November Novellas (#11): My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent
Title: My Soul to Lose (Soul Screamers #0.5)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Published: July 1, 2009
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed and it's the worst day of her life.
Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.
She tries to convince everyone she's fine--despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream which comes burbling up again and again. Everyone thinks she's crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities....
My Soul to Lose has certainly been the most intriguing novella I’ve read so far. Kaylee Cavanaugh is shopping at the mall with her best friend Emma when it begins. That familiar ache in her throat. The claustrophobia sets in, and she begins to feel as if she is being strangled. She doesn’t have much time before the screaming starts and BFF Emma will know that it’s much more than ‘panic attacks’ that Kaylee suffers from. Once Kaylee pinpoints what’s causing the attack, the girls are able to move to another part of the mall and begin to enjoy their homecoming dance shopping spree… until they cut through a particular store and it starts again. This time, there’s nowhere to run; and Kaylee’s piercing scream and the shadows that only she can see land her straight in the psych ward…Lakeside Mental Health Center, to be more specific, complete with wrists and ankle restraints.
There are several interesting characters at Lakeside, but none as captivating as Kaylee herself. No one can call what she has a gift; it’s definitely more of a curse. But what is it?
That’s the one thing you don’t find out at the end of this novella. It stops abruptly, only offering a sneak peek into My Soul to Take. Well, there went my plan to not buy any books until after Christmas.
I’ve heard many great things about the Soul Screamers series and about Rachel Vincent herself -- I thoroughly enjoyed Blood Bound --so, as far as the Soul Screamers series goes, you don’t need to convince me. My Soul to Lose did that just fine. If you haven’t read this series yet, you can pick up this absorbing novella at Amazon or B&N, but the best buy is the 3-in-1 Ecopy that includes this novella, My Soul to Lose; My Soul to Take (book one); and My Soul to Save (book two). This three-story edition is actually cheaper than buying the first Ebook by itself at both retailers (though Amazon has the better price no matter which volume you choose).
