Chapter by Chapter

I went into Lonely Souls by author Karice Bolton completely in the dark (which isn’t uncommon when it comes to me reading something). Which means that I had no idea what to expect when it came down to me reading the first novel in the Witch Avenue Series. So I gathered as much information as I could from the cover and the titles on said cover and came up with one conclusion: This is a story about witches. No, duh. Disregarding my brain fart, I imagined the novel to be a lot like the Secret Circle series by L.J. Smith and was pleased to see that the novel wasn’t a clichéd version of the witches and sorcerers that we know of today. Lonely Souls was a new take on the lore and gave a more realistic feel towards the religion and types of magick that the witches in the story partake in .The novel itself had a start that had me interested almost immediately, it begins with main character Triss arriving at the beach, ready to meet her mother who has been meaning to speak with her. Already from the start of the novel I could tell that the main character had a really good relationship with her mother. The way that Bolton described it had me feeling the strong and healthy bond between the two. What made the story all the more interesting was within the first two chapters, it’s revealed that Triss’s mother has gone missing. The next few chapters were full of grieving and mourning as we watch the main character go to her mother’s memorial service. All the while, Triss is unable to admit that her mother is missing and believes that she’s still alive.I believed from the start of the novel that her mother was alive and just when you begin to think that maybe, just maybe, Triss’s life is going to be nothing but doom and gloom—enter the superhot guy. I mean… erm… best guy friend since Junior High. Since the moment he entered the novel, I was surprised by how easily secondary character Logan just waltzed into the plot and began showing this reader what a real man is supposed to act like. Logan was sweet, funny and was constantly there for Triss throughout the story. I personally liked to think of him as a sidekick, seeing as how Logan was always right at Triss’s side during almost every chapter in the story and I have to admit that I kept on screaming in my head “kiss her!” because Logan was just too romantic. While I did enjoy the impending romance between the character, I loved the way that the author strung out the relationship and changed it from a *like* friendship to a *like, like* relationship.Romance in the story aside, it was the magick and the twists in the story that really caught my attention. Ever since a summoned Lonely Soul attacked Triss in her shop, I knew that there was bound to be a bigger picture as well as a heck of a lot more action. Was I right? You know I was. The novel was full of twists, turns and traps. Not to mention an ending that I did not see coming. As for the magic involved in the story, I found myself constantly being reminded of Harry Potter considering the ways that the spells were cast. And there were wands! Wands! Who wouldn’t have thought of Harry Potter?All in all a quick read that I enjoyed. I would recommend this to fans of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and to readers who really enjoyed the Once a Witch series.