REVIEW: My Soul to Keep

It was only a wish Connor Sullivan was painfully average. The very highlight of his existence was going to school, doing homework, and playing video games. He thought nothing would ever change that. Unfortunately, homework usually screws everything up. A cut, some blood, and a hastily scrawled promise to sell his soul for his fondest wish…and all hell breaks loose. Literally. The Demons take him up on his offer. In a last ditch effort to keep his soul, he wishes to become one of the demons, or Fallen as they call themselves. Connor thought he had found a solution to his problem. He never fully understood the meaning of the phrase, “From the frying pan into the fire,” until his wish was granted. The biggest catch? Never ever fall in love with a human… And then she walked into his school. Beautiful, red-haired, funny…and blind. Connor’s heart didn’t stand a chance. Neither did the Fallen’s rules. He had saved his soul, but could he find happiness without hurting the girl he loved? Or would secrets Jessica didn’t even know she had destroy them all?

My Review:

I discovered Sean Hayden´s work through Jen Wylie when she was looking for reviewers for their anthologies of stories Flashy Fiction & Other Insane Tales 1&2. I´ve read some short stories written by Sean Hayden and I loved his writing, humor and witty. He created wonderful stories in just a couple of pages so I was eager to read a whole book written by him and I have to say that My Soul to Keep fulfilled all my expectations.

The setting for the story is an average city where everything seems normal till Connor, the main character decides to make a pact with the evil just for fun. I love the fact that he does it just for the fun of doing something dangerous and because he is bored because that is something teenage boys really do these days. The whole story mixes ordinary things that can actually happen in real life with paranormal traces creating a blend that makes the story completely fascinating and believable.

I loved reading a story narrated by a male character, especially a teenager since almost every book I´ve read is narrated from a female point of view or from a male point of view where the author never seems to really make me believe the story is narrated by a man. So I was completely hooked while reading the story from Connor´s perspective. My Soul to Keep is a story full of fantasy, mystery and some romance touches which made it more appealing from my point view because I am sucker for love stories. My favourite character was Clarissa, I really preferred her over Jessica because she is really mysterious and I think she will play a bigger role in the next book.

I love the author´s writing style. It is refreshing, strong, full of humour and sarcasm with doses of reality. I had a blast reading it and I think I am addicted to Sean Hayden´s narrative.He has been able to create something refreshing and original in a genre where that´s almost completely impossible. I can´t wait to read the next book to see what is going to happen.