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ravensandpages's review against another edition
3.0
I received an ARC eons ago in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Penguin Teen.
The Keeper of Night follows half Reaper, half Shinigami Ren Scarborough, a girl who has never had a place in the violent hierarchy of reapers in her "home" of London despite her best efforts to navigate its cruelty. When defending herself leads to exile and a death sentence, she leaves behind everything she knows to seek refuge in Japan, only bringing along her younger brother in her quest to become a true Shinigami and serve the Goddess of Death, who requires Ren to prove herself by slaying three demons.
Ren's narration really left me torn. There were aspects of being her head that I truly did not enjoy, but the parts I did like were enough to help me finish the book! I liked the honest expression of anger and regret portrayed in her journey, and how she pushed the person who cared for her away to keep reaching for something she only thought she wanted. I really liked how this came together in the ending. The way her struggles with her heritage weave into the narrative was well done, and I am not surprised to glance at other reviews and see so many readers it resonated with! I also enjoyed the historical aspect and the exploration of Japanese folklore.
Overall, though, I think there were too many aspects that fell flat for me. There was a bit more telling than showing for me, especially when it came to the romance between Ren and Hiro, and at the end of the day, I did not enjoy the chosen portrayal of Reapers and Shinigami. They felt far more like humans with powers than the otherworldly spirits and specters of death I would have expected them to be. I recognize this is purely a personal preference, but it became very hard for me to appreciate the book for what it was rather than what I wanted it to be, and the more I thought about the more that the worldbuilding around them felt really underdeveloped. I think just approaching it as humans with powers or servants of Gods would have served the narrative a bit better.
I will be trying Kylie Lee Baker's other work, but I don't think I'll be reading the sequel. I would still recommend you try this if you read the summary and think it might be something you'll enjoy!
The Keeper of Night follows half Reaper, half Shinigami Ren Scarborough, a girl who has never had a place in the violent hierarchy of reapers in her "home" of London despite her best efforts to navigate its cruelty. When defending herself leads to exile and a death sentence, she leaves behind everything she knows to seek refuge in Japan, only bringing along her younger brother in her quest to become a true Shinigami and serve the Goddess of Death, who requires Ren to prove herself by slaying three demons.
Ren's narration really left me torn. There were aspects of being her head that I truly did not enjoy, but the parts I did like were enough to help me finish the book! I liked the honest expression of anger and regret portrayed in her journey, and how she pushed the person who cared for her away to keep reaching for something she only thought she wanted. I really liked how this came together in the ending. The way her struggles with her heritage weave into the narrative was well done, and I am not surprised to glance at other reviews and see so many readers it resonated with! I also enjoyed the historical aspect and the exploration of Japanese folklore.
Overall, though, I think there were too many aspects that fell flat for me. There was a bit more telling than showing for me, especially when it came to the romance between Ren and Hiro, and at the end of the day, I did not enjoy the chosen portrayal of Reapers and Shinigami. They felt far more like humans with powers than the otherworldly spirits and specters of death I would have expected them to be. I recognize this is purely a personal preference, but it became very hard for me to appreciate the book for what it was rather than what I wanted it to be, and the more I thought about the more that the worldbuilding around them felt really underdeveloped. I think just approaching it as humans with powers or servants of Gods would have served the narrative a bit better.
I will be trying Kylie Lee Baker's other work, but I don't think I'll be reading the sequel. I would still recommend you try this if you read the summary and think it might be something you'll enjoy!
kelcyg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
courtcat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bookbound_jupiter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
phoenix2's review against another edition
3.0
The Keeper of Night creates a dark and wonderful universe, with a beautiful setting and imaginary descriptions.
And the uniqueness of the book comes not only from the universe the story introduces, but also from the characters. Most of them are walking close to the gray area, sometimes even crossing over to the dark side. But the leading lady, especially, was a breath of fresh air, dynamic, strong, and evil. Her brother, on the other hand, was the perfect much for her, a sweet character to balance the violence of her sister. Meanwhile, Hiro was off right from the start and he remained the tragic character that, for me, needed to be explored a bit more. On that note, the reaper system and Ren's family situation required to be examined a bit further too.
And, even though the story is pretty original and different from the other YA out there, it felt rushed at times, like when Ren snapped and she made the mistake that cost her place in London. Also, there were a lot of repetitions, particularly during the delivery of Ren's thoughts, on the same page and chapter that was almost copy-pasted from the original above. Finally, the romance was odd and unbelievable.
That said, the book was pretty enjoyable, the story gory, dark, and masterfully written and the writing simply beautiful.
And the uniqueness of the book comes not only from the universe the story introduces, but also from the characters. Most of them are walking close to the gray area, sometimes even crossing over to the dark side. But the leading lady, especially, was a breath of fresh air, dynamic, strong, and evil. Her brother, on the other hand, was the perfect much for her, a sweet character to balance the violence of her sister. Meanwhile, Hiro was off right from the start and he remained the tragic character that, for me, needed to be explored a bit more. On that note, the reaper system and Ren's family situation required to be examined a bit further too.
And, even though the story is pretty original and different from the other YA out there, it felt rushed at times, like when Ren snapped and she made the mistake that cost her place in London. Also, there were a lot of repetitions, particularly during the delivery of Ren's thoughts, on the same page and chapter that was almost copy-pasted from the original above. Finally, the romance was odd and unbelievable.
That said, the book was pretty enjoyable, the story gory, dark, and masterfully written and the writing simply beautiful.
laura_corsi's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting read, but I was not super into it. Ren is a difficult narrator to identify with at times--although the author does a good job of making you see why she is how she is. The Japanese mythology was all new to me and was interesting, but because Ren is a Reaper it mostly focuses on the dark or bad parts of human fate according to Japanese legends. There is some suggestion that death is a necessary thing to keep things in balance, which I found an interesting commentary on our current times--but Ren is not very reflective, so we don't get much of that. It was a fun, interesting read, but I wasn't very emotionally involved.
lenastockton's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
libbey_wolfe's review against another edition
5.0
The ending sucker punched me and now I"m sobbing myself to sleep. 10/10 would recommend
moonlit_dewdrops's review against another edition
5.0
I can genuinely say that Kylie Lee Baker is now an auto-read author for me!
The worldbuilding and fantasy elements in this book were really good with the various elements of Japanese elements/mythology creatures such as yokai, kitsune, yumi, and shinigami being weaved into the plot. The MC female character is no nonsense badass and I am here for it! Oh and did I mention she is also morally gray?
I also really liked how the book addressed the racism that mixed Asians face in real life, which I assume the author wrote based on her own experience. I think it's very important to write about such experiences through books and bring awareness to them.
Another thing I loved about this book is the focus on the relationship between the two siblings and it wasn't just focused on the romance aspects of it. While I'm all for romance, I think it is very important to also write about platonic relationships.
Overall I enjoyed this book a lot! It had an engaging plot and setting and the characters were interesting and well-written
THAT ENDING had me gasping in shock (HIRO WHY). NEVEN was right all along. Be careful who trust! Be wary of handsome strangers!
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
The worldbuilding and fantasy elements in this book were really good with the various elements of Japanese elements/mythology creatures such as yokai, kitsune, yumi, and shinigami being weaved into the plot. The MC female character is no nonsense badass and I am here for it! Oh and did I mention she is also morally gray?
I also really liked how the book addressed the racism that mixed Asians face in real life, which I assume the author wrote based on her own experience. I think it's very important to write about such experiences through books and bring awareness to them.
Another thing I loved about this book is the focus on the relationship between the two siblings and it wasn't just focused on the romance aspects of it. While I'm all for romance, I think it is very important to also write about platonic relationships.
Overall I enjoyed this book a lot! It had an engaging plot and setting and the characters were interesting and well-written
THAT ENDING had me gasping in shock (HIRO WHY). NEVEN was right all along. Be careful who trust! Be wary of handsome strangers!
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
“I knew how it felt to be weighed down by the world around you so much that you could barely move your lips to speak."
chan_bean's review against another edition
3.0
Rounded up from 2.5
I was excited to read this book when I read the premise, but unfortunately it didn't hold up for me.
The two biggest issues that made this book hard to read were the characters, and the lack of clear world building.
As far as the characters go, Ren is kind of insufferable. I understand that the author is writing from her own experiences of being biracial, but the way that Ren lashes out at the mere mention of her being biracial makes her feel so hard to deal with. She doesn't want to be treated like she's Japanese when she's in England, and when she's in Japan she gets angry (at times, violently so) that others even notice that she is half white. Her perception of self is constantly switching, and that would be fine if there weren't dire consequences at stake. Simply put, I did not go into this book expecting to sympathize and agree with Ren's white younger brother the most.
Ren also infuriated me because of her blatant disrespect for Japan and Japanese culture. She wants to be included in it and seen as Japanese, but she shows no respect for the culture or the people. Ren kills a yokai on her first day in Japan, she picks fights with anyone that even points out that she's half white, she traipses around sacred places and gets mad when people call her out on it, and she enters Izanami's palace and makes demands of the goddess of death! During the brief time we see of her in England, Ren does everything in her power to keep from hurting or offending the Reapers who are actively oppressing, harming, and plotting against her. She seems to be afraid of Ankou, the British god of death. None of that respect/fear/reverence is afforded to the people and spirits of Japan, even when they haven't wronged her. I thought this would be a growing point for Ren, but no, she remained disrespectful until the end of the book, even going so far as to say "How fitting it would be, as my last dying act, to ruin all of Japan ... Neven was worth every soul in Japan and more." ...AFTER SHE HAS (essentially) KILLED GOD and become the ruler of the dead! Not her point blank saying that she would just let all of Japan be destroyed for her white brother!!! I get it, he's family, but Ren feels like a character that wants to be treated as a Japanese person, while she consistently interacts with Japan and Japanese people in the same way a white tourist would.
The second issue I had was with the world building. It just feels incomplete. Maybe this could be expanded upon in the second book, but it was hard to understand how this world works. I spent the first few chapters of the book confused about what the main characters even looked like -- aside from Ren being Asian, she mentions that she's like 200 years old, but it isn't until much later that she clarifies that she looks like a young adult. I thought Neven was maybe physically an elementary schooler (he's ~100) until it was mentioned that actually, he looks like a teenager and is taller than Ren.
Additionally, I was very puzzled by the family structures and magic powers. The Reapers seem to have ostensibly nuclear families, which is fine but feels a little weird when we're talking about beings whose lifespans go on for millenia. It seems like almost all Reapers live together in the catacombs, but no one ever branches out or leaves the country? Just how many reapers are there? It's also hard to grasp why there are different death gods and soul reaping systems based on very mortal country borders. As in, death is something that transcends space, time, and race, so why is there seemingly a different god and system for every country? British Reapers have no jurisdiction over Ren once she escapes to France. The line between normal human society and Reaper/Shinigami society just feels too thin. The reaping society is extremely tied to mortal society in a way that doesn't make much sense to me. Why is it forbidden for a Shinigami and a Reaper to have a child together? Why is Death a language that transcends cultures, but the same is not the case for the act of reaping souls? Why are different reaping abilities essentially race-locked? I know that the story is supposed to parallel being biracial, but it just kind of falls apart when I think about it too hard.
I'm giving this book 3 stars (rounded up from a 2.5) because in spite of all of this, I finished it, and I kept turning pages. Ren made a whole slew of bad and incomprehensible choices, but I still wanted to see how the narrative panned out, because the premise is very good. Baker's descriptive and action writing is also very readable and interesting! The different yokai were some of my favorite characters, and you can tell that Baker researched them thoroughly and lovingly, to the point where their descriptions really made them jump off of the page. The fight scenes kept my eyes scanning the page non-stop. I also think that the descriptions of Izanami, her palace, and her power were so great - it felt palpable, almost like I was also bound to my seat when I was reading how Izanami's power forced everything to bow before her. And for as much as I found Ren unlikable, I DID like the story that followed her.
I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel. Based on where the story has left off, all of the characters that I was really interested in are dead and/or missing, and I don't know if I can handle Ren again unless she goes through some major growth (but... seeing as she's god now... I don't see why she would).
I was excited to read this book when I read the premise, but unfortunately it didn't hold up for me.
The two biggest issues that made this book hard to read were the characters, and the lack of clear world building.
As far as the characters go, Ren is kind of insufferable. I understand that the author is writing from her own experiences of being biracial, but the way that Ren lashes out at the mere mention of her being biracial makes her feel so hard to deal with. She doesn't want to be treated like she's Japanese when she's in England, and when she's in Japan she gets angry (at times, violently so) that others even notice that she is half white. Her perception of self is constantly switching, and that would be fine if there weren't dire consequences at stake. Simply put, I did not go into this book expecting to sympathize and agree with Ren's white younger brother the most.
Ren also infuriated me because of her blatant disrespect for Japan and Japanese culture. She wants to be included in it and seen as Japanese, but she shows no respect for the culture or the people. Ren kills a yokai on her first day in Japan, she picks fights with anyone that even points out that she's half white, she traipses around sacred places and gets mad when people call her out on it, and she enters Izanami's palace and makes demands of the goddess of death! During the brief time we see of her in England, Ren does everything in her power to keep from hurting or offending the Reapers who are actively oppressing, harming, and plotting against her. She seems to be afraid of Ankou, the British god of death. None of that respect/fear/reverence is afforded to the people and spirits of Japan, even when they haven't wronged her. I thought this would be a growing point for Ren, but no, she remained disrespectful until the end of the book, even going so far as to say "How fitting it would be, as my last dying act, to ruin all of Japan ... Neven was worth every soul in Japan and more." ...AFTER SHE HAS (essentially) KILLED GOD and become the ruler of the dead! Not her point blank saying that she would just let all of Japan be destroyed for her white brother!!! I get it, he's family, but Ren feels like a character that wants to be treated as a Japanese person, while she consistently interacts with Japan and Japanese people in the same way a white tourist would.
The second issue I had was with the world building. It just feels incomplete. Maybe this could be expanded upon in the second book, but it was hard to understand how this world works. I spent the first few chapters of the book confused about what the main characters even looked like -- aside from Ren being Asian, she mentions that she's like 200 years old, but it isn't until much later that she clarifies that she looks like a young adult. I thought Neven was maybe physically an elementary schooler (he's ~100) until it was mentioned that actually, he looks like a teenager and is taller than Ren.
Additionally, I was very puzzled by the family structures and magic powers. The Reapers seem to have ostensibly nuclear families, which is fine but feels a little weird when we're talking about beings whose lifespans go on for millenia. It seems like almost all Reapers live together in the catacombs, but no one ever branches out or leaves the country? Just how many reapers are there? It's also hard to grasp why there are different death gods and soul reaping systems based on very mortal country borders. As in, death is something that transcends space, time, and race, so why is there seemingly a different god and system for every country? British Reapers have no jurisdiction over Ren once she escapes to France. The line between normal human society and Reaper/Shinigami society just feels too thin. The reaping society is extremely tied to mortal society in a way that doesn't make much sense to me. Why is it forbidden for a Shinigami and a Reaper to have a child together? Why is Death a language that transcends cultures, but the same is not the case for the act of reaping souls? Why are different reaping abilities essentially race-locked? I know that the story is supposed to parallel being biracial, but it just kind of falls apart when I think about it too hard.
I'm giving this book 3 stars (rounded up from a 2.5) because in spite of all of this, I finished it, and I kept turning pages. Ren made a whole slew of bad and incomprehensible choices, but I still wanted to see how the narrative panned out, because the premise is very good. Baker's descriptive and action writing is also very readable and interesting! The different yokai were some of my favorite characters, and you can tell that Baker researched them thoroughly and lovingly, to the point where their descriptions really made them jump off of the page. The fight scenes kept my eyes scanning the page non-stop. I also think that the descriptions of Izanami, her palace, and her power were so great - it felt palpable, almost like I was also bound to my seat when I was reading how Izanami's power forced everything to bow before her. And for as much as I found Ren unlikable, I DID like the story that followed her.
I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel. Based on where the story has left off, all of the characters that I was really interested in are dead and/or missing, and I don't know if I can handle Ren again unless she goes through some major growth (but... seeing as she's god now... I don't see why she would).