I feel like I have been waiting forever for more of Trinity's story. The first 2 books were amazing and I was unable to put them down, with this book it took me about a week to read it because I kept losing interest. There was very little about Trinity, Xan, and Gerik. For me personally this book was too all over the place, switching from one person/couple to the next. This was a highly anticipated release for me and I am left very disappointed! The Lost Souls is a novella in The Holy Trinity series, although this series was originally planned to be a trilogy, the author gives us this novella before completing the final installment in the series. Although The Lost Souls is being called a novella, it could be considered a book, and it doesn't disappoint. TLS continues in the tale of a Gypsy clan trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world after a plague of Skin-eaters have destroyed most of the human population. The clan are descendants of Romanian gypsy clans and although they have lived in the U.S. for many generations, they still have traditions and rules from the Old World; women don't have a say in marriage, and outsiders are not welcomed. We learn in the two previous books, The Soul Mates and My Soul To Take, that gypsies caravan and move around often is so that outsiders don't learn that they have white magic. Gypsies are gifted with a special white power, that power comes in the form of four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. There is a fifth element, power of spirit, but that is only possessed by the most powerful Roma or Gypsy, who also have the gift of the other four elements . We were left at the end of My Soul To Take with Gerik turning into a dragon because the dark magic had taken over after his predestined soul mate, Trinity, had married Xan. Trinity wasn't aware that she and Gerik had shared souls in previous lives, and she didn't know that she was predestined to share souls again in this lifetime. Before Gerik became dragonized, he was able to unite with Trinity and pass on to her powerful white magic she was destined to possess. Although Trinity was now more powerful than the Skin-eaters and clan members, she was dying from loneliness. Xan, finding out that Trinity was still alive, and she thought that he and the clan had abandoned her, left the clan in search of Trinity. Xan finds Trinity at the end of the second book, but she is no longer the wife that he last saw.I was excited when The Lost Souls was released, I wanted to see how Xan and Trinity reunion was going to play out. The love triangle between Xan, Trinity, and Gerik had been gut wrenching because there were two hot Gypsies in love with one gal. One had loved her and shared the same soul in previous lives, and the other had loved her immensely and Trinity had reciprocated out of free will, not because she was fated to love him. Now with Gerik out of the triangle, I would get to see Xan and Trinity united again. WRONG!!! The author, Madeline Sheehen, changes course with this novella, this is no longer the Trinity/Gerik/Xan show. The background characters from the first two books: Hockey, Shandor, Marko, Becki, Nico,and others, it's their stories unfolding in this novella. It is a gamble by the author that pays off, because at the end of the book, I discovered that I was so caught up with the lives of these characters, that I didn't have time to miss Gerik/Trinity/Xan. There is minimal Xan and Trinity, mostly scenes from book 2 re-told, but at the end of the novella, we get a glimpse of the couple and their reunion isn't going the route that I expected. The reader learns in this book to expect the unexpected.and two things to remember in this novella: #1. No one is safe and #2. No one is safe. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it was hard to see the demise of some that finally were given a voice in this story, you make that connection, and you get into their heads, and then you gasp as you watch their end. One thing about this Gypsy clan, they know that their days could be limited, so they don't waste time figuring out relationships, they stake their claim, and have sex.Life is certainly hard in this post apocalyptic world, most of the human population have been either killed or turned into Skin-eaters (Skins). The majority of survivors belong to the Gypsy clan, because clan members are gifted with some form of white magic that is hidden from the outside world, therefore they are equipped to fight off the Skin-eaters. Also aiding in the fight is that info has been handed down for generations in the form of stories of how Skins originated, although most thought this was Romani folklore, the Gypsies discover that the centuries-old stories were true. The Skins originated not because of some disease or government project gone wrong, Skins had been in the making for centuries. A powerful Gypsy named Mullo called upon dark magic to avenge the death of his family and clan, the consequence for his actions was that he would always hunger for blood and never again know peace or life without suffering. Lore has it that Mullo is still alive, and the only way to break the spell of being a Skin is to kill Mullo. The number of Skins is now so great that they are running out of food, both humans and animals; Skins are trying to survive, just as the humans are doing. Shandor is unlike the other Skins, he was a Romani gifted with the power of fire, and to his surprise, he still has the gift of fire after he morphed into a Skin. Perhaps because of that power, Shandor has maintained some piece of his soul, and works toward influencing the members of the Skins clan that he rules over to become more humanized or in control. Shandor prefers his clan to eat animals over humans, he is in love with Tahyra, the Skin that he dethroned to take over as the Skin clan leader, and unbeknownst to him, Trinity's sister. Shandor's remaining piece of humanity could facilitate the eradication of the human population even faster, if he trains Skins to emulate human behavior, Skins may be harder to spot. That remains to be seen, just speculation on my part. I have to throw out there that the sex scenes between Shandor and Tahyra are barbaric, animalistic, fury-filled, and HOT!!! Seriously, if I got a companion like Shandor, I might consider becoming a Skin.Marko redeems himself from his bad behavior in book 2; in search for Trinity, he saves a Gaje, a non-Gypsy girl. Marko ends up on the receiving end of Trinity and Gerik's souls and vast knowledge. He has no idea what he is suppose to do with the power and knowledge, but he finds his way back to Trinity's camp, with a pregnant girl and two extra souls in tow.Hockey was separated from his group on their last raid, it's been months now, he isn't sure that anyone is still alive, but he is trying to work his way back to his clan and wife, Becki, while trying to survive the Skins and some evil humans. Becki remains at the Gypsy camp, not sure if Hockey is still alive, whether she is married or widowed. Life at camp isn't easy for a female because it's a man's world, and women still don't have a voice in marriage. But since it's a post-apocalyptic world, Becki doesn't let something like she may or may not be married stop her from seeking out another's bed. But since marriage candidates are dwindling every day, Becki finds herself once again voice-less and being forced into another marriage. Nico is desperately in love with Becki, who may or may not be married, and recently gave birth to a baby that she admitted wasn't fathered by Hockey. As we all know desperate times call for desperate measures, and Nico does just that to be with the woman he loves.I thought that The Soul Mates referred to Trinity/Gerik or Trinity/Xan, but now I suspect that the title could reference Marko/Carrie and/or Shandor/Tahyra.; these couples have found soul mates in each other.I eagerly await to see the final installment because I desperately want to see what happens to Gerik now that he is a dragon and soulless, will Xan manage to help Trinity retrieve her soul and obtain forgiveness, will Shandor remain just a powerful leader of Skins or will he find a way to track down Mullo, and the fate of all the remaining players.Excellent series, this is the first paranormal/science fiction-fantasy series that I've follwed. I'm not usually a huge fan of this type of genre, but Madeline Sheehan has made me a fan.I'm not sure how to rate this novella versus the first two books in the series; it is shorter than the other two books, and it doesn't have quite the meat of the other two books. But it is being marketed as a novella, instead of as a book, so I'm giving it five stars vs. 4 stars if it was being marketed as a book. The Lost Souls provides an insight as to what is going on in the lives of this Gypsy clan and building up to the finale, while providing historical info on the Gypsies and Skins. It is a fantastic read, and I recommend the series to everyone, even if you think that you won't enjoy the science fiction/fantasy/paranormal genre.
What do You think about The Lost Souls (2000)?
That was amazing! I'm in awe of Madeline Sheehan.
—orangegurlah
