Two souls trapped in one body must work together to solve multiple murders before it’s too late – before they can no longer tell where one of them ends and the other begins…
Title: KNOT OF SOULS
Author: Christine Amsden
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback, Free on Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/Paranormal
Two souls, one body …
When Joy wakes up in an alley, she knows three things: she was brutally murdered, she has somehow come back to life … and she is not alone. She’s been possessed by an inhuman presence, a being that has taken over her dying body. That being is powerful, in pain, and on the run from entities more dangerous than he is.
Shade, a Fae prince on the run, didn’t mean to share the body he jumped into. Desperate and afraid, accused of a murder he didn’t commit, he only sought a place to hide—but if he leaves Joy now, he faces discovery and a fate worse than death.
Forced to work together to solve multiple murders, including her own, Joy and Shade discover hidden strengths and an unlikely friendship. Yet as their souls become increasingly intertwined, they realize their true danger might come from each other … and if they don’t find a way to untangle the knot their souls have become, then even the truth won’t set them free.
Knot of Souls is a stand-alone buddy love fantasy that forces two very different beings to work together … and come out stronger on the other side.
My Review:
Knot of Souls is a complex and intricate novel. Joy is murdered but finds herself still living and breathing. The only problem is the other inhabitant in her body. Shade, a fae prince, hopped into a dying body only to find it still occupied. On the run for a murder he didn't commit, Shade sought safety in the first body he could to hide those hunting him. Now this duo of opposites must figure out who wanted Joy dead, who is framing Shade and why, how they are able to be in the same body, and how to share.
Joy has a lot of emotional baggage, low self-esteem, and allows people to control her. She's a people-please and everyone either takes advantage of that or doesn't acknowledge her at all. As she's fighting for control of her body, Joy finds herself becoming more assertive. Shade has a hard time giving up control, especially knowing that the more they work together the more they become intertwined. I loved watching him soften and become more accepting of Joy.
The author did an excellent job writing the entire novel. The dialogue was fluid and smooth and all of the characters were likable in their own way. There was back story and history given in the right increments; not too much, not too little. The story is filled with twists and turns. There are misdirects as the reader tries to figure who killed Joy, who set up Shade, and why to both.
Joy's character is likable - she doesn't start out strong but she evolves in this book and becomes both strong and competent. Shade starts out being dominant, fight to keep control of his host body. He's full of secrets and is tightlipped with the knowledge that Joy needs in order to attempt to understand what is going on with everything. He eventually stops fighting and changes his perspective. The author has written characters that have deep layers and are emotional.
I absolutely could not put this book down!!!
I was provided with a copy of this book. This does not
affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. The opinions I have
expressed are my own.
My Rating:
Knot of Souls is available at Amazon.
Read a Book Excerpt:
Joy
The first thing I realized, after I died, was that my body could walk and talk and no longer needed my help for any of it. I was in there, able to look through my eyes and hear through my ears, but even the simple task of aiming my gaze had slipped outside my control. I was a passenger inside my own mind, an observer along for the ride.
Kristen had been right, I thought numbly as I struggled to make sense of my new reality. Had it only been lunchtime today when she’d told me I’d never get ahead if I didn’t learn to assert myself? “Take control of your life,” she’d said, “or others will take it for you.”
She couldn’t have been thinking of anything quite so literal. Whatever was happening to me, it wasn’t because I’d failed to advocate for a promotion at work or refused to ask out a coworker.
Right?
My body reached my car and slid behind the wheel. A rattled thought—not my own—cursed as it tried to understand how the contraption worked. How much can cars have changed in only a century? Visions accompanied the thoughts, memories—again not my own—of a classic car, gleaming black and elegant, its top down, my bobbed hair whipping around my face as I laughed with glee, a white-faced young man at my side gripping the door, begging me to slow down. I did not.
Which brings me to the second thing I realized, after I died: I was no longer alone inside my own mind.
Whoever was in there didn’t seem to have noticed me yet. Fine. I slid into the smallest corner of my brain I could find, ignoring the intruder as they struggled to figure out how to work an automatic transmission. Maybe they’d get frustrated and give up and go find someone else’s body to possess.
Holy shit! I’ve been possessed by the ghost of someone who died in like 1930.
But why?
I tried to remember what had happened, but the images danced just out of reach. I recalled that the night had been unseasonably cold for October, the chill biting through my inadequate jacket as I hurried to my car, parked in a garage two blocks away from the shelter where I’d been volunteering. Hugging my arms around my torso for warmth, I took a shortcut through an alley and …
There was a noise. I’d startled, my heart pounding in my throat, already on edge because of the argument.
Wait. Back up. There’d been an argument. That seemed significant, but my scattered thoughts couldn’t piece it together as yet, not when a bodily intruder fumbled at the gearshift of my two-month-old Hyundai Accent with only fifty-eight “low monthly payments” left to go.
Low is such a relative word.
– Excerpted from Knot of Souls by Christine Amsden, Christine Amsden, 2025. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author:
Christine Amsden is the author of nine award-winning fantasy and science fiction novels, including the Cassie Scot Series.
Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but Christine believes great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. She writes primarily about people, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
In addition to writing, Christine is a freelance editor and political activist. Disability advocacy is of particular interest to her; she has a rare genetic eye condition called Stargardt Macular Degeneration and has been legally blind since the age of eighteen. In her free time, she enjoys role playing, board games, and a good cup of tea. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and two kids.
Author Links:
Christine Amsden is giving away 2 epub sets of the 4-book Cassie Scot series (gifted through BookFunnel! This includes Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective, Secrets and Lies, Mind Games and Stolen Dreams
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This giveaway starts July 1 and ends September 26.
Winner will be contacted via email on September 26.
Winner has 48 hours to reply.
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