Never To Sleep (Soul Screamers, #5.5)

by Rachel Vincent

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Being such a huge Soul Screamers fan, when I heard Mira Ink were finally going to publish Never to Sleep in the UK, I was ecstatic! I have been waiting to read Never to Sleep ever since Rachel Vincent had first mentioned it on her blog, and now I finally have it! And just as I expected, it was amazing!

Never to Sleep is a novella set during the events of If I Die - but completely separate to everything that happens in that book - well, except for Kaylee and Tod's public display of affection, which we see from the outside this time. Never to Sleep follows Sophie, Kaylee's spoilt, self-centered, entitled younger cousin, as a chance meeting with a new student and the sudden appearance of a soulless reaper bring about Sophie's first visit the Netherworld, and opens her eyes to all things evil.

Sophie may be a right cow and too shallow for words, but in this story, I could only admire her. With hardly any information about what's happened, why it happened, and how, Sophie manages to keep her head despite being completely terriefied and the thousands of questions running through her head. Because of how shallow and bitchy Sophie is in all the previous books, it is to assume that Sophie is all surface and no depth, that she's actually stupid - but she's not. She might despair over being related to Kaylee, but the fact that they are is clear throughout the story through how alike they are when in trouble. She actually has a head on her shoulders, and is capable of thinking clearly and logically even under huge stress. Her ability to think on her feet and able to get herself out of the tightest of scrapes is just brilliant! Sophie is not a dumb bimbo; despite her moments of annoying self-centered behaviour, Sophie is someone to be in awe of.

Being a short story, it's a little hard for me to say much more without spoiling things. It's awesome to be introduced to new characters and to revisit old ones. It's even better to have questions that need answers, that will hopefully be answered in the next book, along with all the left over questions from If I Die.

It's a fantastic story, and I'm excited to see where it all leads in Before I Wake. All Soul Screamers fans should read it!