Carnival of Souls – Melissa Marr

Carnival of Souls plunges you into a dark world full of danger. A society that engages in all that is wicked while hidden behind masks at the Carnival of Souls. A world where caste and power controls the masses, but there is a chance to break free in the death matches. This is a fun, dark read with many paranormal entities that are exciting and original. Do you dare to enter into the Carnival of Souls? A world filled with seduction and brutality?

We meet Characters of The City who enter Marchosias’ Competition to fight to the death. Emerging triumphant results in a place in the elite ruling caste, and for Aya and Kaleb, two of the main characters, this is the ultimate goal, though for very different reasons. In the human world, the sensuality of the carnival and the grittiness of the daimon-filled City are left behind to introduce us to Mallory, a girl whose guard is permanently raised thanks to her ever-vigilant father. When Mallory’s path crosses with Kaleb’s and Aya is forced to connect with the human world more than she would have liked, the characters soon find themselves forced into precarious situations, with the war between witches and daimons at the heart of it.

Marr builds a deliciously sinister story that thrives of the pulsating atmosphere of the carnival at the centre of The City. With the lavish descriptions of the different coloured masks and the harsh implications of the illicit acts associated with them, the carnival is, as described, a swirl of masked pleasure and violence. Immersing myself into the daimon realm was as thrilling experience and Marr handled the world-building here incredibly well. While much of the story unravels under Marchosias’ rule in The City, Mallory has her fair share of the narration in the human world. The transitions between the two worlds, and between the alternating perspectives, was seamless. Carnival of Souls, was a great beginning to what is sure to be a wonderful series.