Title: Her Soul to Take
Author: Harley Laroux
Length: 471 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Dark Romance, Fantasy
Is this book part of a series? Yes, this is book one of the Souls Trilogy.
I discovered this book… at my local bookshop. I ended up borrowing it with Kindle Unlimited but I fell in love with the look of the deluxe edition, so I bought that as well.
Published: April 9th, 2021.
Book Summary:
Summary courtesy of Goodreads
Leon I earned my reputation among magicians for a reason: one wrong move and you’re dead. Killer, they called me, and killing is what I’m best at. Except her. The one I was supposed to take, the one I should have killed – I didn’t. The cult that once controlled me wants her, and I’m not about to lose my new toy to them.
Rae I’ve always believed in the supernatural. Hunting for ghosts is my passion, but summoning a demon was never part of the plan. Monsters are roaming the woods, and something ancient – something evil – is waking up and calling my name. I don’t know who I can trust, or how deep this darkness goes. All I know is my one shot at survival is the demon stalking me, and he doesn’t just want my body – he wants my soul.
Her Soul to Take is book 1 in the Souls Trilogy. Each book within the Souls Trilogy is interconnected, following a different couple through a similar timeline in the fictional world of Abelaum.
My Thoughts:
Please be adivised, there will be light spoilers.
I have to admit, this book is ever so slightly out of my wheelhouse, but I am so so glad I picked it up. The writing was fantastic, moving fluidly from one narrative to another. It was an interesting, intense read with some fabulous characters. I am eager to read the next two books, and find the idea of them all going on at roughly the same time really interesting. The fact that she gave the other two couples introductions here sets the stage really well.
I loved Leon as a character. He comes off so fierce and sarcastic, even cold at times, yet when it comes to Rae he allows ever vulnerable piece of him to be on display as well as the protective. I mean, the way he talked to her about his past love broke my heart. This is a strong being that has a lot of reasons to distrust and even hate humans, laying himself bare so that his girl can understand his desire for everything. We got to see a lot of growth with this character as he came to terms with the fact that he loved Rae.
Rae, on the other hand, was a harder sell for me. I wanted to shake the girl half the time (a feeling that I am sure Leon would have understood). She can’t fight and has no special ablilities. When she finds that her life is in danger does she do anything to try to protect herself? Not really. She runs around town when told not to, goes to a party hosted by people that want to kill her…. and tries to summon and trap a demon (luckily chosing one that will be less likely to be willing to kill her, but still). Girl, just stay put. Call the police maybe? (Though the book might have been pretty boring if she had). At the very least get a gun or some form of self defense. The master plan? Go to enemy territory to try to find something there. I will say that there was some character growth here, enough to make her even more interesting, but not as much as Leon had.
Let’s move on to the adult content. This book is extra spicy. There is bdsm play, lots of pain (Rae’s a masochist and Leon has no problem leaning into that). There’s also drinking, language (including some pretty great dirty talk), drugging and violence. It is most definitely geared towards adults. While the sexual content is a bit outside my comfort level it works wonderfully for the chemistry between the couple. One thing I did love was that Leon was big on consent- everything was explained and Rae had the right to refuse anything. I have seen too many books that kind of glossed over this concept, so I was thrilled that it was such a key idea where their relationship was concerned. Honestly, my only true complaint is that every once in a while I felt like the scenes were really innapropriately timed. Seriously, you’re surrounded by people who want to kill you- you know one tried to drug you- and while you say you’re looking for something that could save your life you decide this is the ideal time for some distraction (and by distraction I mean a fairly long sex scene). Just… why? Get out, get home, then get naked. Priorities people! Lol.
All in all, I adored this book. I couldn’t put it down and ended up buying the deluxe edition. We’re talking hardback novel, foil cover, color artwork on inside cover and back, and gorgeous stenciling along the edges of the pages. In this case, yes, I absolutely judged the book by the cover (or rather the beauty of the whole book), because I could not stop thinking about that gorgeous book and I had to read the story. For me, this is a four star book.
The book is out! Have you read it yet?
Happy Reading!
Gwen
