I grabbed a copy of Keystone while looking for a new fantasy read to feed my muse. Overall, I enjoyed it, though it didn’t really grab my interest as much as I hoped it might.
The story is about Raven Black (awesome name, right?), a crossbreed half vampire, half mage who hunts evildoers for fun. Kind of. At least, that’s the sales pitch.
More specifically, she’s lonely, hungry and homeless. Surviving in the cracks between the human and supernatural worlds is her norm because she’s a creature who was made illegally; a rogue. That means life is difficult, and if she gets caught she’ll probably end up dead.
Shortly after we get to know her she’s offered a job working for a clandestine group of not-quite vigilantes who do the dirty work the authorities can’t, even though they’re funded and unofficially sanctioned by those same authorities, and appear to do everything mostly by the book. Very little clandestine dirty work going on, to be honest.
The job offer kicks off the main story arc though – going after a bad guy who’s acting like a local crime lord and causing all kinds of trouble. Considering this was the main story problem, it was oddly the least interesting part of the story.
The story world is interesting and the storytelling itself isn’t bad, while the secondary story arc is based around a paranormal romance with a vampire. It’s one of those hate-dislike-hate relationships where they detest everything about each other but are still drawn to each other. It had more intensity to it than the main story arc though, and kept the story going for me.
II’m willing to give the sequel a shot, but it’s going to have to be a notch or two above this one if I’m to keep going with the series.
Overall, four stars.
You can grab a copy on Amazon or wherever you buy good books.
