Books for Christian Girls: "Tainted" by Morgan L. Busse

About this book:

  “What Happens When Your Soul Dies?
   Kat Bloodmayne is one of the first women chosen to attend the Tower Academy of Sciences. But she carries a secret: she can twist the natural laws of science. She has no idea where this ability came from, only that every time she loses control and unleashes this power, it kills a part of her soul. If she doesn't find a cure soon, her soul will die and she will become something else entirely.
    After a devastating personal loss, Stephen Grey leaves the World City Police Force to become a bounty hunter. He believes in justice and will stop at nothing to ensure criminals are caught and locked up. However, when Kat Bloodmayne shows up in his office seeking his help, his world is turned upside down.
    Together they search World City and beyond for a doctor who can cure Kat. But what they discover on the way goes beyond science and into the dark sphere of magic.”

Series: Book #1 in the “Soul Chronicles” duology.

Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; Kat recalls that her father never put stock in religion or anything spiritual (when the housekeeper tried to tell Kat stories about God, her father was very upset about it and Kat hasn’t been told anything else since then); Kat knows very little about God except He “lived in churches or something” and was powerful (she tries praying, saying that if He is real, to please help her); Stephen has a faith in the first couple chapters, but after an upsetting event, it’s said that he walked away from God (but he still believes in God and later prays); Stephen wonders if God will help him and Kat (describing themselves as “a heathen woman scientist and a broken man who had walked away a long time ago”); Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of church going, church bells, & a minister; A few mentions of thanking God; A mention of Bible reading; A mention of a man looking like a vicar; A mention of a man having a grudge at religion & baiting Stephen whenever possible;
             *Note: During one of the times Kat releases her powers, it’s described as “darkness spread across her eyes, and she heard laughter—high-pitched and eerie. It was her but not her. As if she had split in two and the other Kat was in control.” (Stephen thinks of her a demon or a monster or a witch from an old fairytale (though he says there’s no such there as magic) and that she is dangerous); Kat thinks there’s an evil dwelling inside of her; Stephen thinks that his line of work has taught him that everyone has “a core of darkness inside” of them; A scientist wants to be able to bring the dead back to life; A handful of mentions of souls & a scientist saying there is “no disconnect between the physical and spiritual”; A couple mentions of ghost stories; A mention of imagining a ghost; A mention of hell freezing over (because something happened); A mention of a lie that’s “from the pit of hell”; A mention of a man’s facial hair making him look devilish; A mention of Kat’s powers being described as “witchcraft” by someone who saw it happen; A mention of a scientist using “pagan rituals of old” in his experiments; A mention of a dark and evil place.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘how in the—‘, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shut up’, two ‘cogglesfoot’s, three ‘blast it’s, five ‘what the—‘s, eight ‘what the blazes’s, and nine ‘blazes’s; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Fires, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Being injected by a needle, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Knocking someone out, Kicking someone, Fighting, Being hit/punched, Gunfire/Shootouts, Shooting at others (self-defense and at a runaway criminal), Being Shot, Seeing others shot, Pain, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Being tied up & tested on (up to semi-detailed); Nightmares & Recalling past events that were like nightmares (in regards to Kat activating her powers and Stephen with something Kat told him about, up to semi-detailed); Stephen aims his gun at someone who has betrayed him, thinking of killing that person (he is talked out of it and knows they aren’t worth the prison time); To forget upsetting events, Kat gets drunk on wine (semi-detailed); Kat has a power that when she gets very emotional, she can cause fires from her hands, attract objects, throw people or objects hard, & freeze time (After it happens, she passes out and is then numb once awakening (she has to calm down a few times & is unsuccessful a couple times; it’s said to releases “another side of her” and that scares both herself and Stephen)); After an upsetting event, Kat thinks it would be best to go to a bridge and end it all (her housekeeper tells her that she won’t lose her and to stop talking about ending her life); Kat thinks she is a monster due to her powers & should have died instead of someone else (she wonders if she’s even human or possibly a lab mistake); Kat longs for her father’s approval & attention; There are comments from men and women that are not happy about the first group of women (which includes Kat) being accepted to a university; All about many, many mentions of ill people disappearing (a scientist says that they were going to die anyway), grave robbers, dead bodies, testing on humans, dissecting humans, the smell of decay, seeing it happen, & scientists trying to bring the dead back to life (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars; Mentions of fires, smoke, screams, others in pain, & injuries/burns (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of bounty hunters (including ones that inflict a lot of pain on the people they are capturing), murderers, criminals, crimes, thugs, mob bosses, & gangs; Mentions of weapons (guns, truncheons, tasers), gunfire/shootouts, shooting at others (self-defense), seeing others shot, being shot, being shot at, fighting, fights, & a murder/death (up to semi-detailed): Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of riots & someone throwing excrement at Kat; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, hang overs, & taverns/bars (side characters drink, Kat gets drunk to forget about an event, & Stephen refuses to drink alcohol because he doesn’t want to be addicted); Mentions of smoking & cigars; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of memories that are like nightmares (up to semi-detailed); A few mentions of card games (implied betting/gambling based on Kat’s distaste of it); A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of tattoos; A couple mentions of jars of human body parts; A couple mentions of animal carcasses; A couple mentions of animal testing; A mention of someone looking like a puppy that was kicked over and over;

             *Note: Stephen fights a young man who was badly burned & different comments such as the man barely looking human and thinking that he was an experiment are thought (up to semi-detailed on his looks).

Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, an almost cheek kiss, and a detailed kiss (in both point of views, happens when Kat is drunk, Stephen feels desire for her and later thinks that he took advantage of her); Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss & desiring someone; Touches, Dancing, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including Kat’s curves and breasts (which Stephen tries not to look at), barely-above-not-detailed); A fiancée is caught in bed with another man (mentions him being shirtless and her pulling the covers up) *Slight Spoiler* Stephen finds her fiancée in bed with his work partner and kissing; This guts him and he vows to never trust a woman again *End of Spoiler*; A young man tries to corner Kat and her friend into giving him a kiss (her friend is very upset, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a misunderstanding of Stephen thinking Kat has a lover & is pregnant (she does not & is not); Mentions of the affair, seeing the couple in bed together, & betrayal; Mentions of a dance hall (with mentions of the sign outside that promises a good time, Kat being horrified to go in there, the women in there selling more than just alcohol, & the women showing skin); Mentions of flirting, flirts, winks, & blushes; A few mentions of a man’s son who is called a cad and a scoundrel & scandals he’s had with maids; A couple mentions of men whistling, winking, & roving their eyes at Kat; A couple mentions of couples embracing; A mention of a conniving woman with a wandering heart; A mention of a guy looking at Kat’s face then his gaze traveling down; A mention of how an unmarried couple shouldn’t be alone together at night without a chaperone; A mention of Kat saying that it’s better to have an education than a husband because “at least you know what you’re getting with an education”; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Kat is stripped down into a thin nightgown that shows her curves and breasts; Mentions of women’s curves; A few mentions of a mother who died giving birth & the husband resenting their child because of it (*Spoiler* Kat’s father *End of Spoiler*); A few mentions of the women in a dancing hall showing a lot of their legs (Kat gasps in shock); A mention of a saloon/dance hall woman taking money into her cleavage; A mention of a woman’s low-cut gown (Stephen notices it).

-Kathryn “Kat” Bloodmayne
-Stephen Grey
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Dr. Bloodmayne (x2)
                                                        292 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Trigger warning for a couple mentions of Kat wanting to end it all after an upsetting event}

{Ratings are based on content}

Note to self: This author likes ending her books on a cliffhanger with a main character passed out. (Example 1)

I’ve had this book on my TBR for quite a while and it was definitely not what I expected it would be at all. I enjoyed the “Skyworld” duology by this author, but I’m not sure about my feelings for this book. I was very interested in this story at the beginning and the steampunk setting, but as the story continued, I became less and less excited about where the plot was heading. Particularly in the terms of human experiments and the romance. Even before Stephen royally messed up, I thought the romance elements between him and Kat happened very fast and was more physically attracted based. After his big mess up? I definitely don’t like the idea of a relationship between the two of them, personally.

I’m really bummed about not enjoying this one as much I hoped I would. I think I’ll still read the second book for answers, but I don’t have the highest expectations now.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!