Set in the same world as Faith Hunter’s New York Times bestselling Jane Yellowrock novels, the second Soulwood novel tells the story of a woman whose power comes from deep within the earth… Before Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she had no one to rely on, finding strength only in her arcane connection to the dark woods around her. But now she has friends in the newly formed PsyLED … friends in the newly formed PsyLED team to keep her grounded—even if being part of the agency responsible for policing paranormals comes with dangers of its own….
After training at the PsyLED academy, Nell returns home to her woods to find the land feeling sick and restless. And that sickness is spreading. With the help of her team, under the leadership of agent Rick LaFleur, Nell tries to determine the cause. But nothing can prepare them for the evil that awaits: an entity that feeds on death itself. And it wants more….
From the Paperback edition.
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this series is a spin-off from jane yellowrock. our heroine is being brought kicking and screaming – not literally – into relationships with people. she’s finding out what is special about her and she works with others with special skills and attributes. while presenting us with an action packed story, faith hunter continues with growing the personality of the protagonist. read it; you’ll like it. i did
Gosh I love this series!
Couldn’t get past the first quarter of the book. Not my cup of tea, may be yours though.
Great book of a great series, thoroughly enjoy authors work and characters.
Faith Hunter is such a talent. I really enjoy the characters she crafts and the fascinating supernatural situations they encounter. The Soulwood series is such a great compliment to the Jane Yellowrock books in that they share a world while still maintaining distinct identities. One of the things I like so much is Nell’s very unique character and perspective. She is so very different from Jane. Yet both series feature complex storylines, plenty of action, character development and just a subtle hint of romance.
Nell’s gift is in reading the land, so I imagine that all of the books will be tied to that somehow. Her communion with her woods features prominently here, but she’s also stretching her gift to investigate a problem tied to land nearby. It’s not as sexy as, say, being a vampire or a shifter. But it’s part of what makes Nell who she is. She is earthy and I don’t think that will ever change. But what’s cool here is that she is also adapting. In many ways, she thinks in the context of her church background, but she is learning so much about the “real world.” I am really enjoying her evolution.
The secondary cast of characters is also strong here. Particularly, I enjoyed the dynamic with Occam. It’s a slow burn, but I’m loving every minute of it. We’re also treated to some quality story threads with Soul and Tandy. But the biggest developments are on the Rick and Paka front. Don’t worry, I’m not spoiling. But I will say that Rick has always been a divisive character in the Jane Yellowrock series. (I may have called him Rick the Dick once or twice), but he is so much more sympathetic when he is not viewed through the lens of his actions toward Jane. That’s true, especially, here. Hunter gives us so much context and answers questions I didn’t even know I had. Really good stuff.
My only complaint is that sometimes we got too far in the details of technology and magic. We spent a lot of time learning how the equipment worked and even more time learning about how the magic was playing out in the story. Perhaps the worst (for me) was in the backstory that built up our villains and the magical workings that inspired them. I know this was all important as it gave us the “why” of their evil deeds, but I struggled to understand it all and I found myself skimming.
That aside, this is a good read. There are ties to the first book as far as consequences to Nell’s actions and her family in the church. There are characters I care about… and they’re growing, which is awesome. I’m looking forward to see where Hunter will take them next.
Rating: B
Curse on the Land by Faith Hunter is the return of Nell, the changing of her life, and a new danger that threatens many all around. Change is coming in more ways than one and the question is – can Nell rise to the challenges that are coming her way? Is she going to be strong enough to face the danger that threatens lives?
Curse on the Land is an engaging addition to the Soulwood series. Nell is growing up more thanks to the PsyLed team and her time at Spook School. She’s learned quite a bit and of course, the cat is out of the bag concerning her. But more than one secret will be out of the bag in this book. A dangerous thing has been let loose in the area and it is interesting to follow the story as Nell and the others work to uncover what exactly is going on. This book is full of danger and I have to admit that I like how most of it is unseen but ever prevalent. I also appreciate that the danger is on multiple fronts. You just never really know where it’s going to come from. There are places in this book where the author had me literally sitting forward as I was so eager to learn what was happen next. I love edge-of-your-seat stories like that. This history that the author works and weaves into this story is truly fascinating and left me page-turning.
There isn’t anything that I don’t like about this book. We get a nice little hint of some potential romance, lots of danger, some history, and a ton of suspense. I will say this though…I am REALLY hopeful that something begins to bloom between Nell and Occam.
I am more than happy to rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. This story is engaging, multi-layered and well done. While this story focuses less on Nell’s past (i.e. the church) I applaud that the author keeps it a part of the story because it is her history. There are some surprising revelations that truly connect the dots in certain scenarios and makes me curious as to the ripple effect that it will have in both series. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and future books by this author.
It is all you can want and expect from a Faith Hunter novel. Keeps you interested and involved till the end wanting more.
In the second book in the Soulwood series, a spinoff of the Jane Yellowrock stories, we find Nell Ingram back from her training and ready to join the PsyLED team, Unit 18, as a probie. Their first case as a team is a strange one, with animals and then humans acting unusually, and as Nell uses her magic to examine the land and is injured while doing so, the mystery just keeps growing, although they suspect witches are involved. It will take the whole team to figure out what is going on – and getting things back to normal is going to be an arduous task for all of them, especially Nell. Nell also has some cleaning up to do on her own land and there’s that mutated tree on the church’s land that needs taking care of as well, so there is plenty for Nell to do. Oh, and the werecats are using her land to hunt, and then there’s the problem with the leader of Unit 18, Rick LaFleur, who is magically prevented from changing to his cat form. With the full moon coming, that’s a problem that needs solving too. As you can see, there’s a lot going on and watching Nell use her training and her instincts to figure everything out was a treat. I look forward to reading the next in the series, Flame in the Dark.