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A review by jenpaul13
The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker
4.0
A collector of souls and servant of Death seeks to find a place for herself in a world that sees her only as other in Kylie Lee Baker’s The Keeper of Night.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Ren Scarborough is half British Reaper and half Japanese Shinigami, though in her centuries collecting souls in London she’s never been treated as a true Reaper, suffering from being disowned by her father and bullied by her peers. Neven, her younger brother, is the only person who loves and appreciates her. After an attack by a fellow Reaper where Ren’s Shinigami abilities with light places her in a dangerous situation, she flees to Japan, earlier and much less prepared than she anticipated, in search of the acceptance she’s long for. Accompanied by Neven on this journey, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death but finds that she’s still considered a foreigner and must prove her worthiness. Tasked with a seemingly impossible task to kill three dangerous and nearly invincible Yokai, and aided by a rejected Shinigami turned fishing god Hiro, Ren’s determination to earn respect and a true place for herself in the world shows her just how far she’s willing to go to claim her destiny.
With intriguing lore, rich mythology, descriptive writing, and a dark atmosphere, this story moves swiftly forward through bouts of action, with graphic violence, and reflection, drawing readers in from the start. While building up the world of Reapers and Shinigami slowly throughout the narrative, there are quite a few questions and inconsistencies that come to mind that aren’t well addressed, including why there is no mixing of the two groups (aside from the narrative friction and valuable social commentary it provides) and just how the “magic” functions – one such aspect that drew me out was around the enhanced Reaper hearing when Ren and Neven were able to escape London in the first place though they were barely obscured; yes, this is part of a duology, but these are big things to leave un- or barely addressed in the first installment. Though some of her decisions were frustrating in the rashness of them (and were so trope-y to be overly predictable), it was enjoyable to read about this morally gray character willing to act selfishly toward her own aims with little to no care of what others think of it.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Ren Scarborough is half British Reaper and half Japanese Shinigami, though in her centuries collecting souls in London she’s never been treated as a true Reaper, suffering from being disowned by her father and bullied by her peers. Neven, her younger brother, is the only person who loves and appreciates her. After an attack by a fellow Reaper where Ren’s Shinigami abilities with light places her in a dangerous situation, she flees to Japan, earlier and much less prepared than she anticipated, in search of the acceptance she’s long for. Accompanied by Neven on this journey, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death but finds that she’s still considered a foreigner and must prove her worthiness. Tasked with a seemingly impossible task to kill three dangerous and nearly invincible Yokai, and aided by a rejected Shinigami turned fishing god Hiro, Ren’s determination to earn respect and a true place for herself in the world shows her just how far she’s willing to go to claim her destiny.
With intriguing lore, rich mythology, descriptive writing, and a dark atmosphere, this story moves swiftly forward through bouts of action, with graphic violence, and reflection, drawing readers in from the start. While building up the world of Reapers and Shinigami slowly throughout the narrative, there are quite a few questions and inconsistencies that come to mind that aren’t well addressed, including why there is no mixing of the two groups (aside from the narrative friction and valuable social commentary it provides) and just how the “magic” functions – one such aspect that drew me out was around the enhanced Reaper hearing when Ren and Neven were able to escape London in the first place though they were barely obscured; yes, this is part of a duology, but these are big things to leave un- or barely addressed in the first installment. Though some of her decisions were frustrating in the rashness of them (and were so trope-y to be overly predictable), it was enjoyable to read about this morally gray character willing to act selfishly toward her own aims with little to no care of what others think of it.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.