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A review by booksandlemonsquash
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron
3.0
I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I honestly see why some people utterly love this book. And I wanted to, I just... didn't, quite. It's a little slow, I couldn't quite get into the world building, and I didn't really connect to the characters.
That said, I did like Arrah's relationship with her parents and Grandmother, and how they were explored. And I loved *parts* of the world building - the magic choosing some and not all, the tribes, the difference between cultures. That was all lovely.
I really didn't care about the gods, though, which was a shame as it was so central to the magic system. The magic system itself is pretty cool, and the witchdoctor element felt really well thought out and well done.
Arrah is a good main character, even if she breaks pretty much every promise she makes! She is trying to help and do well, and later on fix the damage she feels responsible for (even if I don't know that she should!) and it's hard not to empathise with that. Her decisions need serious review, but her heart is in the right place.
It is a good book, and I do recommend it - especially if you are ownvoices, as I am obviously not. It just wasn't quite what I wanted it to be :)
I honestly see why some people utterly love this book. And I wanted to, I just... didn't, quite. It's a little slow, I couldn't quite get into the world building, and I didn't really connect to the characters.
That said, I did like Arrah's relationship with her parents and Grandmother, and how they were explored. And I loved *parts* of the world building - the magic choosing some and not all, the tribes, the difference between cultures. That was all lovely.
I really didn't care about the gods, though, which was a shame as it was so central to the magic system. The magic system itself is pretty cool, and the witchdoctor element felt really well thought out and well done.
Arrah is a good main character, even if she breaks pretty much every promise she makes! She is trying to help and do well, and later on fix the damage she feels responsible for (even if I don't know that she should!) and it's hard not to empathise with that. Her decisions need serious review, but her heart is in the right place.
It is a good book, and I do recommend it - especially if you are ownvoices, as I am obviously not. It just wasn't quite what I wanted it to be :)