Thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I feel it could have had more depth and world building? What was the world like outside the sanctuary, why where the keepers running out?. I loved the characters loved the development and friendships between them all, loved Lydia and her energetic personality she was a breath of fresh air, I would read the second book as I would like to see how the story develops as I enjoyed the story line ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a story based in an academic setting with magic wielders "starvein" and "keepers" which are essentially their body guards!

The description of this book led me to believe the fmc and mmc didn't get along and that it would be an enemies/rivals to lovers type scenario, but I felt that was not the case. The relationship between then never seemed to have any hate. Yeah, they sparred together, but it seemed friendly enough so I didn't see how she "couldn't stand" him as the blurb described. Their relationship just felt a bit flat, one minute they're just plodding along, and then suddenly they're together and in love.
As for the rest of the story, I felt it was lacking a bit of world building. We don't really understand too much about the world outside of sanctuary. We only ever hear about 2 teachers and a small number of students, which seems strange if it's this whole academy the story is set in.
I liked the little twist at the end, although I felt it was quite clear who was responsible even if there was the attempt to throw us off.
I really wanted to love this book and it has potential, but it just didn't keep me intrigued, I would love to see a bit more depth to the story and world around it.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC of this for me to leave my honest review.

To begin with, I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To say that Keeper of Scarlet Petals has been incredibly enjoyable would be a lie, for it has been a crazy wild ride. The book managed to get me hooked with just a few pages and at some point, definitely in chapter 2, I was already unable to put the book down. To be honest, I get hooked rather easily, but Keeper of the Scarlet Petals has managed to keep me interested in reading until the end.

I am insanely satisfied with the development of the plot, although I wish we could’ve learnt more about the world building and the history behind the Sanctuary, the Keepers and Starveins. For a debut, I believe this has so much potential to become incredibly popular and I’m currently awaiting for sequel news… especially after that ending!

All in all, Keeper of Scarlet Petals has the right amount of twists and turns, and romance! I’ve been throughly entertained and I’m ready for what the author has in mind for the future.

Keeper of Scarlet Petals - A.N Skye
5✨
Geez this book had me hooked from page 1. I’m a sucker for a badass FMC and Jas is just that. Clawed her way from the gutters to become a keeper, the best in her class with a sword (can’t cook to save her life but same) Watching her grow in herself and slowly learning who she is was awesome. She won’t hesitate to sacrifice herself for people she doesn’t even know or like. That is the kind of girl I wish I was.
Everything in this book is perfection, from the pacing to the plot, the romance was not to fast but not slow burn. I could hardly put this book down to sleep! I got so caught up in it all that I lost track of time and life. That is what I want from a book.
⚔️Magic
⚔️Keepers (bodyguard vibes)
⚔️Assassins
⚔️Romance
⚔️Stabby FMC
⚔️Secrets and lies

I highly recommend this book if you like any of the above.
Thank you Netgalley, A.N Skye and Aethon Books for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily💜

**spoilers**
im a huge fantasy fan, and i was super excited to receive this ARC because of the description, title, and cover! However, upon reading this, I was kind of stumped as to how it made me feel.
I feel like I wasnt able to connect to any character, especially asher considering he lost his whole family to the Last Light. We arent really given any context or backstory to the 2 main characters, jasmine and asher, which left me asking a lot of questions; why was jasmine in the gutters to begin with, how did they end up here and how is that decision made other than them being keepers because they arent stareveins, who is the king, who is esther, etc, etc. this book lacked context in everything and i was left more and more confused the more i read.
another thing, i felt that asher and jasmine were kind of forced into a "relationship" (if you can even call it that considering theyre only really showing the barest of affection), and that they didnt truly know eachother outside of sparring and jasmine being ashers keeper.
i didnt feel like the stakes were super high for someone who was on a group of assassins' radar... why are they just casually going to the kitchen, ALONE, mind you (why go to the kitchen alone when people want to kill asher, wouldnt you want to be in a crowded area?????). esther being, i guess, with the last light was predictable considering its assumed pretty early on.
the "scarlet petals" part of the title has no correlation to the story, atleast in my opinion. the magic is still very confusing and not explained enough, the xolanis are still something im confused about as well, and the way the whole kingdom functions is also confusing. everythings confusing and left with no context. world-building is non-existent.
i had high hopes for this, but it fell flat for me :(

This did not live up to my expectations but I can see potential with this writer. My opinion is similar to many others in that the world building truly needs to be fleshed out. So many questions left unanswered or unclear history. I did like the banter and the book read at a great pace (I don’t think adding in more details about the world and character backgrounds would negatively affect this). I’d definitely be interested in obtaining a final copy to see if the author implemented any positive changes and if so, would read more of her books.

This book was an interesting twist on the romantasy genre. In “Keeper of the Scarlet Petals”, Jasmine is tasked with not only protecting but providing for the every need of her friend/competitor Asher. When Asher’s family is killed Jasmine is assigned to protect him from any attacks against him. I enjoyed this book but the more I thought about it the more I realized I don’t really understand it. The story line is straightforward but there is essentially no world building. What is a keeper and what are they protecting others from? Is there a war? Jasmine is considered a “gutter rat” but what that means is never really explained. What is the Sanctuary? There really isn’t even a description of what the buildings or characters look like. I would be willing to try the next in the series but I really hope there is more world building included. Thank you to NetGalley,the author and the publisher for the ARC I received of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and A.N Skye for early access in exchange for my honest review.

A keepers job is to keep their charge alive, and Jasmine as a first year student wasn’t prepared to be given the responsibility of young nobleman whose family had just been assassinated. Her new charge being the one person who makes her blood boil, she must keep him alive from assassins while simultaneously continuing her training. Asher while impossible, is now her responsibility, and they must navigate the roles they’ve been thrown into. They soon come to realize the forces at work are much larger, and much more dangerous than they realized. Trusting each other is the only way they’re going to make it out of this alive.

This was a cute read! The banter between Asher and Jasmine was genuinely adorable. The growth they experience from enemies, friends, to lovers was refreshing. It wasn’t rushed and naturally fell into place comfortably. As any young romance should! If you loved enemies to lovers, forced proximity, strong heroine, and cursed magic this book is for you!

We got a lot of information of the school, the differences between mages and Keepers, but I wanted to know more about the world outside of the school. The book takes place almost completely within the walls of the school and it would have been cool to have more explanation if we couldn’t physically have characters leave the school often. I would have loved to have more information about the relationship between older Keepers and Mages as well to really get insight into what the “kids” were preparing for once they graduated. I hope that is built up more in the next book. This is going to be a series so I’m assuming more is going to be revealed as we continue into the world!

The author paid great attention to building the magic aspect that I really appreciated. They thought of really clever ways of explaining how the magic in this world works and why it works. I didn’t feel confused as to how they were gathering magic and how they were able to harness it. Especially when it came to how Ashers magic abilities. It was a great start to a series and I’m excited to read the next book!

⭐️⭐️.5 stars (rounded up to 3 for GR)
🌶️ spice

This is a new adult fantasy romance set in an academy, where would-be graduates train to become magic wielders or Keepers (essentially one on one bodyguards to the wielders). The FMC and MMC are rival Keepers training to out-rank each other, when they are both suddenly thrown into real life assignments off the back of the assassination of the MMC's entire family.

This book had so much potential! I'm keeping in mind that this is an arc, so likely some final editing to be done before the publish date to fix up some grammatical errors and repeated phrases etc.

Things I loved about it were the unique magic system, the world itself as a concept, the academic setting, high stakes, action scenes and moments of romantic tension. Loved that there was no "chosen one" trope, but focused on characters with a seemingly lower power ranking in their universe. I also did not see the twist coming at the end, and for that alone I would still want to continue the series to see where it went. I'm invested.

At first it was hard to get into, with the internal monologue of the FMC distracting from the scene setting. She often repeated information that was given in previous pages, those asides seemed like overkill for the plot.

More character and world building would have made this a four star read for me - I really wanted more of the backstories of the main characters. I want to understand why Asher was distant from his family, how Jasmine ended up on the streets and what went down with the king. I don't even think the main characters had detailed descriptions. I couldn't tell you what they look like, which made it hard to visualise them.

I was desperately craving a slow burn! The tension really could have been built up for maximum impact, but their relationship went from 0 to 100, and suddenly Jasmine is jumping on him two seconds after catching the feels. The spice itself felt like it wanted to get more down and dirty, but was cautious of taking that leap into more descriptive territory. Speaking of which, where on earth was the foreplay?! Poor Jasmine. The spice was over so quickly once it finally arrived! Killed me.

Tropes:
✨Rivals to Lovers
✨Forced Proximity
✨One Bed
✨Bodyguard
✨Academia

My review is also published on Goodreads!

The story follows Jasmine, a young girl who has just begun her training as a Keeper at Sanctuary, a college for Keepers and mages. Keepers are dedicated to protecting others, and Jasmine wasn't quite ready for the responsibility that came with it. After a brutal life of thievery in the slums, all she wanted was to focus on mastering the sword arts and avoid her other duties.
However, her plans are quickly derailed when she is assigned to protect a young nobleman whose family was murdered. Her new charge, Marcus, is cocky and smug, and Jasmine can't stand him. But she must put her personal feelings aside and protect him with her life. As they navigate through dangerous situations and unravel a malevolent plot, Jasmine and Marcus start to develop a deeper connection.
One of the things I loved most about this book was the character development. Jasmine is a strong and independent protagonist who has had a tough life, but she learns to open up and trust others as she grows into her role as a Keeper. Marcus, on the other hand, starts off as a spoiled and entitled nobleman, but as he and Jasmine spend more time together, he becomes a more likable and relatable character.
The world-building in this book is also fantastic. A.N. Skye has created a vivid and immersive fantasy world filled with magic, danger, and political intrigue. I found myself fully invested in the story and eager to learn more about this fascinating world. The pacing of the story is perfect, with just the right amount of action, romance, and plot twists to keep the reader engaged. I also appreciated the themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and the power of friendship that were woven throughout the book.
I highly recommend this book!

I can really see where the potential is in the story line but it just falls flat. It could be a great book if written differently.
There is little to no story building so it hard to get deep into the storyline when we don’t understand much about where it’s taking place, the history, etc. Inner-monologue mixed with 3rd person writing feels weird. Not well written, not well executed.

It was so rushed! I also don't like third pov and the writing style wasn't for me. Of the author slowed down the pace and did more world building it wouldn't be bad.

This was not for me.

There’s a few areas where I felt things were lacking but overall the book just felt rushed.

Characters felt one dimensional and I didn’t engage with any of them. I don’t feel like I really got to know any of them either, they just all fell a bit flat for me. This probably wasn’t helped by the dialogue feeling quite stilted and awkward at times. There was very minimal world building going on here. What glimpses we got of the world were interesting but there needed to be so much more of it. I also felt like the prose was a bit juvenile at times - I was expecting YA from the writing but then suddenly romance scenes are ramping up which surprised me honestly. You know what didn’t surprise me though? The plot. Very predictable. I called every ‘twist’ a mile away which was disappointing.

There’s definitely potential here but I think it all just felt a bit ‘rough and ready’ and needs polishing up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

So I really tried to like this book, however it wasn't engaging enough. The book primarily circled around the heroin and hero, which did not necessarily feel like a 'complete' story. I skimmed through most of it. There wasn't much in terms of romance, character development and exceptional writing that immediately captivates you as a reader. The storyline itself felt generic to other books in this category and some bits made me cringe due to the lack of it being a masterpiece.

Wow the plot was everything.
This was such a fun and enjoyable read! I loved the characters, their wit and desire to do the most, this book gives forced proximity, thrilling romance, tension build up and friendships! I’d definitely say the book is more YA nonetheless still such an easy book to read.

I’m afraid I had to dnf this book at 40% I really tried to love and I think the premise is fantastic it just needs a little extra work to be really good .

I loved this book! The twists, turns, and suspense made for an exciting reading experience. The way the relationship developed between the two main characters had me rooting for their romance from the beginning. I loved that they were both strong fighters and worked so well together. The unique bond between them enhanced their relationship even more after they’d already chosen each other. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I’m excited to see what the author has in store for potential future installments!

Thank you so much to Aethon Books for providing this ARC book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 13%

Sadly this book is written in third pov. I really wanted to still continue reading but sadly I can’t☹️☹️

🕮 ARC review 🕮


✰⋆☾ ⋆ Keeper of Scarlet Petals ⭑☽ ✧˖°. A.N. Skye ✰


🕮 Romantasy
🕮 Debut novel
🕮 Love the cover
🕮 Magic
🕮 ?/🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

DNF'd this book at 40%, It felt too rushed and not engaging what so ever. Almost zero to no world building and the relationship felt really rushed while the book is listed as a slow burn.

Wasn't a fan of the writing style either but that's my personal preference. 😊

Synopsis: Jasmine was granted reprieve from the slums by the King to devote her life to being a Keeper. Who knew that would mean acting as a Keeper on year one of training! Her life gets suddenly uprooted one day as she’s forced to protect her rival, Asher, from Keeper training. Asher had been hiding that he is Starvein, the noble class that can safely practice magic. Jasmine cannot fail. She has no choice but to trust Asher and find a way to keep them both safe from constant threats.

All in all, I do think the series has potential and good start to a debut novel. There is plenty of room for character growth as the story unfolds.

The pacing of the book was ok. The story spans over a few weeks. We have little to no information about the world or the Sanctuary other than it being a kingdom and the dangers of who can and cannot possess magic. I do think this was in part intentional by the author to keep people curious and to make surprising moments more of a shock. My copy had some spelling and grammatical errors.

SPOILERS about love interest ahead:
Asher and Jasmine were a nice duo to read regarding their partnership, but the relationship between Asher and Jasmine was not a slow burn. It happened almost immediately. We do get Asher’s point of view at times although it’s mainly told in third person POV with Jasmine’s thoughts interjected. One of Asher’s early POVs was letting us know he wanted to court Jasmine before he was forced to transfer from the Keeper program to Starvein program. The chapters prior to that did not make Asher and Jasmine close, but they were more of academic rivals. It didn’t seem like much of the first year of training went on. In a relatively short time, he wants to court her, they become roommates, and then start dating.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review! There’s a near identical Goodreads book listed as Keeper of Crimson Petals by
Winter Lie. I’m assuming this is the same book under another name.