Review: The Last Keeper's Daughter by Rebecca Trogner

Goodreads Summary:

Born into old money, Lily Ayres lives at Waverly, her family’s estate situated at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Paris, Virginia. She is a strange, small, almost mute, young woman who has no idea that her father has given her to the Vampire King Krieger. Walter Ayres is the King’s Keeper and part of a secret society of historians who unearth, preserve, and attempt to understand relics of long forgotten civilizations.

Lily has never felt comfortable in the human world, but after she suspiciously falls down a flight of stone steps, and is healed and claimed by Krieger, she realizes there is another world. In this Other Realm she feels a sense of belonging, and begins to untwine the mysterious event which left her mentally and psychologically damaged. When Walter disappears in England, Lily works with human and supernatural beings to uncover his whereabouts. With each new discovery, she is pulled deeper into the vortex of magic, intrigue, and dark desires that permeates the supernatural world. The revelations revealed unfold a story of deception and betrayal that threaten to tear the thin veil between the supernatural and human world asunder.

Publication Date: February 15, 2013

I love stories with original characters and The Last Keeper’s Daughter definitely falls into this category. The author created a unique world and a story that held my interest from beginning to end. By avoiding the typical vampire story troupes, the book really stood out for me in a crowded genre.

Lily was unlike any heroine I’ve read before and it made me really like her from the beginning. She has autistic tendencies, which gave her a unique perspective when the novel was told from her point of view. Trying to determine the root of Lily’s psychological and medical issues was an interesting subplot and I liked how gradually everything about her past was revealed.

Krieger was amazing. I don’t mind brooding and tormented vampires in YA books, but in adult novels I prefer the vampires to be more like Krieger. He’s unapologetic about who he is and despite his flaws I still liked him. His masculinity oozed off of the page and possessive vampires make me all hot and bothered (that quality is a different story for contemporary romances).

The plot moved along at a good pace and although there are a lot of characters, none of them were frivolous. They were all well developed and served their purpose in the story. All of the secondary characters were good, but I would probably say Hunter was my favorite. He added levity to the plot.

The ending had a few twists I didn’t expect at all. Trogner kept me guessing and I was shocked along with Lily over who was behind the murders and the horrors of her past. The descriptive writing during the concluding scenes was outstanding and I had a hard time getting to sleep after I finished.

Although there’s not a major cliffhanger ending, there were enough loose ends to leave room for a sequel. I’m looking forward to the next book and reading more about the supernatural world the author created.

Rating: 5/5 Stars