Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron

Kingdom of Souls (Kingdom of Souls, #1)

by Rena Barron

THERE'S MAGIC IN HER BLOOD.

Explosive fantasy set in a West African world of magic and legend, where one girl must sacrifice her life, year by year, to gain the power necessary to live up to the expectations of the mother she has never been good enough for.

Perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas, Tomi Adeyemi and Black Panther

Arrah is a young woman from a long line of the most powerful witch doctors in the land. But she fails at magic, fails to call upon the ancestors and can't even cast the simplest curse.

Shame and disappointment dog her.

When strange premonitions befall her family and children in the kingdom begin to disappear, Arrah undergoes the dangerous and scorned process of selling years of her life for magic. This borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal and a danger beyond what she could have imagined. Now Arrah must find a way to master magic, or at least buy it, in order to save herself and everything she holds dear.

An explosive fantasy set in a West African world of magic and legend with a twist you will never see coming.

Reviewed by thepunktheory on

4 of 5 stars

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Full review on my blog coming soon!


Did somebody say magic? My head pops out of the earth like a gopher. Here we get a super fascinating African setting that was clearly inspired by tribes and their legends.
I love the concept of magic we get here and how it unfolds over the course of the book. Also, there will be another installment, and I can't wait to read more about this world.
Kingdom of Souls was a book I basically devoured. The story is super thrilling and there are so many twists and turns you won't see coming. Rena Barron keeps you on your toes all the way!
The main character Arrah is pretty cool and relatable. Her development is well-written and it was wonderful to watch her grow.
I could have done without the love story, though.
There's only one (slightly) negative point I need to mention. Sometimes the pacing felt a little off. Around the middle, we were moving rather slowly only to then get a very fast finish. Some room for improvement there, but it wasn't too bad.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 2 August, 2020: Finished reading
  • 2 August, 2020: Reviewed