Soul Seekers by Jake C. Wallace

Nineteen-year-old
college student Levi Reed has spent his life with hollow emotions and a
darkness so deep that he’s convinced he’s losing his mind. He’d give
anything to feel something, anything, real.

When a mysterious
stranger appears, Levi is convinced the man is trying to kill him. When
he’s near, Levi experiences head-crushing pain and something
surprising—real emotions for the first time. Jeb Monroe is arrogant,
self-assured, closed-off, and handsome, but he isn’t the harbinger of
doom Levi assumed. Jeb’s mission: help Levi find his missing soul.

Levi
is pulled into the secret world of Seers and Keepers, those born with
the innate ability to manipulate souls and tasked with balancing the
negative energy they can produce. Levi learns he possesses a rare gift,
and he’s in danger. As Jeb and Levi grow closer, they discover a group
of zealots who want to harness Levi’s power to cleanse the world of
damaged souls. Everyone Levi cares for is threatened unless he agrees to
become their tool of death. But agreeing could spell the destruction of
humankind. With no one to trust and nothing as it appears, it’s up to
Levi to save them all.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

This is a really clever read, and I
enjoyed it. It provides an interesting viewpoint from someone who is in
the middle of a very complex situation and can’t see all of the moving
parts – all they can do is keep their head down and push through it. The
conceit of souls and Keepers and Seers is an intriguing one, and I
would read more of this series if there are any sequels.

So why
only 3.75 then? Two big things: the first and most glaring thing is that
the theory of manipulation of souls and the consequences thereof is WAY
to tangled and confusingly explained. I could never get a clear picture
of what the energy issue was between Levi and Jeb. I _think _I got a clearer picture at the end, but the avalanche of explanations tended to really muddle things by that point.

The other issue is that while I love Levi and Jeb together (HOTNESS!),
Jeb was a bit of a cipher for a huge portion of the story, which left
his motivations and “insta-love” for Levi puzzling. In the end I get
what the author is going for, but in the middle of the story is was just
awkward and confusing.

These quibbles aside, I did enjoy the book, and I will happily seek out other of Wallace’s books.

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