The Keeper of Night

3.5 stars, rounded up

The Keeper of Night told the story about Ren -- born half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami -- who was reminded every day that she wasn't a full Reaper, despite collecting souls for centuries. When the chance arose after an accidental altercation, she flees (with her half-brother) to Japan to find her mother and claim her Shinigami inheritance. However, she soon finds that even those in Japan don't view her as Japanese, despite that the identity is all she was seen as by British Reapers. Determined to prove herself, she goes on a quest to find and kill three dangerous Yokai for the Goddess of Death.

I was intrigued by the story immediately. I was first captured by Ren's stubborn spirit: even though the cards show more were stacked against her, she still fought on. She wanted so desperately to fit in somewhere, but neither half of her heritages accepted her fully, which was heartbreaking. However, Ren was resilient and tough, and I liked her character...mostly. However, she soon let her sharp exterior bleed into her interior, and she became cruel (or perhaps was always so). I liked her story arc, even though it was frustrating. I also really liked her brother, who was perhaps my favorite character; he was sweet, if naive.

I knew this was the first book in a series, but it seemed that the story line was wrapping up pretty nicely...until it wasn't. That ending. Oof. Now I'm curious to see where the next book will go. show less

* I got this book for review*
I really did enjoy this read. I loved the focus on Japanase mythology and loved the world that was created. I also really loved the siblings realtionship that was at the heart of this read. This book did have some pacing issues in the start and towards the end. It felt like the pacing was a bit confusing and clunky. I also really liked the quest elements and also just the big world for these characters. The main character i sometimes struggled with, but the end made me really enjoy her. I will def be checking out book 2 in the future

*E-book ARC received from the publisher through NetGalley - thank you!*

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 show more 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. show less

I've really been drawn to fantasy stories that are based on cultural mythology this last year. The Keeper of Night is a story about Ren, a Reaper, in London, England in the early 1800's. She is a relatively young reaper, around 200 years old. Ren's issue is that she is only half Reaper. Her other half, from her mothers side, is Shinigami. Shinigami is the Japanese version of the English Reaper. Reapers and Shinigami's are what we know as grim reapers. Beings that harvest the souls and lead them to the afterlife.
Ren is hated by her fellow reapers for not being full blooded Reaper and when she accidentally hurts the three reapers that harass her regularly she knows she has to flee of be killed by those who rule the Reapers.
She decides to show more go to Japan to hopefully be embraced by the Shinigami. Her half brother goes with her. What she finds will push her to the limits of her love of her brother and what she thinks she wants to be.
Overall a masterfully told story that really brings the mythology of the Japanese Shinigami to life (so to speak). The characters are uniquely described and the tale is deeply engaging. It's a very dark tale about death and love and I cannot wait for the next book!
I think if you are a fan of Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver or Uprooted and if you enjoyed the Croak series by Gina Damico you will love The Keeper of Night. show less

A good start to the duology. I love how dark this novel was, the reapers are supposed to be performing a job but some of them seem to take an unnecessary interest in that job. Ren has a lot of anger issues from being bullied and made to feel like an outsider by the reapers, including her own family. It will be interesting to see if Ren deals with this anger in the second book or uses it to attain her goals. Looking forward to reading book #2 The Empress of Time.

This was a welcome deep dive into Death personified and all the other elements as told through the centuries by different cultures. The idea that reapers are slow aging immortals and Shinigami are gifted soul-suckers really played into this fear-fascination relationship we have with death and even the imminent threat of fatal wounding.

The only negative was the over use of similes in this text - everything was like something else or as blah blah as something else. But...That would be me nitpicking. The simile infestation really did help paint a picture very vividly - I just kept thinking the writer could stand to do better.

The ending (which is the perfect segway to the final book in this duology) was really well done.

The Keeper of Night was quite good! My favorite parts were those where we meet and there were interactions with different Yokai, each of which are actual yokai from Japanese folklore like Yuki Onna (Snow Woman), Iso Onna (Sea Vampire), Tomamo No Mae (Nine Tailed Fox/Kitsune), and Jorōgumo (Spider Woman). The descriptions were really cool and the interactions were fun. It was also neat to see how Ren would use her Reaper’s clock to freeze time. Really the whole idea of half British reaper and half Japanese Shinagami was a cool concept.

Ren’s character gave me some Adelina Amateru vibes from The Young Elites, and she is one of my favorite characters. Although I did find her choices to be a little more single minded and short sighted. show more Towards the end of the book her decisions seemed to make a little less sense and the ending seemed a little rushed and sudden but before that point I was enjoying her character growth and changes. The ending is what really had this book go from a 5 star to 4 star.

Though not fully satisfying, this book had a very interesting ending that opens the door wide for what could happen in the next book so I look forward to reading where the story goes from here. I hope Ren’s character has some more growth and we get to see some new Yokai! show less