| Title | : | A Soul For Vengeance (Soulbearer, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1484027523 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781484027523 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 332 |
| Publication | : | First published May 14, 2013 |
Nothing stirs up Chaos like Vengeance.
When Prince Kell returns to Ranello, he finds his homeland in ashes. The invaders from Thallus destroyed everything he held dear, leaving him heir to a throne he can’t claim. The thirst for vengeance consumes him and drives him right into the arms of the most unlikely of rebel leaders.
Zara has fought for months to keep the hopes of the Ranellian people alive. Finding Kell is just the thing their dying rebellion needs. But as she tries to soothe Kell’s bitterness and turn him into the leader he’s meant to be, she finds herself desiring the one man she believes she’ll never have. A man whose heart was broken by a yellow-haired witch named Arden Soulbearer.
A Soul For Vengeance (Soulbearer, #3) Reviews
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I really like this series. So I was rather excited to get the ARC for this. I just wanna make a comment on the covers though...
So this was the cover of the first book when it was first published
and then it was changed to this.....
which is in accordance the covers designed for the following two books.
The reason I mentioning this? I really liked the first version.
The reason I picked up a copy of A Soul for Trouble? Yep, the cover. Then I read the blurb, it sounded interesting- the rest is history as they say. To be honest I probably wouldn't have picked up the second design. YES, I know how very cover-slut of me! I'm just stating the honest truth. I don't know why the decision was made to change the design. But personally I think it was the wrong one.
Soul of Vengeance has aspects that I really enjoyed and aspects that were not so good in my opinion. Sadly while I enjoyed the book, it's my least favorite in the series. So I gave it 3.5 Stars and rounded it up.
The storyline in the third book felt a bit like a mash-up of the first two. Which is a good thing, I love Epic Fantasy. Except that I found the fantasy bits not quite epic enough. I love the idea of the Soulbearer, the world building had been already really well set up in the first two. So I expected more of this one. But frankly it felt more like a paranormal romance this time around. I would have loved for McHugh to somehow delve deeper into the epic fantasy genre than she did this time around. Instead of that McHugh concentrated a bit too much on the romance part for my taste. While it was fun and cute, its a pity because at the end of the book I felt that it was to cutesy. I felt like it didn't live up to it's potential. I know that partly this was to rap-up things, but actually I felt like things were neglected and rushed in favor of a romantic happy ending.
I enjoyed Arden's time in Lothmore Palace. It was interesting to get to hear the Gravarian Lore and also see a different side Loku. Since the three MCs were rather well established in the first two book, it was interesting to see Arden develop a relationship with her father and learn more about her own magical abilities. Though I found her really childish at times and was a bit bored of her running away shenanigans.
Loku this time around was actually a bit disappointing and his sudden change in character rather unpleasant. While he was rather mischievous in the first two books, he still seemed to care about Arden. Their relationship was really interesting, I loved their dialogues in the previous books. In this much not so. In fact he was downright horrid and she just kept on shutting him up. I think the whole Soulbearer thing actually came a bit to short in this book.
Still many questions were unanswered for me. Was Loku just playing her that whole time? For what means? He did say that Arden was different from the previous Soulbearers and had special abilities - but it was never explained. Honestly thinking back this is one of the biggest let downs of the book.
Dev's POV featured the least, which is a pity, since I totally always was on team Dev. His turn around was never really explained either.
Zara was an interesting new addition. She is a completely different character from Arden and definitely a great addition. Except there was the same doubts that Arden had and her run-away syndrome. Which felt a bit used, since Arden done it x-amount of times over all three books.
Kel probably was the most interesting change and most developed character. It was interesting to see him grow from the ever fancy dandy to a leader and someone with depth. I do have to say, I found the transmission from player to romancer a bit hard to believe. I would have preferred he would have kept some of his player side he had in the first book.
This book seems more about Zara and Kel than about the Soulbearer and her story. And while allot of world building was done in the first two books, I still would have loved to see more in this one. I feel I know barely anything about the Thallians even though there was a battle involving them.
I think I would have been fine with the world building as is, if it would have been more of a character driven story this time. Which it wasn't. The character building wasn't strong enough for that either. In fact the book was mostly romance driven.
I really enjoy the way the series were written and I like the characters, found the world building interesting and most of all love the Soulbearer idea. After finishing this book, I actually wondered if there will be another one. Because many questions were left open. In fact it felt more like a spin-off novel to the Soulbearer series. And the ending? While I have to admit, I did have a goofy grin on my face, when I read it. Then my reaction was; hang on? That's it? It was way to cute and fluffy for me and it left me with a feeling that things were unfinished.
A good series, but it could have been great. Sadly the last book is my least favorite. Great ideas and good writing mean I'll definitely will look out for the next book McHugh writes .
ARC was provided by Publishers through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. -
It felt as if it was the story of two couples finding each other as opposed to the inkling of good fantasy it could have been. Far to much romantic here, there and everywhere instead of focusing on the more intriguing parts.
Not enough attention was given to the character that had the potential to make this pleasant read a more memorable one.
Now I will be the first one to admit that is probably because I do like any element of fantasy to be a little grittier. The soul that Arden carries inside is exactly that, Loku just needed to be let out to play a little more. He has more attitude, anger and personality than the rest of the characters put together. In this book he is a missed opportunity.
The concept seemed to be a bit of a tug of war with the author swaying in two directions at once. Romance in one and Epic Fantasy in the other corner. That doesn't mean the two can't coexist, they just have to be able to exist in one story without one consuming the other and in this case fantasy got nibbled and eaten.
I would like to see the author take those interesting EF ideas, especially the soulbearer idea with one identity within another and develop the characters/concept/storyline without feeling the need to create a love or soulmate story.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley. -
Every now and then I run across a true series that I just flip for. Not a stand alone series but a trilogy, duology, series.. that is ongoing.. same characters same story just new facets. A Soul for Vengeance is the third book in Crista McHugh's Soulbearer Series and let me tell you it is absolutely FANTASTIC.. Yeah I started this series with book three and am going bonkers cuz I can not justify buying the first two books.. and I seriously want them!!
Zara was raised a woman in a medieval society.. women were chattel, married to gain power, land, prestige for the family but things have changed. Ranello has been overtaken, the ruling family killed and suddenly she is the heart of the revolution. A woman men will die for. She knows there is at least one Prince left and she is determined to save him.
Prince Kell keft Ranello sure he was in love with that "yellow haired witch" only her heart was taken and she had responsibilities elsewhere. While he was out of the country he made the most of it by making diplomatic relations with neighboring kingdoms.. but upon his return he was captured and tortured and all but dead. But for a daring rescue by Zara, Kell would be dead and while the war might be won the country would still be lost.
This story was crafted by a master story teller. With rich sensual backgrounds and extremely well developed characters. Evil abides everywhere and a select group of individuals must figure out how to fight it.. and stay alive. We see some follow up on characters from the previous books but I wasn't left lost in the story.. I just wanted to know more!! Great way to write a trilogy and yet have the last book
It can be read as a stand alone, sorta.. the overall arc went through all three books, I think.
Kell is a great character, we hear that he has a reputation as a ladies man, a man with swagger, a good swordsman but still the third son.. (I am sure this all played out in previous books) but by this book he has grown into a leader of men. A person to be respected and followed and a wise enough man to know that love is precious and not to be denied no matter the reasons.
Zara is a superb woman, she has fought hard but is not respected even by her brother.. sure the fighting men adore her and would die following her but the "powers" treat her like a, well woman. Only she has a brain and she has heart and usually she has the right way to fight this battle. Fortunately, Kell has grown enough to realize that there is more to her than what others see..
great, Great, GREAT story.. I closed this book and wanted more!! As soon as I can justify it, I am so getting the first two books and think this series is going to land up at the top of my favorite series lists..
If you loved the fading lands, you will absolutely adore this story..
Shauni
This review is based on the ARC of A Soul For Vengeance provided by netgalley and schedled for release on May 14, 2013 -
This review can also be found on my blog:
A Match Made in Heaven
This was Kell's story. The first two books had a pretty even split of the POV between the 3 protagonists. But in this one, I could probably count the number of Arden or Dev POVs on both hands. Its almost entirely Kell and Zara. But we still follow Arden and Dev's progress through their occasion chapters and also through Kell who has contact with them.
I will admit, this book finally made me appreciate Kell. He just needed to get out on his own and develop more as a character, instead of just the third wheel to Dev and Arden. He and Zara are perfect for each other. At first I had trouble believing that Kell would get over Arden so quickly. But eventually I saw the difference between the relationship he has with Zara, and the relationship he had with Arden. They are much better matched. And Zara is even more kick-ass than Arden! I do like her better. She knows what she wants and she goes for it. If Arden was more like Zara, the Arden-Dev relationship woes would have been solved long time ago.
That being said, I still would have enjoyed this book more if it had been focused on Dev and Arden like the first two. Dev is the highlight of this series for me. And the mention of another soul? WTF? How is that possible. Way to leave us hanging! And we will never know for sure since its just a trilogy. Oh well, I can assume the best! I was also surprised that there was no resolution in regards to .
But in the end there are warm and fuzzies all around. A perfect ending, which I guess was amplified by the fact that I finally appreciated Kell. So maybe the redistributed POVs had a purpose after all. Four wonderful people who really deserved their HEAs. -
A Soul for Vengeance is the third book in Crista McHugh's Soulbearer Trilogy.
I have been anxiously awaiting this third and final book! This is a truly unique series that I have just fallen in love with. Crista McHugh has created such amazing characters and such vivid world building that it would be hard for someone to not love this series.
We've been following Arden and Dev's story for the most part throughout the last two books and their struggles coping with the Chaos God. This book still continues their story but really focuses on Kell since parting with Arden. I have to admit, I was a little concerned when I heard it wouldn't be all Arden and Dev but I should have known that Ms. McHugh wouldn't disappoint. One of the traits I value most in an author's writing is the ability for you to "see" the world they've built. She does an amazing job of this! I feel like I'm right there in the towns and scenes she describes.
Arden is a strong, compassionate character and I love her interactions with the Chaos God and Dev. It takes quite a woman to handle these guys and their powers. I wish Dev would have admitted his feeling to her earlier, but what would be the fun in that?!
I honestly can't remember how I came across this series initially but I'm so glad I did. It has been an amazing and unique series. I have had the chance to read some of Crista McHugh's other books as well and they have all been great. Definitely one of my new favorite authors!
To find out more about Crista and her books, visit her website at
http://www.cristamchugh.com/wordpress/.
"A Soul for Vengeance" will be released May 14th, 2013.
http://underworldloveaddiction.blogsp... -
I suppose this book is just as predictable as the previous two, but still enjoyable nonetheless. After Arden's rejection of Kell in the previous book, it was obvious that another love interest for Prince Kell needed to be introduced-- Zara, the younger sister of his best friend Bynn. Zara is actually a really resourceful character, as she plays a major role in helping the rebellion against the Thallian invaders that took over Ranello. I think she actually displays a more likable character than Arden, as Arden really isn't the main focus of the book anymore.
I think this final book was a little less exciting on the action part of the plot. The rebellion causes some good events, but as there is a lot of discussion over how to overtake the Thallian army, I think I liked the previous plot better. Arden's side of the story does have some scary moments with Loku taking over though, and her efforts to try and control him were more action packed than previous books.
I do think this book needed a little bit more closure on Arden's relationship with her father. The reader gets some of that, but I don't think it was fully developed at the end, nor was it implied that she would continue to develop a relationship with her father.
The romance aspect of the book was probably the best out of the three. There are some tender moments between Kell and his new love interest, and we finally get to see how things work out between Arden and Dev.
Overall, I think I liked the first book of the trilogy the best, with this one as a second, but the 2nd book of the trilogy had the best plot line. I think it is worth reading as a quick read for fantasy romance enjoyers. -
Christa MCHugh Nailed this final book In the Soulbearer trilogy, I thought the ending was perfect. We get to meet a few new characters in this book, but the one that stands out the most is Zara, She is strong Smart and very stubborn. Zara Is definitely one of My favorite characters In this book besides Arden. I mean come on Who could not love a girl who saves a prince. The Zara soon finds herself falling for Kell, A man she believes she can never have.
Kell Comes home with not only a broken heart But his Kingdom in runes. He must learn to be the king he was meant to be, with the help of the beautiful Zara. But when she puts herself in danger, He hopes that he can see her in time. Before the invaders from Thallus find out who she really is. With the help of Arden and Dev he may have a chance to save the women who is starting to mean everything to him. -
I was so excited to receive an advance copy of this book. I took to days off from work just to he alone with the the characters who I considered my friends why we got through the rest of the story,
I wasn't sure I could except Zara at first as Kell's feelings for Arden were sincere but it wasn't very long before I was rooting for her. The store is action packed from start to finish to characters jump of the pages and I thought of them all day long even when I was away from the book. It was a great finish to the first the series and I felts satisfied that they were all going to be ok.
I still miss the characters and am sad the series ended but it she tied really well. Go buy this book- NOW -
Loved it! I thought this was a great end to the series. The characters are wonderful in this one, and the new character (Zara) is such a lovely character that I felt like I wanted to meet her in real life. The end is very satisfying, and as the end of a trilogy, I thought this book wrapped things up very well and not only ended things as they needed to be ended, but gave the reader the ending they wanted, too. A very worthwhile read and a trilogy I would recommend to fantasy fans.
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I just felt like this book was too much about Kell and Zara … I get it, the author wanted Kell to get his HEA but I felt that should have been done through a novella. I really just wished to have read/focused on Trouble’s story … with Dev and I ended up skipping a lot of chapters because they were in Kell or Zara’s POV and I just didn’t care enough about them to read it. From the beginning, I wanted to read and learn and know about Trouble’s life (with Chaos and Dev of course) … so this was disappointing. However, of the time that I got to be in Trouble or Dev’s POV, it was great!! Love them :)
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Review
Different twist on what you might call D and D. Love, violence, murder and mayhem with a few deities, enjoyable read -
The End?
*****SPOILERS READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL*****
ARDEN, just stop and think or ask before running away. Use that lovely thing called communication. Kell returns home to find everything destroyed and his father and brothers are all dead. Then he falls for Zara, his best friend's sister that was his first kiss. Then it just seems that he was never in love with Arden to begin with. Dev decides to relieve himself from his duties so that he can pursue Arden in ardent. Arden takes this news as a bad thing, thinking she pushed him away but she just did not know why he was quitting his job. Loku is up to no good, and takes this chance to get Arden to run away and seek out her father, who is the guardian of the God of Chaos's ashes. This however provides good father daughter bonding time, and Arden mends things with her father. Dev finally catches up to her, and confesses his love for her. Yay!!! She also finds out about the war that is going on in her homeland, and gets the empress to send people to go help her save it. Zara gets tortured because she ran away from Kell when he proposed and decided to join a risky operation. Kell is fine with Zara being barren. Arden saves the day. Dev proposes to Arden. Loku is surprisingly helpful. I do not like different points of view, especially when there are more than four. But the author did a good job. I liked how it ended, and though there is a fourth book, I am not sure I want to read it because it can be ended right here. -
Unlike the first two books, this time around Arden has to share the spotlight with another strong woman: rebel leader Zara. I found the comparison between the two women fascinating. Each of them is passionately in love with someone, stubborn to a grand scale, have obstacles to overcome, shy away from confrontation (which I found truly frustrating because I'm apparently I'm a sort of woman who is all for ripping the band-aid off right then and there), have power at their beck and call (granted, Arden's is magic to be summoned up while Zara has loyal men at her command), and are both quite willing to walk headlong into danger (Arden just runs wherever Loku sends her, while Zara raids places mostly on her own). I did find this book frustrating quite a few times with people making bad decisions (Dev not telling Arden his plans upfront, Zara for keeping the light off all the time, Arden blindly believing Loku after all the times Dev told her that Loku manipulates to get his own goals. Though Arden was the most frustrating considering she was acting like a child with not wanting to be cooped up at the Enclave). The romance is still just as strong as in the previous two installments and I did like seeing more of Arden's father who had seemed little more than a face in the crowd of characters in the previous book. Dev is still my favorite character (not only is he still just as sexy, but I can’t help but feel for him for all the frustration at having to deal with Arden), though with this novel I did gain new respect for Kell as he had to come to terms with his ruined country and pick up the pieces and become a strong leader, when he had been not much more than a spoiled, self-centered, playboy prince. And it was a joy when we were given an obvious romantic match for Kell straight from the start so he wouldn't have to spend the duration of yet another novel skirt chasing after Arden. Though, when all was said and done, just like the previous two books, I couldn't put it down. And I do hope for a return of my beloved Dev, the fascinating Marist, and Loku (I keep thinking he'd be really interesting to see in a human form -just that brief dream glimpse of him was fun).
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Of the three books in the Soulbearer Trilogy, I have to say, this one is my favorite. I don't want to give a lot away but, in this book, Arden has come into her own and is one strong, kick-ass Soulbearer. All of the books are great, the whole plot concept is uniquely awesome, but this book is deeper and really rounds out the series.
There's a lot going on in the conclusion to the Soulbearer series. Ranello is practically in ruins from an invasion, Prince Kell is missing, and some of the characters from the first two books are leading a rebellion to win their country back. Arden is still in Gravaria and knows nothing of the invasion. Being kept in the dark is part of Dev's plan to protect her but it backfires in a big way.
This book concentrates more on Kell, than on Arden and Dev, but a lot of questions are answered for both Arden, and us. This is where she comes into her own and learns to rely on herself. Her strength surprises her but not anyone around her. They've always known what she was capable of and, working together, they bring about a very satisfying ending.
I actually felt at a loss as I finished this book. The characters really grew on me and I almost felt like I'd lost friends. There are quite a few references to what happens to them in the future but I would've loved to read an epilogue. I just didn't want to let them go. Cristia McHugh is officially one of my very favorite authors. I'm so glad she's written a bunch of books because I really think I'm going through withdrawal. -
Rating for the trilogy: Arden is a yellow-haired girl with magical abilities raised in Ranellia, a country of dark-haired people with a deadly prejudice against witches and a strong dislike for those who are different. While working as a bar maid, she unwittingly becomes host to the god of chaos when the previous soulbearer is assassinated by a necromancer hoping to harness the god's power for himself.
Dev is sworn to protect the soulbearer and after
Failing to protect Arden's predecessor, must now safely escort her to Gravaria, where she can be properly trained to suppress the chaos god and learn to use her magical gifts. Along the way, her instincts lead her to save a group of men battling the necromancer's undead minions. The group leader happens to be Kell, the third prince of Ranellia.
The author convincingly develops the lead characters (Arden, Dev, Kell, and Zara who is introduced in book three). They are flawed, yet relatable and very real. The reader understands what drives their decisions and genuinely cares about the outcome.
The books were well-paced and enjoyable to read. The author found a decent balance between romance and action (although it did get a bit angsty at times). -
It has been so long since I was first introduced to Arden, a blonde haired blue eyed young woman starkly out of place in the dark haired populace of Ranello, yet I easily slipped back into her story when book 2 and 3 arrived. Picking up after book 1 ended, we see Trouble (an appropriately designated nickname for Arden)finally head to Gravaria, much to the relief of her protector Sir Devarius Tel'Brien, so she can finally learn to control the Chaos god Loku whose soul is inside Arden's (hopefully before she is driven insane like the previous soulbearers).
Unlike the previous two novels where we follow Arden's and Dev's point of view, the main POV of book 3 is about Prince Kell, who has returned from Gravaria to Ranello after hearing after a possible invasion from the neighbouring Thallus.
The ending was beautiful, everything is tied up nicely yet we are also left with just enough opening to imagine ourselves what will happen.
And the mention of another soul inside Zara?: let's just say that there may be some little Kell's and Zara's running around in their future.
Now I would love to see a sequel to Tears of Elios. -
I enjoyed this book, the plot was good, I do feel that some things were a bit rushed in this final story. I would have really liked to have gotten to know Arden's father better. The characters are well written. Loku is trying to take over Arden again, but luckily her father taught her to finally control him better although she still needs to figure out what grounds her to help fight him when he tries to take complete control and drown her out. I am glad when she finally realizes that Dev keeps her grounded. I am so happy with the outcome for Dev & Arden and for Kell and Zara. I am glad that Kell overcame his first love and found true love with Zara she is the right one to be Queen of his people. I wish this wasn't the last book as I would love to know what happens in the future with both characters and a few more for that matter. I would like to see book about Dev's people and Arden's cousin the Empress needs to find her a true love as well. Great writing Christa, you have left me wanting more.
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This series was great I wish there was more of a finality to Lokus character but the story was great. The author even had me liking the bad characters in the series by giving you a sense of their lives and why they are fighting for their cause. I almost forgot some of the characters were considered the bad guys. I don't think that has ever happened to me in a book. There has always been the line of good vs bad and I've always rooted for the good. This series was a roller coaster of emotion for all characters. I think she should continue with a spin off to create more series based on Loku and some of the Mages.......
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So this book kind of took a turn for me. The characters I like best (Arden and Loku) kind of took the back seat to Zara and Kell's story, which would have been fine in general if this had been more of a separate book as opposed to the completion of a trilogy. It even would have been better if the split was a bit more even. I found myself skimming the Zara/Kell chapters to try to get back to the story I cared more about. Again, not that their story isn't interesting, I just wanted more time with Arden and Loku. Also pining characters are never as fun.
Still, it is a pretty satisfying ending to the trilogy. Mixed feelings all around. -
I really liked the series and was excited to finally get to finish it. I loved the story and always wanted to know what would happen next. It was predictable at times and the end of the book felt a bit rushed. I felt the ending was maybe too predictably good, but then if it hadn't ended well I don't think I would have been happy either. There were a few more misspellings or missing words then I would normally like, they didn't keep me from reading the book and enjoying it but when I came across them they did take away from the flow. A really quick read. I would recommend it for sure.
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Even though I really enjoyed Kell's story, I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see more of Dev and Arden's relationship develop. They spent the first two books tiptoeing around each other and not being upfront with their feelings that when they finally get the chance to, we don't see much of what happened. I would have either liked the book to have been longer or have another book that went into more details, I think there was a lot more that could have been included.
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I read this book in 3 hours. I feel like some of the events within the story were rush and a tiny bit more time could have been taken exploring these. So the pace is fast and didn't leave me bored. All in all I enjoyed it. Finally the romance ended the way I wanted it to.
I wouldn't be opposed to reading a book 4 if Crista decides to write one (cough cough) -
This one had everything, homecoming princes to rescue the rebellion, armies and magic and of course it still had a good amount of good old fashioned chaos god carnage though quite frankly I agree with Loku stop containing him and let him free!
Not a bad way to close out the series. -
3.5 stars rounded down to 3 because after the dream sequence in book 1, the fade to black like a YA book seemed out of place.
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3.5 Stars. I didn't like it as much as the others, I think because it didn't focus as much on Arden and Loku. Still a good read though - Crista always delivers.
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This book was okay but I felt there was to much Zara and Kell. I hope the next book has Arden in it.
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ok
