Today we review the second book in the Soul Screamers series..

My Soul to Save – Rachel Vincent

When teenager Kaylee screams, someone dies…So when teen pop star Eden dies 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.

The second book picks up Kaylee’s story just a few weeks after where My Soul to Take ends. This time round, Kaylee’s aware of her abilities, and is learning how to better use and control them. The main characters from the first book are all back, and it’s good to get to know them all a little better. It takes us further into the Netherworld, where demons and power mad humans make contracts with unsuspecting teens for their souls.

I liked the speed that the book moved at, as with the first one, from the start the action kicks off and keeps up throughout. I still love the characters, too, and care about what happens to them. Some of the mystery and ‘keep you guessing to the end’ plot line that I really enjoyed in My Soul to Take is missing, as you do know what the problem is at the start and you don’t doubt that Kaylee and Nash will manage to fix it. They risk their lives for Addy, who traded her soul for fame and fortune, and I struggled to sympathise or connect with her, so I didn’t really understand Kaylee’s desire to endanger herself to save her. Having said that, about halfway through the book, I found I couldn’t put it down and needed to keep on reading, and there were a few twists and turns towards the end.

In summary, it’s a really enjoyable read, and although not as good as the first, it still makes me want to read the third!

Thanks to MIRA for sending us a copy. It’s here for you to buy now..

Today we review a book from MIRA’s new YA imprint, MIRA Ink…

My Soul to Take – Rachel Vincent

Being a teenager just got much more complicated. There is something very wrong with Kaylee Cavanaugh: 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 the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next.

My Soul to Take is the first book in the Soul Screamers series about a teenage banshee growing up in high school. Kaylee’s unaware of her heritage and what she is, and as the book unfolds, she finds out about her past. Along with banshees, we are also introduced to the world of grim reapers and their workings and purpose. Whilst not natural friends, both banshees and reapers work together to understand what’s happening with the wave of sudden deaths, and attempt to put a stop to them.

I do enjoy books based on the paranormal or myths, and with the fiction world currently awash with vampires and werewolves, I found the idea of a book based on a banshee to be fascinating. The opening chapter draws you straight into the action, whilst introducing the main characters. From there on, I found every chapter revealed something new and interesting, urging you to read on, and so it was finished within the day. At the end of the book, there’s a taster of the next book in the series, My Soul to Save, out next month. I’ll be looking out for that one, and in the meantime, you can buy My Soul to Take in our shop now..

We heard a few days ago from Rachel Vincent, so today we share with you Bookbabbkler Sarah’s review of her new book…

Alpha – Rachel Vincent

Power, revenge, and justice – prepare yourself for the final battle! In the final chapter of “The Shifters Series”, Faythe and her Pride must fight a tyrannical werecat intent on taking over the territorial council, and the south-central Pride in particular. It’s down to Faythe to take on the role of Alpha before she feels completely ready for the job. Forced to rise to the occasion, Faythe must balance experience, advice, and the urge for vengeance. She must also finally choose between Marc and Jace…No decisions will be is easy, and not everyone will survive this epic fight to the death.

Alpha is a brilliant action packed read. Although I have not read the other titles in the series, I was immediately immersed in the book and the strange world of Faythe Sanders.

The book tells the story of Faythe, her secret life and struggle with the council that controls it. There is a very strong plot and many surprises in the story with Faythe seeming like a much more mature character by the end of the novel.

Vincent writes in a way that makes the reader become addicted to the novel, I ended up just wanting to read more and more. Faythe is also a very compelling heroine and it would be difficult not to like her and not to feel involved in all of her struggles.

The ending seems to tie up the romantic strings which have been floating throughout the series. It was in fact tear jerking in some places! The only problem I did find was that the love triangle became a bit confusing at times and it was occasionally difficult to discern between the Marc and Jace. I also felt that perhaps there should be one more book after this series to let the reader know what happens in Faythe’s future.

I would really recommend this book and I now intend to read the earlier novels too. I am sure that if you’re already a follower of Shifters series then you will not be disappointed. A great Halloween read! 8/10

Thanks very much Sarah. It’s available in our shop for you to buy now.

With Halloween just a few days away, Rachel Vincent shares with us what scares her…

I come to urban fantasy by way of horror. I grew up reading horror—you know, those books in which the vampires and werewolves will actually eat you, instead of sparkling at or flirting with you. I’ve been reading Stephen King, Robert R. McCammon, Dean Koontz, and John Saul since I was in junior high, and at that time, they were all classified as horror. I read and loved stories of possessed cars, genetically altered people/creatures, post-apocalyptic battles between good and evil, and monsters galore.

In my youth, if no one was possessed, gored, murdered, mutilated, or tortured, I had no use for the book.

They still haven’t figured out exactly what’s wrong with me.

But out of all the horror I’ve read, and all the horror movies I’ve watched (and I’m a big horror movie fan), it’s the human monsters who scare me the most. Every. Single. Time.

I think that’s because for me, horror (much like romance) always seemed to be more fantasy than anything else. I don’t actually believe in ghosts, or vampires, or mythological monsters (or flawlessly handsome, patient, hot-for-only-me men), so it was impossible to truly be scared by them. But real life monsters? Psychopaths and sociopaths. Sadists. Cannibals. The truly insane. Those willing to do anything for profit—or worse, for entertainment.

Those are the things of my nightmares.

So, here are a few of the books that terrified me. [Warning: these are some seriously disturbing reads. Also, they are not the kind of thing I actually write.]

The Girl Next Door – Jack Ketchum

This is the based-on-a-true story of a set of sisters who were left in the care of a psychopath who tortured them (mainly the older girl) in her basement and encouraged the neighborhood children to both watch and participate. Truly horrific. Difficult to read, and terrifying, because this really happened. Someone really did those horrible things to two innocent girls. And what’s even worse than that is the number of onlookers who let it happen.

The Hannibal Lector books – Thomas Harris

Hannibal Lector. That should say it all. Way scarier and more disturbing than the movies. Also, fantastic reads.

The Kay Scarpetta novels – Patricia Cornwell

These aren’t horror in the traditional sense; they’re murder mysteries, solved by a medical examiner. But the crimes she’s solving bothered me. Some of the murders are…sadistic.

And here are a few of the movies that scared that terrified me:

Psycho. Both the original and the remake. It’s the insanity factor. Not to mention the voyeurism, violence, and that creepy, off-the-grid feeling of the practically abandoned motel.

Borderland. This is another based-on-a-true story about some kinda-spoiled white college kids (though, to be fair, they’ve just graduated and are about to go to grad school) who head down to Mexico for some it-would-be-illegal-here fun and games—and wind up victims of some seriously vicious, gruesome Santeria-practicing locals. Again, the bad guys are insane. And psychopathic. And they don’t just kill/sacrifice their victims. They cut them into pieces first. And that evidently really happens. There’s nothing in the world scarier.

Last House on the Left. I tried to watch the original, and couldn’t get through it. The dated film quality and poor acting just didn’t hold my attention. But the remake is… Well, the first half is horrifying.  Innocent people tortured, physically and psychologically by a foursome of psychos. Fortunately, the last half of the film is all about revenge, and…well, I love some revenge violence.

Rachel Vincent is the author of Alpha, part of her Shifter’s series about a pride of werecats which is out now from MIRA books £6.99, and in our shop. We’ll be bringing you our review of Alpha here soon.