162. My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
Soul Screamers, Book 1

Pages: 282
Ages: 14+
Finished: Sep.4, 2009
First Published: Aug. 8, 2009
Genre: Teen, Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4.5/5

First sentence:

"Come on!" Emma whispered from my right, her words floating from her mouth in a thin white cloud.

Reason for Reading: Even though I do not like romance books, I am getting into Paranormal Romances and Harlequin's new Teen books intrigued me. I received a Review Copy from Harlequin Teen.

Comments: Kaylee can feel when someone near her is going to die. In fact she sees a dark shadow surrounding them. But then Kaylee has an overpowering urge to scream, a loud piercing, almost ear splitting screech that once starts she has no control over. The only way she can stop it is to get far enough away from the person then her urge dies down. Her best friend Emma helps her, thinking they are panic attacks. Her aunt and uncle, whom she lives with, have already sent her to the psych ward once so now she keeps the attacks secret. All her life the attacks have been years or almost a year apart but suddenly three girls in town drop dead in as may days and Kaylee is a witness to two of them. Something is not right. At the same time she meets a boy, Nash, who is able to calm her urge to scream without removing her from the 'pre-deceased'.

This book was amazing! I won't tell you what Kaylee eventually finds out about herself but Ms. Vincent uses a very seldom used creature from folklore as characters in this novel. She has created a whole new wonderful mythos to work with that was pure joy to read. The story was compelling, very hard to put down. Kaylee is a strong female character, independent, yet respectful where it is due. It really is the story and the plot that kept me so hooked, though. Very well-written and unique to say the least.

For a teen book, I was pleased with the portrayal of the romance aspect. Both Kaylee and Nash are smart, intelligent teens. Kaylee knows when to back off and not let things go to far and Nash is very respectful to notice Kaylee's body language and never take more than has been offered.

Personally, I am not a big romance fan so the girl sighing over the boy in the beginning did have me rolling my eyes quite heavily but once the plot got going full steam the drooling over his various body parts took a back seat to the paranormal part. I mention this so that paranormal fans won't be afraid to pick up a book by Harlequin, thinking it will all be romance with a capital "R". Instead what you get is an incredibly unique paranormal story that is too good to miss, even if there is a bit of romance.

I am very anxious to read Book 2. This one ends nicely with the plot being wrapped up, but there are some character threads left open that will transition nicely into the next book. Highly recommended!




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