Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
My name is Octavius Septimus Stalk, but my friends call me Oss. I live in the City of Keys, a town of gears, keys, locks, and wonder. Our forefathers banished magic long ago, bolted the doors and locked everything up tight to keep people out and the town’s secrets in. Four Lock Lords control what information is left, and everyone else is left struggling to survive.Despite what Thorne, my naïve lover, thinks, I was an orphan, but not a victim. When I walked the streets at the age of twelve, I learned fast where to steal the best food, how to use my daggers, and where to hide my would-be attackers’ bodies. No one suspected me of such violence. No one knew then or now that I have magic inside me.
Now, power hungry men intend to release the magic for their own benefit—at the expense of the rest of the city. We will stop them, even if Thorne must battle his own kin, even if I must reveal my hidden talents and the role I seem destined to play.
I really loved the world this author created. It’s a fantasy world where all locks are controlled by the Key Lords and key keepers. As a result they control the entire city and it has created a dramatic separation between the rich and the poor. Oss and Thorne are on opposite sides of this divide yet still love each other. The imagery was well done and I could envision the shop owners waiting every morning for a key keeper to arrive to unlock their business. The two main characters were enjoyable and I liked both of them. I also really liked that they were an established couple when the story begins. There was also a host of side characters that were interesting and the set up for the next two books was good. My only real complaint is there are many parts, especially at the beginning, where the prose is very purple. It is ridiculously flowery and overly descriptive. I wasn’t sure at first if I was going to like the book because of that but I ended up liking the world enough to over look it. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.
I did this on audio and I enjoyed the narrator a lot. I thought he did a good job on all the voices and I will probably do the next one on audio also.
Cover by Anne Cain. I like the cover a lot. It’s simple, yet it captures the mood and feel of the story.
Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | iTunes | Audible | Amazon
Book Details:
Narrator Derrick McClain
Length 6 hours and 48 minutes
Categories: Audiobooks,Amber Kell, City of Keys by Amber Kell
Book Type Audiobook
Other Formats :eBook,Paperback
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 