Liviania’s review of My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers, Book 1) by Rachel Vincent
Young adult urban fantasy released by Harlequin Teen 1 Aug 09

My changing position of Rachel Vincent’s adult series has been well-documented on both this site and my own blog. As I wanted to like it from the start and am thoroughly enjoying it now, I wanted to see what her young adult series was like. Plus, the ladies of TGTBTU got me reading Harlequins, and I wanted to see what the publisher would do with its new YA line. The verdict? My Soul to Take is a good start.

Kaylee has panic attacks. That is if, by panic attacks, you mean beginning to scream uncontrollably when encountering certain people. She’d like to keep this on the down-low . . . but now one of those people she was sure would die is dead, and no one knows what killed the girl. I’ll forgive quite a bit more in a teenage protagonist than I would in an adult, but Kaylee plays things pretty smart. She reaches out to people who seem like they could help, being cautious but realistic about being in over her head.

One of those people is uber-hot and cool Nash, who can calm her down when she’s panicking. He might know what’s going on, but Kaylee’s reluctant to trust him due to his playboy reputation. Seriously, I love how sensible Kaylee can be. She doesn’t instantly trust him, but nor does she instantly push him away. She works to get to know him. Watching them get closer together is fun. Yeah, they’re drawn to each other, but they don’t just rely on the magnetism. They talk. I do love them as a couple. (The ending does have interesting implications for the possible love triangle. Usually I love triangles, but I just think Nash and Kaylee are so cute together.)

As for the world-building, Vincent does a good job of combining her own mythology with the old Irish tales of bean sidhe. My Soul to Take focuses on the banshees and reapers, and I look forward to learning about even more powerful and dangerous creatures. I find it refreshing that Kaylee doesn’t rank that high on the abilities scale. What she can do is impressive, but rather specific and with numerous drawbacks. Vincent definitely doesn’t shy away from the potential consequences.

Kaylee and Nash don’t forget that they’re trying to catch a murderer. Things fall apart some, logically, once the culprit is revealed, but I still enjoyed the story. I could let the logic go some when I was enjoying the action and last minute reveals. I am eager to read the next Soul Screamers book, not just for the romance, but to see what happens to Kaylee’s family. I’d also like to see more of the world’s politics. Who knows what consequences Kaylee and Nash’s actions will have on interspecies relations? (Rachel Vincent, that’s who. And possibly anyone who has read her early drafts.)

Unlike the Werecats, Vincent has me hooked from the first book with this series. I also recommend reading the prologue, My Soul to Lose. It’s longer than many Nocturne Bites, giving ample opportunity to sample the writing style and decide whether you like the main character.

Grade: A-

Summary:
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SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH KAYLEE CAVANAUGH
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She doesn’t see dead people, but…
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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.
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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 the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next…
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SOUL SCREAMERS
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The last thing you hear before you die…
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Read the prequel here.
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Read an excerpt here.