Hi everyone! Today, I’m going to be reviewing a New-Adult fantasy book that is being released next month: Keeper of Scarlet Petals by A. N. Skye.
Book Description:
To be a Keeper was to dedicate one’s life – and heart – to protecting another.
Jasmine wasn’t ready for it. Less than a year into her training at Sanctuary, a college for Keepers and mages alike, and with a fresh start from a brutal life of thievery in the slums, all she wanted to do was continue mastering the sword arts and avoid her other responsibilities. Those plans are ruined when she’s assigned to be the protector of a young nobleman whose family was murdered. Her new charge is cocky, smug, and drives her up a wall at every opportunity. Forced to protect a man she can’t stand with her life, Jasmine needs to find time that isn’t there to continue her training and keep assassins from killing both of them, all the while learning magic and discovering that there’s more to life than survival. And yet, Jasmine starts to find herself inexplicably drawn to him. In the slums, Jasmine never had room to care about anything other than putting food on the table. But she’s not in the slums anymore, and she can’t keep her feelings tied down forever. Unfortunately, burgeoning love is the least of Jasmine’s problems. As pieces of a malevolent plot start to unfold around them, she and her charge realize that there might be only one thing left that they can rely on. Each other.
Keeper of Scarlet Petals is the first book in a new romantasy series with a strong female lead, heartwarming romance, and cursed magic. It’s perfect for fans of Scholomance and Fourth Wing!
Pub Date: 14/05/2024
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free ARC for an honest review!*
What I Enjoyed:
- One of the main things that I really enjoyed about this book was the set up. We have a cool magic-school setting, with people training to either be Keepers (think housekeeper mixed with body guard), or to be one of the Starvein (magic users). It honestly gave me Vampire Academy vibes in how the dynamic works between these two groups, as the keepers are trying to protect the Starvein from magic-weilders turned evil. I really enjoyed seeing how the different groups get treated in terms of respect and experiences; it added another layer to the characters to get to understand their motivations.
- The plot was also super fast-paced and kept you on your toes. It was filled with assassins and magic and secret orders so you never fully knew who to trust. The author did a great job of balancing these stressful scenes with mundane scenes of school life, making you constantly paranoid and on-edge about what was going to go wrong next. I was seriously side-eyeing every character that we met because I simply trusted no-one!
- As well as the plot, our main character Jasmine was pretty interesting to follow! She had a rough background of growing up on the streets, and so the Keeper programme is all she has. So, we see her fight for this position, and her determination to keep going no matter what was thrown at her made her such a badass. Plus it was really nice to see her grow into her position, and develop her skills through trusting others and learning to accept people into her life.
- However, the side characters really stole the show for me!! Lydia and Pina were literally exact opposites, but that is what made them a breath of fresh air. Lydia has legit no fear – she is so bold and unapologetically herself, which was awesome to see. She is hilarious in how she asks no questions, is just ready to fight at all times. Whereas Pina is the calm and collected one; she really balances out Lydia’s over-the-top personality and is really the voice of reason in the group. She was a character that really grew on me, and I ended up really liking her by the end of the book!
What Didn’t Work For Me:
- Even though I liked the main characters… I didn’t love them. and that was mainly because I felt no connection to them. They fell really flat for me because we didn’t know more than the bare minimum about them. We knew what their main motivations were, the base nature of their character…and that was it. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a character girlie through and through, so not connecting on a deep level with the characters really impacted my enjoyment of the story.
- I also thought that the romance between Jasmine and Asher, our other main character, was super rushed. We had no sense of how they acted with each other before the relationship other than seeing a few moments that made it clear that they were academic rivals. And then suddenly, there are feelings that felt like they came from nowhere. Usually, a well-paced romance can have me swooning, but when these two got together I was like…Okay then. Which is so sad. I feel like if this had been dual POV, the relationship might have felt a bit more natural? But, honestly, it just missed the mark for me, sadly.
- I know I said I loved the school setting and I stand by that…but that is all we know. We only know what is happening inside of Sanctuary; everything outside of that is just really fuzzy and underdeveloped. We have no idea of the political landscape of this world other than that there is a king, and we have no idea why the Keepers are actually needed to protect the nobles from the Xolani. Is it only the Xolani who they are protecting the Starvein from? It is mentioned that the Whitewater Kingdom isn’t doing well, but why? We have all of these tidbits thrown at us, but have no real sense of what is happening in this fantasy world.
- I think this, along with the lack of development for the characters, made the story feel relatively surface level. Yes, it was intense and engaging, but it only landed in a place where it was okay.
Overall, this was an okay fantasy read. While the plot was engaging and fast-paced, the lack of development, in both the characters and general world-building, made this fall a bit flat for me. However, if you just want a quick, fun and intense read then this is the one for you.
Thank you again to the publisher and NetGalley for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.
Overall Rating: 3 Stars!
Do you think you will be picking this one up? Have you got any other fantasy recommendations for me?
Let me know in the comments!
Living Through Fiction 
It is a bit of a shame that this turned out an okay read. I mean, it is not bad but it sounded like it could have been so much more! This is the first time I hear about this book, but I will still keep an eye out for it,because it sounds interesting enough even with the hiccups!
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Honestly, I think if it sounds interesting to you then definitely still give it a read!! If you do end up picking it up, I hope you enjoy it! 😊☀️
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