Saturday, March 26, 2011

Soul Quest - Amy Jones (review)



Genre:                           Young Adult
Year:                              2011
Word count:                 71,749
Part of:                         Soul Quest Trilogy (book #1)
Followed by:                The Guardians of Souls 
                                       (to be published in August of 2011)
Where to get:               SmashwordsAmazon
Author's Website:       Amy Maurer Jones



Do you remember how horrified you were about the idea of attending high school? I remember ticking off those last miserable days of my summer vacation following my eighth grade year. Maybe you don’t, maybe you were one of 'those people.' You know who I’m talking about, people like Melissa Small, the distinguished District Attorney, Larry Small’s daughter, popular, gorgeous... and absolutely terrifying to someone like me, Liv Glyn. No, I am far from measuring up to the standards required to make Melissa’s crowd. I’m not even close. I’m just a simple man’s daughter, mostly tolerated by my peers with average looks. If this isn’t depressing enough for you, stay tuned, it gets worse. I was commanded with Spirit at birth by the Great Spirit, Hala. I know, it sounds crazy but it’s true. If you think it's difficult being a teenager, try being a teenager who was born destined to save the world from soul sucking Daevas and their mutant progeny Aengels. There are four of us. My companions of Spirit are Laith, Brayan and Meena. Melissa Small is Laith’s step sister and she is always meddling where she doesn’t belong, further complicating our lives. To make matters even worse, my best friend Jedd is apparently aware of things that are typically undetectable to ordinary humans. So, I have to lie to Jedd, the boy who has been my constant standby since the third grade, to shield him from the horrible and very dangerous truth. Did I mention that I think I’m falling in love with him? The term awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it, trust me. Welcome to the mess that is my life.  
(goodreads.com)





"Hey Mom, how can dead people walk around New York like that?" Liv asked her mother from the passenger seat of their mini van.


"Whoa Brayan, what are you saying? Are you some kind of lie detector in human form?" she asked in amazement.
"Yeah, I guess so." he acted as if it was no big deal.
"Ok. So, for example, if someone is lying you are able to detect it because their heart rate speeds up or because their palms get sweaty?" she clarified. She still couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Pretty much." he agreed.
"Wow, Brayan. This is really cool." she smiled, proud of him.
"Yeah." he sighed."It's great to be able to know when everyone is lying to you when they tell you thinks like...You are a great kickball player Brayan... Lie... You're fun to be around Brayan.. Lie... You're story was really interesting Brayan... Lie... You're my best friend Brayan... Lies, lies, lies! I hate it!" he finally broke down and began to cry.


Soul Quest by Amy Jones totally made my week! Yesterday I ended up staying up till 4 am, just so I could finish it and find out how the first book ends. I just couldn't bring myself to put it down. How could I possibly go to sleep, when this book is so amazing! And you must know that I am a very slow ebook reader, I really don't like spending my time looking at the computer screen (or iPhone screen, depending if I'm currently outside of the house) so this was quite an accomplishment on Amy's part to keep me so captivated. (Thank you Amy, thanks to you I look like a zombie today!)

For the most part of the book the narrative voice belongs to Liv. At first glance you could think she's just an ordinary girl, preoccupied with normal teenager day-to-day problems and dramas, like figuring out whether her feelings for her best friend are anything more than a friendly affection or doing her best to fit in at her new school. Pretty much all the things we all could relate to. But Liv is no ordinary teenager, she is an Oracle of Earth, one of four human-born Oracles, who's duty is to save the Earth from destruction. Her companions of Spirit are: athletic and super handsome Laith (Oracle of Fire), adorable computer geek, Brayan (Oracle of Wind) and knowledgeable and organized Meena (Oracle of Water). Each of them has unique gifts and charms, that will help them fight the evil Aengels and Daevas and try and stop them from stealing human souls.

I absolutely loved the first part of Soul Quest trilogy. I got sucked into the story from the very first pages of the book and I often found myself thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it. It's such a pleasurable read! At first I was a little bit overwhelmed by the magnitude of the world Amy created, but after a while it all come together, every piece fell into the right place. I'm deeply amazed at how much work the author put into creating a whole new mythology for the purpose of the story, it's jaw dropping.

Amy Jones does a superb job of drawing you in. She created an amazing, unique and fascinating world, filled with fantastic, well developed and likable characters. If you liked Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series then I can guarantee you will LOVE Soul Quest!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Evie - What a very nice review! I get made when books keep me up to wee morning hours but what a pleasure on the other hand. Looking forward to reading more of your reviews. Belle

Bookluvr Mindy said...

Thanks for the review! I know what book I want to read next!

kathy said...

Nice review. That book sounds good...I'll have to look for it when it comes out. I'm following you now from book blogs. Excited to check out the rest of your posts. :)
-kathy
www.readthisinstead.blogspot.com

AO said...

hi Evie! first, thanks for stopping by my blog and for your happy thoughts. second, thanks for following. i returned the love as well and included your blog's link to my buddy bloggers' list. i also subscribed to your feeds.
i read YA books too and your review was great! Soul Quest must be a wonderful read. i would have to look into this one.
thanks again and enjoy the rest of your weekend! c",)

WildIrishRose33 said...

I know aren't those sofas AMAZING!? I love them! :-) And they definitely look comfy enough to sleep on so you can live in my bookstore any time. :-P

LOVE that 2nd quote up there. Too funny (cept for that part at the end of it where he cried). Looks like a raelly good book. :-)

ABookVacation said...

Very exciting! I think amazon should be paying you because I keep reading your reviews and then going to their site and buying up the books you recommend! :)

Jolene and Family said...

Wow, keep these books coming. I'm loving all these new books and authors your introducing to me :)

Sakira said...

This sounds like an exciting book! I LOVE the quotations you gave us. They're hilarious!! (though poor Bryan... always hearing people's lies. It sounds handy, but at the same time it's a curse). I agree with ABookVacation. Your reviews are so... amazing (I can't think a good enough word!). I'm going to end up buying all the books you review. LOL.

Ivana said...

This sounds SO great! How come I have never heard of this series before? And the cover is gorgeous! The main heroine sounds like a likeable girl, so I am definitely going to read this. The summary of the book is so great, it draws you in and you immediately want to read it and find out what happens (well, at least I do, lol). Thank you for introducing me to this series and a really nice review!

Anonymous said...

Like the review . love a book that you can put down.

Aneta said...

Surely you encouraged me to buy this book! it sounds like enjoyable read... maybe i will pick it up for summer :D

Lindsay Cummings author said...

the author is probably super excited about this review! i read a sampler from it and it was nice!

Anonymous said...

I love Cassandra Clare's TMI! Anyways, this sounds like a great read, and it's easy to understand what the main character is feeling because we've all been through that stage where we're scared of that first year of high school.

Again, quite humorous quotes. C:

Krystal Larson said...

I loved The Mortal Instruments series! If this is anything like it, I can't wait to find a copy.

aurora M. said...

I think this may be a good starter book for this type. Sounds like a worth while read. Thanks for the review.

therainhouse said...

I was drawn to the cover! The premise is definitely interesting. How many times have we felt inferior to that girl at school who's perfect at everything?

Sky said...

Very good review! I was drawn to the cover

Yvonne @ The Shadow Realm said...

This sounds really good, thanks for the review :)

Munnaza said...

I've never heard of this book before, but it sounds absolutely fantastic and captivating. I'll definitely be adding it to my to-read list. Thanks for the review!

Jaime Lester said...

I am not entirely sure why, but I really like the cover. It is so simple, but the way the light bounces off of the water and back into the darkness is awesome. The blurb itself drew me completely in, and made me want to go buy this book right now. After your review, I think I may just do that. Thanks so much for another fab review!

Kelly said...

I could feel your excitement of the book in your review. I have had this book on my kindle but haven't gotten around to it. Thanks for the review! I kicked up this book in rank on my tbr list.

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