My Soul to Keep
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4.5 (1,420 ratings)

My Soul to Keep

by Tananarive Due

About this book

Jessica marries the perfect man: David is brilliant, attentive, and possesses a youthful vitality that never seems to fade. But beneath his charming facade lies a chilling secret that threatens to destroy everything she holds dear. As those in her inner circle begin to die under mysterious circumstances, Jessica discovers that her husband is part of an ancient, immortal sect that traded their humanity for eternal life centuries ago.

This is not your typical vampire tale. Blending the dark allure of paranormal romance with the intensity of an Afrofuturist thriller, the story explores the terrifying cost of forever. David is caught in a desperate struggle, torn between his duty to his shadowy brethren and a forbidden, all-consuming love for his human family. When his secret society demands he abandon his life in Miami to return to the fold, he vows instead to perform a treacherous ritual to make his wife and daughter immortal alongside him.

Harrowing and deeply introspective, this novel traps the reader in a high-stakes game of survival and devotion. If you are searching for a second-chance romance where the stakes are life and death—and where the lines between protector and monster blur—this is a haunting masterpiece you cannot miss.

Publication Date
May 25, 2026
ASIN
B0853CMT5W

Reader Reviews

Wonderful and unusual

June 7, 2021

Tananarive Due’s My Soul to Keep (African Immortals series, 1) is almost a vampire book, but not quite. There’s no blood-drinking, but there is an immortality that can be passed on to others through blood. Jessica, her husband David, and their daughter Kira just lost their Great Dane, Princess, and it seems to be hitting David particularly hard. We learn very early on that David has lived for about 500 years so far, and he’s worried that a group called “the Searchers” has caught up to him and...

There Truly Are No Good Monsters

February 3, 2013

I found this book to be absolutely captivating. I don't believe I've ever found myself so anxious to find what will occur next as I did with this novel. I actually had to restrain myself from reading ahead, which was a first. Due's style is well written and flows smoothly. I was drawn to the characters, especially Jessica. To have had such a burden thrust upon her and all because of David's selfishness. He truly was crazy. If you're seeking a suspenseful thrill, this book is without a doubt a...

Thinkin' Fiction -- the Ancient African

September 20, 2006

It baffles me why some folks want to force Ms. Due to be a horror writer. She is absolutely not, and this is why I love her work. She incorportes realism, with myticism, the supernatural, but not horror. The people live very real lives, but have some quirks about them. Ms. Due write fiction with depth. She makes you think, and is an excellent, imaginative storyteller. I feel like David and Jessica are members of my family. Every sistah needs a David/Dawit, of course, minus his indiscretions and...

I'm in love again.

January 19, 2014

Let me start by saying that this was my favorite book I've read in the last 6 months. Not because it was the most well written book I’ve read in that time but because it was the first time in 6 months that I’ve fallen head over heels for the hero. The last time this happened to me the hero was a bad boy. Beyond that actually, because that character was such a bad boy he was, in fact, an antihero. This is also true of this novel’s lead character, Dawat. I prefer the term antihero to bad boy in...

A new standard of immortals

August 2, 2025

I became a fan of this series a couple of years ago. These are my kind of immortals. They are created through divine blood, can walk amongst the mortals in the sun, and are not parasitic to humans. In fact, their maker prefers his sons to sever connections to all mortals. He encourages his Ethiopian Sect to spend their immortality seeking knowledge. Kudos to Ms. Due for creating another standard of immortal. If anyone has researched Lalibela, Ethiopia, we know that there are tunnels underneath...

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