Review: Night of the Soul Stealer

Night of the Soul Stealer by Joseph Delaney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I'm not sure what I didn't really like about these books before now. Maybe I just needed to admit to myself that YA books are OK to read for adults. At any rate, this book really was a great read. It was definitely my favorite of the series thus far.

Here we meet up with Tom Ward, Alice, and Mr. Gregory at the change of the seasons. This means the trek up to his house in Anglezarke, where lots of Mr. Gregory's secrets are hiding. Tom discovers Mr. Gregory's failed apprentice, Morgan, who dabbles in black magic. He also comes face to face with Mr. Gregory's "girlfriend", Meg, the domestic Lamia witch. There is definitely a turning point in this book for Tom where he goes from being an apprentice to really pulling the majority of the weight as a Spook for the county.

I found myself on the edge of my seat a few times when Tom is in one perilous situation or seemingly trapped with no way out. The writing really gripped me this time and I had a hard time stopping the book. The character growth and development was really dramatic in this installment, and maybe that's why it appealed to me. I love watching Tom become more of an adult, even if it comes at a high price to his emotional well being.

While we got tons of answers about Mr. Gregory's past, I'm still eager to learn more about him. He and Alice are wonderful "frenemies" and I can't wait to see how Alice grows up. With the way this book left things, it's really hard not to immediately dive into the next book.



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