Welcome to my blog tour stop for CLAIRE DALY: RELUCTANT SOUL SAVER!
Until November 19th, you can pick up a Kindle version of this book for $0.99!
Title: Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver
Author: Michele Brouder
Publication Date: September 2015
Genre:
YA, Paranormal Romance
Summary:
When seventeen year-old librarian wannabe
Claire Daly is dragged kicking, screaming and cursing from everything she
loves—her mam, her cozy Irish village and the dreamy boy next door—to take up
arms in the battle of good versus evil, she learns the hard way that sometimes
you don’t get to choose your own destiny, destiny chooses you.
Claire’s life plan is simple: head off to
university to get her degree in library studies, summon up the courage to tell
her best friend Chas that she loves him and live happily ever after. She never
once entertained the idea that she might possess divine powers, that she might
be predestined to battle Hell’s demons, or, to complicate matters further, that
another love of many lives past might turn up on her doorstep. But life doesn’t
always go as planned, and when a co-worker is viciously attacked by a demon and
her own family threatened, Claire must face the truth: she is called to a
higher purpose and has no choice but to answer. Claire sets aside her dreams
and begins learning how to deal with the Unholy once and for all. Armed with
only a crash course in soul saving and her wits, she gears up for the ultimate
show down in Hell. But will it be enough?
Purchase:
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Okay so I saw this and read the blurb and was like "eff yeah, a YA novel that is going to be similar to Buffy". But it wasn't really that. It was more of a look at religion and faith in the battle of "good" versus "evil" and I wasn't really feeling it. I liked the premise of the book and a lot of the aspects of it, but it was a little too preachy for me.
The world building was pretty great, I liked the idea of the Illuminata and their quest to save souls. I also liked the Unholy and have high hopes for them as villains. I would like to see a bit more of Claire really kicking ass and using what she knows or believes in to save the day. Whether or not that is Christianity faith or not. Honestly, the world building and some of the dialogue were the strongest parts of this book. I also really liked that Claire's abilities had to be honed in and when she battled the "big bad," she only used what she knew how to do. There was nothing that she just whipped out specifically for this battle that made her be able to defeat him. Which, admittedly, is a bit of a spoiler, but did you really think that this book would end up with Claire not defeating the current evil?
I liked both Chas and Ari and honestly I don't really care which one of them she ends up with because they both seem like genuine guys. I also kind of like that even though Ari rides a motorcycle he isn't stereotyped as the "bad boy" since he always comes when Claire calls for him and just wants to make sure she is safe. You get the hint that Chas is into her from how he talks about other girls when she is with him in the beginning, so that was pretty obvious to me too.
And really, this book wasn't about the romance so much as it was about Claire's faith -- or lack thereof. But man, it felt like religion was being forced down my throat. And the bit about Claire's powers will be stronger if she believes in God more? No thanks. How about if she just has faith in herself and her abilities! I would very much like that.
If you are looking for a book that has good world building and realistic power depictions, this is the one for you. But be forewarned that it is more God-centric and less Buffy.
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I was born in western New York, the oldest
of 5. I've loved reading since I was very little. From the age of 9, I've
wanted to be a writer. In high school, I wrote a lot of angst-ridden civil war
dramas ala Gone With The Wind, knowing more about the Battle of the Bull Run
than a normal teenager should know. I dabbled in writing after that but didn't
get serious about it until 2006, when I decided that this was what I wanted to
do for the rest of my life.
I've had many interesting jobs but my
passion has always been writing.
I lived in Ireland from 2006-2013 with my husband and 2 boys. We moved back to the US and settled in Florida briefly (2 years) before returning back to Ireland in August 2015.
I lived in Ireland from 2006-2013 with my husband and 2 boys. We moved back to the US and settled in Florida briefly (2 years) before returning back to Ireland in August 2015.
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Hi Jamie, thanks so much for your review and taking part of the blog tour!
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool, definitely added to my tbr list on goodreads!
ReplyDelete