We’re getting closer to the cold and dark months. That means it’s time to start reading books that are a bit darker and maybe a little creepy. The Soul Keepers by Devon Taylor sounded like the perfect book to start off this time of year. Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours, the author and publisher I had the chance to read and review.

The Soul Keepers
Devon Taylor
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: August 28th 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

“A fantastic high-stakes adventure on a ghost ship sailing forever into eternity, where every soul is (literally) worth fighting for—what’s not to love? Devon Taylor weaves an endearing tale of friendship and loss with heart-stopping action and a whole lot of terrifying monsters. You’ll root for Rhett and his fellow reapers through every twist and turn!” —Rin Chupeco, author of The Bone Witch and The Girl from the Well

Full of danger, stormy otherworld seas, ghost ships, and terrifying monsters, this thrilling debut novel is perfect for fans of Taran Matharu and Neal Shusterman.

Death is just the beginning.

After dying in a terrible car accident, Rhett awakens in the afterlife and is recruited to join the crew of theHarbinger, a colossal seafaring vessel tasked with ferrying the souls of the dead. To where exactly, no one knows. But the crew must get the souls there, and along the way protect them from vicious soul-eating monsters that will stop at nothing to take the ship and all of its occupants.

Rhett and his new friends have a hard enough time fighting back the monsters that grow bolder and more ferocious every day. But then a new threat emerges, a demon who wants something that Rhett has. And if she gets it, it could mean the end of everything… for both the living and the dead.

Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads, The Soul Keepers is a pulse-pounding, cinematic adventure by debut author Devon Taylor.

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REVIEW

I have to say the cover was the first thing that caught my eye. Especially the tagline on top “death is jsut the beginning” made it sound very promising. We meet Rhett on the day he dies. The car accident just took place and he sees everything happening. His soul isn’t with his body anymore and Basil is here to collect him.

Rhett is brought to the Harbinger. A massive vessel that is driven by the souls that are collected. This is where he learns what happens in the afterlife. The group that is already there isn’t quite sure Rhett belongs there, but give him a chance. A whole new world opens up for Rhett and even the monsters that are hidden in the dark.

I love how everything is described in this book. Devon Taylor knows how to make us picture what something looks like, I actually felt like I was there. The Harbinger sounds creepy, but I think it would be amazing to see. Everything works like a well oiled machine.

This is where The Soul Keepers got tricky for me. I felt like something was missing. Not a lot happens in the beginning and I feel like we should’ve seen more of Rhett’s training and how he experiences the ship and the group he works with. Part two of this book is ten months later and I feel this was a bit too large of a gap.

During Part two we realize there is more to Rhett than first thought and that makes this very interesting. Something is coming after him, but how can he protect himself and the ship? The soul eating monsters that are always lurking in the dark become very real. Is this team ready to beat them and save all the souls on board? Can Rhett change the odds with the other gift he apparently has?

Once again, the author is great at describing the monsters and the fight that they are trying to win. There are some twists near the end that I didn’t see coming and I definitely needed to continue the last few chapters to find out how everything played out.

I loved the group of characters. I felt there was some good humor at times and a friendship bloomed throughout the books. All of them may have died a different way, but they knew what the others was experiencing. I think they complimented each other in different ways!

I really enjoyed this story, but I think the concept was a bit stronger than the actual story. I would’ve liked to have seen more character background/development and maybe more background about the ship. That being said, I think The Soul Keepers is a good book to start of the dark and cold months coming our way. A definite Halloween read!

 

Author Bio:

Devon Taylor was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and currently lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and two daughters. His day job consists of sneaking around the house with ninja-like stealth to avoid waking up his kids. When not writing, reading, or tediously typing out text messages with all the correct spelling and punctuation, he spends his time with his family. THE SOUL KEEPERS is his debut novel.

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GIVEAWAY!

There is a tour wide giveaway during this tour. US and Canada readers have a chance to wina print copy of The Soul Keepers. The giveaway ends September 6th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR

Of course I’m not the only blog participating in this blog tour. If you want to take a look at the other amazing blogs participating on this tour, click here. The schedule is updated daily with new links!

Even though I did think the concept was better than how it was put to paper, I did enjoy The Soul Keepers. What dark or creepy book are you looking forward to?