Posted by Lauren in Book Reviews, Fantasy, Featured | 9 Comments
Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: September 4, 2012
Pages: 306
Summary: Mallory is the daughter of the City’s highest ruler, but as an infant she was spirited away and raised as a human. As she comes of age, her biological father strengthens his search for her. Kaleb is one of the assassins sent to find Mallory, but unfortunately, he’s developing some feelings for her.
Aya is a ruling-class citizen, but because she’s female, her highest aspiration can only be to bear children. Aya can’t accept this fate, so she enters a competition in the Carnival of Souls to become part of the government. Unfortunately, her ex-fiancé has also entered the competition, meaning she needs to kill him in order to win.
My thoughts: As in her Wicked Lovely series, Melissa Marr effortlessly executes a story with an ensemble cast. The third person narration allows us to get inside the heads of all four main characters. Marr spends equal time developing each of her protagonists, which is a great feat, considering how many there are. There’s a character for everyone: due to their great differences, I guarantee that you’ll like at least one of them, if not all. My personal preference is Aya, a warrior fighting (quite literally!) against the sexist barriers in her world. Despite her highly specific reason for not wanting to become a breeder, Aya is the kind of girl who all women can relate to. I’m pleased with the message she sends.
The world-building in Carnival of Souls is where the novel falters a bit. The reader is thrown into the Carnival with little exposition, which makes the whole affair a bit difficult to picture. Thankfully, the publisher has done an excellent job with the trailer for Carnival of Souls, which helps illustrate what Aya’s world actually looks like. Melissa Marr’s writing, in terms of imagery, is less than stellar, which disappointed me.
In other matters, such as weaving together four separate plot threads, Melissa Marr demonstrates her proficiency as a storyteller. The way she connects the stories of her protagonists is smooth and absolutely perfect. I couldn’t imagine them coming together in a better way. Likewise, the pacing in Carnival of Souls is ideal, with a quick, dramatic start and a lively clip throughout. The cliffhanger ending might cause some readers (read: ME) to wail dramatically at the ceiling, but that’s to be expected from most books in a series nowadays.
If you enjoy fantasy and genuinely amazing storytelling, check out Carnival of Souls. It’s a ton of fun.
4/5 stars
For those who like: fantasy, multiple protagonists
Find the author at Melissa-Marr.com.
Comment question: How do you feel about books with multiple (more than two) protagonists? Do you like them more or less than books with only one?
To be honest I much prefer first person narration and one main character because I love being completely immersed in one character’s head and journey. I like knowing only what that character knows and feeling like I have to figure things out along with them.
When there are two POVs in first person, that’s great too because we get to see how two different people perceive the same things and usually they’re both main characters.
Multiple protags are in 3rd person and although sometimes it can be pulled off perfectly, you still feel a bit distanced which bothers me.
To be honest, I don’t know if my aversion to multiple protags has to do with the third person POV or with not being invested in only one main character. But I don’t mind 3rd person when there’s only one main character, so maybe it is that there are too many protags that bugs me.
I’m sure Carnival of Souls is one of those examples where multiple protags works perfectly because she’s an awesome author:)
Great review, hun! I reviewed this one today as well :)
I really enjoyed it and was actually surprised, I loved all the different PoVs and I don’t mind single or multi PoVs in a book
VeganYANerds recently posted..Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
I really like multiple POV’s, but I like when each POV is in first person. I don’t tend to connect well with characters when it’s told from third person because I don’t know what is going on in their heads, but I have read a few that I have really enjoyed. This book sounds pretty great though. Thanks for the awesome review!!
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i love melissa marr so i’m sure i’ll love this one! glad you liked it.
i don’t really care if books have multiple pov or not. i like it all!
Wonderful review, Lauren! I still have to get a copy of this one, but I’m really excited. Unfortunately, world-building is one of the make-it-or-break-it deals for me when it comes to reading, so I’m hoping I don’t get too bothered by the lack of it. I’ve seen the trailer for this one, so since I have a rather good idea of what this world looks like, I (hopefully) won’t be too turned off by the lack of world-building. Overall though, this seems to be a fabulous novel! :D
In regard to your question, I have to admit that for me, it all depends on the author. Cath Crowley, for instance, is an author who can pull off multiple-POVs flawlessly. I love hearing the two distinct voices when she writes and even in Marr’s Wicked Lovely Series, I really enjoyed her usage of multiple perspectives. In Defiance though, I found that Rachel and Logan’s perspectives seemed too similar as their voices were so alike. I absolutely love multiple POVs, but it’s so dependent on the author and how prominently each “voice” stands out. The Scorpio Races was another instance where I loved this while From What I Remember… wasn’t bad, but not particularly amazing either. Yet, some of my favorite novels are those without dual narration, so I think it depends on what the story calls for and the author’s writing ability is what decides it for me. I do love them very much though, so I’m glad they’re becoming more common these days! :)
Keertana @ Ivy Book Bindings recently posted..Series Review: Lux by Jennifer L. Armentrout
So long as I can follow a story & it makes sense I don’t mind more than one protagonist.
I have not read anything by Melissa Marr yet, but I’m planning on this being my first exposure. It sounds like a good read overall (and based on your review I’m guessing that Aya will also become my favorite character). I’m not a big fan of multiple points of view, but if they’re done well I don’t think I’ll mind quite as much. Looking forward to this book!
Amanda @ Late Nights with Good Books recently posted..Review: The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Still haven’t finished all the Wicked Lovely books, but I really enjoyed Graveminder, and will put this one on my list!
I don’t read a lot of multiple protag books because I’m always afraid it’ll either get too confusing or be really hard to connect with. When it’s just one character I feel like it’s easier to get that deep connection.
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