Keys (City of Keys #1)

Title: Keys (City of Keys #1)
Author: Amber Kell and Derrick McClain (Narrator)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: September 30th 2015
Genre(s): M/M Fantasy
Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
Reviewed by: Belen
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 4.67 stars out of 5
Blurb:

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.

Now, this, ladies and gentlemen is how you do Fantasy right.

This story is absolutely amazing!

The world building is startlingly impressive. The characters are smart, funny, ruthless, vulnerable, and real. The storytelling is rich and thoroughly entertaining. The narration was hands-down terrific and pitch perfect.

Octavius Septimus Stalk (my friends call me “Oss”) is one of the best characters I’ve read in a long time. From the first few minutes I was hooked. It opens with a bang, I was immediately and absolutely immersed in the narration, and I loved every minute.