I usually love Robin Miles’ reads but I just kind of listened to finish. Story dragged and I’m hesitant to waste a credit on the next book.

Potentially Epic Series

By Renna Barron
Narrated by Robin Miles

I found myself torn with this book.

This is such a intricately detailed fantasy story. It reminds me slightly of The Fifth Season be N.K. Jemisin. The main character is a teenager who is seeking her place in a magical world where she feels insignificant. The author takes us through Arrah's struggles to gain magic and the approval of her mother and tribe.

I found this book both intriguing and disturbing. I loved the concept of the feuding witch doctors coming together to fight against the Demon King. This portion of the story was the most interesting and easiest to read.

Unfortunately, I felt intense sadness through 90% of this story. The main character is constantly being put down both mentally and physically. There isn't a moment where you think she is gonna win or that the world will be saved. I'm not saying that every book has to have Shimmer and Gumdrops, but the majority of this book is like a rainy day at the beach. It just felt sad and gloomy. Maybe this is a trend now because I felt the same way about NEVER CONTENTED THINGS by Sarah Porter.

I also had an issue with how the story flowed. It seemed to move extremely slow, especially in the first quarter.

The narrator was Robin Miles. I loved her in the Binti series, but this one had too many characters for her to voice. At times there was no distinction between who was speaking. She has a beautiful tone to her voice. Its extremely soothing, so I both loved and disliked her on this one.

I hate to leave this review with what will be considered by some to be negative critiques, so let me end by saying that I loved the overall concept/plot of the book. A teenage witch doctor who must fight her half-demon sister who wants to unleash the Demon King. This Demon King takes child sacrifices and eats souls. That sounds like some awesome stuff! I just wish that was the focus of the book. Some of the other details and side stories with the mother, the almost-boyfriend, and the ending with the Gods caused me to pause. But those are my personal opinions folks. I do believe that the author should be super proud of this piece of art and that this series has potential to be EPIC.

3 Stars 🌟🌟🌟- Good Book. I like the overall concept.