Review: Deep into the Soul by J.L. Vallance

Title: Deep Into the Soul

Author: J.L. Vallance

Published: October 3rd, 2012Source:

Author provided review copy

Rating: 4 Stars ****

Goodreads blurb: At age sixteen, Vivienne Drake’s life completely changed in one devastating moment with the murder of her mother. Now at age thirty, she continues to struggle with the aftermath of that day and the nightmares that began to haunt her following it- nightmares where she is forced to watch the torture and murder of a new victim, all while she endures their pain and terror; prisoner to her own subconscious.Her life becomes more complicated after meeting the mysterious Calum McCort and learning of a world she’d never imagined existed; a world of Daemonium, Guardians, Lucifer, and The Guild. Not to mention Aedan, Lord of the Daemonium who’s on a mission to abduct her.Now she’s running from demons she never knew she had, hiding from demons she never knew existed, and searching for the answers to her mother’s past to find the key to her future.

Lori's Review:
This book is not at all what I expected. I think I thought it would be another dime a dozen coming of age YA novels. And it is that, sort of. But not really. Unlike those other coming of age sagas this one features a woman who is 30 and is coming to terms that life is just not what she thought it would be. She has endured a distant relationship with her father, her mother was murdered when Vivienne was 16, and she went through a horrible break up with her fiance. She lives with her friends in their spare bedroom, and works two part time jobs. Hmmm Vivi and I have a lot in common. (Well my mom is still alive and I see my dad everyday). I think most people my age (29) are going through this same sort of thing. I don't know that a lot of me peers are where they imagined themselves to be 10 years ago.



I'll admit, when I started reading this book I didn't re read the blurb so I was unsure of the plot line. Like I said I had no concept of Vivi's age. I had forgotten the supernatural twist to it as well. And honestly, the first few chapters read like a contemp romance ala On Dublin Street. However, by 20% the supernatural element had come into play and what was a good contemp turned into an even better PNR. Awesome stuff right there.

I really like Vivi, she's smart, she's strong willed, she's sarcastic, and with a butt load of confidence issues. (kinda like me). To say I related to her is a bit of an understatement. Her friends Andi, Dan, and Fallon are all great but as Vivi gets drawn into her new world they sometimes seem to take a backseat.

Calum....yum. He is everything you want in a hero. He's strong, smart, sexy and has that alpha swagger that women have come to love in our leading men. He comes off all bravado and asshole in the first few chapters but the author does an excellent job of showing his softer side. He tries to be controlling but often backs up or compromises with Vivi.

The writing was great and I think I found one typo in the whole entire work! I was drawn in and attached to the characters. Always a marker of good time spent.

The ending is a cliff hanger and it is a massive one. So you are warned.

My one complaint, although small, is that all of the characters used pseudo British slang. It's not full on and in your face. Let's face it, if it was none of us Yanks would have any clue what was going on. While the Calum is from across the pond, Vivi is from San Antonio. So I was a bit more uncomfortable with her referring to apartments as flats (which I think she did once). It was more of a manner of speech and cadence to the characters dialogue that seemed not American. Really, so not a big deal but it did make me scratch my head wondering if Vivi was from England.

All around this was an excellent read and I will definitely be checking out the sequel when it comes out.

Side note this book can be read by younger readers. I would say it's very close to New Adult. While there is on instance of sex it is not explicit and there is some cussing.

Buy the book on amazon here: Deep Into the Soul (The Guild Series)

J.L. Vallance is giving away two hair bows based on the ones that Vivi wears in the book once her facebook page reaches 100. Go like here: JL Vallance Facebook