Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it. DNF @ 12%.

Hold on to your seat for the ride of your life. Wow.

Defiant Souls has suspense, horror, drama, and it’s the kind of book that has you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Highly recommend Defiant Souls.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Black Rose writing for the ARC of this book. I wanted to love it but unfortunately it was a bit too simple. Only one character has any real depth and there is no character development of the others. The idea that Satan has so few tricks up his sleeve seemed a let down to me. Granted I read hard core horror on a regular basis. This almost seemed a young adult title to me.

The aura of suspense increasingly bumped up my anxiety, notch by excruciatingly-taut notch. The palpable tension held me in thrall. The twists made me audibly gasp in shock. And, the fast pace of the wildly-captivating plot kept me swiping the pages feverishly.

Normally, I wouldn't comment, but because some publishers consider the ratio of request to feedback provided when deciding who to give e-arcs to, I am classifying this book as a DNF for me. There were a handful of factors that contributed to that decision. One was POV jumping. I noticed this early on. It was hard to feel anchored in a single perspective when we were jumping between characters. POV transitions without chapter or section breaks can work occasionally; they are the exception rather than the rule. There are times it's handled beautifully and is justified by the text. Other times it feels unnecessary and due to inexperience; for me, it didn't work in this case. The story felt on the nose, and it reminded me of something else that I had read, The book also didn't fit with what I anticipated based on the description. The decision to withhold the cited protagonist until the reader is over 3% of the way into the story is a risky one, and it sets a very different tone. It struck me as adult fiction instead of YA. The combination of these factors meant that the story didn't grab or hold my interest. I tried it a couple of times. It wasn't for me. Others may have thoroughly enjoyed it.

The synopsis for this book really intrigued me. Unfortunately though it just fell very short for me.
There was so many characters, none felt developed enough for me to even think about caring about, and I think this is where my struggle to read it came in.

This wasn’t a long book, and yet I had to drag myself through it. The concept of Good vs Evil was interesting and maybe someone could love this book but not me. I did finish it however, and I liked the Epilogue.
I also must add that this was under Teen/YA but there’s some graphic details that I was fine with but are probably a bit too gory to go in YA category.

Funny, I decided to give this book a try primarily on the fact that a lead character shared my first name... but then found I was mesmerized by both the characters and the plot. Well-written with numerous "Oh, wow!" moments, so I very much enjoyed the entire reading experience. Give it a try!

Firstly, thanks to Netgalley and the book publisher for a free review copy of this book.

I went into this story hoping for a good horror revolving around good and evil. I was a little disappointed in that term. However, it was a good story about man's strength and perserverence (or, in this case, a 12 year old boy's) to fight against the rise of evil in our world.

The story revolves around Kyle, the aforementioned 12 year old, and his aunt Cindy, who travel through the desert on an adventure. Unfortunately, they then run across Damon, the embodiment of the devil himself, who is gathering around him a group of weak minded, easy to manipulate, disciples, with the goal to take over the world.

Enter Todd, a military experiment, who Damon breaks out of a secret lab in the desert. Other characters include Kevin, an unlikely-named, supernaturally powered man who will be the saviour of mankind.

If you think I'm glossing over some key characters in the story, that is exactly how I felt reading it. The characters just weren't that interesting. The situations Kyle and his aunt were involved in just weren't very real. Who would allow a 12 year old to run around town gathering weapons and making grand plans for escape with barely a fight, other than to say "I don't like it. Be careful"? And the prisoners who barely question placing their lives in this kid's hands? As for Kevin, who is probably an archangel for all I can tell, is so thin a character that you really don't get to feel anything for the guy, good or bad.

Don't get me wrong, i didn't hate the story, but it just didn't quite hit the heights i was hoping for. 3/5 stars from me.

When Kyle Chase accepted his Aunt Cindy’s invitation to spend his summer vacation with her, he thought they would be exploring old caves, looking for arrow heads, and honing his skills as a young Archeologist. He never dreamed the fate of the world would rest on his small shoulders. Kyle, his aunt and a small group of travelers have been imprisoned by a mad-man.

Man’s arrogance has opened a doorway of evil and it’s up to Kyle to close it. He will need to trust in his sixth sense, strength, and intellect to escape and find the one man who can help him destroy the evil that holds them captive.

Excellent story well written with characters interaction and the plot flowed very well. In all It love the whole concept of the boo was just great. I had a hard time putting it down before I had finished reading it. I would highly recommend this book.

Fantastic read from start to finish. It's about a young lad and his aunt running into the Devil who has come back to recruit new members to his fold by whatever means possible to take over the world. The Devil has them build a town so he can fill it up with more people to help him with his evil plans and it's left to the boy with other good people to try and stop him.
He is helped by another man that he has seen in his dreams to banish him back to hell. This book is action packed and full of suspense which once you start to read you will not want to put down.

Review: DEFIANT SOULS by Kathleen Chadwick

"The Devil walks to and fro throughout the Earth." In this novel, that's exactly what he does. Walks, hitchhikes, builds a desert ghost town/mirage, and summons followers. You see, "the Devil came down to Southern Utah, looking for a soul to steal." {Okay, I changed the wording a little...} Stealing souls, calling out followers, interfering in a classified military/government complex hex--er, compound, and confiscating the project's most important Secret (and ultimate weapon). But hey, he's Lucifer; who's gonna stop him?? And that, as the late Paul Harvey orated, is The Rest of The Story...

First off look at this gorgeous cover! That is what first caught my eye before I even read the description.

Kyle's vacation pretty much goes off the rails as he is thrust into a battle of good against evil when he and his aunt are hijacked on the road by an otherworldly being. It was a pretty creative story and although I read a lot of horror I was surprised by some of the gruesome events and language since this was categorized under the teen and YA section. It didn't bother me, but it may bother some who are expecting something a little more tame.

The book has a few double spaces between words were there should not be. This may be down to download though and is not a huge issue.

I really like the concepts in this book. The story flows really well and the character interact well to. a great battle of good and bad with a fantastic ending. I like how there is an Archaeological/history Base to the start I love how some story incorporate that. I also appreciated a child as the main focus its not often the case in a story like this.

Would recommend to everyone.