Book Review: My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent

The Soul Screamers series is one I haven't heard much about, but I managed to get 6 of the 7 books for cheap from The Works so it seemed like a pretty good idea at the time!

• Title: My Soul To Take (Soul Screamers #1)
• Author: Rachel Vincent
• Page Count & Publisher: 345 | Mira Ink (Harlequin)
• Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
• Format: Paperback
• Links: Amazon UK | Goodreads

Summary:
Kaylee Cavanaugh is just trying to be a normal teenager. Well, as normal as she can be when she has the overwhelming urge to scream when someone around her is about to die. She's just caught the attention of Nash, the hottest guy in school, when girls around her start dying. Strangely, Nash seems to know more about what's going on than Kaylee does. And just what is her family not telling her?

My Thoughts:
As I said at the start, this was a pretty random purchase for me and I ended up with the whole series of 7 books before reading any! I got the first 6 for £10 from The Works and thought I may as well get the last one from Amazon.

I thought this was a really, really good start to a series. There's not a huge amount of world building going on but we discover the world of Banshees and everything else that goes with it along with Kaylee. The focus is most definitely on characters here, but there is enough information given to us about the world to make it feel almost "real".

Speaking of information, Kaylee is actually given answers to the questions she has. So often in YA, the girl discovers she's not what she thought and everyone around her prevents her from getting answers for "her on good". Kaylee's family has kept plenty of very important things from her "for her own good" but once she starts questioning it, they answer.

I found I liked Kaylee more and more through the book, she seemed well thought and avoided falling into some of the more popular tropes! When the hottest guy in school is suddenly aware of her, she doesn't react with the whole "my life suddenly has meaning!" I've seen before but instead reacts with suspicion. Why is he suddenly paying so much attention to her? What's he getting out of it? I also loved the way their relationship began to play out. It felt like a naturally progressing relationship, none of that insta-love here.

Perhaps though Kaylee is a little to ready to accept the changes in her life. She had no idea that this world existed and had actually suffered in the past because of her urge to scream.

I didn't see the twist at the end coming. Though upon skimming through again to see what I missed, perhaps there were more clues than I thought!

My rating: