Review: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Title: Shattered Souls

Author: Mary Lindsey

Series: I would think series :)

Pages: 336

Published: Available December 8, 2011 by Philomel

ISBN: 9780399256226

Source: Tour arranged by Teen Book Scene

 

Decription: Lenzi hears voices. She also sees visions--gravestones, floods, a gorgeous guy with steel gray eyes. She knows she must be going crazy, just like her dad did. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't do anything to help, and the voices just keep getting louder, the visions more intense. But when Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, everything makes sense. Sort of. He tells Lenzi that she's a reincarnated Speaker--someone who can talk to lost souls and help them move on--and that he has been her Protector for centuries. But instead of embracing her abilities, Lenzi struggles between her life as the girlfriend of a sexy musician and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. Yet time is running out; a malevolent spirit has been trying to destroy Lenzi for ages, and he will surely kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon. Her choices are clear: Destiny or normalcy. Alden or Zak. Life or death.

I Give This ...

 

Another one of those books that the cover just screams read me!  Thankfully the description also sounded good and on to the wishlist it went.  Another one of those time were I've been really privileged to read it early.  

Lenzi's voice grabbed me right from the beginning.  Her father was schizophrenic and in the end he committed suicide.  The pain that comes along with that have done quite a bit of damage to Lenzi and her mother.  So when she begins to hear voices as well, she's terrified.  She doesn't want to be like her father, so she hides it from her mother.  Instead she turns to her boyfriend Zak.  He convinces Lenzi that he alone can help her and encourages her to take her mother's Xanax to help combat the voices.  But then the voices turn into hallucinations and visions and the Xanax no longer helps.

Enter in Alden, whom she meets on a midnight visit to her father's grave.  He's been searching for her and tells her that she's not going crazy.  Those voices are those of the deceased.  She is the speaker and they need her help to reconcile themselves with this world so they can pass to the next.  He is her speaker.  He's there to help her with these spirits and to protect her from the more malevolent ones.  They are reincarnated after every cycle and they are one of the best speaker/protector there is.

 Only problem is Lenzi can't remember any of her past cycles.  She has no idea how to do what she was created to do.  Turns out this could be a dangerous thing.  The IC keeps track of how many souls she helps move on.  If she's not performing as she should, she could be cycled early, Alden could be reassigned, or worse.  Not to mention there is a vicious malevolent spirit that seems hellbent on killing her.   There's also her growing attraction to Alden.  She's knows that there was something between them in past lives and wishes she could remember who he really is to her.  There increased time together also brings on a new side to Zak, a very zealous one.

I was enthralled with how the story was laid out for me.  I loved the characters and the relationships with each other.  I liked how Lenzi's past is slowly laid out for us.  That malevolent spirit has interesting connections to her past.   The last quarter of the book is so griping, I wasn't sure what direction it was really going to go.   The ending isn't a cliffhanger really.  But, I don't feel the story is over.  There's more to tell, and I for one will be disappointed if the story doesn't go on.