Absolutely fantastic book! I love Japanese myth and folklore stories and this was just so good! The cover is so cool, the story amazing. I can’t wait for book two!!!! The pacing for this book was really good and it held my attention. I was at the edge of my seat!!

(Note: Physical copy of this book was bought and the review is partially based on that).

The concept of The Keeper of Night is what kept me hooked on the read. I love the idea of the Reapers, and the society they live in was instantly compelling to me. The author also beautifully integrated Japanese mythology into the narrative, and that kept me interested. The magic system of the Reapers was equally fascinating to me - I loved the way that they could manipulate time. It felt ethereal and it was utilized creatively.

I think that the book's pace slowed down slightly around 40% of the way through, and that led to a slight slump in interest for me. Ren's character growth felt like it was stagnating, and though it picked up again, this dulled my overall enjoyment slightly. I think Ren also had the "main character problem" where she sometimes makes egregiously awful decisions for the sake of plot development; though I understand that many of them help to underscore the novel's themes, they also serve to make Ren a less appealing character.

Overall, though, The Keeper of Night was a solid debut, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

Baker brings to life Japanese mythology in a fantastic debut. The Keeper of Night is just dark enough that it has a great atmosphere but is still accessible for all readers. I adore the way each Yokai is brought to life within the story, the traditional folklore is so vivid throughout and creates a truly unique and engaging atmosphere.

This is a story with no strict hero character, which is perfect for lovers of villain story lines or morally grey characters. Side characters themselves struggle with this concept throughout the boo. The character development is heavily reliant on these themes, leading to a shocking finale that will leave any reader wanting the sequel immediately.

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker is a fantasy/horror novel set during the Victorian era. Ren has been raised as a Reaper in England although she is also half Shinigami. Ren's heritage leads to a negative quality of life for her, so one night when the bullying may be a life-or-death incident, Ren decides to journey to Japan to see if she can find acceptance there. Her fully English brother joins her on her expedition, and adventure ensues. I loved the writing of this story and found Ren to be a captivating protagonist. The mythology is so rich and the world-building is intense. This book did get a little too creepy for me, personally, at times, but I loved it. I'm looking forward to Baker's next book!

The Keeper of Night is a dark fantasy full of intriguing characters and a compelling story line.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for an eARC and an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Ren who is a reaper in London England and she collects the souls of the debt. However, she is also half Japanese. Her Shinigami Powers are beginning to be harder to control each day so she decides to flee to Japan in hopes that she will be accepted by other shinigami and start a new life there. Upon her arrival to Japan, she meets the goddess of death who says in exchange for killing at three Yokai (Demons) she will allow rent to be a shinigami in her realm.

This book is littered with Japanese culture history and references. I absolutely love the mythology stories told and the connection to makes the characters. I absolutely loved that the character Ren is very morally gray. She rarely does the right thing and her experiences of being a mixed breed really clouds her judgement. The back-and-forth she has with her brother who has grown up a very privilege life is a good reflection of what our society is at times.

There is also a love interest and although I wasn’t completely invested in the romance, it was still an enjoyable element to read.

I was hooked from the first chapter, the book slow down a little bit and then really picked up after the 50% mark. The ending was expected, yet not. I really like the way the author went with the ending and I am very excited to read a book to.

If you love Japanese culture, anime history mythology and more I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy the story.

This book is darker than I expected. Main character is more of an antihero than hero but it was fascinating to read.

This book was so good! I loved the world building and character development that took place throughout the novel. I haven’t read a fantasy book that had me hooked in awhile. This is my first book by this author but I am definitely interested in any book they come out with now. I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s a fan of YA fantasy.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

A lovely story with just enough newness brought to a classic Japanese tale that I couldn't put it down.

Ren Scarborough lives and works in London - as a Reaper, collecting souls at the moment of death. But she's never been accepted there, because she's only half Reaper. Her mother was a Shinigami. She's managed to make a life despite being an outsider, but when bullies hurt her and she reacts, exploding a light and blinding them, she knows she has to leave before she's killed by the High Reapers for her actions. With only her brother, Neven, with her she leaves for Japan to try to find acceptance there.

I loved the premise and the elements of Japanese mythology that were included in the book. It's truly original, and the only similar book I could think of was [Grave Mercy], but the comparison is superficial. [The Keeper of Night] is much darker and descriptively violent. Ren has always felt like, and been treated like, and outsider and she's angry about it. Her brother, Neven, was my favorite character: a soft heart, despite being a Reaper, and someone who truly loves his sister, though she can be cold and calculating. The love interest was a little forced, but the author does a good job of creating tension of should she or should she not trust him.

A dark fantasy novel that kept me hooked from beginning to the end. This Japanese folklore has many terrifying and gripping elements.

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…

Once Ren begins her journey of trying to prove herself to the Goddess of Death, you get a full view of just how far Ren is willing to go. With a morally gray MC, terrifying monsters and a story that will keep you engrossed. I cannot wait for the sequel!!!

Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first in a duology, The Keeper of the Night, was a highly interesting read in that it delved into the mythology and legends of an area of the world I'm not very familiar with. There were elements I'd come across before, but most was brand new. I did feel the protagonist was a bit back-n-forth with her thought process, falling in the morally-grey area quite a bit, but that fits with someone who's experienced a duality in their background and for someone who's considered a young adult who's still figuring out their life.

I felt there was a big build-up and then the plot just sprinted to the cliffhanger, so I was little startled with some of the first book's ending but I'm hoping that the second one will help with that eventually.

All in all, a great intro to a new fantastical world, with a character who you're not quite sure is good or evil -- a good way to keep the audience engaged and the reader guessing.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Loved this book. The world was fascinating and I was just immediately drawn in and loved the adventure.

An entertaining read for both those liking fantasy as well as Asian/Japanese culture. I liked the biracial story line, the treatment of how it complicated family relationships and the struggle the main character endured to accommodate not only what was expected of her but what she expected of herself. I think this is an appropriate read for a YA collection as well as for adults.

A dark fantasy novel, filled with monsters and violence galore.
The idea of Reapers and their powers sucked me in, however, the story did seem to drag for me at times. This may be one I need to pick up and read again to really grasp everything as the details of stopping and starting time and the collection of souls did confuse me a bit.
The family dynamic and racism towards Ren made me angry - which I imagine was the intention - but I was hoping for more depth into that end of the story. How is she possibly the only mixed race reaper to ever is exist in all of history? Why is her dad such a dick? etc.
We may have to wait and see what the next title in the series has to offer and if all our questions are answered.

I am a die-hard fan of Japanese folklore, and THE KEEPER OF NIGHT does not disappoint! It has a touch of horror when it comes to the depiction of the yokai and the world itself. And Ren, the protagonist, is not at all what you'd expect; she is not heroic, loyal, mortally righteous, or even kind. But this actually drew me to her character, sparking my curiosity about who and what she is. The whole story was rich, imaginative, and compelling in all the right ways that kept me clutching the book from start to finish.

This book took me by surprise. It is very different than what I've been reading lately.
A sort of retelling of Shinigami and Reapers, there are no good guys. And normally I need a good guy to root for but somehow this story drew me in despite that. The MC, Ren, was not nice. She wasn't kind or loyal or anything. But somehow I still found her fascinating. It was so much fun reading about the different Yokai too. And the mystery behind Ren and her powers. She was BA for sure! I liked not knowing what was going to happen because Ren's decision making would be sporadic. I also liked the adventure/ hunt for yokai across Japan!

The Keeper of Night is one of these books that keeps you awake in the night. This one have to be more recognized. The writing makes this book a action-packed fiction to good to not be read by everyone.

Rich and compelling. Those were the two words that surfaced when I dived into the first installment in The Keeper of Night duology. The story began with a haunting yet alluring scene of Ren Scarborough froze the time and heartlessly took a human’s soul to be delivered to the Ankou, the God of Death. That moment beautifully described Ren’s character and her job as a Reaper. It was so powerful and I knew that this is going to be one hell of a ride.

But in the next second, the bizarre scene turned into another night of torment for Ren as some of the High Reapers blatantly disregard her half British Reaper blood then tortured her. Angered and in an act of self-defense, Ren accidentally unfurled the power that she was trying so hard to conceal because no British Reapers should have the will to control the light. It’s what Japanese Shinigami do.

Escaping her doomed fate in British, along with her brother Neven, Ren decided to visit the land she always imagined as her home—Japan—only to met with a test Izanami, the Goddess of Death, has given her. Only by succeeding in this dangerous task, Ren would finally be recognized as Shinigami.

I cannot get over how The Keeper of Night enchanted me from the first chapter. Every word written painted stark and haunting images on my mind. Woven with Japanese folklore, it truly enhanced the world-building. Ren’s adventure in completing the impossible task brought me to travel different places in 1800s Japan and met with blood-curling demons. I couldn’t help but think that this book is perfect to be read in October as the month of horror and terror.

Shinigami’s power to control light was another thing that interest me. Although there was no detailed explanation on how it worked, basically a Shinigami could extinguish or even blow up the source of lights around them. Emotion played an important role in this especially if the Shinigami is not yet a thousand years old. Aside from that, Shinigami also has the ability to see in the dark. It’s a must-needed skill if one needed to travel to Yomi, the Japanese underworld and Izanami’s domain.

I could hardly tell that The Keeper of Night is Baker’s debut novel because the pacing was smooth. Even though the ending seemed a bit rushed, I didn’t find another trouble with the pace work. It started strong then built up nicely to the climax with the perfect amount of action, eerieness, and a layer of mystery. If you’re wondering whether this book has a romance in it, the answer is yes. It wasn’t insta-love but it has been hinted since the beginning. Although, I think Ren would do just fine without any romantic relationship.

Speaking of Ren, she is a character with such an interesting arc. She began as a biracial girl who didn’t feel like she belong in her British Reaper family. The Reapers always treated her as a foreigner, even her father acted like she didn’t exist. What I admired about Ren were her determination and courage. When she arrived in Japan and thought that she’d be free of the foreigner’s label, Ren still needed to battle the Yokai demons to be accepted as a Shinigami. In the end, she realized that she didn’t need someone else to tell her who she is.

Neven was probably my favorite character aside from Ren. He deserved to be loved and protected at all costs! Born and raised by British Reapers’ parents, Neven’s gentle personality contradicted Reapers’ harsh, cold and detached nature. Even though he has been through a lot, his heart remained pure and kind. On the other hand, there was also Hiro. A mysterious boy the siblings met when they arrived at Yomi. I had a good impression of his character at first because he has the potential to be more.

Overall, The Keeper of Night was an enthralling and unputdownable fantasy read that highlighted Ren’s struggles as no British Reapers nor Japanese Shinigami claimed her as wholly theirs. As a biracial myself, reading this book and witnessing Ren’s immaculate arc was encouraging. Being half this and half that and both sides never see you as someone whole, I could relate to that. If you’re looking for a newly released YA fantasy with rich world-building set in 1800s Japan and a plot that will hook you until late at night with its twists, The Keeper of Night is a perfect choice for you.

[Received an ARC]

Rating 5/5
Plot 5/5
Character Development 5/5

“The Keeper of Night” by Kylie Lee baker is a YA, Historical Fiction, that shares a Japanese folklore story. This book shares the life of a girl who is part of two worlds (half Reaper, half Shinigami), but is accepted by none all while, the soul collector seeks her destiny. This book is a haunting and dark fantasy that takes place in Japan during the 1890s.

This was my first time reading a dark fantasy and Kylie Lee Baker didn’t disappoint! I first heard about this book during an HCCFrenzy book event and I was intrigued from the beginning. This is the first book in the series and I can’t wait for the sequel (coming out in 2022).