Review: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Shattered Souls

by Mary Lindsey
Release Date: December 8th, 2011
2011 Philomel/Penguin
Softcover Edition; 336 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-399-25622-6
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

My Thoughts
Shattered Souls is one of those books that I enjoyed immensely due to the unique twist on the 'getting rid of ghosts' scenario, but there were also elements, upon reflection, that I am still not quite sure fit smoothly and easily into the threads of this novel. 

One of the elements I really did enjoy was the interesting twist of soul sharing and partnership between the characters.  It added an element of fun and sometimes even creepiness, as the partnership didn't have a lot of privacy and and both people could feel and sense the other partner's thoughts and emotions.  The whole ghost element is always something that attracts me in a novel, even as a younger reader, and I was definitely hooked right from the beginning as Lenzi's issues with ghosts were apparent very early on; the author was very clear and descriptive about her issues, and takes the reader right to a cemetery in the early stages of the novel where some interesting things happen, but not necessarily good things.  I adore cemeteries and love it when they are used as settings, especially when creepy things happen.  Perhaps I am biased in this way?

I do not however, like Zak and was not too impressed with Lenzi's relationship with this guy.  I am not really sure how he fit into the novel other than to try and create a love-triangle relationship, but it fell flat in my point of view as Zak was not likeable at all, and I was not impressed with his behaviour at the cemetery.  To be honest, I wasn't overly impressed with Lenzi either in some parts of the novel as I found her hard to empathize with and thought some of her actions were quite immature and childish.  I know she was going through a rough time with her father's death, but something just rang false to me with this relationship, and then when she fell hard and fast for Alden, I really took a step back in disbelief and couldn't quite buy into the relationships and the storyline.  Don't get me wrong!  I adore Alden and his personality and think he is perfect for Lenzi.  I love the whole amnesia storyline, but I found it somewhat too convenient as Lenzi's amnesia wavered with regards to convenience; either she has amnesia or she doesn't, you know what I mean?  Or perhaps call it something else rather than amnesia?  That would fit the storyline better.  Now I am hoping to see a lot more of Race and Maddi in the sequel as I loved their characters and thought they were a lot of fun as well as being strong and forthright. 

Verdict
Shattered Souls is a fun, light read, and despite some of the issues I had with the main characters and the storyline, I really enjoyed the concept of the agency having control over the Speaker's and Protector's lives as it added an element of secrecy and danger that I hope is developed in future novels.   If you like the concept of ghosts as well as reincarnation, then I definitely recommend Shattered Souls if you are looking for a quick, entertaining read.  For me, I will absolutely be picking up the sequel when it is released.