What if your enemy was your soulmate? Seventeen-year-old Eden East lives in a world ruled by fate. And as the heir to the ruling Elementals, her fate is bound to the odious son of their enemies: the Shifters.Unwilling to accept her destiny, Eden rebels and unearths dark secrets. Then Trey Luchelli appears – a blue-eyed Siren who seems strangely familiar… The more Eden tries to ignore him, the … more Eden tries to ignore him, the more they are drawn together.
Just as the web of lies begins to unravel, Eden’s parents are brutally murdered.
Convinced it’s all connected, Eden must work with Trey to discover the truth and save themselves from the Shifters.
But the path to answers is fraught with betrayal and danger. The closer they get, the darker the lies and the more Eden questions everything she’s ever known.
Perhaps some secrets are better left buried…
Keepers will transport fans of The Red Queen, The Young Elites and The Lunar Chronicles to a world unlike any other… Read now and lose yourself in a captivating world of intrigue, love, and betrayal.
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★★★★★ Readers’ Favorite
“Keepers has all the intrigue, romantic tension, deceit and darkness you could hope to find in a novel” Readers’ Favorite review
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Other books in the Eden East Novels:
Keepers – Book 1
Victor – Book 2
Book 3 (coming 2019)
more
Sacha de Black has created a magical mythology of balance and imbalance peopled with compelling characters in her first Eden East novel, Keepers. Young Eden faces life changes without realizing her intrinsic place in a prophesy, political intrigue, and an unspoken war. Instead of becoming a pawn, she seizes her own fate and fights for her rights, her choices, and a life she loves. I especially enjoyed the journey into the author’s creepy unbalanced world. As can be expected from a writer who’s asserted the importance of the villain to a good story, there are some wonderful bad guys to encounter, and fans will look with eager anticipation for the next installment of the series.
Keepers is the debut YA fantasy novel of Sacha de Black. I enjoyed the premise of the novel – a society that does its utmost to achieve a sense of balance – and found it to be an unusual and highly imaginative idea.
It’s a YA novel with stacks of opportunity to deliver emotional feelings, (the main protagonist Eden East is young and has to cope with a lot.) I won’t divulge too much here for fear of spoiling the novel.
One of Black’s great strengths is her ability to write physical attraction between two individuals so well! Wow, loved those parts! I’d say that Trey was one of my favourite characters in the book. I can imagine him as a very worthy candidate for the title ‘book boyfriend!’ And I really enjoyed Victor too! There is a love triangle of sorts as Eden is bound to Shifter Victor Dark and can’t bare to be, but Victor wants Eden like mad.
There were parts of the story where the author’s ability to write engaging prose, and dialogue took flight and her writing made me go wow, this is amazing. I see great potential in Black’s writing.
What I didn’t like:
A minor point (it may just be me!) There’s a glossary of terms in the front matter which took me out of the story a bit to begin with. I would have liked these terms added individually as short postscripts at the bottom of each relevant page.
My recommendation:
This is a confident debut, with interesting world building and potential for further conflict and interest in book two. Definitely a recommendation.
My rating: 4.5 stars.
This is a fantastic YA read, perfect for fans of fantasy or steampunk. The concept is brilliant – the Keepers of the title are beings in another realm (who are altogether too human) who ‘nudge’ things on Earth to help maintain the balance. Only the balance goes horrifically out of whack in their own world, and it’s up to the feisty heroine Eden to start putting things right. Trouble is, she has to do that while dealing with the death of her parents, working out her feelings for her childhood best friend, and coping with the fact she’s intended to be bound (basically married) to one of the most odious characters in her world!
I read the last three-quarters in one go. I should note that Sacha Black is a phenomenal writer, evidenced by the fact that not once but TWICE she had me welling up. And that NEVER happens. So if you love strong female characters, interesting concepts, fast-paced action and great writing then I highly recommend Keepers. I’ve already pre-ordered book 2!
Holy Moly! Loved it!
“It is the duty of a Keeper to keep the Balance of fate.”
The Fallon’s wield the power of the people as shapeshifters, sirens, elementals, and dryads. Their job is to save lives and to make things right for the kingdom of Trutinor. The Keepers read the Balance of fate, remove Imbalance, and realign the people to their intended path in life so they can find their true destinies.
Trutinor is separated into four territories (north, south, east and west), each ruled by the specific abilities of the Fallons who balance the fate in that area. A coming of age exam pairs a male and female Fallon together – whether they like it or not, resulting in a binding ceremony where the two are bound for life. Remember, there must always be a balance, so it is not unusual for opposites in personality to be united.
Eden East, an elemental, has been promised to be bound to Victor, an evil shapeshifter. The boy failed his final exam, and Eden passed, creating bad blood between them. Trey Luchelli, a siren Fallon from the South is named head boy of Stratera Academy, while Eden East has made head girl. When they were children, Trey and Eden were the best of friends. What fate has conspired to bring them together again and for what purpose?
The night of the binding ceremony draws near, and events are set in motion that will change Eden’s life forever. Mystery and treachery swirl around Eden when an ancient prophecy is revealed that will change the balance in Truitnor which sets up a power struggle of epic proportions – if she survives.
The plot to Keepers is tight, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t foresee the next twist in the story as it progressed. The characters are well rounded and easy to relate to. Eden East as the protagonist is the perfect kick-ass heroine you would expect the author, Sacha de Black to create. The ending is spectacular, and once again I must emphasize, I never saw it coming as the setup to the next book in the series falls into place.
As a high fantasy adventure, I must say, Keepers has found a place as one of the most creative fantasy novels I’ve read. I know of nothing written like it. The descriptions of the magical binding ceremony were so fantastic that I read them twice. This is the kind of storytelling that leaves the reader with a book hangover. I couldn’t get this story or the characters out of my head. I loved this book!
MY RATING:
Character Believability: 5
Flow and Pace: 5
Reader Engagement: 5
Reader Enrichment: 5
Reader Enjoyment: 5
Overall Rate: 5 out of 5 Stars
Wow, what a refreshing, inventive YA fantasy and definite must-read! The story was fast-paced and action-packed with surprises and twists galore. I loved how the author was able to combine all these elements-action, suspense, romance, and world-building- into a balanced, seamlessly flowing masterpiece that will leave you devouring each page. Her use of misdirection is exceptional and will have you second guessing all your assumptions. This was also the first book that has given me Harry Potter vibes. I’m hooked and can’t wait to see what happens next!
(ARC received in exchange for a truthful review)
“Father always said not to trust a Fallon that can’t keep the Balance. I should have listened.”
I actually loved Keepers. It took me on an adventure full of suspense, tension, love and excitement. I always love a book that can transport me to another universe in which I can get lost in. Keepers did just that.
Let’s go more in depth:
Keepers follows Eden East, a young girl who has the power to control the elements, as she overcomes obstacles, from trying to piece her memory back together to trying to solve her parents mysterious murder. Things get even more complicated as she falls in love with someone who is already bound to someone else. The reader is swept into an adventure full of twists and turns that keeps them engaged and excited for whats to come.
The Characters:
Eden East
“I stand, and take one final glance around the room, not that I expect my parents to appear.”
I loved Eden as a character. She has such a strong personality and is extremely likable. I feel like so often in different fantasy novels, the female protagonist always has too much of a certain personality traits which becomes so annoying. Eden, on the other hand, is very balanced in her character traits, not to venerable, not do damsel in distress.
Trey
“I’m right here, Eden. I’ve always been here. I’ll never leave you.”
TREY IS EVERYTHING. He gripped me right from the start. I love how you could feel his pain despite having removed all of those emotions and memories from his head. I really felt for him. The chemistry between him and eden ranks towards one of my favorite book couples. I love the whole, “against all odds,” lover type layouts and this fits it perfectly.
Kato
“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m a Siren. Now go get showered, you stink of smoke, ashy Elemental.”
Kato is the perfect best friend character. He does something at the end (no spoilers!) that is so heroic and yet so hauntingly sad as well. I love how he would go against something he truly loves to save Eden.
Victor
I hated him. Victor constantly was being so annoying. I hated him with Eden, and I was not surprised to see what he became.
My Opinion:
Overall, I really enjoying this book. I feel like it had a perfect mix of everything: love, magic, and adventure. I felt myself hesitating to turn the page because of the suspense that was constantly being presented. The only reason why this did not receive a five star in my eyes is that it did get a bit confusing. I found myself having to go back pages to figure out what was going on whether it was plot or terminology which is not that big a deal. I am super excited to read the next book actually. Can’t wait to read the next book to see what happens to Eden and Trey.
Like with any book, this one has its ups and downs. I didnt want to put this book down and cant wait for the next book to learn even more about these wonderful characters!