Review: Soul Thief

Title: Soul Thief
Author: Jana Oliver
Date Released: August 30th, 2011
Pages: 339
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Riley Blackthorne is beginning to learn that there are worse things than death by demon. And love is just one of them…

Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that’s not enough, there's Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad. With all the hassles, Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.

But as Atlanta’s demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, and pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever…

Review:
Soul Thief was definitely another roller coaster ride. The first one, The Demon Trapper's Daughter, didn't exactly amaze me, but I really liked Soul Thief a lot more. I felt like a lot more happened in Soul Thief than in The Demon Trapper's Daughter, and the story really drew me in.

The previous book left off on a sort of cliffhanger with a lot of questions that needed answering. In Soul Thief, Riley embarks on a journey of sorts to find answers to her questions.  It added another mystery to the series, really keeping you glued to the book so you could find out the answers.  While some of the questions still remain a mystery, you learn a lot more about Riley, Beck, and even grumpy old Harper.

I still loved Riley because of her strength and bravery.  She still definitely defies the norms of her society, which would be to go to school and stay out of all of the demon trapping, but being in the demon business gives her an edge and the bravery to deal with demons and get wrapped up in all this demons vs. angels business.  Simon really changed a lot, and I LOVED him in The Demon Trapper's Daughter and rooted for him to be with Riley.  However, in Soul Thief, he becomes the complete opposite of sweet and caring.  Beck also sort of changed in a way, too, and now I'm kind of rooting for him to be with Riley because he truly does care about her, even though the age difference is pretty big.

There was a new character that was added, Ori.  He's sort of the mysterious character in the novel, and I guess his place in the story is sort of like part of the love... square.  Yeah, I think that's what you'd call it since Beck likes Riley who's sort of boyfriend is Simon, but the thing is that she also likes Ori, who really likes Riley, too.  It's a really complicated love square, but by the end it's pretty much sorted out.

Soul Thief brought in a lot of magic, making the story different from most demons vs. angels type novels.  The necromancers were also a lot more involved, so the story has become a lot more diverse, bringing in angels, demons, necromancers, witches, and magic.  It's definitely made the book really interesting with tying in all of these different paranormal figures, especially with the whole demons vs. angels concept.  It's been a little confusing because I don't quite understand who's on what side, which could just be me, but other than that I loved everything that was happening.

Soul Thief also has its little moments of intensity.  There were scenes where there would be a lot of spellbinding action, but then the action would die down for a bit, and then pick up.  The ending was definitely  really intriguing as well.  It's a surprising ending that catches you off guard.  It's a little confusing, but it keeps you wanting more.

Overall, I really liked Soul Thief and I thought it was better than The Demon Trapper's Daughter, actually, in terms of how captivating it was.  I'm definitely looking forward to see how it all plays out in the next one, Forgiven!

Cover Review:
I can't say that I'm the biggest fan of the cover, but I still kind of like it because of the contrast between the solid blue and then the black and white.  I like how they've kept with the same cover concept.  The gravestone's really add a cool touch as well, and I love the vibe that it gives off which is kind of an old and dark vibe.

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com
**Review copy borrowed from the local library.