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A review by kbbroday
A Soul to Heal by Opal Reyne
5.0
I absolutely loved this book and the first one. The relationships, the world building, and the little Mavka just pulled me in. Well and the spicier scenes too. And even though I absolutely DESPISE accidental pregnancy tropes, this one actually made my heart happy. But there are some other things I’d like to address.
After reading some of the other reviews, especially the negative ones, I realized that this book is truly for those who have an understanding of trauma and mental illness. (Warning: I will defend this book endlessly)
Some people couldn’t get past how Delora murdered her husband’s lover that was 19. But they didn’t seem to truly understand the reality of what happened. Delora was being abused by her husband for a long time. Everything she did was to make him happy and it brought unimaginable suffering because it was never good enough for him. Then she sees someone who had pretended to be friendly with her just earlier, underneath her husband. When someone is abused and betrayed like that, snapping is completely normal. No they didn’t deserve to die and what Delora did was wrong, but Delora acknowledged that and it set her deep into her depression.
Then people didn’t understand how she was so self centered. You can not tell me that fear has not made you selfish. She had just been through something so unbelievably traumatic and Magnar’s care had helped her get to a place where she could start healing. Then Magnar wants to gain more humanity so that he can care for her better. But she’s scared that he will hate her because of her past because she hates herself, so she doesn’t want him to change. But she ultimately doesn’t stop him. She has more moments that are similar but she slowly grows through all of it.
You can’t expect someone who had been verbally abused for 3+ years, who then snaps and murders her husband and his lover, then gets thrown into the void breaking her body extensively (which is unbelievably traumatic), then gets attacked by a snake demon, then suffers through a paranormal pregnancy and birth, and postpartum depression with her own child continuously trying to eat her and so much more to have the growth of someone that’s healthy minded. The fact that she made the growth that she did is actually phenomenal. Plus I loved having a main character that was flawed, depressed and anxious. I related to her far more than I did Reia. (Still loved her though)
And Magnar, I loved everything about him. Opal said that she had a hard time with this book but I think she did beautifully. Magnar was perfectly depicted as naive and caring. The way he protected his family made me cry. I especially loved that he would lower himself physically to show that Delora was safe. The way she depicts the Mavka is just beautiful and truly is the picture of the perfect partner in my opinion.
I cannot wait to read more of her work.
After reading some of the other reviews, especially the negative ones, I realized that this book is truly for those who have an understanding of trauma and mental illness. (Warning: I will defend this book endlessly)
Some people couldn’t get past how Delora murdered her husband’s lover that was 19. But they didn’t seem to truly understand the reality of what happened. Delora was being abused by her husband for a long time. Everything she did was to make him happy and it brought unimaginable suffering because it was never good enough for him. Then she sees someone who had pretended to be friendly with her just earlier, underneath her husband. When someone is abused and betrayed like that, snapping is completely normal. No they didn’t deserve to die and what Delora did was wrong, but Delora acknowledged that and it set her deep into her depression.
Then people didn’t understand how she was so self centered. You can not tell me that fear has not made you selfish. She had just been through something so unbelievably traumatic and Magnar’s care had helped her get to a place where she could start healing. Then Magnar wants to gain more humanity so that he can care for her better. But she’s scared that he will hate her because of her past because she hates herself, so she doesn’t want him to change. But she ultimately doesn’t stop him. She has more moments that are similar but she slowly grows through all of it.
You can’t expect someone who had been verbally abused for 3+ years, who then snaps and murders her husband and his lover, then gets thrown into the void breaking her body extensively (which is unbelievably traumatic), then gets attacked by a snake demon, then suffers through a paranormal pregnancy and birth, and postpartum depression with her own child continuously trying to eat her and so much more to have the growth of someone that’s healthy minded. The fact that she made the growth that she did is actually phenomenal. Plus I loved having a main character that was flawed, depressed and anxious. I related to her far more than I did Reia. (Still loved her though)
And Magnar, I loved everything about him. Opal said that she had a hard time with this book but I think she did beautifully. Magnar was perfectly depicted as naive and caring. The way he protected his family made me cry. I especially loved that he would lower himself physically to show that Delora was safe. The way she depicts the Mavka is just beautiful and truly is the picture of the perfect partner in my opinion.
I cannot wait to read more of her work.