Review: The Stars Never Rise - Rachel Vincent

There’s no turning back . . .

In the town of New Temperance, souls are in short supply and Nina should be worrying about protecting hers. Yet she’s too busy trying to keep her sister Mellie safe.

When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their existence, she’ll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal church.

To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a mysterious fugitive who has already saved her life once. Wanted by the church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she needs Finn and his group of rogue friends.

But what do they need from her in return?

Well of Souls Duology:
The Stars Never Rise
The Flame Never Dies

For more information visit Rachel Vincent's website

Review:
I might as well come straight out and admit it, I'm a huge fan of Rachel Vincent! I love both her young adult Soul Screamers series and her adult Shifters and Wildcats books so of course I knew I wanted to read The Stars Never Rise the moment I first heard about it. I didn't even need to read the blurb to sign up so I went into this with pretty much no idea what to expect. Once again this author has done what she's best at: created a richly detailed and well thought out world then populated it with characters you have to root for.

This is set in a dystopian style future, where much of society as we know it has been destroyed by demons who are able to inhabit human bodies. The church has proved the existence of souls but unfortunately, since demons like to eat them, these souls are in short supply and there aren't enough to go around. The church has taken control and society has pretty much taken a step back in time, the church decide everything about people's lives, from who is allowed to have children to what jobs you are given and even down to which new babies are allowed to be given a soul. Nina's mother is a drug addict who is unable to hold down a job and provide for her daughters so Nina has taken on the responsibility of raising her younger sister Mellie. Life is tough and Nina has to resort to desperate measures just to put food on the table but anything is better than letting the church find out how bad things are and having the family separated.

Nina has decided that she will dedicate her life to the church so that she can make sure Mellie is able to get a good education and have a future that will make her happy but all her sacrifices will come to nothing if people find out Mellie's secret. As if that wasn't bad enough Nina suddenly finds herself coming under increasing demon attacks and if it wasn't for the mysterious stranger Finn coming to her rescue she'd be dead for sure. Nina has no choice but to put her trust in Finn and his band of exorcist friends if she wants to survive but keeping Mellie safe is going to be a whole new issue.

I really enjoyed The Stars Never Rise, the characters are great and I loved the close bond between Nina and her sister. In so many books we seem to see sisters at war against each other so it was nice to see how much they looked out for each other and that Nina is there for her sister in spite of the mistakes she has made. Nina is a really strong character, she has a great sense of right and wrong, she's intelligent and she will do whatever it takes to survive. Life isn't easy but she's a fighter and she's more than willing to join in with the exorcists when it comes to kicking demon butt. There is a hint of romance that I definitely hope will be expanded on as the series continues but I loved that the focus was mainly on family, friendship and survival. This was a fun book to read, the author has come up with some very unique ideas (something she really does excel at!) and this was a great introduction to the new world she has created. I can't wait to see what happens to Nina and her friends in the next instalment.

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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