Sara's Soul

by Deanna Kahler

Sara sees death. Everywhere. It haunts her in her sleep. It appears as visions. And now death beckons her to join it.

Psychic since childhood, Sara is convinced she’s living a curse. Instead of foreseeing uplifting life events, she’s haunted by images of other people’s demise. Her mother, who has been long deceased, once told her she could communicate with spirits and that a beautiful paradise awaited those who passed. But Sara never saw that. Now an adult, she’s certain that death is the end, and the overwhelming pain and sorrow she feels has convinced it’s her time to end her own life. The only problem: life keeps getting in the way.

A mysterious stranger appears just when she needs him the most. And no matter how hard she tries to escape this world, he won’t let her go. What starts as a magnetic attraction becomes a race against time, as he fights to save not only her life but her very soul.

271 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2015

About the author

Deanna Kahler is an accomplished writer and a proud parent. Her work has been published in numerous corporate newsletters and magazines across the country. She began writing as a young child and enjoys the opportunity to reach others and make a difference in their lives. She writes from the heart and uses her own experiences as the foundation for her work.

Deanna holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Arts from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., where she graduated with departmental honors. She lives in Michigan and enjoys writing, dancing, walking and visiting parks in her spare time.

Reviews

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through GoodReads First Read program.

Kahler tells a good story about Sara who has some psychic powers that she hasn't explored very much because Sara sees death and suffers along with those who she sees facing death. She gets very depressed through all of this and wants to take her life. She doesn't believe in an after life and just wants her current one to end.

Sara then meets Chip. She falls in love with Chip and he too has experiences with the afterlife. He tries to help her deal with her negative feelings and her desire for suicide. Chip sees and speaks with his dead mother and Connor who was her mother's friend. The dead and Chip work to prevent Sara from following through on her suicidal thoughts. Eventually good comes out through what Sara has gone through.

This story was missing one thing but it is a big thing-Jesus. God is kind of brought into the story and prayer takes place but this would have been a more meaningful story with Jesus filling the hole Sara felt in her soul.

[Stacy Hamm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I realize that the author wanted the reader to experience how deep the despair was that plagued Sara, however, it was soo redundant that I lost all connection with the character. Her boyfriend possessed no notable characteristics except passion to heal her. Their love at first sight at Starbucks, literally, was not believable and unrealistic even if it was induced by a 'divine intervention'. This was not the read for me.

[Ally · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won a copy from Goodreads First Reads.

I can't even... Oh, my gosh. Sara's Soul is not what I expected. From the synopsis, it seems that Sara's Soul might be a great book, but the book has utterly let me down. I expected it to be amazing, something that I could read and be swept away. But no. It was... Nothing I expected.

There is something called "Show, not tell." I'm serious. Literally everything in this book is about "Tell, not show." (Though I do I have to admit that the parts that are "Show, not tell" are practically annoying parts that only serve to make the plot move forward. And also, to increase the drama by tenfold.) Basically, everything about the characters in the book is way too easily answered by the descriptions (or paragraphs) in Sara's Soul. I find the book to be... incredibly easy to read.

It isn't just that. There is another little thing. Redundancy. I won't kid you. A lot of the parts in Sara's Soul is repeated several times. Sometimes, I wonder what is the point of the repetition. Once, twice... Three times is fine. But repeated every page or so? Now that is the extremes.

I know that the relationship between Sara and Chip (the mysterious stranger mentioned in the synopsis) is one of the leading arcs. But the relationship itself is absolutely off. There is this sense of urgency that shouldn't be there, and the pacing is just off. They are a strange couple (and I'm not going to start on this). I could go on about the relationship (like how fast it is moving. Too fast, I should add), but I think there are other pressing matters.

Sara is an okay character. She is tolerable. But I would probably enjoy reading about her, if... IF her character traits aren't repeated every so often by a random character. (Okay, maybe not that random character.)

Overall, I would not recommend Sara's Soul to anyone. It is just too much for me. I can't believe how I gotten through it. There is a lot of editing and changing to be done (and it is possible, but there has to be a lot of revisions) to make it better. Until then...

I don't recommend this to anyone.

Rating: One out of Five

[Heather Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on behalf of Readers' Favorite

Sara's Soul by Deanna Kahler is a paranormal romance about a woman plagued with visions of death. Sara constantly sees death all around her. The daughter of a psychic, Sara thought she would see beauty in her premonitions, but all she experiences is suffering. Misunderstood, Sara searches for a way to clear her mind of these troubling visions. Resolving suicide to be the only answer, she plans to kill herself, but is stopped by a visit from her dead mother in spirit form. Star tells her daughter she will soon encounter a man who will help her with her struggles. Pushing it aside as a dream, Sara is shocked when she meets Chip, a doctoral student in psychology at her college. Together, they find themselves embarking on a spiritual journey of love and loss. Will Chip be able to save Sara in time?

I found the concept of this novel to be very intriguing. I have long been fascinated with the concept of an afterlife and Deanna Kahler presents a very calming interpretation of interactions with the spirit world. I found it hard to connect to Sara though. She had a rather defeatist attitude when it came to letting Chip help her. I liked Chip much more than Sara. I felt some of the characters and plot lines could have used more development. I would have liked to see more of a build up to the climax of the story. I liked some of the subplots and the romance was very sweet and innocent. Sara's Soul is a well-written novel, with paranormal influences, sure to make the reader think twice about past lives and encounters with lost loved ones.

[Amber Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.

My favorite thing about this book was the topic of depression and suicide. Unfortunately, that is not what the story is supposed to be about. I believed this book to be about a paranormal romance, and though it did have that in it, it was not like I expected.

I like the idea of this book, but to me it wasn't as in-depth as I felt it should be. I believe the book started off well, but once Sara met Chip (a mysterious stranger come to save her) it suddenly felt as if every were rushed. I also felt like the romance part was too cheesy and very unreal. Once Chip entered the picture it became hard for me to continue reading, for it all felt fake and very rushed.

However, I did connect with the depression/suicide plot. I thought those were the realist parts of the book, and it certainly put things into perspective for me. With some changes, I believe this book could become a great read.

[Melinda Weprin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really difficult to immerse yourself into this book. There were some amazing scenes around empathy and those scenes kept giving me hope for the story. Sarah's character had good reason to feel depression and hatred for her abilities and the relationship with Chip had some elements that rang sincere. Chip was more a typical undergrad boy than a post-grad IMO but he was sensitive and caring.

My issues with the fluidity of the book are about the many inconsistencies of knowledge and timing. For example in one page the couple are talking about meeting his dad for lunch at noon, then they are watching a sunset at a park, then they are meeting the dad for dinner, and the very next scene its the afternoon. Additionally I'm not sure what the angel and "past life" scenes added to the book plot.

Overall, good idea but could use some more time to smooth out the rough edges.

[Dawn Obrien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book and I could not put it down. Absolutely enjoyable. I felt like I was right there with the characters. The descriptions are amazing and you actually feel like you are in the story. I will be reading more by this wonderful writer. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to experience this read by winning it on the free giveaway.
I loved the story. Definitely not your typical love story, that is what makes this most enjoyable.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please find my full review of this book at http://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-...