Kingdom of Souls

By Rena Barron

A girl with no gifts must bargain for the power to fight her own mother’s dark schemes—even if the price is her life.

Crackling with dark magic, unspeakable betrayal, and daring twists you won’t see coming, this explosive YA fantasy debut is a can’t-miss, high-stakes epic perfect for fans of Legendborn, Strange the Dreamer, and Children of Blood and Bone.

“Magnetic and addictive. This book is black girl magic at its finest.”—New York Times bestselling author Dhonielle Clayton

Heir to two lines of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. Yet she fails at bone magic, fails to call upon her ancestors, and fails to live up to her family’s legacy. Under the disapproving eye of her mother, the Kingdom’s most powerful priestess and seer, she fears she may never be good enough.

But when the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate enough to turn to a forbidden, dangerous ritual. If she has no magic of her own, she’ll have to buy it—by trading away years of her own life.

Arrah’s borrowed power reveals a nightmarish betrayal, and on its heels, a rising tide of darkness that threatens to consume her and all those she loves. She must race to unravel a twisted and deadly scheme… before the fight costs more than she can afford.

Set in a richly imagined world inspired by whispered tales of voodoo and folk magic, Rena Barron’s captivating debut is the beginning of a thrilling saga about a girl caught between gods, monsters, and the gift and the curse of power.

“Masterful.” —SLJ (starred review)

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Release date: Sep 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062870971

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 Kingdom of Souls

[cmbohn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a confusing book. I liked the characters, especially her relationship with her father, but the plot was hard to follow. That might have been because I just had surgery & I'm a little out of it, but I felt like I was missing out on major explanations. There were a lot of characters to keep track of too.

[krau0098 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book in The Kingdom of Souls trilogy. I got an eGalley from Edelweiss to review (thanks to HarperTeen for the copy!) This is one of those annoying books that I tried and tried to read. I kept sitting down to read it, getting through a couple pages, and then getting distracted because I just could not get into the story. I got about 30% of the way through before giving it up. This story follows Arrah. Arrah is a young woman who desperately wants to have her magic power develop (she comes from a line of powerful witches). However, year after year Arrah remains devoid of magic. As signs of demon activity increase in her homeland, she decides on a desperate course of action...she will trade years of her own life for magic in order to combat this evil.I am having a hard time pinpointing what I didn’t like about this story. I think it was a mix of the slow paced story and Barron’s writing style. The story itself is pretty typical YA, I was looking forward to the witch doctor parts of it and some history around that...unfortunately that was in the story very little.I don’t have a ton to say about this one. Nothing really grabbed me here. Some of the witch doctor stuff was interesting but it was a very small part of the story. I really struggled at trying to get through this one.Overall this just was not for me. It was too typical YA fantasy, moved too slow, I couldn’t get into the flow of the writing, and I had a horrible time trying to stay engaged in this one. A lot of people are loving it but I am not one of them.