Review: Keeper

 

Keeper

Series: Keeper Duology #1 

Author: Kim Chance 

Pages: 409 

Published: January 30th 2018 

Publisher: Flux books/North Star Editions 

Chance writes a contemporary fantasy that is laced with secretes, dark magic, and a family that throughout generations have had the power and courage to be the worlds saving grace. 

I have always loved a well crafted witch read, and this contemporary fantasy did not disappoint! We follow Lainey who is a very straight laced student who relays on scientific facts, and sensibility. She has lacer focus on her main priority, acing the SAT. Lainey's life quickly takes a turn when the unordinary starts to happen, and even her beloved science can't explain it away. With the help of her comic obsessed best friend Maggie, and a cocky fighter named Ty, Lainey learns more about who she truly is, and the journey she is about to embark on.
Keeper was paced wonderfully and was hard to put down! After leaving a bookstore event Maggie dragged her to Lainey sees a woman covered in blood calling her name, and the adventure begins.The journey she goes on is exciting and heartbreakingly forged with twist and turns I didn't see coming. Her best friend Maggie is someone I would love to have in my life. She is full of knowledge and all her answers come from her trusted comics. At times her love for comics felt a little overboard, but I would expect that's how it would feel to have a best friend that believed to be the Robin to your Batman. Her loyalty to Lainey is a beautiful and admirable characteristic. I hope that the next book allows us to get to know Maggie better. I wouldn't mind having a book dedicated to Maggie and her own story!
Lainey and Ty's banter was fun to read. During the book I kept wanting more from Ty's character, and wanted to learn more about his backstory. I felt disconnected from him as a reader, but once I finished the book I realized that disconnect made sense. Chance has a way of creating characters where I wish each one had their own book, and I don't say that lightly. Her craft in character development is extraordinary. In many books characters voices start to become muddy, and it's hard to keep up with whose who. The characters in Keeper have unique voices. Some chapters flip from visions of the past and we feel and see from a different perspective other than Lainey's. I never got confused or felt like the characters were so alike that they started to have the same characteristics, and that's saying something about Chance's writing since these two characters have the same motives. 

While I am drawn to character driven books the plot in Keeper was just as intriguing as the characters. Chance took ideas that I've read before and flipped the idea on it's back creating something unique that still held familiarity. The idea of a teenage witch has been done before, but the twist that Chance put on it was fun and unique. I loved how the plot never fell flat and the pacing stayed consistent. It's hard to find the balance between letting your character go through the process of denial, anger, and finally acceptance without feeling like the pace of the book becomes stagnate, and Chance successfully found the sweet spot. 

Keeper kicks into an even higher gear in the end, and was filled with so many twist and turns I refused to put it down till I finished it. I am beyond excited for the next book and will more then likely binge read it just like I did Keeper.
With the atmospheric writing, the witchy elements, and the haunting past that follows Lainey, this read is perfect for fall. This book is Kim Chance's debut novel and I cannot wait to read more from her. 

About The Author 

Taken from her website: Kim Chance is a high school English teacher and Alabama native who currently resides in Michigan with her husband and three children. Kim is also a YouTuber who has a passion for helping other writers. She posts weekly writing videos on her channel: www.youtube.com/kimchance.. When Kim is not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and two crazy dogs, binge-watching shows on Netflix, fangirling over books,  and making death-by-cheese casseroles. 

Follow Kim: 

Youtube  // Instagram // Twitter // Website

Friday 13th Creepy Reads & Recommendations

If you're new here let me share that I am a huge baby when it comes to scary things. I do however try to get in the spirit of Halloween, and with Friday the 13th being in October I knew I had to embrace it, and get into reading some creepy reads. 

I want to recommend some books that I have read that aren't too scary, but are atmospheric and will get you in the Friday 13th and Halloween mood. 

The Body Finder
Violet has always had an unusual gift. She can sense out dead bodies, but only bodies that have been murdered. On top of being able to find the bodies she can also feel the echoes they leave behind, and the imprints that come from the killer. When murders start occurring in her small town, Violet starts using her gift to identify the killer. Little does Violet know that while she is trying to discover the killer, the killer is hunting her.

This book read like a thriller. It was gripping, creepy, dark, and left me chilled to the bone. I picked this book because we as readers get small parts of the book where we are in the killers head, and it's terrifying! The entire time reading this book I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me.

The Immortal Rules
This is a very dark dystonia fantasy world where vampires rule, and humans are their food supply. In this world it's easy to start out in survival mode, and end up losing your humanity. Allison refuses to believe that her life is going to be nothing but survival. She plans on hunting a legend of a cure that will stop humankind being created into rabid creatures that kill humans as well as vampires.

This book had me on the edge of my seat from the very start. I listened to the audio book and highly recommend it. Kagawa is a fantastic author and she isn't afraid to go to dark and disturbing places in this book.

Angelfall

The apocalypse has happened and nowhere and no one is safe. During the day you have to worry about gangs doing whatever they have to do to make a name for themselves by ruling out of fear. At night creatures comes out to play. Fallen angles take a little girl, and it happens to be our main characters sister. Penryn is a fearless main character who will do anything to save her sister no matter the cost. This leads Penryn to make a deal with a fallen angles Raffe. 

This book is dark, atmospheric, and it feels realistic. This is the type of read that will keep you up at night wondering if this could one day be our world. 

The Raven Boys

Blue lives with her family of psychics and she happens to be a catalyst. This book is about her journey with a group of boys from a prep school, and their adventures looking for a dead king.
I know what you are thinking, no one every gives any details on this book. Well the reason being is you REALLY should go into this book blind. Any detail really is a spoiler when it comes to the gem.

What I can tell you is this book is beautiful and twisted, full of friendships, confusion, wit, and a dash or paranormal. This is one book that is worth the hype. Also if you feel confused in the start, don't think you missed something. This book is written to leave the reader confused and guessing, and trust me it's an amazing ride!

Stalking Jack the Ripper

I have finally started this book, and I'm really excited about it! Everyone has recommended it, and with the second book out I may just marathon them.

The Roanoke Girls

I just started this book, and I can already tell you it's a creepy read for sure! This is a thriller about a family of women that live a town that they never last long in. The women either run or die. We start out with our narrator telling us how her mother killed herself and leaning a confusing note about trying to wait longer. Lane is now older and she is one of the Roanoke girls who has moved away, but is drawn back to her hometown when she gets a call telling her that her sister has gone missing.

This book is all about family secretes, revelations and the love that binds and tears this Roanoke family apart.


These are my Friday 13th creepy reads and recommendations. Leave your recommendations in the comments. I would love to add some to my TBR for Halloween =)

Random Thursday: Skin Care Favorites Fall Edition

To say I have dry skin is an understatement. My skin has always been dry, and yes even when I drink my body weight in water. It's just something I have come to terms with, but when it starts to get cold, my alligator skin comes out to play. 

Today I thought I would share what I have found that seems to calm my sensitive dry skin, and a bonus helps keep my skin clear. 

PS: This is not a sponsored post. These are items that I have found throughout the years while trying to battle alligator skin. 

Purity Facial Cleanser

I use this gentle face wash in the morning. I need a very gentle cleanser for the mornings. This is made to melt away oil, makeup, and dirt. It also has properties in it that lightly tone and hydrate your skin. I think it's the perfect light face wash for the mornings when I just need something to wash away the dirt and oil from the night. 

Take a Deep Breath Moisturizer

I love this lightweight gel moisturizer. This isn't marketed as a moisturizer for dry skin, but it's more for my sensitivity. I use a thicker moisturizer at night to help with my dry skin. If I used a thick Moisturizer day and night my skin would breakout like crazy!  This is calming to my skin and my makeup applies lovely over it. 

Mario Badescu Karatopast Cream Soap

I dare to say the full name of this soap ten times as fast as you can! 

I use this at night, and it is a gentle oil free cream soap. It takes off all my makeup, isn't over drying, and has helped with my blackheads. The keratoplast in it helps reduce redness that comes along with my irritated skin. Another reason I like this cream soap is it helps with buildup of dry and dull skin. I had never heard of Keratoplast until now, and I like the benefits it has had on my skin.

First Aid Beauty: Ultra Repair Cream

I am not going to lie this stuff is THICK, and I love it with everything in me. If I go a couple of days without using this moisturizer my alligator skin comes back twice as bad. When I first started using it I thought my skin would go crazy because of how thick it is, but nope, my skin loves it! It's so calming and moisturizing I cannot recommend it enough if you have dry skin!  

Tea Tree Squeaky-Clean Scrub

This bad boy is seriously what I believe has helped my blackheads the most. Tea tree oil has been known for it's properties to help acne, but it can be too harsh for my skin. This is the perfect product for me. I need to exfoliate my skin usually once or twice a week to get the dead skin off. This not only exfoliates, it also helps clear my skin without over drying. Their website says it can be used as a daily exfoliate, but that would be too much for my skin. I usually use it on Saturday and Wednesday nights as a special treatment. 

That is what my skin has been loving. I know this is different, and I'm not sure how often I will do random posts like this, but it's always fun to mix it up! 

I use an eye cream, but I haven't found anything worth raving over. If you have a beloved eye cream please let me know! 

I hope you are having an amazing Thursday, and here's to tomorrow being Friday! 

Top Ten Books That Scream Fall

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and Bookish

THIS WEEK: Ten Books With Fall/Autumn Covers/Themes (If the cover screams fall to you, or the books give off a feeling of being Fallish)

I decided to do fall themes!!

Witch is When it all Began

Jill is hired to find a serial killer, and in the mist of it she finds her her birth mom is dying. When she goes to see her mother on her death bed, her mother yells at her she's a witch. While Jill thinks her mom used her last dying words to insult her, she was actually telling her the truth. This was fun and magical cozy read that I really enjoyed!

BONUS: IT'S FREE ON KINDLE 

Revelation

Eve starts college hoping what everyone does. She hoes to fit in, make friends, do good in her classes, and if she meets someone cute it wouldn't hurt anything. Eve does happen to meet someone cute, dark, and mysterious, but there is more to Gage then Eve realizes.
Eve finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient war, and a demonic army hunts her. She must figure out her own path and choice between dark and light.

The Iron Trial
This middle grade read follows Cullum Hunt who is about to take his Iron Trial and his goal, well he's goal is to fail the Iron Trial. Call has grown up believing his father's warnings of the dangers of magic. Call learns from his father he must fail his Iron Trial so he doesn't become admitted into the Magisterium.
Call does the unthinkable and no matter how hard to tries to fail, he ends up being unsuccessful and passing the Iron Trial. While at the Magisterium Call meets new friends and the discover more about magic, hidden truths, and dangers.
This has all the Harry Potter feels, and I loved it!

BONUS IT'S ONLY $1.99 ON KINDLE


Trial by Fire
Lily Proctor lives in Salem, and has always been more on the shy side. She is determined to change and have more fun. Lily has decided to go to a party with her crush Tristan. Of course Lily's plans go down the drain when she humiliates herself and she wishes she could just disappear, and suddenly she is in a different Salem.
This Salem is dark, horrifying and ruled by a power hungry woman named Lillian. This Lillian is actually Lily's other self in this alternate world. Lily must learn her new role in this world, learn more about Lillian and the dark that lives inside both of them.

Dark Lover
This adult book was a fun read. Beth is a hard working self-officiant woman who doesn't know that her father happened to be a vampire. It is now up to the only purebred vampire left on earth to tell Beth of her heritage. Wrath is the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood, and leads with an iron fist. Wrath must learn how to balance his roles as leader, brother, and now Beth's guide to this new world.

BONUS: IT'S $2.99 ON KINDLE 

Witches of East End While I love the book, I love the show too so I recommend both! The Beauchamp women are unique and beautiful. All three women are completely different. Freya is a free spirit who is a helpless romantic, and a bartender,  who is known for her specialty drinks. Ingrid is a librarian who is wickedly smart, and their mother Joanna who loves and protects her girls fiercely.
When Freya gets engaged the Beauchamp women start to see how their family powers can cause complications they never thought of.

Garden Spells
The Waverleys have always been different, but Claire is determined to live a quiet life. She is known for her cooking and the mystical plants she uses. Her dishes can help people to stop gossiping, make children listen to their parents, and keep her neighbors curiosities at bay. When Claire's sister Sydney comes to visit with her daughter, Claire's quite life takes a turn, and leaves her life felling up side down. Sydney brings with her secretes and she needs Claire's help. With two strong sisters love for one another and a dash of magic, the Waverleys can face anything.
This magical realism is a beautiful story filled with strong women, magic, and mystery. Garden Spells has the same feel as Practical Magic, and that is one of my favorite movies.

The Nightmare Affair

Dusty is a nightmare, the only nightmare at her boarding school for magickind. She sneaks into humans homes to feed off of humans dreams. What is suppose to be a normal routine, Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker's house, and things do not go as planned. Eli is dreaming of murders, and while that seems like a "normal" nightmare, Eli's dreams start to come true. Dusty must solve the mystery of why Eli's dreams are coming true, who is the killer, and how can they be stopped.
This was a fun quick read that I really enjoyed.

My Soul to Take
Kaylee can sense when people that are close to her are about to die. Nash seems to be the only person that can help her. They set out on a journey to figure out why their classmates keep dying, and how they can solve it.
Kaylee and Nash were two characters I feel in love with. I loved the twists and turns that this book took. Vincent has a beautiful writing style that makes the reader get lost and hopes to never find their way out of her books.

The Gathering
In a small island town in Vancouver Serena captain of the swim team goes for a swim in a calm lake, and mysteriously drowns. Her best friend Maya is with her and is forever changed by the accident.
One year later mountain lions seems to have a fascination with Maya.
A boy Daniel is experiencing premonitions, and a new boy shows up to town with secrets.
It's easy to say that this small town is filled with big secrets and lies.
I LOVED this book. This was my first Kelley Armstrong book, and now I can see why so many people rave about her books. It was captivating, mysterious, dark, and there was never a dull moment.
Bonus it's $3.99 on kindle.

This is my list of fall themed books. I would love to know what's on your list. Make sure you leave your links or lists in the comments.