Book Review: Before I Wake

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....

I've been a fan of Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series since there was only one book. And it's been one of my favorite series these past few years. If I Die was so amazing, I was worried that Before I Wake could not live up to my high expectations. Except... it did! It was so amazing that I'm not sure how the final book will top it, but I have faith that Rachel Vincent can manage it.

In the last book, our main character died. But we know that death isn't the end in this world. She and Tod must work together, along with Nash, Sabine, Emma, new character Luca, and Kaylee's cousin Sophie to solve another supernatural mystery and defeat the hellion that won't give up until he has Kaylee's soul. Avari and his hellion friends have found a way to do something that until now has been impossible, but Kaylee isn't giving up.

I can't tell you how much I loved this book without spoilering you all. I love Tod, and I love that he's with Kaylee. I'm still not loving Nash, but I really enjoy Sabine's scenes. Sophie's character has gotten more interesting as the story has progressed, and I can't wait to see where Rachel takes this fabulous series. With All My Soul is set to come out next April and will conclude the series with seven books. My fingers are crossed for another short story or novella to pop up some time between now and then. If you haven't read these books, what are you waiting for?

Novella Review: Never to Sleep

Don't Close Your Eyes.

Sophie Cavanaugh is not going to let her freak of a cousin's strange psychiatric condition ruin high school for them both. Not after all the work she's put into cultivating the right look, and friends, and reputation. But then, Sophie sees something so frightening she lets out a blood-curdling scream—and finds herself stuck in a bizarre parallel world where nothing is safe and deadly creatures lurk just out of sight, waiting for her to close her eyes and sleep...forever.

Could this world be real? Or does insanity run in the family...?

Never to Sleep is Rachel Vincent's newest novella in the Soul Screamers series. I am sooooo in love with this series and Rachel's writing. It's one of my favorite YA series ever. So I may end up gushing a bit. Never to Sleep is narrated by Sophie Cavanaugh... Kaylee (the regular main character's) cousin. Kaylee, her father, and her uncle are all bean sidhes (banshees). Kaylee's mother was as well, but not Sophie's mother. And it seems to have skipped Sophie as well.

Sophie doesn't like her cousin. To her, Kaylee is a freak who screams uncontrollably for no reason. And she believes Kaylee has something to do with, or at the very least knows something about, her mother's death. The supernatural world is around her and close to her, and finally she's introduced to it. While at Eastlake High, trying to escape another instance of being embarrassed by Kaylee, she crosses over into Netherworld... with new hottie Luca. While trying to escape the crimson creeper, hellions, and more, Sophie and Luca grow closer. But who and what is Luca? And how did they cross into the Netherworld?

I wasn't sure if I'd like this one very much. I don't like Sophie in the series, so I was pleasantly surprised to find I liked reading through her POV here. If you haven't read the Soul Screamers series, definitely check it out. If you have and haven't picked this one up... what are you waiting for?

Book Review: If I Die

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.

If I Die is the fifth book in Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series. And it is, by far, my favorite. I don't really know how to review this book and keep it spoiler-free. But no worries... I'm going to try.

Kaylee and Nash are trying to work things out and get back to where they were. Sabine is still around and still in love with Nash. And poor Tod is still on the fringes, his feelings for Kaylee going unnoticed. Well... only unnoticed by Kaylee. Tod shows up one afternoon to deliver awful news. Kaylee's name is on a reaping list. And since her lifeline is borrowed, she can't trade it again. Which means she'll die. But before that, she makes it her goal to get rid of the new math teacher hottie, an incubus eager to reproduce, who comes on to Kaylee's bestie, Emma.

The plot in If I Die was more intense and complicated than the previous four novels. And it kept me on the edge of my seat, curious as to how Ms. Vincent was going to pull this one off. The main character is supposed to die, but be around to narrate book 6?!

If you haven't picked up this series... Seriously, what are you waiting for? The Soul Screamers is definitely one of my favorite YA series, and I cannot wait for Before I Wake.

Book Review: My Soul to Steal

My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent is my favorite installment in this series yet! Enter Sabine… Nash’s ex. She shows up just when Kaylee and Nash are left at a rough point after the events in My Soul to Keep. And, yes… she wants Nash back. (My personal opinion… she can have him. I much prefer Tod.)

She’s a mara, a living, breathing nightmare. She feeds on fear and gives the person nightmares. Now teachers are dying in their sleep, only days after a mara shows up. A coincidence? Kaylee thinks not.

I started reading this series after it was recommended by Melissa Marr, who blurbed the cover of the first book. And I’ve loved each book more than the previous one. I can’t wait for If I Die (book five) and Before I Wake (book six). Don’t forget to get your preorders in for those, and be sure to check out “Niederwald”, Rachel’s Soul Screamers short in Enthralled.

Synopsis:

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.