Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

If you enjoy fantasy, you'll be wanting to check out Carnival of Souls. Told from multiple points of view and written entirely in third person, you'll be transported between The City where daimons reign and the human world where witches roam free.

Think of the Carnival of Souls as an enormous market, the heart of The City, and where the competition takes place. As for the competition itself, it's a way for even the lowest of the low to become ruling caste and hold a powerful position at Marchosias's side. Aya wants to win in order to keep from having to marry and breed, Belias only entered because Aya did so, and Kaleb? Kaleb is a cur who wants to protect his pack and improve his position in the process.

On the other hand, there's Mallory, a girl who has been raised by a witch to despise daimons. I won't say anymore than that about her--but trust me, you'll learn a lot about her throughout Carnival of Souls. If she feels a little weak willed to you at first, hang in there. Why? Because there's a reason for it. As for Kaleb, I didn't expect to like him as much as I did, to be honest. The romance felt a little too sudden at first, but I loved how it worked out as Carnival of Souls progressed. Oh! And I can't forget Adam, the witch that has been raising Mallory. I didn't start off loving him, but that quickly changed as I delved into Carnival of Souls.

Carnival of Souls is an immersive read and one that I think readers will enjoy. And while I won't talk about the plot itself--because I'm pretty sure I'll accidentally give spoilers--I will tell you that it moves along nicely and that you're never in one place for too long. It's a world that I didn't mind getting lost in and one that I'm eager to return to--even if the wait will probably kill me. (No, really, I wanted to shake it to see if another page--or fifty--would magically appear.)

Overall Rating: ★★★★ and a half.

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Publisher: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins

Release Date: September 4, 2012

Edition: ARC

* Picked up at ALA Annual.