The Keepers by J.L. Block [Review]

The Keepers (The Keepers #1) by J.L. Block
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: August 28, 2013

The Keepers
1. The Keepers - Paperback | Kindle

J.L. Block
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Synopsis (Goodreads):

Ava's ordinary life is shattered when she is attacked and becomes involved in a secret society of magic.

Alongside the Keepers, Ava needs to mediate as the magics collide and are becoming out of control. She must Keep the increasing amount of secrets safe - even from her family. But there's a rising tension within this group as Ava replaces a fallen Keeper, and it becomes an issue of trust. The Rogues, betrayers to this creed, threaten to devastate the Keepers, who think themselves safe.

It will take both Ava’s inner and outer strength to overcome the chaos, or as she now knows, the Visma and, by extension, the mysterious Rogues that surround her.

My Thoughts on The Keepers: I had a really tough time with this book. My biggest roadblock is that I'm unsure what age range it was written for. While Ava is fresh out of high school and sitting on that cusp of adulthood, she acted a lot younger than that. The writing style at times seemed to be for a younger age group with repetitive phrasing and rehashing events that had already been explained. Frankly, it confused me because I wasn't expecting it and it took me out of the story.

I was also frustrated by the way all the older Keepers dismissed Ava's very valid concerns about security issues. The "it's never happened before, therefore it will never happen in the future" defense isn't really something you want to be banking your city's safety on. Not cool, leader dudes. Not.Cool.

I don't like to make my reviews all complainy pants but I'm having a hard time finding things that resonated with me. Between Ava's incredibly awful defense teacher (Hi, don't take out your frustrations on the kid who's never had defense lessons before!) to her family that went from worrying about her to letting her flit off with virtual strangers without saying a word to Ava's fear of killing WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE ... well, I'm struggling here. While the world was interesting, the way things would happen from scene to scene let me bewildered. Often times the answer to an issue was something that hadn't been hinted at or introduced previously and it ended up feeling very coincidental that they things Ava and her fellow Keepers needed to escape would be brought up at exactly the right moment.

Also? Keeping secrets of the sort Ava feels compelled to keep never works out well. Spill them! SPILL THEM ALL!

I'm not sure if I'm just not in the mood for this type of urban fantasy-style book right now or if the writing and character issues were the culprit but, unfortunately, this book didn't work for me.