Bad editing and irritating characters killed it. ( )

The story is different which compelled me to keep reading. White magic vs black magic and the ramifications on the practitioner; the moral dilemma.

But it is directed more to a young adult maturity and therefore became frequently implausible and annoying. Would I recommend this book? I don't think so. For me the characters never developed enough for a connection and the romance was too contrived and kept interfering with what little plot there is, ( )

Originally Reviewed At: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Author via Blog Tour
Reviewer: Heather



Lonely Souls is a new series that is written by a much loved author, Karice Bolton. Her tone of writing has quickly become a personal favorite as she creates these wonderfully imagined urban fantasies for her readers to lose themselves in. Please join me as I dive into Lonely Souls, the beginning of what I expect to be unlike any other.


Tris is a young woman about to embark on a new adventure; she is of age to become a full member of the local coven of witches. Right before the lavish event can take place, Tris’ mother disappears without a trace. While the police haven’t closed the case, a shocked Tris must watch as the coven declares her dead. But she knows deep in heart and soul that she is still alive.



Slowly clues start to arise, and with the help of a deliciously handsome old childhood friend, they begin to form a much larger picture. One that leads to her mother being kidnapped. But they won’t stop there, no, they want Tris too.Between grieving for the loss of her mother, and trying to find out why, Tris may discover more than her heart can handle. While she builds walls to protect her fragile heart, Logan desperately attempts to win her over. If he fails she may become a lonely soul, forced to wander for eternity alone.



It’s not a big secret that I quickly became a fan of Karice Bolton when I first got to read her Watchers Trilogy. Yet this series is taking on a different paranormal angle. When any author does this, it can leave a lot of room for speculation. This is especially true when you make a jump from fallen angels to witchcraft. But in my humble opinion, she hit the nail on the head with this excellent beginning to a series that I will be sure to follow. ( )

18 year-old Triss has just graduated from high school but the biggest event in her life is yet to come - her acceptance into the Witch Avenue Coven. Yes you heard it right, Triss is a witch. I must admit I was very surprised with Triss' behaviour toward her witchy powers. All she did until now is collect herbs, make potions and learn only some simple spells. She used her magic wand mostly to stip potions or as a pestle for godsake! If I was a witch I would be eager to learn awesome spells to make dragons, enchant magic carpets, dive underwater for hours and have my own flying broom!

It's not correct to say that Triss is not interested, she did declare multiple times that she could not wait to join the coven so she could explore their library, but she is obedient and patiently waits until she is allowed to access more complicated spells and magic. But then something happens that turns Triss' life upside down - her mother disappears. The Coven declares her mother dead and Triss only has small group of friends to support her and help her search for answers. Logan, her best childhood friend, starts teaching Triss more advanced spells so they could fight together. These lessons were fun, because it gave us perfect opportunity to gradually learn more about witches and their powers in The Witch Avenue series.

Except witches and paranormal events revolving around Triss' mother's disappearance, Lonely Souls also focuses very much on romance. But since it's my favorite kind of love story of childhood friends who start realising they are in love, you won't hear me complaining. And Logan has such romantic statements, I cheered for him almost from the start. I mean just look at these beautiful quotes:
"Everything that I loved about you back then is present sitting here in front of me, except now you've grown into a woman who is unbelievably strong, brave and beautiful."
"I'll always be here waiting for you," he said, touching my chest with his fingertips, drawing a shape of a heart.
"I'm giving you everything I have, Triss. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. No matter what storms lay ahead of us, I know that as one we can make it. I'm not perfect by anyone's standards but you make me want to strive to be the best person I can be."

As self-published novel go, Lonely Souls is mostly free of grammatical errors (or I have been too engrossed into a story to notice them). There are some words and phrases that repeat a little too much for my taste though. Logan's lips 'tugged upright slightly' so many times I started doubting is that the beginning of a smile or if it's a tic.

While I am nitpicking I may also point out another thing: Most books that are part of the series have some grand backstory that gets resolved in the end, but each book is a mini quest or some task or problem that our heroes resolve on their journey. There is no such thing in The Witch Avenue series, or at least in Lonely Souls. Triss is trying to find her mother and although she discovers a lot of clues, it still seems like this search will last until the end of the series.

If you are looking for young/new adult paranormal series about witches and you like reading about childhood friends discovering their feeling are more than just friendship while they stir trouble and potions, throw spells, break rules and fight to discover the truth, then I recommend that you check out Lonely Souls by Karice Bolton - it promises to be a start of an interesting series.

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the author as part of the blog tour in exchange for a honest review. ( )

Review Originally Post HERE


Triss's life is about to begin in a coming of age sort of way; if coming of age involves being a witch and you’re about to enter a cover. Everything is going just as planned with Triss's celebration until, her mother disappears. While everyone else is mourning her mother’s death Triss is devoting her time to finding her mother hopefully alive. Triss is reunited with a childhood friend and the two set out on an adventure loaded with magic and topped with mystery that made putting this book down every week impossible.

Lonely Souls was read with Book Whore Online Book Club and it has been a real treat. I was reeled into this story from the very beginning and taken completely by surprise at the start of this book. I have been reading Karice's novels from the very start of her writing career and this has been her best work yet. Normally her cookie cutter characters have me wishing for more conflict but Triss and Logan were beautifully written and the story had the perfect amount of conflict to keep me turning the pages.

Triss is struggling through a time in her life where a young girl really needs her mother to guide her. Instead Triss is stuck with trying to find her mother alive and being betrayed by those around her. Triss's emotions are real and raw and I loved it. With no one to turn to and no one to trust Triss starts shutting everyone around her out. Logan is recently back in Triss's life and I think the two not tripping all over each other in love was the best way to reunite this couple. On top of well written characters you get black magic, wands, and more.

I really enjoyed the flashback scenes in this story they were the perfect bridge for getting to meet Triss's mother without dragging out the story. I cannot wait for the next book in this series. I do recommend this book to readers but I don't think it is for romance lovers that prefer a hot and heavy love story. The characters are age appropriate so they have immature emotions and reactions to situations. If you are interested in a budding new love and a tale woven with mystery and magic then Lonely Souls is the perfect read for you. ( )