***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: rachel vincent

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Review: With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

Thursday, March 28, 2013 with 3 comments

Title: With All My Soul
Author: Rachel Vincent
Series: Soul Screamers, 7th & final book in the series
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: March 26, 2013
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

What does it mean when your school is voted the most dangerous in America? It's time to kick some hellion butt...

After not really surviving her junior year (does "undead" count as survival?), Kaylee Cavanaugh has vowed to take back her school from the hellions causing all the trouble. She's going to find a way to turn the incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another in order to protect her friends and finish this war, once and forever.

But then she meets Wrath and understands that she's closer to the edge than she's ever been. And when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realizes she can't save everyone she loves without risking everything she has....

I don't feel quite as gutted with this series' ending as I did with the last one I read, but I'm not going to lie, I did shed some tears. I didn't discover this series until the fourth book was out and I'd won a copy, but you'd better believe that I rushed out to catch up and then waited not-so-patiently as each subsequent book was released. And with each new book, I loved this world, the story, and the characters that much more.

Kaylee Cavenaugh and friends have survived a lot. Okay, maybe survived is the wrong word. Not everyone has come through this war with the Netherworld unscathed...or even alive. We've lost some friends along the way, but we've made some new ones, too. These characters have moved past heartbreak, overcome addiction, and triumphed over evil time and again. And what's ahead for Kaylee in this final installment leaves her at the edge of a precipice, facing a decision that no one, dead or alive, should ever have to make.

"These beautiful blue eyes show me all the things you'd be willing to do for the people you care about. The things you would give up. The pain you would put yourself through for anyone you love--including me--and I can hardly stand to look into these eyes sometimes, because when I do, I know that you're going to do what needs to be done, even if that might take you away from me. From all of us."

Kaylee has never been opposed to taking risks to protect those she loves. And she is no less gallant in With All My Soul. But she is entirely too impulsive in her decisions this time around, leaving others wounded and hurt in the process. In fact, it almost felt like she was channeling Faythe from Rachel Vincent's Shifters series. And Faythe annoyed the crap out of me for much of that series, so it's a safe assumption that I found Kaylee infuriatingly frustrating for a big chunk of this book. But her motivations are pure, and though her intentions weren't always clear, it was obvious she'd considered every angle before acting.

One of my favorite things about this series is the dialogue. And not just from the swoony Tod, though I am admittedly partial to him. It's realistic. It's sarcastic. It's witty. It had me laughing and crying and swooning every step of the way, and I'm going to miss the banter between the characters something fierce. But I am mostly going to miss all the sweet, romantic words from one very hot reaper.

"I want you for all of you. Each individual part and the sum of them all. I want you for everything you are and everything you will ever be. I will never have enough of you, because there's no such thing."

This series is one of the few times I've actually approved of a love triangle. Because in reality, and especially at the age these characters are depicted at, it is entirely possible to outgrow your first love and find solace in another. And after everything these characters have been through, it felt right for the romance to take the path it did. It was refreshing to see the emotional growth of these characters throughout the series, but I was especially elated at the resolution provided in this final Soul Screamers book. Hurt feelings or not, I think this is the way it was always meant to be.

There were some plot developments here and there that I could have done without or that I thought would have taken an entirely different turn than they did, but overall, I still consider this one of my favorite series. I mean, first of all, it's the only one I know of focused on wailing banshees. That in itself is pretty awesome, but when you couple it with intriguing characters, intense interactions with sins personified as villainous hellions, beautiful world-building (centered around my hometown, no less!), and a well-crafted storyline, well, you can't really go wrong, can you?

Rating:

Labels: banshees, favorites, harlequin-teen, must-read, rachel vincent, soul screamers

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Teaser Tuesday #50: With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 with 8 comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser(s) comes from the following book(s):

My teaser:

"He touched me. That was part of the price. And when he touched me, I couldn't think about anything except how furious I was about every time anyone has ever been...wronged. And I think he could see those times. All of them. I think he tasted them in my blood. Or maybe sucked them right out of my head when we kissed."
"You kissed him?" The horror clear in Emma's wide-eyed expression echoed in her voice as well.
"Not by choice. It was weird, though, because he didn't taste like wrath. He tasted like peace. Like calm. But he was hungry for wrath, like he devours every drop he ever tastes immediately and is then starving for more."
Tod scowled. "Feel free to stop telling me what hellions taste like."
"She kissed someone else." Nash wasn't exactly smiling at his brother, but he didn't look entirely unhappy, either. "Wow. I wonder what that felt like?"

-- p. 169

Okay, I obviously cheated a ~~bit~~ lot this week, but this teaser was too good to pass up. Some serious stuff is obviously going down when Kaylee is willingly kissing hellions, but there's also the comic relief of the Hudson brothers who are notoriously at each other's throats when it comes to Kaylee. So, you see? If I'd taken just a couple of lines from this, out of context it wouldn't have been nearly as good. You're welcome. =)

I'm so sad to be saying goodbye to these characters. I still remember when I first started this series and I pronounced bean sidhes just like it's spelled and didn't even realize I was reading about banshees for the longest time. *sniff* Ah, the memories...

What are you teasing this week? Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!

Labels: banshees, favorites, harlequin-teen, must-read, rachel vincent, soul screamers, teaser tuesday

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

Wednesday, November 14, 2012 with 25 comments

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Title: With All My Soul
Author: Rachel Vincent
Series: Soul Screamers, the 7th & final book
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: March 19, 2013

What does it mean when your school is voted the most dangerous in America?

It's time to kick some hellion butt...

After not really surviving her junior year (after all, she did die), Kaylee Cavanaugh has vowed to take back her school from the hellions causing all the trouble. She's going to the find a way to turn the incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity and the rest on each other. And so she–and her gang–make plans to protect her friends and finish this war, once and forever.

But then she meets Wrath. And Kaylee realizes that she's closer to the edge than she's ever been. Especially when one more person she loves is taken...

Why I'm waiting: As if you didn't know. :P Seriously, I can't really say all that much without spoiling the previous books for those who haven't read them yet -- and surprisingly, there are still quite a few of those people out there! -- but c'mon...this is the last book in the series! I have to see how it all goes down. And after reading that synopsis, I fear more for Kaylee than ever before. Hasn't she been through enough? Hasn't she seen enough death and destruction to last multiple lifetimes? Sure, she's got Tod, I'll give you that, but it sounds as if Ms. Vincent wants to put her through the ringer one more time before she lets her have her happily ever after...if she even gets that. *bites nails*

Labels: banshees, favorites, harlequin-teen, rachel vincent, soul screamers, souls, waiting on wednesday (wow)

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Review: Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Sunday, June 24, 2012 with 3 comments

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Before I Wake

Author: Rachel Vincent

Series: 6th book in the Soul Screamers series

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: June 26, 2012
Source: purchased

I died on a Thursday-killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it. The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school...

Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend. But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life...

OH. MY. SWEET. TOD. I lost count of how many times I exclaimed that while reading Before I Wake. If you thought If I Die was full of revelations and earth-shattering changes, you haven’t seen anything yet!

I’m going to write this review assuming anyone reading it has read the rest of the series. So, if you’ve haven’t, you might not want to read any further for fear of spoilage.

So, my first thought while reading was, “Why is the onus all on Kaylee?” I love her character…out of all of Rachel Vincent’s books, she’s my favorite heroine. She’s down-to-earth, honorable to a fault, and so selfless. And with Before I Wake, we get to add completely tortured to the list. Not only is Kaylee dealing with her death, as well as her newfound position with the reclamation department, but her arch-nemesis is still after her and he’s pulling out all the stops to get at Kaylee’s soul. And, of course, she feels guilty for the way things ended with Nash and began with Tod.

But that Tod showed her she wasn’t alone in all of this. Nash was the boy she fell for and deeply cared for, but Tod was the man who proved his devotion and undying love. (Heh.) Honestly, I don’t think I cared much one way or the other before If I Die, but man, that book changed things. Tod was reckless and obstinate, but when it comes to Kaylee, he is a changed man. He would risk life and limb for that girl. If there was ever a question of which guy deserved Kaylee more, I think it’s definitely answered in Before I Wake — assuming it could even be questioned after Until I Die.

As always, Vincent kept me on my toes. With some series, I find myself easily predicting where the current novel will end and where we’ll be left hanging until the next installment. Not so with the Soul Screamers series. My mouth was literally hanging opened when I turned the last page. I love that feeling, but I also hate it. At any rate, I’ll be eagerly awaiting the seventh and final novel in the Soul Screamers series, due out in April 2013.

Rating:

Labels: favorites, harlequin-teen, rachel vincent, reviews, soul screamers

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday - Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 with 19 comments