Wackadoodle! The vampires are acting strange, young men are turning up dead, a magical item has made a reappearance and the arcenciels are circling Knoxville. Never fear, though, because PSYLed Unit Eighteen is on the case!

I really enjoyed seeing Nell, Occam, Rick, Aya and the rest of the gang in action again. Mud & Esther also play a big part in this story and I hope to see more of them in future books. We learn more about Soulwood, the vampire tree and the Green Knight and how they are connected to Nell and her sisters.

This story was action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat. The twists and turns had me guessing up until the very end. I love the evolution of Nell's character throughout this series and I hope we get more from this world.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of RIFT IN THE SOUL (Book 6 of the Soulwood Urban Fantasy series) by Faith Hunter in exchange for an honest review. The local vampires are reeling from getting their souls back, and some of them are using the chaos to make a power play. Those vampires are collecting powerful items and, to them, Nell, her plant people, the vampire trees, some church people, and some of her coworkers are powerful items to be exploited. This time Psy-LED is playing defense.

I like this book and the series. I recommend this book to fans of the series. I recommend this series to fans of the Jane Yellowrock urban fantasy series and to fans of urban fantasy series where everyone is still learning about what’s going on.

#RiftintheSoul #NetGalley

Thank you, Berkley Pub and Ace Books Pub, for my free book for review.

Faith Hunter's "A Rift in the Soul," the sixth entry in the acclaimed Soulwood series, deftly stands on its own, offering an accessible entry point for newcomers as well as a satisfying continuation for fans of the series. Hunter's prowess in world-building shines through, with a rich tapestry that weaves together a vivid setting and a deep history that touches on character development, political intrigue, and theological underpinnings.

One of the book's most commendable aspects is its diverse cast of characters. Not only does Hunter explore racial diversity, but she also delves into the complexities of the paranormal, providing a broad spectrum of beings that enriches the narrative.

The integration of police procedural elements is executed with finesse, following the Psyled agents as they unravel the perplexing cases of vampire murders and the kidnapping of one of their colleagues. This layer of mystery adds a compelling dimension to the urban fantasy framework.

Nell Ingram, the protagonist, is portrayed with a fascinating blend of strength and vulnerability. Her unique abilities to manipulate the earth and flora are balanced by her principled stance on not using her powers for lethal means against her foes. She navigates her journey with a strong moral compass, and there's an air of mystery surrounding her past that begs to be uncovered.

What personally resonated with me was the setting of the story—it mirrors the place I call home, which added an extra layer of excitement to the adventure. Hunter's depiction of an alternate reality, populated with vampires and other paranormal entities, is both imaginative and relatable.

A must-read for enthusiasts of the genre.

Faith Hunter's Rift in the Soul is the Sixth installment in the author's Soulwood series. Story Locale: Tennessee. Main character: Nell Ingram. Nell uses her innate magical abilities to work with an agency policing paranormals in this series set in the same world as the Jane Yellowrock novels. Nell Ingram is a Special Agent for Psy-LED, the Psychometric Law Enforcement Division, which solves paranormal crimes. This is a dangerous time for Psy-LED.

Weird stuff is happening the the vampire world. Scions are walking into the sun after getting their souls back thanks to Jane Yellowrock's actions in saving an Angel from a Demon. Nell, Rick LaFleur, and Ayatas Firewind have been called out to the local vampire's house - Ming of Glass, Master of the City of Knoxville - to retrieve a dead body. Expecting a trap - their expectations are rewarded when they are forced to defend themselves. The vampires had been acting strangely since the crowning of the Emperor of Europe, and Ming blames Nell who isn't quite human.

When Nell greets Ming of Glass, everything is off. She learns that some of Ming's Vampires have walked into the sun, and it seems that a really dangerous man named Tomas de Torquemada, who was once a Catholic priest, is looking for something called the Blood Tarot to change the world and his destiny. Interesting since Nell herself has also been searching for the Blood Tarot. Ming tries to get Nell to kill a powerful and ancient vampire, Tomas who plans to destroy everything.

Because of what happened at Ming's, and the fact that many, many factions really want to get their hands on the Bloot Tarot, Nell is given a bodyguard (Yummy aka Yvonne) to help protect her from Tomás and his vampires, black witches, blood witches, power-hungry humans, shifters, and others. We also learn that Soul, the Deputy Director of Phy-LED, and a powerful arcenciel, has been missing for 3 weeks. To make things worse, a family secret is about to be exposed, and Nell and her team need to move quickly to avoid further bloodshed.

We learn so much more about Nell’s family thanks to a very determined Nell who has had enough of her family and their secrets. As her powers grow, the same can be said of her younger sister, Mud whom she recently adopted. Mud is also gaining powers as a plant-woman, throughout Soulwood’s land. We get to see Esther, who recently divorced, and has two twin babies, now living in Soulwood, and is also gaining powers. When vamps attack, they have zero chance against the power of 3 plant women.

Nell's team is made up of witches, shifters, and empaths. Nell, who calls herself Plant Woman, fits right in with her Soulwood powers, and she now has a solid foundation of support. The team includes Occam (who she intends to marry) Ayatas (Jane's brother), T-Laine, JoJo, Tandy, Mandy (newest member) & Rick, who dare I say isn't all that bad? Nell has really come into her own, as she is a powerful woman controlling her Soulwood land and plants, and her connection to the Green Knight, protector of Soulwood, has grown stronger. Nell is in love with her cat-man, Occam, and since I am here, the Christmas time wedding is the perfect ending for this book and series? Whose to say?

4.5 STARS

Special Agent Nell Ingram’s work for PsyLED, the Psychometric Law Enforcement Division of the government, generally keeps her hands quite full helping the unit to solve paranormal crimes. Nell’s upline boss, Ayatas Firewind, receives a call from the home of MOC vampire Ming, whose mental stability is suspect, about a dead body on her property. Nell and her team must be ready for all kinds of paranormal troubles especially when vampires make demands.

Nell has several personal challenges as well including being the guardian for her teenage sister, Mindy (Mud), keeping the vampire tree and its attendant Green Knight under control, and preparing for her Christmastime wedding to her workmate, Occam. As always, Nell’s family across the road, who are part of the religious sect she grew up in, are part of not only planning her wedding, but revealing some hidden secrets about Nell’s supernatural family heritage including inbred capabilities as well as her deep connection to her land, Soulwood.

Those responsible for the crime seem to have more than a passing interest in Nell and Soulwood. Nell’s bosses, Aya and Rick LaFleur, are also very concerned because their boss, Soul, who is the top Aranciel/Rainbow Dragon around. Soul has seemingly been captured by the very evil folks they are looking for which has calamitous consequences not only for Nell and company, but possibly the whole of history concerning vampires.

It seems that evil never rests long in the vampire world so Nell and her talented crew have several challenges to overcome to save themselves as well as the world from serious harm. Nell is still coming into her own with her plant powers, fighting at times not be subsumed by her land, while keeping everyone whom she loves safe and healthy. Fans of this series will enjoy seeing their favorites especially a lot of page time with the Dark Queen Jane Yellowrock’s brother, Ayatas, and Jane’s former cheater boyfriend, Rick La Fleur, who continues to live with the consequences of his actions, but may be finally doing a little better.

As always with this series, there is quite a bit of drama, paranormal action, and a little romance to please everyone in this sixth book. Nell’s found family of Unit Eighteen as well as issues with her extended one add the personal dimension to the story which makes Nell such a compelling character.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy. Below is my honest review.

I love Nell Nicholson Ingram and her ragtag crew of strays that have formed not only her PsyLED team, but a little found family. This one throws them all into the middle of a very old vampire's machinations, which really gets complicated when the implications of Jane's Angel giving the vamps their souls back and removing the curse on weres comes into play. (This does beg the question - what happens to the grindylows? Because I love them!) In addition to that, Nell's connections to Soulwood *and* the creepy tree with a mind of its own also toss some crazy into the mix.

I really liked this one, and hope hope hope this isn't the end. With Jane ending last year, I'm not ready to lose Nell too. Fingers crossed!

Highly recommended, but please AT LEAST read the rest of the Soulwood series, but be warned that it does exist in the Jane Yellowrock world and is affected by events of that series as well.

Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter is the 6th book in her terrific Soulwood series. Brief refresher: Nell Ingram is a member of PsyLed (Unit Eighteen), a Homeland Security division that investigates paranormal cases and is based in Knoxville, TN, close to Soulwood. The PsyLed team is made up of witches, werewolves, empaths and Nell fits right in with her Soulwood powers; they make a great team, as they are all very likeable (Occam, Ayatas, T-Laine, JoJo, Tandy & Rick). Nell has really come into her own, as she is a powerful woman controlling her Soulwood land and plants.

Rift in the Soul begins with Nell summoned by the Master of the City, vampire Ming of Glass, reporting a dead body; both Ayatas and Rick also respond, making sure to protect Nell. Ming tries to get Nell to kill a powerful and ancient vampire, who plans to destroy everything. Nell senses things are not right, with Ming and her team; soon after, an attack destroys Ming’s home by the ancient vampire, who is searching for the Blood Tarot. While on the site, both Nell and Occam find the Blood Tarot, which is now hidden at PsyLed.

In a short time, Nell learns that the perpetrator, has a demon inside him, making things even more dangerous. All of the PsyLed team join Nell at Soulwood, where attacks are at full force; with Nell’s magical connection to the land, fighting off the vampires. We learn so much more about Nell’s family, and how her powers in the land continue to grow. I really love how her younger sister, Mud is also gaining powers as a plant-woman, throughout Soulwood’s land. We get to see Esther, who recently divorced, and has two babies, now living in Soulwoud, and is also gaining powers. Nell, her family and PsyLed friends do everything in their power to stop the baddies.

While all this is ongoing, the whole family is in the process of preparing Nell’s wedding to Occam (her cat man). I loved how much the relationship between and Occam and Nell became totally filled with deep love. Though Jane Yellowrock (she is the Dark Queen), is not fully part of the story line, there were so many mentions of her; especially with her on her honeymoon, as well as her approving many issues to help.

What follows is an intense, exciting, gripping and violent story. Rift in the Soul is another fabulous addition to this series, as it is non-stop action, suspenseful and intense.. The last half of the book was an edge of your seat thriller, and Nell was totally amazing stepping up in a wild and fantastic ride to the climax. We are used to Faith Hunter always having a fantastic group of characters, an amazing heroine in her series. Nell is a great heroine, and in this book, she evolves to be even more powerful. I loved her sisters joining together to fight the evil. The epilogue was wonderful, as we get to see Nell marry Occam, with everyone there. Faith Hunter has once again given us a fantastic story, with so many emotions throughout.

Another intriguing entry into the Nell series. Hunter does a great job describing the magic of the land and Nell's connection to it. I loved seeing the progression of her relationship to her sister, Mud, and her other sister, both plant women, and seeing the deepening relationship with Occam, her "cat man." If you enjoy the Nell series, you will enjoy this new book. It dovetails perfectly with the events in the last Jane Yellowrock book, something I enjoyed very much. The crossover with certain characters made me smile, and a little more Firewind is always a good thing. I'd love to see stories about his past. 5 out of 5 for Faith Hunter.

There is a lot going on in Nell’s world. Ming, the vampire Master of the City, calls Psy-LED to report a dead body Nell, Ayatas and Rick respond to find things are very strange. Ming’s primo, Cai, answers the door casually dressed and smiling, Ming displays the Blood Tarot - an item Nell has been searching for - and complains that the readings all come up with the death card and then there is an attack on Ming’s home by an ancient and powerful vampire searching for the Blood Tarot. Coupled with the dead body, that somehow links to the ancient vampire’s quest, and the fact that the vampires have regained their souls Nell is having an interesting time figuring out the whole mystery and how it links to her family.
This was a great read, I finished it in one sitting. We learn so much more about Nell’s family and the polygamous church she was raised in and how her power as a plant-woman is tied in to the church’s past choices. Nell learns more about her powers, her land and her family while preparing for her wedding to Occam. While this has enough loose ends tied up it could be a series ender - based on a couple of insinuations on Ms Hunter’s FaceBook page - I really hope we get more of Nell and the members of Psy-LED. Highly recommended.

Non-stop action from beginning to end.

Nell has really come into her own, no longer is she a meek church woman, she is a powerful plant woman and she is proud of it.

No need to hide in the shadows, she uses her gifts to solve para crimes and to keep her family and friends safe.

In book six of the Soulwood Series, Nell gets summoned by the vampire Ming of Glass. This sets off a chain of events that puts everyone in danger and keeps everyone on their toes for days. A new, very dangerous vamp is in town with an entourage of vamps all hellbent on collecting items and creatures of power. Nell and her family are caught in the crosshairs because they have powers the vamps are interested in.

Oh and the vamps are all batshit crazy- partially because of events that occurred in the final Jane Yellowrock book. The references to Jane/The Dark Queen are numerous in this book. I love the continuity though I am missing Jane and Alex Younger. I hope to see them in future books and short stories.

Lincoln Shaddock and the Everharts were mentioned. This was highly intriguing and I am still hoping for a series dedicated to the Everhart witches because wow- there have been some bombs dropped in several of the short stories that "faithful" readers need to know more about!!!

Overall this newest installment of the Soulwood series was phenomenal. Action, adventure, and all the feels. It ends on a beautiful high note.

This is a new installment of the soulwood series, and I just have to say it is action packed. There is a lot going on for the psy squad as a group and as individuals. There were a lot of loose ends tied up and questions answered from the series. I am looking forward to seeing where the author takes the story from here. I highly recommend this series as well as anything written by Faith Hunter.

I absolutely adore the Soulwood series. I love Nell and Occams relationship and the ever growing cast of characters that join the PsyLED team. This one was the best yet, with vampires, devil dogs, shifters, arcinels and of course plant people. With a new vampire in town threatening the lost boys and Nells family personally, PsyLED and unit 18 are put to the test.

I love all of Faith Hunter's books! The world she creates is amazing and I hope there are more and more spin offs.

The latest in the Soulwood series. Nell is coming into her own as the team is thrown into an investigation of a crazy vampire who dates back to the Inquisition. ARC from NetGalley.

WOW! It's been 3 years, I believe, since the last Soulwood installment. This more than made up for it in my book, but it felt like it might have been the end of the series?!?! I've not done any googling to see if that is the case, though.

We learned a whole lot about the Church that Nell comes from, also more about Soul which was very interesting. Nell went through some big changes as did her sisters. It really felt like a tying up of loose ends. I am sincerely hoping it is so we can head in new directions in future installments.

So so so good! This book does need to be read in order, but I love this series and, specifically, this lead character Nell. This Soulwood line is a spin off from the author's Jane Yellowrock series, which I started reading after I read "Blood of the Earth". Nell is still my favorite, though. I appreciate the author taking the time to flush her out, flaws and all, while still letting her kick butt in a way that's different from most of the fantasy books I've read. This follow up hit all the good notes for me - although I will say it felt a tad rushed at times, but maybe that's my own brain not being fast enough or just the different rhythm of interactions? I'm not sure but regardless, I've been a fan of Faith Hunter and this book, with it's storyline of Nell and her family and friends continuing to evolve as they try to stop the baddies, makes my heart happy.

Love, love, love this series.The characters are so familiar now they are like neighbors and friends. Bonus..That Faith Hunter ties in all the characters from other series and we get to keep up with them too. And as usual I hate that the book had to end..

I found myself absolutely lost in this world. The world building is intricately perfected. There are so many characters and threads that weave in and out making me fully immersed into this magical tale. Moreover, I really loved the word building and the backdrop; it was phenomenal.