Review of "My Soul to Save"

"My Soul to Save"

By Rachel Vincent

4

Pub. Date: December 9th, 2009

Pages: 288

Synopsis: 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….

I really loved the first "Soul Screamers" book "My Soul to Take", but "My Soul to Save" just didn't have the same feel to me. I really enjoyed the plot about teens selling their souls to demons in order to become A List celebrities. It was believable that stars would accept such an exchange in order to keep their careers booming and it was also believable that they wouldn't consider how terrible eternity in the Netherworld would truly be. I'm not sure why, but the characters that I loved in the first book fell flat to me in this second installment. It seemed like more attention was paid to the plot than continuing to develop the characters. The whole book centers around a character named Addison, but I just didn't like her. I honestly can't say why because I felt like Vincent did her best to portray her in a way that should bring sympathy to her character.

My favorite thing about this book was that the characters got the chance to explore the Netherworld. Vincent did a great job creating another dimension that paralleled our world in many ways, but had terrifying alterations. I hope "My Soul to Keep", the next book in the series, spends more time in the the Netherworld. Even if it doesn't, it still sounds like a really interesting book. If you want to learn more about Rachel Vincent's books check out her website here. "My Soul to Keep" comes out June 1st and I know I will be reading it! I just hope Vincent is able to bring back my love for Todd and the other characters.

"My Soul To Take" is Mysterious

"My Soul To Take"
Rachel Vincent

4

Synopsis: 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…

I thought this book was really original. I had heard a little bit about the myths that this story is based off of, but I honestly knew very little. I really enjoyed learning about Kaylee's "gift" and the supernatural world surrounding her. Even though I liked Nash's character, for some reason I was really drawn to Todd. I just found him a bit more interesting; it is probably because he is more mysterious. Vincent kept me guessing throughout the whole book, I honestly had no idea who or what was responsible for the deaths of the teenage girls until it was revealed at the end. I may have figured out some of the twists before they happened, but not the one that mattered most.

Vincent did a great job creating multiple layers to the plot leaving plenty of room for more books. I feel like "My Soul To Take" just skimmed the surface of a world that gets darker as it goes deeper. I hope we learn more about both Kaylee and Nash's families in future books. I am really excited for the next book in the series "My Soul To Save". I would post the synopsis on here, but it would give things away for people who haven't read "My Soul To Take". Learn more about the second book and read the prequel Novella to the series, "My Soul To Lose", here.