Mundie Moms

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Book Review: Dark Souls

Published by: Point
To Be Released on: August 1st, 2011
Source: book to review from publisher
4 Stars- I really enjoyed it!

Welcome to York, England.

Mist lingers in the streets.

Narrow buildings cast long shadows.

This is the most haunted city in the world. . . .

Miranda Tennant arrives in York with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones, hoping she won’t run into the countless ghosts who supposedly roam the city. . . .

Then she meets Nick, an intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of York’s hidden places and histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by another boy — one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message. Could this boy be one of York’s haunted souls?

Soon, Miranda realizes that something dangerous — and deadly — is being planned. And she may have to face the darkest part of herself in order to unravel the mystery — and find redemption.

A haunting ghost story, an intriguing mystery, and a rich historical setting mixed with a mild romance create the perfect elements for an engaging read. I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Souls. I love the way Paul Morris was able to blend tragedy, paranormal activity and center the story in historical York, England. Her descriptions of York and historical references really captivated me. As much as I would love to travel there and walk among the cobblestone streets, Paul's vivid descriptions made me feel like I walked along the streets with the story's main character Miranda Tennant.

After a recent tragedy, Miranda's parents decide they're taking her and her older brother Rob to York, England for a family vacation/work get away. Hoping they can try and put some closure of the accident behind them, Rob & Miranda's time in England brings a whole new set of interesting events. Miranda's still reeling with her new found gift, or maybe it's a curse, she can see ghosts. Unfortunately for her York, England's rich history is the perfect place for many of it's ghosts to reside. The most engaging part of the story for me was the way Paula introduced York's history, which was through Miranda's interest in and learning more about some important places. She does this to try and understand why she's seeing so many ghosts and why they're appearing, looking the way they do. One of the interesting things about Dark Souls's ghosts is they bare the marks of how they died.

Wrapped into this unique ghost story is a great mystery. There's the ghost a young guy who appears in the window across from Miranda's and the mysterious Nick, the story's love interest, who knows a lot about York's history and it's ghosts. Nick has some secrets of his own and he seems to have the ability to appear out of now where. Then there's some strange incidents happening around town, which tie into York's tragic past. I liked the minor twists and turns Paula threw into the story's plot that kept me guessing.

I enjoyed the characters in the story, but my connection was with the setting. I really like Paula's writing, because her vivid descriptions of both the story's scenes and setting give her book a realistic feel. It's not hard for me to picture myself there, seeing the cobblestone streets, the buildings and the various places Miranda goes to. I liked the feel of the story, the direction it took and the elements Paula gave it. I really enjoyed Dark Souls and I recommend picking it up. It's a great clean cut book that I think readers 13 yrs & older would enjoy.

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