A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne review

“𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏.” 𝑯𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓. “𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕.”

Reia is known as the harbinger of death after an accident when she was young where Demons killed her entire family, leaving her the only survivor. To ward off Demons, the Duskwalker, a Demon-like creature with a skull for a face that can walk both day and night, visits every ten years and collects a bride, gifting the chosen village with ten years of protection. Reia is the chosen sacrifice this time. She is taken away by Orpheus, the Duskwalker, into the Veil where she learns to live with him in a log cabin as his companion.

A Soul to Keep is incredibly unique. Everything from the world to the monsters was so original, and I was enthralled with all of it. This was my first monster romance, and I enjoyed every second.

I really liked Reia as a main character. Her internal thoughts are not repetitive, and they’re very human and reasonable. Her growth as she learns to trust Orpheus was gradual and not super abrupt. She’s strong and dynamic.

Orpheus was my favorite though. He is incredibly inhuman, and I think Opal Reyne portrayed a monster-like creature rather well. He’s protective and devoted, while also having a child-like curiosity.

THE SMUT… The smut was incredible. The was the perfect amount of slow burn and build up and then incredibly intense smut. The development of trust and tension was so well done, and then you get the most beautifully written spicy scenes. Reia and Orpheus’s relationship overall was sweet and spicy, and everything in between.

Of course, there were some modern terms that took me out of the book for a moment, but then I was pulled right back in with the immersive writing.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this. I loved how unique this book was, and the slow burn was well done. It leaves you anticipating the smut, and the smut does not disappoint. I highly recommend this book to anybody even remotely interested in a monster romance.