Official Review: Soul Keeper by Cathryn Marr

[Poppy Drear]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Soul Keeper" by Cathryn Marr.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Soul Keeper by Cathryn Marr follows in the pattern of a current supernatural romance trend, where an angel falls for a human woman. In this instance, that woman is Aurora, and she has extremely powerful magical abilities that only begin manifesting when the fallen angel Luceire appears in her life. Soon, she is caught up in a plot involving an insane vampire who wants to harvest the souls of certain children with psychic abilities, then use them to bring back the Watchers, monsters who want to feed upon humanity.

Other than the main romantic pairing, the characters are somewhat flat. They generally serve only a single role in the narrative, and they aren't put into enough unique situations to show how they react to anything other than being a part of the main conflict. A great example of this is Aurora's friend, Solaya. She is a reincarnated witch who, ultimately, does very little of importance other than try to stop Aurora from doing anything dangerous. Incidentally, Aurora trying to do something dangerous is a recurring theme that accounts for probably about 80% of the plot.

Unfortunately, the overall plot itself is also lackluster. It involves a wide variety of different worldbuilding elements, none of which are particularly cohesive. There are angels and fallen angels, indigo and crystal children, sanguine and psychic vampires, witches, and even fairies. Many of these elements just aren't given enough development. I later found out that indigo and crystal children are part of a certain school of New Age thinking, so the author probably relied so much on these themes that they weren't clear to readers who didn't already know about them.

There are some worthwhile elements to this book, though. It pulls off a dark, gritty style very well, and many of the individual scenes with the supernatural characters are sufficiently dramatic and exciting. The initial feelings between Aurora and Luceire are far more about lust and possession than love, but their relationship develops fairly well despite this rocky start. It's easy to look at the cover and synopsis and believe that this will focus on romance to the detriment of the narrative itself, but the plot takes center stage most of the time, which I found refreshing.

Ultimately, I rate Soul Keeper 2 out of 4 stars. While it has promise, that really doesn't make up for lackluster character development and plot execution. I can't recommend it to anyone but the most staunch fans of vampire and angel romance, though you may also enjoy this book if you are familiar with the New Age school of thinking regarding indigo and crystal children. There are some heavy sexual themes, so this book certainly isn't appropriate for younger audiences.

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Soul Keeper
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[Dentarthurdent]

I can't help but think that the plot is somewhat generic, what with the supremely powerful, and reckless human protagonist who attracts the attention of the supernatural bad boy. That, with the poor character development, is enough to dissuade the reader. Great review!

[kandscreeley]

Yes, this sounds pretty typical. It's too bad the characters don't stand out. That really makes or breaks a story. Thanks for the information, but I'll pass.

[sri varshini303041]

I was really intrigued by the setting, as I enjoy supernatural romance, especially Fallen angels and Vampires. It is disappointing that the characters and the plot were not strong enough to hold it. Thank you for the honest review.

[Sandra K Pearson]

It's a shame about the characters development, it's hard for me to stay interested in a book when I don't know the characters very well. Nice review.

[Sekhmet September]

Sounds like there's just too much going on for the author to be able to clarify or focus. I probably would have been disappointed, too. Thank you for a great review!

[Nyambura Githui]

The story about angels, fairies, and witches sounds interesting. Too bad the author didn't put much effort in developing the characters. Great review.

[kdstrack]

I had not heard about indigo and crystal children. So, even if I don't read the book there is something new to learn. Thanks for your review of this book.

[danielleamy]

Looks like the author may have gone for quantity over quality when it comes to the range of supernatural beings in this book. Perhaps if they focussed more on having fewer beings and a stronger plot and/or character development, this may have been more enjoyable. Thanks for the review

[Krissykat]

The beginning of the review describing the characters lack of development had me disinterested, but the fact that I love vampires, angels, witches and faries, I would still be intrigued. And the fact that there is passion and lust between Aurora and Luceire is a plus.

[RomanIV]

Its a shame, the plot sounds pretty great, too bad the characters aren't well developed. Thank you for your review! -R <3

[Nisha Ward]

This sounds like your standard paranormal romance which just isn't my cup of tea. Couple that with the flat characters and I'm going to pass.

[janelwhite]

That is quite a combination of vampires, angels, fairies, and witches! Sounds like a lot going on. Thank you for your review it was very helpful.

[jasmine-louise]

Thanks for the review, I may give the book a go