Title: The Keeper
Author: Kiernan Kelly
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (2nd Edition)
Length: 200 Pages
Category: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
At a Glance: The story grabbed me quickly with a strong beginning, but unfortunately, it didn’t continue and didn’t quite deliver for me. Though, I think some of it was more my issues than the story.
Reviewed By: Lindsey
Blurb: After millennia of hiding in the shadows, the creatures of myth known collectively as the “Others” have stepped forward into the light of day and demanded the right to share the planet humans long ago claimed as their exclusive territory. But the humans have no intention of surrendering without a fight—one that will include genocide. The Others are given no choice but to be ready to defend themselves, and they convene a Council of War to plan their strategy.
But first, they must address an ancient and terrifying prophecy: “Heed me well, all of you. Attack the humans without the Keeper and you will fail. Every one of you will become nothing but a memory, a myth, and the humans will truly inherit the earth.”
The Council charges Liam, son of the Sidhe chieftain, with the critical mission to find the elusive Keeper necessary to their survival, but his quest is complicated by the need to find a Keeper determined not to be found.
Marin is an Atlantean who values his privacy, but with the fate of the world at stake, he understands his days of living under the radar are over. Even worse, he must face his past to fight for his future. The last thing he expects is to fall in love along the way.
Review: The premise and the idea of The Keeper certainly grabbed my attention in the blurb, and as I began to read, it immediately gripped me—a world on the brink of war, the upcoming conflict seeming unavoidable, and the idea of there being one person necessary to ensure all of the supernatural communities survive, but no one seemed to know how or why. Yeah, I was hooked. I was intrigued by the Gryphon and the prophesy. I side-eyed members of the council, trying to figure out what their motivations were. Honestly, the beginning did its job, and I immediately wanted to know how it would all play out and what the Keeper’s powers and true role in the upcoming fight would be. I was all in.
Then I wasn’t. What happened? Well, I think it was a lot of little things that added up for me, and they just happened to be some of my personal pet peeves.
Told from multiple perspectives, the reader gets insight into what’s happening, or what will happen. We see as strategies change, as the enemies devise their plans, as the allies struggle to figure out what to do. The problem is that, at some point, the story seemed to stop really being about Liam and Marin, and the emphasis shifted to someone else. Generally, I don’t mind getting into the villain’s heads, and I certainly don’t have any issue with discovering the MC’s backgrounds to help give them more depth. In this case, however, what started out as exploration of Marin’s background gave another character too much page time, and furthering the issue, many scenes were written from their perspective. In the end, for me the spotlight was on that character and their story seemed to become the main focus. I could have even dealt with that if I had any ounce of caring about this character, or enjoyed their perspective, but I honestly didn’t like the character and wanted out of the monologuing. I wanted to get back to Liam and Marin, whose story I was actually enjoying.
My other niggle is timeline issues. There are two that popped out, and I admit for many they really are so minor it would more than likely go unnoticed and never take away from the majority of readers’ enjoyment. Sadly, as I have mentioned in prior reviews, it’s just one of my things. Once I see it, it becomes my focus, totally taking me out of a story, and I find myself flipping backwards and forwards over and over, trying to put it all together, only to find it doesn’t fit. Then I attempt to re-immerse myself, but once I’ve found one, it’s like I am on the lookout for the next, never able to really just let go. I frustrate myself with this, but it is what it is.
I honestly don’t believe most readers will have the same experience as me. In this case, I think it just was one of those things where I didn’t get what I was expecting, and then got caught up in one of my own little frustrations, which would rarely bug anyone else. Though it didn’t quite deliver for me, I would still recommend this story to those of you looking for a unique paranormal. The premise and conflict portion set a really great foundation, with many unique twists. The writing itself is done very well, and I quite liked Liam and Marin.
You can buy The Keeper here:
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