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Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite
The Fire Inside My Soul by Julia Baeten tells the story of Diana Strauss, a successful advertising executive who survived a painful childhood. She has everything anyone desires: career success, wealth, and a beautiful apartment with terrific views. But even with so much success, she still feels hollow inside. She has everything she needs but love. Then there are the recurrent nightmares about a Victorian tragedy involving siblings John and Priscilla at an estate called the Castle. Diana becomes increasingly curious about these nightmares and troubled by what they might mean. Diana visits the mansion for business and meets James Welsh, who instantly develops a connection with her. But there are many threats, especially from her professional mentor, Jonas Caldwell, whose obsession becomes predatory. Can James and Diana stop the last threat from destroying their soulmate connection, or will the story of the past repeat itself?
The Fire Inside My Soul was imaginative, and I enjoyed how the author used the idea of past incarnations to build a complex plot and a conflict that makes the story so unpredictable. The story brims with premonitions and suspense. I often felt like something bad was going to happen to Diana, and many bad things did happen to her. Julia Baeten skillfully fuses elements of psychological thriller and supernatural gothic horror with parallel timelines that connect like nodes as the past invades the present. The worldbuilding was impeccable, and I enjoyed how the author included details of the advertising industry in the story, depicting a modern Manhattan with its glamor and the decaying opulence of the Castle. The characters are multidimensional, complex, and unforgettable.
