Book Review: Harmony by Sonya Bria

Harmony
Kingdom of Souls #1
Author: Sonya Bria
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Paranormal
Released: June 1st 2012
Review Source: Cambio Publishing
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) A Curse.It started with a curse centuries ago placed upon the House of Ulster:

One more powerful than I will come,
She alone will break the spell.
With her as guide the dark will align.

Destiny.
If someone told you that you were the key to an ancient tragedy, what would you do?

Sophie is a high school senior with only two things on her mind, graduating from Jefferson High, and moving on, leaving the death of her mother firmly in the past. But the past is not done with Sophie, and she finds herself suddenly thrust into a tragic, Irish love story centuries old. Does she have the strength to accept her part, confront her own past, and rely on someone long forgotten?

Ian is a vampire with only one thing on his mind...Sophie. For years, he has watched over Sophie, and protected her from the darkness surrounding her mother's death. He would like nothing more than to forget the past, but his fate lies with Sophie and her destiny. Can he help Sophie confront her nightmares and not fall in love?

Choices.
Sophie and Ian will discover that they also have a connection-something that could bind them together forever or rip them apart. What will they choose?

Only time will tell.

This is their story.

This is the story of Sophia and Ian. Sophia's uncomplicated life as a high school senior preparing for graduation is forever changed as she learns the Celtic history of her ancestor Deidre. Ian must reveal the role he played in the past, help Sophia come to terms with his life as a vampire in the present and hope that combined they can defeat the curse and ultimately plan a future together.

The story starts with a prologue set hundreds of years ago and with a curse. A greedy king, a beautiful druid and her lover betrayed set the stage in centuries past that collide with Sophia's life in modern times. Soph finds that nothing in her life is what it seems. Was her mothers death when she was just a child really an accident? When her invisible childhood companion Ian walks out of her imagination and into her life, Sophia begins a journey she never expected. As Sophia and Ian find love, danger and evil and tragedies from the past try to tear them apart.

I thought this book had a lot of potential but ultimately it fell a little flat for me. I really liked Celtic back story but I was left feeling like there could have been or should have been more....I liked the insight we were given into Ian's mind set and thoughts, but again, I felt there should have been more depth to explain his feelings for this mortal girl that morph from protector into romantic feelings of love. Even Sophia's thoughts didn't fully explore their connection to its fullest potential. Her world was turned upside down and I just didn't "feel" her struggle enough with all turmoil. All that said, I did enjoy the way Sonya Bria writes. Her descriptions of places and characters thoughts kept you reading and hoping for more. I read Harmony quickly and was interested enough in the ending that I would pick up the sequel and read it to find out what Sonya Bria has in store for these characters in the future.