Wraithful Reads

I very kindly received an ARC of this book!

My first ARC and it couldn’t have been a better book to start with! I’m sad this is the last book in the trilogy, as I’d gladly read more books with Suri and Kol. But this book did absolutely not disappoint. Following on from APOB, Suri is soulless. And must navigate her next steps in a Kingdom on the brink of war, which also believes Kol is dead. It’s fast paced, thrilling, and absolutely full of plot twists. I received my copy on Saturday and ended up reading until the small hours of Sunday morning, as I just couldn’t put it down!

(On a side note, I’m writing this review to the sound of heavy rainfall, the first rain of Spring in fact, and it’s so very cosy. Perfect reading and writing weather.)

This review will contain spoilers from this point onward, you have been warned.

“Suri?”
His voice was soft, but she turned immediately. He was still on his knees.
“Yes, Kol?”
Kol studied her. “Can I sleep on your floor?”
– R. A. Sandpiper, A Claiming of Souls

The excerpts from a diary at the start of each chapter are back again and I absolutely love these. They’re such a clever way of gaining insight into the backstory of the main plot, without long, time-jumping chapters. This is also cleverly managed through Suri’s own power as the Seer of Time – every time you see the past, it’s wholly relevant to the present. It also feels like you’re getting to read two stories at once: watching how the past unfolds alongside the present, and how current events came to be.

Returning to the diary excerpts, I thought I’d absolutely called which Pagan God these were written by, and was so surprised to find it was the opposite of who I’d thought! Sotoledi’s madness and grief at the loss of Diophage being what leads him to become the God of Death was extremely fitting. And Diophage’s power being contained by the amefyre gems in his death answered a question I’ve had throughout this entire series! – Just what was so special about amefyre, that it prevented Sotoledi’s influence? Now we finally know, the power of life has kept him at bay all this time. I’d also suspected the two Gods were once in love, and felt absolutely vindicated when it was true. Life and Death being in love, as two sides of the same coin, is quite poetic. Yet they’re unable to truly be together, as Sotoledi explains. What they created together, their eternity, has them run parallel but never can the two meet again.

Suri’s soullessness also reads like a perfect metaphor for depression, as I’ve experienced it. Smiles that don’t quite reach the eyes, the feeling of joy rising only to be quickly quashed by emptiness. And only feeling able to feel negativity. The timing for her soullessness also couldn’t have been better as an allegory for her own depression: she’s already been through so much. She has sacrificed a lot too, and seen more horror in her years than a lot of people may see in a lifetime. So soul or not, the numbness she feels post-arena makes sense regardless.

The feeling of life returning to her and actually being able to feel joy when her soul returns is very true to the experience too. (Although, Suri regains her soul due amidst more death and treachery, which is perhaps where the metaphor ends!)

After which, the slowburn between Suri and Kol forms into a fully fledged love. I was close to cheering, they FINALLY got it together.

Another thing I’ve loved about this series again, is the inclusion of LGBT+ characters. They’re very naturally written that they blend into the story seamlessly. Likewise for the characters of colour. It’s nice to see representation included so seamlessly in a fantasy novel as they can often be lacking. Sandpiper also doesn’t fall foul of the trope of making her Fae characters all-white and British. The Fae are as diverse as the human population in her books. The Fae King Xianyu’s physical appearance definitely reads as East Asian too, and was refreshing to see.

And of course, there’s continued disability representation through Suri’s own partial blindness.

Close to the ending, ACOS had me in tears during the chapter with the insect-like Sotoledi. I was convinced we wouldn’t get through that battle without at least one major character death, and I’ve never been so pleased to be wrong. I also loved the ambiguity of the ending, in that Suri chooses what she wants rather than bending to what she’s told is “correct.” Our morally grey FMC stays true to herself right until the very end.

Some tropes and common themes I enjoyed in this book:

• The Pretty Woman-esque shopping scene. – They wouldn’t wait on her? Bet.
• “Who did this to you?”
• Morally grey FMC
• The slowburn burns into a fully formed love
• Spice
• Reluctant hero – kinda, she learns to lean into it more in ACOS
• Prophecy
• Found family
• Time travel
• “Screw the rules”

Trigger warnings:

• Violence
• Extreme poverty
• Religious trauma
• Death
• Graphic injuries and fights
• Sex scenes

Rating:

A Claiming of Souls by R. A. Sandpiper releases on 10th May 2025. You can pre-order a physical copy from her website, or the eBook from Amazon. These are not affiliate links, I’m just very passionate about this series.