Review: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Carnival of Souls #1

Release Date: September 4^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 306

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source: ARC from BEA

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live. All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls. From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and "Graveminder," comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Wicked Lovely series, so I wasn’t sure what I would think of this series. I really liked how it sounded, and I couldn’t wait to read it. Still, I was a little scared, because I didn’t want to get my expectations too high, and then end up disappointed.  Yet, I ended up loving it. There was just the perfect mix of drama, barbaric fight, with a little touch of romance. What more could this girl ask for in a book?

Through the book, we follow mostly four different characters. First, we meet Mallory, the stepdaughter of a witch who is running/hiding from daimons (how to describe daimon. Kind of like a shape shifter/werewolf/demons… I’m not really good at explaining that, am I?) Then, there’s Aya and Belias; two high castes daimons, ex-fiancés, both fighting in the Carnival of Souls to become one of the rulers of the city. One thing’s for sure, Aya is one kickass girl. She gets what she wants, but she does do everything she has to deserve it. That’s something I really liked about her. Finally, there’s Kabel, the low caste daimon trying to raise himself through the Carnival of Souls. Also, Kabel also happens to be the love interest of lovely Mallory. I really liked that the characters are all in one way or another connected. It helps understand why there are so many points of views, and how it adds so much the novel.

Melissa Marr really caught my attention from page one with the world she created. I simply couldn’t stop, because I wanted to know more about the characters, the story and the city. I love how I could easily picture the world she created, and how it made me want to lose myself in it. It will seriously seduce many YA readers, though I would recommend it for maybe an audience a little older, since there can some violence and such.

I’m already dying for the sequel, which Melissa has said should come out in 2013, if I’m not mistaken. It was excellent and definitely worth reading.

The Trailer