Rebel Town Reviews [OPEN]

The Soul Collector (Prologue - Chapter 4) - @Jagermeanshunter

The Soul Collector (Prologue - Chapter 4) by Jagermeanshunter  

Reviewed by ESHurricane

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Overview

The Soul Collector is a fun and unique romp through the politics surrounding Satan's collection of soul debts. It centers around Galloway, a Soul Collector that doesn't particularly enjoy her job, and Sirius, the sexy Hellhound that has been assigned to make sure she's doing her job correctly.

Cover/Title

The title tells you exactly what's in the tin, while also being mysterious enough that it brings up questions. Why would someone collect souls, and for whom? It definitely drew me in. The cover is fantastic, j'adore. I love the way that the title is tucked behind Galloway, putting her front and center with that pensive expression and badass pose. It shows her strength and skill but also her heart in the fact that she looks just a little nervous. This is excellent foreshadowing for the fact that she's not 100% comfortable with her job.

I also really like the tagline Hell has rules too, it's very catchy.

Summary/Description

The summary is excellent. It's clear, short, to the point, and gives just enough to get me excited about the story but not so much that I feel like I don't need to read it. It introduces the main players and leaves me wanting more.

Hook

While I'm not in love with the first sentence, I feel that the opening is a great way to show who Galloway is. Between her inner monologue and the way she handles the assignment, it shows her hatred for collecting debts and what she does to make herself feel better about it. The action flows well in the prologue and gives me a taste of what is to come, setting the tone of ambiguousness throughout the early chapters.

Grammar/Structure

The grammar is pretty tight, and I had to dig very very deep with a fine-toothed comb to find much here.

The only minor thing I noticed were a few uses of filter words (felt, heard, saw), that could be tightened up. For example:

Galloway could feel horror bubbling up in her stomach.

Would be tighter as something like:

Horror bubbled up in Galloway's stomach.

This makes the description a little more active.

Characters

Ah, I dig the characters so hard. Galloway is a badass in a shitty job with a good heart, trying to make the best of her situation. Sirius is also a badass in a shitty job with a good heart, trying to make the best of his situation. Their back and forth at the beginning is so interesting because they're not quite sure what to make of each other or whether they can trust each other. It's a lovely dance to watch.

Regardless of them being so similar, their voices are so clear. The author does an amazing job of giving them distinct personalities and speech cadence, and this is evident with the background characters too. The first scene with Theron, he's very menacing and in control while the other two are clearly subordinate.

Later, when Logan is introduced, he has his own flavour too, and it doesn't feel like the author is just piling characters on all willy-nilly. He is intrigue right from the get go, and what little information is given about him being a witch is delivered very organically through the dialogue instead of just info-dumping.

Narrative

Speaking of info-dumping, there is none of that here. The narrative, while limited to Galloway, operates like an extension of her mind and has it's own clear voice. I tend to lean towards third limited POV because when done well, it doesn't create a detachment from the characters, but an attachment to the story.

The things that are said outside of dialogue are woven closely with Galloway's perception, but steps back just enough to allow me to be able to enjoy the other characters as well. It's a good flow and I think it's the perfect POV for this character and her story. As much as I would love to be in her head, I think it would take too much away from the other characters.

Plot/Pacing

So far, the plot is definitely interesting, and I think the pacing is perfect. The buildup to Galloway and Sirius' building and hopefully eventual friendship (slow burning to romance, surely, please I hope so lol) is a delightful progression. It's not frustratingly slow nor unbelievably fast, but the perfect back and forth of them dancing around sharing their true feelings with one another and trying to figure out the other's angle.

Closing Comments

I can't recommend this book enough, and I definitely can't wait to finish it. I think Galloway is a refreshing character and she and Sirius have an interesting dynamic that I am eager to see flourish on the page. It is rare that I get so invested so quickly into characters, and it's a testament to the author's talent to really bring them to life with what seems like effortless prose. Well done!