fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsRachel Vincent Soul Screamers My Soul to StealMy 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 Kaylee, it hurts to see the way she’s treated here, and to see the way this strong character is manipulated into doubting herself. I can’t say I ever really liked Nash, and in My Soul to Keep he messed up severely — and he doesn’t do much to redeem himself here. It’s not so much that he’s attracted to Sabine. I get why he’d have conflicting feelings. It’s the way it takes far too long for him to stick up for Kaylee in any meaningful way against Sabine’s bullying and manipulation. Tod has a huge agenda, but he’s right. Kaylee and Nash don’t belong together. I will retroactively like this book better if it’s the precursor to Nash not turning out to be Kaylee’s eventual love interest — and I will retroactively like it less if it leads to a mushy happy ending between the two. I’m not sure Rachel Vincent could make me “buy” a mushy happy ending for this couple at this point.

But enough about the romance. There’s another plotline here, though the structure of my review reflects the relative prominence of the two plots pretty accurately. If I have a gripe about My Soul to Steal, it’s that the balance is off. The romantic triangle drowns out the “evil forces invading the high school” story a bit too much. As wrenching as the love story is, I can’t help but think that what happens to some of Kaylee’s teachers and classmates is worse, and more irrevocable, and could have used more development. When this plotline does move to the front burner, though, it’s terrifying and well executed. It’s always enjoyable — in a creepy sort of way — to travel to the Netherworld and see what horrors Vincent has cooked up for Kaylee and for us.

While My Soul to Steal isn’t the strongest of the Soul Screamers books — so far I’d have to grant that title to Keep — this is still one of the better young adult paranormal series out there. Vincent gives us intense emotion, plenty of scares, and a wonderful heroine to follow. I can’t wait for book five, which will be titled If I Die.

Soul Screamers — (2009-2013) Young adult. My Soul to Lose is a free prequel novella in ebook format. Reaper is a novella available on Kindle or audio. Publisher: She doesn’t see dead people, but… She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next… SOUL SCREAMERS The last thing you hear before you die…

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  • Kelly Lasiter

    KELLY LASITER, with us since July 2008, is a mild-mannered academic administrative assistant by day, but at night she rules over a private empire of tottering bookshelves. Kelly is most fond of fantasy set in a historical setting (a la Jo Graham) or in a setting that echoes a real historical period (a la George RR Martin and Jacqueline Carey). She also enjoys urban fantasy and its close cousin, paranormal romance, though she believes these subgenres’ recent burst in popularity has resulted in an excess of dreck. She is a sucker for pretty prose (she majored in English, after all) and mythological themes.

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