Review ~ The Keepers: Archer - Rae Rivers

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: 20th June 2013

Publisher: Harper Collins UK (HarperImpulse)

Description:

‘Don’t ever look for me again, Archer.’
His mouth curled into a smile. ‘Game on.’

Central Park. Sienna Beckham is out jogging in the autumn sun, feeling almost ordinary. Trouble is, she'll never be. She's on the run from her life as a powerful witch and the three Keepers blood-bound to protect her.

Evil is hot on Sienna's tail and Archer Bennett is searching for her, desperate to find her before they do. As one of her Keepers, he will fight to his death to defend her.

Sienna must return and defend her hometown, Rapid Falls – but she has to face the past and master her powers. And as forbidden feelings blossom between Sienna and Archer, will their love survive the ultimate war?

The Keepers: three strong and handsome warrior brothers, born to protect.

My Opinion

It was the premise that caught my attention with this book. The new take on witches with keepers interested me as it is not something I had come across before. As well as this the promise of romance intrigued me even more into requesting this book from NetGalley and I was excited when HarperImpulse allowed me access to the title.

The book started off at a fast pace and the action pulls you into the storyline. It hooked me from the beginning and I was eager to find out what it was Sienna was running from and who was after her. The elemental powers were established quickly and also caught my interest as I was intrigued to see how the author wove them into the narrative and how everything would play out. Personally though I felt that after the initial 20% of the book things started to lose their impact and the middle of the book fell a little flat. 

My main issue was that during the middle there seemed to be a lot more worrying about things that could happen and less action. For me, I felt like a lot of things were glossed over that needed to be included, for example the spells Sienna casts or how she retrieved her Grimoire. I mean there was a big deal made of it being hidden and then she just shows up wit it. I wanted to know where this amazing hiding place was. Personally I feel these are vital to writing a novel with witches in as I just felt it lacked authenticity without them and came across as a lack of thought into the paranormal side of things. One minutes there was tension building with magic and the next the chapter has ended and moved onto the next with everything being over and a success. This happened a few times, where the prospect of a fight or plenty of action was skipped by a change in chapter and for me this is why the middle fell flat.

As well as this I wanted more description on The Circle, e.g what they were precisely, how they controlled and the background on the witch community. They were made out to be these all powerful witches who forbid relationships with your keeper but when it came to dealing out punishment it once again felt a bit weak, with the consequences being stated abruptly. It didn't even take that long for them to figure out. One other thing that did irritate me slightly was the speech. At times it felt a little stiff and the constant name repetition at the beginning or end of every utterance became slightly annoying as it seemed a little false to me. 

However, there was a romance development during the middle which I loved as the scenes were steamy and full of passion. It may have been abrupt but the history with the characters made it believable and it didn't feel like a whirlwind romance due to the fact Archer and Sienna had a history before she ran away for two years.  I do wish there was more of the romance though as I enjoyed the relationship. 

Furthermore towards the end the book did pick back up to the standard of the start. Once again there was a load of fast paced action and I liked how Sienna developed with her powers and confidence. There was a nice change from her in the beginning and her at the end and by the end I found myself engaging with her more as she became this force to be reckoned with.

Moreover I liked Archer and the other Keepers. Their loyalty was admirable and it enabled the reader to relate to them and sympathise not only with the difficult situations Sienna put them in but with the danger they find themselves in more than one situation. I would have liked to know more about their powers though but maybe they will be developed more if there is a sequel. 

Overall The Keepers: Archer was an interesting new take on witches and I liked the Keeper aspect which was the main thing that made it original. The beginning and end were full of action and the character development was good throughout. I just wish there was more background description, detail into the magic used and action during the middle so I could rate this book higher. Saying that though I would recommend this book to readers who like magic and paranormal books as it was an interesting read that did keep me turning pages.