I'm writing this from the point of view of someone who's just read the first, so I'm reviewing this book alone rather than as part of the series. In fact, this is only the second Nora Roberts book I've ever read so I'm still getting a 'feel' for the author.

I'm afraid I'm disappointed. Now, in fairness, the book is good enough that I wanted to finish it. I just thought that the characters were not very subtly painted and a bit cartoonish and predictable. Too much man-woman conflict (you know, being cross and snarky with each other when really they're desperate to... ahem) which I don't think is *all* that common - every relationship in this book seems to include it.

I don't want to go into detail about the plot, but this 'find the magic key' seems to be a bit facile. Don't get me wrong, I *love* contemporary fantasy or paranormal stories, but I just think they need to be done with extra cleverness as it's difficult to pull off contemporary fantasy with our 'realistic' mindset. I just didn't feel convinced here.

I haven't decided whether to read the next one. I'm a bit of a completist so I'm tempted, but to be honest I'm quite lukewarm about this book. ( )

Key of Light is the first in the "Key" series by Nora Roberts. I had/have very high hopes for this series, as one of the main three characters is a librarian, and there is a mystery to be solved.

So far, I am NOT impressed. The mystery is VERY farfetched, the men in the book seem kind of cartoonish, and the women...I don't know. I'm just not liking them very much. Zoe seems to be suffering from Michael-on-LOST syndrome ("My boy! My boy! Why aren't we talking about my son? Let's talk about my son! He's the light of my world!"); Dana, the librarian, is supposed to be kind of a smartass but isn't coming off very well; and Malory, the focus of the first book, goes through such a rapid transformation that I didn't even care about it. Oh, one second you have a strict life plan and now you're going to quit your job, propose marriage to someone you've known two weeks, and everyone is just hunky dory about it?

And the mystery they have to solve! Oh, Nora, Nora Nora Nora. Could you be any more bizarre? Three women are called to a spooky mansion in the middle of nowhere and are given a task to find three keys so that ancient souls might be set free? Gee whiz. I think I've gotten cynical in my old age. 3,000 year old gods and an evil sorcerer...sure, that sounds interesting. But not in a 350-page book with a highly improbable romance and weak characters!

I wonder if I've just read one too many pure fantasy books. Can I not pick up a corny fantasy and enjoy it? Maybe my tastes have changed - or maybe this just isn't the right time for me to read these books. I wonder if I'm just sick of Nora Roberts. I haven't read any in a while. This might just be one of the "bad ones". I will probably at least give the next book a try to see how the librarian does. If I'm not impressed, I don't think I'd feel bad about skipping the third one. ( )

Hmmm, will have to read next one to be sure but have a feeling I'll be disappointed. ( )

Such a great book. When I first started reading it I wasn't so sure but every page took you deeper into the story. A definate page tuner. A must read. Nora Roberts has done it again with this book, cant wait to start the next one in this series. ( )

This was the first of Nora Robert’s supernatural-themed books I’ve read, and it wasn’t quite what I expected. I guess I wasn’t expecting the supernatural part to be so blatent? Regardless, I enjoyed it and read it in about a day and a half. I liked all of the characters (especially Moe!), which is actually pretty unusual for me with this kind of book. Usually there’s at least one of them that gets on my nerves. I prefer her romantic suspense, but I’ll definitely finish this trilogy. ( )