One of those challenges is her new math teacher Mr. Beck. Beck, Kaylee quickly learns, is an incubus who wants more than anything to have a male child. He has been trying for nearly a century, and has pretty much failed each and every time at the expense of the girl he chooses. Kaylee finds this out after a student in her class has a miscarriage and loses her baby. Kaylee and crew (Emma, Nash, Sabine, and Tod) know they must find a way to stop him before Emma becomes his next victim.
The second challenge came as a semi-shock to me. With the title of this book being If I Die, you knew that Kaylee, or someone else important to the series, was going to die. It was only a matter of learning who it would be and why. So, when Tod informs Kaylee that her timeline has run out and she is expected to die in six days, the only question was how Vincent was going to it and who was going to reap her soul. To her credit, Vincent actually gets it right.
Kaylee, if you’ve actually read this series from the start, has been living on borrowed time ever since a reaper took her mother’s soul instead of hers 13 years ago. Now, there are no more extensions no matter how hard her father, or Tod try to make it so. It’s only a matter of time before Kaylee is called to meet her maker or her time expires. The only question is whether or not she gets to keep her soul, or Avari comes around and steals it away.
*Note* I’m definitely not spoiling what happens in the end. Obviously, there are a few more books in the series so Kaylee doesn’t die for long. I truly figured out that it would come down to a showdown between Kaylee and Beck, and I wasn’t disappointed.
The third surprise came with the shocking revelation that Tod has had feelings for Kaylee for a very long time. I guess nobody should be surprised by this pronouncement. I really gave Tod a hard time when he told Kaylee in “My Soul to Steal” that she and Nash truly did not belong together. Tod has at times, come across as too cocky for his own good and has done some idiotic things over the course of this series. Tod believed, as do I, that Nash was much more suitable for Sabine Campbell since they are two peas in a pod.
Tod is involved in this story right from the onset, and plays much more of an important role in this book than others. I enjoyed finding out, finally, how he died, and whose soul he saved in the process. His relationship with Kaylee really blossoms to the point where Kaylee’s relationship with Nash ends not with whimper or sniffling, but, with the playing of Taps, and Hallelujah!
One of the best quotes/paragraphs of the book:
“There’s a good kind of crazy, Kaylee,” he insisted softly, reaching out to wrap his warm hand around mine. “It’s the kind that makes you think about things that make your head hurt, because not thinking about them is the coward’s way out. The kind that makes you touch people who bruise your soul, just because they need to be touched. This is the kind of crazy that lets you stare out the darkness and rage at eternity, while it starts back at you, ready to swallow you whole.”
Overall, I think this story is a bridge into another step in the evolution of Kaylee's character. I hope that her relationship with her family and friends as well as Tod continues to grow and get stronger. I'm hopeful that Nash won't be dragging his sorry frost addicted and influencing ass anywhere near Kaylee for a long time to come after the events of this book.
Soul Screamers Series
1. My Soul to Take
2. My Soul to Save
3. My Soul to Keep
4. My Soul to Steal
5. If I Die
6. Before I Wake (June 26, 2012)
7. With All My Soul (2013)
| Title | If I Die Harlequin Teen Soul Screamers |
| Author | Rachel Vincent |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Harlequin, 2011 |
| ISBN | 0373210329, 9780373210329 |
| Length | 352 pages |
Nice review! If I Die will remain a favourite book for all time just because the romance between Tod and Kaylee was mesmerizing and so so so sweet I was gushing the whole way through!
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