Before I Wake (Soul Screamers #6) by Rachel Vincent review

Naturally as this book is the 6th in a series, major spoilers abound. Enjoy at your own risk!

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….

From Goodreads

Kaylee is having a difficult time adjusting to her afterlife. As if being a bean sidhe teenager with a hellion out for her soul wasn't awkward enough, after slaying her incubus math teacher (and dying the process) Kaylee has been restored. No she hasn't been brought back to life, she is a restored soul who will spend the rest of her perfectly preserved at 16 and immortal afterlife chasing down bad guys.

Her personal life (beyond the obvious transition) is anything but cleared up. Would you think death would allow most people to forgive & forget, but setting up your ex-boyfriend for your murder while simultaneously hooking up with his reaper brother can put quite a crimp in anyone's social life.

With a serial soul thief on the loose, drama in all of her relationships, and a few new friends, Kaylee is out to finish off what started just short of one year ago. But how many people is she willing to lose in the name of taking down a hellion?

I must admit. I've read all the book in this series. There was a bit around book four I think where I kind of lost interest and that may have been due to the relationship building/not much action dynamic, but Rachel has me back on board in this sixth installment. The next to last book in a delicious series, Before I Wake doesn't stop to even let you catch your breath. We're dropped right back into the story from the ending of If I Die and move full steam ahead into Kaylee's new life. 

Friendships are strained, her triangle with the scrumptious Nash (the ex) & his brother Tod (the reaper) is escalating, and her family is becoming increasing determined to bar her from self-destructing. Death does not really suit Kaylee and while her adjustment can be considered normal, we really get a look at what holds her relationship together. There is a lot of soul-searching taking place & some deep, emotional fragility being displayed throughout the entire book by all the players. This peak behind the curtain puts a lot of past incidents into perspective in a way that begins the process of closure.

One last thought...I want to warn fans. I found myself completely unprepared for some of the heartbreak that takes place in this book. Have tissues on standby if you tend to get attached to characters. Rachel is pulling no punches when it comes to what happens. One might even compare her to Joss Whedon in some ways... I had to send Rachel a tweet about one particular scene and that was when it dawned on me..."Sometimes I forget that as hard as it can be to read it, that it must have been infinitely harder to write it."

So I just want to take a minute to say thank you to all the writers who do what they have to, no matter the pain or the cost, to stay true to the story.

I am truly looking forward to the final installment of the Soul Screamers series in March 2013. As sad as I will be to see the series end, I have a feeling that she has something else coming up in the near future.

In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

Nobody dies while figure skating; that's just not normal. Sadly, such is the reality for sixteen-year-old figure skater Eagan. Just a fraction of an inch would have kept her from hitting her head on the board at the rink during her performance. She could have lived and possibly gone on to the Olympics one day had it not been for that fraction of an inch.

As it is, her unfortunately early demise, allowed sick fourteen-year-old Amelia to get a new heart. She has been sick for so long her parents had to install a sliding chair in their staircase for her to get to her bedroom. Now, simply because Eagan checked the "Organ Donor" box on her driver's license, Amelia has another shot at life.

Told through alternating points of view, In a Heartbeat is an incredibly moving book. We get little glimpses into what both girls' lives are like before and after the accident. That tragically happy accident may have deprived one girl of her dreams and one family of a future with that child, but it also gave another family hope that their daughter could have a future at all. While Eagan and Amelia are polar opposites on the personality spectrum, they both have such a life drive that they cannot seem to shake. As the story progresses the girls seem to take on more and more of each others' personalities even though they never meet.

Both girls are strong, independent characters that were well-rounded. There was the potential for them to fall flat (over-the-top athlete and sick kid) and I found them standing out more and more. They both had little mannerisms and habits that spoke more loudly of their personalities and essence than any description ever could. I found the writing to be quite plain, which only added more emphasis to the actual story and not the delivery.

A truly heart-wrenching, tear-flooding tale, In a Heartbeat is an incredibly powerful novel. Loretta Ellsworth really hit the nail on the head with this storyline. I felt so much raw emotion and vulnerability without having to wade through a bunch of layers to get to it. The romance plot line was a little obvious, but necessary in order to bring the metamorphosis full-circle. Give it a shot, it's a quick read at only 195 pages. I promise at the end you will feel uplifted and rejuvenated.