Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron (The Last Witchdoctor #1)

Hey guys!
Another day, another Illumicrate book. Today I bring you Kingdom of Souls, an especially captivating novel!

Kingdom of Soul on Goodreads

The Plot (according to Goodreads):

Magic has a price—if you’re willing to pay.

Born into a family of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. But each year she fails to call forth her ancestral powers, while her ambitious mother watches with growing disapproval.

There’s only one thing Arrah hasn’t tried, a deadly last resort: trading years of her own life for scraps of magic. Until the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear, and Arrah is desperate to find the culprit.

She uncovers something worse. The long-imprisoned Demon King is stirring. And if he rises, his hunger for souls will bring the world to its knees… unless Arrah pays the price for the magic to stop him.

The Rating:

Did somebody say magic? My head pops out of the earth like a gopher. Here we get a super fascinating African setting that was clearly inspired by tribes and their legends.

I love the concept of magic we get here and how it unfolds over the course of the book. Also, there will be another installment, and I can’t wait to read more about this world.

Kingdom of Souls was a book I basically devoured. The story is super thrilling and there are so many twists and turns you won’t see coming. Rena Barron keeps you on your toes all the way!

The main character Arrah is pretty cool and relatable. Her development is well-written and it was wonderful to watch her grow.
I could have done without the love story, though.

There’s only one (slightly) negative point I need to mention. Sometimes the pacing felt a little off. Around the middle, we were moving rather slowly only to then get a very fast finish. Some room for improvement there, but it wasn’t too bad.

It’s fascinating to dive into this world inspired by African tribes. Getting a different take in this magic/fantasy genre is rare, so I was delighted by Kingdom of Souls. Can’t wait to read part 2!

Did you read this book? Let me know in the comments what you think!

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