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    Soul Catcher
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    Soul Catcher
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    Soul Catcher
    Ebook380 pages4 hours

    Soul Catcher

    By Leigh Bridger

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook


    From the gothic eccentricity of Asheville, North Carolina, to the terrifying recesses of the Appalachian wilderness, from modern demonology to ancient Cherokee mythology, Soul Catcher follows the tormented journey of folk artist Livia Belane, who has been stalked through many lives by a sadistic and vengeful demon. Livia and her loved ones, including her frontier-era soulmate and husband, Ian, a Soul Hunter, have never beaten the demon before. Now, in this life, it's found them again.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBelleBooks
    Release dateOct 20, 2009
    ISBN9781935661481
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Soul Catcher

    3.5/5

    39 ratings38 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I was surprised by this book. This is the first book i've read in awhile that didn't automatically remind me of something that I had recently read. Latley it seems that all the books in the paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre seem to meld together. I liked the idea of souls/catchers/hunters and pogs. I only wish I had a nice protective house pog. I didn't have any issues with the sex scenes or the language. There were a few spots that seemed to drag a bit but overall it was a very good read. The style of wrtting does remind me a bit of the anite blake series. Very blunt and direct. But I happen to think that is a good thing. I do hope that the writer continues with this series. It will be interesting to see where she goes with it. Especially since Ian is now in prison.
    • 1/5
      I received this book as a part of the Early Reviewer project. However, it took me ages to finally read and review this book because I honestly just couldn't get into it. The tone of the book tried to not be pedantic, but I constantly felt as if it were proselytizing to me as I read. I took several attempts to read it, and finally forced my way through it so that I could review it. Unfortunately, while the premise sounded interesting in the blurb, I just don't think I was the target market for this book.
    • 2/5
      I can't say that I really like this book. I've tried to read it several times, and can't finish it.The main character has had a bad life, but she isn't very likable in my opinion. I like the description of the area, and the folklore, but Livia, Ian, Pig face Demon never could interest me. Kind of disappointing, since urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres, and I so wanted to like the book.
    • 4/5
      Soul Catcher by Leigh BridgerGenre: Sci-fi, RomanceISBN: 9780982175682Rating: 4Livia hasn't had a perfect life—in fact she hasn't even had a good life. It all started when her father died when she was young, then got worse when her mother and baby brother died in a fire that she may or may not have started. She also starts painting pictures of evil horrible demons in her sleep, and is forced to burn the pictures and ban them… but one demon escapes, and comes for her.She finds out that he had been pursuing her in every life—she's been reincarnated? what?—and has killed her every time for the past 200+ years. She also finds out that she has a soul mate, (who jumped into the body that the demon had used to hurt her, and now she can't look at him without getting sick) but has hidden herself from him in almost every life, subconsciously, because of something that happened in the past. She and Ian set off to find answers and to kill the pig-faced demon… for good this time. But this time ends up being the most dangerous life she's ever lived.Soul Catcher was an addicting read. I would have read it in one sitting if I'd been allowed. It actually stuck with me all night and I'm pretty sure I dreamed about it.I liked the philosophy of the world that Livia lived in. There were soul jumpers, like Ian and Dante, who could jump into any body he needed to be in at the time. There were soul catchers like her, who could banish dark spirits and talk to the light ones. The plot itself was very complex, and every chapter added something new to the story. One thing that made Soul Catcher stand out was how Livia and Ian's love grew. It wasn't immediate you're-my-soul-mate-you're-perfect-for-me kind of love. It was a lot more real than that. Livia starts by trying to avoid him at all costs, but ends up having to go on a trip with him to find out about their pasts. You could say they "bonded," or you could say that Ian finally got to her—even while he was in the body she hated passionately—either way, their love was real enough to be believable.I really liked Livia, even though she had her downfalls and her insecurities. She was definitely the bad-ass heroine we know and love: slightly sarcastic, very obnoxious, stubborn as an ox, and head over heels in love but unwilling to admit it because she sees it as a weakness. Ian was a great character: he'd have to be to put up with Livia. He'd do anything for her, is dying for her to love him, thinks she is the most beautiful girl in the world—and even bends so low as to trick her into kissing him (she didn't appreciate that.). But he's all light-hearted, fun to be around, with a sexy Irish accent.I really liked the ending. The whole story had good humor and good comic relief, but the ending was sweet, cute, and funny. It pulled everything together nicely, and left you with a smirk on your face. I say take it to the beach with an umbrella and lemonade. Or whatever other drink you like best.Content/recommendation: some sex and sexual references, heavy language, ages 18+~ Haleyknitz
    • 2/5
      I really didn't find much to like in this book, despite loving this genre. I never felt a connection to any of the characters.
    • 4/5
      If you like action-packed, thrilling horror fantasies, then you have to get a copy of this book!When I first started reading this book, I didn't appreciate the vulgarity, which continued throughout, but immediately was pulled into this story about the Soul Catcher and her Soul Hunter husband. Their journeys through many lifetimes is a great tale, filled with excitement.The author, now trying her hand at a new pen-name, is a wonderful story-teller. bringing the characters to life so fully at times I was really afraid!Definitely one I recommend, but not to kids!
    • 4/5
      This book was pretty good. I like the idea of the soul mates being reincarnated in each life. Parts were graphic but that doesn't bother me. I do look forward to the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book! The storyline is very creative - a woman and her soul mate and family are reborn again and again until a common enemy is defeated. There are legends and stories that are unique, fighting and epic battles, and the love story is refreshing and lively. You quickly come to learn and like the characters. While the characters at first were a little wobbly, they quickly seem to discover themselves. Some of the words in the book are a bit crude compared to some books, but that didn't bother me. Just a warning!There are flashbacks into her previous lives and they add a very interesting quality to the book. The book kept me interested the entire time. I can't wait to read more!
    • 4/5
      I won this during BBAW from Bell Bridge Books and just never got around to reading it until now. It was the perfect vacation read - fast-paced and thrilling. It kept me entranced, slightly horrified and totally nervous from page to page. Livia is the ultimate ass-kicker, very reminiscent of Buffy. She has the same vulnerability and fear by her mission that you found in Buffy season after season but which made it so compelling a series. Livia Belane is just as compelling a heroine.The idea of souls finding each other from one lifetime to the next is equally fascinating and oddly comforting. I have panic attacks at the thought of my death, but Ms. Bridger gives us the idea that we never truly die. It reminds me of the idea of reincarnation. There are other similarities to Hinduism, namely in the idea that everything, including rocks, have souls. While I was born and raised Catholic, I also find the idea of this oneness with nature very comforting.The demons themselves are not necessarily scary. I found Livia's indecision and fears to be the scariest part of the story. Again, this could be considered a metaphor for life - our fears and indecision in life is more frightening than whatever life actually throws our way. I was captivated by Livia's struggles to accept her path and to make the difficult decisions, knowing that a part of her symbolizes my own struggles to accept my path.Ian and Livia - hot, hot, hot! Their love is beautiful and reassuring in that when they say that they will love each other forever, they truly mean it. That, to me, is the ultimate in romance. However, their love is very refreshing in that they struggle to find happiness and have to work at their relationship as much as we do in real life. The idea of souls searching for each other may not be exactly normal, but souls bickering and arguing certainly is normal!Overall, I found this an amazing book. The entire premise was intriguing and, as I've mentioned more than once, comforting. The overall idea that every soul has a mission reinforces the idea that our life has purpose. For one who struggles to determine her place in life, this is a profound idea. I look forward to reading the second book in the series to see what else Livia and Ian must overcome!
    • 4/5
      It took me a while to get past the need to read this with red pen in hand. I've read a number of ARCs and this one suffered most from the impotence of proof reading. Once past that however, if you read Rachelle Caine, Kin Harrison or Lilith St.Crow you'll probably like this book. If you have the added benefit of being familiar with Asheville, North Carolina it will definitely add a dimension to your experience.The hero is a young woman who is dealt some brutal cards. It would be easy for this book to get graphic, self indulgent or self pitying but instead handles the attacks either 'off camera' or with a very stark, straight forward "and then the brutal rape" style that doesn't linger on prurient details or sugar coat.Bridger does have new angles on old paranormal stand-byes that alone make this book worth at least a thumb through.I do have to say that I found the ending to be rather weak.Without giving it away it was clear that Bridger is setting up for a specific storyline to be featured in the sequel and it's a shame.All in all I found this book to be a quick, paranormal, beach trash, read and I say that in the most affectionate of manners.
    • 3/5
      This is the first book I have received through the Library Thing Early Reviewer Program. Bridger has created an original view on the battle between Good and Evil. Her rules of magic with banes and boons gives an interesting twist on what is fast becoming an overcrowded genre. Setting the story in the mountains of North Carolina provides an extra pleasure for this Carolina born reader. The pace is nail-bitingly quick. Main characters are well-developed as are many supporting ones. The bigggest negative I found with the story is the graphic nature of the sex scenes (more scatalogical than erotic), and the profanity seems more forced than natural. All in all, I found it a good story worthy of the reader's time.
    • 3/5
      I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with this book by Leigh Bridger. I didn't have very good luck with the last Urban Fantasy book I received through Library Thing's Early Reviewer Program. I was actually expecting more of the same. Instead, I got a fresh new story and plot, a tough as nails female protagonist and some interesting supporting characters. The demon is one awful, scary and absolutely perfectly evil for this type of story.There was some overuse of the F word, but after awhile I didn't even notice it anymore. Once I got to know Livia a little better, her use of swearing is very much part of her character. Livia is a soul catcher, reborn many times, and this time is living as a folk artist in Asheville, NC. She is surrounded by friends who have been by her side in every life. As Livia, she encounters a demon that has been following her throughout her lifetimes set on revenge. She gets help from her friends and from Ian, who turns out to be her soul mate.Soul Catcher is the first book in The Outsider Series.
    • 5/5
      This review was originally posted on my review blog : Falling Off The Shelf (4.5/5 Stars)Livia Van Belane has lived many, many lives. She doesn't know this , and when her friends try to tell her, she thinks that they are all crazy. What she doesn't know is that she is a Soul Catcher, and her job is to rid the world of horrible banes and demons. Her friends will have to convince her of her fate, or their lives will be at stake.Ian is Livia's soul mate, and husband. He has followed her for centuries just to be by her side. Livia doesn't always remember him in her many lives, but now is time for her soul to reveal the secrets it has been holding onto for so long. The truth is both painful, and eye opening, but it is what they need to finally be free of the demon known as Pig Face.This book had me hook, line, and sinker from the very first page. It was one of those books that when someone tries to pull me out of it, I just about snarl at them. Yes, I can be very violent when it comes to my books and reading. I loved this book, to the point where I was sad that it had to end. Thankfully this is only the first installment of a series, so I'm eagerly awaiting more from this author.Soul Catcher was different than any other Urban Fantasy that I have gotten my hands on as of late. It had a whole new world that I found riveting. It is full of horrible demons, and their fearsome helpers, banes. It also had creatures that were there to protect the land or their buildings called boons and pogs, which were a new thing for me to read about. I'm excited to see where this series will go next and am very greatful to have been able to review this copy.
    • 4/5
      I got this as an Early Reviewer book - I believe this is a new entry in urban fantasy by Leigh Bridger. It's clearly intended as the beginning of a series, and I'm glad since I really enjoyed it. Some caveats - the language is extremely vulgar and the sex is a bit over the top. If you are at all sensitive to these things, stay away. However, the plot and characters are gripping and I like where the series is shaping up to go. There's a nice combination of reincarnation and battle-between-heaven-and-hell, and while I think many stories in this genre are Buffy ripoffs, this one has enough differences that it doesn't grate. I will try the next book.
    • 4/5
      I finished reading the ARC I received of Soul Catcher by Leigh Bridger. The copy I had was a bound uncorrected galley, so I'm not going to comment on typos and such. I hope those will be corrected by the time the book goes to print.In Soul Catcher Bridger has created a world where demons do exist along with angels and assorted otherwordly creatures. Her protagonist is Livia. Livia is an old soul, although she can't remember her previous lives. She's also a Soul Catcher in that she has the power to vanquish demons and other nasty beasties. To help her on this quest she's assisted by some friends from previous lives that make arrangements with host bodies to move in. The process there is left a little murky as to how the transferrence occurs.In this particular incarnation Livia must fight what she calls the pig faced demon. To help her she also summons Ian, the soul of her long lost husband.Bridger leads off with a prolog that is entirely unnecessary for the book. It doesn't really add any needed info, and I hope gets dropped by the time the book is published.Livia is a very disagreeable heroine. She's crude and crass with very few redeeming qualities. It's difficult at first to see how any of these other characters would put their lives on the line for such a "friend," but by the second half of the book Bridger has redeemed her heroine at least bringing her some semblance of humanity that the reader can more easily identify with. In my opinion the strongest parts of this book come from the exploration of the previous lives of Livia and Ian. It gives the characters a strong history together, showing how uniquely bonded Livia is not only to Ian, but to the other characters that appear to help her.The general pacing of the book is rather slow in the beginning. There's a lot of world building to go through, but there were times when the story seemed to stagnate a bit. It did pick up towards the end though. Overall it was an interesting story competently told. I hope that if Ms. Bridger decides to continue with this world, the books will improve in the areas of pacing as she no longer will have to be building the world.
    • 5/5
      I received this as an early reviewer. I thought it was great. The premise was interesting and it kept my interest throughout the book. There is definitely a lot of strong language in this book, but I found it to be almost refreshing. I think that the conversations and thoughts in this book are closer to how real people speak and think than a lot of other books. The fight scenes were well written and were entertaining. I also felt close to Livia and Ian and the author made me care about what happened to them and how their relationship matured.
    • 2/5
      I received this book as an early reviewer. I did enjoy the basic premise behind the story, however the strong language and general execution of the story left a lot to be desired. Typically when reading urban fantasy I expect some strong language, but this is one of the few books that started with strong language. Starting off so strong and with what I personally felt was unexpected was very off putting. Also, the way the author laid the background was awkward for me to read easily.With that said, I'll be curious to read the final edit. I suspect many of my issues with the overall delivery will be cleaned up by that point.
    • 4/5
      I'm always on the lookout for something new in the urban fantasy genre. I initially had a hard time getting into the book - I must've read the first chapter 3 or 4 times before finally settling down to actually reading the book. On the whole, I loved the story - the divisions of demons/banes and pogs/boons - and I loved Livia. On the other hand, the story seemed to move in fits and starts, and I found the whole relationship with Ian strangely underdeveloped, considering that was the main focus of the story. I didn't mind the swearing, but found the sex (and obsession with it) to be a bit too "Anita Blake" for the rest of the story - almost like it was thrown in there just because urban fantasy needs to have boundaries-pushing sex scene. Besides that, as the first book in a new series, I'm looking forward to what it can grow to.
    • 3/5
      Livia Belane has grown up in Asheville, South Carolina, where she has a rare talent of catching and banishing demons. Unbeknownst to her, she has been doing this throughout her past lives. After coming across a dangerous demon, she is reunited with her family and soulmate/husband and learns the truth about her past lives. A lot of authors have been delving into urban fantasy lately, and most of it is not very good. However, this book is a step above most of it. It's premise is unusual and quite interesting. Livia is not the typical tough-as-nails heroine with a chip on her shoulder. Both her personality and her struggle are engaging. The plot is above average for this genre. It has a nice sense of place. However, it does seem to meander a bit towards the end. And some of the help that Livia receives seems a bit too well-timed. There were a bit too many secondary characters, and they were not well defined. It looks like this is the first of the series, and I will probably check out the next book.
    • 3/5
      A good idea with some problems. I loved the beginning of the book, with the idea that a tortured soul uses art to express and rid herself of her nightmares and sells the ‘safe’ art as outsider art. I loved the fact that ‘weird’ Asheville, North Carolina is practically a character of its own. Unfortunately both those things that I loved were abandoned half way through the book.The language in this book is unnecessarily crude. I don’t have a problem with the words but they feel wrong here, it feels like they were inserted to make the book more edgy. There are also several very brutal rapes by a demon, as if rape is the worst thing that the demon can think of to inflict on helpless humans. Sometimes characters seemed to be completely stupid about something they should have known; just so another character can explain it to them. (Specifically: The main character, who lives in ‘weird’ Asheville and taken by her grandmother to a witch doctor as a child, is suddenly incredulous that everything has souls. Later on, a character that Livia knows in this life as Gigi doesn’t recognize the name of her own current life’s soul, but she knows the CURRENT name of two other souls.)Some of the characters that I particularly enjoyed, like the ghost of a confederate solder and a helpful technology spirit felt like they were used as deux ex machina, to appear to explain something or to perform a Hail Mary pass. In the beginning, the terminology of soul catcher, soul hunters, soul jumpers, pogs, boons and banes was confusing. A lexicon in the beginning would help this. Actually I think I’m still confused about the differences between a soul hunter and a soul jumper. Another thing that bothered me, is that it’s explained that soul jumpers only go into humans who have given up and are on the verge of suicide, yet at the end a soul jumps into a policeman who has shown no signs of despair. Are there things we don’t know or was there an exception to the world rules here?I had no real problem with the writing, it’s not Literature, but it wasn’t bad enough to make me stop and say ‘Wow, that’s bad’. Some tighter editing could improve my rating by a star.
    • 3/5
      Livia produces outsider art in Asheville NC. Since she was a young girl, she has produced horrific paintings in her sleep. As time as gone on her perception of reality has lead others to belive that she is schizophrenic, but there is a small group of people that stick by her side--whether she wants them to or not.There were certain things I liked about this book. It's a fresh approach to the urban fantasy genre. There were also moments of much needed humor to lighten up some of the very depressing and horrible things that happen.On the other hand, I just didn't buy the connection of Liivia and her husband for some reason. I also think much of the tension of the story was eliminated by including the preface. I already knew from the first page that she and Ian were going to fall in love again so much of dithering through the middle of the book was a little pointless.This isn't a series that I am likely to continue.
    • 2/5
      The premise of Soul Catcher is an interesting one. Loved the concept of soul catchers and soul hunters. The execution . . . not so much. At times it seemed the writer tried too hard to shock the reader into feeling for and about the characters but in the end who really cares? Plus the constant use of the term 'pig-face' drove me nuts.
    • 3/5
      Soul Catcher was an acceptable book--it didn't make me say "wow" but I didn't throw it across the room, either. Livia has had a difficult life, and yet she seems to trust and believe her 'helpers' rather quickly after being assaulted by the demon. She takes their word for quite a bit, and talks to ghosts and spirits without really feeling delusional at all. While this might have been her soul recognizing its true calling, it was difficult for me to believe for a woman who had been through what she had.I liked how Livia's powers returned slowly, even if she did have her own personal cheering section along with her. The fight with the griffins was great, as was the journey to Talking Rock. In fact, I liked most of the action and movement scenes, although it did feel as though Livia dismissed banes rather easily. The sex, well, okay. But really, did every pog and bane have to be about sex? The constant notation of whatever nude entity's sexual organs on display got boring. The crudeness of Livia's language and thoughts didn't really bother me, although it felt more like Livia was deliberately crude--even when thinking to herself--as a defensive wall between herself and intimacy. Maybe that's why the spirit at Talking Rock wanted her and Ian to have sex, but to me that seemed rather like telling her to just forget the rapes, move along, nothing to see here. It was coercion. Have sex with this guy you can't stand to have touch you and you get the surprise secret. Not a pleasant message.I've wandered off-track. The bones of the story followed the standard 'misfit discovers where she fits in and reluctantly does good' theme with no real surprises--sort of Harry Potter with sex and mild references to torture tossed in. In fact, it probably would be a better movie than book. Recommended over some of those cheap romances disguised as a paranormal novel, but I definitely prefer Ilona Andrews or Kelley Armstrong over this one. Not a keeper for me.
    • 4/5
      This one is...rough. I hate to say "vulgar", because that suggests that the book wasn't good. Soul Catcher is gripping, scary, upsetting and a very tough read. Livia Belane is a folk artist in North Carolina who's *really* suffered in her twenty-four years. Everyone in her family in dead: father murdered and made to look like suicide; mother and brother dead from smoke inhalation in a mysterious house fire that Livia barely survived; her grandmother and a close friend "removed from this life in violent ways I tried not to think about."Livia is a soul catcher, a soul that is reborn over and over again, tasked with binding and banishing demons from this world. Livia's main problem? A powerful demon, "Pig-Face," holding a 200-year-old grudge, hell-bent on finding Livia's soul, as well as the souls of her spirit guide, and brutally murdering them in each life.Of course, Livia's soul has to discover her destiny anew in each life, and in this particular one, she's none too pleased to learn of it. All she wants is to be left alone, so that no one else close to her will die. However, it seems this life is the one in which she must reunite with her soul mate, a soul hunter named Ian, and banish Pig-Face for good. If only Livia could believe in Ian...and herself.Because of the ugly life Livia's lived, she's built a formidible wall between herself and others. She's covered herself in scars and tattoos, multiple piercings, and a VERY "unladylike" vocabulary. If you can get past an f-word in nearly every sentence out of her mouth (and plenty others, including even bluer words), this is a exciting, if bleak, addition to the urban fantasy genre.
    • 3/5
      Soul Catcher has a fresh take on the age old battle of good and evil. Being a North Carolinian I found the setting very familiar, but the way it was presented was still engaging. The descriptions of the landscape were beautiful and concise. Livia was tough and believable but some of the other characters were a little two-dimensional for my taste. The overall plot was intriguing. The undertones of is evil really evil felt forced when they were coming from a demon who raped the main character, repeatedly in various lives. It also lacked the counterpoint of questioning the intentions of the good characters but it is the first in a series and perhaps that will come later. I enjoyed the characters, writing style and premise enough that I am interested in reading the next book. The blurb warned of violence and sex, they are there but the warning left me expecting a little more action than was there. There was also a little more romance and general sappiness than I expected. Soul Catcher suffers from the problem many first in a series books have, the amount of exposition necessary to set up the series leaves the first book moving a little slow and stilted. The pogs and boons were worth it. I want a dragon home pog protecting my house. Overall the book was good but not great. I would recommend it to anyone already into urban fantasy but not a newbie in the genre. I will be looking forward to the next in the series.
    • 3/5
      This was a slightly different type of urban fantasy than you come across everyday and it could be said either that the book triumphs because it doesn't seem to fit the mold or that it falls flat. The book does offer a range of mythological creatures which is interesting and a slightly off the beaten road premise. The book for me suffered in that in didn't seem to have the snappy & smooth delivery that I look for in my urban fantasy books, if I'm reading a book like this I'm looking for a quicking reading break from reality- I don't want to feel as though I'm working my way through the book (even if the basic plot & story is good, it's simply just not what I would expect from this type of book. Overall the book was good but not a clearcut winner for me as I felt it required too much energy to remain engaged in the plotline.
    • 3/5
      This is a good book once you get into it. I found the beginning a little rough, but once the author got into the book she seemed to relax and it flowed much smoother. Livia and Ian have a true soul match and truly seem to care about each other. I have a little trouble with the mechanism the universe has for teaching the characters (it is a personal thing); it just does not seem fair to say "You have not learned your lesson", when the previous lessons have been erased from your memory. Overall, an enjoyable book with interesting characters, just a little rough in the beginning.
    • 2/5
      Flesh is fleeting and souls return again and again, joined together in relationships lasting past death. Since she was a small child Livia has known most people see only the flimsy surface world. The world she sees is inhabited by spirits friendly and hostile. As an adult, with a past wracked by tragedy, death, and psychotic breaks, Livia struggles to survive as a folk artist. She fights to stay awake, for asleep she is driven to paint monsters with whatever happens to be handy - even her own blood. She feels her doom is coming, but when a handsome stranger is both less, and more than he appears, Livia's world changes forever bringing her her greatest fear, her only hope, and the chance to knit together the remnants of past lives.Premise-wise, the book sounded intriguing: something in the vein of Laurell K. Hamilton, Patricia Brigs, or Marjorie M. Liu, all of whom I like. And I've read and enjoyed many of Smith's other books.All I can say is, I can definitely see why she'd want to publish this one under a pseudonym! Bleh. Violence, rape, rough sex - not unexpected that those elements would show up. But Smith has uses a vocabulary I'd expect to hear in a grade-B porno. The unnecessary crudity is distracting and ultimately a turn-off.All in all, Smith's venture into the urban fantasy realm is a disappointment. The use of native folk mythology is interesting, and the plot should have held me, but the way the story itself is told just didn't grab me. Another reviewer commented that the book read as if Smith was encouraged to try this genre because it's popular right now, and that it isn't exactly Smith's element. I'd second that.
    • 5/5
      Ladies and Gentlemen, I will give you my honest reaction to this book - AHH!! I loved it. I've never read anything like it, this would be one of those books I would call "epic."This book is so.. amazingly wonderful, and I'm still so giddy after finishing it, that I don't think I could write a proper book blurb plot thing. Instead? I'll give you what it says on the back of the book." Deborah Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of A PLACE TO CALL HOME, SWEET HUSH, A GENTLE RAIN and others. Now, writing as Leigh Bridger, she enters the sinister alternate reality of both good and evil, battling for their own wills as well as the will of mankind. From the gothic eccentricity of Asheville, North Carolina to the terrifying recesses of the Appalachian wilderness, from modern demonology to the ancient Cherokee mythology, SOUL CATCHER follows the tormented journey of many lives by a sadistic and vengeful demon. Livia and her loved ones, including her frontier-era soul-mate and husband, Ian, have never beaten the demon before. Now, in this life, he's found them again. " As I mentioned, this book does seem rather epic, and I'm so thankful that I got the chance to read and review this book. The idea that the soul is eternal, that once you die, you just get reincarnated, and even more so - there is one soul mate for you, one person that you will meet again life after life. And the battle between good and evil, the spirits that help, and those that hurt. This is one of those books that really make you look at life differently, look at people differently. And the characters, gosh. I don't think I could get over Livia and Ian. Even the side characters, the boons, pogs, and spirits that help them, they were all excellently done. But Livia and Ian's lives, their love, how even through time, different lives, and a demon out to kill them, they find each other, and fight for each other.If I had one complaint, which I could not care less about by the middle of the book, was that the author seemed to over describe some things, while under describing others. Now, I may not necessarily want to know the details of Livia being raped (I promise, no spoilers there, happens in the first few pages), I think a little more detail of that whole scene would have helped, instead of telling me that she was hurt and in bed for a month healing from the ordeal. And really, this is the only big instance of this issue that I found in the entire book. From that point on, things are described clearly enough, not too much, not too little.So on to the rating.. would anyone really be surprised that I'm giving it a FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS? I know this is something I will recommend to absolutely everyone, I know I will re-read it, and when the sequel comes out (it's supposedly the beginning of a trilogy), I will buy it day one, if not pre-order it.
    • 2/5
      "Soul Cather" left me torn. The premise of a soul choosing the important work of banishing demons was interesting, but something about the book left me bored. The story takes place in Asheville, NC. The author populates the city with so many deliberately quirky characters they began to overshadow the plot. I kept getting the feeling she was trying to make her book stand out from others in the genre and didn't believe in the story enough to let it do the job for her. I don't mind eccentric characters but there has to be something substantial behind them to make it worth reading about them.I liked the story much more when it moved into the characters' previous lives and we finally find out why they are what they are. I felt something for them when the author let me see them without all the odd trappings she'd wrapped them in. The scenes when the main characters meet in their past lives were often touching, but I found the good feeling I had about them didn't carry over into the characters' present.I don't think this is a genre the author is comfortable in. The book left me with the impression that she had a very different idea for this book and was urged to try to take it into the urban fantasy genre because it's popular right now. It's a shame and I think if she'd written a story about these characters in their "pasts" it might have worked better for me.