Alexiani G's Reviews > Shattered Souls

I don’t know how to write a review for this book. I’m in grief because the book is over, because I don’t know the ultimate end, because everyone suffers in this book, because everyone has happy moments, because THAT FREAKING ENDING LEFT ME IN AN INDUSE COMA AND I CAN’T SEEM TO DO ANYTHING ELSE BUT THINK OF WHAT COULD OR WILL HAPPEN! This is too cliché BUT this book really shattered me, I thought about it when the title came out but now I’m going to be REALLY scared when the other books come out.

So, how to begin? This book is a masterpiece, it is marvelous, exceptional, it is an eminence and I am not joking people. This book is divided by three parts and I usually don’t pay attention to it, normally the books are one big piece for me but I had never felt the split of them like in this book –it was amazing-. I said it in my updates and I will say it again, the first 30% of this book is called Captive and reading it was like reading a complete book, like, when I finished that part it felt like I had already read a book and I wasn’t even halfway through, that feeling was THE BEST because my heart and emotions were all over the place while reading it and it just continue to get better and better.

One of –in my opinion- the best features this book has are the characters. Yes, of course we get more world building –because this world is AMAZING and I love everything it gives me to learn- we get more celestial realms information, we get to finally know Hermon Ridge which is beautiful btw, my imagination ran wild while reading how this place is we get A LOT of romantic and beautiful moments there with Cassiel, Dyna and the guardians, a bunch of back stabbing, a lot of history lessons, we get to know about wolf packs, YES you heard me right, there is hope for Zev😍 We get even more characters, we get to know Tarn’s camp and the people in it, we get to read about Dyna there and her crazy relationship with Tarn and all of the people there. Don’t even get me started with that part because I’ll go nuts. Tarn freaking played me, he is cold and calculative, this dude is not stupid and he knows what he’s doing, I felt bad for him at one point but like Dyna I FREAKING FORGOT WHO HE IS NOW. So, that being said, this book has everything, but the thing that prevails over the rest is them, the characters. Boy do they have a journey here.

Zev is broken here and even though he takes his mantle of guardian first and foremost he is still struggling with the Other and his past, the amazing thing about this book is the fact that he is a secondary character but still has an amazing growth in the few chapters that he has. Rawn got ASTONISHING AND HEARTWARMING chapters that made me love him even more, I think he got like two or three but those were enough to show he is more than an unbreakable leader, his vulnerability made me LOVE HIM! And of course we have Lucenna, who finally made herself part of the family and who had a lot of vulnerable moments with Klyde and vice versa, loved that . We got more of the new characters and the old, like our dashing Klyde, the dubious Von –who I like more- Yavi, Geon, Dalton, Elon, our cute but deafly Azulo, Lord Jophiel, Asiel, Sarrai, Eagon, Gale, Tavin, even Dyna’s lady maid was amazing in this book. The big spotlight here is for Cassiel and Dyna, there is no doubt in that. Their growth made me weep and happy and sad and angry and excited and anxious. This book has it all, I really have no words to say how amazing it is. I haven’t felt like this for a book in a very long time, the fact that I have to wait for YEARS to get the answer of “how will this end?” is a torture.

They looked clean and unblemished like the snow in his dream. It was all wrong. Zev sank to the ground, hunching over his knees. The hands of a killer shouldn’t look this way.

Kneeling in the snow, Dyna hugged the warrior and cried with him.

“I will be the one who kills for you,” Cassiel said. “I will guard every part of you, Dyna, including your soul.”
“And what of yours?”
“It only lives because you live. When you were taken, I felt as if I was dying. I would have if Lord Norrlen did not convince me you were alive.”

From now and through the ages, I will forever be yours, until I fade among the stars.

Also, I need to make this a statement. The amount of wisdom and EXTRAORDINARY lines we get here is unbelievable, here you can get a few:

“Pain is not meant to break you. Enduring it is in itself a cruel trial of strength. It will take some time to heal, if that is what you wish. It’s not an easy road, nor a short one, but do not dwell on how long the journey is. The top of one mountain is the bottom of the next. Therefore, keep climbing. Eventually, you will arrive where you are meant to be.”

“I know now no matter how hard we try in life, there is no guarantee of a perfect ending. Living is the greatest adventure we are given, and it would be a great shame for you to miss it.”

“Your pain is no less real, simply because others don’t understand it.”

There was scheming, funny moments, cute and romantic moments, heart breaking moments –not just with the guardians but with EVERYONE- and Beck gave us this with a perfect balance. Nothing feels out of place.

His smile brightened and he puffed his chest, wagging his tails. “I am at your service. Whatever you desire, your little one will provide. My thanks for saving me.”

Klyde grinned sheepishly at Eagon’s glare. “All right, I know we’re in a bind, but never fear. I have a grand plan.” He reached for the crossed swords at his back, each pommel adorned with a polished blue skull. “There is a wee chance we might die, but if we live to tell the tale, it will be the best one yet. You’re with me, aye?”
“No, not aye.”
“Good. Glad to hear you’ve got my back, mate.”
“I said not aye,” Eagon grumbled

When I finished this book, I was hurting in a way that nearly made me hate everything but then I realized that this kind of emotion is only produced by a perfect book. This book delivered and I know it will continue delivering more and more.

The characters went a long way in their growth, as I said, but they still have A LOT to learn from themselves and others. It is amazing how we can read and know they are getting better –or worse- and still acknowledge they will go on growing. It is the best thing ever.

One of the other things I LOVED about this book was how the title and cover fell into place without problem. I mean yes, we readers search for the meaning behind both of them but the accuracy with which they fell into place was amazing, they weren’t there to encompass the book, they ARE the book and I loved that beyond words.

Dyna’s crown laid half buried in the snow some distance away. The glinting sapphires stained with her blood.

Another thing that must be highlighted was the sex scenes between Cassiel and Dyna, this is no spoiler, we knew this was coming and if you didn’t I’m really sorry but I need to say this. There are so many bombarding and crude sex scenes in books nowadays that reading this made me the happiest person ever. The word Beck used to describe it was “magical” and it was, intimacy between people that love each other is not just wild sex, it is a moment where you share your soul with another and Beck did an amazing job describing that.

“Yavi?” Dyna fidgeted with the lace on her neckline, feeling her cheeks burn hot.
“Hmm?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes?”
“W-what’s it like?”
A sly smile took over Yavi’s face. “What is what like?”

And it was pure magic

I only had one teeny tiny objection with the book and I don’t know if I noticed it because my previous read had that. There were some repetitive declarations and statements throughout the book, not many but they were there. They weren’t a problem for me at all but I did noticed them.

So, if you haven’t read these books PLEASE pick up Divine Blood - the first book- and give them a chance because they are majestic.

P.S. I’m still hurting so yeah, there’s that.

----
Well, I did it. I finished the book today on September 26th, 2022. I write this record as the evidence of my grief, I will take my leave and mourned everything that happened in this book.
Thank you.

Review to come...
------
I GOT AN ARC!!!!!!! OMG I'M CRYING!!!!! I'M SOOOO HAPPY!!!!! this series has got my attention from the very beginning and it is perfection, can't wait for more readers to give them - the books- a chance 🤍😎

P. S. I better be happy now because I KNOW I'm about to suffer a lot🤣
-------
Update: August 30th, 2022

As part of the newsletters team of Beck Michaels I received a sample of chapters 1-3 of this gorgeous book and let me tell you they are AMAZING!!!!! It was funny to read a lot of the sneak peeks she has shared with us in these three chapters.

Of course I have to share my thoughts on these pages because how could I not? That first chapter almost killed me, reading how Cassiel is suffering because he thought Dyna was dead was awful, I wanted to get inside the book and hug him. All the attention to detail about how he reacted and the fact that he thought of her in the darkness was SO PERFECT it made me love him even more than I do right know.

Cassiel’s chest felt as if it was caving in, but it was the fragments of his soul that had collapsed. Tears he had no control over endlessly spilled.

He finally had his mate only to lose her on the same day.

Dyna was alive. She had to be. If she wasn’t, then he truly had nothing left in this world.

“She is alive.” He dropped his face into his hands, wetness slipping through his fingers. “She is alive.”

It was his turn now to be forcefully separated from her. He hated it. How could he keep his promise to never leave her alone in the dark if he wasn’t with her? He hoped there was light wherever she was.

Also, seeing how Dyna is suffering but at the same time growing stronger is the best thing ever. She has grown SO MUCH in such little time, and her growth is believable not some random maturity that came to her overnight. This girl is on and I can’t wait to see more of her, more of her future friendship with Yavi, Geon and Sorren.

So, yes, these three chapters were AMAZING!


---------
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! it's blue!!!! my favorite color!! IT'S GORGEOUS! I am dyyying for this freaking book ahhhhhhhh!!! The crown is PERFECT, does it mean what I think it means??? don't get my hopes up Beck, I'm warning you!!!!! I was worried for a second there because the cover has blood but every cover so far has had blood on it so I shouldn't worry... right?... RIGHT???