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#154 ~ Keeper of Light and Dust ~ Blog Tour & Giveaway

Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert

My Review

Mia is a hip young woman in London. She owns a popular tattoo parlor. In her spare time, she practices martial arts and supports the fighters who spare at the same gym. She has a secret, though. She comes from a line of women who select several fighters and mystically give of themselves to keep them safe. They are Keepers and they mark their warriors with a intricately tattooed pair of eyes. Mia was initiated into this practice on her 18th birthday, when her mother tattooed a beautiful Keeper on her side. Mia enjoys her life and is fulfilled until she awakes from an unsettling dream that leaves her worried about her fighters. When she learns that one of her fighters died of what appeared to be unrelated causes three days after a fight he did not tell her about, she knows something is wrong. She isn’t sure what is going on, not even when she senses in her chi that someone is following her. Things start to feel even more wrong as her childhood friend, Nick, gets closer and closer to his big fight. His new trainer has him in the best shape of his life, but Mia is not Nick’s keeper. Can she keep herself, her fighters, and her best friend safe from something she senses but cannot see or understand?

I typically do not read fantasy or novels about mysticism and martial arts, but Keeper of Light and Dust drew me in from the very first page. Mia’s character and her role in the lives of fighters felt natural and real. There were little touches to Mia’s life that added a lot to her character as well. Her pet Sweetpea, named after his predecessors added a unique warmth to her personality. Despite her being a cool, young woman about London, Mia really keeps to herself when she’s not at the gym. She is close friends with her fellow tattoo artist, but Nick is the only other person she has an ongoing and personal connection with until Ash arrives. Not only did he whip Nick into shape and make him focus on what he really wanted in and out of the ring, he kept Mia just slightly off balance. I enjoyed the tension that continued to rise between Mia and Nick and Mia and Ash.

There were certain aspects of the story I was able to predict, but since the subject matter as a whole was new to me, that predictability actually helped me feel more grounded in the story. That was important because the world of martial arts, chi, and mysticism were all new to me. I enjoyed all of the details about the martial arts that Mia studied and how it differed from the fighting techniques Nick used in his training. While the more mystical vogues were a world apart from the fighting grunts, they made Scorpio gym complete. Yin and Yang. This information was important to keep in mind as Mia moved closer to confronting the force that threatened her life and the lives of those she protected.

I really enjoyed Keeper of Light and Dust. It made me realize that I enjoy fantasy a lot more than I had thought. Without giving anything away, I would have liked to have had a stronger ending for Mia. The way the ending was written works, but I wanted a more decisive ending. In some ways, it is as if what happened came down to a sudden change of heart instead of the outcome of the clash between the Keeper and the Theif. Despite my feelings about the ending, I strongly recommend this book. It would be a wonderful book to read as during the summer and may even inspire us to get more fit and healthy in mind and body. Most of all, I found it to be a lot of fun. Who can’t use a dose of reading pleasure while waiting for winter to finally and completely make way for spring?

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To buy this book, click here.

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Book Tour and Giveaway

Sheri, from A Novel Menagerie organized this book tour and I was so pleased to be invited along. Check out the other blogs on this month’s tour:

A Novel Menagerie – April 2nd

Literary Escapism – April 7th

Wrighty’s Reads – April 14^th

Peeking Between The Pages – April 17^th

Saavy Verse & Wit – April 21^st

Jo-Jo Loves to Read – April 28^th

Now for the giveaway…

One of my lucky readers has the opportunity to win a copy of Keeper of Light and Dust. To enter simply leave a comment here and tell me what you think about fantasy or fiction with a mystical twist. If you really think that this is the book for you, I have found a wonderful way to get you into the proper mindset. Natasha has a wonderful game on her website. Check it out. Come back and leave a comment here with your results for three additional entries in the contest. Who knows, you might also win a wonderful prize from the author (can anyone say Kindle?). The deadline to enter this contest is tax day, April 15th. I’ll announce the winner on the 16th. Good luck!!!