ARC Review of 'A Soul to Revive'

*A Soul to Revive by Opal Reyne, releases on Amazon on October 19, 2023.*

Have you ever started a book and immediately knew it was going to absolutely tear you apart? That you would be emotionally massacred before being put back together?

This book will 100% do that.

It ends up mending you, but it also takes you completely apart one more time before leaving you put back together as an emotional mess waiting for the next book because obviously you have to know what happens with the other characters.

I knew as soon as I read the first book of this series, 'A Soul to Keep', that I was going to be hooked on the series. Opal's writing pulls you in, fulfills all of your book emotion needs, and keeps you wanting more. 

I also knew before starting Ingram's book that she was going to wreck me - she warned us in the previous book. But man, Ingram may just be my new favorite Duskwalker. Sweet, sincere, heartfelt, and so, so curious, I couldn't help but want to cuddle him. Emerie is so logical, patient, and brave, especially with her himbo of a bone boy. She also feels very deeply but hides it as much as she can until she literally can't anymore. Anyone else do that?

**Spoilers Incoming**

Despite the fact that I did have to stop reading for a bit after the first chapter to cry my eyes out, it was 100% worth going back in and reading it. I will be honest - Aleron dies. It is absolutely heartbreaking, just as Ingram's innocent search for a way to bring him back through the death of the Demon King. I would 100% be in the same shoes as Emerie in this case too, once she finds out why he came to the demonslayer keep in the first place. She couldn't stand by and watch the way the doctors sliced him open while he was awake or the way they literally took his beating heart out of his chest.

I feel that Emerie is a deeply emotional woman with the strength to hide the majority of those feelings behind a mask. She's had to be so strong for the last few years that she's not quite sure how to be weak. But once she's freed Ingram and goes into hiding while on the run with him, it changes her, I think. It helps her grow behind that sturdy mask and she's able to be weak with Ingram. Her choice to become infertile and her struggles with that choice is hard to read too. It's something that a lot of people can identify with, though it may not necessarily be because a person chose to not be able to reproduce. I could go on, but simply it's easy to feel like you're in her shoes if you've had trouble making a baby.

The two of them make the sweetest pair though. Ingram is a bit of a himbo, and Emerie ends up being a bossy bottom (ha-ha) but in a way that will also make you shiver. (Like, who knew reading 'good boy' could make a girl shiver?) I enjoy the way their relationship develops, as it's very realistic and overall sweet. However, something to note, is that their relationship isn't nearly as sexual as others, or it isn't as focused on as other parts of their relationship. 

Another just fantastic read, Opal. Thank you for your hard work!