Of The Shadow Soul

by Lauren D. Fulter

As a powerful threat begins to reveal itself from the darkness, the Council is separated.

With a perilous deadline fast approaching, and their Members scattered across the continent, the young Council Members have no choice but to work apart to piece together their newest threat: beings with glowing red eyes, and a disturbing relation to blood.

But there is more than meets the eye as they begin to dig deeper into the true origins of the Council and the strange voice that’s been plaguing their minds since Imperial. It becomes clear no one can be trusted, not even themselves.

She’s been waiting.

She’s been watching.

The time is now.

Unknown Binding

First published December 1, 2022

About the author

Lauren D. Fulter is a young American fiction author, publishing her first book at the age of sixteen.
After learning the word ‘author’ at ​age five, she’s been captivated by the art of storytelling, and the little people roaming her mind. Though she longs for the cold, she lives in the desert with her large family, spending her days drawing, dabbling in the dimensions of the Fulterverse, and wearing sunglasses for unclarified reasons.

Reviews

[Lauren Fulter]

*UPDATE 8/12/22*
The blurb has arrived!! AHHHH!!
I can't believe it's only *does math* a little less than four months till OTSS?? I already rambled about this on IG, but this book (no matter how difficult it was to write) means so much to me.
I can't believe we've made it so far with the TUQ series <3
.
OTSS is now on GoodReads!! I'm SO excited to share the next part of TUQ with you. Cover, blurb and content guide to come later this year. <3

[Amelia E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

YEEESSSSS I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED OTSS
It was incredible, as expected—LDF never fails to bring all the happy and sad and terrified and excited feels with the TUQ gang. My one disappointment is that they absolutely should have been called the Taco Council /j

The plot and lore we got in this installment of the TUQ series was so EXCITINGGG AHHH. We finally have a name for you-know-who :D Plus a bunch of other major and minor shocking revelations!!!
Ngl I WAS mildly confused like 36% of the time, but a lot of that is because it’s been over a year since I read the previous book. Whoops.

But anyway, the absolute most important part is, of course, THE CHARACTERS. They are EVERYTHING, OH MH GOSH. OTSS focused mainly on the boys, which I loved (dw I love the girls too but it’s nice to not switch between EVERY POV all the time, and I know the girls will get their chance to shine).

Lawrence is the most amazing big brother and I adore him and Matteo’s growing friendship. The way they take care of each other is 🥹🥺😭🫶 both of them are amazing and precious on their own, too

Cole had so many struggles and so much growth. My heart hurt for him and I was surprised how much I related to him.

Ray was, obviously, amazing as well. Him (and the others) struggling with the Voice in his head went straight to my heart, reminded me so much of struggling with intrusive thoughts ahhhHHHH anyway ALSO him and Mercy are THE BESTEST oh my gosh they’re so fun and cute and just yes.

POOR LINCOLN MY BOY oh my gosh but I was also SO HAPPY FOR HIM in a couple tiny moments.

Echo and Cecilio are the Greatests of All Time, especially Echo <333 We always love Giles and Taryn and Jack and Miriam of course (although I was frustrated with Miriam several times). Felicity is a LEGEND, Tabitha is amazing as always, Mercy is a fantastic character, AND (spoiler incoming, but its not that hard to see coming) nikki is best girl 4ever <333

Ohohoho…and our antagonist…oh yes. Oh, YES. I can’t wait to learn more.

I have the nagging feeling I forgot a character but suffice it to say, there is no such thing as a badly written character in a TUQ book. THERE ARE HATEABLE ONES THOUGH I WILL FIGHT THEM

ok that’s all I’m literally so excited for OTLL to come out, everyone go read all the TUQ books, that is all :)

[Samantha Crago · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there was a rating above 5 stars, I would give it. I would give this book all the stars. Every last one.

Okay, since this is book 3 in the series, you gotta start reading at book one obviously. So if you’re reading this and you haven’t read books 1&2 yet, go freaking do it. But this series as a whole is why I love it, every detail of this series is just so beautiful. This series is 100% my comfort series, these characters are my comfort characters. It’s my safe place, my home, it’s just everything to me.

Alright, let’s talk just about this book. Lauren puts you through an emotional roller coaster, and somehow controls the chaos so well. Everything is happening at the same time, but it makes sense and it falls together perfectly. The characters grow a lot in this book, some really big arcs on this chapter of their story. It made me so much more connected to the characters and made me feel for them even more. And the new characters that are introduced bring such a good new energy into the book, making it more exciting and interesting. This book is such a good addition to the series, it expands the world a lot.

I can not wait to see where Lauren brings this story next, y’all know I am impatiently waiting for book 4 already.

Also I was honored to be a beta reader for this lovely author. I think she might have only accepted me because I would scream or cry until she let me have it.

[Tatyanah Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

TuT I loved OTCC
It gave me so much joy
But immediately as I read the prologue to this book I thought “Of the Crutix Code was a great story, but this book is a work of ART!”
Let me just say, I really enjoyed the writing voice that this series has evolved into—it is so beautiful.
I also didn’t think that I could grow any more attached to the characters—but I should have known better. All of the characters grew so much and in such beautiful ways—The subplots for this book just… idk how to explain them. They are so well written!! Cole, Ray, Lincon, Lawrence, ahh!! Just love all of ‘em!!
THE TWISTS AND TURNS THIS BOOK LED ME ON! I could hardly put the book down!! The storytelling was just AMAZING! Agh!!
I could probably rant about it for days, but I’ll save the trouble XDDD
I give this book 10/5 stars.
What are you still doing here?! GO READ THAT BOOK!! XDD

[M.T. Zimny · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent installment in Fulter's series! I've loved watching Fulter's characters grow along with the author's writing prowess and especially loved the addition of THAT villain. The way Fulter weaves that character's story into the main plot is wonderful and shows off how far Fulter has come in her craft.

Despite the ever-growing cast of characters, those that are the focus of OTSS still go through satisfying arcs that the reader knows aren't over yet, promising more books of teenage angst, redemption, AND corruption that has me hungry for whatever comes next in this series! As for the new characters, I loved them all. Each one is distinct from the characters already on the page, challenging and complementing old characters in exciting ways.

Great job, LDF!

[Millie Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting installment of adventures with the council kids! Of the Shadow Soul is told from four main perspectives, and all POV characters are in different parts of the world, on different missions. Often a story like this will have THAT POV, that one storyline that lacks compared to the others… This was not the case for Of The Shadow Soul! There was no boring POV. Each individual storyline was interesting in its own right, while also coming together to create a greater story. More fun, more chaotic characters, more laugh-out-loud moments, and action-packed scenes. I can definitely see why this series gets compared to the MCU! It has all the hallmarks of a good science fantasy adventure. I had a great time, and I can’t wait to read the next one!

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.6

[Ariana Tosado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. Goodness.

Okay, the first two books? Captivating, thrilling, built *exquisitely*.

BUT OTSS?

I have no idea where to even begin (most likely because this sucker is huge). The very beginning: the cover. It's my favorite out of the three so far, and not just because Ray is on it. But on top of that, Fulter has yet another strong beginning that has us asking questions. Did we expect anything else from LDF?

With the council split up, it really gave LDF the chance to shine with her POV switching. And she not only took advantage of that, but PROVED that there's no such thing as "THAT pov" whenever it switches. Each one had its own voice despite being in third person POV, and with the characters being constructed so well, it was easy to get submerged into the new one's head after we leave the last one.

What especially blew me away was how Fulter had three different plots going on in this one book—and she NEVER lost my attention or following on any of them despite the odds being against her. I just cannot emphasize how entertaining and INTRIGUING every aspect of this book was.

And do not. Get me. Started. On the EMOTION. Fulter made me cry with *that* scene of Lawrence and Matteo. Actual tears. The emotion and motives were so raw and real in this book. Fulter did not hold back and stuck to what her world and characters demanded. She did them all right.

THAT CHARACTER. THAT ONE CHARACTER THAN I'M NOT SURE LDF WANTS US TO SPOIL (okay fine ***SPOILER*** her name is "Kathryn"). ONE OF THE MOST ENTERTAINING BACKSTORIES I'VE READ IN A WHILE. And I'm IN LOVE with Kathryn!!! She was done so well, and even though she's the villain (right now), I still love her. If you count her backstory, that's four plots LDF stuffed into this brick. Applause.

There was a little bit of a mystery with this one, which I can't complain about. Try to figure it out before the characters do if you can! It was a constant questions game from start to end.

I can't imagine how book 4 is gonna go. But, LDF, I tip my hat off to you with such a thrilling story. The breakdowns were worth it, I promise. Loved this one!!!

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

OTSS by Lauren D. Fulter was definitely the darkest book in the series so far. With Mercy’s background, Ray’s struggles, Cecileo’s background, Felicity in a wheelchair… it was all so much.

I’m not gonna say too much, other than I loved Mercy and Ray. Tabitha and Cole’s moment at the end 👌🏻

But, one thing I really want to touch on is how I relate to Ray. Ray struggles with an actual spirit whispering thoughts in his mind (at one point, the voice was telling him to kill Mercy). I struggle with random intrusive thoughts and have had that exact thought many times (The, ya know, killing thing). Seeing his reaction and how I’ve been there so many times… it was uncannily realistic and I will always appreciate that. I think about it at random times and am just so thankful Lauren could portray it accurately, even if it’s not the exact same thing.

10/10 book. Go read this series.