Saturday, December 31, 2011

QUICK REVIEW: "Soul Protector" (Soul Protector series) - by Amanda Leigh Cowley


SOUL PROTECTOR
by Amanda Leigh Cowley

REVIEWED BY: Books4Tomorrow

OVERVIEW
After being dragged on a night out to celebrate a friend’s birthday, Gracie discovers a unique talent; one that makes her doubt her sanity. She decides to keep it to herself until she can make sense of it.

Gracie tries out her gift a second time, but unaware of a visible aura, she is abducted off the street. Her kidnapper is Dan; a handsome, charismatic ‘monitor.’ Once he establishes Gracie didn't understand what she was doing, he helps her, introducing her to the secret world of the Soul Protector.

Gracie knows she must find strength to embrace what she is, but she will have to dig deep because a secret from the past is waiting to catch up with her. And it will take all her courage to face it.

REVIEW

“Soul Protector” was not what I expected it was going to be. Reading the blurb, I was expecting something more in the vein of fast paced action and heart stopping suspense, but what I got instead was so much better!

Believable but imperfect characters finding themselves in true-to-life daily situations; and subtle, yet intense, romantic moments between the main characters – not to mention the unique theme of “soul swapping” - were only a few of the things that made this an enjoyable and memorable read. I could identify with the daily struggles of the main character Gracie, and I often found myself nodding in agreement thinking “oh I hate when that happens,” and “yes, I know, I’ve been through that.”

The author did a remarkable job creating scenes in which the reader can experience all sorts of different emotions. I, along with Gracie, fell in love with her monitor and cried with her when things took a turn for the worse; I hated her supervisor and ex-boyfriend; was angry at her sister’s betrayal; felt my heart break at her mother’s loss and also had pity for the different victims in the different scenarios. The romance between the main characters was subtle, yet passionate at times. It had my heart racing and wishing that I could be the one in Dan’s arms.

I found the story to be a nice blend between paranormal romance and chic lit, which is so right up my alley! It reads at a leisurely pace, but never once did I feel that it was dragging along. I was riveted from the very first chapter and mostly so because the characters are so real. In most of them I recognized someone in my life and I could easily put a face to each person. I didn’t want the story to end and actually felt sad when it did. It was like saying goodbye to friends.

The only reason for the 4 stars is the slight grammatical errors I found in a few of the chapters, but it didn’t take anything away from the story, and can be easily overlooked. “Soul Protector” is the first novel in this series and with this Amanda Leigh Cowley proved that she is a talented author with lots to offer. I am looking forward to reading more from this author and am breathlessly anticipating the next book in this series!

BOOKS4TOMORROW star rating:  4/5

READ more REVIEWS

“Soul Protector” by Amanda Leigh Cowley has 17 reviews on GoodReads. Read it here - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12361729-soul-protector

PURCHASE LINKS:


OTHER LINKS:

The opening chapters are FREE to read on Amanda’s awesome blog at:

3 comments:

Amanda Leigh Cowley said...

Thank you for such a great review. This has made my year!!

Tish Thawer said...

Great review! Congrats Mandy!

Anonymous said...

Well done Amanda - the word is spreading!

TIME-OUT!

I’ve been an avid blogger and reviewer since October 2011. It has changed my life in so many wonderful ways! I’ve met other reviewers ...