4 stars

I really enjoyed this piece and the premise of it. It was very interesting and guided the reader through.

It is a horror book, which typically isn't my genre - but I did really enjoy it. As others have commented, the language throughout is quite strong so definitely for an older reader/adult (not YA)

Seeing Old Soul described as literary horror intrigued me, unsure how the text would be both beautiful and disturbing.

Like a polaroid exposing something unsettling at the edge of a breaking dawn, creeping deep inside the psyche; that’s how.

An ancient cosmic power which cannot be stopped leaves grief in its wake, at an airport Mariko shares her story and Jake realises the questions left by the strange circumstances around the death of his closest friend, aren’t unique. Over a multiple point of view set of journals and interviews set over centuries, the truth is pieced together from the shadowy clues a strange, alluring and seemingly unageing woman has left in her wake.

I found myself wrapped up in a trance reading, wanting to stay with the characters and find a way to read them safe and content, while hurtling towards answers and knowing they’d be both satisfying and awful.

Susan Barker has woven a deep, emotionally taxing (in the best way, if you need to have your sympathies and morals played with and tested, this is for you) and philosophically teasing tapestry of a book.

What a strangely disturbing creepy yet mesmerising story. One that I found myself nervous about reading at night. After the first few pages I thought it wasn’t going to be my kind of read. How very wrong that turned out to be. Most chapters left me with a feeling like something had crawled under my skin and I loved it!
If you are after something a little different this is definitely the book for you.
A big thank you to to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastically chilling read. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

This is an amazing story of those left behind, who are grieving the loss of their loved ones, who have all died of a condition none knew they had until it killed them.

But it can't be a coincidence, right?

Told from the stories of those who watched their nearest and dearest die, one man wants to unravel the reason his best friend in the world died, and of something she did not have weeks prior. Is he clutching at straws, or is there a deeper, older evil roaming the world, and targeting them for some nefarious purpose?

An awesome, chilling book, that will touch those who have ever lost someone without warning. A top read.

An interesting, dark and creepy novel about a woman who has survived for nearly 300 years by taking the souls of disturbed and damaged individuals. Evil is personified in the apparently bland character of The Woman who over the years goes by different names. The non linear narrative worked very well leading to a present day denoumement.

A creepy, disturbing tale of a centuries-old evil which takes the form of a woman in order to capture souls to ensure its continued survival.

What I found particularly interesting was the description of the woman as quite nondescript and slightly unremarkable as it made me think of the banality of evil and how seemingly ordinary people can do monstrous things. I liked how Old Souls incorporates philosophical themes and encourages deeper thinking.

The pacing is a little erratic and the prose overly lyrical at times, but I felt compelled to keep reading and I'm glad I did as it's a unique read, a horror with a deeper message.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the digital ARC.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

A deal with the devil that wreaks havoc on most everyone who comes into contact with her
I loved this spooky tale - devoured it over the weekend !
Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

This book is not for me. I didn’t realise it was a horror story.
It is full of bad language and really slow in places. I struggled to get through it.
The only part I enjoyed was the epilogue.

A very interesting concept. It jumped around a bit but didn't detract from the story. Follows a woman who is probably 300 years old and swaps people's souls to continue living, working with Venus.

I received this as a free advanced copy and leave this review of my own free will.

Captivating! This book had me hooked. Paranormal isn't my genre but this was certainly enticing. If you like this style then you will find this riveting to read.

Grateful ARC reader here giving my own review.

This is a book that on some ways might be hard to categorise cleanly. For me, it sits most cleanly in horror but it's rather different to most in this genre.

The store is linear but told out of order as a series of recollections. Initially I wasn't sure this would work well for me but it was so delicious a read that I didn't notice when it became comfortable and then I didn't want to put it down.

The niggles for me were the lack of quotation marks for dialogue - I know it's a stylistic choice and by the end I had made some peace with it, but it's not my choice and I'll never really 'get' it. I can see that it would be a different reading experience to include them and appreciate that may have changed the feel, but it did mean it took me a little longer to decide I was all in on the book. The epilogue also didn't work too well for me - I felt it was lovely to read and a great piece of stand alone writing, but I didn't feel it fit the tale that had been told throughout and the last chapter ended strongly enough without it, in my opinion.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. The pacing was perfect and although there weren't too many surprises by the end, for me, it was a very satisfying story told very well.

Odd and creepy, but completely compelling, this book is certainly different. I found it slightly confusing at first, but was quickly drawn into the well-written story. I will definitely look out for this author in future.

While I appreciated the beautiful prose and the deep exploration of love and connection across different lifetimes, I found some parts a bit slow and drawn out. Many readers online praise Barker’s lyrical writing and the way she blends philosophical themes with engaging storytelling, and I can see why; there are moments of real depth that invite reflection.

However, I also noticed some criticism about the pacing, which I felt was warranted. At times, it seemed to drag, making it harder to stay fully engaged. That said, the characters are richly developed, and their journeys are poignant, capturing the complexity of human emotions.

This book was a creepy , disturbing read, and perfect for this time of year.. Not my usual genre but always good to go a little outside of my c9mfort zone every now and then. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy

"Old soul" by Susan Barker is one of the reads that I was really struggling with. The premise was brilliant but for some reason I couldn't get into it fully.
It's definitely very well written and guides us through multiple characters that experienced evil. I would describe it as a mix of folklore tales, horror and general fiction. I finished it but I think I will give it another go in the next few months as for now I can't give it more than 2 stars and I believe in second chances. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for the honest review

3.5 stars

Firstly I’d like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly don’t know where to begin with this review! This book was just so different from anything I’ve ever read before that I don’t know how to explain it!

I thought the writing had this eerily beautiful sense to it and the plot was very unique and equally eerie. There were many layers to this story and I found myself to have many varying emotions throughout as I grew to be connected to various characters and their storylines within the plot.

This book definitely had a unique style too and wasn’t at all how I expected it to be! I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all though as this book definitely intrigued me and led me through anxiously anticipating what was to follow for the majority of this book.

I was very close to rating this 4 stars, however, it took me a while to get into it and it did feel slower at some points. But overall, I did enjoy it and would recommend it!

Took me a while to instant what was going on, but that was worth it. The gradual disclosure of the plot keeps you motoring along through the pages, as you piece together the personalities that Jake, the chronicler-cum-narrator, finds and arranges. The antagonist is a horror but somehow is relatable as her love story takes shape.