The Keeper's Six

[cornerofmadness]

The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I won this one via Goodreads which in no way influenced my review. This fantasy novella was a lot of fun, around a 3.5 star read but I rated it up because I did enjoy it except for a few things. Heck it deserved knocked up the star rating for having a middle-aged woman as the lead, kicking butt. Don't get me wrong. I love the teen aged chosen one as much as the next reader but seeing a woman in my age bracket being the star of something that isn't a second chance at romance or dealing with empty nest syndrome was a delight in and of itself.

Esther's son has been kidnapped. He's a Keeper, someone who maintains what is basically a way-station where different realms touch. To get him back, she has to break the law and bring her Hex into matters. She and her Hex had been sanctioned and not allowed to go into the Beyond, an area between realms with strange threats. Why? You need to read the whole novella to see why and since it would be a major spoiler, I'll point you to the blurb and the 'bones of a past crime.'

A dragon, Zosfadal, wants David's lover back. Kai had been rescued by Esther's Hex when he was being trafficked. Now he is back in Hawai'i with his and David's hybrid kids. Naturally Esther isn't about to give up her grandkids. She and the Hex have to find a way to get Zosfadal out of his debt (because Kai wasn't delivered) without giving up Kai, getting killed or having the Concilium, the group governing the Hexes, catch up to them.

I very much enjoyed the happy depiction of David and Kai (though we don't see a lot of them). I liked Esther and Shahin especially (He's the dragon's right hand man) Esther's Jewish heritage shines through. Her concerns for her body not holding up felt very real too.

What didn't quite work for me is actually some of the stuff about how the Hexes work. They are a six sided group and each one has a specific magic, the ghost, the gate, the shotgun, the lantern (Esther) etc. and it could have been left with the simple description of the jobs. When Elliot tried to explain how the realms and hexes work, it bogged down badly. Often I want to know how things work. In this case, it wasn't that helpful. It was the least enjoyable part.

I'd love to see Esther, her hex and her family again (or her foul-mouthed daughter too). This was fun.



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