With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee Cavanaugh's taking her final stand!

After spending the last year undead, Kaylee has had enough of the paranormal creatures who have plagued her ever since she came into her banshee powers. Now she's ready to take her school back from the evil hellions, once and forever.

To protect her friends, Kaylee will need to find a way to turn her living incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another.

Yet when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realises she can't save everyone she loves without making some powerful sacrifices ...

Kaylee is sick of the constant death threats (and deaths) in her circle of friends and family. She decides it's time to end it all and comes up with a plan to finish the war with the hellions (well, mostly one in particular) once and for all. But then it gets taken out of her control when Avari decides to up the stakes.

Yet another one of my favourite series has ended. This saddens me so much - I like Tod and Sabine, and to a slightly lesser extent Kaylee, Sophie & Emma/(Emily). This book really finishes the series off with a bang.

There's happiness, there's tears, there's heartbreak, there's trauma. But most importantly, there's a kick ass story with some awesome characters that I will truly miss. I like the revelation about Kaylee & Tod's relationship (no spoilers from me but it's a good'un) and also seeing how Nash & Sabine's relationship is growing and changing - even though Nash is still a bit of a knob about Kaylee & Tod. And even though the ending of the book means the ending of the series, I really enjoyed it.


Book Depository: With All My Soul
Amazon UK: With All My Soul

Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Even death can't get you out of high school ...

Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking her life is much harder than ex-teen banshee Kaylee expected. Now she's fighting to stay visible to the human world and struggling to find time alone with her new reaper boyfriend Tod.

To stay in the mortal realm, 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 ...

This series is almost finished ...... this saddens me so much! I'm loving Soul Screamers and it just gets better with each book so I can only guess at how fantastic the finale will be. I will be both sad and uber-excited to read it.

So after Kaylee died in If I Die she's getting used to her life (or after-life) as an extractor. She has trouble keeping herself grounded and corporeal except when she's with Tod so she's with Tod a lot in this book - which is great 'cos I like the cheeky wee reaper. Their relationship runs hot and heavy in this book as well as Kaylee realised death doesn't mean the end of her life. But that annoying hellion, Avari, just refuses to leave her alone and continues to go after her friends and family in this book - with some awful consequences!

As I have previously stated in a few of my many Rachel Vincent reviews - I love her writing. All her series are addictive - and they all end after a few short books! Which I both love and hate - Ms Vincent has a way of provoking both emotions in me at the same time. She has a special talent, that wicked woman.


Book Depository: Before I Wake
Amazon UK: Before I Wake

Never To Sleep by Rachel Vincent

Don't close your eyes.

Sophie Cavanaugh is not going to let her freak of a cousin's strange psychotic 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 ... ?

This novella is FINALLY available in the UK. I've been wanting to read the Soul Screamers novellas since Reaper came out (which, by the way, is not available yet over here even though it was out before Never to Sleep).

I really enjoyed this one, it was fun getting into Sophie's head cause all we've ever had so far is Kaylee's take on her spoiled cousin. Although the first part of the novella stands to only strengthen those traits.

Sophie gets transported to the Netherworld with Luca (new guy) and has no idea where she is or why she got there, luckily Luca knows (the why is explained in the novella and hopefully further explained in the next novel) and guides her in how to stay alive.

It's set at the same time as If I Die but, apart from Kaylee and Tod's PDA scene, you don't get any of the storyline. One of my favourite lines is when Sophie is so sure that Kaylee would never be able to handle what she saw in the Netherworld since she's not stable enough. I snorted at that part.


Amazon UK: Never to Sleep

Country vs Country - Soul Screamers

And welcome to my second cover comparison post, I've actually found it difficult to find more Canadian covers like I did in my Otherworld post, I'm thinking poor Canada just gets stuck with the US covers.

This post we are going to compare one of my favourite YA series, Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent.



The above image are the US covers which are alright. The US books were released quite a fair bit ahead of the UK ones and I liked the covers and was about to start buying them when Rachel Vincent posted the 1st UK cover and I thought "Nope, I'm waiting." And you're about to see why.



I mean, just look at the pretty. I think these covers are stunning! And so different from the US covers, although I have seen other country editions use the same images but for different books. So yeah, as soon as I saw these covers there was NO way I was going to buy the US ones. And the cover for My Soul To Steal (I believe) in animated on the eBook version, the butterfly moves, how awesome is that?!


So, as you can see, the UK is most definitely my favourite with this series. What about you, dear readers?

If I Die by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee can see death coming. Now she must face her own.

As a teen banshee, Kaylee's blood-curdling screams are a death knell for others. Yet she never expected to see her own name at the top of the reaper's list.

Scheduled to die within days, Kaylee knows her magic can't change her fate. Worse, on top of worrying about her own demise, she needs to save mortal best friend Emma from the clutches of a deadly Netherworld creature.

As Kaylee's time on earth slips away, troubled banshee boyfriend Nash and his reaper brother Tod refuse to give up on Kaylee. They're ready to unearth murky family secrets to give her a last chance at life, as their fight to save Kaylee becomes a battle for her love.

***SPOILERS***







FINALLY, Kaylee dumps Nash and gets together with Tod! As I said in my review for My Soul To Steal, I prefer Tod to Nash and, since Sabine came into the series, I've thought she and Nash should be together.

Sorry for the spoiler but that part made my day and I can't help but squee over it.

So Kaylee finds out at the beginning that she's going to die within a week after Levi "accidentally" lets Tod see the list. As she's trying to cope with that she discovers her new math teacher is an Incubus and is trying to find a suitable incubator for his demon seed. As her last days pass on earth, she has to deal with Mr Beck before he hurts Emma. In the chaos of all that she FINALLY realises Tod's feelings for her (where has she been?!) after he risks his afterlife and job to make sure her reaper stops stalking and torturing her. Nash catches them and, understandably, gets pissed.

Loved this one and I was wondering right up until the end whether Vincent would actually kill Kaylee or if she'd come up with some way to let her live. And with all the hints and near misses she was throwing in with Tod and Kaylee, I was left wondering about that until it happened. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Vincent is a great author and I can't give her books anything but praise.

Definitely a must read. Whether you've been reading the whole series and want to know what happens or even if you've never heard of the series before, I highly recommend Soul Screamers.


Book Depository: If I Die
Amazon UK: If I Die

My Soul To Steal by Rachel Vincent

Sometimes dreams do come true ... and that's the last thing Kaylee needs.

Working things out with Nash - her maybe boyfriend - is hard for Kaylee. She's already coping with being a teenage banshee. Worse, Nash's gorgeous ex-girlfriend just transferred to their school.

Sabine's no ordinary girl. She's a mara, a real-life walking nightmare. Draining people's energy through their darkest dreams sustains Sabine ... and makes her Kaylee's top suspect in a cluster of super-creepy deaths.

To win back Nash, Kaylee's determined to unearth the truth. But Sabine knows the deathly secrets of Kaylee's subconscious - and she's not afraid to use them to get whatever and whoever she wants ...

Since we've been reading all of Kaylee's trials and tribulations, I thought I'd instantly hate Sabine. And I tried, I really did. But I kinda sorta liked her. Yeah, she's a bitch but she's a very likeable and understandable bitch. That being said, I'm still not sure who I want to be together - Nash and Kaylee or Nash and Sabine. Because I'm almost certain there's a certain reaper that has feelings for Kaylee and I kinda sorta like him better than Nash.

I'm still loving this series, Rachel Vincent is an excellent writer and really keeps you gripped. I like both her YA and her adult series, and I'm convinced she can't write anything bad. So obviously, I highly recommend anything written by her.


Book Depository: My Soul To Steal
Amazon UK: My Soul to Steal

My Soul To Keep by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee has one addiction in her life: Her boyfriend Nash.

Like Kaylee, Nash is a banshee. So he understands her like no one else. Nothing - supernatural or otherwise - can come between them. That is, until something does.

Demon's breath - a potent paranormal drug with the power to kill. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. Kaylee and Nash need to cut off the source and protect their human friends - one of whom is already hooked.

But Kaylee's plans are soon derailed when she uncovers another secret demon's breath addict in their midst. Nash.

Now she's ready to kick some serious Netherworld butt - but is it too late to save the boy who's stolen her heart?

This is book three in the Soul Screamers series, the first two books are My Soul To Take and My Soul To Save.

My one problem with this book was the fact that Nash's addiction was given away in the blurb. Even with all of Rachel Vincent's hint-dropping, it was still a major part of the story and I feel it could have been more of an "oh-my-god" moment than it was. Of course, this has nothing to do with the book or the author, it's just something that bugs me when a huge thing is given away in the blurb.

This series is still going strong and I can't wait to read the next one (I'll need to check if I can get the UK cover yet or if I'll have to wait). Unlike a lot of Supernatural books, we learnt about Kaylee's banshee powers at the same time as her so we've gotten to see her grow while she learns to live with her curse powers.

I absolutely love Rachel Vincent's writing style and am always eagerly awaiting a new release. She knows how to keep you turning the pages and writes fun and readable characters.


Book Depository: My Soul To Keep
Amazon UK: My Soul To Keep

My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent

When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.

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

Soon Kaylee finds that Eden's not the only starry-eyed girl who traded her life for a flickering moment of fame - a deal that has dark consequences no mortal could understand.

Banshee Kaylee swears to help those lost souls. But school football star Nash - Kaylee's newly acquired, not to mention super-hot, boyfriend - refuses to let her in harm's way. Still Kaylee knows it's her duty to save the innocent from the Netherworld - even if it means putting her own soul - and love life - at risk...

Click here to read my review of My Soul to Take, the first in the Soul Screamers series.

This one takes place about 6 weeks after that last one ended and Kaylee is taking bean sidhe lessons from Nash's mum. I like the relationship Kaylee and Nash have with Nash's mother, Harmony seems like a nice laid back parent, although she is 80 years old so I suppose she's had a lot of time to hone her patience.

Nash and Kaylee's relationship is growing at a fast pace. Nash is very protective of Kaylee and wants to keep her from anything dangerous, but being a bean sidhe, this is not entirely possible.

I love Rachel Vincent's writing style, she keeps you interested and keeps the storyline going at a steady pace. I have nothing but praise for Rachel as an author so I can't possibly say anything bad about this book. Go pick it up and give it a read, it's worth it.


Book Depository: My Soul To Save
Amazon UK: My Soul to Save

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Something is wrong with Kaylee Cavanaugh ...

She can sense 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 want 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 the dark forces behind Kaylee's power than she does.

And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason and only Kaylee knows who'll be next, she realises that finding a boyfriend is the least of her worries.

I read My Soul to Lose, the prequel to the Soul Screamers series, a while ago and couldn't wait to read this book. But just as I was about to order it, Rachel announced the cover art for the UK version and, as you can see above, it's gorgeous! So I forced myself to wait so I could get the nicer covers. I'm a tad cover obsessed when it comes to my books.

The wait did not disappoint. This is a great first book for the series, although I'm finding it difficult to say anything about the book here without giving away spoilers. Normally I gauge it by what the blurb says and the blurb here does not give a lot away! And I don't like to give spoilers away in a review.

So all I'm going to say is that Kaylee is a great character, as is Nash. They're well written and the story is great. I've read all of Rachel's Shifters series and love her as an author, her writing style is flawless and I basically read this book in one sitting. She writes a great story and manages to make me laugh as well.

I am currently about to download Reaper which is another Soul Screamers novella that the lovely Rachel Vincent is offering for free. Isn't she a lovely person?

So yeah, sorry I couldn't tell you a lot about the story but I don't want to spoiler people so blame the person that wrote the blurb! But a must read for all YA fantasy fans.


Rating
5/5


Book Depository: My Soul To Take
Amazon UK: My Soul to Take