Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors. I have many of her books and look forward to each of her new books. She writes several new books each year. She has written several trilogies. Key of Light, the first book in a new trilogy, was just released. I’m already anxious for the next two books.

Mallory Price received a strange invitation to attend some kind of reception at Warrior’s Peak, a very old house that was creepy looking. The house was outside of Pleasant Valley, where Mallory lived. Mallory was upset about things that happened with her job. She had been happy being the manager of The Gallery, but all that changed when the owner, James, let his new wife Pamela, have authority in The Gallery even though she knew nothing about art or running a gallery. Mallory tried to remain calm about the situation, but one day she finally lost it and called Pamela a few names. Mallory was worried that she was going to be fired for what happened. Mallory was worried about how she would pay her bills. She had a habit of spending too much money on nice clothes and things.

Mallory arrived at Warrior’s Peak and met one of the hosts, Rowena, before meeting another guest. Dana Steele worked in the library in Pleasant Valley. Her hours had just been cut, and she was told her rent was going up. She was also worried about financial matters. The third and final guest, Zoe McCourt arrived. She had recently had job troubles as well. The owner of the salon where Zoe worked was ticked because she didn’t get an invitation like Zoe, and she came up with an excuse to fire Zoe. The three women hadn’t met before, but they had some things in common. Zoe was the only one who had a child. Simon was nine.

The three women met their other host, a man named Pitte. He then told them a story about a God who fell in love with a mortal woman. The woman chose love and entered the world of the Gods and married him. He was the future King. Some of the other Gods weren’t happy about him marrying a mortal woman and started to plot against him and his wife. They eventually had three daughters who were demigods with mortal souls. Enemies of the God targeted the daughters. They did have two guards, a man and a woman, but they fell in love and were distracted one day. A spell was cast that put the sisters into an enchanted sleep. They souls were locked in a box that could only be opened with three special keys. The keys had to be found and used by three mortal women. In each generation, three mortal women would come together who could use the keys to free the souls of the daughters. Mallory, Dana, and Zoe were the women for this generation. Pitte and Rowena showed the three women a painting of the daughters. The daughters looked like Mallory, Dana, and Zoe.

Pitte and Rowena wanted the three women to search for the keys. Each woman would have one month to find one of the keys. All three had to agree to search. If one of them failed to find a key, they all failed. They were offered a lot of money just to look for the keys, regardless of if they found them or not. If they were successful, they would receive even more money. They would have some clues to help them, along with a guide. Dana was very skeptical about it, but agreed since Mallory and Zoe wanted to do it. Mallory was randomly selected to search for the first key. The three women agreed to work together to research the story and look for the keys.

James did fire Mallory because of what happened with Pamela. She would be taking a more active role in The Gallery from now on. Mallory was upset about losing her job but focused on the search for the first key. She met Dana and Zoe to go over what they managed to learn since meeting Pitte and Rowena. They went to the house of Dana’s brother Flynn. He was a reporter for the local newspaper. He had a large dog named Moe that liked to pounce on Mallory. Flynn became involved for the search for the key. Flynn had heard about the story from his grandmother before.

Flynn was very interested in Mallory. They spent time working together researching the story of the sisters and looking for the key. They did become involved. Jordan and Brad, Flynn’s two best friends from high school returned to Pleasant Valley and were drawn into the search. Dana wasn’t happy to see Jordan. Something had happened between them and Dana was still mad about it. Zoe got defensive around Brad, assuming he looked down on her because of her occupation and that she had a child when she was young. Brad and Jordan each owned a painting that was connected to the painting the three women saw when they met Pitte and Rowena. The other two paintings were also connected to the search for the keys in some way. There was danger involved in the search for the keys. The God who cast the spell knew they were looking and he didn’t want them to succeed.

Key of Light was released at the end of October 2003. I found it on a shelf near the front of my local bookstore with other newly released paper back books. Other books by Nora Roberts can be found in the romance section of most bookstores.

I really enjoyed Key of Light. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down, which is normal for me when I read a Nora Roberts book. There were some things that were predictable, but that didn’t make the book less enjoyable for me. It was well written and descriptive, which is normal for a Nora Roberts book.

The plot of Key of Light was a little different, but I really enjoyed it. It could be too different for some people. A legend about the three daughters of a God and his human wife was very important to the plot of the book. The book wasn’t really about magic, but there were magical things that happened in the book. I really enjoyed the plot. The fact that there were some different elements in the book didn’t bother me one bit. People who don’t like books that are a little different or that have elements of fantasy may not like this book. People who read and enjoyed the Three Sisters Island Trilogy may also like this book.

There was some mystery in Key of Light related to the search for the key that Mallory was looking for. The mystery wasn’t as complex as it has been in some other books by Nora Roberts. The search for the key was the main focus of the book. Mallory was picked to look for the first key, but Dana and Zoe did do things to help Mallory in the search.

There was some romance between Mallory and Flynn in Key of Light. They met near the beginning of the book and their relationship developed over the course of the book. There were some sexual situations and acts between them in the book. The sex scenes were descriptive, but not really explicit. People who don’t like those sort of scenes or romances may not like the book. People who have read and not liked some other books by Nora Roberts may not like this book. There was a bit of tension between Dana and Jordan after he returned to town. They had been involved before, and things didn’t end well. I have a feeling that it was set up for those two to end up together in a future book. Zoe and Brad also had some tension together. I think they may end up involved in the future as well.

Key of Light is the first book in a new trilogy by Nora Roberts. The Key Trilogy is about the search for three special keys. Each book focuses in on the search for one of the keys by a different woman. The women do help each other search and they become friends. Flynn, Dana’s brother, and his two friends also help the women with the search. Dana and Zoe were important to the plot of the book, but they weren’t the main focus or as developed as Mallory and Flynn. They will each get the chance to be a more important character in one of the future books. Their development will continue in those books. The second book is due to be released in November, and the third of December. With previous trilogies, the books were released several months apart. I’m glad there is a shorter wait for each new book this time.

Nora Roberts also writes a futuristic romantic suspense series as J.D. Robb. I love those books. I actually started with the In Death books and then moved onto other Nora Roberts books. The In Death series has more focus on mystery, though there is also some romance in the books. The same group of main characters return for each book. Eve Dallas and her husband are the two main characters. Eve is a homicide detective and Roarke is extremely rich. He owns all kinds of businesses. Each book deals with a different case that Eve is working on. Roarke usually ends up helping with the investigation some way. The books are just over fifty years in the future. Roberts invented all kinds of interesting futuristic things for the characters to use. People who like these books may also like Nora Roberts books.

CHARACTERS

Mallory - She was the manager of a local art gallery and liked her job. Then her boss let his new wife do more at the gallery. Mallory told the woman off and ended up getting fired. She was invited to a reception where there were only two other guests. The three women were offered a lot of money to search for three keys. The women decided to do it. They became good friends during the search. Mallory had plotted out her future in great detail and she was thrown when she lost her job because that wasn’t part of her plan. She had wanted to open her own gallery, but she was worried about the risks involved in doing that. She had trouble saving money. She spent a lot of money on clothes, and over drew her checking account often.

Dana - She worked in the library. Her hours were cut back to almost nothing and she was told her rent was going up. She was very skeptical about the search for the keys, but agreed to go along with it. She seemed to be suspicious a lot of the time. She wasn’t happy when a former boyfriend returned to town. It wasn’t really clear in the book when they dated, but I think it was in high school or right after. She was very stubborn. Dana had been wanting to open her own bookstore.

Zoe - She was a single mother. Zoe worked at a salon in town until her boss came up with a reason to fire her. Zoe wanted to open her own salon. She was touchy at times when she thought someone was judging her about her job or having a child at a young age. She was judgmental at times about some people though. She assumed that some people were a certain way if they had money. She was a kind woman most of the time, but she was nasty with another character at times.

Flynn - He was Dana’s brother. He ran the local newspaper. He was worried about his sister and her new friends getting mixed up in the search for the keys. He had heard the story about the sisters before and got involved in the search. He had to work through some feelings he had about a few things.

Jordan - He was a successful writer. He had been friends with Flynn in high school and had dated Dana for a while. Things didn’t end well. He seemed to want to make up for that. He owned a painting that was tied to the search. He was staying with Flynn and ended up helping with the search.

Brad - He was part of the richest family in town. They owned a successful lumbar company. He had been living somewhere else for several years but decided to come back. He had been friends with Flynn and Jordan. Brad also owned a painting that was connected to the search. He got involved in it too. He seemed drawn to Zoe even though she made assumptions about him because of his family.

Simon - Zoe’s nine year old son.

Rowena and Pitte - The two people who wanted Mallory, Zoe, and Dana to search for the keys. They were close to each other. They had high hopes for this search. They had been doing this for a long time.

I really enjoyed Key of Light and am looking forward to the next two books in the trilogy. This is a must read for Nora Roberts fans.

Reviews of other Nora Roberts Books
Dance Upon the Air ~ Heaven & Earth ~ Face the Fire ~ Reflections ~ Dance of Dreams ~ Hidden Star ~ Captive Star ~ Secret Star ~ Night Shift ~ Night Shadow ~ Night Smoke ~ Night Shield ~ Cordina's Crown Jewel ~ Cordina's Royal Family ~ Once More With Feeling ~ Midnight Bayou ~ Three Fates ~ The Villa ~ Sweet Revenge ~ Genuine Lies ~ Chesapeake Blue ~ Birthright ~ Engaging the Enemy ~ Remember When ~


Reviews of Books in the In Death Series
Seduction in Death ~ Reunion in Death ~ Purity in Death ~ Portrait in Death ~ Imitation in Death ~


Recommended: Yes