Bumpy Oak Books

**I was provided an audiobook ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

3 stars

Kylie Lee Baker presents The Keeper of Night, a story about a girl caught in between two bloodlines- Shinigami and Reaper. Ren serves the gods of death as best she is able and is determined to find the place where she fits in. When manifestation of her Shinigami heritage makes it dangerous for her to continue living in London among the Reapers, Ren makes for Japan. Accompanied by her brother, Ren finds that the move to Japan comes with challenges for her to earn her place among the Shinigami. Ren is determined to gain respect and belonging. To do so, she may have to learn that she is more than the sum of the parts of her bloodline.

I enjoyed this book. It was fine. I found that the pacing continuously moved forward and that Ren’s struggles were understandable. I did find that Ren read young despite her reported age of being around 200ish years old. I wrote this off as being the adolescent age of Reapers and Shinigami along with the book being young adult and moved forward. I do think that Ren’s lack of emotional maturity led to her coming across as a superficial sort of character. I also felt similarly about her brother and her love interest. I was not invested in the miscommunication with her brother or the conflict with her love interest when that came up. And though I read the book quickly, I don’t think the story will stay with me due to my lack of investment in the characters. It came across as a junk food sort of read- fun and enjoyable but lacking a ton of substance.

However, this book is perfect for fans of anime/manga, particularly in the age group for which it was intended. I actually requested it because I love anime/manga, and think it was possibly just a mismatch for me personally and what creates impact for me as a reader. Readers who like Inuyasha or Shadow of the Fox would likely also enjoy The Keeper of Night.