The Soultrapper

Thanks to Netgalley, Victory Editing and Stanislava Buevich for this ARC.

In The Soultrapper, 15 year olds Stef and Paul discover a virtual reality game like no other. The Disappearance of Eden Rose has escape room style puzzles and a deeper mystery to solve. In this immersive world, Stef and Paul find a link to unsolved deaths of many teenagers from their town a decade ago. Can they uncover the truth?

The characters:

The main characters Stef and Paul had an interesting dynamic as childhood friends navigating growing up. I was interested to see how their relationship evolved. Stef, the protagonist was endearing, I thought it was extremely cool that she liked gaming and programming. As a woman in STEM, we need more representation in fiction for all ages.

The antagonist was compelling. I can't say too much without spoilers but they were unique and well written.

The story:

The story was more fairytale esque than I was expecting. Based on the blurb and my own experience with the subgenre I thought it was going to be darker. I would recommend it to younger teenagers, or the more squeamish young adult reader. I enjoyed the storytelling, it made the writing really immersive. I could picture every scene perfectly and very much lost track of my own surroundings.

The VR element was cool and definitely unique, I think it allowed for the more fantastical landscapes and gaming tropes. I felt like I was suspending my disbelief a bit in the beginning but got very into it by the end.

Overall:

A light but mysterious and enjoyable teen fiction mystery. Immersive, fairytale like descriptions of fantastical landscapes in an advanced VR setting. Compelling characters with an intriguing relationship dynamic kept me hooked from the start.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me this ARC!

This book was fast-paced and you jump straight into the main plot. It made it very easy to keep reading, and nearly impossible to put down.

The main characters Stef and Paul were well-thought-out characters. Stef is intelligent but relatable, and Paul gives off typical grumpy teenage boy vibes, especially at the beginning of the book.

The VR headset/how the game was played reminded me of Ready Player One, which helped me picture what was happening as they were playing, especially as they had the gloves to help them feel everything in the game.

I wasn't expecting the mystery aspect to be so enjoyable! I genuinely couldn't figure out who was the AI gone rogue, which I loved because there is nothing worse than a super predictable outcome!

I was glad Stef and Paul got to have an interaction with Ollie at the end of the book. It helped the characters and the reader confirm that everything that happened was real, and we got some closure. It was interesting to find out that the original kids stuck in the game didn't just appear in the present day, and they got to go back to the timeline they were in when they entered the game.

The epilogue reminded me of Jumanji - the VR headset appearing just at the right time and Ariadne enticing 2 new players to join the game. I look forward to seeing what the author does next!

I absolutely loved it. Such a unique story with mystery and romance. I felt like I was involved with helping them solve the case. There were a few plot twists I weren't expecting. Which is nice since most books have a predictable plot line.
The characters are relatable and help draw you into the story. It wasn't confusing and the story pulled you in. I felt the emotions the characters were feeling. The story sucks you in and you can't stop reading.

Goodreads: 21/6/24

first thing first, thank you very much for allowing me to read your book early.

the title of the book is what pulled me in first off, it is definitely eye-grabbing and the cover Is perfectly designed to fit the story of the book. and the description of it made me want to pick it up, which I find is hard nowadays with some books but as soon I started the story I was truly hooked almost instantly on it. I did not want to put my e-reader at all and found myself losing a little sleep just so I could continue reading the book, the plot twists that were there, especially the end shocked me and kept me wanting more, i do hope there is a second book because that would be amazing! and I'm sure there's plenty of possibilities for it,

I know if there is going to be a physical form of the book i will be ordering it of course after i recommend this book and its amazing story to friends, family, and followers if they read these types of books.

4.5/5

In "The Soultrapper" by Stanislava Buevich, Stef and Paul embark on an immersive VR adventure, The Disappearance of Eden Rose. At first, it seems like a well-crafted escape game mixed with discovering who stole Eden Rose. However, Stef and Paul soon realize that the game holds more than just puzzles and challenges. After an encounter with a mysterious character named Ollie James, they uncover a link between the game and the unsolved deaths of numerous children over a decade ago. As they delve deeper, Stef and Paul realize they're not just playing a game - they're racing against time to unravel a shocking cover-up and undo its damage, risking their lives in pursuit of truth.

"The Soultrapper" was a great read. I found it well-paced, and the descriptions were vivid and immersive; I could imagine myself in the game with Stef and Paul. Stef, the protagonist, was well-developed, and I found it interesting that she was into gaming and coding, as I feel like there isn't a lot of representation of females in these spheres. I also found the antagonist well-written and compelling.

It wasn't exactly clear in which year the story was set (1990s? early 200s?). However, that didn't bother me much.

Unique, truly unique at least for me I did liked a lot and personally it was really unpredictable. One of the things I really liked was the use of VR nowadays is a more common thing to use and personal critic I do believe it's a bit too much.. The idea and the name and the story, the characters was really amazing

This is one of the best books I've read this year. Thanks to Netgalley, Victory Editing and Stanislava Buevich for this ARC.

Basically, we follow two childhood best friends, Stef and Paul who enjoy playing video games together and one day are gifted with a VR headset from a game that hasn't been launched. They decide to play the game together and are mesmerized by the graphics and how real it feels.

The whole idea of Virtual Reality, and how realistic the game was, is very appealing and I can see this book being adapted into a movie or series someday, I'm sure it would be a very interesting thing to watch.
Each chapter's ending made me want to read the next one and I was captivated by the story.
The description was amazing and you could imagine every detail perfectly.
The character's dynamic was lovely and nice to read, you could see their connection.
All the characters were interesting but I felt Paul needed a little bit more "screen time", Stef had way more development and always had the best guesses during the game. I understand she's way more interested in gaming than him (since he was willing to diminish his time playing because of Alex) but I think he could have more correct guesses as well. That's my only complaint, to be honest. The book overall was great.

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SPOILER ALERT

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That ending was something! Will we have book two or do we need to assume the story will repeat all over again?
And also, will Zach actually be stuck there forever? I wanted them to trick the AI somehow but not everything works out, I guess