~* 4.5 Stars *~Strong Second InstallmentOnce upon a time and beyond the Curtain of Power, the Curtain of Dreams, there lived three Celtic demigoddesses, sisters and daughters of a Celtic king and human woman. Some in their world revolted against their existence, offended by their links to mortality. One such god, Kane, rose up against the king and his progeny, and in a moment, a single moment when the demigoddesses' protectors had dropped their guard, he attacked with swift vengeance and wicked sorcery. In the aftermath, three souls were stolen and three sisters lay as if asleep, their souls captured in a box secured by three locks, three keys at their motionless feet. For three thousand years, the protectors have searched for the three mortals to find the three keys, and once in every generation since that dark day three potentials are born. In this generation, Malory Price has been called, Dana Steele has been called, Zoe McCourt has been called. For three thousand years, the potentials have failed. But this time...this time...Dana Steele knew her part of the quest wouldn't be any easier than Malory's, but she has a lot of faith in her intelligence, and as a librarian, she has a whole library at her disposal for the research at which she excels. Well...until pride and persecution push her into quitting her job. But she can still figure out where her key is. Of course, it would be easier to concentrate if Jordan Hawke didn't keep getting in her way. Years ago she'd loved him with the passion of youth, but he destroyed that...destroyed her...when he left town. Now he's back, for however long that's going to last, and he's convinced he can help her - in fact, he's certain he's supposed to help her. Dana's certain they had the love of a lifetime, but that was a lifetime ago. Between searching for the second key and starting up her business with Malory and Zoe, Dana just doesn't have time for Jordan any more, no matter how much she still loves him.Jordan knows what he lost all those years ago, and he has no intention of losing it again. He was drawn into this quest before he'd consciously decided to return to Pleasant Valley and he's determined to see it through. When Kane ups the stakes and tries to take a bite out of him, he knows he's right. He'll defy an evil god and stand beside Dana to the end. Even if he has to rewrite history to do so.This second installment of Nora Roberts' The Key Trilogy hits a bit harder than the first, and without the necessary world building and exposition set up that came in the first book, Key of Light, Roberts hit the ground running here, providing broader and deeper character definition for both Dana and Jordan, and adding a lot of fun scenes for the rest of the cast, as well. It's obvious that the plot has been ratcheted up a notch and the danger is a bit more pointed, both of which increase the pressure and intensity, but there's also more room given to the emotional development and relationship here that was very pleasing.I always enjoy a lead character who is an author, and Roberts did that particularly well with Jordan. It lends a genuine feeling of authenticity to his character, most notably concerning his work and his passion for writing. It's possible that was straight fiction, of course, but it felt so natural and true that I can't help but guess that there were a few Roberts' truisms in his personality. So too Dana's character and her love of reading. As I happen to share what is, frankly, a reading obsession, I felt very comfortable and familiar with a character who seemed in many ways a kindred spirit. I truly liked them, as individuals and as romantic leads.As a general rule, it is usually the second book of a trilogy that I find most telling for the overall arc of the trilogy, and in this book, I saw a couple of glimmers of tarnish on the brass ring. Rules set in the first book seemed to break here, and characters didn't seem to be able to recognize simple patterns of Big Bad behavior that seemed a little obvious to me as a reader. Part of that was accounted for with the twisting and evolving mythos of the battle Kane is waging to keep those keys hidden, but I wasn't totally able to buy this sudden alteration after 3,000 years. It seemed a little too convenient when danger and threat needed to be raised in the plot. Still, that's strictly a plot issue and frankly, that's never been the strongest motivation for my reading these sorts of Roberts' trilogies.The characters consistently draw me, and the relationships are stellar here in this trilogy. I'm very fond of how everyone fits together, and enjoy their idiosyncrasies and foibles that make each of them so individual and real. I was heartened by the consistency of characterization in Malory and Flynn (though with Roberts as the author, character inconsistency is virtually unheard of), and charmed anew by the few scenes with Zoe and Brad. I can't wait to see their sparks ignite in the conclusion, Key of Valor. I'm enjoying this trilogy very much, despite a few small issues with the plot of the quest, and the characters are definitely making it a thoroughly entertaining trip.~*~*~*~Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
Book Two in this trilogy follows Dana Steele through her journey of finding the key of knowledge that will free the second daught of the glass. It follows her while she finds her destiny and deals with her past, her present and prepares for her future.Dana is straight up and takes no bullshit from anyone. Most especially her ex-boyfriend, Jordan Hawke. The man who walked away from her and what they shared in the two years that they were together with no backward glance.His up and leaving left her very bitter with him and men in general. She doesn’t trust him farther than she can throw him which isn’t at all. And with him back home and mixed up in this key business right along with her makes her madder than all get out. She hates that he’s back and in her life again because the last time he was in her in life and in her heart, he crushed it. She doesn’t trust herself to keep things light and friendly with him and she gets all pissed off when she finds out that in order for her to find the key that she needs to find, she needs to make things right with Jordan because Jordan is part of her quest in finding the key.Dana needs Jordan in order to find her key and she needs to get to the bottom of why he left and see things from his perspective in order for her heart to survive another encounter with Jordan Hawke, who is the only man that she has ever loved.This book was the bomb.I’m serious, there wasn’t much I didn’t like about this story, I loved Dana’s hardheadedness where Jordan was concerned and I understood it. It did get on my nerves a bit but more over, I just plain understood why she was with the way she was with him but she wasn’t playing stupid over why she was acting unreasonable where he was concerned. She didn’t deny that she was still in love with him which made her the way she was around him, all surly and bullheaded.I loved Jordan and all of his issues, his sense of humor and just everything about him. Jordan was a fantastic hero and I enjoyed reading about him trying to make things right with Dana. I loved reading his reasons for leaving and I loved reading how he wooed Dana back into his corner, I loved that he didn’t try to breeze right over what he did to her before but really wanted her to understand and forgive him for what happened between them before.I loved his writing, I loved his role in all of this, I just plain loved Jordan Hawke. He was my most favorite thing about this book, maybe this series. He was my favorite hero in Key of Light and I really enjoyed him in this story but I have a feeling that Brad is going to be my favorite hero in this series…there’ s just something about Brad that I’m looking forward to reading in his book.I loved how Dana and Jordan fought to overcome the evil bastard in this series, I loved how they fought together and their love was what got them through, corny as all get out but I was digging it.This book was another definite winner from Nora Roberts, although I’m having a hard time believing that Nora Roberts will write something that I don’t like. I just like her writing style, it’s the bomb diggity for me! She knows just how to rock her stories to get the most out of them and make me love the characters, the story lines and just everything about them!One thing I didn’t really care about in this story was Jordan’s nickname for Dana, which was Stretch. That’s no fault of the author though since it only reminds me of a harsh nickname that a woman that I know was called when she was younger. They called her Stretch for an entirely different reason that Jordan called Dana that and so every time Jordan called her Stretch, I cringed because I kept thinking about that poor girl.But aside from that, the book was fantastic!
What do You think about Key Of Knowledge (2003)?
I love Nora Roberts. I love her strong heroines and her kind heroes. I love how she makes this book more aligned with magical realism then flat-out fantasy (it works better for her characters and story types). I love how she takes a few defining aspects and allows them to become such integral parts of the characterization, making them more than basic character labels (such as Dana's career as a librarian becoming an entire philosophic love of books that is well shown and well described). Gosh, I loved every minute of this story and loved Jordan and Dana's happy ending. Nora is definitely among my favorite romance authors already, and this is only my second book of hers.
—John
Brilliant book! I couldn't wait to pick this one up after completing the last one. It didn't disappoint! The suspense is very intense! It even got a bit scary in places, eep! Throw in a little romance, and boom! That's where this book comes into its own.I'll start with the bad points. I don't like horror or anything of that sort, the ending of this book was actually quite scary! Big bad guy going on a rampage to try and stop Dana and her friends... eep! The good news is it wasn't enough to make me put down the book.Good points! This book is even more enticing than the last! The plot development is amazing and excellently paced, the characters are even more real than in the last book! The stakes are higher than ever so you really fear for them!There are a few steamy bits in this book which is why I've also put it in the "Adult" genre. It's nothing too descriptive but enough to make you not read the book in public, ha ha.The bad guy, Kane, is an excellent villain. I really like the way Roberts has developed him as a character. He's a Celtic god who's breaking all the rules to try and stop these women find the keys. Who says bad guys play by the rules ey? Put it this way, you actually feel a bit of fear when he appears. Excellent emotive writing!We do hear more about the women's shop "Indulgence" which is nice. It's like a little side-plot. How are they doing fixing up the place and what not, what are their plans? I really liked this because it gave the women more depth. There's some beautiful quotes in this book, like:"A man is never so lonely, he thought, as when he was surrounded by the past."A truly wonderful book. I highly recommend you read it if you like modern-day supernatural mystery novels, the romance is a bonus! I couldn't put it down. It's now one of my favourite books, I just hope the next instalment is as gripping.One last quote I think all book lovers will like:"She couldn't count the number of books on the subject she's read in the last month. But then again, to Dana, reading was every bit as pleasurable as Ben and Jerry's and as essential to life as the next breath of air."If you like my review, please visit my book blog at: www.anovelstart.com
—Amy
