Before I Wake (Soul Screamers, #6)

by Rachel Vincent

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....

• ISBN10: 0373210612
• ISBN13: 9780373210619
• Publish Date: 26 June 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Mills & Boon
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

This was my favorite Soul Screamers yet.

So much love, heat, hate, healing, pain, sorrow. It's like Prego -- it's all in there.

1. Kaylee and Tod, -- sigh --. I love them more than ever. Tod just never stops showing how much more there is to him than meets the eye.

2. Sabine, she is actually growing on me. She always brings the snark and constantly amuses me, but we know she has a heart of gold (somewhere) under it all.

3. The evolution of Kaylee. One thing that is very important to me, as a reader of a series, is to see characters grow. Kaylee is showing great strides in this book as she accepts her "new" life, the loss of her old life, her love for Tod, and her new purpose. She is starting to embrace her powers to a greater extent and her mission, as well.

This installment ended with a OMFG for me. I already have the next one cued up on the Kindle. =)

[littleread1]

**NOTE** The following review will contain spoilers for the series, but not for this particular book.

I am still amazed with each of these books that Vincent manages to keep me enthralled and interested, and still surprises me with the risks she is willing to take with her characters. Nash's behavior in this story is much more understandable and relate-able. With everything that happened at the end of If I Die, and his history with Kaylee, I was hurting page after page for him. I truly hope he is able to find some peace, if not happiness, before the end of the series, though with Vincent's track record I am not holding my breath for an HEA for everyone. Or anyone actually.

It was nice for Kaylee and Tod to be together. Even if there were some awkward moments because of the group dynamic. They are perfect for each other and even though I was kicking and screaming the whole way, I finally have to admit Tod is way better for Kaylee than Nash ever was. They have some terribly sweet moments that make him even more loveable than before.

As much as I connected with Kaylee in the earlier books, I had a hard time in this one. Probably because she is, you know, dead. And as far as I know I am not, nor have I ever been. She is dealing with so much more than I ever have, yet still is trying to be a regular teenager and go to school. I think home based classes would have been a better bet for her. But, life, or after-life as the case is, must go on.

This story didn't have me riding the emotional roller coaster the last few books did until the very end, and then a huge WTF moment along with a decent cliffhanger left me stunned. It most certainly left me excited for the next, and final, book. At this point I honestly have NO CLUE how Vincent will wrap things up.

[Berls]

For more reviews by Berls see: Fantasy is More Fun
4 1/2 Stars
My Initial Reaction...
With Kaylee's death in If I Die, the series has changed a bit and for the better. Kaylee's not the same person as she was and the way her death has changed every aspect of her "life" complicates the story and makes it grow up a bit.

The Narration...
At this point in the series, I'm no longer surprised by Ronconi's ability to capture nuances of personality in her reading. Kaylee has changed in profound ways and Ronconi gets it. Kaylee has the same voice, but she sounds different and it's brilliant. You can feel her struggle to hold on to life through Ronconi's reading. She just nails it every time!

The Characters...
All the characters are really growing and changing in Before I Wake, but no one changes more than Kaylee. When she made the deal to work as a reclaimationist and clear Nash's name, she never dreamed that resuming her normal life would be so hard. She doesn't have to eat or sleep or move. She easily fades away during conversations and staying visible during the school day is beyond hard. Now that she's dead, she's looking at life differently. Her priorities have shifted drastically. And then there's her relationship with Tod. Tod is her lifeline, literally. He keeps her alive and I really enjoyed seeing this loving, soft side of Tod. Their interactions are equal parts sweet and intense; their relationship has grown more in these few short weeks than her relationship with Nash ever did.

Nash, on the other hand, is struggling. Just because he was cleared of all charges, doesn't mean the "court of public opinion" cleared him. And it doesn't mean he's forgiven Kaylee. I expected him to return to Sabine and four things to neatly work out, but it's not that easy. Nash is confused and not ready to take what Sabine has to offer. He's also not ready to talk to his brother. While I understood his upset at her cheating on him, I can't understand his anger at her for framing him for murder. I found his response childish and really hoped he would suck it up and grow up.

The Story...
With the conclusion of If I Die this book promised a new Kaylee, if for no other reason than that she was now dead, and new adventures, since she's now working as a soul reclaimationist. This book starts out a few weeks after the conclusion of If I Die, with Kaylee getting ready for her first day back to school after her supposed near-death encounter with the Math teacher. But Kaylee has been learning that playing alive is not so easy - just keeping herself visible is hard, not to mention those horrible hours of the night when Tod is working and everyone else she knows is asleep.

And then there's the job - her new boss chooses her first day back to school to test out Kaylee's skills on a rogue reaper. He's not the reason they recruited Kaylee, he's just the test. The simple task comes with a surprise - she knows the rogue reaper and his reappearance can only spell trouble for her and her loved ones. Not to mention the mystery killer, who's proving incredibly difficult for the reclaimations department to stop, but Kaylee must help take down, beginner or not.

The gang is damaged - Nash is reeling from both Tod and Kaylee's betrayal, as well as Kaylee framing him for her murder (regardless of the reason), Sabine is struggling to make Nash see her, and Kaylee's struggling to just be "alive" - but they must come together again if they're going to survive this new attack.

Concluding Sentiments...
For me this was the best of the series so far. I was shocked several times and brought to tears at least once, not to mention the exciting developments in Kaylee and Tod's relationship. So excited to read the next one!

[Angie]

I was nervous and excited to pick up Before I Wake. Nervous because I wasn't sure if this one would match the awesomeness and intensity of the previous book. Excited because, well, I love this series! I'm happy to say that this was another amazing book in the series, but it wasn't quite as good as If I Die. I just didn't feel the same emotional pull as I did what that one, but I was still flipping pages so fast that I'm surprised I don't have a paper cut!

Kaylee is up against her biggest opponent yet. Sure it's Avari at the helm, but he's got some new tricks which change EVERYTHING! Not only that, but Kaylee is still trying to adjust to being dead and the aftermath of the messy situation that is Nash. I've been super mad at him through the last couple of books, but now I found myself feeling sorry for him. He's dealing with a lot right now, and I'd hate to see him spiral out of control. Thankfully, Sabine is there, and just as blunt as ever.

My head was spinning with all of the new information we get about hellions. Avari has managed things that were never thought possible, and the mechanics of it are way confusing. I'm not going to say what he's doing, because it's BIG! Kaylee and Co have their work cut out for them to stop him and his companions.

The ending was pretty intense, but also obvious once it was getting set up. I was expecting a little more punch, but I guess that's coming up in the next and final book. I can't believe this amazing series is almost over!

[Kelly]

After reading all six novels, I ended up falling in love with this series.
Eagerly awaiting the final novel.

[Amber]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!

----

If you've been reading my posts and tweets for a while, you're probably aware by now that this is one of my favourite series of all time. That hasn't changed in the year between releases, and I am so happy about that. Before I Wake was just as amazing as its predecessor, which I think was the best book in the series to date.

I'm going to keep this review short(ish) and sweet, because I tend to repeat myself in my reviews for this series and I don't need to keep doing that.

Firstly, OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. I did NOT expect any of this awesome stuff to happen, and I didn't expect Rachel Vincent to bring me to tears in yet another book. I don't know why I wasn't expecting these things, because after reading all of Rachel's releases to date, I should really have learnt by now.

Kaylee is just as amazing as always. *cheers* She struggles to come to terms with her afterlife, and this takes up a good portion of the book. It made me feel so sad for her, but I also admired her because she kept getting back up when she was knocked down. Of course, her family and friends and her boyfriend helped, but it was mostly down to Kaylee and her badassery.

What else? Oh yes, KAYLEE AND TOD!!! 333 Love them. They have so many great scenes in Before I Wake, and I'm not tired of these two at all. Sometimes I find when characters get together in the middle of a series they are put through trials that are meant to break them up again and I get bored with all the backwards and forwards. However, KAYLEE AND TOD 333333

And finally, I am DYING to read the next book. I know, I say this in every review, but I really am. I don't think I can wait another year. Has anyone invented time travel yet? *sobs*

So. There's my gushy, rather embarrassing 'review' on the sixth Soul Screamers book. I can't believe there's only one left. Someone hand me a tissue.

[Linda]

This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews.

This book had absolutely everything I could have wanted to make it a great book! Kaylee finally figuring out what it means to be an extractor as well as a bean sidhe, Tod and Kaylee growing closer, and Kaylee fighting with all she has to save her friends and family.

[Kelsenator]

Originally posted on my blog Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf.

Where do I begin? I want to make this as spoiler-free as possible, because so much awesomeness goes on in this book.

Kaylee is back to her life from the last book, but after dying she is now a Reaper kind of like Tod. She is to go after souls that have been taken and get them back. Part of the deal of her coming back was that she could be around her family, finish school and go to college, but being dead is hard. She starts to wonder what the point of doing all these mindless things from before like school and a part-time job will accomplish since she will never age and live forever.

The only positive thing is her boyfriend Tod, who loves her very much and is willing to do anything for her. Her first day back at school is full of stares and questions of what happened to her and how she survived, but they don’t know she’s technically dead. And that she has to focus constantly to stay visible to living people.

That same day she has her first assignment, and she comes across an old enemy, one we thought was gone. A lot more is going on than anyone thought, a favourite villain returns and the tables are turned for the Hellions it seems. So now everyone involved needs to find a way to finally stop them, without anyone getting hurt. There are some losses and grief in this book, but it made the story even greater.

This is by far the best book, not only is Kaylee finally with someone who is good for her, but she has to keep fighting to be human and not give in to being dead and losing everything she loves. Tod is awesome as usual, and even Nash is trying to make things right.

Recommended for fans of the series and those who like paranormal.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Regular readers of my reviews will know that I fell in love with this series once I read the third book, My Soul to Keep; despite the first two books being really enjoyable, they didn't completely wow me. But then I picked up My Soul to Keep and was blown away. With each new release, Rachel Vincent has pushed the limits of what it means to be blown away, and the same goes for Before I Wake. Wow... It's absolutely incredible.

Kaylee is now an undead extractor, she retrieves stolen souls. But being undead isn't like living but with extra abilities, death takes away what it feels like to be alive. When not around people - especially when not around Tod - Kaylee falls into deep melancholy and becomes completely lethargic. It's not a feeling she can kick on her own, and ends up drowning in thoughts of how difficult it is to pretend to be living, and the people she's hurt What is the point in anything when everything is so difficult and she can't make things better? In previous books, Kaylee is always determined to do all she can to save others, always thinking about how she can beat the bad guys and make sure everyone is safe, so it's really hard to see her so depressed. You just want to give her a hug and hand her some chocolate, demand someone cover Tod's shift at work so he can bring her back to her old self.

Because Tod really is all that's keeping Kaylee's head above water. He is completely and utterly devoted to her, and you can't help but fall in love with him even more. Tod is the light amongst all the dark. Or more accurately, the flame - because, damn, do things get hot and steamy in this book! But it's a fire that burns from a love so tender, so strong, so infinite, it's beautiful. There is absolutely nothing Kaylee and Tod wouldn't do for each other, and their love is so amazing I could cry.

However, Kaylee doesn't really have the time to be depressed or to try to fight it with Tod's help. A serial soul thief is, well, stealing souls. Madeline, Kaylee's boss at the reclamation department, is pulling her out of training early to tackle the soul thief, extract the souls, and bring them back to be recycled. Except he/she/it hasn't been stopped yet, and the task isn't as easy as it seems. Also, Thane, the rogue reaper who stalked Kaylee the days before who Tod handed over to the hellion of greed, Avari, is back. Back, and causing trouble.

I can't say much more about what happens without spoiling things, but this book is one of the most emotional and heart-wrenching I've ever read. There is more death in this book than there has been in any of the previous books, and not everyone who dies is simply a stranger or an acquaintance. A number of characters from previous book make an appearance, but not all is as it seems. Everyone Kaylee knows and loves is in much more danger than they ever have been before, and this time round, the stakes are so high, I actually couldn't see a way out of the extreme danger Kaylee, her friends and her family find themselves in. This time round, Kaylee has to stop what could be the apocalypse, and the destruction of life as we know it. There were tears, there was indescribable sadness, and there was roller coaster of emotions constantly eating you up. There is no let-up with Before I Wake, Vincent forces you through extreme fear, for these characters we love so much, and seething rage over what's happening to them.

Kaylee has grown so much since we first saw her in My Soul to Take. The girl we see towards the end of this book is a girl who means business. With anger and determination boiling through her veins, Kaylee will stop at nothing to make her enemies pay, and you are so completely behind her. Before I Wake is fast-paced, chock full of action and blood, and a completely devastating read. It's the best book in the series so far, absolutely phenomenal, but considering how it ends, I know With All My Soul, the seventh and final book in the Soul Screamers series, will be better yet. Vincent pulled it off again; Before I Wake is a book that will stay with you a long time after turning the last page.