I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.

I have literally just read the final page of this book, and felt that I absolutely had to start putting my thoughts down. I am stunned. Kingdom of Souls has blown me away; I can’t believe this is Barron’s literary debut.

The story is YA fantasy, but far darker than expected. It’s a lush, magical and very harsh world. The main character is 16 year old Arrah, and her journey would break even the strongest adult. She loses so much and sacrifices everything for the greater good. But just when you think it couldn’t get any worse for her - it does. She is a great example of Barron’s ability to create deep and complex characters.

Kingdom of Souls manages to turn common YA tropes upside down, guaranteeing more than a few surprises for the reader. It’s refreshing! And no spoilers, but the ending featured an excellent twist that has left me with so many questions. Thankfully, this is the first in a series, so I’ll hopefully eventually get the answers. But it’s going to be so hard to wait!