Author: Rachel Vincent
Published: June 9th, 2015
Hardcover, 368 pages
5 Gold Stars
(summary from Goodreads)
Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimate by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.
When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Melli's sin has put her in serious trouble.
To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?
Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her.
I've been waiting for a new Rachel Vincent series ever since Soul Screamers finished. She is the master of paranormal YA and this new book is the best beginning to what is sure to be a great series. Rachel has once again created a whole that I never could have thought of. In a distant future, souls are in high demand. You are not born with one, one must be appointed to you at birth and there are demons everywhere just waiting to steal yours. The Church is in charge and those who sin risk their own souls. Nina does everything she can to keep her and her sister alive, and this involves too many sins to count. So when her sister admits to one of the biggest sins of all, she knows she has no choice but to run from school, run from the church and protect her sister's life. During her escape, she's thrown into a world she's never known with people who act like exorcists but certainly don't look the part and the Church doing weirder things than usual. She must trust Finn, a strange boy with green eyes, and his group of rebels if she wants her and her sister to survive.
Rachel knows how to build a world like no other. I was sucked into Nina's life and feared my own whenever she encountered someone from the Church. I didn't trust them from the beginning. Nine has abilities she knows nothing about and with Finn's help, she can start a sequence that will hopefully make the world a better place. Finn was the perfect book boy. He is different yet so familiar and I loved his story arc. I can't wait to see him and Nina grow closer throughout the series as I know for a fact that Rachel writes romance beautifully. The secondary characters were equally as fun and brutal. Devi gives Sabine from Soul Screamers a run for her money and Finn's fiercely loyal friends are the kind of people everyone wants to have in their lives. The Church on the other hand, made for great bad guys. People you have been told to trust since your birth that are suddenly trying to kill you.
The plot was fast paced, another turn at every corner, and I just couldn't put this one down. There's so much more I'd love to talk about but I don't want to spoil very much. Unique relationships, strange powers and truths to be told made for a great new YA paranormal read that I think everyone needs to read. I seriously cannot wait for the next book in this series, and if you're like me and loved this one and are waiting for the next one with baited breath as well, pick up Rachel's first series if you haven't already. The Soul Screamers series seriously got me into YA and it forever holds a place in my heart. Rachel writes for adults as well and her adult series are equally as thrilling.
"The Unclean were hiding in plain sight, among us. Breeding their own hosts. Existing right under the Church's nose."
