Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron

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Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron




Arrah doesn’t have magic. She can see it as it comes to the others at the gathering of the five Heka tribes at the Blood Moon festival but it flees from her touch. Even though her mother is the Ka-Priestess of Tara, her grandmother the Chieftan of the Tribe Aatiri and her father an edam of the Tribe Aatiri as well, she has never known magic. Each year she has watched, angry and with less hope, as the magic passes her by. She knows there’s other ways to get magic but trading years of her life to obtain it would make her a charlatan. It would dishonor her and her family and she would never know how much of her life was taken until it was too late. But when children begin to go missing, she feels as if she has no choice but to give some of her life if it means saving others.
This story is complicated. It contains magic, gods, demons, legacy and family drama. This might be one of the most intense mother and daughter relationships I’ve ever read. And the consequences of the relationship between Arrah and her mother Arti, ripples throughout this entire book. Told in first person by Arrah we get a look at the life of a sixteen-year-old young woman who feels isolated and like a disappointment after being unable to obtain magic. We see how she’s strived her entire life to live up to her mother’s expectations and how obtaining magic, in Arrah’s eyes, would completely change the foundation of her and her mother’s relationship. But that isn’t necessarily true as we find out. Arrah, even though magicless has a strong foundation of people who love her: the grandmother that still lives in the country, her loving father who moved to the city to be the woman he loves. Along with Rudjek, the Vizier’s son, Arrah best friend and confidant, were all a support system for her. But her mother’s love is where she feels the loss.
Barron did a really great job crafting this story and exploring the world in which it resides. She went into detail regarding the orishas and how magic came to exist in humans. It was really interesting and really draws you into the story. The consequences for misusing magic are obvious from the very beginning. The question becomes is it ever worth the risk, and Barron strives to answer that question throughout. I enjoyed the characters. I felt like they were well developed and I cared about them. I became really invested in Arrah and the people around her. It took a while though. I dragged through the first sixty or so pages and then the story really took off. But pacing is an issue throughout. Some moments in the story lingered while others happened so quickly that I was left confused and trying to gain my bearings.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I flew through the last half of this story, eager to find out how Barron would pull the threads of this book together. I am satisfied by the ending and ready to read the next book in the series. We’re left with a cliffhanger that has me convinced that there is much more to the orishas and Arrah’s story. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

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