Review--Fragile Spirits 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.

Fragile Spirits is Mary Lindsey’s companion to her debut, Shattered Souls. While this is a new story with a new Protector and Speaker, I was happy to see some familiar faces in the story as well. In a different twist, this time we get the Protector’s point of view instead of the speaker. Paul is Vivienne’s Protector and Vivienne is unlike anyone he’s ever met, she’s sure to be a challenge for him. Vivienne is a smart and sassy girl that I pretty much adored! She has a bit of an attitude but it works for her.

The story opens up in a way that pretty much answered all my questions I had left over from Shattered Souls. Smith is still around and a problem. After the fiasco he caused to upset Alden and Lenzi, who make a few appearances in this book as well, Paul is readying himself to meet his Speaker that he’s finally been assigned, but she was not at all what he was expecting. Vivienne with her pink hair and big black combat boots could careless about the ghosts that are trying to talk to her. She has only one thing on her mind that caused her to join in with the Intercessor Council and use her gifts, and that is revenge.

A ghost killed her aunt and is what led her on her course for revenge. She’s determined to find the ghost who did it and end them permanently. But Vivienne and Paul have a rougher go of things than Alden and Lenzi did. Since this is Paul’s first gig at being a Protector, this is basically his first life cycle and there are no memories to work with. He has to convince Vivienne that they could be a great team, if only she was willing to give him a chance. The hunt for Smith becomes the next focal point for Paul and Vivienne and naturally, Lenzi and Alden are there as well as Race and Maddi and a new apprentice of Charles, Cinda.

It’s sad to already know that this series is over! There was such possibilities to be had with Race! I felt like he had a story to tell there too. But I was still pleased to see that all was wrapped up in this story, there were no little nuisances that went unaddressed. All was resolved, which was a plus! Looking back I saw that there was a three year gap between these books and I can’t imagine how everyone felt during that time of unknown! Had I not had these two books ready go in a back-to-back readathon, I would’ve been more upset over Shattered Souls.

I think this series could have done wonders had there been dual point of views between Speaker and Protector. While I still enjoyed how Mary did things, I can’t help but wonder what things might have been like had she gone that route. But then the surprising twists and shocks that occurred might not have had the same effect, so there’s that to consider.

The pacing to this one was good. Pretty spot on when you think about it. It wasn’t overly fast or action packed but it wasn’t dreadfully slow either. It was the perfect middle man, so to speak. It almost was a one-day read for me but sadly things kept getting in the way for a proper reading day.

And of course there was another well built in romance. It’s becoming a standard thing with the Speaker and Protectors to eventually get together. While it was a different situation for Lenzi and Alden, I have to say that I liked how Paul and Vivienne finally came together. Theirs was a slower build-up as in the beginning it seemed that they would never even work well together. Although, I wouldn’t have minded just a little more kissing! Lol.

Overall this one was a pretty good read. While I would’ve liked a few things enhanced more, I can definitely I say I enjoyed it a bit more than I did the previous novel. Perhaps, because I am more accustomed to the world now that I’ve had some experience in it. The only other thing I would’ve like was more ghosts. Yes there are the occasional spirits that get their help, but I guess I just wanted a few more or have moments that terrified me because of said ghosts. But in the end, Fragile Spirits was definitely a worthy read!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars