This novella is set in the Soul Screamers world; however, it does not involve Kaylee (or Tod) for that matter. It centers around Kaylee's cousin, Sophie, and takes place during the events of If I Die. Sophie meets a cute new guy at school and gets introduced into Kaylee's supernatural world. She visits the Netherworld and has an adventure of her own.

I enjoyed getting to see the story from another character's point of view and Sophie has always been a bit of an outsider. Can you imagine how angry she's going to be when she finds out that her family is supernatural? And that not only Kaylee but her dad has kept the secret from her? Although I did enjoy this foray into Sophie's world, I'll be glad to get back to Kaylee (and Tod) in the next full length book. ( )

I was hoping to read more about Tod but alas, I got Sophie instead.
Is [a:the author|415967|Rachel Vincent|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1262900481p2/415967.jpg] trying to make her likable? If so, there are tons of work to do! Even if here she's beginning to show some spine (in a non-bitchy kind of way, at last) and we can see that she has the means to finally grow up.

All in all, despite the coldness of the main character, this brief novella is something you can definitely enjoy while you're waiting for the damn [b:June 22nd|11418574|Before I Wake (Soul Screamers, #6)|Rachel Vincent|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1325193206s/11418574.jpg|16351591] *pulling her hair in frustration* ( )

This review originally posted on Mommy's Reading Break

This novella is from Kaylee’s cousin, Sophie’s, perspective. Sophie is half-banshee, but she doesn’t know it. I definitely never expected what happens in this book, as Sophie’s scream accidentally brings her into the Netherworld. What happens while she’s there is scary but fascinating at the same time. There’s also an amusing little bit of irony towards the end, which made me laugh. I really liked seeing a little more into the non-bitchy side of Sophie, and some of the scenes in it give me hope for her and Kaylee’s relationship in the final 2 books. Oh, and what seems to be a pattern for Vincent, which I love, is that we get to meet another species of supernaturals! ( )

Short, to the point, quite funny... but still from Sophie's POV...

In this novella, Sophie meets Luca, the necromancer, and a soulless reaper who makes her screem so hard she and Luca end up in the Netherworld. Most of the story is about how to get back to the real world, and it actually had loads of hilarious quotes :

"I don't even like regular plants. Except for corsages and long-stemmed roses." And htose only hurt you when they don't show up...

"You're not... human?" "Well, I am human. But I'm more."

Maybe Kaylee was actually the sanest person I knew.

"Okay, time out. That's all the crazy talk I can take for now. I want to go home. What do I have to do? Click my heels together?" My shoes weren't ruby, nor were they slippers, but for what my dad paid for the designer label, they damn well ought to take me wherever I wanted to go.

"I never joke about carnivorous bunnies."

"Aplologies, Your Highnexx, I meant to mistake you for someone who wants to survive."

In the end, my conscience won, but only because letting Luca die in the Netherworld would be an unacceptable waste of a perfectly good six-pack.

"I always knew popularity was a survival skill i high school, but here, it's really an issue of life and death."

I wanted the courage to face whaterver was coming to kill me, but who was I kidding? I didn't even have the guts to defent Laura - my own best friend - when Peyton started raggin on her, so what good would I be against an actual monster?

People called Kaylee special, but what they really meant was "special." In that straitjackets and padded walls kind of way. She wasn't special like Luca thought I was special. She could never handle what I'd just seen and done. She wasn't stable enough.

All right, then, Sophie - you really make me look forward to seeing how you'll react to just how special Kaylee is - and how you only have a tiny part of that family special-ness in you :D ( )

Rachel Vincent held the information about the point of view for Never To Sleep close to her chest, so it was a shock to find out that our narrator is Kaylee’s cousin Sophie Cavanaugh. Sophie seemed like the least likely choice (I was hoping for Tod’s reaper boss Levi), but she turned out to be a very enjoyable narrator!

If you’ve read the Soul Screamers series (and if you haven’t yet – stop reading this, buy the first book and start reading NOW!) you know that Sophie is one of those characters you love to hate. She is a “mean girl” who is sarcastic and a pain in Kaylee’s rear end. But Vincent managed to add in a few good qualities to Sophie that made me see there might be more to her than meets the eye: she is totally dedicated to the school dance team and would never think of letting them down; she was devastated by the loss of one of those team members in the first book My Soul to Take; and she seems to really love her parents. So, not a totally bad person.

In Never To Sleep Sophie finds herself attracted to a new boy at school named Luca, who ends up accompanying her on an unexpected trip to the Netherworld when Sophie screams. The Netherworld takes guts to survive, and that is something Sophie does not lack. When she becomes separated from Luca and trapped on a Netherworld playground, she is visited by a tortured soul from Kaylee and Tod’s past who provides her with the key to escape.

This book is meant to be read AFTER book five, If I Die. One of the characters Sophie and Luca run into in the Netherworld would not be recognized if you have not read If I Die, and Sophie actually witnesses a scene involving Kaylee that would be spoiled if you read this novella first. Never To Sleep also sets a few things up for book six, Before I Wake (due out June 26, 2012), that you may not recognize the significance of if you haven’t read the books in the correct order. You have been warned…

Never To Sleep gives us a first look at Luca who will be playing a part in book six and, I have to say, I like what I see. He appears to be a handsome, friendly young man who is obviously familiar with the Netherworld, which is a good thing since Sophie hasn’t got a clue. I get the feeling, however, that he may have an agenda we know nothing about yet. We also see for the first time that Sophie has a power of her own – what it is exactly I’m still not sure, but it looks to be a variation on Kaylee’s soul-scream. I’m very anxious to see how this is developed in the next book.

I found Sophie’s head a surprisingly easy place to be; she is more acerbic than Kaylee, but not to the point you can’t stand her. For such a short book, Sophie has an incredible amount of growth. At the beginning of the story it looks like she is unwilling to stand up for a friend, but by the end she has found the strength to do it. I loved that about her. I don’t see her and Kaylee ever becoming fast friends (she hasn’t grown THAT much), but I could definitely see her as someone who might have Kaylee’s back under the right circumstances. When she finds out how much has been hidden from her by her family, though, I think her fury will be a sight to behold.

With its different point of view, strong heroine and glimpses at what the next book might hold, Never To Sleep is a must-read addition to the Soul Screamers world. For such a short book, there is plenty of action and even a touch of romance. Sophie may not have been my choice of narrator, but Rachel Vincent knew what she was doing and managed to provide an extremely enjoyable read that foreshadows what is to come in the series. ( )