Shattered Souls

Witch Avenue #4

by Karice Bolton

The final installment of the Witch Avenue Series. A battle is brewing among the covens… As Triss prepares to defeat the Praedivinus, a new order rises, and this one is far more deadly. Navigating her way through mystic realms, and unknown portals it is up to Triss to recognize real from imagined and stop the two from colliding.

Genres: Witches, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Supernatural

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Karice is the author of over sixty books that span several genres. She loves nothing more than spending time with her family and sneaking away to write in between with a latte in hand.

She received an MFA in Creative Writing from the U of W.

Sign up for Karice's newsletter and new release info at http://www.karicebolton.com/


Titles include:

Cloudberry Inn Series
Imagining You
Remembering You
Leaving You
Loving You

Sunshine Breakfast Club
Dash of Love
Pinch of Love

Beyond Love Series
Beyond Control (Book 1)
Beyond Doubt (Book 2)
Beyond Reason (Book 3)
Beyond Intent (Book 4)
Beyond Chance (Book 5)
Beyond Promise (Book 6)
Beyond the Mistletoe (Book 7)

Island County Series
Finding Love in Forgotten Cove (Book 1)
Love Redone in Hidden Harbor (Book 2)
Tangled Love on Pelican Point (Book 3)
Forever Love on Fireweed Island (Book 4)
Tempting Love on Holly Lane (Book 5)
Chance at Love at Mystic Bay (Book 6)
Irresistible Love at Silver Falls (Book 7)
Lucky in Love on Hound Island(Book 8)
Mistletoe Mischief (Book 9)

Silver Ridge Series
Happy Truth About Love
A Little Secret About Love
A Funny Thing About Love
A Surprising Thing About Love
Christmas at Silver Ridge

V Mafia Series
Blake
Devin
Jaxson

Luke Fletcher Series
Hidden Sins (Book 1)
Buried Sins (Book 2)
Redemption (Book 3)
Mia (Book 4)

Afterworld Serie
RecruitZ
AlibiZ
UprisingZ

The Camp

The Watchers Trilogy
Taken Novella (A Watchers prequel)
Awakening (Book 1)
Legions (Book 2)
Cataclysm(Book 3)

The Witch Avenue Series
Lonely Souls (Book 1)
Altered Souls (Book 2)
Released Souls (Book 3)
Shattered Souls (Book 4)


The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening was a Barnes & Noble January 2012 Staff Pick: Nook Books Under $5

Reviews

[Cat's Review · Rating 1 out of 5]

************* THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!! *************


I have so much to say that I don't know where to begin. This book was awful. It contained everything AND the kitchen sink. All I have learned from this series is that: Triss is wonderful. Logan is wonderful. Nothing is every really hard for them. Nothing is ever too challenging. They are able to thwart every bad person, spell or event that comes their way with little to no exertion.

No one in their lives ever gets seriously hurt and no one really close to them dies. Everyone somehow makes it out okay.

Triss does whatever she wants, whenever she wants and doesn’t give a fig about the consequences. As long as she can do what she pleases, she is happy. Take that or Logan away and she becomes miserable. Triss is stubborn, she relies on others to deal with whatever mess her stubbornness creates, plus all of her problems are easily solved and things get handed to her on a silver platter. If I wanted to read about a character like that, I would reread the Twilight series. They even have similar destinies: Triss has the potential to die soon, while Logan lives on, but yet she may have the chance to have immortality (like when Bella was turned into a vampire so that she would not be without Edward).

I just see a self-centered, stubborn, whiney teenager with a one-track mind who only has the feeling of a first love coursing through her that directs her actions. Everything that she does guides her to Logan. That seems to be her main concern throughout the series. Logan, Logan, Logan. We hear a little about mom but most of the time, if feels forced, like she should be worried about her mother but in reality, it’s all about Logan.

The author has consistently failed to use dialogue tags throughout the series, making it difficult to know who is talking. At times, the author also fails to use quotation marks correctly, causing the reader to think that someone else is taking, when it’s still the same person.

Although this series was written in the first person, it probably would have been better to be written in the third person. The author wants us to know everything that is happening in the book but there is no way to do that unless Triss experiences it or someone tells her. Many times Triss knows what her appearance looks like without the use of a mirror. How does she know that she has mascara dripping down her cheeks? How does she know that her face is flushed? How does she know that her hair is a mess?

Again with all the whispering! Really, no one is listening to Triss or Logan talk to each other! I especially love when they’re speaking in a regular voice and then the other person whispers an answer. Then, the first person continues speaking in a regular voice. The second person either responds with a whisper or in a regular voice. WHY??? There is no need for this! There were three instances just two pages apart (Loc. 460 had two and Loc. 461 had one). My Kindle search showed 139 results for any version of whisper. Good gravy! That was more than book 3. Many of the “whispering” tags came very close together, making them stand out more. If this was properly edited, most of the whispering could have been removed because they were used inappropriately for the scene and kept taking me out of the story to ponder their use.

A word that the author constantly uses that really annoyed me is the word: trundled. First of all, whenever I see it, I immediately think of a trundle bed. Second, the most common definition for the word is: to means to roll along, wheel, to move or run on wheel/wheels, to travel in a wheeled vehicle, to rotate or spin, to move or walk with a rolling gait. I found only one instance of a definition that states: an act of moving slowly or heavily - though this definition is not the one that is usually given when I looked up the word). Now, every time the author uses the word “trundled”, does that mean that the people are rolling along? Are they moving slowly or heavily? The sentences where the word is used indicates none of those definitions.
Ex: I grabbed some of the bags of food and trundled down one of the hallways until I found the kitchen. (Is she spinning or wheeling herself down the hallway? Is she moving slowly or heavily? There is no reason for either.

Now, to actually speak of Shattered Souls, here we go:

Some examples of what went wrong with this book:

1. The author has also written many convenient scenes or has had things happen way too conveniently.

a. Triss wakes up in the rental house and everyone is gone from their rooms. She goes downstairs and hears Trevor whispering (how does she know it’s Trevor? She’s not in the same room and still too far away). He says, right at the moment Triss can hear him, “He’s not there.” Now, wouldn’t Trevor have actually said that well before Triss found them all downstairs?

b. Logan was fighting an evil sorcerer sent by Ethan. Suddenly, Logan has incredible reflexes and amazing strength that he is able to stop him. We are told that Logan has accessed power from the underworld. How very convenient. Couldn't the author have Logan try to fight on his own without relying on powers from other people?

c. Of course Logan’s mother kept the old house in town and of course it was being rented out. It would make total sense for the renters to move out right when Logan needs it to move out of Triss’s house so that they can bunk together. Now they conveniently have a place to live without the hassle of house or apartment hunting. Way to go! Another convenience handed to you on a silver platter.

2. Triss, Logan and Trevor remind me of the Mob. Here’s how the characters seem to me: Triss is the mob boss (the one calling all the shots but she has no clue what she is doing and doesn’t care), Logan is the bodyguard (somehow, he is always able to take down the man/men or woman/women who are threatening Triss by killing them, knocking them unconscious or threatening them with violence) and Trevor is the cleanup crew (who always responds to Triss’s texts, no matter where he is, and can be at Triss’s side or come deal with whatever mess she made in record time).

All of their spells can overpower the spells of the bad guys – EVERYTIME! Not bad for a bunch of teenagers. They could give the real mob a run for their money. (one example at approximately loc. 1590).

3. At the end of the book, why are Triss’s eyes silver? The author clearly wrote in previous scenes that when Logan’s eyes turned silver, he was accessing or accessed the dark magic. His eyes are now silver as well. Does this mean that both Triss and Logan are filled with dark magic? One can only assume because the author did not tell us otherwise. Why would she turn their eyes silver? Are there no other colors available than the same one used to indicate the person was involved with dark magic? This is lazy writing.

4. There were grammar and editing mistakes throughout the novel that really stood out.

a. The missing dialogue tags and incorrect use of quotation marks.
b. The incorrect use of the word stoop (location 3045).
c. Having all the people run downstairs in the New York rental home when supposedly there is one or possibly only two people up there (location 2013)
d. At Loc. 1739, Ethan grabbed the ivory box from the cabinet behind him and there is no mention of him putting it down. Then, at location 1755, he grabbed an ivory box from the cabinet. Is this the same ivory box? Are there two ivory boxes?
e. At the end of chapter 18 when Logan asks her if she managed to plant the listening device in Ethan’s office and she said that she did, "she stuck it under his desk when she stood up right before he hit her with that crystal". In reviewing that scene, I did not read anywhere that Triss stood up. Logan, however, shot up from his chair at location 1739. Is the author confusing her characters?
f. At Loc. 2141, “Trevor, holding the cups, followed Angela into the dining room. She set a tray down with cups, hot water, cookies and two tea containers.” I thought Trevor was holding the cups. If the author made a special point to tell the readers that Trevor was holding the cups, why would Angela be carrying cups on a tray?
g. How does one laugh and glare at the same time? Loc. 2013: “It wasn’t like that. I can assure you,” Logan said, laughing, glaring at Trevor?” They are two totally different facial expressions that are not even close to each other. Is anyone able to do this? Could you show me how?

5. Examples of unbelievable moments:
a. The whole vision about the fire at the mother’s house (now why would THAT vision be true and happening right now when she just told Angela about six pages prior that not all of her visions are true and that she doesn't know when they occur?).
b. Triss’s ability to hear what Logan is saying (as he is inside of the house) as she is already out of the front door and getting to her car.
c. The way Logan was able to get into the moving car as it backed out of the driveway (while Triss was reversing the car to get to the fire).
d. How is Logan able to break down the front door of Triss’s old house? Is he really THAT strong?
d. Logan ignoring the firemen, racing into the burning house and rescuing his mother within seconds – all before the firemen had the chance to get inside the house. Is he that special and trained in firefighting? Why he couldn’t he wait for the men to do their job?
e. How was Logan able to get out of the front door at the same time the firemen were racing through it? Wouldn’t they have collided?

6. Triss feels extremely comfortable shifting or misplacing memories of a kind person (Salinah) who was just helping Triss with the ingredients she needed for the clarity spell. Triss is turning into a total menace who should be banned from using magic.

Is it up to her and Logan to play God? To decide what is enough or too much for people to hear or see? Who are they to decide what people can know? Who are they to take memories away from people? This happens many times in the book and even occurs behind the scenes (with the construction workers). They are not the Men in Black.

7. I really do not understand why Angela and Triss switched bodies. There was no good reason for it and Ethan figured out the switch almost immediately. Then, how were the girls able to access the antidote right away to switch back to their own bodies?

8. Triss’s character changes throughout the series but the author still insists that Triss remains the same and that doing bad things is not her style. However, the author has Triss killing people and feeling no remorse about the murders because, hey, it had to be done. The thing about sending Jenny to deliver the message was very cold. Triss translated Trevor’s “code” by saying that Jenny would not really be missed if something bad had happened to her. And barely a pang of guilt went through Triss. Jenny is supposed to be one of Triss’s best friends!

9. How many powers is this girl going to have? The author keeps throwing more and more on her and it’s getting to be ridiculous. It really looks like the author is trying to win a bet by seeing how many abilities she can give Triss in this series.

10. The ending did not bring tears to my eyes. Nothing horrible happened in the “big battle scene” and no one on the good side died. The author did not explain who the mysterious female was and did not explain what happened to Ethan (it was very convenient how he caved and called off the demons from the underworld). The final scene was already foreshadowed and was rushed. I have no idea why it had to be snowing. The final sentence of the book was abrupt and did not leave the story/series with a satisfying ending. Perhaps an epilogue would have fixed the suddenness of the ending.

I had such high hopes for this series because of all the four- and five-star reviews. I imagine people were just focusing on the “love” between the couple however I only picked up on lust, possessiveness, clinging tendencies and the idea that they wanted to be in love.

The author even made Veronica, Ellsy and Vieta into a group of puppets that did barely more than wringing their hands together, looking on nervously, exchanging glances, giving some advice and hanging out in the background. Since I didn’t get the feeling that Triss cared very much for any of the women, I didn’t care too much for them either.

Triss and Logan were not very likable characters and I tried to find positive things about them. It’s hard to like characters that do whatever they want, when they want without care and regard to other people. I especially do not like it when the characters claim that they are good, that they don’t have or use the evil inside of them and then they DO use evil or kill people. The claim of self-defense doesn’t always work. And to be good, you should feel guilty or have remorse for the people that you injure or kill. Turning a blind eye does not negate the horror they just did.

Now, I’m not saying that they shouldn’t have killed. I am saying that it’s not right for Triss to believe she doesn’t have evil inside of her when she does kill people and enjoys it. It’s not right for Triss to have a “pure heart” and for people to believe that she is filled with all of this goodness. She is just like everyone else (but with the ridiculous amount of powers the author keeps giving her).

I give this book one star.
I give the series 1.125 stars.

[☆☆Hannah☆☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good ending to the series. Triss is now getting ready for the big fight. Although, sadly it really doesn't amount to much. The good news is that she overcame the prophecy or whatever that was. So her and Logan were able to have their happy ending after all.

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*
I enjoyed the series as a whole, but this was probably the slowest of them all for me. Not a lot of action. The ending I felt was very abrupt. I was even questioning whether that was the end, like is there another book? What about the dream Triss shared with Logan? Was it a dream or a vision? or just something Ethan planted there? I mean they assumed, but didn't answer that. The ring was an awesome idea. I would suggest this series to anyone looking for some easy witchy reads.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this last book in the Witch Avenue series. There was a lot of action and mayhem, which keeps the reader intrigued enough to keep turning the pages. The trials and tribulations continue for Triss and Logan, keeping them on their toes and wondering if they'll make it to the end. it seems around every corner there is another problem for them or their friends and family.

I believe the author has done an excellent keeping me in suspense of what will happen next. The words being woven into a flowing prose, built a world I could imagine in my mind. The decriptions of what was going on, the places visited and the emotions being felt, made me feel like I was part of the story.

This was a great ending to this series, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Only your imagination can grasp what happens after the final word, and everyone's imagination will come up with something different. I even enjoyed the deleted scenes, the last being my favorite. I highly recommend this YA witch series.

[Judith Braley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series us great!!! I couldn't put it down until I finished the last book.

I loved everything about this series!!! Especially the emotional rollercoaster and suspense. It left me wondering what was going to happen next and could anyone really be trusted. The love story is truly transcendent beyond time and space. I absolutely loved the authors writing style!

[Branwen White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shattered Souls is the brilliant ending to the Witch Avenue series. Full of twists and turns Triss faces one last battle to rid the world of the evil that is trying to take over.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all four books and am glad I read them back to back.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the Witch Avenue Series. The conclusion--that was a tiny bit lacking. I enjoyed the whole series which is surprising because it is big into romance.

Triss is the ultimate witch. Sounds cool except witches like that die when they are 20 years old. So how do you save the world when you know you are destined to die in a year or two. If you take immortality, how do you watch everyone you love die. How can she leave her soulmate, Logan. That is enough to imobolize any one with fear. Worse is who do you trust? Triss needs to stop all the evil witches from destroying the natural world and keep all those she loves from harm's way. She is powerful enough to accomplish this but using dark magic can be a dangerous thing. All Triss really wants is the chance to grow old and share her life with Logan.

This book is suppose to be the conclusion to all the drama that Triss has been involved in since her mother first disappeared. I spent a lot of time during this book wondering if one of her core group of family and friends was going to betray her. Introducing a new bad guy was a little off-putting. I get that there has to be a bad guy and throughout the series, Triss has dealt with many. Just felt like this bad guy was made up at last minute to help reach the conclusion. The author made him fit nicely into the story but it still did not feel exactly right to me. The story concludes like I expected it to end but it seemed rushed and a little forced. Out of all four booms it was my least favorite. I do not think that you could read this book without reading the others and still enjoy it. I really enjoyed this series overall and if you like witches, romance, adventure and good vs evil this series fills those requirements.

[EndlessReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve just finished the last and final book of the AWESOME “The Witch Avenue” series by the lovely Karice Bolton.

And HOLY FRICKING AMAZEBALLS!

I absolutely loved this book. As you’re all aware this is the final chapter to the Witch Avenue Series.

Throughout the whole series you see the characters develop tremendously.

They grow as an individual, family and a coven.

We know that Triss & Logan are preparing for a war.

Good Vs Evil

Right Vs Wrong

This book has some twists and turns, Laughter, Sadness, and last but not least the tears. Whether there happy tears or sad tears, I’ll let you read the books yourself and decide

I absolutely love Logan. He is your ideal typical guy that a girl would definitely swoon over. He is courageous, dark, mysterious and without a shadow of a doubt, undeniably in love with Triss .

This book shows the emotional turmoil both Triss & Logan are thrust into and they are dealing with the destiny that has already been set in stone for the loving Triss.

Unfortunately they don’t get a say in the matter as this dates back to year of the Gods, themselves!

I would definitely recommend this series to any person who enjoys reading YA, Paranormal, Fantasy Books.

This series is the second full series I have read by the Phenomenal Karice Bolton, she certainly knows how to keep you on your toes and knows what information to give away in which book.

Can’t wait for more content to be written by Karice

[Knitsipread · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are elements of this book that I like, but overall the book was too much, and I had to push myself to finish it.

One thing that has bothered me throughout the books is how much Triss depends on Logan. It seems to move from I am having a hard time and need someone to lean on, to I cannot breathe without you forever. I feel like if he leaves the room, she goes through withdrawal.

Triss also seems to have all of the superpowers, which ends up being too much. It went from her having these amazing powers, that she was not sure wanted, but were still kind of cool, to her having a giant heap of powers and titles, that kind of made it too much of stretch. Instead of becoming fascinated with the powers and titles, it was more of, "oh joy, she got another thing thrown at her!"

This brings me to my next issue, because she had some many things, I do not feel as though I got to really enjoy anyone power that she had because Monday she could throw a fireball, Tuesday she could make it rain, and Wednesday she made statues.


I do like the fairies; they were quite amusing.

[Jamie Sadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Finally to a great series. Triss and Logan gain more allies and find more enemies in this conclusion to the series. The steamy scenes with Triss and Logan do not disappoint and Bolton writes them with class and depth. The love they have for each other is easy to see in her writing. Triss once again struggles with her choice of immortality and having to leave everyone she loves behind. But Logan has a secret that may help her decide. This story had a bit of a twist and some added mythology i wasn't expecting but it added wonderfully to the story.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I loved the other 3 books in this series, I had a hard time staying focused and went back and forth on that "I NEED to get back to that book" feeling. Yes, I did like it. Yes, I am sad to see it end. But I felt like at times there were places that just kind of dragged a long. Nevertheless, this is an excellent series to get involved in, and has been my favorite thing written by this author. Oh, and I don't want to forget...Yes, there were a couple of tears at the end....

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was actually a bit disappointed with this one. It seemed almost hurried at the end, as if the author was tired of writing or couldn't really figure out the best way to end it. There were some things introduced in the book that weren't even addressed, such as the list they found that indicated others that would be needed to help them.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel was just as good as I expected it to be. The reader will definitely look forward to finding out just what happens to the main players in the story. It would be interesting to see this in a TV series adaption, but I guess that is wishful thinking.

Once again Karice has told a wonderful exciting tale. I look forward to completing the full set.

Well done!

[Taryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't one of my favorite series to read. I am glad I finished it though, it got a lot better by the 3rd and 4th books and I did end up enjoying the story. I was glad she ended it on a happy note with a fairytale ending. There were definitely times I questioned loyalty among those who had never deviated from Triss, so the author did their job there.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this series in general but there was something anticlimactic about the end. I think it was the little we get to learn about the "vessel" or "guardian idea" or more glimpses of Triss and Logan after. I still loved reading this series.

[Nikkita · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic end to a great series

Karice's fourth and final installment of the Witch Avenue series is breathtaking. She amps up the excitement and events until they explode across the page in a final climax. A successful end to a successful series.

[Annette K Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this series.

Magic, demons, mystery, and love. Fun reading about witches, and a young couple in love. This couple needed to stop two rival forces in order to achieve harmony.

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great series!!

[Deborah Hawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good, went a little wandering at times. I like the ending because it leaves room for another book.

[Christy VanDerwerken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good ending to the series but all the action seems to be rushed and a little too easy. I enjoyed it though.

[Marie -The Reading Otter · Rating 5 out of 5]

For full review:
http://pagestoexplore.blogspot.com/20...

[Kelly Russin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the whole series

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad to see this series end but it was a great book.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series sad to see that it was done... Great books to read

[Ericka · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh my goodness, I so loved Logan and Triss. I just loved the ending :)

[Alisha Rucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Fantastic book!!! What a perfect ending just wish wouldn't have ended! I want the series to never end its that amazing.

[Ruby Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole series was great!

I think the author is very talented. And I had a hard time putting the books down. I will definitely read more of her books.

[Amy Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good but not quite as good as the others in the series. The ending was just a little lame.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reader

This was the first time reading Karice Bolton and I can say this author is right up there with my favorites. I'm looking forward to reading her next series.

[Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic end to the series :)