I really wanted to like this book. The plot idea is great but the execution is lacking. It pandered too much to a presumed audience rather than letting the story go where it should naturally evolve. The writing felt quite sophomoric. I get that the aim is YA but making everyone who does anything of note teen wore tedious. Some of the scenes were riveting and then they are lost by the next one.

The Ghost Seekers is second in Taylor's Soul Keepers duology. I'm going to be honest. It escaped my attention that this was the second of a series, so I started out kinda confused. Things start with Basil and the Syllektors trying to bring Rhett back from his trapped state. The ship Harbinger has been sunk, both a good and bad thing. Theoretically, this should keep the soul passengers/cargo safe from the demoness Urcena and her monstrous soul-eating Psychon host. Not only must they deal with Urcena, but some of their fellow Syllektors have defected and turned enemy. Then, there's the contagion known as Ash that has begun affecting the Syllektors the longer they are away from their ship. Urcena still hunts Rhett, wanting the strange power he has to revive the 'ghosted' and the dead. Can he come into the fullness of his gifts before it's too late?


I have to say, Taylor has written a unique otherwordly realm. I enjoyed the story. I did keep translating Psychon to Cylon in my mind. While creepy terrifying in their own right, they decidedly were not Cylons! I really liked Basil at the beginning, and the willingness and dedication the remaining true Syllektors had to resurrecting Rhett. They all seemed to have great camaraderie as well. Recommended if you like paranormal fantasy! Just be sure to read them in order for the best experience!

The Ghost Seekers is the second book in the Soul Keepers duology. It picks up where book one left off, so if you haven't had the chance to read The Soul Keepers, you may want to do that before tackling book two.
Rhett is seemingly gone. The Harbinger has sunk. Urcena is causing divide between the Syllektors. Basil and the others who haven't crossed over to the dark side have to try and do whatever they can to resurrect Rhett. He's the only one who can help them, as he's been dubbed the Second-Born Son. Rhett has powers beyond imagination, and without him, Basil and the others are royally screwed.
Not only do they now have to contend with Urcena and her Psychons, but they also have to deal with the Syllektors who switched sides and a horrible disease known as the Ash, which is slowly killing the Syllektors off the longer they're away from their ship.
Do they ever catch a break? You'll have to read it and find out.
I really enjoyed this conclusion to the series. I found it intense and exciting, and my emotions were all over the place. I loved the character development in this. There were some emotional scenes that tugged at my heartstrings. There were some moments where I found myself holding my breath. The Ghost Seekers is definitely a worthwhile read. I especially loved the imagery conjured up from the words. The world-building was great.
The only downside was, I didn't want it to end. I felt like there could have been more. I'm happy with the way the book ended, but at the same time, I didn't want to let the characters go.
If you enjoy paranormal fantasy, you'll want to get your hands on The Soul Keepers duology today.
4.5 stars from me!

Taylor’s sequel stalls out after the riveting action that propelled <i>The Soul Keepers</i> to its end. Our heroes begin the story with a nail-biting action sequence and then plop themselves into the middle of a couple of settings where the plot seems to stand still with too much dialogue and tail-end character development. They then pick up again with some action and the cycle starts all over again. It really felt like a literary run/walk.

Aside from its achingly slow pace in parts, some elements of pirate/seafaring lore make its way into the narrative with a rendition of Davy Jones’ locker and alternate realms. And while the story lacked substance for me, it did not lack imagery. Several sequences put me right next the characters in the water and the different realms they traveled thanks to the wordsmithing of the author. I just wish the book would have taken a different direction than what it did with some of the characters.

Ultimately, while it was a bit of fun, this book took waaayy too long for me to read. I just did not enjoy it until about 75% of the way through. By that time, I was so aggravated with not wanting to read it that the last 25% could not redeem the rest.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, for which I give my own opinion.

This was quite an exciting read. I have to admit it took me some time to understand the story since I had not read book 1. So I scurried and got to the blurb of the first one. Armed with a bit of knowledge, I started reading the book.

The entire story was set in the outwardly realm. Their ship The Harbinger, which had collected souls, had sunk and the souls lost. The villain Urcena too hadn't won, she still wanted to usurp Rhett's powers. All the soul keepers were broken and if they wanted to come back, they needed to relase Rhett and bring him back. The Syllektor had to arise!!

My first book by Devon Taylor, I was quite impressed with the world he had embellished. There was a thrill in his writing. The characters took time to grow on me, but they soon developed a relationship with me over the course of the story. Their friendships and bonds were warm, I got the - All for one, and one for all - vibe from them.

The entire story was a good action based horror but it was a more a thriller. I would sincerely advise to read book 1 before starting to read this.

Overall, a fun read

The Ghost Seekers continues where The Soul Keepers left off. Rhett is currently ghosted and haunting his old house. The Harbinger is destroyed and lost to somewhere including all the souls that were on board. The demon Urcena and her soul-eaters are on a mission to obtain Rhett's powers so she could basically Thanos the world.

Ghost Seekers was a satisfying conclusion to The Soul Keepers duology. I loved how in this world love and friendship continue into the afterlife. It was nice that the characters were able to form friendships and find love even after death especially since many of them had died so young. I also enjoyed learning more about the characters especially Treeny. I loved that Devon gave her a redemption arc due to events that happened in the first book. My only down point is that due to Rhett's abilities to basically resurrect the ghosted and the dead I felt no sense of danger in the book. When someone dies in battle it is only a temporary passing because Rhett can find them and revive them. Other than that I enjoy my time with this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Swoon Reads for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.