Today, we are pleased to welcome fantasy author Rachel Vincent. Rachel is the author of two outstanding fantasy series: SHIFTERS and the YA series SOUL SCREAMERS. Shift, the latest novel in Rachel’s Shifter’s series, starring werecat Faythe Sanders, which went on sale this week. Please join us today in welcoming Rachel and be sure to comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of Shift, which she is graciously donating.

SB Frank: In your SHIFTERS series, I really enjoy how Faythe is constantly challenging traditional female role models in the Pride. In Prey, I think it was, Faythe finally began to understand and accept the vital role that her mother had played in the Pride despite not having a formal position except as the Alpha’s wife. As the pride politics turn deadly, does her mother’s role in the pride conti... Read More

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee Cavanaugh wants to be a normal teenage girl, but her "panic attacks" stand in the way. Kaylee can sense when someone is about to die. She can't save the dying person, though, and can't warn them. All she can do is let out an unearthly scream. If you're familiar with mythology, you can probably guess what kind of supernatural being Kaylee turns out to be!

As My Soul to Take begins, Kaylee learns that her premonitions are real and that her screaming episodes aren't symptoms of mental illness. Beautiful young girls are dropping dead for no apparent reason. Only Kaylee can see who the next victim will be. With the help of Nash, a gorgeous, popular boy who is also more than he seems, Kaylee sets out to learn who or what is killing these girls and stop the deaths.

Rachel Vincent does a great job of raising the tension and the stakes in the... Read More

My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Save begins at a pop concert. The opening act is Addison Page, an up-and-coming singer who dated Kaylee's reaper friend, Tod, back when he was alive in the normal sense. After her set, superstar Eden takes the stage. When Eden collapses mid-concert, Kaylee doesn't feel the urge to scream, so she's sure the pop star will be fine. But Eden dies, and when Kaylee sees the sludgy substance that wafts from the body, she learns that Eden didn't have a soul.

Turns out that Dekker Corporation, a children's media conglomerate (obviously based on Disney), is promising young hopefuls fame and fortune in exchange for their souls, and that Addison, too, has taken Dekker up on the offer. Tod can't bear the thought of Addison suffering Eden's fate, and so he, Kaylee, and Nash set out to break Addison's contract and reunite her with her soul. Now, Kaylee must learn to navigate ... Read More

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 ... Read More

My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Keepdeals with the issue of drug abuse, but if you’re worried it will be a preachy Very Special Episode type of story, worry no more. Rachel Vincent raises the book above that level — both by allowing the damage to strike very close to home for Kaylee and by placing the issue in an enthralling plot — so that it never feels like a simplistic “drugs are bad, mmmkay” fable.

In My Soul to Save, Vincent introduced readers to Demon’s Breath, a sought-after intoxicant among the denizens of the Netherworld. Kaylee now emerges from her month-long grounding to find that someone has brought Demon’s Breath to her high school and that several of her acquaintances are using it. And for human kids, using Demon’s Breath is a nearly inevitable ticket to insanity or death. Then, Vincent makes terrific use of a tiny, forgettable detail from book t... Read More

My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent

At the end of My Soul to Keep, the relationship between Kaylee and Nash was in limbo. My Soul to Steal opens with Nash recovering but guilt-ridden, Kaylee not quite ready to forgive him, and Nash’s ex-girlfriend Sabine arriving on the scene. Nash and Sabine had an intense relationship two years ago but parted without closure after Tod’s death. Now, Sabine is determined to take advantage of the rift between Nash and Kaylee, and take Nash back for herself.

Oh, and Sabine is a mara, or Nightmare, who feeds by giving people horrible dreams and soaking up their fears. When Kaylee learns this, she’s sure Sabine is behind a new string of tragedies at their high school. The truth, however, may be worse still…

My Soul to Steal is literally painful to read at times. If you’ve been following Kayle... Read More