Soul Merchant

Isabella Hush #4

by Thea Atkinson

When the supernatural steals your soul, you have to buy yourself time the only way you can.

Isabella is finally out from beneath Scottie's thumb, but she still has one terrible thing hanging over her head. She is bound to the angel of hell and a dark shapeshifting sorcerer who wants the magic rooted in her soul.

The seedy underbelly of the otherworld still comes with strings attached even though she is working for Maddox. She's doing the same thing she always did: using her skills to procure relics of great value. Except now those relics she's meant to steal all have a supernatural origin, and some of them are flat out frightening.

When she discovers Maddox is after a long-lost relic crafted by an alchemist of great repute, she sees an opportunity to prove her worth and earn a tidy bonus at the same time.

But there are dreadful consequences to dealing and stealing ancient supernatural artifacts…

Genres: Fantasy

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2020

About the author

Thea is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling Author. She used to have a black lab at her feet when she wrote, warming up the calves. It can be cold in rural Nova Scotia. Now it's just a cuppa tea keeping her warm.

Her urban fantasy pulses with dark themes and action-packed intrigue. Her characters are always deeply wounded creatures struggling for redemption.

Hang out with her on Instagram or Facebook or follow her on Amazon. Grab a free book at her website.

Find her on the web:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B0046DIT0U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaatkinso...
TT: http://https://www.tiktok.com/@theaat...
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a special shout out to Brenda Levy Tate for the awesome author photo wherein I don't look too dog-lady crazy.

Reviews

[Jackie]

In this not so long book, there are enough twists and turns to keep you reading. Isabella is one fabulous character that you don’t want to miss out on.

[Kaye]

ONE SOUL SLURPING LANDSLIDE!!!
Ditching demons! Thea hit the motherload, making bank with this brilliantly composed spin, laying out one entrancing storyline and gripping plot rocks this baby to the core, wrapping this gem up sleek shiny and tight. A multitude of formidable trials and challenging tribulations, noting the compelling twists and wicked turns, putting our characters through their paces, testing them in ways they could have never anticipated. Crashing boundaries and dispensing limits, displaying the strengths and weaknesses being weighed and balanced, propelling this jewel on-ward without a hitch, knocking it into overdrive, blowing it into a tailspin with a life-altering realization. Shenanigans, escapades and mayhem rule the roost rolling with the drama, turmoil, intrigue, danger, spiraling suspense and intense situations, along with a boatload of calamity while dodging deadly intents, you have one intoxicating masterpiece. Coiled, knotted and tightly woven, displaying the explosive ups and agonizing downs, grounding in it's simplicity and awe inspiring in it's depth. The characters, banter, dialogue, interactions and charged atmosphere along with relatable qualities and individual traits, blend and flow, transforming into genuinely charismatic personalities. The scenes are strikingly sharp with abundant details and depictions creating a colorful backdrop that makes the storyline pop. Awesome job Thea, thanks for sharing this little treasures with us.

[Kztgs4eva]

I received this book free as an Arc copy, and all that was asked in return was an honest review. I really enjoyed this book, and it has a sly sense of humor. World-building is exceptionally well done, and very descriptive, and character-building is very well done as well. Isabella Hush is at it again taking us on a rollercoaster ride of sharp turns and deep twist as well as surprises around every corner. She sure does know how to get herself in deep over the head trouble, and it was great fun watching her get herself out of it. Although at times there was a tenseness whether she was going to get herself out of it. The action doesn't stop, but seamlessly flows from one episode to the next until the very end. I highly recommend this read for anyone who enjoys action-packed stories that have a sense of humor, and we'll keep you glued to the pages until the very end.

[Evelyn Dotson]

Isabella finally comes out of her apartment at the behest of Maddox to meet for a job. She is at the tavern and speaking with another woman, who turns out to be an ancient vamp. Isabella is still reeling from killing Scottie and Maddox is very worried about her. But knowing Isabella, she draws trouble to her no matter what~ through a series of events, she saves her landlords life, gets bitten by a ferryman, and her soul is leaking out! Someone wants to swap places with her~ Maddox and her will have to go on another perilous journey to save her soul. Only this time, it will involve Maddox’s past life and family…how far will he go to save the one woman he loves but cannot have? How far will she go for the same reason? I received this as an ARC and am leaving a voluntary review.

[Donna]

Soul Merchant is Book 5 in the Hush series by Thea Atkinson. The world building is awesome with excellent descriptions. Character development is superb. The author's prose pulls you into the story and you can experience it through Isabella's eyes. The interaction between Isabella and Maddox is great as well as the other characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and did not want it to end. I would recommend reading the previous 4 books (it is not needed in my opinion) but it makes the enjoyment of this book so much better. I received a free ARC from the author and this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Crystal Bookreader Amason]

Hang on for life cause Isabella is about to take you on a very unpredictable ride. Absolutely love the new characters! So Isabella's soul is leaking and she must find a way to stop it. She calls on a few old friends and acquaintances. She runs into some not so friendly people, new and old. And can we talk about to super slow burn between her and Maddox. I don't know if they will ever get together, but a girl can dream right lol. Absolutely can not wait to go on another adventure with Isabella, she never disappoints.

[Caroline Jenkins]

OMG I just love Isabella and Maddox!
And I love the way Ms Atkinson writes, she's made Isabella the perfect type of sassy kickass girl I love reading about and that I would have loved to have been.
The story grips you from the onset and doesn't let go until the last page.
There's adventure and action and all sorts of creatures that go bump in the night.
It's thrilling and entertaining and I just loved it!
Well done Ms Atkinson for another amazing in the story of Maddox and Isabella

[Shelby White]

Isabella is flawed, larger than life and in true Isabella form, is hip deep in adventure again and not the fun kind. She maybe loosing her soul , but she hasn’t lost her excitement and strong willed vibrancy that makes this series one of the very best. Maddox and Isabella’s chemistry is just as strong and tangible as ever and totally adds and enhances this already great story. I read this in one sitting and I’m preparing to do it again.

[Sydney Hopke]

This series keeps getting better with each book! Just when you think you can figure out what's going to happen the author says HA HA not happening and surprises you. Isabella and Maddox are so much fun and the other characters in this book just fit so well. Be prepared to laugh and just enjoy and want more of everyone! You don't necessarily need to read the other books to read this one (in my opinion) but you should, you really should!!

[Helen Wawrejko]

Great series with a slow burn HEA that takes our heroine and Maddox through a soul destroying ferryman as well as an artifact hunt that is fraught with danger. Isabella has escaped Scotty's terror to walk right into another one. I for one am anxious to see how we get Maddox to be able to surrender to Isabella and keep his guardian status. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

[Scarolet Ellis]

Soul Merchant (Isabella Hush Series) by Thea Atkinson this is such an amazing story that I have read. This is book number five in this amazing series that I have read and I love this author. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about magic in their stories.

I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story.

[Carolyn Overcash]

Who knew your body could be like a leaking tire?

Isabella’s soul is leaking out after she is bitten by an evil black snake looking thing with red eyes. Maddox seeks a Soul Merchant to help her retrieve it. Magic, portals, the Lilith stone, an alchemist, and soul possession—what can go wrong?

A free ARC!

[Kathleen Bradbury (Bulfon)]

I loved this story. It is the kind that you can identify with the characters and immerse yourself in the story. Very well written and characters to win the heart make this book a must read.
"I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book."

[Heather Bane]

This is book 5 of the Isabella Hush Series. I loved the characters and the storyline. I found both well written and engaging. The story had a great flow. I love this series and would highly recommend reading. (I received this book as an arc and am leaving a voluntary honest review)

[Rebecca Brown]

Another wonderful book by Author Thea Atkinson. Wonderful characters that draw you into the story.
A well written book that I loved reading...

[Phthon]

Wow. This was GOOD! Even though Isabella wasn’t doing her normal kicking the behind of everyone, this was just as intense and action packed! Just different from the usual. I loved it! I also love how she seems to be maturing. Just a little.

[Steve Filson]

Isabella , And Maddox what a team, I am an Honest ARC reviewer ,And this Baby rox.Will you put it down ? NAH...You'll be up late awestruck by the twists and turns...Don't pay the Ferryman...

[William Vegvari]

Fantastic, has you from the first page. I could not put the book down. The characters are brilliant and the story takes you where you haven't been before.
Highly recommended

[Cath]

This is book five of the Isabella Hush series and her new job for Maddox as his recollections agent, reclaiming magical artifacts from the wrongful owners, seems like it should be ideal for a former thief like Isabella. She is to meet him at the Fayed’s vampire bar in the wrong end of town, but he is really late. She doesn’t realise until too late, that the woman sitting next to her and trying to entice her into conversation, is a vampire and an exceedingly old one. She is currently under Fayed’s protection in the bar, but she is an ancient and can order him to give her over to this vampire, Cleo! Cleo is the latest client Maddox wanted to help regain a missing item. In this case, an old chest full of potions or should I say poisons, that she had tasked Maddox with finding years ago. Now he has a lead to where it might be, but when Cleo realises Isabella is a human, she refuses to allow her to touch her missing case. Maddox sends her home in a cab, after finding a tiny kitten in the alley beside the bar, which he has to take home. Someone has been in her apartment and it looks like it was her landlord. She goes round to question him about it, but finds him almost dead in his hallway. Seems he was bitten by a dangerous snake, which had been in a box addressed to her!

Who, out of all the people after her, has tried to do this to her is unclear. It is only after Maddox arrives and takes her to his place, that he realises the situation is much more serious than he first thought. Someone is trying to take her soul and it is already leaking out of her slowly. The main bite of the snake was on her landlord, so she was lucky in a way, but she will still die if he can’t find a Soul Merchant to reverse what has been done. Isabella’s stubborn nature draws her into danger yet again, back in the Shadow Bazaar, a place of many horrifying and inhumane activities. Isabella doesn’t quite realise how much her soul and her humanity is a commodity and integral to being human, getting closed off to feeling anything about what is happening to those around her. Even the kitten and her own cat are beginning to hate her. We learn a lot more about Maddox and his past, as well as information about his lost siblings. He is definitely not immune to feelings for Isabella and many believe her to be his lover, even though his position as a Guardian of the Stone comes with a vow of celibacy! If she dies she will be dragged back to Hell, a place she never wants to go back to again. She needs her soul back and quick. She had previously refused immortality, something that may have saved her from death, but it still wouldn’t have saved her humanity. Realising that even Maddox’s touch no longer elicits any sort of response from her body, she knows something is drastically wrong and she learns more of the Kindred hiding in plain sight around her and the dangers of owing any favours! Maddox has a difficult decision to make about who to save and it comes with a huge price to all. A cracking read with lots of shocking discoveries and revealing the dangers of being a human amongst the Kindred. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Vannessa]

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest book in this series - it was full of excitement, tension, slightly sweet romantic moments and a few "too-stupid-to-live" moments too, all mixed in with great characters and amazing world-building too.

Isabella is finally rid of Scottie, the nasty piece of work ex-fiancé, but now she is riddled with guilt. She's trying to move past it, but at her own pace, filling her time with eating mountains of chips and ice cream. When Maddox tells her he has a job for her, she jumps at the chance to get back in the game, but of course, things never go according to plan and what should have been an easy meet with a client, soon takes a turn for the worse.

Things just go from bad to worse and there were times I really questioned Isabella's sanity as rather than listening to those who know more about the Kindred than she does, she does things to put herself in great jeopardy! At those times, I wished Maddox would just let her get on with it and get herself out of the trouble she's landed herself in, but being the good guy he is, he comes to her rescue more times than I felt she deserved. I know she's troubled and has had a horrible past, one I wouldn't wish on anyone, but even when on death's door, literally, she decided to do stupid things! Hopefully now she knows how dangerous some of those situations were, she will be more reluctant to do similar things again.

I love this world that Thea Atkinson has created - the Shadow Bazaar is a fascinating place that I want to visit (under the wing of Maddox of course!). Thsi is definitely becoming one of my current fave series to read and even though it took me an age to read this book (I've been in a bit of a reading slump this month!), I loved it and cannot wait for more adventures with these characters.

I received a copy of this book through BookSprout, but this review is all my own honest one!

[Katheyer]

“Soul Merchant” is the fifth book in the urban fantasy “Isabella Hush” series by Thea Atkinson, the previous one “Holiday Magic” is a short Christmas story barely under 35 pages. “Soul Merchant” is thus the fourth full length instalment in the series with the length of almost 300 pages, and follows once more the adventures of Isabella Hush, a talented thief, with an uncanny talent to getting into very strange situations.

After all the struggle Isabella has finally broken free of Scottie’s lash, but her freedom is still something she hasn’t fully achieved, as she still bounded to the Angel of Hell and under that shady sorcerer intended in getting her magic even if the cost is her own soul. Going through Hell and making it back, wasn’t enough. After the last installment Hell is almost empty and the demons are roaming after Isabella. In the meantime, Isabella takes in a new assignment, looking for lost potion chest belonging to an ancient vampire, while her soul keeps on leaking out. And here we go again, into a rollercoaster ride full of twists, turns, unexpected discoveries, dodging out threats while trying to keep a step ahead of the entity focused on getting her magic, with a piece of her soul on the side.

This series (which already started on a very high note) keeps on improving with any new instalment, thus – as always - expect the unexpected, wrapped into an action-packed adventure, with a captivating plot, a relatable no-nonsense main character, interesting secondary characters, a pinch of mystery and enough supernatural creatures to meet every urban fantasy fans taste. Well written, with a pinch of cynicism to go with it, that kind Bernard Shaw would call “power of accurate observation” 😉 and always wonderful, eerie descriptions that makes the world comes alive page after page, and the reader feel part of the action at all times.

[Katie]

2.5

This could be much higher, but there was so much reference to events that I'm assuming took place somewhere between this book and book 3 (book 4 is nowhere to be found, and seemingly doesn't exist anywhere for me to read or purchase). So the main character keeps referring back to dates and what seems to have been a dramatic shift in her slow-burn relationship with the "not-man" she's been pining after.

Remove all the references I don't get, as well as typos and grammatical errors, the plot and story itself is intriguing and I'll read book 6 when it comes out, but hopefully book 4 comes out/back (apparently there are reviews out there for a holiday book) before then.

The author does a great job bringing in characters from actual history and puts a fun supernatural spin on them. The action is fun, the slow-burn romance is intriguing, and even though I hate the main character at times, I still enjoy her character arc over the course of the 4 (5?) books.

[Denise]

Isabella has been keeping her coach company ever since she killed her ex-lover in a desperate attempt to take her life back. So far, Maddox hasn't been able to prod her into actually living that life. Then in one night she gains a pissed-off vampire stalker and gets bitten by a even more pissed-off snake. The next thing she knows she is back in the Shadow Bazaar being told her soul is being slowly drained from her body. With the sudden absence of the guilt that has been crushing her spirit, Isabelle isn't sure losing her soul is such a bad thing. But apparently, she could find herself back in hell under Satan's sadistic care and she soooo doesn't want that to happen. Find out if she and Maddox manage to save her soul and her life.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Douglas Williamson]

Our heroine keeps getting in deeper and sees no way out. But she is not going without a fight.

This is book five of the series. It works pretty well as a standalone, but would probably be better if read in order. Your call.

This is an urban fantasy story with a very dirty and gritty feel to it. The story is intriguing and quick paced, with an enjoyable storyline and a fascinating setting. The characters are also nicely done and our heroine in particular continues to grow with each story, which I really like. I really like the way the entire series has developed and it keeps getting better. I enjoyed this book quite a bit and look forward to her next adventure.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes.

[Witch-at-Heart]

Absolutely beyond fantastic! This series just keeps getting better and better! The twists and turns are completely unpredictable and that us so impressive I totally love it..

I love our flawed characters Isabella and Maddox they have a wonderful dynamic that feels sincere between them... I absolutely love good character development and this book has it in spades.

The beauty of this series is you don't necessarily need to read the other books to read them but you should they are completely well worth the read!

[Shayay]

Isabella just can’t keep herself out of trouble; another fun adventure with danger and action! I’d recommend reading the previous books before this one; the main character, Isabella, does find crazy new adventures in each book, but you’ll be missing some backstory if you start with this one. I wasn’t a fan of how this one started; annoying vampire woman causing problems for Isabella, and I was hoping that there would be more character growth at this point in the series, but this is an interesting story. Cool magical elements and fun paranormal world with interesting characters!

[Natalie Noblett]

I love this series. We continue with Isabella getting herself into trouble again and Maddox trying to protect her! I love how their relationship is progressing and desperately want to see her finally break through his celibacy! In this installation poor Isabella gets mixed up in her landlords problems and ends up losing her soul. We learn that more and more people she knows seem to be embroiled in the Kindred world.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sissy Satterfield]

With this series I have found that I just have to wait and be surprised, and surprised I was! Isabella is caught up in another page turning adventure that kept me guessing. Isabella takes us on a ride that leaves us screaming for more. I Love this series more with each book and I will definitely be reading the next one!!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marilyn Smith]

This book will pull you in as things aren’t as they seem. There are so many twists and turns and just when you think you know what’s going to happen it gets pulled in to a whole other direction! Isabella and Maddox find themselves getting pulled in and the characters are great as they try to get what they are sent after! A great book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tahnia Ross]

Sitting at the bar in the Rot Gut Tavern, Isabella is talking to Cleo about love things. When Maddox finally shows up, Cleo is trying to get Isabella away from Fayed, the Vampire owner to the Tavern. Cleo wants to suck the blood from Isabella but Maddox saves her. This story has many intense moments and a few romantic moments. Highly recommended

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.