Title: The Crystal
Keeper
Author: Laurisa White Reyes
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Expected Release Date: February 9th, 2015
Cover Design: Emma Michaels
Synopsis:
Exiled for loving a human, Jayson is sworn to protect the Seer's crystal from those who would use it to obtain power. Unbeknownst to him, his wife Ivanore searches for him, hoping to save him from the terrible fate she has seen in her visions. When she is captured, Jayson must make an impossible choice--should he save Ivanore or save the crystal?
My Review: Upon opening this book I was not sure where this story would take me. I quickly discovered that it would take me on a fantastical journey through lands unheard of and beautifully unique. I became caught up in this story fairly quick and began to devour every word wanting to know more. Jayson being the main character of this story rapidly won me over with his gallant ways. He tries very hard to his word and sworn protector role. He has some great obstacles thrown his way and some are not easily taken on but Jayson keeps on and takes each obstacle as it comes. Ivanore his wife tries like crazy to get to Jayson to keep him safe and from her visions that tell of a fate that would surely leave him in a terrible way only to be captured herself. As Jayson is left with a choice to break his sworn word or to save his wife things start to get tricky. How do you decide between your wife and your sworn word? Can Jayson protect them both? I was on the edge of my seat hoping that some how Jayson would come through and save the day.
5/5
Synopsis:
With the help of Teak, a local farm hand, Ivanore flees from the Vatéz into the forest. While recuperating from her injuries, she becomes an apprentice to an elderly enchantress who teaches her how to control her abilities. Unaware that Ivanore is in Hestoria, Jayson commits to working off the cost of Brommel’s passage to Dokur, where he hopes he and his young son will be safe. Though Jayson vows to avenge the death of Brommel’s wife and daughter, despair and guilt threaten to extinguish what little hope he has left of begin reunited with Ivanore.
My Review: The story just gets better and better! I fell in love in Exile and wasn't sure where Betrayal would take me but I was blown away by this book as well. The plot only thickens in Betrayal and keep me on my toes as Jayson is met with obstacles that tear him apart inside and leave him unsure of his want to be reunited with Ivanore. Jayson becomes caught up in helping Brommel trying to keep him safe only to be left with vengeance. Ivanore continues her journey to warn Jayson. While during her fight she learns how to control her abilities. I felt the heart break and despair as Jayson was left wondering if he would ever see his wife again. This book really pulled at my heart I felt the wanting of Jayson and the fight from Ivanore. My only hope was that true love would prevail in the end. Maybe that is just a little of the fairy tale in me. Sometimes true love is what does win.
5/5
Synopsis:
In the third book in The Crystal Keeper series, Ivanore sets off to rescue Jayson from the Vatez but soon finds herself their captive instead. Once Jayson learns that Ivanore is in Hestoria, he must choose between saving her and saving the Seer's crystal.
My Review: At last Jayson and Ivanore are aware of where one another are and both seek to find the other. On a path to rescue Jayson Ivanore is the one met with some challenges that keep her fighting to save Jayson. In the end though it all comes down to Jayson choosing to save the seer's crystal as he has sworn to protect it at any cost or saving his wife. This time love truly hangs in the balance and what Jayson is left with is his heart on the line. I am in love with this series and I am left wanting more. I won't tell you anymore of this story as I believe it is a journey you need to discover on your own. I will however, tell you that it is worth your time to discover for yourself. The Crystal Keeper series is wonderfully written and leads you into a realm of fantasy and magic. I loved how this series swept me away. I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
5/5
Though written for
adults, The Crystal Keeper series is the prequel to Ms. Reyes'
fantasy series for children, The Celestine Chronicles.
EXCERPT:
Ivanore hunched over the parchment, the tip of her quill flicking
above her hand like a trapped bird desperate for escape. The tallow candle cast
a cramped circle of light across the table, hardly enough to see by. If only
the night would last a little longer. Perhaps then she would have enough time
to write everything she needed to. But alas, time was one thing she had too
little of—that and light.
An older man with long, gray-streaked hair and piercing gray eyes,
waited beside her. The stone bungalow, their most recent of many hiding places,
boasted the barest of furnishings: the table, stool, cot—and a plain wooden
chest, its key held tight in his fist.
A sudden thump sounded at the door, startling them both. A strand
of Ivanore’s hair, gold as the candle light, fell across the page. She quickly
tucked it back into place and wrote faster.
Zyll laid a hand on Ivanore’s shoulder. “They are here,” he
whispered.
Ivanore finished the document and handed it to Zyll unbound.
Turning to the chest, he carefully laid the pages inside.
“Wait,” said Ivanore. “Will you keep this as well?” A flat circle
of pale green crystal lay in her open palm.
“But you will need it. I mustn’t—”
“Please,” she insisted, pressing it into his hand. “I can’t risk losing
this one.”
Zyll reluctantly folded his fingers around the cool stone. “Of
course, milady,” he said. Then, adding the crystal to the parchment, he laid a
plate of thin wood atop them both, sealing the chest’s false bottom. He closed
the lid and locked it.
The pounding at the door grew more insistent. Whoever stood
outside was using his full weight against it in an effort to break through.
“We must hurry,” said Zyll.
Ivanore allowed herself a quick glance at the chest, offering the
briefest of prayers that the gods would keep it safe until her return. Then,
taking her by the arm, Zyll ked her through the low archway dividing the
bungalow’s front room from the back.
A loud crash of splintering wood resounded through the bungalow.
Their visitors had finally broken in.
“Find her now!” a deep voice bellowed.
Grateful for the trousers she now wore instead of her usual
cumbersome skirts, Ivanore clambered onto a stool and through a narrow window,
lowering herself as quietly as possible to the ground outside. Once Zyll had
done the same, they stole away across the rocky field. Though the sky was black
as ink, their path was illuminated by the amber glow of volcanic fissures
scoring the area for miles around.
“There she is!” a man’s voice shouted behind them. The words sent
spasms of fear through Ivanore. She glanced behind her and saw three soldiers
emerge from the bungalow, wearing the gold and red cross of her father’s crest.
They had tracked her even here, to the remotest corner of Imaness. Would
Fredric ever let her be?
Ivanore stopped running. She looked at Zyll, her trusted guardian
and ally these past months since she had fled Dokur, and knew her time with him
had come to an end.
“You’ll watch over them until I return?” she asked, out of breath.
“Keep them safe. Don’t let my father find them.”
“You have my vow,” Zyll whispered, his voice tight with emotion.
Ivanore’s eyes welled with tears as she pressed her lips against
the calloused skin of Zyll’s hand.
“Go,” said Zyll. “Go now before it’s too late.”
Ivanore released Zyll’s hand and sprinted forward alone. As she
ran, she cupped her hands around her mouth and let out a loud, sharp call, much
like that of a hawk or an eagle. She risked another glance over her shoulder
and watched as Zyll turned to face their pursuers. As the soldiers neared,
their swords glinting in the fireglow, Zyll held up his hands. A horizontal
bolt of cerulean lightning shot out from his palms, striking the oncoming
soldiers. The men recoiled, their bodies instantly singed and bloody.
Ivanore ran on. In desperation, she repeated her call, and this
time another voice called back. A dark form appeared on the horizon,
silhouetted against the light of the volcanic fractures and growing larger as
it approached with tremendous speed. As it neared, the creature’s massive
feathered wings moved the air around Ivanore in warm, powerful gusts. Ivanore
saw clearly its eagle’s head with a beak large enough to break a man in two,
paired with the muscular, furred body of a lion. As she ran toward it, the
gryphon lowered its head, waiting.
Behind her, the soldiers reeled in pain, but they did not forget
their duty. One man struggled to his knees, grunting from the effort. Reaching
over his shoulder, he slid a short bow and arrow from his pack and swiftly took
aim.
Ivanore reached the gryphon, and in one smooth motion hoisted
herself onto its back, twisting her arms deep into the feathers on the
creature’s neck. In that same moment, a single arrow found its mark in
Ivanore’s shoulder. Ivanore cried out before her body slumped forward and her
mind went dark. The gryphon took flight then, and in less time than it took to
draw another arrow—or a breath—they had vanished into the night.
AUTHOR BIO:
Senior Editor of
Skyrocket Press and Editor-in-Chief of Middle Shelf Magazine, Laurisa White
Reyes is the author of several middle grade and young adult novels,
including The Rock of Ivanore,The Last Enchanter and Contact. The
Crystal Keeper is her first series for adults.
Author Links:
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