The Weight of Souls by Bryony Pearce - Ashley's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: The Weight of Souls
Author: Bryony Pearce
Year Published: 2013

Synopsis: Sixteen year old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark beneath her skin. She has three weeks to find their murderer and pass the mark to them – letting justice take place and sending them into the Darkness. And if she doesn't make it in time? The Darkness will come for her…

She spends her life trying to avoid ghosts, make it through school where she's bullied by popular Justin and his cronies, keep her one remaining friend, and persuade her father that this is real and that she's not going crazy.

But then Justin is murdered and everything gets a whole lot worse. Justin doesn't know who killed him, so there's no obvious person for Taylor to go after. The clues she has lead her to the V Club, a vicious secret society at her school where no one is allowed to leave… and where Justin was dared to do the stunt which led to his death.

Can she find out who was responsible for his murder before the Darkness comes for her? Can she put aside her hatred for her former bully to truly help him? 

And what happens if she starts to fall for him?

Why?: Besides never being let down by a Strange Chemistry book, this one just sounds like something that's right up my alley. Ghosts, mystery, a secret club, dangerous stunts leading to death... I wanted to read this book from the first time I read the description. Plus, I think it might be a standalone book, so I'm excited to not have to start a new series. There are not enough standalone books being written right now.

Expectations: I except a dark, gripping story that has me on the edge of my seat. Taylor is running on a very short timeline, and she has no idea who could have murdered Justin... so I also expect a mystery that gets solved fairly quickly. 

Judging a book by its cover: This cover reminds me of something I might see on a comic book. The girl looks a little too cartoon-y for my tastes, but I do think it is a nice cover. I like the magic looking stuff in her hands. I might pick this up if I saw it on a shelf in a bookstore or a library, but I'm not really sure. It's not a stunning cover or anything, and I don't know if it would stand out among all the other books.


--Ashley