Review: The Keeper's Realm

The Keeper's Realm by Bre Faucheux

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The story
Ashlyn seems to be a normal girl...and this is where most of the YA romantasy stories start. But this time it's a little different. I mean, yes, there is a high school, a prom, and an only best friend of our hero Ashlyn as she's some sort of an outsider, but there's also much more to it. First, there are neither vampires nor werewolves (yeah!!) and second, it's not a mere time traveling or ghost story, it's a perfect mix with more mystical and creepy elements added: Ashlyn is a Keeper which means that she has to close portals created by people who had to die a horrible death and weren't yet done with their lives. These portals can also be a gateway to demons, which are dangerous to the living, and Ashlyn has to experience this first hand... But there's as well handsome Damien who also is a Keeper and Ashlyn's mentor in this life...

What I liked
The very well constructed cliffhangers at the end of the chapters really made me continue reading way after bed time.
It's creepy. Thanks to the descriptive writing style Ashley's windows to terrible things in former times have a very real feeling. The whole story is very intense, the horror element added something creative and new to the YA romantasy genre.
The multi-layered villain! She's not just evil because she simply is, we get to know the reasons.

What I didn't like that much
There were some mistakes such as missing, double or wrong words...and this is the only point I really had problems with. All the other things I'm going to list now are just minor points. And I want you to notice that. I liked this book, but those are the reasons why I didn't "love" it, why it didn't get this fifth star ;)
Ashlyn had a few too many injuries for my taste after which she still was able to fight.
A little too much 'roman', too less 'tasy'. The love story seemed to me a bit kitschy from time to time. Damien is super handsome with eyes that make Ashlyn's knees shaky every time he looks at her...and he often does, very deeply.
I would have liked to learn more about the world and the rules of the Keepers, how can Ashlyn create portals, ... such things. But maybe there'll be a second part in which this will be explained?



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