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Wraithkeeper
Not yet published
Expected 26 Aug 26The Isle of Vallend crawls with the dead.
100 years ago, the doors to purgatory were thrown open, releasing countless wraiths onto Vallend’s shores. To protect the world, the island was sealed off, leaving its citizens one last line of defense: wraithkeepers, individuals who can capture wraiths rather than become possessed.
Samuel is an established wraithkeeper with over a hundred wraiths resting inside his own soul. The call to Hector Claymore’s home feels like any other. That is, until Claymore’s possessed wife dies in Samuel’s arms. With her last breath, he realizes the awful truth. This is not just any woman, but Allison, the sister he left behind twenty years ago.
To ensure the wraiths are contained, he must return to his childhood home and the family Samuel thought he’d never see again. Will Samuel continue his quest to keep Vallend safe from the dead, or will the truth that has burdened his soul for twenty years come back to haunt him?
Large houses hide the deepest secrets.
100 years ago, the doors to purgatory were thrown open, releasing countless wraiths onto Vallend’s shores. To protect the world, the island was sealed off, leaving its citizens one last line of defense: wraithkeepers, individuals who can capture wraiths rather than become possessed.
Samuel is an established wraithkeeper with over a hundred wraiths resting inside his own soul. The call to Hector Claymore’s home feels like any other. That is, until Claymore’s possessed wife dies in Samuel’s arms. With her last breath, he realizes the awful truth. This is not just any woman, but Allison, the sister he left behind twenty years ago.
To ensure the wraiths are contained, he must return to his childhood home and the family Samuel thought he’d never see again. Will Samuel continue his quest to keep Vallend safe from the dead, or will the truth that has burdened his soul for twenty years come back to haunt him?
Large houses hide the deepest secrets.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication August 26, 2026
About the author
Nancy O'Toole
22 books63 followersNancy O’Toole is an author of superhero fiction and fairy tale retellings. Her body of work includes The Red and Black Series, and The Twin Kingdoms series. She is the co-host of One for All: A My Hero Academia Podcast. When not writing, or working as a librarian in Central Maine, she spends her time reading, playing video games, watching kdramas, and taking far too many pictures of her cat, Coraline.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy
This one reads as a quick, dark fantasy with mild horror elements. It reminded me of Sabriel at times, only following the older characters instead of the younger. If you like stories that deal with emotional fallout as much as they do plot, then this one's for you.
We're introduced to the immersive world of wraiths and those who must master them via the isolated island nation of Vallend. Cut off from the rest of the world after The Great Summoning flooded the land with malevolent souls, only those known as wraithkeepers can capture and contain them, preventing them from possessing ordinary mortals. Samuel is a powerful wraithkeeper, but he is not prepared to thrown back into his complex family history when he discovers his latest wraith victim is the sister he hasn't seen for 20 years. He has to return to his former home and confront the darkness haunting his past in order to protect the ones he cares for.
I loved the lore in this one. It's complex enough to need a glossary, but not so complex that you'll have to memorize every word of it. It dishes out information about the world's past as we need it, perhaps a little heavily sometimes but that's forgivable considering the weight that knowledge lends to the plot. Maybe I could have wished for it to go a little deeper with description at times, as I didn't always get a clear picture of people and places. It's got this fascinating mix of historical elements and attitudes; wooden ships and crinolines, old money and propriety butting up against changing attitudes. It just further enforces that idea of a land that might want to move forwards but is held back by its isolation.
While at times I felt this book had a dark YA vibe due to that straight to the point narration style, our main character Samuel is a 39 year old with a lot of regrets in his past. He's a character that's easy to empathize with, and you want him to come to terms with his past so that, maybe, he can move on. There are a variety of side characters too, from his wise old mentor to a younger teenage half sibling who is in need of guidance. We don't look too deep into them, but their relationship are interesting in how they play out.
My one quibble is with the structure of the plot. As it uses a dual timeline early on, I'd assumed we'd be teased by the details of Sam's dark past until both past and present plots intersected. I was a little confused by the big reveal about the events of years past being made in a conversation before we'd "witnessed" it happen. Some events are only mentioned in passing reminiscences. I wished we could have gone a little deeper into some of these events to bring them to life. It's easy enough to put together the general idea of what happened by the time the reveal conversation occurs, but learning the details that way took away some of the tension for me.
That said, this world has a lot of potential going forward. We've barely scratched the surface of what it means to be a wraithkeeper, or what the wider ramifications are considering the heavy handed ruling of the church of Vallend who control them. While this story wraps up its own plot neatly, there is so much more that could be explored as the series progresses.
This author never disappoints with inventive ideas and the ability to write characters who aren't your usual hormone-driven teen protagonist (or 20-30-somethings who act like one). I'd be keeping an eye out for the next book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
We're introduced to the immersive world of wraiths and those who must master them via the isolated island nation of Vallend. Cut off from the rest of the world after The Great Summoning flooded the land with malevolent souls, only those known as wraithkeepers can capture and contain them, preventing them from possessing ordinary mortals. Samuel is a powerful wraithkeeper, but he is not prepared to thrown back into his complex family history when he discovers his latest wraith victim is the sister he hasn't seen for 20 years. He has to return to his former home and confront the darkness haunting his past in order to protect the ones he cares for.
I loved the lore in this one. It's complex enough to need a glossary, but not so complex that you'll have to memorize every word of it. It dishes out information about the world's past as we need it, perhaps a little heavily sometimes but that's forgivable considering the weight that knowledge lends to the plot. Maybe I could have wished for it to go a little deeper with description at times, as I didn't always get a clear picture of people and places. It's got this fascinating mix of historical elements and attitudes; wooden ships and crinolines, old money and propriety butting up against changing attitudes. It just further enforces that idea of a land that might want to move forwards but is held back by its isolation.
While at times I felt this book had a dark YA vibe due to that straight to the point narration style, our main character Samuel is a 39 year old with a lot of regrets in his past. He's a character that's easy to empathize with, and you want him to come to terms with his past so that, maybe, he can move on. There are a variety of side characters too, from his wise old mentor to a younger teenage half sibling who is in need of guidance. We don't look too deep into them, but their relationship are interesting in how they play out.
My one quibble is with the structure of the plot. As it uses a dual timeline early on, I'd assumed we'd be teased by the details of Sam's dark past until both past and present plots intersected. I was a little confused by the big reveal about the events of years past being made in a conversation before we'd "witnessed" it happen. Some events are only mentioned in passing reminiscences. I wished we could have gone a little deeper into some of these events to bring them to life. It's easy enough to put together the general idea of what happened by the time the reveal conversation occurs, but learning the details that way took away some of the tension for me.
That said, this world has a lot of potential going forward. We've barely scratched the surface of what it means to be a wraithkeeper, or what the wider ramifications are considering the heavy handed ruling of the church of Vallend who control them. While this story wraps up its own plot neatly, there is so much more that could be explored as the series progresses.
This author never disappoints with inventive ideas and the ability to write characters who aren't your usual hormone-driven teen protagonist (or 20-30-somethings who act like one). I'd be keeping an eye out for the next book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy
Review of Wraithkeeper by Nancy O'Toole
Thank you to BookSirens and Midnight Tide Publishing for the eARC of this book!
Ratings out of 5 stars.
- Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
- Interest Rating: 📖📖📖
- Scare Rating: 👻👻
- Tension Rating: 🪢🪢🪢🪢
- Predictability Rating: 💭
- Writing Style Rating: 🖋🖋🖋🖋
Favorite character?
Most memorable scene/moment?
Did the ending satisfy you?
I feel like it left some loose ends, but I think overall it wrapped up well. The ending felt a little rushed to me, like there could have been more to it.
Would you read this book again?
No, probably not. Though... I might be willing to read a sequel if one were to come out.
Additional Notes:
- I, unfortunately, feel as though the book was more gripping in the last 25% than throughout the rest of the book. I do feel like there were some scenes at the beginning of the book that were thrilling and tense , but I think those came and went too quickly for it to really keep my interest.
- There are some things as far as format that I think need changing. There are moments where the main character is having flashbacks and I don't think the divide to signal that we are moving from present day into a flashback is clear enough because I found myself, especially at the beginning of the book before I got used to the subtle warning, being confused as to what was going on before realizing that the main character was having a flashback.
- I didn't find the family dynamics of the main character to be really all that intriguing most of the time, though there were things about the dynamics that I really liked. I think that's what made this book a bit hard for me and why I found myself procrastinating picking it up again (I did put it on pause for a bit). I almost feel like this may have been better if it was more well balanced because I felt like the family stuff kinda dragged on, but the scenes that were enthralling were too short. I think that if this was a bit longer to be better balanced this would have been better.
- I really actually rather enjoyed the direction that the story went, esepcially at the end of the book (~75% in and onward). I wasn't really expecting any of what happened in the story and the final twist I think was done really well.
- Really enjoyed the inclusion of a glossary for the terms directly relating to the world that was built at the end of the book. Made the worldbuilding feel easier to understand and more real.
- Overall, I think it's still worth a read even though it wasn't exactly the book for me. I actually think that this book is extremely unique in its premise and ideas and I am so happy that I got to experience the world that the author has created. I actually could even see this book having a sequel!
Thank you to BookSirens and Midnight Tide Publishing for the eARC of this book!
Ratings out of 5 stars.
- Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
- Interest Rating: 📖📖📖
- Scare Rating: 👻👻
- Tension Rating: 🪢🪢🪢🪢
- Predictability Rating: 💭
- Writing Style Rating: 🖋🖋🖋🖋
Favorite character?
Most memorable scene/moment?
Did the ending satisfy you?
I feel like it left some loose ends, but I think overall it wrapped up well. The ending felt a little rushed to me, like there could have been more to it.
Would you read this book again?
No, probably not. Though... I might be willing to read a sequel if one were to come out.
Additional Notes:
- I, unfortunately, feel as though the book was more gripping in the last 25% than throughout the rest of the book. I do feel like there were some scenes at the beginning of the book that were thrilling and tense , but I think those came and went too quickly for it to really keep my interest.
- There are some things as far as format that I think need changing. There are moments where the main character is having flashbacks and I don't think the divide to signal that we are moving from present day into a flashback is clear enough because I found myself, especially at the beginning of the book before I got used to the subtle warning, being confused as to what was going on before realizing that the main character was having a flashback.
- I didn't find the family dynamics of the main character to be really all that intriguing most of the time, though there were things about the dynamics that I really liked. I think that's what made this book a bit hard for me and why I found myself procrastinating picking it up again (I did put it on pause for a bit). I almost feel like this may have been better if it was more well balanced because I felt like the family stuff kinda dragged on, but the scenes that were enthralling were too short. I think that if this was a bit longer to be better balanced this would have been better.
- I really actually rather enjoyed the direction that the story went, esepcially at the end of the book (~75% in and onward). I wasn't really expecting any of what happened in the story and the final twist I think was done really well.
- Really enjoyed the inclusion of a glossary for the terms directly relating to the world that was built at the end of the book. Made the worldbuilding feel easier to understand and more real.
- Overall, I think it's still worth a read even though it wasn't exactly the book for me. I actually think that this book is extremely unique in its premise and ideas and I am so happy that I got to experience the world that the author has created. I actually could even see this book having a sequel!
June 2, 2026
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book was a fantastic read and a refreshing voice in the fantasy genre. The world created in this book contains plenty of detail and lore, so it was very helpful of the author to include a glossary of terms used. I was well into the book by the time I discovered the glossary, but I had no issue understanding anything without it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Samuel being in his late 30s was an excellent choice because it allowed for him to have more life experience and regret, making him a complex character.
I liked the friendship between Samuel and Connie, and wished to see more of it. The few moments we saw between them was heartwarming enough. Additionally, the relationships you see between him and the other members of his church really emphasize the importance of found family.
My only criticism (and it's a small one because I loved the book), was that some of the dialogue sounded a bit unnatural at times. Specifically when characters were talking about events that had happened prior to the events of the story. It makes sense to include it, so the reader would have the context, but the execution was a bit awkward at times. However, it did not detract from the quality of the story overall. I would love to delve deeper into this world and hope that the author has future plans for these characters. I highly recommend!
This book was a fantastic read and a refreshing voice in the fantasy genre. The world created in this book contains plenty of detail and lore, so it was very helpful of the author to include a glossary of terms used. I was well into the book by the time I discovered the glossary, but I had no issue understanding anything without it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Samuel being in his late 30s was an excellent choice because it allowed for him to have more life experience and regret, making him a complex character.
I liked the friendship between Samuel and Connie, and wished to see more of it. The few moments we saw between them was heartwarming enough. Additionally, the relationships you see between him and the other members of his church really emphasize the importance of found family.
My only criticism (and it's a small one because I loved the book), was that some of the dialogue sounded a bit unnatural at times. Specifically when characters were talking about events that had happened prior to the events of the story. It makes sense to include it, so the reader would have the context, but the execution was a bit awkward at times. However, it did not detract from the quality of the story overall. I would love to delve deeper into this world and hope that the author has future plans for these characters. I highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews