The Soulwood series continues to hold my attention with every installment.
I enjoy following along on Nell adventures and learning more about her and her team.
The romance between Nell and Occam continues to move along at a nice pace for the characters, but I am excited to see more between the two. They are a great pair.
I am always excited to see what Faith will do next with these great characters and world.
Surprised that this book, Spells for the Dead was just ok for me, not quite sure what happened with this one. I feel it could've done with another pass at editing maybe, there was a lot of repetitive phrases/words and also a lot of icky-ness; melting, rotting corpses and gross descriptions over and over again and usually that doesn't bother me as I'm not squeamish with books or movies etc... I think it may just have been the absolute repetition of it with ALL the various characters decaying... This book is really kind of a mess. Pun intended.
Nell is still a great character, she feels like a real person trying to manage the trauma she's suffered, the dysfunction in her childhood/home and dealing with not truly knowing herself with the added bonus of being something supernatural that's a mystery to her. I liked how in this book she found out more about herself, that was the best part. Occam has become so over the top in this one now I think and I was wishing they would break up and give Nell a chance to know herself on her own or that maybe she would get with Firewind but most people seem to absolutely love Nell/Occam together so maybe that's just me? Also can we have a book with T'Laine (Spelling?, listened on Audible) as the main character please.
Also it has been bugging me throughout the series that Nell is so stilted/reserved in her close relationships and goes totally over the top in her professional ones, pretty sure that it wouldn't be tolerated to talk to a superior like she does, it's not just standing up for herself, its awkward and embarrassing and kind of like throwing a tantrum. It works well with Jane, not with Nell who is a junior officer in a team and I realize its a fictional team made up of 'supes' that have to have a certain amount of leeway given but she's done it to Rick and Firewind too now and it just strains at times.
Overall I love this world, the characters and the magical systems. I wish Nell's "green Knight"/Vampire Tree wasn't so convoluted and she spent more time developing/learning her powers and about herself instead of throwing herself face-first into everything and seeing what happens and then having to get saved repeatedly because she has no real knowledge of what she is doing and that hasn't really developed that much. Just my thoughts on it.
Of course a Faith Hunter book, has to be read ASAP!!
This is Nell's book #5.
The Nell in this book has grown so much from the beginning.... I just love how she is adapting and growing....
Then there is Occam.... Oh Occam... He is becoming one of my all time favorite book boyfriends.... He is perfect for Nell.... and such a sweet, kind, protective, loving ray of sunshine.... I need to get me an Occam.
This is a must read series..... If you haven't started it yet, I highly recommend!!
Slow burn book the romance is more of a very small side dish Very original storyline Touches on sensitive issues, abuse, grooming, sexual abuse, rape, cult life. But does so with tact, kindness and knowledge. It's a tough read at times but that's what makes it great, we cannot hide the ugly and hope it goes away, these books give a new perspective on other lives and helps to broaden horizons and minds abd is entertaining as hell of course. You do not need to read the Jane Yellowrock series, despite there being many places in the books where the main characters of those books are spoken of, Faith Hunter explains as you read who they are etc. And I find that great, as I didn't find myself as engrossed in those books as I am with the Soulwood series. Not to sat they aren't brilliant and clever, because they are, but I much much much prefer Soulwood.
The main character is complex, we get to follow Nell, Ingram, on her journey to grow in life, magical powers and relationships; making me love her all the more. From the beginning of the series where Nell is closed off, untrusting of men and women, for good reason, to the latest book (book 5, 'Spells for the Dead') where she is in a serious relationship, has friends, work colleague relationships, and a better bond to her family, you can really feel abd see the progression that's taken place abd it makes me feel all all closer to the character as I was alongside her on thus journey throughout the series.
Love all the characters! Mud, the vampire tree, soulwood, the team, I can go on...
It is not a risk to try this series, you'll be rewarded from the very first chapter with action, emotion and most fun, magic! In fact I'd go so far as to say, you'd be missing out big time by not reading these books...so get to it!
The great news is that thre will be a book 6, YAY!!
Most UF series' get bigger as they progress. Bigger guns, bigger explosions, bigger bad guys. It usually annoys me sooner or later and more often than not, sooner. In the Soulwood series the best thing is Nell on her land; her feuds with the religious cult that butts up against her land; her relationships with her family who still live in the cult; and her battle with what she is becoming.
And Spells for the Dead well and truly delivers. In some ways it's a smaller story than earlier books in the series but that smaller story leaves room for what I want, more Nell, more Mud and their growth as characters.
Well, that was a really good read. I keep expecting these to lose their appeal as Yellowrock goes up and down for me and never has been a favorite. This is a favorite for certain. Haven't read a bad one yet. I love the quirky work colleagues, quirky family, quirky relationships, and then the mystery/police procedural while dealing with the locals and other agencies.
So if I had to name one thing that this might have been lower on, it would be dealing with other agencies as we didn't get a follow up on the witch and her daughter and any repercussions there. Other than that, this one was made for Nell. She works with her new boss and develops a new relationship by again standing up for herself. Rick is absent for most of the book. Didn't really miss him and I really like Jane's brother skinwalker as the boss-man.
On her family front, well Occam and her relationship really solidifies which was nice. She has to deal with another of her sisters with tree/land gifts that get in the way of being accepted by certain factions of the church. It was great seeing Mudd holding her own with Ester and how that worked out. I'm not sure how I feel about Ester. I love Mudd.
Disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
It's blog tour day today for one of my favorite authors and book #5 in the Soulwood series, Spells for the Dead. If you haven't checked out the rest of the tour stops yet, start here for excerpts and more opportunities to win prizes in the giveaway!
I’m always excited for a new Faith Hunter book, and it’s no different for Spells for the Dead. One reason is I know there will be character growth and that remains true in Spells for the Dead.
Nell is leaving her past further behind with every installment in this series, mentally if not physically. She’s still in her house, on her land, “next door” to the church. But she's no longer PsyLED's rookie, she's no longer a churchwoman, and she's definitely no longer meek or afraid to ask questions.
Spells for the Dead is dark. It opens on a murder, with multiple people dead, and in gross and gruesome fashion. (You know that you should never, ever piss off an author, right? Right? Well, now you do!) But even with all the gross and gruesome, I enjoyed the familiarity of the PsyLED procedures, even with a new boss - and I liked Ayatas FireWind, too. We learn a bit more about him in this fifth installment of Hunter's Soulwood series, but my curiosity still runs rampant.
There's plenty here to keep you turning the pages, not least of which is WHODUNNIT?!?! Never mind the how. Or all the other things occupying Nell's mental space, especially her sisters. I love how she uses her knowledge of Church rules to help Esther stand on her own two feet - and I love how well Esther does it, too. There's just so much to read, you'll be amazed when you're done. And then you'll start all over from the beginning.
drey's rating: Excellent!
Have you read Spells for the Dead? What did you think?
Giveaway!
There's a giveaway for some lovely prizes, including Tea with Faith (via Zoom) and some lovely leather arm/wristbands (see picture below). Open to US residents only, enter now!
