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Reviewed by:
  • Carnival of Souls
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer
Marr, Melissa . Carnival of Souls. Harper/HarperCollins, 2012. [320p]. Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-165928-7 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-219006-2 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 9-12.

Centuries ago, a war between witches and daimons ended with a treaty that gave the witches sovereignty over the human realm and left the daimons the City, an otherworldly place of beauty, violence, pleasure, and corruption. Unaware of this fraught history, seventeen-year-old Mallory knows only that her adoptive father, Adam, is a witch who apparently stole something from the daimon realm, so she and dear old dad must constantly be on the run from daimons in the human world. Kaleb is a daimon assassin sent to take out Mallory, but upon meeting the girl, he falls instantly in love with her and she with him. Their union isn't that simple, as Mallory holds a secret that could potentially destroy the power balance in both worlds and Kaleb must negotiate with the worst of the worst to protect those he cares about. Marr creates a fascinating setting in the City, a place that teeters at the precipice of chaos and where indulgence is not only acceptable but expected, although it often comes at a steep price. The motivations of her characters are familiar (readers may see similarities here to Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, BCCB 9/11), but the extremes to which they will go are sometimes shocking, blurring the line between nobility and selfishness to near oblivion. Both Adam [End Page 101] and Kaleb mistake love for possession, but their attempts to protect Mallory are entirely understandable even if the ways they go about it are creepily controlling. A subplot involving a daimon-witch half-breed is as engrossing as the main story and by the end, the machinations of all those involved are so twisted that readers may not know who to root for but will certainly be lining up for the next installment of this proposed series. Love, lust, and power? Step right up, folks.

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