Right out of the gate. Louise Rainey catapults the reader into the fray. I predict Rainey's first Novel will go screaming to the top of the charts like a bolt of lightning. No introduction. No Foreword. No preface. The reader is just tossed into the story already in progress. The key character, Lucy, is intelligent, creative, physically strong, and absolutely committed to completing her agent training. Obstacles abound, weather, equipment, people, and terrain to mention just a few. Yet, the light of hope never completely fades. Lucy must find a way to win or the world shatters in the apocalypse to follow: Louise is just as creative as Lucy. Her word choice often explodes in imagery like 4th of July fireworks.

This book caught my eye because of the double iris on the cover and because I love adult fantasy books. There were so many really great characters in this book, that it would be hard to pick a favorite, but Lucy would have to be top of my list. As one of two protagonists, the character of Lucy is so well developed that I feel like I actually know her and can compare her to real people in my life. She has a sad life, but she never gives up hope, and I can relate. Honestly, I wish this book had been longer because I feel like there is so much to know about many of the characters and this fantasy world. The writing reminds me a lot of JRR Tolkien’s work. Fortunately, it’s the first in a series, so I’m really looking forward to the next book. If you’re a fan of fantasy adventure books, then I would highly recommend Benevolent Keepers.

Louise Rainey had an amazing command of the English language, and her story captures the trials and tribulations of her characters in such a way that the reader can feel every emotion that her characters experience. This fantasy book is a must read! I am so excited to read her next installment in the series.

It's rare to find a book that you think about even when you're not reading it and whose world you're more involved in than your own. But that's how it was for me with Louise Rainey’s Benevolent Keepers- a book that's pure magic to me (no pun intended). It's now in a three-way tie for my all time favorite book (with Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing and Sunyi Dean’s Book Eaters, in case you were wondering). The very fact that I wanted to read it again right away says a lot. (I've since purchased a copy from Amazon so I can have the pleasure of holding a hard copy.) The story centers on Lucy and James, two hardened, magical teens that we see grow up over the course of the 500-something page book. While going about her life, the fascist, controlling government notices Lucy’s magic. They force her into the Conservatory, where she has to learn magic and fight for survival. James is a translator working for human traffickers when a princess from this government notices his magic. She ‘rescues’ him and takes him to the empire where he must befriend her son. She also beheads a guy with a machete in the first chapter, which says a lot about the kind of person the princess is. I had no idea there was an assassin school in this book when I picked it up. It contains three of my very favorite things: dragons, deranged royalty, and magic (the fairytale kind, not the Harry Potter kind), so I was hooked immediately. Even if that doesn't do it for you, the excitement of seeing so many crazy unique monsters will. I'm a huge fan of character-driven fiction and a Benevolent Keepers excels in character development. You learn so much about them from their day-to-day lives and interactions with each other. Some are likeable, others are not, and there are a few you don't know if you can trust. Lucy is by far my favorite, but then again, I relate to her on a number of levels, including her intense curiosity and sometimes troublesome impulse control. James, despite being more cunning, doesn't make me fall in love with him. I like him as a character, but I think it's my inability to trust him that keeps me at a distance. He’s willing to do a lot to survive. My favorite character is Mikah. His insults always make me laugh. I think I’m going to start comparing idiots to vegetables. Telling someone they have a rutabaga brain is somehow more enjoyable then my standard insults. The world, writing and plot of this book are also handled with expertise. I've never been to any of the locations, but thanks to Rainey's evocative descriptions, I could see and hear it all. And all of the slurp kept me on a diet (So grateful to chew my food)! I especially love the Conservatory, which really is a character unto itself. It gave the book some much-needed levity. Benevolent Keepers is a very layered story, and if you only take the time to focus on one point, you're going to miss a lot. This is a book that should be savored. But that doesn't mean it's not without its flaws. There were some plot points I didn't like and others that I felt deserved more explanation, but I'm trusting Rainey has her reasons for handling things the way she did. That's one of the problems with not being able to read a series all the way through. A lot of times the author does things a certain way that will make perfect sense once you can see the story as a whole as she does. But as readers, we don't have that option along the way (at least not until all the books come out).