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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ready for the Sequel!, January 3, 2010
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Nearly passed over this unique piece of paranormal fiction- incredibly glad I decided to order! (The description on the rear cover of My Soul to Take is a weak one.) Finished in just two sittings (would have been one if "real life" hadn't gotten in the way!), and already looking for the sequel. Better than I anticipated, easy to read, and twists I did not see coming. I have to admit, what was, I presume, supposed to have been the climactic revelation, I figured out halfway through; however, there were so many other things going on & so many directions they could take, I didn't mind knowing that one bit of information.
Kaylee Cavanaugh sneaks into a club with her best friend Emma. Comfortable with living in Emma's shadow, Kaylee is surprised, yet delighted, when sports hottie Nash Hudson takes notice of her & asks her to dance. Her delight is short-lived, however, when Kaylee recognizes the beginnings of another of her "panic attacks." In the midst of the crowded club, Kaylee's vision hones in on a beautiful young girl Kaylee has never even seen before- yet knows beyond a shadow of a doubt the young girl will die. Her "attack" is intensified by not only fighting the overwhelming urge to scream, but also the fear of "losing it" in front of Nash. With Emma & Nash's help, Kaylee is able to exit the club & calm down without giving in to the horrible urge. Having never even mentioned her "gift" to Emma, Kaylee suddenly feels compelled to tell Nash her secret. When he doesn't go running for the hills, Kaylee begins to feel she can indeed trust him, and agrees to meet him for lunch the following day.
Kaylee has never had confirmation of one of her "premonitions" before, so she is somewhat shocked to see the young girl's face on the news the next morning; she had been found dead in the bathroom of the club. With Emma being grounded, Kaylee has only one other person to turn to- Nash. She & Nash quickly begin to form a bond of trust- and undeniable attraction. Suddenly, two more teenage girls die, with seemingly no cause. Kaylee & Nash know the deaths are connected, but how? And why is Nash, who in the beginning urged Kaylee to tell someone about her "gift", now begging her not to mention it to anyone? Why does he seem to know more than he is letting on- about the deaths & about Kaylee- not only who she is, but also *what* she is? And can Kaylee make the connection & unravel all the secrets before it's too late?
Rachel Vincent has a wonderful way of allowing Kaylee to tell her tale with all of the excitement (& fear) a normal teenager would have under these not-so-normal circumstances- yet, thankfully, without all of the mellow-drama often accompanying such characters as of late. Highly recommend!
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32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Emotional Read, July 20, 2009
What could be illness - neurological or otherwise - may be something much deadlier in Rachel Vincent's first young adult urban fantasy Soul Screamers novel, MY SOUL TO TAKE.
Shadows blanket a girl who's about to die. Kaylee Cavanaugh wants to warn her, but can't. Withholding Kaylee's growing grief-stricken shriek is more than she can handle alone, so having Nash Hudson calm her is some relief. Except that he knows too much about Kaylee: not just WHO she is, but also WHAT she is. Together, they may be able to save potential victims of an unseen-to-the-human-eye serial killer, but there's always an exchange rate. If one person is saved, someone else will still die...
I'd heard this was a good book, but didn't expect it to make me cry. Too personal to share why here, but it just goes to show that the most powerful fiction is that which strongly resembles real life. However, once 100 pages had gone and the story became more paranormal, I was fine. I could distance myself from it, and should be able to read the following novels in the series tear-free.
The twists and turns are intriguing, and form an engrossing read. A truly outstanding novel, it'll be a hard act to follow but one to watch, come MY SOUL TO SAVE's release in January 2010.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
enjoyable and that's all, July 23, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Kaylee Cavanaugh can feel when someone is about to die, and when she does, she gets to the urge to scream. She's already been hospitalized for it. Fortunately, she doesn't often come across people who are about to die. That is until classmates of hers start dying for no cause and Kaylee might be the only person who can do something to stop the mysterious deaths.
MY SOUL TO TAKE is standard YA paranormal fare. If you want to be blown away by a book, this probably isn't it. If, however, you're looking for some enjoyable light reading and are a fan of teen paranormal romances, Rachel Vincent's YA debut is worth picking up.
Bean sidhes are new in YA fiction, and it's refreshing. Kaylee doesn't really have superpowers - no super-speed or super-strength or ESP or whatever. Another pleasant thing about this book is the fact that Kaylee's standard love interest (hot and popular and interested in the not-hot, unpopular heroine) is also a bean sidhe, and I'm struggling to think of another series in which both the protagonist and the love interest are supernatural beings living in the human world.
The characters are pretty straightforward. Kayeee's likaable enough, but she doesn't have any traits to really make her stand out, and Nash - her love interest - seems to have no flaws. But Kaylee's best friend, Emma, and Tod the Reaper add some fun to the cast. (Tod's my favorite character in the series.) Vincent's writing is also solid enough. No sparkling sentences or anything truly remarkable, but nothing wince-inducing.
All in all, MY SOUL TO TAKE is a fun read. If you're looking for something to distract your from everyday life and you're a fan of the genre, then pick up MY SOUL TO TAKE. If paranormal books aren't your thing, then you might want to skip MY SOUL TO TAKE, although I'd recommend it over some other popular titles.
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