WOW! What an amazing debut by newcomer Chelsea Mueller! Borrowed Souls was every single thing I love about urban fantasy and more! Mueller has created a world unlike anything I have read. It's fresh, it's new and it's original. Sheer perfection.

Callie is used to taking care of her family. If she didn't, no one else would. Her wayward brother has landed himself in yet another mess, this time with a drug lord and his very life hinges on Callie's ability to steal some priceless information. In order to do that she needs to "borrow" a soul from the local Soul Charmer, a greasy man who barters every deal with desperate people. In order to get the soul she needs, she agrees to work for him for free. But his agreement comes with hidden strings and soon Callie finds herself shackled with a very hot partner and in search of the Soul Charmers competition, a woman who seems intent to steals the souls, literally right out of people's bodies.

There is a religious undercurrent to Borrowed Souls that piqued my interest. The citizens of this world seem to follow one central religion that focuses mainly on the purity of ones soul. Allowing your soul to become tainted is frowned upon but as always, there seems to be a few loopholes. One can simply "borrow" a soul from the Soul Charmer in order to do all the dirty deeds they've fantasized about. Two souls in one body and the extra one taking all the heat for your sins. As with everything though, there is a price, like having bits of your soul and bits of the borrowed soul mingling in ways that don't quite leave you the same after the experience. Like any drug, people chase that high, that release from their mundane lives and quickly become addicted.

From beginning to end I was enraptured with Borrowed Souls and the magic it presented. Callie and Derek were perfect together and I found their personalities to be unique. These characters got shit done and they didn't screw around. Both are capable on their own, but together they created a formidable foe. Even though Callie was unwittingly drawn into this line of work in an effort to save her ungrateful lowlife of a brother, she stood tall and faced her issues head on. I loved Derek's protectiveness from the get go and even though we don't really find out his story in this one, the groundwork is laid for future books and hopefully more of why he's so indebted to the Soul Charmer. Callie's fierce loyalty to her family was awesome even if a little questionable. Those people do not deserve her at all and it hurt my heart every time their stupidity cut her a little more. Derek, however, proved his worth time and again and I just adore them together.

I am so excited for another book from this world! I have high hopes for this series and this author. PLEASE GIVE ME MORE!!!

I give Borrowed Souls by Chelsea Mueller 5 stars!