Review by Brianna_MC_griffin97 -- Soul Seeker

[Brianna_MC_griffin97]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Soul Seeker" by Kaylin McFarren.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Benjamin Poe, a firefighter from Lochton, Illinois, murders his only son, Gabriel, by shooting him six times – two times in the back, two times in the back of each knee, and two times in the chest. However, the motive behind the murder is very unusual and unbelievable. According to Poe, the six rounds that were fired were meant for someone else. But who? Benjamin Poe reveals his secret to his lawyer, Pierce Beaudoin, knowing that Beaudoin would not believe his story, knowing that no one would ever believe him, but he had nothing else to lose. Poe had been living a stressful life, stuck in a love-hate relationship with his wife after their two-year-old daughter, Riley, was murdered sixteen years ago. Poe begins his story by explaining the night when his life was destroyed. The events of the story unravel when the College Inn (the CI), a fundamental part of the town, is damaged in a fire. Consequently, Gabriel worked there, and since he hated the three people that were killed in the fire, Poe suspects that Gabe is the one responsible. After the incident, a mysterious man with intimidating bright green eyes known as Crighton appears in Poe’s life, taunting him. Eventually, Poe learns that Crighton is a manipulative demon who has come to earth to collect Gabe’s soul. Despite the horrendous truth about Gabriel’s devious actions, Benjamin Poe would do anything to protect his son. Conversely, he kills the one person he would give his own life for. What, or who, provoked Poe into becoming a cold-blooded murderer?

Crighton, The Devil’s (or Lucifer’s) best soul-catcher is sent on a mission to gather an angel’s soul. Instead, he is tricked by a group known as The Sovereign Sector – scientists who experiment on supernatural creatures, such as angels and demons. Being trapped and tortured together, Crighton and Ariel experience something very unusual for both beings – a romance. A romantic relationship between an angel and a demon is forbidden. However, their feelings for each other ignite as they fight by each other’s side. Will Crighton and Ariel’s relationship be enough to stop the devil, or will Crighton betray his new love to please his master?

Soul Seeker, the first book in the Gehenna series, by Kaylin McFarren is a mystery novel that focuses on supernatural beings and how they have to obey their “rulers” in order to survive, despite having rebellious or different views. First, there is Crighton, the creepy, demonic, and green-eyed creature who brings mischief into Benjamin Poe’s life. Second, there is Ariel, the innocent, fragile, and harmonious angel who brings hope into Crighton’s life. At first glance, the reader is given the impression that Crighton is just a manipulative and soulless demon who preys on the innocent for kicks. However, when Ariel appears in his life, the reader’s perspective is persuasively shifted by learning more secrets about Crighton and seeing him grow with Ariel’s guidance. She awakens a “goodness” in him that is suppressed in the first part of the novel. The character development and writing style are truly impressive.

The element that I like the most is the indecision to like the main character or not. At first, Crighton is this vile creature who is on the prowl to destroy people’s lives. He is relentless, careless, and vicious towards all of the individuals he meets, not caring about the humans’ feelings. I disliked Crighton at first because he destroyed Benjamin Poe’s life by taking away his only son, and he may have been behind the death of Poe’s daughter as well. It just seemed like everywhere Crighton went he brought havoc with him. However, later on in the reading, the reason behind the demon’s ways is revealed. He meets an angel, not only an angel, but a heaven-sent gift that helps Crighton become a better person. His demon ways subside little by little. It is obviously difficult for him to adjust to being a better individual, but he tries. As humans, that is all we really can do, is try to be better. Eventually, my thoughts about Crighton changed because I saw that even a demon can try to change for someone he loves. He was given an opportunity to show who he really is, and he took it. I enjoyed really getting to know the main character and seeing him prosper.

What I dislike the most are the unanswered questions. The author would bring up flashbacks or past events that are relevant to the storyline, but would not go into detail about what happened. For example, there is the bringing up of Riley’s death, but there is not a lot of information about what happened. My questions were: How did Riley and Gabe get into the neighbor’s basement? Where were the children’s parents? What exactly happened to Riley? Why wasn’t Gabe hurt during the incident? There were so many questions I had that were never answered. Also, how did Crighton and his mother hide from the devil for two years after Crighton was born? I would like to know more about Crighton and his mother’s past to understand them better. All in all, the storyline was extremely intriguing and kept me wondering what was going to happen next.

Soul Seeker deserves a score of 4 out of 4 stars because McFarren knew how to grab her audience’s attention. At first, the writing is fast-paced because days and weeks pass by. Therefore, it feels like a lot of information is missing. However, I realized that Poe is telling his own story, so he has to skip to the important parts to get to the point. There should have been a prequel or a background story about Poe and his family before Crighton showed up. I just felt like there was a lot missing about Poe, and I had so many questions, such as “Why did he marry his wife if he wasn’t truly in love with her?” Nevertheless, I liked the storytelling from a character’s point of view because Poe took the reader back in the past to understand what all happened to him and why he did what he did to end up in jail. Readers be aware: there are inappropriate scenes, such as brutal killings, vengeful schemes, zombie attacks, spiteful torment, and rueful actions performed by the devil. There is also vulgarity, such as borderline and non-borderline profanity. Therefore, this type of reading is recommended for mature adults. For those that enjoy reading about angels and demons at war, this will be an interesting read. However, for those who are easily repulsed and do not have an open mind about the supernatural, it may be wise to look elsewhere.

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Soul Seeker
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