First i want to thank netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book.

I gave this book/series 2 stars.

I stopped at the halfway point of book 2. I couldn't handle it anymore.

Characters:
I hate almost all of them. Out of all of them i hated Kyp the most. His mood switches were insane. Out of nowhere he would start screaming at Jacklyn and sometimes he isn't even sorry. He also gets angry at everyone else if they don't do things like he wants them to do things. What i think is also really annoying is that Kyp talks to other people like their children because he is so smart. This asshole is literally one of the dumbest characters in this book. He just makes the most dumb decisions. I just hate him with my whole heart. I hoped it would get better and he would get some character development but no. He keeps being an asshole.
I have a love hate relationship with Jacklyn. She could be fierce and strong and funny. But when it comes to Kyp she has the backbone of a doormat. She would be angry at Kyp for saying super mean stuff at her and she keeps forgiving him event though a lot of the times he doesn't even say sorry.
I loved Gana. She is my favourite character ever. She just didn't give a f*ck. She did not forgive Kyp and she threatened him at multiple occasions and i loved it. She was so sweet and caring for her sister. This character was amazingly written. (next sentence will be a spoiler). This author had to kill the only person i found enjoyable in her books. Well i did like Jacklyns mother but she also died. I don't get why. Couldn't they just kill Kyp.
Okay im done with throwing hate at the characters.

plot:
the plot in book one was alright. almost no plot holes. It was a well written plot and an interesting story. The plot from book 2 i don't what to think yet. At the point where im at i hate it but it might get better.

World building:
Very good. This is something i really loved about this book. The world felt a lot like the shadow hunter realm but its own interesting twist. I really want to complement the author for this. I think it was really well done.

Romance:
Just no. Married by blood ritual at 5 years old. Just no. I find that weird and icky. The connection they immediately felt when they were near each other was just no and he wasn't even nice to her. Like girl you can get better. In book 2 the love interest is even thinking about divorcing her because he thinks she doesn't love him anymore. In the meantime this girl is severely traumatised and just doesn't have the mental capacity to deal with this idiot.

writing:
It was okay. Sometimes i had trouble with the dialogue. I couldn't figure out who was talking. In the action scenes i sometimes couldn't figure out what was happening. The writing was overall not bad.

Conclusion
To be honest i didn't like it. especially book 2. Book 1 was better. i do not want to say i recommend it but i also don't want to say i don't recommend it. This is a book that you will love or hate there is no in between.

This is one of those series that I think I was just the wrong person for. I liked the writing and it did provide good imagery, but for some reason it was hard to get through because the world was just not interesting to me. I’m usually into fantasy worlds, but this one just didn’t do it for me. However the writing is good so I am giving it 4 stars because I just don’t think I am the right audience. That being said there are definitely complex character relationships and if you are more into sci-fi this may be for you!

DNF of book 1 at ~ 30%

The premise a fun one about a girl discovering she and her sister have powers and are taken away to a school to learn how to fight the monsters crawling into their world. The pacing is fast but the emotional seesawing between Jacklyn and Kyp was really disorientating and ultimately why I stopped reading ~30% into the first book. They were friends talking late into the night, catching up on their years apart and then suddenly enemies the next page. It felt like too much wiplash and I could not understand why it had happened (I defaulted to "needed emotional drama" for lack of another explanation.) It also felt like it felt into a few too many cliches - like an unfair system of protecting one group considered "more valuable" at the expense of another and only these new outsiders are questioning it.

The Order of the Key - 5
I do enjoy getting immersed in a good fantasy world. This one is more of an added dimension to our own. Young love and powers and “alien creatures” abound. Family ties both strong and petrifying. Superheroes and childhood playmates. War and villains and promises. This is an invigorating start to this trilogy and I’m plunging forward, full force on to the next in this saga.

Fuel and Fire - 4 (3.5)
More like a short story here, we get a few chapters on how Ray and Jaina met way back. It gives a little more insight into the Order. It was nice to get a little bonus background information.

The Skeleton Key - 4
Well, this was not what I expected. First of all, there were some big changes that were a little too out there and fantastical and jolting. I… adapted though. However, there is also now a main characters LGBT relationship that is a detractor for me. There is plenty of suspense and danger and sacrifice and family. A twisty journey that leads us to the…end? I am… interested in what comes next. But a bit more subdued and wary and apprehensive than I was when I came into book two.

Keys of the Dawn -
This was a crazy and full end to this saga. So much action and war and abilities and so much more. History of the other books and the dimensions and fears and family. It was definitely captivating. The main character LGTB relationship continued in this book also. This was a clean fantasy romance.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This series has a lot of the good ya tropes with some added fun of magic and inter-dimensional villains. It brings me back to high school/early college when I was super into my sci-fi fantasy Era. It was a lot of fun and even though there were some slow parts and we could have done with a little more character growth/development, it was enjoyable!

Thanks to Netgalley and Sword and Silk Books along with the Author Justine Manzano for the E-ARC for review. All opinions expressed are authentic and unbiased.

Keys and Guardians Full Series by Justine Manzano is a campy YA read three part books series set in a fantasy world with inter-dimensional rifts and monstrous creatures our protagonist young Jacklyn Maddison has newfound powers. Full synopsis:

The Order of the Key

Jacklyn Madison's life turns upside down when she discovers her family's connection to the Order of the Key. Gifted with newfound abilities, Jacklyn must navigate a world filled with inter-dimensional rifts, monstrous creatures, and secrets that challenge everything she knows about her family and herself.

The Skeleton Key

The saga continues as Kyp Franklin, now leader of the Order, and Jacklyn Madison, find themselves on colliding paths once more. Together, they must uncover a sinister plot that threatens to merge their world with the monsters of the Dusk forever.

Fuel & Fire - A Keys & Guardians Novella

This gripping novella delves deeper into the universe, focusing on Ray and Jaina's fiery encounter. Amidst chaos, their stories intertwine, revealing the heart and darkness within the Order.

Keys of the Dawn

In the breathtaking finale, Jacklyn and Kyp face their most formidable challenge yet. With the Rifts reopened and an ancient enemy seeking vengeance, the fate of both the Dusk and the Dawn hangs in the balance. It's a race against time to save their worlds from a disastrous end.


Great three book read fairly easy to follow some interesting plot points and the characters had some depth overall however was just a touch young for me and lacking in some development. Some overused tropes which are great they do work well in some aspects just not my personal taste. I did enjoy the world building and the interesting ideas surrounding this world and I enjoyed the journey the author took me on throughout the three books.
Overall It was an enjoyable read by this author and a great introduction to this authors works I would like to read more works in the future from this author and see how their writing expands and develops. Overall however its a great series and I think a younger teen audience would really love this series. It gave me lots of vibes from other popular ya series so I can completely see where the author was heading.

Again thank you to the Author for this reading opportunity and to the publishing team and Netgalley for this E-ARC.

If this book series is a typical representation of current YA genre in literature, it doesn’t bode well for the whole genre. Although there is a great potential there, mainly in the world building and general plot of the novels, the rest is not good at all. The main protagonist, Jacklyn, is a typical Mary Sue, who does not have any character development throughout the story. She’s supposed to be 18, but acts about 4-5 years younger, with all the childishness of a new high schooler. Her actions and their justifications are infantile and it’s really hard to root for her throughout the series. The characters accompanying her are also extremely one dimensional, without much depth or personality. Romantic plot is rather weak and there is no chemistry between characters, we are simply to believe that yes, they are meant to be together. In addition, there is a typical love triangle that only reason for is to add drama to the quite weak narrative. Adults in the book make no sense whatsoever, acting like old teenagers instead of 1. parents they are, 2. people with jobs and important decisions to make. The writing style of the author also bothered me and it really made the reading experience more difficult.

Overall I’m rating it as 2,5/5 rounded down. Hopefully Manzano’s next books are better.

This was fun! It was kind of campy and also somehow kind of dark. It reminded me a lot of the Shadowhunters TV show (specifically- not the books). It was very fast paced and interesting and I enjoyed the vibes of it.

This contains books 1 and 2 of the Keys and Guardians universe.
It follows Kyp and Jacklyn as members of the Order of the Keys. They have special magical abilities, and protect the world from inter-dimensional creatures.
These books are full of dark magic, dark science, fantasy and romance. The characters are varied and interesting. Of course, there are all kinds of villains. And with a lot of heartbreak. I cannot wait to read more books in this series.

This was an interesting read. At times, it felt a bit laborious. But, overall, it was a really good read.

The format left me a bit confused. It was difficult to differentiate between which of the 3 books certain parts were from. For example,, the flash back part between the first two books. It just seemed very random, and I couldn’t tell which book it was meant to go with.