My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

Title: My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3)
Author:  Rachel Vincent
Genre:  Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher:  MiraInk(15th April 2011)
Blurb:

KAYLEE HAS ONE ADDICTION: 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 who is already hooked.

Bu Kaylee’s plans are soon derailed when she discovers another secret demon’s breath addict in their midst. Nash.

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

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

My Soul to Keep is the third book in Rachel Vincent’s fantastic Soul Screamers series. My Soul to Keep starts just as Kaylee completes the grounding she earned as a result of her actions in My Soul to Save (you can find my review here), and attends her first post-grounding party. Things go a little awry.

As with the previous books in this series, My Soul to Keep was a very enjoyable read. It was nice to re-unite with Kaylee, Nash, Emma, and Tod. My Soul to Keep has one of the most interesting and complex plots of the Soul Screamer series so far. I was a little disappointed that the blurb contains what I considered a major spoiler, but the revelation didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story. More than any other book in the Soul Screamer series (so far), this book is about consequences and how nasty they can be.

Vincent created a really interesting situation in this book with the creation of “demon’s breath”, and how she portrays the drug and the results of addiction. I think that it was an interesting choice, especially considering the genre of this book. Drugs and their consequences aren’t often dealt with in the urban fantasy genre in my experience, so this book was a surprise. Vincent handles the subject brilliantly; this book definitely cemented my love of the Soul Screamer series.

As in the previous two books, Kaylee is the narrator of events in My Soul to Keep and I think this really worked. Kaylee always tries to do the right thing, and this book is no different. She is really honourable, even if she lies on occasion. There were times in this book when I wanted to yell at her because she missed things, or did something silly, but that was part of the enjoyment for me. Kaylee is by no means perfect, but she is a great protagonist. The ending of this book was actually the thing I most liked about it, but then I may be a little biased.

My Soul to Keep is a brilliant continuation of the Soul Screamers series, and if you haven’t read the series yet and like urban fantasy then what are you waiting for? I can’t wait to get my hands on book four.