AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Title: Before I Wake
Author:  Rachel Vincent
Narrator:  Amanda Ronconi
Series:  Soul Screamers (#6)
Length:   10 hrs, 24 min
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Date Published:  June 26, 2012
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Bought
Buy It:  Amazon / B&N / Audible

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.

**Review Contains Spoilers for Previous Books!**

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Fave Romantic Quote:

“You're not lost, Kaylee. You can't ever be lost, because I'll always know where you are. And if I'm not there with you, I'm on my way, and nothing standing between us will be standing for very long.”

Fave Funny Quote:

“Why? Why is this happening to me?" Sophie asked.  Sabine rolled her eyes. "Because you're the beautiful fairy princess and the evil Lord of Hell can't secure his kingdom until he's feasted from your flesh and slaked his thirst with tea brewed from the ashes of your incinerated bones."  Nash groaned, and Tod laughed out loud.  Sophie hiccuped, and turned to me, frowning. "Is she serious?”

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Story:

Fans of the Soul Screamers series, we have once again been rewarded by the awesomeness that is Rachel Vincent!  This was absolutely the best yet in this series.  We're introduced to a new Kaylee in Before I Wake.  She is struggling to come to grips with her new status as "walking dead girl", and it isn't as easy as she thought.  Nothing seems to matter anymore, except for Tod, the only thing in her undead life that make sense.  She doesn't want to eat, she can't relate to her friends and family, and she's struggling to stay corporeal in class.  As if that's not enough to deal with, being dead isn't stopping Avari from trying to steal her soul.  This time he has new tricks up his sleeve.  If he can't get to her soul he'll just torment her and feed from her misery.

Before I Wake is filled with the action we've come to expect with Rachel's Soul Screamers series.  The people that Kaylee loves are once again in danger and it's up to her to protect them.  Nash and Sabine are still angry, and Kaylee wants to repair the relationship.  Sophie finally knows the truth about her family, and she's even dating a necromancer, Luca.  Her character is much more enjoyable than in the past books, although she's still a prissy, spoiled brat.  And then there's ever swoon-worthy, Tod.  At the beginning of this series I was totally and completely rooting for Nash to get his act together so that he and Kaylee could work things out, but it didn't take much persuasion from Tod for me to change my mind.  Tod is perfect for Kaylee.  Every time Kaylee has a moment of dispair Tod is there to support her.  His love for her is so consuming.  I love his sarcastic wit, but his romantic side has the ability to take my breath away.   This is a wonderful addition to the Soul Screamers series.  With All My Soul (Book #7) is going to be the series finale, and it is sure to be bittersweet. 

Narration:

Amanda Ronconi narrates all of the books in the Soul Screamers series, and she does an amazing job.  I love it when a female can narrate male characters well and Amanda definitely does.  Her storytelling is flawless.  I highly recommend all of this series in audio.

5 Stars * * * * *

REVIEW: Never to Sleep by Rachel Vincent

Title: Never to Sleep
Author:   Rachel Vincent
Series:  Soul Screamers Novella (#5.5)
Pages:  56
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Format:  eBook
Source:  Bought

Don't Close Your Eyes.  Sophie Cavanaugh is not going to let her freak of a cousin's strange psychiatric condition ruin high school for them both. Not after all the work she's put into cultivating the right look, and friends, and reputation. But then, Sophie sees something so frightening she lets out a blood-curdling scream—and finds herself stuck in a bizarre parallel world where nothing is safe and deadly creatures lurk just out of sight, waiting for her to close her eyes and sleep...forever.  Could this world be real? Or does insanity run in the family...?

Favorite Quote:

"You want me to walk into a dark hole in the wall, where some horrible Netherworld creature is probably waiting to eat me alive.  Obviously you've mistaken me for Lora Croft."

"Apologies, Your Highness, I meant to mistake you for someone who wants to survive."

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As a huge fan of the Soul Screamers Series I was excited to see another novella released.  Since I knew a short story would only make me crave more I put off reading it until Before I Wake was released.  I love how Rachel Vincent uses her novellas to tell a story from a different character's point-of-view.  In Never to Sleep we get to see a little more of the person Sofie really is.  I've always wondered if she really was as vapid and hateful as Kaylee sees her to be, and this novella shows us that a lot of her personality may just be a front.  When Sophie sees a soulless Reaper in the school hallway she runs away screaming and ends up in the Netherworld with the new guy at school, Luca.  At first she thinks she's gone crazy like Kaylee, but Luca finally convinces her that everything she sees is real...and they are real danger.  This was a really great addition to the Soul Screamers Series.  Sophie is definitely a character that is hard to like, but in Never to Sleep we get to see that she's not necessarily as hard as she makes herself out to be.  I really like Luca!  He takes Sophie's snark in stride and even bounces it back to her.  This novella sets up what I hope will be Sophie's introduction to her family heritage in Before I Wake.  I recommend this story to any and all Soul Screamers fans, but be sure you don't read it before If I Die or you'll have some serious spoilers.

5 Stars * * * * *