Fragile Spirits (Souls, #2) By Mary Lindsey

Paul has always known he was a Protector, fated to serve a Speaker who could hear the voices of spirits lingering after death and help those souls find peace.

Vivienne ignores the voices of the dead.

Paul has always followed the Protector’s rule book, preparing diligently for the day when he’d be matched with his Speaker and fulfill his destiny.

Vivienne never does what she’s told.

So when Paul is matched with Vivienne, they both find the pairing less than satisfactory. But a kidnapping, a malevolent spirit and power stronger than both of them may just prove that they are two halves of the same whole.

In a stunning story about the beauty of fate and the power of secrets, Mary Lindsey returns to the world of Shattered Souls with a breathtaking thrill-ride of a novel.

**Note from author: This book begins one month after Shattered Souls leaves off. Lenzi and Alden are featured in this book, but reading Shattered Souls is not a prerequisite. Fragile Spirits (Souls, #2)

3.5 stars


View this review on my blog!

It felt so good to be back in Mary Lindsey's world of ghosts, Speaker's, and Protector's!

Such a unique little world that I, as well as other readers, got to be a part of. I admit that I longed to see more of the council but alas.


This was a really great companion, and it doesn't take long for things to get started. We begin in the book meeting Paul, a Protector. Fans of Alden and Lenzi from the previous book, will be pleased to hear that we get to see them quite frequently since Paul has been acting as their back up.

It isn't too far into the book that we find out Smith is still at large, and that Paul will be finally be pairing up with a Speaker. To his shock he gets a rather prickly Vivienne.

She is completely goth, from her black nails, bright pink hair, and torn stockings and yet everyone just cannot help but love her. I especially loved her simply for being goth! It was a lovely twist and made Vivienne appealing since she sounded dangerous and exotic. I also began to appreciate her Speaker method which was a mix between playing it cool, even though she was scared at times, and taking no shit even from Malevolent spirits.




Here is where I felt a little like the book fell into the insta-romance department. Their relationship as Protector and Speaker is rocky since Paul tends to follow the rule book and Vivienne breaks said rules. But after one day of working together to take care of a border-line Malevolent, there's suddenly this connection they didn't have before. Trust I could understand, but it wasn't just that but this instant attraction and strong emotions for both of them towards each other.



MORE development! MORE character building!

I need more than one day on the job and Paul covering her ass when shit goes down! In defense, I did find they meshed well together and the action scenes of the book were really good.
The final showdown involving Smith was climatic, but it felt a bit too easy at the same time.

There were some serious topics at play in the book, like abuse and poverty. Learning to let go and open your heart to others despite your fears, and also that revenge isn't always as sweet as it seems.

All this combined really made for a great book, and I cannot wait for more from Mary Lindsey! 0399161864 I was pretty bummed when I saw that FRAGILE SPIRITS was not going to continue to follow Lenzi and Alden but from pretty early on you see that they are still a big part of the book and that the new main characters are pretty interesting all on their own.

Only a month has passed since the ending of SHATTERED SOULS. FRAGILE SPIRITS follows the story of rule follower Protector Paul and fly by the seat of her pants, no one tells her what to do Speaker Vivianne. One of my favorite parts of getting to know Vivienne was her attitude and how different yet similar she is to the other characters. Both her and Paul have a hidden past and are so much more than they appear on the surface. Getting to know them was not hard to endure. I enjoyed their interaction, connection and the development of their relationship.

This series has some great secondary characters. We of course get a nice dose of Lenzi and Alden but we also see a lot of Race. Race is such a hoot. I think he needs his own book next *cough, cough*. FRAGILE SPIRITS was very much character driven. The storyline was of course interesting but the characters were its driving force.

I thought book 1 was a standalone so getting a book 2 was a great surprise. The author did end the story arc but also started some things I feel need to be in a new book so I will sit and wait patiently to see if we will get a book 3. If you enjoyed SHATTERED SOULS you will not want to miss FRAGILE SPIRITS.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 0399161864 Review coming soon! 0399161864 Yay!!!! Sooooooooo excited for this! I can't wait to follow the story of a new Protector and Speaker -- I'll bet it's going to be awesome! :') ♥ 0399161864 Review Courtesy All Things Urban Fantasy

I remember thinking at the end of SHATTERED SOULS that the traditional end of a first-in-a-series book only really left one outstanding element – the bad guy – and hoping desperately that I wouldn’t be headed into a manufactured hostile environment for the established couple to drag the series on. I’m very pleased that this didn’t happen. FRAGILE SPIRITS is a part of the Souls universe, but stands as its own story, too.

It was hard to connect to Vivienne at first and while I originally thought of that as a down point for the book, as the story progressed, I saw it differently. Just as Paul did, we were supposed to have trouble connecting with her. It made it so much more satisfying when that shell started cracking. It was the same with Paul and his rigid sense of rules and procedure. Not until Vivienne started to get under that rigidity, and we started to see the real person under the rules, did I truly connect with him. That’s about the time I realized that the story title wasn’t so much about the ghosts they were meant to resolve, but about the main characters themselves, too.

The story itself is strong, though I still have a little trouble reconciling myself to the Protectors’ souls jumping bodies all the time. It gets to be like a shell game I had trouble following at times. FRAGILE SPIRITS unfolds with good pace, and a few very action packed moments in there to keep your heart racing. (And one moment that made me almost throw the book out the window.) Without spoiling anything, I can say that I truly loved the way it wrapped up. It wasn’t anything I was expecting even thought I’d spent a lot of time while reading trying to second-guess where the author was headed.

I do wish there had been a little more of Race and Maddi, most especially figuring them out, and I still think Race’s Speaker needs to seriously lighten up already.
Since FRAGILE SPIRITS seems to have wrapped the main story arc, I’m not sure if another is forthcoming, but I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from this author. 0399161864

Review Fragile Spirits (Souls, #2)

Writing this book was a blast! I am so grateful to Penguin Publishing for allowing me to visit the world of the Intercessor Council again. Thank you to my readers whose enthusiasm and support made it possible.

I've had a lot of emails about Alden and Lenzi. YES, they are in this book and are featured all the way through the story, but this book stands on its own and it is not necessary to read the books in order. I love all the readers who have shown such interest in the series. Thank you again. 0399161864 2014? Is this a joke?

Ok yeah the first could have been left as a single novel, a series is great though!
But 2014? I'm not going to remember this series in 2 years!
Haha it was good, but not that good!
0399161864 2014? Really?

On other thoughts, I'm actually pretty excited about there being a second book. 0399161864 Thank you Penguins-Philomel for providing me with a physical ARC in exchange of an honest review.

First I wanted to say that I absolutely love the cover of this book, it is simply gorgeous. Second, I dove into this book not realizing at first that it was part of a series. Luckily for me and my mistake, thought the first two characters are featured in this book you do not need to read book 1 in order to realize what is going on.

Paul is a protector, he has always known he is a protector who is fated to serve another person called a Speaker. Speakers can hear the spirits that are unable or have not moved on from their death and their own faith is to help them resolve what's anchoring them to earth and help them move on.

It took a while longer but Paul finally get's his speaker Vivienne who at first wants nothing to do with him. Vivienne comes with a lot of baggage, and the girl is nothing he had seen before. Hot pink hair and black clothes put up a tougher front, but underneath is a scarred girl who simply wants revenge for her mother and aunts deaths.

With a malevolent spirit out there powerful enough to wreak havoc, it's going to take the two of them working together in order to defeat the man and put him to rest once and for all.

Loved this story, so much fun, entertaining and totally engrossing. I had a hard time putting Fragile Spirits down. I have been in the mood for ghosts stories lately and this had me attention from the start. I love the idea behind Fragile Spirits, and the world that Mary Lindsey has created. Original, fast paced that leaves you wanting even more.

I was so sad when I hit the end of the book, but I was happily surprised that unlike other young-adult books out there it did not end in a cliffhanger!

Lindsey does a wonderful job with characters, especially Paul and Vivienne, I loved how realistic the characters sounded and they weren't perfect. Not even Paul. The relationship starts of shaky, and the bickering between them pulled a smile more then once. The build up to trust was slow and emotional for, but well worth it in the end. I had to remember several times that they are teenagers when Vivienne acted irrational, but it was fun to see her change through the book.

The budding romance between Paul and Vivienne was sweet but I am glad that it didn't cloud and take away from the story as I was more engrossed about the resolutions of their Speaker/Protector relationship and ghosts.

That being said, I also absolutely loved Race. I hope he get's his own book soon as well, I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us especially with Maddie. I couldn't stand Cinda, I thought she was the worse. I know she was just trying to help but she didn't listen and completely endangered the entire crew at the end of the book after they told her to stay behind when they went to take on the powerful spirit. Plus, I guess part of the animosity towards her comes from the fact that I really liked Maddie and Race.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this beautiful story. It had everything I could ask for. Great storyline, wonderful characters, and quiet an emotional ride in between. It held my attention until the very end and didn't let go until it was sadly, over.
0399161864 Oh my God!!!!! I keep checking to see if there's going to be a second book. To my elated surprise, there will be one! I've been dying for it since the last sentence of Shattered Souls 0399161864