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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers, #1)My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

What a great book! And you know if I say that about a YA story it must be good! I have read most of Rachel Vincent's adult series, Shifters, and really love it, so I was expecting that her YA series, Soul Screamers, would be fantastic as well. However, I'm very picky about my young adult reads so My Soul to Take had its YA label working against it for me from the start.

This is definitely one of those books that gets better the further you get. When I started it, I liked the main character Kaylee, and I enjoyed learning about what she is and how it works along with her. But it wasn't until about halfway through the book that this became a "stay up late and read it no matter how early I have to wake up" book. And the last 50 pages or so were in the  "CAN'T PUT THIS DOWN!" category. When I was crying by the book's end I knew it would be getting a good review.

Vincent has a knack for developing an urban fantasy element not commonly seen in the genre (Hello, Shifters series? Werecats?) and this series is no different. In , Kaylee discovers that she is a banshee (written as bean sidhe in the book). Banshees in Vincent's world are not women dressed in ragged dresses who walk around funerals and wail for the dead (traditional legend). They are also not woman with broken hearts who turn into crazy screaming she-demons who kill men with their wail (uh...Charmed...). Vincent's banshees have the ability to sense when someone near them is just about to die. When they get this sensation, they are overcome with grief and the overpowering urge to scream at the top of their lungs. This unearthly wail holds souls to this plane for a little longer while the wail lasts. Of course, there is much more to being a banshee, but I can't give it all away!

The romantic element to this story is the new relationship between Kaylee and Nash. I could have used a little more relationship build up between them. I understand that he is a popular guy and that's why Kaylee is instantly interested and excited when she runs into him outside of school, but it seemed like they were an item almost instantly. I would have liked some more tension and such before they decided they were practically in love. With that said, I did like their actual relationship and the sweet high school feel of it. I also enjoyed the way Vincent held out on us about Nash and why he knew so much about Kaylee. Perhaps she decided to use up all the tension and mystery on that instead of on Kaylee and Nash's relationship. And then there is Tod. A mysterious character who enters the story about halfway through, Tod shows an immediate interest in Kaylee and has some sort of past with Nash. I loved all of the interactions between these three and can't wait to read more about Tod as the series goes on! I see a possible love triangle happening in the future, but I might be reading into that because of my experience with Shifters.

As I mentioned above, the end of this book will keep you reading until the last page. You will not want to put it down once you enter the final sequence of major events. Leave it to Rachel Vincent to throw in some curve balls.

I'm reading the rest of this series for sure! So far, there are four in the series, with book five releasing September 27th.


10 comments:

  1. Great review! I love Rachel Vincent books, they are so addictive.

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  2. You just reminded me of how badly I need to finish both of her series! I love her books.

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  3. I really need to get into this series! Great pick! New follower!

    My WoW

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  4. haha. I'm reading a Rachel Vincent book right now, the new book in her new series, BLood Bound. I was kinda reluctant to read her YA series, but I just may have to. I hope I end up loving her YA series also =DDD

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  5. Hi Goldilox! I came over to tell you about the widget from my site you were asking about. No, I didn't have to pay for it, I found the Beautiful Chaos widget on someone else's site and just clicked get widget, I didn't create it myself. I think creating it might be the service that you found. Hope this helps!
    Courtney
    Fuzzy.Coffee.Books

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  6. I need to get off my backside and whip up some time to get to this series!! I loved Stray and still have not finished that one either :(

    Official slacker!

    Black Disaster Fairy

    A World of Personality

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  7. All my book club friends have been raving about this book. I will have to check it out. Is it a long series?

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  8. Great review! This sounds like an awesome and unusual series. Definitely need to check it out!

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  9. I have been totally enjoying this series and I wasn't sure I'd like it when I started. This is an entirely different type of paranormal for me and I was not disappointed. I keep ordering them as they come out. Can't wait for the conclusion.

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  10. This is my favorite series ever! Rachel Vincent's books are all amazing! This book is so unique! Thank you for reviewing!

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