Soulbooks: a Chinese Fairy Tale by Gratton Hicks—an early reader review:
First, I would like to thank the sponsor for sending a physical copy—there is no comparison between holding a book or balancing a screen.
I was a little worried by the opening lines which were composed of very short sentences that made for a choppy read, but it evolved. Also, some typos and inaccurate homonyms were distracting, but all that can be changed for a smoother read.
The story itself needs no work. True to the title, “fairytale”, this book takes you back in time to a different culture rich in polite concern for other people. The customs are not contemporary and the “dating” ritual seems archaic by today’s standards, but the characters are hard-working and sincere and likable. The one incident of violence was treated as an abhorrent act and the characters treated the situation with great respect for the families of both victim and killer. The magic rules of reincarnation, which give the book its title, are detailed and fascinating—foreign to my experience, but like the rest of the book, they are fair and well thought through.
I found this a gentle read and I appreciated the escape from the news of the day. ( )

Thank you LibraryThing for the opportunity to read Soulbooks: A Chinese fairytale by Gratton Hicks. Wonderful novel, 2 stories in one that relate to each other, fairytale and real life. Soulbooks are butterflies who come to take the souls of the recently departed to establish rebirth for the afterlife of mankind. The Soulbooks have been assigned to the Suoing family , and one of the Soulbooks is the recently departed wife of one of the family. The author’s description of each and every character leaves you feeling your part of them, know them and understand them. Wonderful novel, and the ending is well you will have to judge for yourselves. JUST READ IT, you will never look at butterflies the same way.. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The Author wove a story that drew you into the lives of the characters. The book is fiction but the author was able to write in such a way that it seemed like a biography of past Asian culture and times. I was sad to finish reading the book. There are so few books written that you want the story to never end and this was one of them. A very talented author and a book that I will highly recommend and read again. I look forward to more books from Gratton Hicks.

I received this book though LibraryThing Early Reviews and would like to thank them and the Author for giving me the opportunity to read this captivating book. ( )

I found the imagery and the printing of Soulbooks to be lovely. I enjoyed the mythology elements of the story, and it didn't progress in the way I expected (it wasn't totally predictable).

That said, it is very clear this is a self-published novel, and while I applaud Mr Hicks for the wonderful layout of the physical book, he really needs an editor. The punctuation had some issues (at first commas were outside the dialog quotes, then at some point the switch to being inside; some punctuation was missing; extra spacing etc), and I really think some more attention the dialog could have made it much stronger. And some variation of sentence length. I know that's nit-picky but it really distracted me from enjoying the story.
I just kept imagining it as a graphic novel (which would be perfect), although the imagery in the writing was vivid and beautiful.

I received a free copy of the book via LibraryThing Early Reviews and I am grateful to LibraryThing and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

I fell into this magical story and hated to leave it. With each turn of the page, more magic and mysticism unfolds. Not to mention the endearing family you come to know. I was extremely impressed with this book. It's not easy to weave a new fairy tale and make it seem like a time worn story, but that's exactly what this author did. I felt like I was reading a tale penned long ago that is now a classic. And although it is described as a fairy tale, that doesn't really do it justice at all because it is so much more. I felt every smile, every tear, every fear and every heartache that this wonderful little family went through. And at the end of it all, I felt so much a part of the family, that I hated to close the book on the last page.

There's just something about Asian culture and the way their stories unfold that is as wondrous and magical as this book was. I sincerely hope this author continues to pen more stories of these intriguing and drama rich people.

***I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program. My review is strictly voluntary.*** ( )