Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Release Date: December 8, 2011

Publisher: Philomel/Penguin

Age Group: Young Adult (14+)

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover (also available in eBook format)

ISBN: 0399256229
Buy the Book: Amazon

A thrilling debut story of death, love, destiny and danger.

Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

Review:

Lenzi’s father committed suicide after he could no longer deal with the voices in his head. But now Lenzi has started hearing them, too, and she is sure she is on a path to self-destruction if she cannot keep them out of her head. Her boyfriend, Zak, tries to help where he can, but it is never enough. Then a mysterious boy named Alden appears, and he says that he is a Protector, someone who watches over a Speaker, a Ghost Whisperer who is supposed to help the dead move on. He says Lenzi is his Speaker and he can help her control the voices. She is all for that, but even with her attraction to Alden, he seems a little crazy himself. And now a malevolent spirit out for revenge is back, and Lenzi is standing right in his path. Looks like it’s time for her to make a decision.

I enjoyed this book A LOT. At first, I was kind of confused as to the roles of the Protector and Speaker and their abilities, but things became clear pretty quickly. The premise of the story is actually really interesting, and while the idea of a ghost occupying and possessing a person’s body is not new (same with the Ghost Whisperer aspect), Lindsey gives a nice little twist to the story to make it super original and really enthralling. I also really liked Lindsey’s writing. She really has a way with words that clearly gets feelings across, and her descriptions are eloquent in a way that makes readers feel like they are in Texas themselves.  

I really liked Lenzi. I think what I liked about her the most was how down to Earth she was. She is known as one of the most powerful Speakers ever, yet there are still moments when she is scared and has no idea what to do. She listens to the advice others give her and she is pretty smart. She is definitely one of the better female leads in YA literature. And I LOVED Alden. Why is it I always fall for YA boys? I do not know, but Alden was AWESOME. He was willing to put Lenzi first and he just seemed to really care about her, which I loved. He almost never thinks of just himself, he is always there for her, he listens to her, and the list just goes on and on. Alden is the perfect man. I will end it there. I also liked Zak. There were moments in the book where the reader is not supposed to like him, but I could not help feeling for him. He is a troubled soul who has been abandoned by his parents and had a rough upbringing, and now the girl he loves is pulling away from him. He makes some bad decisions, but he just wants to save the relationship with his girlfriend. I do not know how other people feel about him, but I did not hate him at all. He may not be perfect like Alden is, but what real man ever is?

This was an amazing debut by Mary Lindsey. If you have not read this book yet, I would definitely add it to your to-read list. You do not want to miss out on it! Everything about this book is beautiful. AND THE COVER. I do not know what it is about this cover, but I am obsessed with it. It is GORGEOUS. There has been no mention of a sequel, but if there is one, I am going to be all over it. However, Lindsey will be releasing another book, Annabel, sometime in 2013. It is going to be a retelling of the original Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe. I am looking forward to reading anything else this talented author releases (and please let there be a SS sequel!). 

A Great Escape!