With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent Series: Soul Screamers #7
Published by Mira on April 5th 2013
Pages: 377
Goodreads
After spending the last year undead, Kaylee Cavanaugh has had enough of the paranormal creatures who have plagued her ever since she came into her banshee powers. Now she's ready to take her school back from the evil hellions, once and forever.
To protect her friends, Kaylee will need to find a way to turn the living incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another.
Yet when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realises she can't save everyone she loves without making some powerful sacrifices...
With All My Soul is the final book in Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers series and what a book it was. While it did not suck me in as much as If I Die (which remains my favourite book) it was a worthy end to a truly fantastic series that managed to shock me with every twist and turn. I am sad to have reached the last book in the series and it is hard to say goodbye to the characters that I have grown very fond of.
I mentioned in my review for Before I Wake that this series seems to get darker with every book and With All My Soul certainly follows that trend. It was absolutely gut-wrenching at times but as a resolution it worked on every level.
The plot is relatively straightforward. Kaylee Cavanaugh is determined to take down her deadly foe Avari once and for all, after all the grief he has caused her and her friends and family. The hellion has plagued her throughout the series and will stop at nothing to finally get his hands on Kaylee’s soul. After he captures someone close to her and and holds them as leverage, Kaylee devises a plan that will stop Avari from ever being being to hurt her loved ones. However the price she has to pay is a high one – a sacrifice is required which will have devastating consequences…
It is hard to review the final chapter of this epic series without giving away too many spoilers. Suffice it to say this was a fitting conclusion to a series that never fails to put out all the stops. In many ways the ending was very depressing. Kaylee is a character whose tendency towards self-sacrifice, especially for the ones she loves, is one of her more endearing traits but what she gives up in order to protect everyone was difficult to swallow.
In the end good triumphs over evil but it comes at a very high cost. Still the ending felt fitting with the overall tone of the series and was emotionally satisfying, even if it did leave a few loose ends still to be tied up.
The thing I liked best about With All My Soul was witnessing the bond between Kaylee and Tod. Seeing their relationship develop over the series has been very satisfying and I totally bought their love for each other.
**SPOILER ALERT – HIGHLIGHT TO VIEW**
My heart broke for Tod when Kaylee laid out what she was planning to do, knowing that he would forget it all and not be able to stop her. I am very glad we did not get to see first-hand the devastation he must have felt losing Kaylee – I don’t think my heart could have taken it! I was also very emotional at the scene in the end where Tod goes to rescue Kaylee in The Netherworld. I am glad they got their HEA even though it was hard-won.
**END OF SPOILER**
The way Kaylee’s plan unfolded at the end was pure genius and (almost) made up for the suffering she had to undergo to finally be rid of Avari. This book was like being on an emotional rollercoaster – swinging from extreme highs to extreme lows. I was totally caught up in the story and the unexpected plot twists kept me guessing at every turn. Reading the series has been very rewarding. I will miss the world and the characters but I will be looking forward to seeing what Rachel Vincent comes out with next.
Leave a Reply