Book Review: Soulless by Robert J. Crane {Book 3: The Girl in the Box Series}

Title: Soulless
Series: The Girl in the Box
Author: Robert J. Crane
Publisher: Self
Date of Publication: August 23, 2012
My Format: ebook for Kindle
Source: received from author for honest review
Get your copy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Summary:
After six months of intense training with the Directorate, Sienna Nealon finds herself on her first assignment - tracking a dangerous meta across the upper midwest. With Scott Byerly and Kat Forrest at her side, she'll face new enemies and receive help from unlikely allies as she stumbles across the truth behind the shadowy organization known only as Omega.


My Thoughts:

Let me just tell you how hard it is to do a review on the third book in a series without spoilers...it is darn near impossible!!  I am going to try my best to but just in case.....

WARNING: COULD CONTAIN SPOILERS

Now I feel much better that I put that there.

In Soulless we see a very different side of Sienna.  A more immature side, in my opinion.  I wasn't happy with the way she acted, especially concerning the bar scene.  I just felt like this was something not on par with what I expected of Sienna.  And it of course made me dislike Scott...again.  

The plot in this third book seems to be more focused on love: the emotional as well as the physical aspects.  I thought Sienna was a little too obsessed with the physical components of a relationship, but then again being a succubus, I guess the hormones get even more out of the way for her.  

In this area, it didn't feel like Sienna for me.  I guess I am used to her being in life or death situations so much, it was a little hard to get used to her being a teenager/young adult just trying to cope with family problems, sexual urges, and responsibilities.  

Some parts of the mystery were easily figured out while others I was shaking my head that Crane was able to draw  me in so completely never knowing what was going to happen.  

I love love love the fact that Reed is in this book more than just a couple of pages!!  Do you know how much I adore Reed?  We get to actually learn a little more about Reed and I am secretly rooting for Sienna to open her eyes to his charm. 

And of course in true Crane fashion, we meet some very dark characters that make you shudder in fear, but this time, he disguises the villains so well you will definitely be guessing till the very end.  I know I was.  

The ending was phenomenal; probably Crane's best one yet!  The middle tended to get on my nerves though with the mistakes Sienna made and her experiments with alcohol.  

I have to admit this was the hardest review I have ever had to write.  I loved the characters, love the plot, and jumped up and down in excitement at the ending, but there were parts that just made me really mad about Sienna.  But in a way, that is the qualities of a good writer to show us things about the characters we may not want to believe or see.  It makes the characters seem even more realistic(even if they do have super powers) and easier to relate with, making us look deeper inside ourselves to look at our qualities both good and bad.  

At first, I was afraid I wasn't going to be happy with Soulless, but after all the plot lines come together, I realize this was the best book I read so far, with  a very important message for any young person out there (superhero or not): accept yourself.  

I gave it five hearts!