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So me and this story go way back. I first got a taste of The Soul Collector back when I was still a baby Rebel at Rebel_Town, and it was like a drug dealer had given me a free bump and gotten me hooked guaranteeing that I'd come back for more. And I mean that in the best way possible, haha!
On the surface, TSC has a simple premise. Galloway is a badass chick who collects souls from people that are overdue in their deals with the devil. I mean, that should be all that's needed to entice you, BUT WAIT! There's more.
Snarky protagonist that hates her job but is stuck doing it (literally has no choice). Tortured protagonist that breaks the rules because she just wants to do something right. Sexy hellhound sidekick that may or may not have ulterior motives. Action scenes that will make your mouth water. A gajillion classic cars that will also make your mouth water. Supernatural magical beings all over the place enmeshed in the politics between hell and earth. Espionage. Sexytimes. Deep, powerful lore that twists the narrative this way and that.
Speaking of the narrative, anyone who knows me knows that I will go on at great length about a book's voice. Character voice is something I devour hungrily, but unique narrative voice is like the ambrosia of the reading world to me. When a story is told in third person but still has beautiful narrative voice, I'm like a hungry dog on a bone. Pun not intended. Cuz Sirius. That will be funny to you later, promise. Anyway.
Jager has this beautiful flow to her prose, that seamlessly transitions between snappy dialogue, action, deep thought, and back again. The scenes where Galloway and Sirius are flirting while kicking the crap out of each other while also having a heart-to-heart are just amazingly done. A lot of the times when a writer tries to incorporate too many things into a scene it is confusing and chaotic, but this writer has it down to a science. Every word has a succinct purpose and it's easy to see the scene playing out in my head, hear the voices, sit back and enjoy every sense being fulfilled.
This is why it took me so long to get this review done. I thought I'd pop in to one of the early chapters to refresh myself on a few things, and then got sucked in with abandon. I have an infant and I chose reading TSC over precious sleep that I already don't get enough of. And that's an endorsement if I've ever had one, haha!
There's so much I want to blather about but I don't want to ruin any of the perfect scenes and moments in this story. Just go fucking read it, already! And then come back here and talk to me about it. We can fangirl together over how we just need more Hellhound already. And how we want our own. *drool*
But seriously. I don't just love TSC because the characters are sexy (even though they totally are), or for the ass-kicking (of which there is so much to feast on). One of my favourite parts is how human Galloway is, and how relatable she is despite the fantastical world that's portrayed. There's not much relatable on the surface, but Galloway at her core is incredibly raw. She's fucked up, sure, and she's not perfect, but who is? She's got flaws. She's got rough edges. And she's been through things that I think anyone could read and find some kind of common thread, a reason to sympathize and want to give her a hug. When I want to reach into a book and hug, fuck, or axe murder a character, I know I'm reading something special. And let me tell you, I definitely have all three of those for multiple characters in TSC, haha!
