It's more of 3.5 rating than 4. The story arc is coming to a close, which is announced by the author with the last book. You can barely have a breathe during the book. Poor Kaylee has to go through much. Sometimes, I thought she should be more in shock. But at the end of the book, she's ready to take on the hellions and I'm ready to tag along! ( )

I don't even have words to describe just how good this series is and this book put everything into place. I am not looking forward to the last book but at the same time, I want to be locked in a room so I can devour it.

My favorite thing about this series is the friendship between Kaylee and Emma. While yes, there is a love triangle, their friendship is what drives Kaylee's choices and is major fuel for events. It's one of the best friendships I've ever read in YA and I'm going to be so sad after book 7. Rachel Vincent, you are a blessing! ( )

Kaylee struggles to find her ‘place’ in this new world of the undead…reapers, extractors, necromancers…she wonders how she will fill the minutes, hours, days…and I loved following her in her struggles to kill the demon that haunts her, following her deeper and deeper in this wonderful tale of death and ‘life’, with well written twists and turns that kept me going, though I was disappointed not to find out how it all ends. ( )

It has taken me a week to finally write this review. Not because the book was bad, but because it threw my for a loop. I've cried while reading books, but this one made me have big, ugly sobs. I'm telling you, it wasn't pretty. Thank goodness Rachel at Fiktshun warned me to grab the Kleenex and keep it close.

I love how easily Rachel Vincent pulls me into the world she's created. I feel the characters emotions with such a raw intensity. Thank you, Rachel, for allowing us fans to be in the lives of your characters.

Now for some character talk. Sophie still annoys the hell out of me. Instead of only we snarky, we got that plus crying at the drop of a hat. I know things are still new for her, but tears aren't going to fix anything. Oh geez, I think I'm starting to sound like Sabine. Sabine really grew on me in this book. I admired her blunt honesty, and willingness to help. I still want to slap her sometimes, but much less and not as hard. :P Things for Nash are starting to sink in, thank goodness. And Tod, well I don't think i could ever say anything bad about him. His love, loyalty, and determination are remarkable. Kaylee has grown up so much in this series. I'm excited to see what happens next.

As far as plot, this is all I can say since i don't want to give too much away. You get a grasp on just how insane Avari is. Kaylee and her group of friends are once again determined to thwart his nefarious plans. Seriously, Avari has some deep issues.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Or the series for that matter. Just make sure to keep the tissue near because you will need it. ( )

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The Soul Screamers books remind me so heavily of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. It’s both the unevenness of quality along the narrative, with some of the episodes being silly and cheesy and some being dark and cruel and epic. The other thing is that, seriously, this town would not have people in it anymore. The body count for redshirts is high. Before I Wake continues the trend of soul-punching awesomeness that began in If I Die, where the series transitioned from individual episode mysteries into the end of story arc big boss battle of badassness.

The plot in Before I Wake is totally creepytown. So, Avari, whose established himself as head evil dude becomes many times more evil, revealing a plan for worldwide domination, both in the Netherworld and the human world. The hellion has figured out how to cross over into the human world, and basically no one is safe ever. It’s a level of creepy that goes along with being attacked by zombiefied family members or the dogs with the eyes of the fallen tributes at the end of The Hunger Games. I’ve not really talked about Avari before, but he’s a decent villain. For some reason, he doesn’t give me the heebie jeebies unless he’s possessing someone though.

Before I Wakes is brutal in a weird way. I’m a big proponent of main characters dying and, though Vincent doesn’t do too much of that, she still manages to really turn the knife in the heart of her characters, both literally and figuratively. See, the way things go down may not kill Kaylee, but they fuck her up big time. Basically Vincent shares Sabine’s nightmare powers and brings them to bear on Kaylee. ‘You hate seeing friends hurt because of your actions? HAHA, ENJOY THE PAIN, MY CREATION!” Or, at least, this is how I imagine it went down. I really don’t know though.

The characters are all changing a lot in these last couple of books, Kaylee most of all. Even if she’s still alive, sort of, she’s not pure of heart or of body (YAY) the way she was before. What she has had to do will scar her mentally forever. Kaylee would prefer to sacrifice herself for others than to have to live through being culpable in their destruction, which is what makes this book so painful in such a good way.

Also, for those who are interested, I declare myself happy with the ship, though I’m really over Nash and Sabine and their endless moping. I mean, it makes sense, but I super do not care. However, Sabine’s also sort of my spirit animal, minus her shaming. Her don’t give a fuck attitude, though, is perfection. Clearly, if I lived in this world, I would be a mara.

Only one more book left in my binge read. BRING IT ON, VINCENT. I know some people weren’t thrilled, which I can only hope means that With All My Soul is incredibly brutal and too dark for most readers. That would be lovely. Find out next time! ( )