Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Keeper of Night

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

17 reviews

atropea's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I just can't get past how I hated the main character from the start until the last word read.

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aformeracceleratedreader's review

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

I have a lot of feelings about Ren and the story. As someone who is mixed race, I understand Ren to a certain point. Identity is difficult to navigate as is but when there is something as big as different cultures/races to navigate as well makes it like a billion times tougher. What irritated me so much about Ren was her selfishness and how focused she was on only being one aspect of her identity. You should never disown any aspect of yourself, all sides of your identity make you you and her adamantly denying her Reaper/white side was annoying. I've been there, told I'm not enough this or that because I'm mixed, constantly seen as other regardless of where I go, but I don't deny any sides of myself. Granted I wasn't bullied to the extent she was nor was I ever disowned by a parent so of course she harbored a lot more negative feelings towards one side of her heritage. But to constantly deny and hate on it when her brother was always there for her was annoying at best. Also didn't love how adamant Ren was that Japan was better/going to be better when it is just as bad with racism and xenophobia. Didn't love that she was more willing to take racism in hopes of being accepted there. Yes it's the motherland, and we all want to be accepted in the motherland, but at what point do we find self respect and accept they don't want us there either and find a place that will?
Also didn't really like the kind of random make out session in the middle of one of the quests. Really threw me out of the whole thing for that little bit.
I did really enjoy the world though, I'm a sucker for yokai, and I hope Ren will find what she is searching for in the next book because what she is searching for deserves much better. I will still be planning on reading the sequel just for the hope that things turn out positively and some reconciliation will be there.
I also love that this was written by a mixed race author so of course I'm biased to support. Overall liked the writing and story so I hope Ren is less agitating in the sequel.

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thecriticalreader's review

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adventurous dark slow-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

2.5

I chose this book as my Book of the Month about a year ago, and it sat on my shelf for a long time. I picked it up in a recent quest to tackle my TBR.

Plot:

The plot is extremely action-packed; there are hardly any moments when the main character is not fighting off some demon or the other. At times, the constant action and the heavy exposition make the book drag along. That being said, it never felt like the author lost sight of where they eventually wanted to take the book: in other words, it never felt aimless.

Characters:

The book contains three main characters: Ren (the protagonist), Oliver, and Hiro. Everyone else is a side attraction. Ren is interesting enough, although the YA style and horror genre sometimes clash so that she vacillates between “relatable teenage girl” and “evil death goddess.” Oliver is written adequately enough so that he avoids being a complete plot device, although he definitely skirts the line at times. Out of the three main characters, Hiro feels the most contrived, but even he has his moments.

Setting:

The book takes place in the Death underworlds of London and Japan. Baker does a great job describing the environments and characters the protagonists encounter, whether they be in the “real world” or the underworld. Her imagination is vivid and she does a great job painting a picture with her words. The historical parts of the setting are fairly weak in terms of historical accuracy, but luckily, 80% or so of the book takes place in realms of magic.

Themes:

The Keeper of Night addresses themes of belonging, trauma, and morality. As someone who enjoys moral gray areas, these parts of the book are my favorite. I am a bit disappointed in how the book avoids providing solid answers or reflections on these topics, but perhaps they get explored more deeply in the sequel, which is set up as a direct continuation of the story.

Writing Style:

The writings style is adequate. My biggest frustration is with the endless cycle of exposition dump/action/exposition dump/action that bogs down most of the book. I think the book would have been better if the first part of Ren’s life was explored in one book and this book was a sequel.

Conclusion:

The Keeper of the Night is an above-average YA novel, but a below-average read for someone who reads outside of the YA genre. I would not recommend this book to anyone who dislikes horror or violence.

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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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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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asipofcozy's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-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

Thank you to Inkyard Press for sending me a review copy of The Keeper of Night. This review is based on my honest opinion and feelings.

CW: bullying, racial slurs, racism, gore, blood, violence, mention of beheading, mention of mutilation and cutting up a pregnant woman, harming of a child, beheading, and animal death.

The Keeper Of Night follows Ren, a Half British Reaper and Half Japanese Shinigami, who was driven out of London after failing to control her Shinigami abilities. Accompanied by her brother, Neven, she travels to Japan to enter the Japanese underworld to earn her place among the Shinigami and gain the respect of the Goddess of Death. Respect that she never received from her fellow Reapers. To earn her place, Ren must kill 3 Yokai demons.

This story was dark, gruesome, and harsh. The reading experience that I can accumulate in this book is if you decided to go for a walk during a dark foggy day and felt like you saw movements in the shadows. That's what this book felt like; every page, you felt like there was evil, death stalking in dark corners. I loved every minute of it. While this is considered young adult literature, I would almost classify this with more new adults due to the themes and how dark this book is.

"I would drown all the islands of Japan if you asked me to."
"That's horrible," I said. But still, I didn't push him away. Was this not how humans showed affection? With grandiose declarations of devotion?

Ren is a morally grey character. Simple as that. As the story progresses, we see Ren struggle with what little humanity she has and this absolute obsession of finding her place in this world and doing whatever it takes to achieve that goal. There were many moments where Ren would toe that line between humanity and being a creature of death herself. It was almost like with each page that passed by; Ren would strip herself of another layer of humanity and slowly become that darkness that makes up the Yomi.

I was a butterfly twisted inside a tornado, the brightest colors between day and night, a little brown bird in the maw of the fox, waiting for the teeth to bite down.

Her only saving grace, and what keeps her humanity in check, is her brother Neven. Oh, Neven. Neven, while a reaper, is the complete opposite of what a Reaper is meant to be. He is caring, loving, afraid of the dark, struggles with doing his reaper duties, and is quite naive. While Ren does love Neven, and I genuinely believe he is the reason for her not ridding herself of humanity, he was a privileged character. Ren uses the word "privileged ignorance," and I couldn't agree more. Neven is ignorant of Ren's pain and struggles. Because Neven is white and isn't discriminated against, he never understands why Ren is so desperate to be a part of her Japanese culture. He looks at her and sees's "sister," not a sister that is part Japanese; he almost ignores it...which goes to show how white privileged he is.

While Neven is considered an outcast and Ren and Neven's love is wonderful for a brother and sister - I couldn't ignore the ignorance. It almost made me feel anger towards Neven. Also, I struggled with the fact that he cried, whined, and moaned about everything he came across. Especially when it came to the actions of his sister.

I am not giving Ren ANY excuses for her actions in the book, but when you are torn between two ethnicities and not accepted into either culture, you have someone who is blind to your pain...I would be on a rampage as well.

I was impressed by this unique world and how well the author brought together the culture of Japan to the forefront of her story-telling. I loved that she touched on so many issues, especially regarding family dynamics, racial differences, being biracial, heritage, and finding acceptance.

The writing was well done and I found myself loving every moment of Baker's storytelling. There was never a dull moment and that makes this book all the more worthwhile to read.

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cora_hreads's review

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dark tense medium-paced

4.0

The Keeper of Night had started out as a generic fantasy — only set in Japan — but as Ren made her way through the mission given to her by Izanami, the depths of her, Neven, and Hiro all came to fruition smoothly. Ren was both a storyteller and her own character, which let me follow her conflicts and emotions like we were one in the same. The explicit detail that Lee Baker wrote in about Japan and Yomi was engrossing; there were moments of beauty and fantastic scenery alongside rich darkness and images that could terrorize your dreams. Additionally, the gore and death was easy to handle, in my opinion, but in retrospect it was written as equally in detail as the scenery, which could be off-putting for a more sensitive reader.

The plot “twist” could’ve started to reveal itself sooner than when

Hiro, Ren, and Izanami had begun to fight,

but the buildup itself was incredible. Neven’s fears were confirmed, and Ren had to suffer the consequences for all eternity. Ren wasn’t just a main character who got the best in the end — she was human, ironic as it sounds. She had to choose between extremely hard decisions, try to deny what was true, and just make mistakes. This sums up Ren extremely well, and I’d certainly recommend it to another reader to not only extend their knowledge of darker fantasy, but also the struggles that surround being from two cultures that equally won’t accept you.

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kkmillsaps1's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

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jennlcollier's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

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rstegema's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

4.5

The world of London Reapers and Japanese Shinigami collide in this story of Ren and her search for herself. Along the way we meet an interesting cast of characters that develop in unexpected ways.

The ending was not exactly what I expected, but I'm looking forward to the second book later this year to see how Ren struggles and comes to term with the decisions she made.

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