Book Review: The Soulkeepers, by G.P Ching

The Soulkeepers
G.P. Ching

Initial Thoughts: LOVED this book!

My Rating: 4.5 Stars!

Summary (from Goodreads):
When fifteen-year-old Jacob Lau is pulled from the crumpled remains of his mother's car, no one can explain why he was driving or why the police can't find his mother's body. A beautiful and mysterious neighbor offers to use her unique abilities to help him find his mom.

But in exchange she requires Jacob to train as a Soulkeeper, a protector of human souls. He agrees to her demands, desperate for any clue to the mystery of his mother's disappearance. But soon Jacob finds himself trapped in a web of half-truths, and questions her motives for helping him.

My Thoughts:

This book starts off with intense action, and just keeps on going. It sucks you in, grabs you and just doesn't let go. 

The characters are awesome. They are real-to-life, from Jacob to his family to his friends to the minor characters. They're well thought-out, easily believable, and convincing.

I like the subtilties of the characters as well. Some of them, you simply don't know if they're going to be bad or good, but it's so subtle you start to question motives. As you read, it's apparent they could swing either way. I like books where there's a gray area between good and evil; bad people don't necessarily always do bad things, ya know? Some of them you're not sure what's  motivating them...you know there's something behind the scenes, and you just have to keep reading to discover some of the lurking secrets.

There's a take on fallen angels that was refreshing; I haven't read an urban fantasy that quite depicted them this way.

The plot moves fairly well. It cruises along nicely, though the end felt a little rushed. Sort of like being at a great party and the host suddenly shoves you out the door, saying "Party's over!" Some resolutions could have been lingered over, given us a little more detail and substance. While I accept the ending as far as the main characters, I didn't believe the reactions of the families involved who didn't know what was going on. 

One other thing that bothered me just a little bit, was the preachy feel toward the end. It felt intrusive. Though I understand the motivation behind it, it didn't fit in with the natural flow of the story.

Despite that, I have to say one of my favorite indie reads of the year!