Review: Beautiful Story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 17, 2013
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up Soul Ties and when I finished it, I realised I must have had some expectations because it didn't end up being at all what I thought.From the way it was written, to the story content itself, I was swept away by a fast-paced, page-turning book that kept me on my toes and guessing what might come next. But each time I thought I knew what to expect next, I was proved entirely wrong.Ava is a soul-hunter, sent to capture Keir's Nephilim soul and return it to the Celestia, his soul is what she plans to trade for her freedom. Without his soul, the Celestia will not give Ava her Will.When Ava meets Keir, he has an attitude and a best friend who's attitude is even worse. From the off, neither Keir nor Dahlia like Ava and don't like having to endure being in her company. But they can't just shake her off. She's been sent to do her job and will not return without his soul in the gem provided for retrieval.As the story moves along, we find Dahlia may have reasons for her reticence to trust the new girl, but still, she keeps up the attitude as if she doesn't have an off-switch.Keir however, begins to warm to Ava's presence. He's attracted to her like she is to him. That makes things a tad more difficult. She wants to get close to him to take his soul, but the more she gets to know him, the less she wants to take it. What's more important, doing the Celestia's bidding and retrieving Keir's soul to get her Will or helping Keir's cause, falling deeper in love with the secretive yet unforgettable Nephilim?Soul Ties isn't just your straight-forward love story. There are so many things getting in the way of Keir and Ava's possible relationship. They don't trust each other, he's Nephilim and she's a soul-hunter, those things alone make life very difficult but what makes Ava question everything is the way Keir hunts and captures Demons in order to free their souls. Nephilim don't track and kill other Demons, so what is Keir's agenda?To find out Keir's agenda and see if the unlikely pair can come together despite the many obstacles in their way, you need to pick up a copy of Soul Ties for yourself.I love Lisa Swallow's easy style of writing. She writes a complicated plot with many twists, but she makes it all easy to understand. That's no mean feat. Some people write complicated tings just for the sake of it. Swallow's world building doesn't take a lifetime to get to get to grips with. I can't wait for books 2 and 3. From what I hear, book 2 is from Dahlia and Jack's POV and book 3 picks up Keir and Ava's story. I for one would love to hear from Keir's own POV. I hope that's something Swallow will consider as she writes more of the soul tied world.Thank you Lisa for the e-copy of Soul Ties, I would LOVE a signed copy to go with my special signed books collection. Here's hoping you a) sell signed copies or b) have bookplates!