~Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review!~

*This is a spoiler-free review, so you can read it even if you haven’t read the book yet!*

"Just like every human life, souls were unique and beautiful for a single moment, and then they were nothing but dust."

My Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up

【Trigger Warnings: violence, death】

I went into this with little to no expectations and wow this book just blew me away! It's so stunning and dark and filled with stories and magic.


Characters

Ren
Ren is definitely a complicated character, not just because she’s morally gray, but also because she felt like she didn’t fit in either world. While she’s in London people see her Shingami and when she goes to Japan and she's still seen as a foreigner. She tried to learn Japanese but she struggles with it, and so many other customs are new to her. Ren’s emotions about longing to see Japan, and wanting answers as well as how she felt like no one wanted were so real. She wanted to keep her brother Neven safe, and she wanted a new life for herself in Japan.

"I’d read so many of the human’s novels about children with dead parents, loving moths lost of childbirth or plagues. But I was not a hero with a tragic backstory, I was just a girl nobody wanted."

Neven
Oh Neven! Sometimes I wanted to protect him at all costs and other times I kinda wanted to strangle him. It was so brave of him to leave behind London to go with Ren and he’s so very kind and good, but ughh the way he acts later annoys me just like it annoyed Ren.


Plot
The plot kept me hooked the whole time and it was unpredictable too. Especially with that ending, but I shall say no more on that.


Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding is so well done!! The Japanese Folklore in it was truly interesting to read about and kept me wanting more and it was kind of terrifying, which I loved!

Yomi and all the other places they visited were well described and I liked how it's easy to differentiate between Shinigami and Reapers.

I also just loved how each of the Yokai had her own story and how they were all different from each other.

The descriptions of the Reaper’s ways in London were so interesting too! We didn’t get to see too much since most of the book is in the new worlds, but whatever I read of it was vivid and intriguing. I especially liked the descriptions of souls and how they’re each different.


Writing
The writing is immersive and the writing style is unique and fits the rest of the novel perfectly.

This was such a great book and I can’t wait for the sequel!

The Keeper of Night was a dark, action-packed tale that caught my interest right from the first chapter and held it until the end. I loved the premise, especially the way the story delved into Japanese folklore, and the characters were compellingly flawed and morally grey, making them realistic and engaging. The text was easygoing reading, the prose atmospheric, and it was certainly a page-turner. I finished this first book interested to know how things would play out in the next. Recommended if you enjoy the darker end of the spectrum of YA fantasy. It gets 4.5 stars from me.

(This review will go live on my blog (at the link below) on 12 Oct, at which point I will also copy to Goodreads and share across social media.)

“You can’t just decide where you come from,” Nevin said through gritted teeth, “or what you are.”
“Then who can?”

Content warnings: Animal cruelty, gore, violent sexual content

The Keeper of Night is not for the faint of heart. From the description, I expected a YA fantasy novel like Lirael maybe. TKON is much, much darker. The grimdark is real and unrelenting.

I had an exceptionally hard time with the protagonist, Ren. At the beginning of the story, Ren is subjected to repeated abuses, and it’s really unpleasant to experience this alongside her. I almost put the book down within the first 20% because I wasn’t sure how much more debasement I could handle. It’s really difficult to start a book and immediately jump into trauma and groveling; it’s not a good hook.

I appreciated that Ren had to spend years teaching herself Japanese and was not fluent when she arrived in Japan. This was so realistic! As a biracial woman myself, I was grateful for the portrayal of Ren’s ethnicity. She’s never accepted by the Reapers in London because she looks like a Shinigami to them. After years of being rejected and called a Shinigami, she goes to Japan to claim the name for herself…only to be rejected there with the assertion that she looks like a Reaper.

This level of understanding, this rejection by the people you’ve been told that you look like your entire life—this is something that immediately projected deep authenticity and true understanding for what it’s like to have one white parent and one Not. (The author’s website states that she is Japanese, Chinese, and Irish.)

As a brown child raised by my white mother and interacting with exclusively White people, I was often Othered, despite identifying culturally with them. Growing up, I dreamed of the day I would leave and find other Arabs where I would finally fit in. Much like Ren, when I finally found the people I had been searching for, I realized I didn’t fit in there either.

“Why am I the only one with no say in who I am?”

This book is a breath of fresh air by bringing traditional Japanese folklore elements to YA Fantasy and expanding on them in a unique and interesting way. The setting is more supernatural than human, but there are still subtle elements of Japanese culture present.

The plot was unpredictable, and I found myself making wild guesses about where it was all going, only to be completely wrong on every front by the end. I’m pleased that this will be a duology rather than an extensive series, and I’m intrigued to see how it all wraps up.

Thank you, Inkyard Press for the advance review copy via NetGalley! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was a unique story that was filled with action, Japanese folklore, and darkness. Overall, I enjoyed it.

The main character, Ren is a half British Reaper, and half Japanese Shinigami. Because of her mixed-ethnicity, she doesn't feel like she truly fits in anywhere. As a result, she decides to flee London, where she has been collecting souls for centuries, and go to Japan where she hopes to reunite with her mother whom she hasn't seen since birth.

She's a great morally grey character as she makes many decisions that were definitely questionable. I liked this aspect of her character as it has the power to engage readers and cause them to think while they're reading.

I'm curious to see where the story will continue to go. Thanks for this advanced copy!

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.

“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.