Review--My Soul to Keep

WHEN KAYLEE CAVANAUGH SCREAMS, SOMEONE DIES. AND KAYLEE IS ABOUT TO SCREAM HER HEAD OFF....

Kaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them.

Until something does.

Demon breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source to protect their friends--one of whom is already hooked.

And so is someone else...

***SPOILERS FOR MY SOUL TO SAVE!!***

This was my first early read! I received an early copy of My Soul to Keep last week and couldn't wait to read it! And as usual, I won't divulge too much into the storyline nor will I reveal spoilers.

But anyway, MSTK picks up close to the end of My Soul to Save, after Kaylee is free from her grounding. So it's a good place to be. I liked that transition. While we all had to suffer and wait for the book, Kaylee was grounded, so she couldn't really do much other than go to school. Which put a slight cramp into her dating life with Nash, but she was able to see him here and there, for her father still isn't too fond of him.

The word that is spreading about the book is that it is darker than the first two and that Kaylee and her friends are really pushed to their limits and now I totally understand what they were saying. The book does get much darker, even darker than My Soul to Save, which was pretty intense with teenage girls selling their souls for fame. Although, can't recall the page number, I did enjoy the crack regarding Hannah Montana. It was good, made me chuckle! I've been reading all day so basically I read this book in one day, minus chapter 1 which I read yesterday, so trying to remember where certain events happened is kind of hard, I want to say this was in the last portion of the book, last 1/4 maybe. Whatever, not important, just something that made me laugh out loud. Which thankfully I was home alone so I could do just that without getting weird stares.

But the characters are really growing in this series and I love that. It's sometimes hard to believe that this is YA, because these teenagers, 16-18 are really going through some scary stuff--and not just the normal teenage/high school stuff. There are some serious matters that come up here and there that are shocking.

Kaylee is pushed so far beyond the limits throughout the book and her strength is incredible. Yes, she does have her breakdown moments, but who wouldn't? But she is able to overcome them for the moment and do what has to be done. She is a very strong young woman and I think that she is a good character for teens to read about. She has hard decisions that must be made in the book and her choices aren't easy ones to accept. Enough on that because it may lead to spoilers, but that's nothing entirely new to any book, the protagonist having to made tough decisions.

I love the characters in these books though. Kaylee as I said is a strong young woman and who I think is a good role model for the average teenage high school girl. She's normal, she sees others in her school who put on a show and try to act all snotty--basically falling into the cliches of high school b--es, but they do exist--saw them at my high school. Like Sophie for example, I hate her! I find it hard sometimes to really passionately hate a fictional character, but with Sophie? I literally hate her guts! And Rachel does an amazing job for readers to hate her. True, I can sympathize with her at times, but they are few times. She's just cruel and nasty when it really isn't warranted towards Kaylee, and she's family! But as I said, I can sympathize with her at times because she has been through a lot and she really doesn't know the truth regarding the "why".

Emma is still one of the greatest best friends I've ever read about. She too cares for Kaylee and does amazing things for her best friend. She is flawed, but who isn't? This again makes her relate-able and real and lovable! Nash is still the good boyfriend and does what he can to make Kaylee comfortable about their relationship. He doesn't pressure her into moving further with their relationship and that I think is an admirable quality.

There is the mystery element to be found in the book and I enjoyed it as well. There's a lot of tension in trying to figure out what is going on, which literally had me gripping the pages and wanting to read more and more--which I did obviously! The mystery element really grabs you, it's not overly detailed, but it's not simple either. The Netherworld never is. And surprisingly this time when I was reading and saw the word "The Netherworld" I thought of the The Netherworld--the dark and scary place where dark and scary things dwell, and not the "Neetherworld" from Beetlejuice (Loved that cartoon show as well as the movie!) like I did the previous time, because as I said The Netherworld is a very scary place.

Kind of like before there is an ending that wraps up the plot but it leaves you wanting more, desperately. It's not a dramatic cliffhanger ending...I have had those and it drives me crazy...but it is going to make the wait for My Soul to Steal be somewhat agonizing and that releases in January 2011. But luckily Alpha comes out October 1 2010 to bide the time. The last book in the Shifters series, a book I am DYING to read!

So overall My Soul to Keep was fan-tab-u-lous. It was darker than the first two, but I am weird chick, always have been, so I like dark books. My friends can attest to that! When I say it is darker, I'm not meaning anything negative in regards to the quality of the book. Bibliophiles and readers know that "dark" books are just as good as the "lighter" books, but sometimes darker books can be better, we all need to have that edge and My Soul to Keep promises to give you that edge!

If you haven't read the Soul Screamers series yet, I HIGHLY recommend it! So far there's only 3 books, book 3 comes out in June, so you have time to catch up. The series is amazing because I think the real life elements, involving high school are done wonderfully and realistically--which makes me so glad that I am done with high school! But seriously it is written wonderfully well and I think it does speak well to high school students. I just finished college, so I am not too far from my high school years and I still feel like that this book speaks to teenagers on their level. If these were printed while I was still in high school, I would sooo be reading them then! Would've had them sooner too!

Stay reading readers!