The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker
The Keeper of Night #1
Published by Inkyard Press on October 12, 2021
Age Group & Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Representation: biracial protagonist (Japanese and British)
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher

Death is her destiny.

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.

When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death… only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task—find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons—and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side.

A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.

Trigger & Content Warnings: blood and gore, death, bullying

I have a lot of thoughts about The Keeper of Night, and honestly, I’m not sure where to begin my thoughts. Taking inspiration from Japanese mythology and folklore, Kylie Lee Baker’s debut novel captivated me from the first sentence as Ren Scarborough tries to find her place in the world.

The Keeper of Night started out strong, but quickly fell into flatline.

There’s a lot of books that capture my attention from the very beginning, and Lee Baker’s novel is no exception, pulling me into Ren’s world as a Reaper collecting departing human souls and sending them onto their next destination. There’s a lot of detail and information in the world-building, and while I loved learning about the Reapers and ultimately the Shinigami, the beginning is especially heavy on the information dumping. There’s a lot to absorb in the moment, and while I was fascinated, it ultimately drew my attention away from the story.

Identity is a huge part of this novel.

Growing up in 1800s London, Ren has always been told she doesn’t fit in with the Reapers because of the way she looks. She’s bullied throughout her life from her peers and her father doesn’t really care what happens to her; the only person who seemed to truly care about is her brother, Neven, who unfortunately gets similar treatment thanks to his relationship with her (and how he essentially refuses to treat her like dirt).

As much as she tries to keep her head down and hide her Shinigami powers, this doesn’t always succeed, and eventually it gets to a point where she has to flee London after her powers go out of control and is revealed. She’s unexpectedly granted her desire to finally leave for Japan in the hopes to find her mother. The Keeper of Night is Ren’s journey to find where she truly fits – constantly being told she doesn’t belong because of her Japanese heritage (despite being half British), she’s hoping Japan will accept her for who she is.

But instead, when she gets to Japan, she finds herself in the same place as she was in England: she has to prove herself to earn her place among the Shinigami, and to do this, she’s sent to kill three Yokai (demons).

Ren’s sibling relationship with Neven plays another huge role.

Outside of hardcore relating to Ren’s constant battle with her identity and desire to find her place in the world, Ren’s and Neven’s relationship was another favorite part of the story. I loved seeing them support and stick by each other, but I also loved the growing tension between the two as Ren gets closer to reaching her goal. There’s a growing distance in their relationship as Neven watches the darker side of her (though she pretty much falls under morally grey) unleash over the course of the story. It’ll be interesting to see just how their relationship will ultimately play out.

Neven is such a cinnamon roll and a precious gem honestly. I just love him so much? But I also love Ren and Hiro’s constant mystery that he carries about him throughout when he joins the two on Ren’s task.

Overall

The Keeper of Night is a solid debut and first novel in a duology with Japanese mythology and folklore, and an angry protagonist who simply wants to find her place and discover who she is. While the information overload at times didn’t work for me, I can’t help but be at least a little excited and interested in what’s next for Ren.