Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Book Summery (Via Goodreads): 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.

Book Trailer:


Book Review:
I had my first glimpse into Marr's writing when I read Graveminder. I remember enjoying the world-building, but was slightly disappointed with some of the character development. Well, I am happy to say that what Graveminder was lacking, Carnival of Souls more than makes up for. There is no underdevelopment of characters here. This book ends at just under 300 pages, but Marr packs in a lot. There are essentially two different worlds that she creates, the human world and the daimon world. They are both rich in detail and description. The characters really drive this story. Despite my early reservations, I ended up falling for Kaleb. My only critique is that this story ended. I am anxious to see what happens and am eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Cover Art Commentary:
I am kind of mixed about this cover. I really like the silver mask, but am not crazy about the flames surrounding it.

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