Review: Carnival of Souls by Marissa Mars

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Mars

Release Date: September 4, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 306
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Witches, Supernatual

Series: Untamed City #1

Source: Chapters

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father—and every other witch there—fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable.While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series andGraveminder, comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny.

My Thoughts:

I got lost in the underground world of the City. The deception and underbelly of the Daimon world was captivating. Carnival of Souls was dark and edgy and highly entertaining. Melissa sucked me into this unique world and had no problem keeping my attention. I really enjoyed the conflict between the witches and Daimons. The dynamics between these two enemies was brilliant. Her villains were great. I was able to feel a real disdain for both Evelyn and Marchosis; even though it was not apparent in book 1, I believe their mutual hatred of each other goes much deeper than just being enemies.

Kaleb is to die for. To say Yum is an understatement.

Action, betrayal, love, lust, and magic make Carnival of Souls an entertaining page turner that you won’t want to put down.