Reviews with content warning for Death - The Keeper of Night

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

51 reviews

bittennailbooks's review

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A passionate, dark, and lonely book that is overflowing with diaspora. 3.9/5

The Keeper of Night is a beautiful retelling of the diasporic Reaper Ren who will do almost anything to stay out of the high Reapers criticizing gaze or abusive reach. Being half British and half Japanese, Ren is consistently kicked down by other Reapers for her "half-breed" status and dreams of running away with her best friend/half-brother in tow.

A reaping night like any other, Ren finally fights back against the other Reapers who torment her, unleashing her long hidden Shinigami powers and thus sealing her fate. She now must flee to a home in Japan she's never known in hopes of finding her birth mother and hopefully, a way to control her Shinigami magic.

I finished this book in one sitting due to its fast paced writing but it sort of felt a little bit empty when I closed in on the big twist. I wish I would have been taken a bit more into the adventure to Japan or that Hiro's advances didn't feel so out left field later on. However, I would definitely continue on with the series as it stands and hats off to Baker for her raw examination of bi-racial experiences.

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r1vana's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was not a hero with a tragic backstory, I was just a girl nobody wanted.

This is the story of a villain?

The first twenty percent hit the mark. I was so into it. But the more I read it, the more I got disappointed.

The world building is lacking. I got really confused

While I understand that the MC is going through racism and discrimination from the people she once called her own, she seem to consequentially makes wrong decision, in Japan, and put her younger brother in danger.

In an other pov, I see how the British Reapers are “groomed” to be unknown to the “real” world. Wren's biracial identity is shown so we, readers, could see how she uses both of her parents' abilities aka becoming a much more powerful than the other Reapers aka inevitable opponent.

We get to see how melancholic Wren feels when she is lost in her identity: England? Or Japan?

I love Naven’s character. It is somewhat different to see a reaper feeling human feelings and is also soft hearted. He loves animals and is kind hearted to the dying and brings them peace and make them “believe” that there is heaven and there is a place for them…. Whereas, Wren is terrifying and should I say dark and not emphatic when it comes to collecting the souls of human/.

We also get to see where both Wren and Naven meet Hiro, a passerby and decides to help Wren to find her identity and her mother. What Wren didn’t expected is her confusing feelings for him. (Their chemistry was almost nonexistent(for a reason) and there were no progress). What saddens me is how gullible Wren was acting whenever the topic of <I> helping Hiro </I> gets into her convo with her brother.

But the ending tho, was not expecting that…

was not expecting Wren to go into her villain era and kill Hiro as well…

I am excited and hopeful for the second book.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book as a whole.

TW: death; bullying; murder; graphic violence; absent parent; racism

Content Warnings

carolined314's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I thought the depiction of being mixed-race and rejected by both was very well done, and the writing is quite good in this. There's just such a thread of misery and self-pity throughout that I had a hard time with it. Never does anyone move towards or choose joy, connection, or happiness - and the one time I can think of that someone does, they are soundly punished. Just... a bit one-note.

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baenae's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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mandkips's review

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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lizgriffinwords's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Rich with Japanese folklore and featuring a prickly morally gray protagonist, The Keeper of Night doesn’t shy away from the gritty obstacles facing a biracial heroine feeling like an outcast in “both” worlds.

CW: gore/body horror, blood, death

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

venus6277's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

4.75

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kayladaila's review

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adventurous challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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thenovelmaura's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Whatever I expected when I first picked up this book, Lee Baker threw those expectations out the window from the very first page. This was a fast-paced, borderline villain-origin story, so you have to like your characters morally grey in order to enjoy this one. And the book is gruesome! These monsters from Japanese folklore are terrifyingly described, but that's what makes the fight scenes so enthralling. Ren's anger at her treatment as a biracial Reaper-Shinigami and her confusion about her identity are so relatable to those of us who have been there. I also liked the prominent and complex sibling relationship between Neven and Ren. His involvement ended up making things a lot more interesting than if Ren had undertaken the journey on her own.

Something about the pacing didn't sit quite right with me; events could happen so quickly that they ended up feeling brushed over. This fed into the instalove relationship that ended up feeling shallow, as well. Personally, I liked the ending and don't necessarily think it needs a sequel, but I'm curious to see where Lee Baker will go with the story. All that being said, if you're looking for an intense rollercoaster of a YA fantasy, then this may be the book for you!

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