Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

                  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 and Graveminder, comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny

 

                                                Review                                                                             

The Carnival of Souls, is a magic filled tale of daimons and witches, and their hatred of each other. Told from the point of view of 3  character  Mallory, Kaleb and Aya. 

Mallory is a Seventeen year old girl who just wishes her life was normal, that she did not have to move from town to town all the time. That she could stay in one town long enough to make some real friends and maybe even a boyfriend . 

Her father Adam a witch is on the run. Years ago he  took something from the daimons  and they want it back. Adam has  always told Mallory to be on guard and prepared for a daimon attack. 

Kaleb lives worlds apart in the City. Hired for his skills in “black mask” work, fighting and killing,it is a result of these skills that Kaleb is hired to find Mallory.  But what happens when he finds Mallory he never expected 

Aya, is a daimon in The City in the ruling class. But Aya has no plans on being a good daimon girl and doing what she is told. She wants to fight for her rights and change her world or die trying. 

Over all i found the story to be well-paced. Though i am not a big fan of storys that chop and change character, i did find this on very easy to follow.  

The visual imagery through out this story was very strong, from the fights to the house

 Melissa Marr has a real talent for writing dark tales where the lines between good and evil are often blurred and the characters posses a bit of both .

This is the prefect weekend read

3.5 stars