SSRC: My Soul To Steal

 

 

Hard to believe the last month of this incredible Soul Screamers Reading Challenge, which is hosted by the fabulous fiktshun, will be starting tomorrow. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

"My Soul To Steal" is the fourth installment of the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent, and it has everything from love and jealously to complete pandemonium.

Goodreads description:

Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can't just pretend nothing happened. But "complicated" doesn't even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn't just an ordinary girl. She's a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people's fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.

And Sabine isn't above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.

While Kaylee tries to come to terms with what Nash has done - to her, to himself, and to them as a couple - all hell breaks loose around her. Teachers start dying, students start jumping at each other's throats - it's complete mayhem. To make matters worse for Kaylee, Sabine, Nash's ex-girlfriend - transfers to their high school, and she means business. She wants Nash back and doesn't care who stands in her way. She goes to some extreme lengths to get Kaylee to give up Nash, but Kaylee doesn't let herself get pushed around by anyone. My favorite hellion, Avari, has his own twisted role in all of this, and if he shows one thing, it's that he doesn't lack creativity when it comes to trying to get to Kaylee.

I have to give credit to Nash. Even though Sabine tries everything imaginable to get in his pants, he never gives in. He stays true to his words to Kaylee and his love for her. He is so desperate to earn back Kaylee's trust. At first I got a little bit infuriated with him for hanging out with Sabine in the first place, but after a while I could understand him. Overcoming addiction and staying sober is very, very difficult and without someone there to really support you and to talk to, it would be easy to fall back into the vicious cycle. Even though Kaylee wants to help Nash, she can't be there for him the way Nash would need her to. She cannot trust Nash yet and every time she looks at him, she sees what he did and what he let happen to her. As far as Nash goes, Sabine couldn't have shown up at a better time. 

For Kaylee, on the other hand, Sabine probably couldn't have come at a worst time. She is trying to find her trust in Nash again, all the while having to watch Sabine trying to tear them apart for good. I can only imagine how it must have felt, seeing Nash with her, even though he kept insisting nothing was going on. Kaylee believes him but that doesn't stop Sabine from trying at all.

My favorite moment was a talk between Kaylee and Tod about Nash and Sabine, and whether Kaylee should let him go for good or not. Some of the things Tod said were harsh, and I felt for Kaylee because realizing the truth behind those words cannot have been easy. Leave it up to Tod to be straight up front without any attempt at sugarcoating things. I still have to laugh imagining him in his pizza delivery uniform though.

The one person I felt really sorry for was Alec. He went through so much in his twenty-six years in the Netherworld, and when he finally gets back to the normal world, he doesn't even get a rest. He is still being used and doesn't even realize it until after terrible things have already happened. He deserves a break from all the horrible situations he has been put through.

*****

One of my favorite parts of these posts, is picking out my favorite quotes and/or passages. This time I'm actually going with four and some of you might be surprised to see that none of them are by Tod. One of them made me laugh, one made me sad, while the other two gripped me hard and shook me.

Passage #1:

"NO! I'm screaming now, the magic word. They teach us in preschool. If something bad happens, shout NO! and parents will come running. If a stranger touches you, shout NO! and the police will take him away. You can always shout NO! and there will always be someone there to protect you.

But that's a lie. No one comes. NO! is a lie, and safety is a lie, and the only truths are pain and forever, and pain is everywhere, and forever has already begun."

*****

Passage #2:

"I couldn't breathe, and this time that had nothing to do with any fear leaking from her abusive, rotting soul. I couldn't breathe because she was right. He'd given me up, but he'd kept her. All of her."

*****

Passage #3:

“Anger is great. It's powerful, when you need something to hold you up. Something to steel your spine. But in the dark, when you're alone with the truth, anger can't survive. The only thing that can live in the dark with you is fear.” 

*****

Oh, Emma, how I love your honesty and directness! She is never afraid to tell it as she sees it.

"What are you gonna say?" Emma asked. " 'I'm not sure I want you back, but I'm sure I don't want your ex-con ex-girlfriend to have you, either'? Yeah. That'll start this little triangle off on the right foot.”

*****

Wow, tomorrow marks the first day of our last SSRC month. How crazy is that? I am so hyped up to read "If I Die" again, it's almost ridiculous. Then, of course, there are still "Reaper" and "Never To Sleep" left to read. I think part of me will be super sad when it's over, but a bigger part will be anxiously awaiting the release date for "Before I Wake". Okay, but enough with the rambling. "If I Die" here I come...