Young adult
The Keeper of Night
Debut
We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Kylie Lee Baker, on your first book!
Quick take
Ren Scarborough is on a journey to impress the Goddess of Death in this riveting story of monsters, magic, and Reapers.
Good to know
400+ pages
International
Magical
Underdog
Synopsis
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.
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Get an early look from the first pages of The Keeper of Night.
The Keeper of Night
CHAPTER 01
Late 1800s - London, England
The legend they tell about me goes something like this:
First, you’ll see a streak of silver across the sky, like a comet burning through the fog.
Then, the clock hands will still halfway between this second and the next.
The world will fall silent, and the Reaper will knock three times on your bedroom door. Whether you answer or not, Death will enter through the light in the keyhole. She will reach down your throat and pull your soul out from deep, deep inside you, like an endless length of rope, and you will die in a world entirely your own. There will be no one but you, and the Reaper, and her unblinking green eyes.
But, of course, urban legends are rarely ever true.
On one particular collection night, the man was already awake when I opened his bedroom window and came in to take his soul. Humans, especially the very sick ones, always sensed when one of us was coming for them.
Why I love it
Rachael Burlette
BOTM Editorial Team
Young adult fantasy has always had a special place in my heart. When I was younger it was the first genre that truly captured my attention and made me fall in love with reading. Even now as an adult, I make space on my bookshelf for young adult fantasy writers that stand out. The Keeper of Night has certainly earned a spot on my shelf. Equal parts magical and terrifying, Kylie Lee Baker has created a world that I never want to leave.
Half-British Reaper and half-Japanese Shinigami, Ren has been collecting the souls of the dead for centuries in London, until one day, when she is forced to leave. With nowhere else to go, Ren flees to Japan with the help of her brother to become a Shinigami and serve the Goddess of Death in the Japanese underworld. Ren is not welcomed immediately, though. The Goddess presents her with an impossible task: Kill three Yokai demons. If Ren is successful, she can stay and finally become a true Shinigami. If she fails, it could mean leaving Japan forever—or worse, death.
The Keeper of Night is wonderfully written and I couldn’t stop turning the pages, eager to discover Ren’s fate. I loved exploring the Japanese underworld with Ren as she encountered demons, each scarier than the last. But this story is more than just a magical quest—it’s also about trying to find your place in the world and discovering how far you’re willing to go in order to fit in. With rich world-building and thoughtful characters, The Keeper of Night will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it.
Member ratings (10,616)
Hayleigh W.
Memphis, TN
I haven’t read a young adult fantasy literally since the Twilight series came out… BUT LET ME TELL YOU, THIS BOOK ROCKED! So much thought went into crafting the universe and I loved every second of it
Gianna M.
Lancaster, PA
What an epic! Ren’s journey truly reads like a myth + the world of death that the author created was magical, scary, +amazing. Every character is complex and I wasn’t ready to leave it when it ended
Shiloh G.
Boise, ID
A whirlwind adventure with a touch of romance that doesn’t completely overtake the plot. The darkness hung beautifully over the whole storyline and becomes a main character all of its own by the end.
Katee A.
Greenwood, IN
Out of my realm of usual reads, but I’m glad I took a chance on this one! I wasn’t obsessed with how the ending spiraled so quickly, but the rest of the book made up for it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Zoie M.
Riverside, CA
This book is amazing, even if it broke my heart the whole way through. I could not read it fast enough, I had to go back because my eyes were going faster than I could read. I must find book 2 now ????