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Soul Summoner Series: The Siren

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The Siren is the second book in the Soul Summoner series, written by Elicia Hyder.

This book continues the story of Sloan Jordan, Warren Parish and Detective Nathan McNamara.

What if on the journey to find out who you are, you get more than you bargained for? This is exactly the premise of the second book. Sloan, Warren and Nathan head to Texas to find a woman named Rachel Smith. She was on the list of victims of the deadly serial killer caught in book 1. Sloan and Warren were sure that she was indeed a victim until the FBI shows a recent photo of her alive and well. This is where the adventure begins!

In this story we also learn that Sloan and Warren still aren’t sure what they are. Are they simply human beings with extraordinary abilities or are they something more? On their quest to find Rachel Smith, they get the answers they seek and so much more!

Disclaimer: I review and discuss the book more thoroughly beyond this point. Book spoilers may happen! So, if you don’t want to be spoiled, skip down to the rating!

Read the recap of the first book

As you know, I liked the first book enough to finish it but found it to be more fluff than anything. In that book, the focus was more on the romance and love-triangle than the serial killer story. The serial killer storyline was simply a plot device meant to show Sloan’s abilities, except it kind of didn’t.

Regarding the faux-love triangle in the first book: I didn’t like the insta-attraction between Sloan and Warren because it ruined the chances of romance for Sloan and Nathan (he got there first, yo!). Also, I like a slow-burn romance and though it seemed that was happening between Sloan and Nathan, Warren came in and ruined it with the Made-for-Each-Other trope.

Onward to the second book!

The second book in the Soul Summoner series was just as easy to slide into as the first. Elicia Hyder is a good storyteller! Now familiar with the characters, I knew what to expect.

Romance aside, the story was pretty good overall! I found more to love this time!

The Good:

  • Sloan and Warren find out what they are. I sort of saw it coming but the reveal was pretty great nonetheless
  • Sloan finds her birth mom! This was good because the author used this as an opportunity to present a twist. Also, we don’t know yet who her father is (though I have some ideas). I expect that reveal in later books
  • Great battle scene at the end
  • Shannon’s character was  given more to do! Come to find out the girl can shoot!
  • The focus was mainly on the mystery (or mysteries rather). Since the romance is probably my least favorite thing about this series, I was pretty happy about that
  • Emotional moments. There is a big moment in the book where we see Sloan struggle with some recent events and realities.
  • Moments of enlightenment toward the end where the love triangle is concerned. Possible chance for Nathan?

The Bad:

  • There is a reveal at the end that kind of puts a nail in the love triangle coffin.
  • Shannon. She is actually kind of awesome but still only used as a plot device. We get some redemption and resolution for Shannon’s character but it still leaves me wondering why she is even in book 2 of the series. I had hoped that Shannon would officially be part of the gang after the trip to Texas but it seems she is more of an annoyance to them than anything. She can shoot but the author didn’t put that factoid to good use at all.
  • Adrienne is also a plot device. Sloan’s best friend only really shows up for emotional moments when Sloan needs someone. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it reminds us that Sloan has friends outside of her two love interests but Adrienne is seriously under-utilized.
  • Sloan’s connection to her mom (not birth mom). Sloan is pretty busy in both books so in a way it is understandable that maybe the author wouldn’t have time to build that relationship. We get more tell and less show where Sloan and her mom are concerned. Comparatively, we have more connection to Sloan’s dad as the connection is built more organically and we see it in both books. There is a huge emotional moment for Sloan regarding her mom (not birth mom) and at times it felt like maybe I was projecting a bit as to how I would feel if that happened to me. So, I guess I wanted the connection between Sloan and her mom to be more organic before pulling the rug out from underneath the readers.

Overall, The Siren by Elicia Hyder was pretty good! One of the reasons that I love diving into a book series is so that I can connect with the characters and the stories on a deeper level. Picking up the second or third book in a series is like having a warm cup of coffee and a great conversation with an old friend.

Even though I liked book 2 much better than book 1, I have to give a similar rating. Hyder is a good writer and has managed to suck me into both books with her storytelling.  However, there are moments in the story where I wish she went a little deeper. If I need to get used to the fact that Warren is end-game, then I want to see why. Even though I came away from this book with a much clearer picture of Warren as a character, i’m still not sold on him being the last man standing. Also, I want more than surface characterization where Sloan is concerned.

With all that said, what did you think of The Siren?

My Rating for The Siren:

3-star rating

Soul Summoner Series: The Soul Summoner

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The Soul Summoner by Elicia Hyder tells the story of Sloan Jordan. Sloan is someone who has the ability to see other people’s souls and determine whether they are mostly good or mostly bad. She shares this secret with her best friend only. Even her parents don’t know — though Sloan suspects they do.

Sloan soon falls into helping Detective Nathan McNamara on a case of a little girl gone missing. Detective McNamara discovers that there is something special about Sloan. She may be the key to helping him resolve his own dark past as he pursues a serial killer.

Not long after Sloan meets Detective McNamara, she meets a stranger. Someone whose soul she cannot read. Who is this dark stranger and is he good or evil?

Disclaimer: I review and discuss the book more thoroughly beyond this point. Book spoilers may happen! So, if you don’t want to be spoiled, skip down to the rating!

Soul Summoner was a book that I found easy to slide into. The concept of the main character being a soul summoner was a new paranormal topic for me, so the initial premise was intriguing. The set-up of Sloan’s personality as well as the other supporting characters made her relate-able and the story intriguing.

Nathan McNamara’s introduction was seamless. He has chemistry with our heroine, so, I soon began to ship them as a couple. Plus, they were chasing a serial killer. On that alone I figured the story could only get better from here. Right? Right?

Wrong.

The story is good up until the point where “The Stranger” that Sloan cannot read comes into the picture. Let me digress here for a second — “The Stranger” would actually be an awesome element to the story if he was somehow connected to the serial killer or even somehow connected to the mystery that is Nathan McNamara — but he is neither. He actually comes in to the story as a love interest for Sloan.

I like a good love triangle as much as the next person, however, I prefer to have both love stories fleshed out completely before the person in the middle has to choose. For example, Twilight did it right. First, we had Bella introduced to both suitors. Then, one suitor was the front-runner and their love story fleshed out. When he was gone, the other suitor came in and had his story with Bella. As the audience, we kind of knew how that story would play out but it was nice to have some complete “histories” with all three characters in the triangle. So, whether you were team Edward or team Jacob, you had some grounds to go from. You felt connected to all characters.

Okay, getting back on track. So, “The Stranger” comes in as a love interest. Sloan’s interaction with “The Stranger” spells serious game-over with Detective McNamara. Their attraction doesn’t have much time to grow. Also, most of the story is spent on the non-love-triangle and by the end of the book, I found myself highly annoyed with all of the characters (for different reasons). The serial killer sub-plot was very weak, in my opinion. Very few moments of tension.

I also want to mention that Detective McNamara has a girlfriend who comes off as kinda vapid. At first, the author set her up to be a plot device to keep Sloan and Nathan apart. I mean, the idea that one of the love interests has a significant other is not new (Dex and Perry anyone?). This can actually be a good thing because it adds to the tension of the story. However, she quickly became the butt of jokes as she was written very 1-note and only trotted out or mentioned out of convenience,   it seemed. It’s like the author said, “Oh right! He’s got a girlfriend. Must say her name here.”

For me, there was a lot to love about this story but more to be very lukewarm about. I wanted to love this and I did, initially. Actually, the first couple of chapters had me hooked, so I went and bought the entire Soul Summoner series.

I’ve decided to give the entire series a shot and see if I change my mind, so stay tuned!

My Rating for The Soul Summoner:

3-star rating