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A review by celeste57
Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If Nora Roberts is my ultimate comfort author (which she is), then this trilogy is my ultimate comfort trilogy. Of the dozens of trilogies and quartets I’ve read from her, the Key trilogy is my favorite. There are others that I love, that I also return to again and again for comfort. And then there are those that I really respect, such as the Chronicle of the One. But this trilogy I respect and admire and love deeply. It just really resonates with me. And I can’t believe I’ve never reviewed it!
Our story begins with three very different women from the same small town being invited to a mysterious mansion on a dark and stormy night. There they are given a quest of mythic proportions: find three keys to free the souls of three demigoddesses over the course of three months, and each woman will win a million dollars. But, of course, there are stakes. Should they accept the quest but fail to deliver, they will each lose an undisclosed year of their lives. The women, Mallory, Dana, and Zoe, must believe in the seemingly impossible and band together in order to complete their task and win the prize.
This second installment is Dana’s story, and she is the Nora Roberts heroine who, throughout her entire body of work, I relate to the most. Dana is obsessed with books in the same way I am. Consider the quotes below:
Our story begins with three very different women from the same small town being invited to a mysterious mansion on a dark and stormy night. There they are given a quest of mythic proportions: find three keys to free the souls of three demigoddesses over the course of three months, and each woman will win a million dollars. But, of course, there are stakes. Should they accept the quest but fail to deliver, they will each lose an undisclosed year of their lives. The women, Mallory, Dana, and Zoe, must believe in the seemingly impossible and band together in order to complete their task and win the prize.
This second installment is Dana’s story, and she is the Nora Roberts heroine who, throughout her entire body of work, I relate to the most. Dana is obsessed with books in the same way I am. Consider the quotes below:
“She surrounded herself with books at work and at home. Her living space was a testament to her first and abiding love with shelves jammed with books tables crowded with them. She saw them not only as knowledge entertainment comfort even sanity but as a kind of artful decoration. ”
“...If I don't have twenty or thirty books right here, waiting to be read, I start jonesing. That's my compulsion.”
I would say I need to have ten times that amount waiting to be read for the first time, but otherwise Dana and I are in total agreement. She has a book for every occasion, and that makes her a kindred spirit for me. Then there’s Jordan, her brother’s best friend and her first love, who left her to pursue his writing career. He’s back, and he’s still gorgeous. And she’s still royally pissed at him. But he’s grown a lot, and so has she. They have to find new footing together as the gang continues their search for the second key. Dana’s key.
I love how Nora writes Dana’s love for books, as well as Jordan’s passion for penning them. There is an enormous love of story permeating this entire installment, which is why it is my favorite of the three, though every single one of them is a 5 star book for me. The second-chance romance is wonderful, as is the character development from not only Dana and Jordan, but from all six of our main characters. The search for the key is compelling, and the tense climax of this book is my favorite in the series. And then there’s the library at the end. It’s truly what dreams are made of.
I also love the friendship between Mallory, Dana, and Zoe. I also absolutely adore the business venture they embark upon together in the form of Indulgence, a combination art gallery, bookstore, and salon. It just sounds incredible, and is the fictional shop I have daydreamed about the most in my life. One of Nora’s strengths as a writer is her easy way with poetic descriptions of places, and that is on brilliant display in this trilogy, not only in Indulgence, but in the houses of our various characters as well as Warrior’s Peak, the aforementioned mysterious mansion. Nora paints beautiful pictures with her words here.
While I’m sure there are plenty of legitimate critiques that could be made of this book and the rest of the trilogy, I have no notes for this story. It’s an incredibly subjective 5 stars. I just love the Key trilogy so much. It’s something I can sink back into anytime I need something cozy, and it’s a story that I think about frequently. If you’ve ever thought about reading a Nora Roberts trilogy but didn’t know which one to try first, start here!