Novella Review: Fearless - Rachel Vincent

Published August 3, 2012 by Running Press Teens

Kiss Me Deadly is an anthology of various short stories regarding YA paranormal romance by many different authors. However, this review will be focused on one novella in particular: Fearless by Rachel Vincent.

Fearless is a short story that takes place in the same world as her Soul Screamers series and includes a few characters that we've already seen/to be seen (depending on when you've read this). This story features Sabine Campbell, a character that will be introduced in Soul Screamers #4, My Soul to Steal. So I guess if people were planning to read this in chronological order, I would say that this would probably be the first book chronologically, given the time frame and the events that take place. Then it'd be Reaper and then My Soul to Lose.

This is my second time re-reading this for the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge held by Fiktshun, but I'm really happy that I got a chance to re-read this because I've forgotten so many details. Anyway, moving onto my review:

Originally, I had read Fearless because I wanted a bigger insight on Sabine's character and I wasn't disappointed at all. In this novella, we discovered what made Sabine, well.. Sabine. Her past, her motivations and her reasons are all explained here and even if you didn't like Sabine in My Soul to Steal, it's very likely that you'll come to sympathize for her. She has definitely been through a lot. When I compare her to Kaylee, the protagonist and narrator for the Soul Screamers series, I would say with certainty that Sabine had a harder life. Sure, Kaylee's father wasn't present for most of her life, but at least she still had a family in her relatives. However, Sabine was abandoned as a baby and was passed from foster family to foster family, no one ever wanting to take her in permanently. There's a reason for that; Sabine is a mara. She is literally a nightmare. Just being around her will give you the creeps and when you're alone in your bed, thinking that you're safe from harm, she would come and stir up your darkest and deepest nightmares in order to collect her energy. As a result, she wasn't close to anyone. Until she met Nash, that is.

Here, in Fearless, I could see that she really loved Nash. More than anything else in this world. He was her anchor, her savior and she needed him like anyone needed air. When I first read this, I had to keep in mind that this was in the past, while he was presently together with Kaylee, but I couldn't deny the bond between Nash and Sabine. He also loved her very much. Enough to protect her from anything that would dare harm her. He also loved her enough that he would willingly let her taste his fear and teach her how to resist his Influence. Originally, I didn't enjoy the idea of Nash being with Sabine, but now that I look back at everything that I've forgotten, I would have to say now that they paired together well.

All in all, Sabine is a beautifully crafted character that you'll either love or love to hate.

Source: Borrowed
My Rating: 4 coffee cups (Enjoyed it immensely)