Reaper: A SOUL SCREAMERS novella

Reaper by Rachel Vincent

Rachel Vincent’s Reaper is a novella set in her SOUL SCREAMERS world. I read it because it was free for members at Audible during one of their promotions. I haven’t read any of the SOUL SCREAMERS novels, but I’m familiar with the premise because I’ve read Kelly’s reviews of the series.

Reaper is the story of how Tod, sacrificing himself for his impulsive younger brother Nash, became a reaper. We get to know Tod, Nash, and their mom pretty well. We also learn a bit about Sabine, Nash’s girlfriend, and Addison, Tod’s ex-girlfriend-turned-pop-star.

Fans of the SOUL SCREAMERS series won’t want to miss Reaper because it contains a moving background story. However, this novella can stand alone for those who haven’t started the series yet, and it may be a quick and easy way to discover if you want to venture further into Vincent’s world.

Personally, I struggled with Reaper — not because there was anything wrong with it (there wasn’t), but simply because it was devastatingly emotional. I don’t like stories where the crux of the plot involves children or teenagers getting hurt. As the mother of two teenage boys who are very close to each other, I thought this story was especially disturbing. It was a lot like reading the famous Dear Abby column called “Please, God, I’m Only 17.” If you don’t mind that sort of emotional gut punch, you’ll like this one better than I did.

Reaper is available on Kindle or audiobook. The audiobook version was read by Anthony Haden. His performance was good except that I didn’t like the slimy voice he used for Nash. However, Kelly, who has read the series, thought the slimy voice was appropriate.