VeganYANerds: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Friday, 7 September 2012

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

7:40 am | Posted by Mandee | | Edit Post

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Published Sept 5, 2012 by Harper Collins Aus

Source: ARC received from the publisher

Rating: 4 paws

From the blurb: 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.

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr is the first book in what I assume will be a new series revolving around humans, witches and daimons. The book opens with a prologue involving a daimon giving her new born child to a witch for safe keeping. The story then skips to the present day and that child, Mallory, is now seventeen years old and living in our world. She and her dad, Adam, move around a lot, because he claims he’s been chased by daimons who want something he stole from The City. Mallory has grown up aware of witches and daimons. She knows Adam is a witch and that he isn’t her biological dad, she’s been trained to fight daimons and she’s aware of another world, The City, where daimons live and witches are hunted and killed. I liked Mallory right away, she hasn’t had a normal childhood what with all the spells and daimon-killing-training but she is intelligent, caring, brave and doesn’t fall apart when things start going wrong.

In addition to Mallory’s point of view we also get to know four daimons from The City: Aya, Belias, Kaleb and Zevi. Aya and Belias grew up together and are of high class while Kaleb and Zevi are lower class daimons, they are curs. Aya, Belias and Kaleb have all entered Marchosias’ competition, a gladiator-style fight to the death. The winner will join Marchosias’ government and all three of them have their reasons for entering. I admired Aya, she is willing to do whatever it takes to win, Belias is in love with Aya and wants to protect her, and Kaleb wants to rise up in the ranks of daimons and protect his pack member, Zevi.

I enjoyed the story line and was immediately caught up in the mystery surrounding Mallory’s mother and worried about who would die in order for one of the daimons to win the competition. The story is driven along by the plot and I enjoyed the different characters and their individual stories. The two worlds were interesting, and The City had a classic fantasy feel to it, with daimons thrown in to change it up a bit.

There is an instant-connection between Mallory and Kaleb, I don’t think I’d call it insta-love, but there does end up being a reason for it. I didn’t find it annoying, although later on I resented Kaleb for forcing a situation onto Mallory, without her knowledge.

Things are very unequal for women in The City. Women must marry, the marriage must be consummated for it to be official and they must bear children. This is something Aya is trying to avoid, she has a secret to hide and does not want to marry or have children, even though she and Belias love each other. One issue that I found off-putting is that you can have a strong connection to another daimon if you’re destined to be their pack mate and they can then get permission to wed you from Marchosias and will start referring to you as their wife and you will have to bear their children within a year. It’s a lot to force onto another person and I’m interested to see how that plays out in the next book, I'm hoping the women find a way to change things.

Carnival of Souls is an intriguing blend of fantasy and paranormal with a cast of interesting characters that is sure to please readers of both genres.

Purchase: Dymocks / Angus & Robertson / Booktopia / Bookworld

Thank you to the wonderful people at Harper Collins Australia for my review copy.

Labels: 4 stars, fantasy, Melissa Marr, paranormal, review, YA

29 comments:

Erica, the Book Owl said...: Great review ^_^ Originally I thought this book sounded like a lot of other books out there, but it sounds different now. I'll have to pick it up when I get the chance!; 7 September 2012 7:47 am
Keertana said...: Woah, awesome review, Mandee! I think the plot and general idea of this is so unique which seems to be the driving force behind it. I'm not sure how much I'd like the romance in this from what you've said, but Marr does have a way to make things work somehow. I only read Wicked Lovely by her as the rest of the series was ruined for me, so I'm really excited about this one and your positive rating has just made me even more eager to get my hands on this one! Plus, a blend of fantasy and paranormal? Count me in! ;); 7 September 2012 8:49 am
Rachel said...: I'm so glad you enjoyed this too, Mandee. Yes, the whole male dominated culture was off-putting but hopefully some of this will be overcome by the strong female leads in this story. Wonderful review. :); 7 September 2012 11:28 am
Alex (A Girl, Books, OtherThings) said...: Mmm. this kind of lost me at daimon. LOL
but I'm glad the story worked well for you, it's just that words like that tend to pull me out of the story so I avoid funny spellings :D; 7 September 2012 11:47 am
Leanne said...: Marvelous review, my dear! I've been seeing so many positive reviews popping up, and I utterly adore the blurb! Even though Melissa Marr and I didn't mesh well with her Wicked Lovely series, I can't deny that this book sounds unbelievably awesome. :); 7 September 2012 2:05 pm
Kate said...: Ooohhh another new YA where people have to fight to the death to win something.

I do like the sound of this one. Although the social structure and place for women sounds like one that would frustrate me - even just as a reader.; 7 September 2012 5:02 pm
YA Anonymous said...: For some reason, I thought this was an older book and ignored it. All these damn covers look alike! But this sounds like an interesting premise. I may have to actually read this one. Haha. Great review, Mands!; 7 September 2012 8:28 pm
Lori said...: I'm very curious about this one! I started her Wicked Lovely series a few years ago and wasn't head over heels for it, but I'm ready to try something new. I do like the premise!; 7 September 2012 8:59 pm
Sharon ObsessionwithBooks said...: A wonderful review Mandee! I am sooo anxious to read this book, it sounds amazing so Im really pleased you enjoyed it.

Thankyou for sharing :); 7 September 2012 9:30 pm
Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...: From what I've read so far, this Carnival of Souls seems to be truly fascinating! I haven't had much luck with Marr - in fact, I wrote one of my most negative reviews for her Graveminder, and I was hoping she would give up on multiple POVs, but it seems that she didn't.
I am, however, willing to try this one, mostly because of the worldbuilding.
Great review as always, my friend!; 7 September 2012 10:35 pm
Andrea @The Bookish Babes said...: I've been very interested in Carnival of Souls, and anxious to read the reviews. I've been sort of disappointed b/c a lot of them have been mixed. It seems a lot of readers are disappointed/upset w/the male-dominated world, but maybe that's missing the point? I will definitely give CoS a chance. Thanks for the informative review!; 7 September 2012 11:07 pm
Ann @ Tea And Text said...: Great review! I've seen this one around soooo much, but I've never read anything from Marr. I might have to give this one a try!; 8 September 2012 12:46 am
Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...: I agree. I hated how women were treated in this book nothing more than breeding vessels with no rights. I really admired Aya for going against the system. I wish there was a better idea of the daimons as well.; 8 September 2012 1:38 am
Katja Weinert said...: I love Melissa Marr's story-telling and it sounds like Carnival of Souls is just as good as I thought it would be. Lovely review Mandee :); 8 September 2012 1:43 am
Leanna (Daisy Chain Book Reviews) said...: Glad you enjoyed this one! I'm thinking that it might all be a bit too fantasy for my liking, but I have a copy on my shelf, so will hopefully get to check it out soon!; 8 September 2012 2:07 am
Sam said...: Brilliant review hun! I felt very similarly about about Kaleb and Mallory. I was kind of bewildered about the whole thing that he does without telling her. I wasn't a fan of that aspect! Still, I adored this book and loved the atmosphere. My contact at the UK publisher said there will be a sequel but they're not sure if more than one is planned. I would love for this to be a series. :); 8 September 2012 2:29 am
Candace said...: I enjoyed this one but had some issues with the characters. The plot and setting were pretty fab though!; 8 September 2012 9:56 am
readingdate said...: I've been hearing about this book a lot lately, but never really got what it was about until now. I'm thinking about picking up the audio since James Marsters narrates and sometimes I think fantasy/paranormal works better for me in audio format. We shall see! Nice review Mandee :); 8 September 2012 10:20 am
TheBookSlayer said...: I need this book so badly! I wasn't a big fan of Marr's Wicked Lovely series but this new one sounds SO good. Thanks for the awesome review. It's good to know that there's no "insta-love". I would have been so let down if there was. I'm very interested in the whole "put down" of women; I had no idea that there was deep-rooted issues in Carnival of Souls such as that because it hasn't come up in any other review I've read.; 8 September 2012 11:40 am
YA Novelties said...: Hearing about how women don't have rights in this world really make me pumped up. I am such a geek for women's rights, so anything that involves some form of them being needed in a society really interests me. I definitely can't wait to read Carnival of Souls.

Angie @YA Novelties; 8 September 2012 11:56 am
Lauren M said...: You know my thoughts on this one already ;) but I agree: Melissa Marr did a great job with her large cast. Great review!
- Lauren; 8 September 2012 12:54 pm
Celine said...: I completely agree with everything you said on your review, Mandee! I've read Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series and was really anxious for her new book so I'm glad it did not disappoint. The world of Carnival of Souls is so intriguing and I can't wait for the sequel!

Awesome review, Mandee! ♥ So glad you enjoyed it!; 8 September 2012 7:07 pm
Brodie said...: Oh I am so fascinated by the worldbuilding in this. The supernatural elements, the politics, gender inequality and the crazy competitions! I like that we different POV's to explore each of the competitors too. You have made me sooooo excited to read this, Mandee! I was already eager before because I enjoyed the Wicked Lovely series, but damn you and your fabulous reviews :P; 8 September 2012 10:21 pm
Bailey said...: I have heard so many things about this author and her books. I always see her books at the book store but for some reason I never pick them up. This book in particular sounds so good! I love the title and from the reviews I've been seeing it must be pretty darn good. Glad to see you enjoyed it! Awesome review! Definitely makes me want to get a copy of the book. :); 9 September 2012 11:47 am
Carly said...: Fab review! I'm glad you enjoyed this as I really did too. I was instantly caught up in the mother thing too. Would love to see this as a series. My review is going up hopefully this week. :); 9 September 2012 8:33 pm
Books And Beyond said...: I am quite excited to read this book myself. I got a copy 2 days ago and cant wait until ALL of my mandatory reads for reviews/tours are finito so I can read ALL of my for pleasure only books!
So hard not to pick this and a few other new books I got up and read them instead..lolz..
I am loving Valkryie Rising & that is a tour book. Its pretty awesome!
Hope u had a gr8 weekend <3; 10 September 2012 1:35 pm
April (BooksandWine) said...: I hope the women find a way to change things in the City as well, lol AYA I AM RELYING ON YOU. Get it, girl.

:-); 15 September 2012 6:10 am
Alexa said...: This sounds utterly intriguing! I have yet to read a Melissa Marr book, but I may just have to start with this one.; 15 September 2012 4:30 pm
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