Blog Tour Review: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr (Review and Giveaway)

Title: Carnival of Souls

Author: Melissa Marr

Published:  September 4th by HarperCollins
Book given by the publisher  

Book Description:

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.

Win a Finshed copy of Carnival of Souls
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MY THOUGHTS:

I’ve been itching to read a book from Melissa Marr. After seeing good reviews from her Wicked Lovely Series, I know I have to read a book from her quick. Carnival of Souls became my instant favorite. The array of characters and Grade A world building will make the readers hungry for more.

Carnival of Souls is being held once in a generation. The ruler, Marchosias hosts the carnival where people from the lower caste are allowed to join the elite by winning the competition. The story is narrated by 3 main characters. Each has their own unique voice. Kaleb is from a lower caste. He seeks a place among the elite class in order to protect his packmate, Levi. Aya is from the upper caste (Elite class). She seeks equality, and a position to rule among the Daimons. Mallory has a different story.  Her past and identity is being kept from her. She’s protected by a witch named Adam. Carnival of Souls is where pleasure and murder are being offered. Can Kaleb and Aya survive the competition? What’s Mallory’s true identity? You have to read this book to find out.

The world building is good. It’s magical and unique. I love that it’s colorful yet dark at the same time. I was amazed on how Melissa merged gore, romance and supernatural together. It was a weird mix but it all blended well. I was truly absorbed inside. I also enjoyed how Melissa Marr described the Carnival. It was cool and colorful. It’s truly a carnival with masks and competitions but with a huge twist.  I think it’s original and very entertaining. Not that I enjoyed the killings but action scenes/gore scenes were very cinematic. Carnival of Souls started a bit slow in the beginning but as the story unfolds, I couldn’t put it down. It was addicting and mesmerizing.

The characters are the highlight of this book. They are memorable and well developed. It was written in triple perspective. You get to know Mallory, Kaleb and Aya pretty well. Each has their own unique voice. Melissa made sure that the readers will fall in love with them, like I did. My favorite character is Aya. I always like a strong female lead. I admire her courage and dedication. She will do anything to attain her goal. She’s strong minded too. Kaleb is my second favorite. Melissa described him in a mouth watering way. I connected to him the most. His character is easy to like. He’s sweet, strong and dedicated. Yep, my ideal guy –sigh-. I didn’t connect with Mallory. I thought she will be the kind of character that I can connect with. I find her a bit disconnected from the story.  I hope book two will change that. There are other characters that I like. Zevi and Belias are one of them.

The love angle is impressive. There were some slight steamy moments which made me giggle. Kaleb and Mallory’s connection is palpable. It was sweet and sexy!!

Overall, this book is amazing. If you like action, romance and magic, then this book is for you. This is my first book from Melissa Marr and this won’t be the last. I need to read another book from her.

I give this 4 masked whales.