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

This book series keeps on getting better and better!

Title: Before I Wake (Soul Screamers #6) by Rachel Vincent
Pages: 346
Release Date: July 6th 2012
Published by: Mira ink
Source: Midas PR
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

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…

I had to contain my excitement when I got the opportunity to read this book two weeks before it even hits the book stores. Why? Because after reading If I Die, I know the events in Before I Wake will be even better than the fifth book. Rachel Vincent just raises the ante little by little with each book, so my expectations for Before I Wake has skyrocketed. And guess what? It did not disappoint.

By now, readers should be used to the way Rachel Vincent brings so much torture and cause so much heartache to her readers, but it's not something one can get tired of. Before I Wake has a lot of those situations that makes me just want to scream, but all the frustrations and mixed emotions readers will feel is worth it. There's just so much to feel in this book, it takes a while to let it all sink in. With every book, every read becomes more intense, more gripping, more dramatic and a whole lot more addictive! I can't even begin to describe how emotional, shocked and sometimes horrified this book made me.

I'm Kaylee's character more and more as she gets stronger. With all the things she had gone through, she has always been there for those that needs her. That little bit of hero complex adds more to her charm, and how she can also be spunky and sarcastic when needed. She's selfless and very caring, and even when she had died, she stayed in school to protect her friends and her loved ones. It's not something a sixteen year old does, Bean Sidhe or not. Kaylee died, but gained a second chance: immortality. But being immortal is not all that it's cracked up to be. She might not be a reaper, but that doesn't mean being a collector of souls is easier. Being an immortal means there's no need to sleep, no need to eat, and eventually she'll be left alone because she wouldn't die, not anymore. Kaylee had to get used to being "there" but not really living anymore. And yet again, Kaylee transformed into a better version of herself.

Our favorite reaper is back! I loved the sarcastic, snarky, funny reaper that is Tod and now she and Kaylee are together! I loved him better than Nash, and like I said before, Tod has his charm hidden somewhere underneath the snark. My opinion of Nash drastically changed in the previous books, from anger to disappointment but I'm glad that he's gradually trying to build up some sort of friendship with Kaylee. Those romantic moments between Kaylee and Tod just makes me smile every single time.

Just when you thought this story wouldn't have anything more in store for its readers, Rachel Vincent managed to bring forth new conflicts, revive old foes with new frightening skills and bring bigger, more complicated mysteries to solve. A lot of anticipation and dread came with reading If I Die, and what made Before I Wake so much better is that it topped what If I Die made the readers feel. That feeling of riding in a roller coaster filled with countless twists and turns and surprises that blind sides everyone is consistently there, but it has more a whole lot more in store for the readers. It's like the story continually reinvents itself, even the characters. Another fantastic installment to the series! It makes me a little bit sad to think that it will end soon.

Does this deserve a five? Yes. Very much.

My rating:

Content (plot, story flow, character):

I was an emotional wreck after reading this!

Stunning: Worthy of a Goddess' Praise!

Book Cover:

I do like the US cover better than this one though.

[Before I Wake blog tour] Rachel’s Top Five Book to Movie Conversions

As part of the blog tour for the latest installment of the addictive Soul Screamers series, Rachel Vincent is on the blog telling us her favorite book to movie adaptations!

Follow Rachel: Twitter | Facebook | Website

What are your top five favourite films that were originally books?

In no particular order…

The Shawshank Redemption. I’m a huge Stephen King fan, and I read this short story ages ago and loved it. But I loved the movie even better. The acting is phenomenal and the changes made between the story and the movie were not only understandable, they were also necessary and well-done.

The Green Mile. Again, I’m a huge fan of King. The Green Mile came out in serial form during my senior year in high school, if memory serves, and I read each part greedily, then moaned about having to wait for the next bit. I loved it. But again, the movie holds its own, whether or not you’ve read the book. That was hands-down my favourite role ever for Michael Clarke Duncan and one of my favourites for Tom Hanks. And the supporting roles were also incredibly well-cast and acted.

Harry Potter. The whole series. There are many, many changes/omissions made between the books and the movies, but it would have been impossible to include everything from the books on screen, and I thought that the film adaptations were brilliant. And for that nearly-last scene where Harry Potter is trapped in a mental version of the train station… I didn’t understand that AT ALL in the book, but the movie managed to make it make sense, so YAY!

The Hunger Games. I’d never heard of the books until the movie was already being filmed and people were ranting/raving over the actors chosen. I got curious, so I bought the book and DEVOURED it. Action heroine. Devoted love interests. Revolution. These are some of my favourite things in fiction (things I write about myself, over and over) and I thought Suzanne Collins did a fantastic job with them. Especially in that first book. So, naturally, I went to see The Hunger Games on opening day, even though I had to by my tickets weeks in advance. I loved the casting (ALL of it) and most of the changes from the book were minor and for the best. (An out-of-order shot of the district 11 revolt was particularly well-placed.) I loved the whole thing. It truly captured the spirit and feel of the books, both character and worldbuilding.

I Am Legend. I love Will Smith with an almost unhealthy passion. When I saw the ads for I Am Legend, I was terribly excited to find dangerous, unattractive, non-brooding vamps/zombies in a movie staring (almost exclusively) one of my favourite actors. So I bought the book and read it in anticipation of the movie. The book and movie were very different. Different time periods. Different back story. Different main character (except for the name, I think). Different ending. I Am Legend was more inspired by the book than based on it. But I loved them both. The film remains one of my very favourite horror/vamp movies ever.

If Soul Screamers was to make it on the big screen, have you got any preferences about who would play the main characters?


You know, I don’t. I used to, but I started writing Soul Screamers back in 2008, and since then, nearly all of the actors I pictured for the roles have outgrown the part. So, I don’t intend to start fantasy casting again until/when the books are actually optioned. ;)

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I loved this list! I've watched all five films and I have to say, Rachel's got awesome taste in movies!And if you were to make a cast for the Soul Screamers, who would you have as Kaylee? Tod? Nash?

Before I Wake (Soul Screamers #6) by Rachel Vincent
July 6th 2012, Published by Mira Ink

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….