Tainted (The Soul Chronicles Book 1)

STEAMPUNK:  Kat Bloodmayne has lived her life with her father’s indifference, always feeling inferior to his love and devotion to his scientific endeavors. When she enters the Tower Academy of Sciences as a student, she hopes this will change and she will finally earn his regard, and find out the cause of her secret, powerful abilities she views as an unnatural curse that is slowly destroying her soul.  When she graduates and her power manifests in a devastating way, she becomes a fugitive, turning to Bounty Hunter Stephen Grey. Stephen was once a police officer engaged to the woman of his dreams, until she betrayed him and destroyed his trust in women and God. Can Stephen regain his faith and ability to see the good in people, and save Kat from the forces hunting her?

“Tainted” is a steampunk fantasy novel that includes complex world-building, three-dimensional characters, and a strong, thoughtful, emotional undercurrent.  The world-building brings to mind both Victorian science fiction and a bit of the gun-slinging Old West. The emotional plight of Kat and Stephen will strike the readers’ hearts. Both leads are broken people. Kat believes she’s a monster, never having known unconditional love. Stephen lost the ability to trust God or men, causing him emotional anguish.  The inherent angst of this novel can’t help but draw in a reader.  The cliffhanger ending may frustrate some readers, but it will also compel others to keep reading this series, as “Tainted” is a successful start to an ongoing series.

Danielle Hill