Her Soul for Revenge

Her Soul for Revenge (2021) is the second book in the Souls trilogy by American author Harley Laroux. Laroux is also known for The Dare (2021) and the Losers duology. Her Soul for Revenge is a dark paranormal romance featuring the bond between demon Zane and human Juniper Kynes as they combine forces to defeat the Libiri, the religious cult that tried to sacrifice Juniper to their slumbering god. The book explores three central themes: The Importance of Consent, Revenge as a Positive Force, and The Value of Acceptance.

This guide refers to the 2021 Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence, death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, substance use, cursing, and sexual content. In particular, the text depicts consensual sexual encounters that mimic sexual violence (following the kink practice called “consenting non-consent”) and that include extreme violence and gore.

Plot Summary

The story begins when protagonist Juniper Kynes is 15 years old and is preparing to take drugs with her friend Victoria Hadleigh. They listen to Victoria’s twin brother, Jeremiah, tell the legend of late-19th-century miners who got trapped in a local mine. Only three survived (by cannibalizing their deceased peers), but Jeremiah credits their survival to “something very old and powerful” that lives in the mine (11). After Victoria and Juniper do drugs, Victoria leads Juniper to an old church where her father, Kent Hadleigh, leads a cult, which attempts to sacrifice Juniper to their god, the “Deep One.” Kent cuts Juniper with a knife and then shoves her down a mine shaft.

Three years later, the immortal demon Zane helps his friend Leon clean the wounds that Kent inflicted on him, as Leon is mystically bound to obey Kent. Juniper was recently released from three years of incarceration for trying to kill Victoria. Leon reflects that the cult, the Libiri, will continue to hunt Juniper, as will monsters who serve the Deep One, called Eldbeasts (or Eld). Zane follows Juniper, fascinated by her, and tells her how to kill the Eld.

Juniper spends the next three years on the run. In rural Louisiana, she encounters Zane in a bar, but she doesn’t recognize him. He praises her skill at killing Eld, and the two have sex. He offers her his contact information for when she gets “sick of running” (56). When Juniper gets news shortly thereafter that her brother, Marcus, was killed, she knows that the Libiri are involved. Returning to Abelaum, she watches her brother’s funeral from a distance. She plans to kill the Hadleighs in revenge and seeks Zane’s help. He offers her a bargain: If she trades her soul and agrees to a sexual relationship, he’ll help her kill the Libiri. He refuses to let her accept immediately, insisting that she think through the bargain.

The next night, Juniper meets with Zane to accept. She admits that she regrets not fighting the Libiri harder when they tried to sacrifice her. The two agree to a “consensual non-consent” scene, wherein Juniper fights as hard as she can to get away from him while accepting that he’ll capture her and they’ll have sex. They both find the consensual violence appealing and are both satisfied when he fulfills the bond by carving his name on her. She resists his efforts to take care of her after the encounter but eventually gives in. She asks to retrieve Marcus’s body and kill Leon; Zane agrees to the first but refuses the second, explaining that he and Leon have been close for centuries and that Leon only tried to hurt Juniper on Kent’s order.

When they go to the mines to retrieve Marcus’s body, Juniper can hear the Deep One calling to her. She laments that she risked her life and Zane’s after they’re nearly killed in the mines. She buries Marcus but is later horrified to find the Eldbeasts trying to dig up his body. She attacks them, but their numbers quickly overwhelm her. Zane arrives just in time to save her, though she has serious injuries that take several days to heal. They plan their next prong of attack, which leads them to pursue Kent’s daughter, Everly, a witch born after Kent had an affair with Everly’s mother.

A chance encounter with Everly in Abelaum leads Juniper to a map that shows where Everly has been living. She and Zane visit the location, only to find Everly defended by a fierce Archdemon named Callum. Callum easily overpowers Zane and captures Juniper so that Everly can explain that she intends to kill the Deep One. Juniper agrees to stick to her original plan to kill the Libiri, which will help Everly’s plan, as this will keep the Libiri from getting stronger. Everly offers a hint that Kent will be most vulnerable at his children’s Halloween party.

As they prepare for the party, Juniper reflects on her growing feelings for Zane. On the day of the party, she’s drawn into a waking nightmare by a creature called a Watcher, which uses fear to incapacitate people. She and Zane go to the party, where they see Jeremiah attempting to drug Raelynn, or “Rae” (the protagonist of Her Soul to Take, the first novel in the Souls trilogy). They flirt with Rae to distract her and then force her to vomit up the drugs. Juniper and Leon encounter one another for the first time since Kent forced him to attack her; their exchange is heated but nonviolent. Juniper and Zane lurk outside until they see Kent. They lure him away from the house, steal the amulet that protects him from demons, and then torture and kill him. Juniper finds her revenge extremely satisfying.

Zane takes Juniper to a demon club, which makes her nervous but excited. She’s reassured when their host, Azriel, promises her that no other demons will bother her. Juniper and Zane dance and have public manual sex. Juniper selects a piercing for Zane to put in her tongue, an important symbol for demonic relationships. They declare their love for one another.

Kent’s death is attributed to suicide as the Libiri attempt to cover up their crimes. Juniper follows Victoria, whom she sees being kidnapped by Jeremiah. She follows them to the mine, where Jeremiah sacrifices Victoria and becomes possessed by part of the Deep One. Juniper and Zane flee the mine, regroup, and attack the Hadleigh manor. The Deep One’s power has caused the house to be overrun with rot and mold. Zane insists that Juniper stay back as he kills the Libiri, but Jeremiah attacks Zane with Kent’s anti-demon amulet, which Juniper buried on the property the night she killed Kent. Jeremiah uses Zane’s blood to summon a Reaper, one of Hell’s feared executioners. Jeremiah instructs the Reaper to “break” Leon so that Jeremiah can sacrifice Rae and then come back to kill Zane.

When the Reaper leaves, Juniper removes the amulet from Zane’s wounds. Zane crushes it into bullets to use against the Reaper and then goes inside to reap Meredith Hadleigh’s soul to regain his strength. This soul leads him to ascend to the role of Archdemon. Zane and Juniper battle the Reaper when it returns; they win, but narrowly. Jeremiah returns, but the Deep One’s power overcomes his human form, and Juniper kills him. Leon appears, reporting that Rae and he both survived the Libri’s attempts to kill them.

Juniper and Zane go to the coast, where they discuss their next moves. Zane promises to stay with Juniper as she figures out what she wants. The two reassert their love for one another. In the Epilogue, Juniper consults a therapist who knows about demons. She and Zane pursue healing, and the two look forward to eternity together.