Review - Fractured Souls by Ava Marie Salinger

About 500 years ago, a rift opened, expelling angels, demons, and other assorted paranormal creatures who fell to Earth, where they were trapped with no memories of who they were. Among “The Fallen,” as they became known, Cassius is an outcast. He is mistrusted by both angels and demons, who aren't quite sure what he is. Only a few people on Earth have an idea of Cassius' power, and he likes to keep it that way. He recently moved to San Francisco and is trying to keep a low profile so as not to be noticed by any of the agencies that oversee paranormal activities. That plan flies out the window when Cassius agrees to find a little old lady's lost cat, which is really a demon, and stumbles on the scene where a man was killed to steal his soul. Cassius finds himself taken into custody by a team from the Argonaut Agency. The team is led by the angel Morgan, who annoys Cassius, but at the same time, he is irresistibly drawn to him.

“Fractured Souls” is the start of a series centered on a team of the Fallen that fights crime. The overall feel of the story reminded me of American cop dramas that feature a close-knit team that has worked together long enough for them to make jokes at each other's expense, as well as for there to have been some romantic relationships between team members in the past. There are some real laugh-out-loud moments in the book, which helps break the tension in a rather grim plot line.

While the mystery of who is stealing souls, and why, drives the story, at the center of it all is the developing relationship between Cassius and Morgan. The two men both feel a connection, even if they have no memory of having known each other before the fall. The story manages to make the men's feelings very real and relatable.

The team Morgan works with is full of distinctive personalities that we get to know over the course of the story. We will probably get to know them even more in the next installments of this series. There are definitely references to some backstories that should prove interesting.

The mystery provides plenty of impetus to keep you reading to find out what happens next. You might be warned thought that this is one of those stories where a vital clue becomes obvious (to me at least) early on, but it is completely ignored by the characters until very late in the story. It's one of those things that makes you want to yell at the book at times.

“Fractured Souls” is available from Amazon (commissionable link).