Atmospheric, mystical, swashbuckling.
Filled with lore inspired by Celtic myths, Soulgazer is a stunning read. I've been in a significant reading slump over the last few years, and this was the first book in a long while that had me glued to the page. Our heroine, the awkward and slight Saoirse, has spent the better part of her life in exile. The only daughter of a cruel and greedy king, she was sent away to live alone after a terrible tragedy that took the life of her eldest brother. A tragedy that everyone believes was caused by Saoirse herself, and the strange magic humming through her veins. She can sense spirits, receive feeling of foreboding from events yet to come, dream of the dead gods....Shackled with various charms and mushroom-based inks that muffle her powers, she's an outsider among her own people. In her isolation, she dreamed of freedom. And the Wolf.
While at a summit where rulers from each of the six clans gather for the summer solstice, she gets a glimpse of the Wolf of the Wild, the legendary pirate whose exploits have been turned legend. He's in the thick of the celebration, letting everyone know his next quest is to find the Isle of Lost Souls - a mysterious place where the dead ought rest. And to find it, he'll need the girl with ocean eyes to lead him that way. But right as her idol recognizes Saoirse as the ocean-eyed girl he's been searching for, her father announces that she will be married off to the cold Stone King, who rules a rival territory. Saoirse panics, but that fear grows tenfold when her father seeks to further extinguish her cursed magic ahead of her wedding.
After striking a bargain with the Wolf, Saoirse sees herself suddenly married to the hero of her dreams, brought aboard his ship and thrust into a quest to find the lost Isle. His crew is wary, mistrustful of her, and the Wolf pushes his new wife to explore her long-denied powers to help them navigate. It's not going to be as easy as drawing up a map, especially not with Saoirse's father in pursuit, her former betrothed clashing with them on the open seas, and the Wolf's cousin, Queen of the Ashen Flame, keeping a tight leash on them with her fraught bargains.
Fantasy + Romance used to be a combination that was catnip for me, but lately with the market being flooded with ACOTAR knock-offs, I've struggled to find books to my taste. Soulgazer puts the action and adventure first, which I believe makes this a stronger book over all.
Saoirse is growing as a person and within her magic, but she's not given "chosen one" powers. She's still frail, still making mistakes. Her family's trauma, the abuse suffered at the hands of her father, all feels very carefully portrayed. The dynamics that bring about Saoirse's "curse," her father's difficult relationship with his mother, the surviving brother's conflicted loyalties, are all so well drawn.
The Wolf is a very appealing hero - he's a bit Howl-ish in being slightly vain, witty, and too charming for his own good. There were so many bits of dialog between him and our heroine that left me grinning. We find that he's bit of a martyr in his own right, and rails against the trickster-bargains his powerful cousin has cornered him into. But despite his well-earned moniker, Faolan is very gentle with Saoirse while still encouraging her to empower herself. And damnit, while there are plenty of moments throughout the narrative where he's boneheaded about keeping his regard for his new wife too close to his chest (like, so close she can't tell if he likes her let alone loves her), the moments when his emotions burst forth are just swoon-y as hell. He is fighting for his independence, and driven by the promise that uncovering the isle will lead to his debt being paid off to his cousin. Fierce and funny, with a dark edge, I found Faolan, the Wolf, such a great contrast to our heroine.
It might be tempting to call this book YA, but with some very well-written moments of intimacy, it definitely leans more Adult/New Adult. Saoirse is very drawn to her new husband, while he is understandably very cautious about pursuing anything physical. When we do get to the sex, it is very well-portrayed -- awkward and lovely and head-spinning.
I really appreciated Rapier's approach at world building. We're not spoon-fed anything. There's a lot that isn't given explanation, questions we never see answered. Readers are trusted to fill in blanks. She's set up so much atmosphere and color that it was easy to picture the Celtic-inspired setting. These people have no gods, as they were slaughtered generations ago, but they've got plenty of magic. There's political tension between all six clans, and while we never get a full view of the various alliances and enemies, Saoirse narrates enough so that we can grasp the different territories and the individual economies. The magic systems are pretty vague - people can be cursed, there are magical fish whose gills will let you breath underwater if you turn them into necklaces, ghosts make the occasional appearance. Saoirse's specific brand of magic is described in somewhat vague terms, though readers will get the major beats of what it entails. Overall it felt like a good balance of information, not so much as to make the book feel heavy, enough to give a reader a solid grasp on what is going on. No one wants Moby Dick describing whaling levels of lore in a New Adult novel.
The Isle of Lost Souls shifts in what it represents throughout the text, first as a piece of folklore, then as the key to freedom, with its final form bringing the story to its crescendo. My one disappointment was that for a book centered on an island that is supposed to house the souls of the dead, there aren't nearly as many ghosts or discussion of death as I'd imagine. Throughout the text there are pursuits of guidance from the dead, and the occasionally mention of feeling spirits nearby, or even seeing them. A key element is the "soulstone" every person carries that is relinquished when they die. They seem to house the soul of the once living and are dangerous to touch. We learn early on that touching one might've been what cursed Saoirse. But there's not much discussion of what it means to live alongside the dead.
With elements of found family, a heroine who navigates a history of abuse and alienation, a hidden history of long-dead gods, and an epic quest, this might appeal to readers who loved Howl's Moving Castle, Queen of the Tearling, or the works of Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley. For all of the kids who were constantly buried in Eragon, Graceling, Inkheart, or Ella Enchanted, I think you'll find something to love in Soulgazer
Many thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!