Book Review: My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers, Book 3) by Rachel Vincent

MY SOUL TO KEEP (SOUL SCREAMERS, BOOK 3) BY RACHEL VINCENT

Kaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them.

Until something does.

Demon breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked.

And so is someone else...

I don't even know where to start, Kaylee. I've only been back for three months, and you've nearly been killed twice. What do I have to keep you safe? Are you out looking for trouble?" - page 126

Kaylee Cavanaugh doesn't go looking for trouble, but it sure knows where to find her! My Soul to Keep, the third installment in the Soul Screamers series was my favorite one so far. Up until now, I have enjoyed these books but never felt fully vested in them. The reason why? Kaylee and Nash's romance always lacked a certain spark for me. There just wasn't enough relationship conflict to hold my interest. (Don't get me wrong, they deal with more danger than two teenagers should ever have to encounter- soul stealing hellions, kids addicted to demon's breath, rogue reapers-you get the idea). But as a couple, they've always been a little too "made for each other" in my opinion. I've been anxious for some good conflict to come along and ratchet up the tension in that department. And in this installment-boy did it EVER! After finishing the last page, I was amazed at how much has changed. Things couldn't be more complicated or heartbreaking for that matter. And that was just what I needed. I'm now officially hooked on this series.

"My hands clenched into fists at my sides, and I had to force my grip on my
phone to loosen. Anger and fear rolled through me like thunder across the sky,
dark and low, and threatening. And accompanied by a vicious, white-hot bolt of betrayal that singed ever nerve in my body." - page 187

Kaylee Cavanaugh is a powerful teenage voice and the reason I have come back to the series again and again. The secondary characters have distinctive and oftentimes amusing personality quirks as well. Todd is my favorite character- he's a bit of an enigma and a little dangerous at times. The things he did for Addison and the way he stood by Kaylee in My Soul to Keep endeared him to me forever. Will Kaylee and Nash ever recover? Do I even want them to? I'm not so sure. After finishing this book, part of me wants Kaylee's relationship with Todd to evolve into something more. I honestly don't know if I can ever forgive Nash. Vincent did a great job building the tension and dropping little hints of what was really going on behind the scenes. Afterwards, it all made complete sense, but just like Kaylee- I did not see it coming.

In a market dominated with werewolves and vampires, it's refreshing to have a unique series like Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers. Before I read the first book, My Soul to Take, I had no idea what a bean sidhe even was. It's exciting to have a line of books with a new crop of supernatural beings to explore. The world of bean sidhes, hellions and reapers is enthralling. In each book, my favorite scenes always involve the Netherworld, which is just about the most frightening place ever imagined. I can't wait to get my hands on My Soul to Steal, the fourth installment in the series and due out January 2011. Rachel Vincent- keep 'em coming!

Rachel Vincent is the author of the Shifters series, about a werecat named Faythe Sanders, who is learning to define her own role in her family and fighting to claim a place in her Pride.

Rachel’s young adult urban fantasy series, Soul Screamers, is about a teenage bean sidhe (banshee) trying to balance a normal high school experience with the terrifying, hidden world she’s just discovered. My Soul To Take and My Soul To Save are available now. Look for My Soul To Keep on June 1, 2010.

A resident of San Antonio, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her office with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks—seriously—and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.


To learn more about Rachel Vincent and her books, visit her Official Website and Blog.
Purchase My Soul to Keep at Amazon.com.