My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers, #4)

by Rachel Vincent

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.

• ISBN10: 0606235000
• ISBN13: 9780606235006
• Publish Date: 21 December 2010
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 April 2021
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Edition: Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[littleread1]

Wow this book made me feel a range of emotions. Rage, hurt, hope, anxiety ... Kinda glad it is over, not sure I could take much more of that!

I am going to start this review with a story of my own …

Back when I was in high school I was not popular but not picked on either. It was a pleasant experience overall. BUT (you know there was a but) I had a nemesis. We will call her M. I doubt she reads this, but I don’t want to call her out JUST in case. Anyway, M seemed to go out of her way to steal my boyfriend. Inviting him out, excluding me, showing up at his house, buying him gifts – all under the pretense that ‘they had been friends for years’ – uh huh, not falling for it. It stressed me out and pissed me off and I was glad when I graduated, went to college, said boyfriend and I broke up, and I moved on with my life. I hadn’t thought about M in a really long time.

The reason I am telling you this story, is because this book threw me right back to the days where dealing with M was a daily occurrence. This whole book made me anxious and angry and upset. My chest felt tight and while I couldn’t put the book down I was dreading picking it up at the same time. Whoa. That’s never happened to me before.

I would call that a win in my opinion. A book that takes you back to a time in life and makes you re-live all those same feelings is well written. Stressful as hell to read – but well written.

As I have come to expect from Vincent the whole cast of characters were fleshed out and true to form. There are some character shifts which I am looking forward to seeing fleshed out in the next book or two.

[Berls]

For more reviews from Berls, see Fantasy is More Fun

My Initial Reaction... This was not my favorite book in the series, though still a pretty good read. The teenage angst was a little too strong; for the first time in the series Kaylee has become the whiny teenager I dread in Young Adult novels.

The Narration...
Amanda Ronconi continues to earn her place as my favorite narrator. She makes each character unique and embodies their personalities! As always she does a fantastic job with Kaylee, but I have to say I really loved the way she presented Sabine. She just feels exactly like the person Vincent describes through Ronconi's narration.

The Characters...
I've grown to love Kaylee throughout the series and it's a good thing! She got on my last nerve in My Soul to Steal. I understand that Nash has hurt her and betrayed her trust, but either she wants him or she doesn't. Rather than accepting that, she has transformed into the child who doesn't want their favorite toy, but doesn't want anyone else to have it either. I know the strong Kaylee I've grown to love is there somewhere, she just needs to climb out from her insecurity!

Oh Nash, you poor boy. Nash is trying desperately to earn back Kaylee's trust, but he also needs support - support she's not willing/able to give him. He's lost his friends to Frost and he's all alone until Sabine enters the stage. He may want friendship only from her, but she has very different ideas and isn't afraid to claim what she wants. Having read the Reaper Novella before this was really helpful for understanding why this rekindled "friendship" is so complicated - you'll definitely want to read it first.

And then there's Tod. After having read Reaper even his minor appearances are so much more meaningful. You know him now and what's important to him; you know what motivates him. So to see him having so much trouble with Nash seems very telling.

The Story...
This book picks up in the spring semester, after Nash has spent several weeks undergoing a painful detox from Frost. Kaylee feels very betrayed and hasn't seen him much during his recovery, but the stakes are about to change. Nash and Kaylee are trying to work out their relationship, but to make matters worse Nash's ex-girlfriend Sabine has come back into his life and she is staking a claim! Kaylee doesn't know what to do; does she stake her claim, despite her major issues with Nash? Or does she trust Nash to keep Sabine back?

Meanwhile, some deeply disturbing events are unfolding at the school. It's as if everyone's gone crazy - but Kaylee knows in her gut that there's a supernatural reason for the problem. And when she finds out Nash's ex is also a Mora (aka A Nightmare) she can't help but point the finger and stir things up.

Concluding Sentiments...
The storyline in this book was less interesting than in the other books - too much of the story is dominated by a petty rivalry for Nash, who is at his bottom and hardly seems worth fighting for. The petty teenage angst also gets annoying. It does have some unexpected twists that keep the story fun, and it ended on a note that makes me interested in seeing how the story will continue to develop. I'm invested in the characters and look forward to the next, hopefully lest angsty, book in the series.

[Kelsenator]

Originally posted on my blog Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf

I am definitely in love with this series, and this book is my favourite so far!

Kaylee and Nash are still apart after the last book after what Nash did in the last book. After not seeing each other for a few weeks, it’s hard for them to even talk together. Then comes Sabine, Nash’s ex-girlfriend from 2 years ago, just randomly showing up at their school. Not only is it obvious that Sabine wants Nash back, but technically they never broke up. Nash and his mom moved away suddenly, and they lost contact with each other.

Then comes the conflict Kaylee is dealing with, her inability to fully trust Nash, and whether or not to take him back. She still can’t get over the fact of what he did and how he used her, even though that was the high doing the work.

But while this is going on, teachers at the school are dying suddenly. Kaylee wants to blame Sabine, since she is a mara, one who gives nightmares to people and feeds off their fears in their sleep. But there could be something bigger going on at the school than they thought, it’s just a matter of who is behind it, and if Sabine is really involved.

The drama was definitely higher and more awesome than the last book. At first I hated Sabine, but she’s kind of awesome. Even though she scares people unintentionally and feeds off their fears, but then again she has to do that to survive. She has her weak moments that show how vulnerable she can be, and I just kind of got attached to her character. Nash is also dealing with a lot, the guilt and withdrawal symptoms, and the need to be with Kaylee again.

This story was definitely my favourite so far, I think this series just keeps getting better with every book!

Recommended for fans of the series, and anyone who likes young adult romance and paranormal.

[Angie]

After the ending of My Soul to Keep and the new information provided by Reaper, I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one. I was happy to see that Kaylee hadn't just fallen back in Nash's arms, and that he's working on making things right. At least until his ex-girlfriend conveniently transfers to their school and starts throwing herself at him. Sabine was briefly introduced in Reaper so I was definitely curious to find out more about her, even if I didn't like her...at all. She definitely brought the drama, and I could appreciate that.

Kaylee has no idea who she can trust anymore. She's trying to rebuild trust with Nash, but that's hard to do when his ex is staying until the early hours, and is manipulating Kaylee's dreams. There's also the problem of Avari possessing the people around her without her notice! No one is safe from the hellion who wants his revenge. This was an emotional ride as Kaylee tries to navigate through her life and her deepest fears begin to surface.

I was a bit annoyed with her at times though. I can understand she's hurt by Nash after the last book, but at times she's overly harsh with him. He's trying, you can definitely tell he's trying his best, but it's also obvious to us that he's hurting too due to Kaylee's lack of support. Of course she has every right to be mad at him, but she's acting incredibly selfish by pulling him in then pushing him back. Tod tells her as much, but did he truly mean it or is something else going on?

There's a lot going on in this book! Teacher dying, possessions by hellions, return of bitchy ex-girlfriends, coming down from addiction, students turning into delinquents, break-ups and make-ups, reapers delivering pizza! However, Rachel Vincent did a great job connecting the dots in a way that made sense and continuing plots from the previous books. I had trouble putting this one down, since the series just keeps getting better and better!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Linda]

I loved how Kaylee grew in this book, and how Nash was trying to get over his addiction and to win Kaylee back.

I thourougly hated Sabine - the way she infiltrated Kaylee's dreams and even made her cross into the Netherworld while sleeping was really scary, for obvious reasons.

Kaylee is still the one to save the day, and the people she loves (actually, even the people she doesn't necessarily love...) This is one of the reasons I really, really love Kaylee, she does what has to be done, even if it's dangerous to herself, and it was very tense there for a while with all she had to deal with.

[Jo]

After finishing My Soul to Keep, I immediately picked up My Soul to Steal, desperately needing to read more of this story I am now hooked on. And it didn't disappoint!

With the introduction of a Mara, a creature that reads your darkest fears and creates nightmares for you to have while sleeping so they can feed from your fear, MSTSteal knocks the creep-factor up a level. What makes it slightly worse is that the Mara in this story, Sabine, is Nash's ex-girlfriend, and he is absolutely certain she is not behind the seriously bad things that happen in the book - which means that what she does might not be because of some evil scheme, but because she simply wants to torment Kaylee. To me, the possibility of her not actually being the one who is killing these people, but just sending Kaylee nightmares through jealousy makes her creepier, because if she's not the villain, how can you get rid of her?

I love how amidst all the urban fantasy, Vincent can still give us a human element, or more specifically, in the Soul Screamers, the teenage human element. In the last book it was teens using drugs, in this book, it's boyfriend stealing. Kaylee and Nash are on a break after she discovered, while he was addicted to Demon's Breath, he let Avari, a Hellion in the Netherworld, possess Kaylee's body, and never told her about it. Although she still loves him, she doesn't trust him, and is still hurting from the betrayal. Then along comes Sabine. As I said, Sabine is Nash's ex-girlfriend, and she is determined to get him back. She complicates everything for Kaylee, because although she doesn't want to lose him, she can't be with him right now, where Sabine is quite happy to accept he's done some bad things and love him anyway - and give him things Kaylee is not yet ready to give. Kaylee can't deny that Sabine and Nash obviously have a strong bond, and is terrified Nash will turn to her if she doesn't take him back soon, but how can she take him back so soon when she's still struggling with her trust issues? Add to this that Sabine is happy to play dirty by tormenting Kaylee with seriously freaky nightmares among other things, and you will have yourself one seriously stressed out bean sidhe!

As creepy as she is, I actually really liked Sabine. Sure, she goes about trying to get Nash back completely the wrong way (though frankly, I think she shouldn't have just accepted he loves Kaylee and gave it up), I have to admire her determination, and was impressed, along with sometimes shocked and angry, at how far she was willing to go to get what she wants. She is unbelievable! But I empathise with Sabine too, even if I can't relate to her. She has had such a tough life, and for all her tough front, she just seems so insecure and, well, desperate. Nash may belong to someone else, but he is all she has in the world, and she really does need him. And beyond Nash, Kaylee has absolutely everything Sabine doesn't - a family, friends, people who care about her, and a generally good life. Sabine is just a really complicated character, and I feel sorry for her. And I also think she's going to make make future books that little bit more interesting!

What I've discovered from reading MSTKeep and MSTSteal is that what appears to be the main conflict for the story, despite how big a deal it seems at first, it's nothing compared to what is around the corner - and there's always, always something. And the magnitude of these somethings is just beyond anything you can imagine! There is so much more going on in this book than the freaky events surrounding the Kaylee-Nash-Sabine love triangle, so much more, but I can't say anything about it! It's one of the things I love about the Soul Screamers Series, the mix of urban fantasy - Kaylee and friends in our world, and high fantasy - all the goings on in the Netherworld, which is completely made up by Vincent, so you never know what's going to come next! I love it! It's always big, and scary, and freaking awesome!

And, if I'm reading things right, I believe the current love triangle might actually become a love diamond (sounds much better than a square or rectangle, don't you think?)! There might just be a certain someone who also has feelings for our little bean sidhe, and I think I might possibly be rooting for him! Another incredible book, and I cannot wait for If I Die! I think the Soul Screamers might just be, dare I say it... possibly a little bit better than the Shifters series! I am addicted to these books!

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog