Book Tour: What Souls Are Made Of – Tasha Suri

I am delighted to be joining my first ever book tour! Thank you Colored Pages for the opportunity and I am excited to be posting my review of What Souls Are Made Of. If you would like to check out the rest of the tour, you can do so here:

Book Tour Schedule:

July 1st
The Moon Phoenix – Mood Board
It’s A Funny Story – Playlist
@allmyfriendsareinbooks – Instagram Reel

July 2nd
Camillea Reads – Review Only
@house.of.hurricane – Instagram Feed Post
Sophie and Their Stories – Reading Vlog

July 3rd
A Page Full of Words – Review Only
@jlegplans – Instagram Feed Post
Inkhaven – Review Only

July 4th
Read in the Clouds – Review Only
& She Reads – Instagram Feed Post
The Litt Librarian – Review Only

July 5th
The Erudite Labyrinth – Blog Interview
Cocoa With Books – Review Only
Books_and_Dice – Favorite Quotes

July 6th
@bonggirlinabookworld – Favorite Quotes
My World of Books – Review Only
Sunflowers_andstories – Mood Board

July 7th
Mulberryreads – Review Only
Wiltedpages – Instagram Feed Post
Reading Stewardess – Mood Board

Synopsis:

As the abandoned son of a Lascar—a sailor from India—Heathcliff has spent most of his young life maligned as an “outsider.” Now he’s been flung into an alien life in the Yorkshire moors, where he clings to his birth father’s language even though it makes the children of the house call him an animal, and the maids claim he speaks gibberish.

Catherine is the younger child of the estate’s owner, a daughter with light skin and brown curls and a mother that nobody talks about. Her father is grooming her for a place in proper society, and that’s all that matters. Catherine knows she must mold herself into someone pretty and good and marriageable, even though it might destroy her spirit.

As they occasionally flee into the moors to escape judgment and share the half-remembered language of their unknown kin, Catherine and Heathcliff come to find solace in each other. Deep down in their souls, they can feel they are the same.

But when Catherine’s father dies and the household’s treatment of Heathcliff only grows more cruel, their relationship becomes strained and threatens to unravel. For how can they ever be together, when loving each other—and indeed, loving themselves—is as good as throwing themselves into poverty and death?

Content warnings:

Abusive family dynamics (including physical and emotional abuse), child endangerment and forced family separation. There are also depictions or references to racism, famine and hunger, slavery, parental death / bereavement, alcoholism and mental illness.

My thoughts:

I’ve been a fan of Tasha Suri’s adult fantasy series ever since Empire of Sand, so I was very excited to see what Tasha’s first YA novel would offer. While I’m not overly familiar with Wuthering Heights, that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this this (You don’t necessarily need to have read Wuthering Heights before reading What Souls Are Made Of, in case you were wondering)

What Souls Are Made Of is told from both Cathy’s and Heathcliff’s perspectives. I quite like alternating viewpoints in a story and in my opinion, I thought it worked really well in this – I loved that it gave an insight into both characters. Both Cathy and Heathcliff have grown up facing different challenges (despite growing up in the same household) and the dual narrative portrays the differences between them. It also really captures the yearning between the two, and how they are inseparable in so many ways.

Another way in which the multiple viewpoints works really well is in how it shows one of the main arcs of the story. There is a storyline in which both Cathy and Heathcliff reclaim their identities and acknowledge their family histories. This was one of the highlights of the book for me, as someone who has been trying to find out more about my own family history. By telling this particular storyline from both characters’ perspectives, you get see how both want to find somewhere to belong and by being together, there’s a sense of familiarity and belonging that doesn’t necessarily exist elsewhere. There’s also a shared understanding of having to suppress who you are in order to fit into society.

While exploring their heritage, both Cathy and Heathcliff learn so much about the society they’re in and the horrors that have been committed in India. Here, Tasha Suri doesn’t shy away from the horrors of colonialism and what happens to the people who are exploited. There is an extensive author’s note at the end of the story that provides more historical context, as well as a recommended reading list for those that wish to find out more. I know I personally will be!

Despite the horrors, there is a little bit of hope – the characters Heathcliff meets in Liverpool show him that there is more than the rage he feels and there can be a way to channel that rage to help others. For Cathy, hope comes in the form of her character development and the way she finally comes to terms with her father’s actions; she uses that knowledge to find a way to help others too. I also want to give a shout out to Mrs. Hussain – she is a woman with a quiet power and who does her best to help those that come to her. She’s awesome and I want to give her the biggest of hugs.

Despite not being a big fan of classics and having never read Wuthering Heights, this was a book that grabbed hold of my attention and didn’t let go. Tasha Suri’s writing in What Souls Are Made Of is just as beautiful as in her fantasy books. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve drafted this blog post, because I don’t quite have the words to describe how elements of this book made me feel (this isn’t a bad thing – this book made me a feel a lot of things!) This is a story that lingers long after finishing and I have a feeling I will be coming back to this again.

About the author:

Tasha Suri is an award-winning author, occasional librarian and cat owner. Her South Asian influenced epic fantasy novels include The Books of Ambha duology (Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash), and The Jasmine Throne. When she isn’t writing, Tasha likes to cry over TV shows, buy too many notebooks, and indulge her geeky passion for reading about South Asian history. She lives with her family in a mildly haunted house in London. What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix is her YA debut.

Author Links:

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17718309.Tasha_Suri
Website: https://tashasuri.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tashadrinkstea
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tashasuri/

Book Links:

Goodreads
Blackwells
Amazon
Book Depository
Barnes & Noble