Soul Screamers Read-A-Long - Before I Wake Discussion

Soul Screamers Series

Read-A-Long!

Hosted by me, Christen @ Goldilox and the Three Weres, and Laura @ Little Read Riding Hood!

Discussion #6

Welcome to the sixth Soul Screamers Read-A-Long discussion!

This month, we are discussing this book:

Before I Wake (Soul Screamers #6)

Reviews:

Laura's Review

Goldilox's Review

***SPOILER ZONE***

Leave your comments, questions, praise, fangirling, wails, and moans in the comments below!

This time around, Laura and I decided to interview each other about the book. You can see her answers to my questions HERE!

Here are the questions Laura had for me, along with my answers!

1. Do you feel sorry for Sabine? Why or why not?

I do, actually. Chick can't catch a break! Even though she's not always the best person, she really does love Nash whole heartedly and, even though I originally didn't want them together, I'd like to see Sabine get her man in the end.

2. What do you think are going to be Kaylee's biggest issues being 16 for the rest of her life?

Man, a lot of them that's for sure. She will always have to pretend she's either in high school or college. She won't ever get to be an official grown up. She also won't be able to ever have children since she's technically dead and I'm sure that will be an issue for her the longer she's around.

3. I like that there is a family involved here - how do you think things would be different if Kaylee didn't have the support of her friends and family?

I think, for Kaylee, having her family and friends keeps her good. It would be easy now that she's dead to go bad really fast. Tod even talks about that a little in this book. Thank goodness her dad will live a long time since he's a banshee and most of her friends are supernatural in some way.

4. THE END! How many times did you have to read that before you believed that just happened? How does that get explained to the rest of the world?

I was listening on audio and I really thought something had happened with my Audible app! I closed the app and reopened it twice to replay the ending. None of the other books have ended so suddenly, so that was really shocking! I am REALLY anticipating how that little situation will play out in the final book!!!

Leave your your thoughts and anything else you want to say about Before I Wake in the comments below!

Read-A-Long Schedule:

Join us August 15th for the final discussion!

February 15:

My Soul To Take (#1) and My Soul to Lose (novella # 0.5)

@ Goldilox and the Three Weres

FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

 

March 15:

My Soul to Save (#2)

@ Little Read Riding Hood

FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

April 15:

My Soul to Keep (#3) and Reaper (novella #3.5)

@ Goldilox and the Three Weres

FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

 

May 15:

My Soul to Steal (#4)

@ Little Read Riding Hood

FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

June 15:

If I Die (#5) and Never to Sleep (novella #5.5)

@ Goldilox and the Three Weres

FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

 

July 15:

Before I Wake (#6)

@Little Read Riding Hood

FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

AND HERE!

August 15:

With All My Soul (#7)

@Goldilox and the Three Weres

Your hosts:

 

Audio Review: Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Before I Wake
(Soul Screamers #6)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Release: June 26, 2012
Add to Goodreads | Buy at Amazon |
Buy at Audible

I died on a Thursday—killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it.
The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school….

Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend.

But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life….

Review:

The Soul Screamers series still continues to impress me! Six books in and Rachel Vincent is still surprising and entertaining me to no end. She's also somehow managing to introduce me to new supernaturals with each new book. Before I Wake serves as a bit of a bridge between the shocking events of If I Die and the final book that will wrap up the series, With All My Soul.

After the fast paced craziness in both central plot and side story romance of the previous two books in this series, Before I Wake slows things down a bit. This one wasn't as exciting as those other two, but I still really enjoyed myself and Vincent still managed to leave me shocked by the book's end. This book just kind of feels like it's purpose is to give the reader some insight into Kaylee's new job-after-death as a soul extractor and to set up the events for the final book in the series. In fact, the ending to this one is very much a cliff hanger. The story just suddenly stops! I actually thought something had gone wrong with the Audible app on my iphone! And the ending I was left with - holy shit! Even though this book moves slower, don't mistake that to mean you can stop and catch your breath. There are still some surprising events - and losses - in this one.

In this book we also get to see Tod and Kaylee explore their new relationship both emotionally and physically (*eyebrow waggle*) and while the initial intense emotions between them aren't really there anymore, the sweet relationship they have now is enough to make me happy. Really, pretty much anything involving Tod makes me happy...

Nash was really starting to get on my nerves. Instead of focusing his anger and sadness on the huge fact that his girlfriend is now with his brother (!!!), he instead focuses on the fact that Kaylee got him arrested. To me, that was kind of silly. He knew the reason for that and I know he was just all around pissed at the world by the end of the previous book, but I was really ready for Nash to begin to heal. After being such a large part of the first four books, things felt weird without him on Team Kaylee. I'm happy that, in this book, he begins to recover from...well, everything shitty that's been going on in his life.

All in all, this is a solid book in the series that just suffers from a slightly slower pace than the previous two books. I still enjoyed it, but I'm ready for the pace to pick back up and all the excitement to come to a head in the final Soul Screamers book.

Notes on the audio: I just love Amanda Ronconi's voice for Kaylee. She really hits the nail on the head and I love how I can even tell the voices for the male characters apart. I also enjoy her version of sarcastic but wise Sabine.

Recommended for fans of: emotional young adult series, terrific characters you will feel connected to,  young adult angst, young adult romance, and...as always...TOD!

    

  4 / 5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1)
My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers #2)
My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3)
My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers #4)
If I Die (Soul Screamers #5)

Soul Screamers Series Read-A-Long - Discussion #5: If I Die + Never to Sleep

Soul Screamers Series
Read-A-Long!

Hosted by me, Christen @ Goldilox and the Three Weres, and Laura @ Little Read Riding Hood!

Discussion #5

Welcome to the fifth Soul Screamers Read-A-Long discussion!

This month, we are discussing these books:

If I Die (Soul Screamers #5)

Never to Sleep (Soul Screamers #5.5)

   

Reviews:
Laura's Review
Goldilox's Review

***SPOILER ZONE***

Leave your comments, questions, praise, fangirling, wails, and moans in the comments below!

Discussion Questions:

If I Die

1. What did you think the ending to this book would be? Did you think Kaylee would actually die? Were you surprised when she did?

2. How do you think Kaylee's "new job" will affect her life?
3. How do you think Kaylee's "new job" is different from Tod's?

4. Do you think Nash will ever calm down and understand what really happened?

5. Do you think Tod and Kaylee will stay together? Will Nash and Sabine get back together?

Never to Sleep

6. How did you like reading from Sophie's POV? Did it make you like her more or less?
7. How do you think Sophie will react when she is told the truth about everything now that she has seen the Netherworld?

Leave your answers to the discussion questions, or anything else you want to say, in the comments below!

Read-A-Long Schedule:

Join us July 15th for the next discussion!

February 15:

My Soul To Take (#1) and My Soul to Lose (novella # 0.5)

@ Goldilox and the Three Weres

FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

 

March 15:

My Soul to Save (#2)

@ Little Read Riding Hood

FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

April 15:

My Soul to Keep (#3) and Reaper (novella #3.5)

@ Goldilox and the Three Weres
FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

 

May 15:

My Soul to Steal (#4)

@ Little Read Riding Hood
FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

June 15:

If I Die (#5) and Never to Sleep (novella #5.5)

@ Goldilox and the Three Weres
FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

 

July 15:

Before I Wake (#6)

@Little Read Riding Hood

August 15:

With All My Soul (#7)

@Goldilox and the Three Weres

Your hosts:

 

Audio Review: If I Die by Rachel Vincent

If I Die
(Soul Screamers #5)
Rachel Vincent
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Release: September 27, 2011
Add to Goodreads  Buy at Amazon
Buy at Audible

The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.

But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Review:

Wow guys!!! Just...WOW! If I Die is the fifth in the Soul Screamer series and let me just tell you that it is by far the most surprising and emotional book so far in the series!

In each of my Soul Screamers reviews I say that 'this' book is better than the last, but its really true! Each one gets more and more intense (which leads me to believe that I may not survive reading the last in the series). In the previous book we dealt with a lot of heavy duty stuff - Nash's post Frost re-acclimation to school and the introduction of his bad girl ex, Sabine. But in If I Die we start off with a bang...Kaylee learns her time is up - she's on the reapers' list and she's only got days left. For the entire book that fact looms over Kaylee's head and drives a lot of her choices in this book. And throughout the whole book I was really curious how author Rachel Vincent was going to pull it off. Since there are two more books after this one in the series I wondered how this big problem would be resolved in the end. I must say I didn't see the exact ending coming. Vincent managed to surprise me and please me with the resolution and now I'm dying (no pun intended!) to see how this book's ending will affect the next one.

Tod. TOD. Oh how I love thee, Tod! He plays a major role in this book and he gets a lot of face time here. I always love seeing more of him, but in this book he finally really gets to shine. This book is heart-melting and heartbreaking all at the same time and don't be ashamed if you shed a tear or two because I certainly did. The surprise ending...ya know, the one after the other surprise ending...had tears going down my face!

There's really not more I can say about If I Die without giving away major spoilers, so I'll stop here before I tell you EVERYTHING. Just know that this book has a lot of twists I just plain didn't see coming and I am thoroughly impressed with how amazing this series has become!

Note about the audio: I listened to the audio for this one, after reading all the other ones in the series, and I really enjoyed it! The narrator, Amanda Ronconi, does a really fantastic job with everybody's voice and her version of Kaylee is absolutely spot on! At first I didn't like how she did Tod's voice...it's very deep, but it really grew on me. After a few chapters I realized how perfect a fit that voice was for his character and by halfway through the book I was convinced 'his' voice was incredibly sexy. I highly recommend trying out the audio for this series - I'll be listening to the rest of them for sure!

Recommended for fans of: plot twists, love triangles, reapers, intense emotional endings, and things you never thought would happen actually happening.

    

  5 / 5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1)
My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers #2)
My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3)
My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers #4)

And check out the Read Along Discussion here at Goldilox and the Three Weres!

Review: My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Steal
(Soul Screamers #4)
Rachel Vincent
Release: January 4, 2011
Add to Goodreads  Buy at Amazon

Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can't just pretend nothing happened. But "complicated" doesn't even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn't just an ordinary girl. She's a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people's fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.

And Sabine isn't above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.

Review:

Each book in the Soul Screamers series has been slightly darker with even better writing and an extra helping of emotional angst. My Soul to Steal is no exception to this, and it is my favorite in the series so far, as each book in the series has been better than the last. I was biting my tongue to hold back from shouting obscenities at my book the entire time!

Kaylee made the right decision at the end of the previous book, breaking up with Nash, whether it had proven to be temporary or not I was happy that Vincent let Kaylee make the smart choice. In this book, Kaylee deals with Nash as he starts to recover from his addiction and the two work out exactly what they are to each other now and if they should give their relationship another shot. This would be difficult enough on its own, but Vincent is not comfortable with just that level of difficulty. She takes things to 'relationship level 99' with the introduction of Sabine, Nash's ex girlfriend and all around obnoxious bitch.

Even though Sabine grated on every last nerve I had and her character made me SO unbelievably angry most of the time, I also enjoyed the introduction of a new character as I think it was a great way to inject some freshness into the fourth book in the series. Sabine is unwilling to let Nash go and openly wages war against Kaylee. And Sabine...she fights diiirrrttyyy. And Nash! Oh man, he pissed me off!!! He was such a stereotypical guy in this book, always defending Sabine and trying to show Kaylee that he 'needed her friendship' but that he still loved Kaylee and only wanted her. I was right on board with Kaylee's constant anger, confusion, and indignation.

Another new character in this book is Alec, whom we met briefly in My Soul to Keep. I found him mysterious and interesting and I'm glad that Vincent kept him as a part of the series and didn't leave us hanging after the previous book. Both Sabine and Alec are great, if not complicated, additions to Team Soul Screamers and I think each of their individual abilities are going to add something extra to future stories.

And, as ALWAYS, I adore Tod. In every book he does or says things that make him an even more important part of the series. In this book, I believe we are being shown the beginning of Tod developing feelings for Kaylee. The signs are subtle, but I think they're there. Sure, let's make the love triangle a square - why the hell not!? Bring on THE TOD!

Between the relationship drama between the triangle of Kaylee, Nash, and Sabine, the mysterious deaths of teacher's at Kaylee's school, and the appearances by a certain always creepy demon...My Soul to Steal cements the Soul Screamers series as one of my favorite young adult series that I've read!

Check out the discussion about My Soul to Steal

over  at Little Read Riding Hood right now!

CLICK HERE

Recommended for fans of: teenage angst, snappy bitches you'll love to hate and hate to love, and snarky dead blond guys.

    1/2

  4.5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1)
My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers #2)
My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3)