The first in Rena Barron’s trilogy, Kingdom of Souls, is a full of magical mischief blending witchdoctors, demons and several other forms of deities, tribes and blood medicines. At its heart is Arrah, the daughter of two magical parents, Arti and Oshe, and granddaughter to the chieftain of the Aartiri tribe. Destined to be a witchdoctor, unfortunately for Arrah she appears to have inherited no magical powers of her own. Her closest friend, though her feelings hint at more than friendship, is Rudjek, the son of the Vizer who is Arti’s sworn enemy. Arrah is a feisty protagonist though Rudjek is certainly no slouch. Arrah is desperate for magical powers but will she compromise her very existence to gain them? There are shades of ‘death eaters’ in the familiars here and comparisons with Laini Taylor’s Daughters of Blood and Bone trilogy but for me there are too many unfamiliar words (that needed a glossary), a bewildering number of characters and a tricky plot that proved difficult to keep track of. Thanks to Harper Voyager for the ARC.

I loved this book from page one, the beautiful and descriptive language, the characters and the whole concept.

Subtly, the eloquence started to drift away to plateau at a still very acceptable level, leaving a very enjoyable book full of interesting characters, places and situations. This would have been, without a doubt, a 5 Star book if the characteristics at the start of the book had run through to the end. Having said that, 4+ still makes it a book that is certainly worth your time, especially if you are into this genre and enjoy a twist or two in the plot.

I was really excited to pick this book as the premise really interested me however it failed to keep me interested, The book started off really strong and I really liked the character of Arrah. However, I feel like the author tries to condense too much into this one book that I fee could have been spread out over more due to this it felt like we were constantly jumping from one thing to the other without anytime to process what was actually happening.

We definitely need more own voices fantasy books like this however, this one just wasn't for me. I gave this 2 out of 5 stars

All Arrah wants is to have just a little magic. The way her parents have it, the way her Grandmother, the great Aatiri chieftain, wields it and sees visions of the future. But she doesn't, and when children start disappearing in Tarah, Arrah does the forbidden: exchanges years of her life for the taste of magic.

Kingdom of Souls is involved and complex. Gods walk the earth, the Demon King is manipulating humans for his freedom, and Arrah is caught in between, powerless. It's beautifully crafted, bringing you into a world of witch doctors and magic, an eternal battle of good vs evil--except who is good and who is evil? Barron turns your expectations upside down, creating a pantheon of gods who are both good and evil, powerful yet fallible. After all, they created this mess. Now they need to fix it.

Arrah is a compelling character--as she needs to be as the voice of this novel. It's fascinating to sink into her view of the world, the outsider always wanting to fit in, the outcast desiring the one thing that would finally make her accepted by her society. It's made even stronger as her most precious relationships are tested and tried, exploring the question, what is love? Does her mother love her even in the midst of her frigid nature and her pursuit of revenge? Can Rudjek really love her in the face of the opposition of both their families?

The gods come into it here and there, with brief interlude chapters that sound like monologues. It's a little jarring, but does give some context to everything that is taking place.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harper Voyager via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely loved reading this book it had so much depth to it. The story line was great and kept me second guessing in place and what an amazing reveal about one of the main characters. I can’t wait to see where they go next with this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Rena Barron has created a rich and magical story that I found incredibly hard to put down. It was easy for me to imagine this world that she had made and found myself so immersed that I was sad when I reached the end. I did find it hard to get into at the beginning but honestly, I think that was my fault as I was struggling to fight a book slump, however the more I read the more I found myself not wanting to stop.

I love Arrah, I think she is such a tough, independent character who went through so much in this book but still managed to come out even stronger. She made a lot of decisions in this book, some which I didn’t agree with but that made her more diverse and not your average protagonist. She had a lot of flaws but that just made her a more realistic character. I really found myself liking the friends she surrounded herself with and even found myself enjoying the villain’s in this book for how sinister and selfish they really were.

One of my favourite things about his book was the mechanics of the magic system and that those who are not born with it can pay for it at a high cost. I also like that it wasn’t just limited to one or two types, there were so many! I was also a big fan of the mythology used throughout this book!

The reason I’m not giving it a five-star review is that I just felt at times like the story was just a bit too slow and that I always found myself confused when Arrah would be in one place and wake up in another with no explanation. I also feel like for the first book in a series, this was a lot to take in and that might be scary for first time YA readers.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book and I’m so glad that NetGalley and HarperCollins granted my wish to read this. I really do recommend giving it a go when it’s out! I have a feeling that this book is going to be one of the most talked about books this year!

I’m going to say right from the start that this is one hell of an impressive debut from Rena Barron. Kingdom of Souls is, as far as I can tell, her first published work and shows a lot of promise. I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye out for future works by this author if this is any indication of what she’s capable of.

This is not your typical medieval European fantasy tale. The setting is heavily influenced by African folklore and mythology, and as a result follows a very different formula to the sort of fantasy that’s dominated the genre charts for the last fifty years or so. It centres on the life of Arrah, the daughter of two powerful magic users who appears to be incapable of controlling magic herself despite her heritage. What makes this even more problematic for Arrah is the appearance of the green-eyed serpent, a mysterious spirit that seems to suggest a dark and troublesome future for our protagonist.

When children start to go missing in the city of Tamar, Arrah goes out of her way to unlock her magical ability, enacting a dangerous ritual that trades years off her life in return for the ability to control the magical energies infusing the world. However, the truth is even more horrific than Arrah could have expected, and soon she is fighting to protect not just herself but also the entire world.

There are essentially two halves to this book. The first half focuses on Arrah’s quest for magic, and shows the lengths she is willing to go to in order to get what she wants. This is not some shrinking violet protagonist we’re dealing with here, but a strong-willed, albeit sometimes impetuous heroine, and that strength proves essential later on. As she tries to come to terms with what she sees as her own failure we get to meet her friends, including love interest Rudjek, and learn of the political and social structure of the world Arrah inhabits, and slowly but surely the main plot gathers pace in the background.

The second half of the novel hits you like a brick, and things get very dark very quickly as Arrah is dragged unwittingly into a war between gods and demons. The author really piles on the despair and nihilism in this second half, and that strength of Arrah’s really comes in handy as she fights back against the darkness. Even with a bona-fide god on her side, there are times when it genuinely feels there’s no way that Arrah can possibly prevail against the bad guys. It’s a long time since a book has made me anxious for the main protagonist right up until the last chapter, and for that alone I salute the author. There are no easy wins in this book.

Flicking through the marketing material and other reviews, I’ve seen this book compared to Black Panther and Wonder Woman, and I’m wondering how much of that is down to the setting and tone because honestly, I’m not seeing it myself. Yes, it’s got a strong West African influence, just like Black Panther, but for me that’s where the comparison ends. And yes, it’s got a strong and independent female protagonist with royal roots, just like Wonder Woman, but again, end of comparison. For me this book stands out because of its uniqueness, not because of its similarity to other things that happen to be very popular. I guess what I’m saying is even if you didn’t necessarily enjoy Black Panther or Wonder Woman, if you’re looking for a high fantasy read that’s refreshingly different to the usual medieval European fare then please give this book a chance. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Barron is an exquisite storyteller. This story should be enjoyed like a glass of fine wine, sip by sip and word by word, as the author weaves beautiful fictional magic. As she conjures up demons, shamans and the kind of magic that sucks people dry.

Arrah feels immense pressure to make her family, her people and her ancestors proud. As yet her ancestral powers have failed to make an appearance, which can be rather embarrassing at the annual ceremony where all the tribes and witch-doctors gather. Her father and grandmother have faith, but her mother doesn’t even try to hide her disappointment.

There is one thing she can try to evoke magic, however it comes with a price – the kind of price that is irreversible. When local children start going missing, including a dear friend, she finds she has no other choice. It’s the beginning of an intricate, vicious and ruthless power struggle. A struggle that will leave death and despair in its wake. It will make Arrah either crumble like a sandcastle or rise to the occasion.

It’s YA fantasy, however it has the intricate world-building and mature complexity of high fantasy. The blurb doesn’t do it the justice it deserves and neither does my inadequate attempt to give a brief idea of the plot. It’s an intense and captivating read. A fascinating exploration of myth, culture and fantasy.

"All magic comes with a price." ~Rumple S.

I was so looking forward to this book that when I received an email saying that "my NetGalley wish had been granted"
I literally screamed... ( Ask my mother... it's true)
So I had real high expectations going into this story.

The thing is/was, this is one of those books that really have to sink in and you have to give it time to do so.

The story itself is amazing, there is background stories and different point of views, it is a lot.

The more I keep thinking about it, the more I'm liking it. I think I may have had way to high expectations going in
to this and when the time line seemed crooked to me, I felt like it was a let down.
But when I think about the book as a whole now, I am really liking it and I am very curious about the next book
and how all the new details will fall into place.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers and of course the author; Rena Barron!

story 4/5
characters 4/5
writing 4/5
audio/paper I received an e-Arc from NetGalley.
reread? I will. I also want to read the next books in the series.

I tried so hard to like this. I really, really did. The idea is brilliant and the writing is amazing, rich and descriptive, showcasing this fantastic new world and its myriad cultures. The two or three main characters are well written; minor characters suffer a bit in comparison, but still stand out well enough.

I think the main problem I had is that there's *so* *much* going on. There's a lot of relevant history, there are a lot of different tribes that all figure into the story, a lot of politics both large and personal. Our POV is almost solely in one character's head, and because she's grown up knowing all this stuff, it's not always relayed to us.

I know this book is getting a lot of positive reviews, and I'm really glad about that. It just wasn't for me, sadly.

This book. THIS BOOK. Barron knows how to tell an emotional and rich story. I felt like I was *in the story* while reading this (most of the time I feel like I'm watching a movie). She grounds you so deeply into every scene, and then she hits you with all the feels. I can't imagine wanting something so badly that I'd trade years of my life for it, but Barron helps you understand why it's so important to Arrah, even while everything is hitting the fan.

You grow so attached to the characters, all of them, so you're screaming at the book, then also crying, and I know this review is kind of a mess but that's just an indication of how good this book is. I want to be left speechless and stunned when I finish a novel and Kingdom of Souls did that and more.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review!

Array is a 16 year old girl who comes from a long lineage of witch doctors but has no magic of her own. When evil threatens the land and her loved ones, she trades in years of her life in order to wield magic to fight back. So far so badass. I was intrigued by this story on 2 fronts - first she’s like Batman - no super powers but still willing to fight and stand up for the little guy. Secondly, it’s set in a mythical West African world where Orishas roam the world and the customs and names are very familiar. I was grateful to get an ARC from netgalley so was excited to read this.

I have mixed feelings - I like it but I don’t love it. First of all it took too long to get going. I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing, then all of a sudden the bad guy is revealed and all hell breaks lose. It gets good as morality becomes blurred and you realize nothing is pure black and white. It then ramps up super quick in scale and pace and becomes very confusing. I get the author was world building but we are introduced to a LOT of characters who have very little depth. At one point the main characters are talking about someone called Tam with familiarity and I’m confused as I don’t remember reading about this person before. I feel like the author crammed way too much for the debut to the series and it should have had a tighter edit. I also get that it is a teen/YA fantasy but there are certain things that Arrah says or thinks that don’t make sense and are profoundly irritating.

All that being said, if you strip back the noise and the extraneous characters, the major storyline is interesting. It is dark but not morbidly so. I found myself reaching for it and racing through the pages as i was interested to see how it would end, even as I winced at the writing style and how pointless some of the sub plots were. For me this is 2.5 stars but the fact that I kept reading till the end takes it up to 3.

I have never, ever, been so glad to get to the end of a book. Seriously. Three-quarters of the way through I wanted to abandon it but persevered. I cannot say I am glad I did apart from a sort of sense of achievement. Normally I keep an eye on how much longer I have to read in a book because I do not want it to end, not this time. Really! Have I still got another two hours worth? Anyway job done – now just the review.

On the plus side, it did remind me of the Lord of the Rings trilogy inasmuch as it is a fantasy novel; it is set in a mythical kingdom and has strange creatures with weird names and it’s very own language. So to be coupled with Tolkien must be a good thing, yes? Similarly though I did struggle with Tolkien for the very same reasons. It is very dark with all the murderous intent and bleak with all the fighting and the sheer desperation of the heroine’s plight. As for the characters, sorry didn’t empathise with any of them: well, perhaps a little for our heroine’s sad relationship with her mother.

I found this to be a weighty book in terms of volume and content. The language is sophisticated and somewhat lyrical, particularly in the sections that outline the base line of the story which is then interspersed with the expanded narrative of events. Even with all these fine things, I cannot say that I enjoyed it. I respect the body of work and the great skill and efforts of Ms Barron but it just did not delight and left me somewhat confused. Be assured though, I am confident that my voice may not be the only one in the wilderness, but I suspect I will not have many companions and they will be defeated by the masses that will sing praises aloud.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

My knowledge of the mythology that Kingdom of Souls uses is based entirely on having read Children of Blood and Bone, and N K Jemisin's hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and elements of the mythology are common in all three. All three are also very good!

Arrah is from two lines of witchdoctors, her parents are strong in magic and from two different tribes - but she doesn't have magic. This makes her a disappointment to her mother - who is the Ka-Priestess (most senior figure at the Temple) - and Arrah can never be enough for her mother. She has a good relationship with her story-telling father, and a good set of friends, but she still longs for magic. The only way she can get it is by trading some of her years for it, a dangerous path she's forced down when she's desperate to find some missing children - and the truth behind their disappearance becomes horribly clear.

Sometimes it's a little confusing to keep track of who everyone else, partly because whilst some of Arrah's friends are well-drawn, not all of them are and it would have been nice for them to have been a bit better developed. There wasn't a lot of space for that though, as there was a lot going on! Many of the other characters had their own arcs going on as well, again I'd have liked to see more of that - a sign that the world building has worked, I want to explore it further! Even the bad character has a reasonable motivation, and some gleams of who they once were, which makes for a much more complex story than it seems on the surface.

It deserves to be huge.

It's not often that I put a book down in the middle of reading it because I can't bear to know what happens next. But Barron's story was so good that I picked it up again once I'd come to terms with what was about to happen.

I loved all the characters in this book; their stories and motivations all felt fully realised and reasonable for their own perceptions of the world. So many of them I wanted to spend more time with, not just Arrah but her father as well, and all her friends. I'd also love to read more just about Tamar, they were so well written you could imagine them fully but I want to know everything about them too.

The storyline was brilliant and felt complete, in that the next book is going to be the next step of a journey. Sometimes series books can feel a little like they've been cut short too soon, this was cut perfectly. These storylines have mostly come to their full completion, but a few introduced right at the end are keeping me hooked for the next book. It's a great balance of satisfaction at reading a finished story, and hype for the next instalment.

My only quibble is that I feel the blurb doesn't do Arrah justice, she's a strong, caring, clever, protagonist with or without magic. We see a lot of her determination and sense of justice and you should read it for all of those qualities too.

Kingdom of Soul lived up to the hype and exceeded it.

I read Kingdom of Souls in one night. the story engrossed me to the point I couldn't put the book down. It was well worth missing out on a couple of hours of sleep to finish it.

Kingdom of soul writing is vivid, descriptive and magical. The magic isn't just in the story but laced in the worlds. The story is intriguing, compelling, fast-paced which keeps you on your toes. I enjoyed the multiple POV, the story is Arrah, but the others give more context and drama to the story.

The dynamic between Arrah her family and friends create moments that range from sweet to oh no to f**k to laughter. I knew I would like Arrah when I read the below comment.

"Although it's quite pretty, I prefer my trousers. They have pockets."
As my copy is an ARC I don't know for sure if it will be in the final version but I hope it is.

The world that Renne has created is layered, complex, fascinating. It is a world brimming with history and multiple possibilities. The melting pot of cultures and people captivates me to the point where I would read a book detailing just the different clans.

Kingdom of Souls is perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Rin Chupeco, Hafsah Faizal and S.A Chakraborty.

My rating for Kingdom of Souls is 5 out of 5.

‘My sister is every scary story my father ever told about evil witchdoctors – only she’s so much worse.’

‘Kingdom of Souls’ is the first YA Fantasy novel by Rena Barron. And what a fantastic debut it is! I requested the ARC of this book from NetGalley because I was intrigued by a story about witchdoctor. That’s not a popular theme for fantasy books, it made this one stands out from the very beginning.
Arrah is born to a family of powerful witchdoctors. Her parents and her grandmother are the most magickly gifted people in all tribes. But so far, all she can do is seeing traces of magic in the air, but she can’t command it. And with every year she becomes more desperate, because being gifted with power after your seventeenth birthday was unheard of. Her mother doesn’t even try to hide her disappointment. There is some other way to gain the magic Arrah desperately seek, but it’s coming with a great prize – one’s own life. But can she resist this chance, while the children in her city are disappearing without a trace and no one is doing anything about it?
The book is starting with a young girl longing to belong. She is treated like an outcast because she can’t command magic, while most people from tribes can learn from a very early age. Her mother, a powerful High Priestess also not helping, treating her daughter like she’s just another girl, not her own child. I thought the book will be about her struggles and how she finally turns to the temptation of generally despised blood magic. But this book is so much more! Very soon, Arrah uncovers the dangerous plot, and the book turns very dark. And when I say dark, I mean demons are eating souls, mind-controlling curses are cast and betrayals waiting in every corner.
‘Kingdom of Souls’ is not another cheery YA fantasy book. In most of the novel, the most dominant feelings are despair and helplessness. Even when Arrah manages to make an earthshattering discovery, she can’t do anything about it. And just when you think, that situation can’t get any worse, it does. And then again, and again, until the point that every effort seems futile and doom becomes inevitable. I’ve heard that for some people it was a bit too much, but for me it was captivating. When I wasn’t reading it, I was continually thinking about how this story would end and if it possible to our main character to survive.
I loved the world the author painted. The tribes with their strange magic, commanding different aspects, praising ancestors, dark rituals, lively festivities, orishas walking among the mortals… it’s a lot! I’m glad this is the first book in the series because we will see more of this amazing place and learn more about its history and people.
I also liked the characters, most of them were very complex. There were no good or bad people there, everyone had their share of morally disputed deeds, even people who you would never suspect of any wrongdoings. There is also romance here, and to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. Finally, it was not a love from the first sight trope so popular in YA books.
I enjoyed reading this book immensely, and it was one of the best debut YA Fantasy I have read recently. It’s very original, and the story is captivating. If you are not fazed by very dark and sometimes brutal plot twists, you’ll love this book as much as I did!

I picked up this book thinking it was going to be another girl thinks she has no magic, oh wait now she does and she saves everyone books.

I was wrong this book had some great twists and turns in it. The villains are heroes in they own stories, which is not something we see often any more. The magic used has a price and isn't just free for all to use (which is really did like). There is a twist in the love aspect of it which I enjoyed

There is great flow in this book, the way it's written is easy to get lost in quickly and when you stop and start again, it grabs you again.

Very good book and I can't wait for the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for granting a wish and letting me read a copy of this.

I was completely gripped from the first page. Rena Barron weaves a wonderful tale and a magical land that draws you in and doesn't let go.

I can't wait to read others in this series!

I don't think my ka will ever be the same.


I received this book for review from Netgalley and HarperCollins UK. And man am I glad they granted this wish.

Arrah is a girl who is from a line of powerful witchdoctors that desperately wishes for magic that just won't come. The dissapoinment that she has because of this and the coldness of her mother lead her to make some pretty costly choices in the pursuit of magic.

This book was so wonderful. The descriptions, the characters, the world. Everything was on point. It was gratifying to read about Gods and magic systems from Africa. Although I'm happy to have been able to read this ARC, I'm also sad because now I have to wait for the sequel to see what happens next.