Review: The Keeper by Natalie Star

 

Today I am pleased to present a review of The Keeper by Natalie Star.

Title:  The Keeper
Author:  Natalie Star
Format: eBook
Publisher: Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
Pages: 231
ISBN:  B006TKEX30
Source:  BTS Virtual Book Tour
Genre: Young Adult – Urban Fantasy / Paranormal, Romance
Stars: 4
Buy Now:   Amazon   §  Barnes & Noble

About the Book:  The morning of her sixteenth birthday, Billie feels blessed despite the reoccurring nightmare that wakes her. Loving parents, a caring boyfriend, and great friends surround her until an heirloom necklace throws her into a world she never imagined.

“Gifted” with supernatural powers and an unexpected destiny as the Keeper, Billie and a mysterious boy from her past must work together to find answers. But, as they begin to discover feelings for one another, he disappears leaving her to fight evil alone. Her life spirals out of control. She breaks up with her boyfriend, Tony, and alienates her best friends Arianna and Jocelyn to protect them from the truth.

As dark forces pursue her, Billie longs to run away from it all, yet a need to do what’s right compels her to face the future as the keeper of more than her own fortune.

See the Book Trailer

 My Review:  I received a copy of this book from BTS Virtual Book Tour for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility. I will say right off that I really liked this book: the premise, the new idea for paranormal, and the character actually maturing and becoming less self-absorbed and smug about her life, as she started to learn and utilize her new powers.  This is an author in the YA market to watch – I do think a younger reader will instantly accept and relate to the pieces that felt more unreasonable to me as one old enough to have YA readers in their house.

The only real piece that I got tired of was with one character’s accent: while it did help to reinforce his tough guy persona, allowing him to step into a protective role midway into the book, I had to keep reminding myself that his speech pattern was different and as much a part of him as curly hair and a straightener was to Billie.

What Natalie Star has done with great effect, is create a new form of a paranormal gift, that unfolds and defines itself as Billie is growing and coming to accept it’s warnings.  Even the one sent to integrate her into her new existence isn’t entirely sure of what she can do, or where this gift will lead.  Such a grand deviation from the “woke up as a werewolf” where you already are aware of what the character’s skills and powers are.  This leads to a delicious sense of discovery and increases the tension as nearly everything could be beneficial or harmful to Billie, and she doesn’t have a way of determining those until her necklace signals a warning.  We all learn together, and the story is paced to allow those quick bursts of realization that are just as surprising to the characters as they are to the reader.

A terrific start for this fledgling author, I can’t wait to see more of what she produces.

About the Author:  

Three years ago, if you told me one day I would love to read and write, I would have told you you were crazy-out-of-your-mind. Since then I have read 150+ books and written 2 complete novels (one of which is being published) and I have 3 more in the works.

When I’m not reading or writing, I can be found with my husband supporting my two children on the soccer fields. Or maybe running around with my camera taking photos while camping and/or hiking. Or lastly, and most probable – I’m watching movies on Netflix while simultaneously perusing Facebook.

Our family resides in the state of Virginia along with our old-unintelligent-diabetic cat named Lucky.