Soul Mates

Soul Mates by Kerry Mirza, 2011. 252 pages. Published by Tate Publishing. Source: Author for review.

How sure are you? What if everything you ever believed in was put to the ultimate test? Nicholas Bishop, passing from the physical earth a century prior, never thought death would be so complicated. Now he has an active role in the Presence, a Tracer trapped in the Plexus, where he is charged with dispatching evil souls to hell without actually falling to the dark side himself. The two groups in the Plexus, Tracers and Hailites, are in charge of balancing the power of good. However, the peace between them is waning. Will that end in disaster? To make matters worse, a new partner is introduced to the Plexus. Bonnie, a Hailite, may be all that Nicholas needs to survive his past and future. Will his interest in Bonnie cause the Presence to fall to the demons? Or will Bonnie be exactly what Nicholas needsa Soul Mate? In this fast-paced, thought-proving book, you'll follow along as the unseen battle rages on...

First Sentence:

It is upon my final hour that I leave this missive behind, in the hopes that it will save another as I was not saved. 

I probably could have read Soul Mates in one day, but I had started it when when I was having a bad week of allergies and couldn't read. So even though it ended up taking me a week to get through the whole book I found that the pacing for Soul Mates was pretty decent. It was just fast enough to keep one turning the pages yet it didn't leave one feeling like you had to rush through the whole thing to see how things were going to unfold.

I pretty much knew from the time that i finished the prologue for Soul Mates that I was going to enjoy this book. Why, because the prologue pretty much lays the ground work for what the books about and sets the tone for what is yet to come. I felt that Ms. Mirza did an excellent job of setting things up in it and it definitely made me want to see what would happen next.

One of the things I liked the most about Soul Mates was the mystery surrounding Nicholas and his odd abilities, and how he was struggling throughout the book to remain on the side of light and not slip into the dark. I thought it was interesting because he very nearly lost the fight a few times and was only saved by his growing affections for Bonnie. While that may seem a bit corny, I though that Ms. Mirza handled it very nicely and kept it from being a mush-fest (I just couldn't think of a better way to sum it up).
  The other point that kept me reading Soul Mates was the vengeful spirit that had taken residency in the Larks house, I liked this part because it was kind of creepy and very well done. Plus it gave you a better glimpse into how each of the characters operated and handled stressful moments.

Nicholas, at times I enjoyed his character while at others he irritated me to no end. What I did like about him was how much he changed from the beginning of the book to the end, he was practically a different guy by time the book was over. He went from basically being all doom and gloom with a seriously bleak out look on the afterlife, to actually caring about making the best of his situation and putting someone else above himself.
    Bonnie, now she left me feeling none too fond of her. I think what kept me from liking her as a character was that one minute she would be all chipper and sweet as can be, then the next she'd take something the wrong way and would become a bit of an ice princess. I think had she not been so all over the place I would have liked her a little more.

What I liked best about Soul Mates was how the Presence, Tracers and Hailites, would have to work together in order to exorcise dark spirits from the world of the living. The reason I site this as my favorite part of the book is because it was interesting to see how two very different groups were forced to try and put aside there differences in order to  get the job done, plus the clashing of egos/ideals made for some entertaining reading.      My only real complaint about Soul Mates would have to be that there wasn't much detail on the Plexus, where those of the Presence spend there time. I would have liked to have seen more detail and explanations on the how and why of the Plexus, especially since was one of most interesting places mentioned in the book.
Final Verdict: Soul Mates a fascinating read! =)

Soul Mates earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.