Soul Screamers #3 My Soul to Keep

Presenting Soul Screamers #3 My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent.

Here is the summary of the book:

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 seriously hate it when the author tries to break up the main couple and then situations arise in such fashions that the brother is the one who finally gets the girl. I can digest that sometimes but not always. And I am definitely not fond of sudden drastic character changes too. My Soul to Keep is clearly the game changer for the series and somehow I didn't like it at all.

I get that Vincent focused on one particular sin (of the seven deadly sins) in each of the books and gave it a larger than real arc. And the concept of the Bean sidhes and the Netherworld were clearly the strong points of the series. But the Kaylee, Nash and Tod we saw in the first book were clearly the best out of the lot for me.

As such the trio have become rather convoluted. Tod is turning a bit better, he had his moments but there are moments when Tod seriously irked me. Nash, well I was unhappy with the changes we saw in him but what I read made me feel almost sorry for him. Substance abuse can make them do a lot of things they won't do with a sane mind. And then there was Kaylee, she seriously annoyed me. She felt too righteous. Its good that she cares but she seems to take the 'with great powers comes great responsibility' thing to the next level.

Then there were the adults. They were seriously badly written. At every turn the one thing that was on the teenagers minds was that if the adults found out then I would be grounded. As if that was the most important thing going on. And then the obvious cliffhanger-y ending come on. Seriously either set Nash free or help him get better don't leave him saying that you would wait for him to get better and take him back then. Seriously I want to know how this series ends but I am not sure I am in the right mind to do it right now. I need a breather.

"My Soul to Keep, the drastic game-changer for this series"

Genre :      Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Publisher: MiraINK

Release Date: 15th April, 2011

My Copy: bought (paperback)

Rate:              2/5 (It was ok)

Other Books in the Series (review links):
                    #1 My Soul to Take 
              #2 My Soul to Save 

Other Books from the Author (review links):
           Unbound #1 Blood Bound
    
Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository 

Soul Screamers #2 My Soul to Save

Presenting Soul Screamers #2 My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent.

Here is the summary of the book:

When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul.

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld--a consequence they can't possibly understand.

Kaylee can't let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk....

My Soul to Take opened the doors to a new world to us. A series with Bean sidhes (we pronounce it 'banshee') as central figures. Kaylee Cavanaugh had a rude awakening of her true identity and ever since the events of the first book, she knows now that there is a human world and there is a netherworld where resides the baddest of the bad creatures imaginable and they are just waiting to take your emotions and such just to satisfy their hunger.

My Soul to Save, happening sometimes after the first one sees Kaylee taking Ben sidhe 101 from Nash's mom Harmony (they are Bean sidhes too) and learn everything she missed in all her years of ignorance. But trouble doesn't seem to be far and Kaylee, Nash and Tod (the reaper) just can't keep away from mixing in this mess. Tod's ex-girlfriend Addison Page, a teen pop sensation sold her soul to a hellion in exchange for name and fame and the glory. And Tod just won't stop until he helps her get to the out-clause and get her soul back.

 This is at best a mediocre sequel, not bad but not the greatest either. So Addison Page sold her soul but it isn't Kaylee's fault and she is in no way the messiah of the wayward. But she is brave to go such lengths for strangers but I still don't see why she had to do it. Signing a contract you are required to read it carefully and remember details if any untoward situations arise. Page is the one at fault and I don't like how she came of as selfish and expecting the trio to find her soul for her.

So, Nash rightly tried to talk Kaylee out of this mess. While the warmth and emotions we saw in the couple in the first book was slightly missing here. Still he remained her reason and i liked it very much that the tried to protect her. The highlights was definitely their crossing to the Netherworld and seeing that world in detail.

"Bean sidhes and trouble sure do go hand in hand for Kaylee, Nash and Tod"

Genre :      Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Publisher: MiraINK

Release Date: 1st February, 2011

My Copy: bought (paperback)

Rate:              3/5 (Liked It)

Other Books in the Series (review links):
                    #1 My Soul to Take

Other Books from the Author (review links):
           Unbound #1 Blood Bound
    
Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository 

Unbound #1 Blood Bound

Presenting Unbound #1 Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent.

Here is the summary of the book:

Bound by blood, condemned by fate

As a bloodtracker, Liv is extremely powerful. And in a world where power is a commodity that can get you killed, Liv's learnt to survive by her own rules.

Rule number one? Trust no one.

But when a friend's daughter goes missing, Liv is bound by a potent magical oath. She can't rest until the child is safe.
And that means trusting her dangerous ex, Cam.

A sinister prophecy tells that she and Cam will be the death of each other, yet Liv's tired of being a slave to destiny. She's ready to play the forces controlling her world at their own game.

No matter what the cost.

I have only just begun to scratch the surface with Rachel Vincent's book. Prior to Blood Bound, till now I have only read My Soul to Take. I liked that one much better than Blood Bound though. Not that this one wasn't exciting. It really was and a fast paced thriller too but still somehow with a few short comings.

The synopsis itself is quite misleading. Liv was helping to solve her friend Annika's husband's mysterious death because they were bound to an oath, the daughter's disappearance came way later in the story and not at all, the focus of the story. Also with characters as 'Skilled' as the characters in the book like Liv and Cam, you would expect the story to be teeming with action scenes but it is more or less a starcrossed romance but with a bittersweet ending.

Now I have nothing against that.... I do love a good paranormal romance. Liv and Cam, the protagonist couple were perfect for this setting. Both of them are 'Skilled' trackers. Both are strong. Determined.... And extremely adorable with each other..... And dealt a heavy hand by fate.... or by a friend with the 'Skill' for foretellings. Not to say there wasn't enough tension.... because they had it down to a 'T'.

Secrets and Manipulations abound, with gangsters and underworld King Pins running the show. This proved to be quite the easy and a fast paced read. The character journey of both Liv and Cam was definitely the main point to the plot and I enjoyed this thrilling ride.

"Thrilling and Fast Paced"

Genre :     Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Mira INK

Release Date: 1st September, 2011

Rate:             3/5 (Liked It)

Other Books by the Author(review links):

         Soul Screamers (series)

Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository

Soul Screamers #1 My Soul to Take

Finally I foray into Rachel Vincent's books and this was an amazing introduction. Presenting Soul Screamers #1 My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent.

Here is the summary of the book:

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 her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next...

It was high time I began this series and I'm totally not disappointed....the reason I bought the one with the UK cover (I love it). Okay back to the story. Mythos. Bean Sidhes. Mysterious killings. Young girls falling over dead everywhere. And the typical teenage high school love story......or not.

Kaylee Cavanaugh is the typical teenagers. In love with the hot & hunky Nash Hudson. And screams whenever she is near someone about to die. Definitely not normal. Then she finds out she is a bean sidhe, the proverbial wailing spirit, the harbinger of death. Finds out her family and that sexy boyfriend of her's is too.

I was rather skeptical at first. Come on bean sidhe or in the common language pronounced banshee were as the lore around them suggests the wailing spirit, long haired and flowing gown trailing behind funeral processions. Come on how do you make that into a good thing.....but Rachel Vincent did it, she took the sad/bad omen and turned it into an adrenaline inducing fresh story that made us what to know what her bean sidhe(s) look and sound like.

Kaylee was a brilliant protagonist, refreshingly teenager-ly and it was equally interesting to read about her finding her roots and solving the unsolvable murders. Nash Hudson was atotal hottie. An insta-love is not my thing but I suppose it works with both of them being bean sidhes(yes both!). A sweet love this was too and I would definitely like to see how things progress with them in the next books in the series......Rooting for them.

Got to say I did not expect the culprit..... understandable yes but unexpected. And Tod is another character who kept his own share of secrets till the end and brought the spices to this book, would like to see how that is going to develop into. What was truly gorgeous aside from the cover and Vincent's writing was the process of Kaylee discovering her potentials as the female bean sidhe as well as Nash helping her along the way. Oh! This is one series I totally want to own in print with the UK covers.....can't wait to get them all.....bloody brilliant.......BUT GOD I WANT TO STRIKE OUT THE KIRKUS REVIEW LINER ON THE COVER.....what has this got to with TWILIGHT ANYWAY!!!!! *exasperated sigh*

"Dark, Deadly, Soul Screaming and Intrinsic.....Rachel Vincent has given a good meaning to the lore of the bean sidhes"

Genre :     Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance


Publisher: MiraINK


Rate:             5 /5 (It was Amazing)