Sara's Soul

The Afterlife Series Book 2

Fiction - Paranormal
274 Pages
Reviewed on 02/18/2015
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Deanna Kahler is an award-winning author and accomplished writer. Her work has been published in numerous corporate newsletters and magazines across the country. She began writing as a young child and enjoys the opportunity to reach others and make a difference in their lives.

Deanna holds a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where she graduated with departmental honors. She lives with her husband and daughter in a Metro Detroit suburb and enjoys writing, dancing, walking, and visiting parks in her spare time.

"Sara's Soul" is her fourth book. It was designed as a stand-alone followup novel to "Echoes of Paradise," a paranormal love story about the afterlife.

Author photo by Steven Jon Horner Photography

    Book Review

Reviewed by Katelyn Hensel for Readers' Favorite

Sara's Soul is the second book in the Afterlife Series by Deanna Kahler. Featuring the titular Sara, who can see the future - usually in the form of tragic deaths - this book jumps right into the action. As a big fan of the paranormal genre, psychics are always one of my favorites.

The prose was well written, with graphic imagery taking center stage in the key moments so that you are sure to be visualizing the most intricate of scenes in great detail. This book didn't even seem like part of a series. Everything was explained in the beginning so that I knew what was going on and much of the plot wrapped up in the end, although there were a few things that I'm anxiously awaiting from the next book.

A key factor in this book is introspection. Sarah spends a LOT of time thinking inwardly to herself about her decisions and what she will be doing in her future. While this did tend to prolong the plot arc and extending into several long pages of pure speculation, it did help to paint an extremely strong picture of Sara herself so I believe that this artistic decision was well warranted.

Deanna Kahler struck gold with the Afterlife Series, and I'm excited to find out what comes next for the lot. I may just run out and grab book one! Sara's Soul was a good book, full of character development and story growth that readers of all ages will want to wrap themselves up in.

Heather Osborne

Sara's Soul by Deanna Kahler is a paranormal romance about a woman plagued with visions of death. Sara constantly sees death all around her. The daughter of a psychic, Sara thought she would see beauty in her premonitions, but all she experiences is suffering. Misunderstood, Sara searches for a way to clear her mind of these troubling visions. Resolving that suicide is the only answer, she plans to kill herself, but is stopped by a visit from her dead mother in spirit form. Star tells her daughter she will soon encounter a man who will help her with her struggles. Pushing it aside as a dream, Sara is shocked when she meets Chip, a doctoral student in psychology at her college. Together, they find themselves embarking on a spiritual journey of love and loss. Will Chip be able to save Sara in time?

I found the concept of this novel to be very intriguing. I have long been fascinated with the concept of an afterlife and Deanna Kahler presents a very calming interpretation of interactions with the spirit world. I found it hard to connect to Sara though. She had a rather defeatist attitude when it came to letting Chip help her. I liked Chip much more than Sara. I felt some of the characters and plot lines could have used more development. I would have liked to see more of a build up to the climax of the story. I liked some of the subplots and the romance was very sweet and innocent. Sara's Soul is a well-written novel with paranormal influences, sure to make the reader think twice about past lives and encounters with lost loved ones.

Melinda Hills

Feeling empathy for others is an amazing gift but for Sara, that gift has become a curse. In Sara's Soul: The Afterlife Series Book 2 by Deanna Kahler, the title character experiences all the pain, fear and sorrow of the last moments of people’s lives, including their actual death. Unable to withstand the torment she feels, Sara has decided to take her own life. Sure that there is no afterlife since her deceased mother never seemed to contact her, Sara simply wants to put an end to the pain and despair she feels when these visions come. Her suicide attempts are thwarted by the mother who Sara feels has deserted her and a surprising new love in her life. Everyone meets for a reason and Chip understands that he and Sara have a greater purpose in life – the question is whether or not he can get Sara to realize it as well. Will he help open her heart to the truth of life after death or will she escape this life and his love?

Deanna Kahler has taken a very personal and difficult topic and created a wonderful story that brings hope and promise to those who are burdened. Sara’s Soul depicts deep despair quite realistically and is hard to read at times, but the amazing interventions that steer Sara away from her plan provide a glimpse of a guiding presence in her life. True love, understanding and a willingness to open her heart help Sara – and the reader - overcome the pain that has been a constant companion, and reinforce the will to live.

K.C. Finn

Sara’s Soul is a romantic adventure tale by Deanna Kahler which involves spiritual supernatural elements. The plot focuses on college student Sara, who has been haunted by a psychic gift since birth. Sara sees visions of death everywhere she goes, including painful reminders of her mother’s own cancerous demise just a few years ago. During her stressful life at college, Sara is convinced that Death wants her to join in the nothingness beyond her daily life. Whilst she struggles with suicidal thoughts and a condition no-one else will believe or understand, life sends Sara messages to try to help her start living again, including a man whose love could turn her world the right way round again.

For the most part, Sara’s Soul is a romantic drama, and the book only really plays on the supernatural elements of the tale when it’s necessary to further the plot. Readers of light romances will enjoy the well-written banter and growing connection between Sara and Chip, and fans of Christian fiction are in safe hands with Deanna Kahler, who bases her spiritual elements and other world on Christian values and biblical ideas. For me, the only reason I wouldn’t give the book five stars is because I feel that the mental illness involved with suicide and depression is treated a little too lightly, and Sara’s transformation back to normal life is unrealistic in that sense. But that’s only because the topic is something close to my heart, and readers who can take the subject more lightly will find an enjoyable read with a great romantic narrative.