Soulless By Kacie Taylor

Soulless by Kacie Taylor was a pleasant surprise.

The cover did not immediately grab my attention, and I am not sure it fully does the story justice. But I was in the mood for a romantasy, and the length appealed - many books in the genre run well over 160,000 words, and there is something to be said for a story that knows when it is done. Once I started reading, I found myself properly engaged.

What stood out most was the pacing. The story moves quickly from event to event without feeling dragged out, which made it easy to keep turning the pages - no small achievement in a genre that can sometimes mistake length for depth.

Cress is a Soulless: a man whose soul has been taken from him against his will, leaving him with no memory of his past life and a hunger for the souls of others not unlike a vampire's hunger for blood. Unlike other Soulless, he fights that urge, and because of it has not entirely lost his humanity. He lives alone in the woods, avoiding contact with the wider world as much out of fear of himself as fear of discovery. That changes when he finds an injured, unconscious woman named Syndel and is pulled back into contact with the life he has been hiding from.

Syndel is a Sikari, possibly the last of her kind. Her aura is golden, bright, and deeply tempting to Cress - and also a target. Her people were hunted and killed, their magical abilities stolen by the Noble-lords, who now use that magic to enslave Soulless. This places both of them in immediate danger, and the story becomes a journey through towns, escapes, fights, hidden magic, and a growing bond that earns its romantasy label without rushing it.

Cress reminded me of the creature in Frankenstein: feared by others, afraid of himself, and longing for companionship with a longing that has no clean outlet. He is not physically monstrous - a Soulless still appears human, apart from their crimson-rimmed eyes - but there is a similar tragedy to him. The author resists the temptation to make him a perfect knight. He is damaged, lonely, and fighting his own nature, which makes the moments where he chooses hope or love feel genuinely earned.

Syndel, who might appear at first to be a damsel in distress, does not stay that way. She is strong-willed from the outset, and grows more physically capable and confident as the story unfolds. The balance between the two leads is well handled: his strength begins to show in her, while her warmth begins to show in him.

The standout supporting character is Garreg, the stone man, who is far more than he first appears and whose presence helps widen the world beyond the central romance. Through him the larger conflict comes into focus: the need to defeat Bronek, the first Soulless, and Mulago, the sorcerer behind his creation.

Strong pacing, well-developed themes, memorable characters, and a romantic tension that holds right to the end. A solid five stars.