DNF @ 17%

I just don't really like Ren — while yes, it absolutely sucks to be singled out, her unending self-pity party and extreme cynicism and lack of empathy (for the souls she collects and even for her family) are quite off-putting; even if she has "the appearance of a young adult by human standards" (as opposed to her brother's "scrawny and graceless teenager" look) she's <i>actually</i> been around for "nearly two centuries" but behaves and thinks much like your typical self-absorbed teenager.

Baker's writing style also doesn't really work for me, weighed down by frequent lengthy descriptions and infodump tangents, and punctuated by borderline-body horror that I personally am very uncomfortable reading. (Maybe "body horror" isn't quite the right term, but it's the closest that came to mind.)

This is a mix of folklore and legend. Characters are well drawn, particularly Ren, who's struggling with her identity. While readers probably aren't half Reapers like Ren, the identity struggle will likely resonant with readers. I've never read any Japanese mythology, so I enjoyed the fact that the author wove this throughout the story. The pace is just right for this spooky, gothic-feel story.. There are some parts of the story where a bit more detailing could've been helpful, but this was a good read overall. Those who love YA fantasy stories will want to add this to their TBR list.

ARC REVIEW.
This is INCREDIBLE. Sometimes you read a book and you just know that it'll become everyone's favourite and The Keeper of the Night is one of those books. This book is captivating, exciting and also mildly terrifying as it dives into Japanese folklore. The characters are morally grey and complex, which is a nice change of pace from the typical protagonist. Chilling, vivid and beautiful and perhaps, my favourite read of the year so far. Thank you to Netgalley for providing this arc!

At the helm of "The Keeper of the Night" is a British-Japanese heroine, Ren Scarborough, who is struggling with her identity as a half Reaper, half Shinigami. Torn between the two separate worlds, Ren decides to leave behind the familiar world of England to find her mother and a place in the world, where she is accepted. This leads her to accept a task from Izanami involving several herculean slayings, but she finds help along the way and ultimately, discovers herself. While I loved the aspects of Japanese mythology interwoven into the story, I never truly connected with Ren and felt disconnected from her journey throughout the book. I would recommend this for the intriguing setting and incorporation of mythology.

I really enjoyed "The Keeper of Night" by Kylie Lee Baker. This is a really unique story that incorporates Japanese death folklore, and is action-packed and exciting.

I really enjoyed the main character, Ren. She is a half British Reaper, and half Japanese Shinigami, and doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere. She decides to flee London, where she has been collecting souls for centuries, and head to Japan where she hopes to reunite with her mother whom she hasn't seen since birth.

Ten is not at all a stereotypical "good' character, and this makes her story all the more interesting. She makes many questionable decisions, and the ending was certainly a. cliff-hanger. I look forward to reading the sequel!

I would recommend this to our YA students and look forward to purchasing it for our library.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I LOVED the concept of this book. The writing was well done, the story was well paced, the characters were interesting. DEFINITELY recommend picking this one up!

“Was it not supposed to feel glorious to finally be stronger than someone, to finally bring someone to their knees and make them feel fear instead of feeling it myself? Did that make me a monster…and did it matter if it did?”

THIS BOOK?? HELLO? I have no words for that ending. I know when this gets published everyone will eat it up I can’t wait for that to happen.

The concept of there being multiple bringers of death according to the place you live in is so cool? the british reapers and the japanese shinigamis were so interesting to read about. I LOVED IT. Also a lot of the japanese folklore shared in this story was so creepy and terrifying I didn’t know if I wanted more or if I wanted to stop reading.

I’ve been trying to decide who my favorite character was but I simply can’t choose. At the beginning I was sure it was Neven but then as the story evolved I thought it would be Hero or Ren BUT I LOVED THEM ALL SO MUCH?? I refuse to choose just one.

Overall this story was a solid 100/5 stars I can’t wait for more people to read it.
Thank you so much to netgalley and inkyard press for providing me with this eARC!!

Brilliant and riveting! A fresh take on the usual death/reaper tale. I was immediately hooked and had a hard time putting it down.

This book reminded of The Toll a bit in comparison of a spin on reapers that I haven’t read before. The protagonist will make you want to know more about the shinigami and other interesting cultural components of her background. My favorite character ended up being her brother Neven. Don’t get me wrong Ren is a cool character to read about, I just wanted more Neven. Overall I’d rate this a 3.8 out of 5. It slowed a bit much for me in the middle and then picked up towards the end. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

The Keeper of Night was eerie, creepy, and everything I wanted it to be! I absolutely adored it and it was such a refreshing read. It was so different (in a good way) from many of the YA Fantasy books that I’ve read recently. I don’t know a lot about Shinto and Japanese Folklore but I learned so much from it. It’s all very interesting and slightly terrifying at some points.

I love reading about morally grey characters and that's exactly what I got in this book. Our main character Ren was compelling and I loved reading from her perspective. She is constantly faced with hard choices and I never felt certain of what path she was going to take. I’m excited to see where her character goes in the second book. Neven and Hiro, two of the other main characters were also equally as vivid and interesting.

I was totally engaged the entire time I was reading and there was never a dull moment. The last bit kept me right on the edge of my seat, I need the next book right now! I can’t until this comes out in October so I can talk about it with everyone.

The story of Wren Scarbourgh and Neven Scarbourough they are reapers in Great Britain. You are born as a Reaper. They serve Ankou they bring souls to collect and give it to the God. The Reapers are born to Keep the human world in balance. However for a certain Girl named Wren who is Bi- racial daughter of two countries. Japan and England she was taken away from her mom and her heritage. The Japanese don't have Reapers (They have Shinigami) Wren has a secret which leads her and her brother on a journey since they are also so close.

I have to admit I got hooked in by the character Neven. Then as the journey goes along another character called Hiro. Theres is so much that was eye openers to me (emotionally ) I really liked how I could see places and interactions.

Plus at the end I was thinking Gosh I hope there is a sequel/ continuing series. Then I read there will be YAY.

Arc was given to me ny Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. True Eye opener :0

I absolutely loved this book. Ren is an awesome female main character! I am really looking forward to the release of the second book!!

Compelling and well paced read! I really liked the gothic feeling/aesthetic. The atmosphere was great, dark , and spooky!! The characters were complex and really stood out to me. This will be a immediate popular read for fantasy lovers!

it took a while to get into this book but once I did, I was hooked. character development and world building are excellent.

this book was amazing, easily 4.5 stars! i loved how was captivating without being too much, and the pacing perfectly matched the interesting premise and plot. it had both a strong beginning and a strong ending, and i'm so excited for the next book.

as for the characters, ren was a strong female lead with a lot of depth, full of both qualities that i admired and ones that made her a more flawed, better written character. my only complaint (and the reason i wouldn't consider it to be 5 stars even though i gave it 5 stars) was the lack of emotional build-up she had during certain points in the book, where it felt like some of her emotions came partially out of nowhere. however i'm super excited to read more about her as a character

neven was adorable and i completely loved him, because sweet nerd characters mean literally everything to me. i loved his sibling dynamic with ren and how it changed throughout the book

hiro was such an interesting character and the intrigue surrounding him didn't disappoint at all, which is all i can really say without spoiling

the plot was also really cool and i'm excited for how the ending set up for future books in the series!

Wow. I have so many thoughts about this.
The Keeper of Night is incredibly rich and dark, filled with monsters and shadows. I really enjoyed the pacing and the writing itself, and I loved the incorporation of Japanese mythology. While I did like the characters, there were time, especially towards the end, where motivations didn’t quite make sense, and when characters would seem to flip between two states of being only for the plot. However, I love the bitter sweetness of the ending, and I’m excited to see the sequel, although I think this book makes a great stand alone.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an arc of this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kylie Lee Baker and Inkyard Press for the free digital ARC of Keeper of the Night in exchange for my honest review.

It’s the 1800s and Ren, half Reaper and half Shinigami escapes London when her fellow Reapers ostracize her due to her partial bloodline. With her brother, Neven, in tow Ren journeys to Japan in search of her mother and acceptance. Will the death she takes with her and the power she craves be the undoing of all she holds dear? 💀
This book was an up all night nail biter with vivid imagery and horrific monsters. I was immersed in the darkness and my heart pounded as Ren, Hiro and Neven faced ruthless Yokai and attempted to right the balance in Yumi. The creatures are terrifying and the world writing is beautiful.
💀
I enjoyed the folklore and the history in this book, but was not a big fan of the main character. I found her selfish inner dialogue tiresome, but otherwise I thought it was a great read.

#netgalley #keeperofthenight #kylieleebaker #shinigami #yokai #yafantasy #bookreview #yafiction

Mythological & Multicultural Fiction. Ren is half Reaper and half Shinigami so never "fit" into the world of Reapers. The only one who treated her as whole was her brother, Neven. But even he could never understand her search for self because he was a Reaper through and through. Yet he travels with her to the world of Shinigami... hoping to help her find where she belongs. Hopefully her new world will be more accepting of her whole.

This is a book that wants to be a manga or an anime. It's got all of the right elements: half-siblings, banishment, angst, arbitrary rules, manipulation of time, souls, weird magics, evil spirits, identity crises, near-immortality, settings in Japan and England, goth aesthetics, tentacles, and lots of blood and fighting. As a novel, there's too much that doesn't make sense and is told poorly, and there's also too little: the characters are straight out of anime stock casting, the apparently storied histories that are supposedly important get short shrift, and the magic of the world isn't explained well enough to be completely understandable. So as a novel it gets 2 stars, but with a manga or anime treatment, it would be very, very popular.