Title: My Soul to Keep
Series: Soul Screamers Book 3
Author(s): Rachel Vincent
Genre: Young Adult, paranormal, fey, romance
Publisher/Year:
-Webpage: Soul Screamers
-Blog: Rachel Vincent @ LJ
-related: My Soul to Take (Book 1), My Soul To Save (Book 2), "Binge" (Immortal anthology), "My Soul to Lose" (prequel)
-Challenges Fulfilled: 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge
Synopsis: Kaylee and Nash discover that one of his football teammates is addicted to Demon's Breath, a dangerous Netherworld substance that shouldn't even be available in the human world. To save their friends from insanity--and possibly death--they must figure out how the Demon's Breath got into their world and somehow dispose of it, as well as cutting off the supply--without socially alienating themselves. And in the course of their investigation, Kaylee discovers a deeper plot by a powerful Netherworld demon to open a path between the worlds and pull humans into the Netherworld so that he can steal their souls and imprison their bodies. Along the way, she also discovers someone close to her has been hiding a deadly addiction as well...
Review: Its not often that you'll find me preferring the third book in a series to either of the first two, but with My Soul to Keep, third in Vincent's Soul Screamers novel series, I am. Its not that I didn't enjoy My Soul to Save and My Soul to Take, because I loved them both immensely, but I felt like Kaylee had infinitely more to lose in this book. In both books she had someone to help her, to lean on and put her full trust in. More often than not this was Nash, but her father fit the bill as well. Except Nash was too good to be true at times. He had the right answer, the right reaction, the right amount of...something whenever Kaylee needed it.
Whether she meant to or not Kaylee had depended upon Nash to be there and what would happen if he wasn't? From the get go Nash is acting all shades of shifty. Set about a month after the events of My Soul to Save, Kaylee is just getting off her grounding and letting loose (or as loose as Kaylee can be). Except not only does she smell Demon's Breath on her friend Emma's jerk of a boyfriend, but her car gets wrecked in the process! She might have been better off just staying grounded.
I don't blame her for feeling like the world was out to get her in this book--her car is totaled, her friend is possessed and Nash lies to her and repeatedly Influences her...and that's not even getting into some of the harder stuff to deal with. For me it felt more real, Kaylee's story that is, because she had to learn to deal with everything with limited help. She turned to Tod of course, and she asked for answers in a roundabout way from Harmony (Nash and Tod's mom), but she bears the brunt of things. As she races to save everyone from something, she's also trying to deal with trust issues, mental issues and guilt.
I was kind of surprised by the lack of resentment towards Tod, but eventually we learn that Kaylee understands. And Tod does feel bad about it, just he would do it all again if he had to. He's in the deep gray of morality now that's dead and a Reaper. He isn't as selfish or calculating as he seems though, several times in MSTK his emotions get the better of him and he can't help himself. I still love Tod, something so irrepressible about him that I just can't deny.
The story feels as if it moves at a faster pace, there is rarely any downtime for Kaylee which only feels heightened by the fact she isn't able to sleep very well (for a variety of spoilery reasons). She progressively gets more snappy, impatient and agitated as the book goes on and her ability to grab sleep is hindered significantly.
I had a laugh out loud moment when Sophie gets a small dose of comeuppance that she desperately needed. She just...I'm not sure how to describe her because she reaches new levels in this book. Several times I turned to my sister and asked her 'Is this what girls are really like?' and she would tell me they're worse in her high school.
The book delighted me, in a dark way (I wouldn't say this is a happy book) and though I was initially quite upset by some of the character developments, I eventually found myself agreeing with them and understanding why Vincent took them the route she did. A lot of what happens in MSTK is a direct consequence of the actions in My Soul to Save and watching the blame game get tossed around was darkly amusing. I'm geared up and ready for the fourth book, My Soul to Steal in January 2011!
