Untamed City: Carnival of Secrets audiobook

This was a glimpse into a dark and captivating world, with characters I couldn't help falling in love with. Brilliant!

This review is from my blog, Studies in Storytelling.Melissa Marr conquered the YA market with the Wicked Lovely series, and she’ll be expanding her horizons on Tuesday, September 4th when Carnival of Souls hits stores. The first few things that happen in this novel are:A demon woman sacrifices everything to a witch in the human world, for help protecting her child. Another, Aya, matches against her ex-fiancee in battle, to further her aspiration to make a statement about women's equality and their right not to be impregnated against their wills.A teenage girl of human sensibilities, the protected baby demon of the mother above, whines about how her father won't let her date. An odd juxtaposition, since strong women dominate this story, especially Aya. Which leads us to what I've learned about storytelling. 1. Aya does not steal the show - she demands it and earns it. She comes off the page and grabs you by the throat, but you know it's just a threat. You know that if she were going to kill you, she'd make it rapid, brilliant, bloody. I'm not sure I've ever had the pleasure of fearing, and falling for, such a strong female character. Most plotters characterize though everyday interaction. They often build toward the most difficult decision that character will ever have to make. Marr, however, starts Aya off with this choice. Brutal. 2. The threads of the storylines braid in fascinating patterns, then twist into a strong rope toward the end. Some intersections are predictable, others squee-inducing. In a land of three races - humans in one world, demons in another, witches in between - every dynamic develops through these intertwining threads. Much in the captivating tradition of Harry Potter, the characters' feelings shine against hateful societal backdrops - "a prolonged argument for tolerance." About fifty pages from the end, the humans' and demons' value systems reflected in the characters' conflicts started to feel real in a reality-transcending way. This is the kind of cultural conflict I'd expect to study in a cultural course at school, but delightfully accessible via story.3. Also like J. K., Marr spoon-feeds the reader nothing. Inference, context clues, detail selections learn you the world before you've known it. Textual examples to come. 4. Marr writes action with sentence structure that reflects the content; she illuminates the dynamics of fights so clearly, movies would have to resort to shifting-camera slow-mo (techinical terminology here, yo) to create the same effect. Textual examples to come. 5. She uses the "every teenage girl ever" trope in a different way. Mallory appears to be your run-of-the-mill Bellarific protagonist: Innocent to violence and sexuality, clumsy but lacking in any strong passion or dangerous character flaw, passive to the advances of boys as well as to the rules of her overprotective father, obsessing about ways to get her cake and eat it and not hurt anybody about it. But she evolves as the story goes on. The real Mal shines through cracks in the trope. After all, the trope almost perfectly matches the mold which her father has forced her into for her protection. If that's too spoilerific, I apologize. It's just fascinating.What are we doing to our characters when we tropify them? What passions are we suppressing? What flaws are we overlooking, which we could help them overcome? What fearfully beautiful, Aya-like demon are we suppressing?I stood in my longest line at BEA to get this ARC, and I'm happy I did. I even got a stalker shot of Ms. Marr, see?To see, go to http://studiesinstorytelling.blogspot...

Carnival of Souls was a really slow starter for me. I was kind of confused about the Daimons and the Curs and exactly what they are. If I'm honest, I'm still slightly confused. I know they're fast and powerful, and that they can shape shift, though I'm not sure exactly what they shift into, is it a dog type thing, a wolf maybe? Kaleb is a Cur, who are the lowest class of Daimon and he describes himself as being like a mongrel or stray dog, but I'm not sure if that's just a metaphor. Mallory has been raised by Adam, a witch. She doesn't know what she really is or the exact danger she is in, because of who her real father is. She is aware of Daimons though and has been trained to fight. Everything starts to change when Kaleb enters her life.Every generation, a fighting competition is held in the Carnival of Souls. It's a fight to the death, and the prize is becoming ruling class, the highest caste (class) of Daimon. The fight is down to the last few contenders and Kaleb and Aya are still in. My favourite character was Kaleb. He has done a lot of horrible things in his 17 years but I love how he wants to be a better person for Mallory. And he is so caring towards Zevi, who is part of his pack. The relationship they share is an interesting one. Mallory was really sweet. She comes across as very young and naive, but that's probably because every time something has happened to her (being attacked by Daimons etc.), Adam has spelled her to think it wasn't real and forget about it. She is very much a loner and when things do get dangerous, she is not afraid to stand up and fight. I didn't like Aya at the beginning, she seemed very cruel and heartless. But after learning more about her, I really came to like her. I feel that she is going to be an awesome character in the next book and I'm looking forward to seeing how things will play out between herself and Belias. But then we have a cliff hanger. I really felt like this book was only getting to the really exciting stuff and then I was turning the last page. I'm expecting great things from the next book.

Read this review on my blog! --> Carnival of Souls by Melissa MarrCarnival of Souls is one of the most unique stories I’ve read this year so far. Melissa Marr has created this imaginative realm of daimons and witches, fights to the death, and so many secrets. It was amazinnnnnnnng!!One of the things I loved about Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series was how many characters and love stories were in those books. In Carnival of Souls, we get the same thing. There isn’t just one boy and one girl, there’s two!! And their relationships are far beyond the normal romances in YA. There’s love, but there’s secrets too. So many that I know I’ll be in heart-wrenching pain when the truth comes out, because it cannot end well for any of them.Out of our two heroines, Mallory and Aya, I liked Aya most. Nothing against Mallory, but the problem with her character is that she’s pretty much in the dark about who she is throughout most of the book. She’s always being watched out for, and even though she’s more than capable of kicking someone’s ass, she’s almost babied the whole time. I actually fist-pumped at the end when she finally took control and started acting fierce.Now Aya, started out fierce. The lengths she goes to to win a spot as a ruler of The City so that she doesn’t have to become just a wife and a mother with the daimon she loves are beyond most anyone’s capabilities, physically and emotionally. Aya is probably the one hiding the biggest secret of all, but you don’t have to wait long to learn what it is. I have my theories about her...parentage wise. But that’s all I’ll say about that because I don’t want to spoil anything.Melissa Marr has a gift for creating male characters I instantly fall for, inspite of their flaws. Take Seth, Niall, Irial, and Keenan from Wicked Lovely for example. I LOVE ALL OF THEM! Ok, maybe not Keenan so much, lol, though I did feel for him. Here we have two new characters that had me swooning, Kaleb and Belias. I can’t help it..I love them already. And they couldn’t be more different from each other! Kaleb comes from the slums of The City. He’s a strong fighter and will do anything to protect and take care of his family. His heart is what really drew me to him. In turn, Belias is just a strong a fighter, but he is also high caste, meaning he’s practically royalty. What I found irresistible in him was his passion and devotion.I loved the way they all had a voice in this book. I always want to hear what all the characters are going through and thinking. It makes the story so much more engrossing. Especially in one with so much depth. This book was also really bloody. It’s graphic, but not gross, which I really appreciated. I really loved the masks concept, that each color represented a service. That was really interesting and I hope we see more of it in future books.Carnival of Souls swept me away, into a realm that was terrifying and beautiful at the same time. Its intricacies left me in awe and in wanting for it to continue beyond the last page.

Melissa Marr has done it again! Carnival of Souls is an absolutely awesome read full of enchantment, magic, lore, and plenty of action. Everything with this story came together perfectly. The fantasy and paranormal elements, the strong characters, incredible world building, and the exciting storyline made this one engaging book I picked up and starting reading the moment it arrived at my door (yesterday afternoon) and didn't put it down until I finished it. There's something about Melissa's writing and story telling that completely hooks me. I love getting lost within the world she's created, especially with this book. Based on the book's synopsis and book trailer I knew it was going to be a gripping read, I just wasn't excepting this book to be as addicting as it was for me. From the fight scenes to the unraveling of the secrets, plot twits and the motives behind the characters choices, everything about this book captivated me. I felt like I couldn't devour the pages fast enough. One of the things that really pulled me into the book were the characters. Each character brings something different to the story. Their purpose and placements in the story were well defined, and created. I loved watching their relationships build, and change as the story progressed. Above all, I loved the sense of family that some of them had. The need to love and protect those they love is the underlying decision maker for the decisions each of the characters make, and it's something that I really connected with as a reader.Often times I have a favorite character, but in this case I seriously loved them all for various reasons. Aya is a ruthless character with high standing, she's someone who I felt like I got from the moment I met her. I understood her quest for independence, and protecting the secrets she holds. I loved getting to meet Belias. He and Aya have this long history together and complex relationship that left me yearning for more, and at the same time it's complexity is one I understood given the various circumstances that govern their society. Mallory and Kaleb.... First off I loved Kaleb. This guy has literally been through hell and back, but his devotion to Mallory is unwavering and the romantic in me seriously loved him for what he does, and vows to do. True he makes some stupid choices, but given his circumstances I got why makes them. Mallory is someone I liked right off the bat. She's someone I sympathized with and she grew into the person I hoped she would have. I really enjoyed how their lives all end up interconnecting. Along with these four characters are some great supporting characters who's presence in the story added more depth to the plot line and the story's secrets. The world in which the story is set is fabulous! It's mesmerizing, dark and dangerous. Getting to see the world through the eyes of each of the characters was fascinating. It was interesting for me to see the good and the bad from their points of views. I liked how the two totally different worlds that make up this story are connected, and how the characters are able to reside in both the human world and The City. Carnival of Souls is an exciting read and one I really enjoyed! It's a story that has it's moments of darkness, heartbreak, romance, danger, and a little bit of humor that has placed this book on my favorites shelf.On a side note, I just want to say I didn't find this book to be as dark as I was told it was. Everything that is said and done is perfectly fitting for the time period and worlds this book is set in. There's violence by way of the fight scenes that take place, but you see one of those scenes in the book trailer. There is mentions of sex, but it's done is such a well written way and one that's fitting for a society who's set on upper class women being married and made to have heirs. Language wise, it's clean cut except for the one word I read, but even then it was fitting for the scene. Over all, this is a book I'd recommend to fans of Melissa Marr, and to readers who love magic, paranormal elements and enjoy a well written book. I am a huge fan of Melissa's fey series, but this is by far my favorite Marr book and I can not wait for the sequel!

This was my first Melissa Marr book and I was extremely impressed! I was struck by the way Kaleb's rough life is presented in contrast to Mallory's almost normal suburban existence. When the two worlds start colliding, the reader is drawn into the conflict that has always existed between witches and daimons as well as the haves and have nots in the daimon world. The author does not glass over anything and, as a result, this book had some very dark moments, which I loved. That brutality really took me into the class system that served as the foundation for a lot of the conflict in this book and I did not want to look away. Aya's story was perhaps my favorite and I found her life and the choices she made to survive extremely compelling and heart wrenching. In truth, each character is hiding something about themselves from others and each character has to make decisions that leaves someone hurting in the end. At risk of sounding morbid, I loved that. Any writer that can pull me into a story with such elements of suffering without turning me away from reading the book has done an excellent job of striking a balance between brutality and beauty.The world building in this book was excellent. That was no easy feat since it switched back and forth between the world we know and the world that humans don't see, but Melissa Marr was painstaking in its creation and it really helped suck me into its pages. Carnival of Souls is a story with many layers and as those layers are peeled away they reveal an intricate and beautifully written book that is as compelling as it is dark. I was sad to see it end since I felt like I was just getting to know everyone, but I suppose that's the point since I will be waiting anxiously for book two!

UGH. UGH. ALL I FEEL AND THINK, MY EXISTENCE IS NOTHING BUT UGH.WHAT IS LIFE?Okay, so this book was very catching from the beginning, at least for me as a huge fan of paranormal fiction/fantasy and the only time I put it down from when I bought it this morning was when I went to get food. No other time. It traveled with me everywhere. Probably more than you needed to know but that was how good it was. Catching. The only complaint I really have is that it ended too soon, but that's what you get with series typically, so I suppose I can't really complain.Daimons, Witches, this book has it all and it not a let down at all from the author of the Wicked Lovely series, the woman proving that she's just as adept at creating a new fascinating world as she was when she was first published. Just ugh.I want more already. ;__;

This review can originally be found at The Twins Read .When it comes to her stepfather Adam, Mallory knows better than asking him why they have to skip town so often. After all, she did grow up training herself from daimon attacks - something that she deems useless and unnecessary. When she meets Kaleb, she knew nothing could possibly come from their mutual attraction. But Kaleb is not all that he seems. He's a daimon, and he is hellbent on winning the competition, and securing the hand of the princess of The City. And it's just not any princess either. It's Mallory.Aya is a street smart peer turned fighter. As much as she loves Belias, her intended, she can't help but fight for her destiny, and fight for her right to be a leader who can actually affect change. If only Belias could see that even though he's more than enough for her, her status and actual identity are actually worthless in the eyes of society...Belias can't understand why Aya has to fight. She's got it all - money, the lineage, and now, the fame. She's made her point that she's a worthy opponent. Why can't she be contented to stay with him? When Belias uncovers Aya's secret, he will ultimately feel betrayed. But how do you hate someone who risked her life to save yours? How do you hate someone you've loved for years, to no end?Kaleb knows he's scum. He's on the bottom of the social hierarchy, and this competition is the only way he can elevate his rank. He wasn't supposed to be in love with Mallory; they had other plans for her. But somewhere along the way, he did, and it's something that he's willing to fight for. That is, if Mallory would let him.In Carnival of Souls, the story is narrated in multiple points of view that the author manages to pull it off surprisingly well. Readers will find themselves transitioning from one world to the other - between the human world and The City - with no complications whatsoever. It starts off a tad bit slow, but it fits the atmosphere of the story, building up one's anticipation for the action to begin. The world-building is delightful, the Carnival is described as a beautifully sinister place, ripe with danger, pleasure and deceit. We found it really easy to imagine the Carnival and all its gruesome splendor and it wasn't hard to immerse ourselves into the story. We were captivated by the way the Carnival was detailed, the way colored masks were used to hawk services and the way the City revolved around the Carnival. Carnival of Souls turned out to be quite a surprise for us and we're glad we decided to pick it up. The book boasts beautiful world-building and characters that are so easy to fall in love with; it's a dangerously beautiful book filled with magic, tortured romance, danger and all the thrills that a lavish pleasure-filled, eerily alluring albeit chaotic carnival can bring.

At a Glance:There are few authors that can create an entire world and completely suck you in, in just a few short chapters, and few books that make you want to quit the world until you've finished reading it. Melissa Marr is that author, and Carnival of Souls is that book.World Building Jedi Master:The world that Melissa Marr created in Carnival of Souls was so vivid. I couldn't believe that after just a few short chapters, I found myself knowing this world, and kind of believing that it actually exists. There are very few authors that have the ability to suck me in this quickly, but she has always been one of them. Here, Melissa has created a world of witches and daimons in The City, where an inflexible caste systems keeps those who are down from ever changing their lots in life. The only hope to change their future, is the Carnival of Souls, where they must literally fight for their lives, and a chance to become something more.Multiple Viewpoints:Another thing Melissa Marr does really well, is writing from many different viewpoints. This story is told mostly by Mallory, Kaleb, & Aya, with other characters also making narrative appearances. I love this style of writing! I love that each of these characters has a unique voice, and that I get to see things from each of their perspectives. Tough Girls and Hot Guys and Romance:Both of the main female characters are awesome in different ways. Mallory is a little naive and sheltered, but at the same time, she knows how to fight, and she'll do anything to help the people she loves. I feel like her character grew the most in the book, and I can't wait to see where she goes in the future. Aya was equally awesome in her own way. She fights (sometimes dirty) to the death so that she can have control over her own life. While most sit back and take what they're given, Aya knows that she has to fight, or die. Then there are the guys! I adore the way that Melissa writes guys. She has a way of making them completely strong, fiercely loyal, and completely full of emotion. I love the tension, the romance and the secrets that are bound to make all these relationships go haywire in the following books.Jump in NOW!If you haven't read a book by Melissa Marr, I definitely recommend starting with Carnival of Souls. The only warning to you is that this book ends on a HUGE cliffhanger. With her other books, there has always been more resolution, but this time....not so much. Luckily, there's a whole series (Wicked Lovely) that you can read while you're waiting for the next CoS book to come out!-AndyeReadingteen.netContent: Sexual Content: Sexual Dialog and innuendo Profanity: Mild with one heavy word Violence: Moderate Other Notables: Daimons, Witches

My First Thoughts:Well, let me start by saying that I was extremely excited to read this one. The cover is freaking awesome, I loved the title and concept. Plus, I had seen so much promo for this book that I felt as though I had been waiting forever by the time my copy finally arrived on my doorstep! So, was the wait worth it? Absolutely! I liked Carnival of Souls after the prologue, and was in love by chapter 3. It just kept getting better and better with every page I turned! My Review:This is one of the most original books I have read in quite a while. The world was absolutely brilliant! The City where the daemons live was crafted so brilliantly that I felt as if it was somewhere I had actually been in real life. The Carnival of Souls is the center of the city. It is where all of the commerce happens. Oh yes, commerce, such as: murder for hire, prostitution, and drugs. See that may make some people think, wow I don't know if this is for me... Well let me just say that all these things made the story that much more real, the characters lives more desolate, and their situations more desperate. It is important to know what is normal for the daemon society, so the reader can understand just how hard it is to change your lot in life in the city. The characters were written in such a way that even if they were doing something that you would consider to be morally wrong, it is impossible not feel compassion for WHY they were doing it. This is what really made this book brilliant. It was told from alternating perspectives while never being first person narration. I feel this was a brilliant move because it lets you see so many different views of the same world that it is truly opened up into something with many layers. You really get to know each character intimately. This was such a refreshing way to read a story and I honestly feel like I've never read a book with a character focus like this. After reading the book, I feel as though even if I may not LOVE every character in the book, I completely understand them and their motives. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It was sinfully dark and full of love at the same time. There was such an honesty in even the worst situations that they were always beautiful. This book made me laugh out loud and shed a tear in the same chapter! I truly loved Carnival of Souls and it comes highly recommended from me! Anyone who loves YA Paranormal and is looking for something refreshing and different, this is the one for you!Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.5 starsIf you enjoy fantasy, you'll be wanting to check out Carnival of Souls. Told from multiple points of view and written entirely in third person, you'll be transported between The City where daimons reign and the human world where witches roam free.Think of the Carnival of Souls as an enormous market, the heart of The City, and where the competition takes place. As for the competition itself, it's a way for even the lowest of the low to become ruling caste and hold a powerful position at Marchosias's side. Aya wants to win in order to keep from having to marry and breed, Belias only entered because Aya did so, and Kaleb? Kaleb is a cur who wants to protect his pack and improve his position in the process.On the other hand, there's Mallory, a girl who has been raised by a witch to despise daimons. I won't say anymore than that about her--but trust me, you'll learn a lot about her throughout Carnival of Souls. If she feels a little weak willed to you at first, hang in there. Why? Because there's a reason for it. As for Kaleb, I didn't expect to like him as much as I did, to be honest. The romance felt a little too sudden at first, but I loved how it worked out as Carnival of Souls progressed. Oh! And I can't forget Adam, the witch that has been raising Mallory. I didn't start off loving him, but that quickly changed as I delved into Carnival of Souls.Carnival of Souls is an immersive read and one that I think readers will enjoy. And while I won't talk about the plot itself--because I'm pretty sure I'll accidentally give spoilers--I will tell you that it moves along nicely and that you're never in one place for too long. It's a world that I didn't mind getting lost in and one that I'm eager to return to--even if the wait will probably kill me. (No, really, I wanted to shake it to see if another page--or fifty--would magically appear.)