The Keeper of Night (The Keeper of Night #1) by Kylie Lee Baker

Posted August 15, 2021 by jrsbookr in Fantasy, Horror / 0 Comments

by Kylie Lee Baker
The Keeper of Night (The Keeper of Night #1) by Kylie Lee BakerThe Keeper of Night Series: The Keeper of Night #1
Published by Harlequin Enterprises ULC on October 12, 2021
Source: Review copy
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Diversity & Multicultural, Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
Pages: 400
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram
Format: ARC
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five-stars

"Sharp and seductive...a fantasy with teeth." --Julie C. Dao, author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

A girl of two worlds, accepted by none... A half Reaper, half Shinigami soul collector seeks her destiny in this haunting and compulsively readable dark fantasy duology set in 1890s Japan.

Death is her destiny.

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.

When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she's never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death...only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task--find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons--and learns how far she'll go to claim her place at Death's side.

Don't miss the must-read sequel coming in 2022!

Review

*- Trigger warnings for [ableism, racism, blood & gore depiction, dismemberment & decapitation. Cannibalism mentioned, death of a mother, murder & attempted murder, knife violence & stabbing, dying from exposure to the cold, drowning, exile, and bullying (hide spoiler)].

▷ Representation: Ren (mc) Japanese-English.

Who knew how deliciously dark Japanese folklore could be? I loved how dark this was and that the author did not hold back at it and that I was creeped out almost the whole time I read this, especially during the encounter with the spider yokai. 

A fantastic debut that is highly immersive and unputdownable that contains excellent worldbuilding and characters with immense depth that will keep you turning the pages. The last two hundred pages had me on the edge of my seat, and I stayed up way too late to finish it. I did not see the plot twist though I thought something was up with Hiro but not the truth. Book does end on a cliffhanger but is a fantastic creepy dark read up to the last page. Highly recommend and am very pleased with the entertainment that was this read. 

five-stars

About Kylie Lee Baker

Kylie Lee Baker grew up in Boston and has since lived in Atlanta, Salamanca, and Seoul. Her work is informed by her heritage (Japanese, Chinese, & Irish) as well as her experiences living abroad as both a student and teacher. She has a BA in creative writing and Spanish from Emory University and is pursuing a master of library and information science degree at Simmons University. In her free time, she plays the cello, watches horror movies, and bakes too many cookies. The Keeper of Night is her debut novel.

Rating Report
Plot
4.5
Characters
5
Writing
4.5
Pacing
4.5
Cover
5
Overall: 5