Broken Soul (Jane Yellowrock, #8) by Faith Hunter
Urban Fantasy
Paperback, 336 pages
October 7, 2014
Roc
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: Stupid men.
Trouble is coming to New Orleans in the form of the European Mithran Delegate. Jane’s employer, head master vampire of the southern region, Leo Pellister, has asked her to upgrade his security and oversee the rebuilding of his home, offering to pay the exuberant price she names. The European vampires want Leo’s territory and he knows he needs Jane’s expertise to stop it from becoming a blood bath. But Leo hasn’t been completely honest about why the Mithrans are coming. Secrets that could spell disaster for Jane and her team. As Jane prepares for the delegates, something is ripping New Orleans apart and all clues point back to Leo. Jane struggles to keep her city and friends in one piece against a foe she can’t even see. Events from the past will come back to haunt Jane, forcing a change in her relationship with Beast and solidifying the fact that Jane Yellowrock will never be prey again.
Broken Soul is book eight in Faith Hunter Jane Yellowrock series. An adventurous,dark, action packed, character driven urban fantasy series that pits monster against monster in the never ending battle for power. Jane Yellowrock, the female lead, has come a long way since the beginning of the series. We have watched her grow from an insecure, seemingly powerless loner into the deadly powerhouse we see before us with friends, family, and a life she is beginning to enjoy. She has learned to accept what cannot be changed and shows increasing strength and wisdom in the choices she now makes.
“I had a dry cleaner. A grocery store that delivered. I owned house. Holy crap, I had put down roots. I dropped onto the bed, clutching the box of charms to me, and stared at my closet. A closet full of dresses. Somehow I had become a…a girl.
Though the storyline is set on the European Delegate and their upcoming visit, we don’t actually see them in here. The focus zeroes in on Leo, his secrets, and the consequences of those secrets. The consequences being the horror that is currently stalking the streets of New Orleans. Jane and Leo begin a dance that has been a long time coming. Jane hates being lied to and Leo’s actions have finally pushed her to the breaking point. Luckily for Jane, she and Beast are more than able to handle whatever and whoever Leo sends her way.
“I never belonged to you. I was never yours to give away or keep. I was never yours at all except for the job. And I don’t offer sacrifices of my blood. You should have remembered that.”
Intense action scenes, shocking revelations, and machiavellian plotlines keeps readers on their toes though it’s the steady world building and dynamic characterization that keeps readers returning. Hunter has slowly built this series, allowing it to evolve at it’s own pace. I enjoy the premise that there is no true good vs evil. They are all monsters; only separated by degrees. Equal parts of humor and horror merge together to form an intriguing story that keeps this series from becoming stale and redundant. It really is a perfect blending of power, action, and vulnerability.
The romance, which has always been a secondary storyline, began to make some serious headway with the last book-Black Arts. A choice was made that inadvertently pushes Jane into the direction most readers wanted her to go. But if you thought Hunter would make it easy from here on out you’d be wrong.
“Are your loyalties divided, my Enforcer?
“My loyalties are perfectly aligned according to who I am, what I am, and according to my word and my contracts.”
Jane has been hurt and her affections abused so many times, trust doesn’t come easy to her and it will take more than pretty words for her to completely open up. She has a strong moral base that demands monogamy. That is a hard line to take when everyone she deals with has been alive for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Even her Beast sees sex as a means to ensure survival of the species…meaning she options for multiple mates.
A menage of secondary characters, new and old, continue to expand their roles, each a viable player in this high stakes game of life and death. I readily appreciate the different personalities that are injected through out here. More supernatural entities are added to the mix; entities that offer up a whole new ball game for Jane and her team. As I stated earlier, no one is firmly good or evil. Each serve their own agenda. Ely and Alex, Jane’s own little pack, remain firmly in Jane’s corner. No matter what, their loyalty is to Jane and Jane only.
“Hey my brother, let’s chat about this first before I have to kill you and then figure out where I have to bury the body. Though I’m thinking out in a bayou, somewhere close to gators, you dig?”
The main conflict is a multi layered concoction of intrigue, tension, violence, and heart stopping scenes as Jane finally understands what is happening…and why. Multiple plot lines race though the book, twisting and turning as we are lead down a pain riddled road of discovery.Broken Soul takes everything we have learned and turns it inside out. Hunter has finally opened the floodgates and the implications are astounding.
“I am a far worse Devil.”
RATING: B+
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Awesome review, I have also read the book and I completely agree with you. Now, if only Leo or one of the other vampires would stay dead …
Thanks. Leo just keeps disappointing me. Rick too.