Reaper of Souls

Written by Rena Barron

Narrated by Robin Miles

Before, Arrah was shamed by having no magic at all. Now, with demons on warpath, she is the only one in the world who has it.

Explosive fantasy set in a West-African world of magic and legend. Perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Laini Taylor and Sarah J Maas.

Book Two in the extraordinary Kingdom of Souls Trilogy

After years yearning for the gift of magic, Arrah has what she’s always wanted – but it came at too steep a price. Now the last witchdoctor, she’s left to pick up the pieces of a family that betrayed her, a kingdom plunged into chaos, and a love that can never be.

While Arrah returns to the tribal lands to search for survivors, Rudjek hunts down the remnants of the demon army – and uncovers a plot that would destroy what’s left of the world.

The Demon King wants Arrah. If he can’t be stopped, he will destroy everything, and everyone, standing in his way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9780008302313

Rena Barron

Rena Barron grew up in small-town Alabama where stories of magic and adventure sparked her imagination. After penning her first awful poem in middle school, she graduated to writing short stories and novels by high school. Rena loves all things science fiction, ghosts, and superheroes. She’s a self-proclaimed space nerd. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading or brushing up on her French. Follow her at @renathedreamer and renabarron.com.  

Reviews for Reaper of Souls

[sarahgracegrzy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hmmm . . . I have very mixed feelings on this book.

While I enjoyed it from the perspective that it is a clean, Christian, enjoyable piece of action-filled fiction, I also had some issues with it.

This is only the second book by Kingsbury I have read, but I am getting a distinct impression: Kingsbury is good at writing Christian themes, she's good at writing suspenseaction, she is good at writing emotion, she is good at writing clean content, but somehow, as a whole, her books just really . . . lack. The first one I read was very "meh", and this one was the same. Just kind of left you with an "Hm. Well that happened." Rather disappointing.

But, while this was disappointing on some levels, there was a fair bit about it I did like. The characters were all enjoyable. Alex was . . . um, depressed. I struggle to relate to and understand the depressed, "nobody could ever love me" type characters, perhaps because I am such a happy person. All in all though, his struggle was realistic, and his character arc was fairly well done. I think my favorite character was his girlfriend. I wished there was more with her POV! I could really relate to her character. Jamie and Clay were also fantastic! I love the older, mentor-type characters.

It took me a few chapters to really get into the story, but once I did, I just wanted to keep reading. The climax, of course, happened late at night, so I stayed up past 11 pm to finish it. I loved the whole police officer element - I love stories with emergency personnel as the main characters. And the whole K9 aspect was definitely fascinating.

I think what really bothered me most about this book was Kingsbury's writing style: it's very minimalistic in regards to punctuation, and such, which frustrated this Comma Queen. While yes, a lot of it was stylistic, and just more the way I'm used to thinglike things, there were a few instances where comma rules dictate a comma, and there wasn't a comma. Commas are dying an unnatural death, and I don't like it. Who cares about saving the planet? Save the commas, people!

But anyway, overall, this book just didn't really cut it for me. If you are looking for a clean, thriller read, with strong Christian themes, then definitely give this a try.

CONTENT NOTE: The main character is a police officer, so there are various issues portrayed throughout, such as driving under the influence, arson, gun play, death, violence, and a few characters get trapped by a wildfire. For those reasons, and for somewhat deep subject matter, not recommended for anyone under the age of 15.

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't realize this was related to two other books I've read until Jamie's time in NYC was mentioned. I vaguely remember that from one of the Tuesday Morning books. I like Kingsbury in general though her fiction seems to have an "unreal" quality to it. Unreal in the sense that real life doesn't generally work out in the way that it does for her characters. How do you react when tragedy strikes your life? Do you turn to God or turn away from Him? After his father dies in the collapse of the twin towers, Alex hardens his heart and closes out everyone but his K9 partner, Bo. He can't reconcile how a loving God would allow firefighters to die in the line of duty. Others struggle with this question also, but have already found their way back to a relationship with God.Evil will always exist in this world. No matter how much anyone tries, no matter how many people try to eradicate it, it will continue to exist. In the end, the only evil we have any control over is what's inside us--and even that we can only do with God's help.

[judyg54 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A story of two people who lost someone they loved on 9/11, and how they each dealt with that loss. Alex Brady lost his Dad, who was a New York fire fighter and who died in the Twin Towers. He shut out all the people who cared about him, moved to California, and made it his goal to eliminate evil in the world and prevent tragedies like 9/11.Holly was Alex's girlfriend when that fateful day happened, and although she tried hard to be patient and wait on Alex to handle his grief, Alex eventually sent her away and that relationship died. Now Holly is in California working for Oak Canyon Estates and selling houses that are being built. The problem is that an environmental terrorist group has targeted that sight, during the fire season, to make a statement and burn it to the ground.This was a well written story that helped you see the struggles Alex was going through and kept you on the edge of your seat at times during a few harrowing action scenes. I liked how the author helped us all to see "how Christ never intended for people to rid the world of all bad things, but for people to deal with the evil inside themselves". I felt real peace for Alex when he realized what his Dad had lived all his life; "He believed that trouble was a certainty in this world, but he was not to worry because God had already conquered the evil in this world".I will give a warning near the end of this story have some Kleenex handy, because if you are like me, you are going to need several of them. This was part of a series, but you can easily read it as a stand alone. It does touch base with people from the other two books, and it is always good to read about how people are doing from other stories. It was a story I finished reading, but didn't forget about when I put the book down. A story I will think about "every now and then".

[doubledare_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked the strong emphasis of God's concern in working in people's lives to bring together seemingly unrelated circumstances for totally different corners of their lives to work on their soul to bring them to Him, back to Him, or even just to teach them and make them stronger or wiser. This is so true. It's touching to me how much He really does care about each individual and giving them comfort and peace no matter their trial. This book reminded me of that old song, "This world is not my home. I'm just a passing through." We aren't here to try to make this world a perfect place. Comfort in this life is an extra because it is not what we should be living for. Our mansion is in heaven, in a perfect place where wind or storm or wicked men cannot harm it like happens to our treasures here. Everything and everyone we have here could be gone in an instant. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth were moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through an steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal." Our goals on this earth should be for laying up those treasures and doing everything in our power to make sure that our loved one's will be there to share them with us. This life is just a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. I liked her spiritual applications.On the downside, though this may be totally rooted in personal preference, this book probably wouldn't have gotten me through the first chapter if I had been depending on the intrigue to make me sit down and read it in an actual book form. As it was, I had it on audio CD. So, I played it on my walkman while I had a day to spend cooking. It was enjoyable to listen to while I was doing something else, but it wouldn't, like other books have, make me so curious that I would be willing to sit down and "waste" my time when there were other things I could be doing. This is a definitely a romance, no mystery, and very little action. There is some at the end for those that enjoy light action, but most of it is thinking, considering, and focusing on inner struggles. I enjoyed the scenes where the people we interacting and doing something. Still, even those were few and far between. This would be good for those that enjoy a light read.

[sherylhendrix · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A story of redemption, forgiveness, love, and the completeness available through a relationship with Jesus Christ. This 9/11 follow-up story combines the best of what Karen Kingsbury fans love about her books - heart, wisdom, and a clear testimony of how Christ can shape a life for good.