Sands of the Soul by Voronica Whitney-Robinson is the sixth book in the Sembia: Gateway to the Realms series. The focus of this story is on the Uskevren families daughter, Thazienne. The events in this book follow the events in The Price by Voronica Whitney-Robinson, a short story in The Halls of Stormweather anthology.I’ll just simply reword what the description says on the back of the book. Thazienne, or Tazi to her friends, is a thief in the city called Selgaunt. After a simple robbery, she finds out her nemesis’ plans. In order to protect her friends souls, she must journey to the Calim Desert to save them and herself.Negatives:1) Usage of minor characters. It just seemed like all the minor characters were there just enough to move the story. Yes, I know that this is generally what they there for, but it just seemed like some characters were only there to come in and help. The biggest example is Asraf, who appeared to be a very interesting and promising character, turned out to be just filler.2) Character depth. I didn’t think any character had any real depth or grew during this book. Even the main character stayed the same and didn’t really grow. Yes, there was some growth in a few characters… but it was hardly noticeable.3) Lack of excitement. All and all, I didn’t feel that excited a lot of the time. There was a lack luster romantic feel, the action was a little anti-climatic, and the dialogue seemed forced and predictable. It started promising, but just fell flat.Positives:1) Plot. It was an interesting plot idea, it just needed to be fleshed out a little more.2) The talk between Tazi and Erevis Cale. After reading the Erevis Cale trilogy, particularly, Twilight Falling by Paul S. Kemp, the reactions between Tazi and Cale made me understand what happened early on in that book. Plus, seeing Cale not able to act on his feelings was interesting and sad at the same time. Also, seeing how Tazi treats and talks to Cale, I can almost see a ‘thing’ there.3)The first few chapters. I liked the first few because they did seem to promise something different. But as it moved on and progressed it fell into the “been there, done that” feel. I just wish the story kept the emotions and feel of those few chapters.Overall: 2/5*After reading the promising short story, this was a let down.*
