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Hayle Coven #6

Gatekeeper

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The Call of the Sidhe

The Gate awaits me, shining splendor glowing in the pale light. I look up, see the moon hanging over me, full and bloated, speaking a promise of freedom.

The otherworld portal begins to hum a welcome as I move closer, calling me. But as I draw near, a great tension takes me over, a suffocating terror that grows, fed by the call of the Gate and the moon, until I cry out for it to end.

Syd had been hoping grade twelve would go smoothly. But it’s not even the first day of class and she’s dreaming about some Sidhe gate and an approaching threat. Before she can enlist her mother’s help, her grandmother Ethpeal disappears, presumably gone after the Dumonts. Miriam pursues her mother, leaving Syd in charge of the coven. All fine and good, except no one trusts or believes in her. Add to that her new friend, Liam, seems somehow tied to the dreams she’s having, threats from Celeste and the fact Meira is suddenly acting like a little brat and Syd has her hands full. Maybe too full.

Someone is knocking at the Gate and she has no way of answering.

333 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 8, 2012

33 people are currently reading
309 people want to read

About the author

Patti Larsen

307 books549 followers
I write a lot of paranormal books for someone who is afraid of the dark. And I wonder why I have to sleep with the lights on. Sometimes life is a teenaged B horror movie and I'm the one who investigates when the scary music is playing. But the voices are calling and resistance is… Yes. I am a Star Trek geek, too. And a fan of RPG’s. With a slight coolness factor since I've been told I'm allowed to join the pops.

Naw. I like being a nerdy girl :)

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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Jennifer.
314 reviews10 followers
July 7, 2012
I am a HUGE fan of Patti Larsen's writing, especially this Hayle Coven series. Each book is seriously better than the last. So, somehow I missed the announcement that Gatekeeper was out and available (I'm blaming the new changes to Facebook changes). As soon as I knew I downloaded it and every other book I was reading was put on hold. I finished Gatekeeper in less than a day's time. Yes, it is THAT good. Patti's writing is THAT good to keep my attention and hold me in her thrall until the very. LAST. Word.

Gatekeeper picks up where The Long Lost ended. Quaid is still living with the evil Dumonts under pretenses of being one of them with revenge on his mind. Syd's father, Harry is still stuck as a mortal and trying his darndest to get back to Demonicon. Celeste is still being a pain in the ass (I really can't stand her lol). And we can't forget Syd's friend, the troubled, one tip to shift the balance train wreck waiting to happen Alison. Still needy as ever, but you can't help but to feel some of her pain and want to make everything okay for her.

And then there is Twelfth Grade, graduation looming like a light at the end of the tunnel for Syd. Then Gram decides to take off with her own revenge on her mind. When Syd's mother decides to go in search of her, along with Uncle Frank, who is still coming to terms with his own mess (which if you ask me, he should be grateful to even still be around, but that's a story for another day...) the family magic is transferred to Syd and she suddenly finds herself in charge of the coven...and the household, as her dad has basically checked out, too wrapped up in his own self and issues, and little sis Meira, with her new snotty attitude and new found love for makeup and hair products, until her mother's return. Sounds like enough is on her plate already right? HA! Yeah right. Now there is a Gate that Syd has been dreaming of, and the fate of the world and the Sidhe is at risk and time is already running out to not only find the Gate but to save the day once again. Enter new character Liam, a new favorite of mine. The last of the Gatekeepers.

Full of keep you on your toes excitement, I am never not amazed at where Patti takes the storyline. As long as she keeps churning them out, I will keep reading them!
Profile Image for Alexia Purdy.
Author 117 books1,094 followers
November 5, 2013
Oh, the Sidhe! I couldn’t wait to get more of the Faerie realm in this installment of the Hayle Coven series and Patti Larsen did not disappoint. If you haven’t read the previous books, don’t read this review, it has some spoilers.

Syd is dealing with a lot lately. Her friends have moved on, Quaid is still incognito with the Dumonts and she’s still getting used to being part Sidhe princess, Demon and Witch. What’s a girl to do? Well, add on to it all by having her Grandmother Ethpeal, still a bit crazy but very powerful and still bent on vengeance as she disappears, heading after the Dumonts. Can’t have a crazy old lady wandering the world plotting complete destruction of a coven belonging to a witch who plotted to demolish hers, right? So, of course, poor Miriam takes chase after her, along with her very damaged vampire brother, Uncle Frank. Poor Frank! Love that guy and what happened to him in the last book is just devastating.

Syd gets to play leader for once and I couldn’t wait to see how she handled the mess that her coven is. Would they support her? Would they shun her? Would they leave her in the dust? Well, it was quite an adventure. Doesn’t help that Shaylee, her Sidhe princess side is giving her nightmares about some gate that scares the bejeezus out of them both. What the heck?

Oh, but we do get to meet Liam, another newbie in town. Hot! He sounds like a dream come true for Syd, but he seems to not fit somehow, and I wondered if he might be magical or have something to do with the chaos around Syd. He’s definitely different. Plus, there are strangers in town who are eyeing them both for unknown reasons and Sidhe magic all around (Yaay!).

The action and plotting for world domination in this installment was amazing. Love, love, love any Sidhe story and this one had some history about many of the magical creatures in Wilding Springs. Loved it as usual and I’m super excited to read onto the next books of the Hayle Coven Series.
Profile Image for Lynn Clark.
231 reviews5 followers
October 16, 2017
Crazy twists and turns that I didn't expect at all, all centered around a new character. Jealousy a few different ways and the coven turning on her, yet again. Drama, drama, drama!
Profile Image for Nereid.
1,466 reviews21 followers
December 15, 2014
Sydlynn Hayle is not just any witch, she is half demon,host to the spirit of the Sidhe princess Shaylee and also the daughter of the Hayle Coven leader. This book takes off where the last one left off, her would be boyfriend Quaid is off risking his life to get revenge, Uncle Frank is now a former shadow of his happy self due to the Dumont family and her Grams is plotting revenge against Olivia Dumont on a daily basis. Her dad is still mortal and her best friend Alison is a total train wreck after being in the thrall of the Dumont brothers and Syd had yet to go back to high school for another year. There is always lots of action this series and this book is no exception. Syd is left in charge of the coven as her mother is off chasing Gram who has left to seek retribution on the Dumont family and Syd is finding it hard to instil loyalty in the rest of the coven. Celeste is up to her old tricks and trying to wrestle power away from her mother in her absence, Liam the new boy at school is cute and she is feeling drawn to him and then there is the haunting dreams of foreboding where Shaylee is trying to warn her that something bad is about to happen. What with dealing with her coven, her sister Meira going off the rails and becoming one of the "beautiful people", life is far from ordinary. To top it all off, Syd learns there is Gate and she has to find it or the fate of the Sidhe and the world is about to get a whole lot worse. Then there is the fact that she has feelings for Liam but Quaid is still a no show, should she wait for him or move on with her life, high school was never mean't to be this stressful. A great family series, no real violence or sex but good old fashioned fun that I would let my nieces read without question.
Profile Image for Angie.
1,403 reviews283 followers
October 24, 2012
In "Gatekeeper", the sixth novel in the Hayle Coven series, Patti Larsen has yet another absolutely unique story to tell.

After a peaceful bit of summer holiday, Syd starts her senior year with even more troubles and responsibilities than she ever had before. Her mom leaves her in charge of the coven while she goes off to find her vanished grandmother. Syd's little sister, Meira, has turned into a brat, and she is having frightening dreams about a full moon and a gate. At school the nasty new vice principal seems to be targeting her for punishments, Her best friend Alison has a personal crisis, and what is the connection between her dreams and the hot new guy, Liam O'Dane?

I enjoyed this suspense-laden and yet heart warming book as much as - if not more - the previous five Hayle Coven novels. The wonderfully realistic characters feel like old friends to me while new additions to the character cast brings a freshness to every new book. The main character, Syd, never fails to make me smile even while she is in the most dire of disastrous situations. Her dialogue is excellent but it is in Syd's inner dialogue and highly amusing thoughts that the author works her true magic. From mental self-admonishment and speculations, to her inner conversations with her demon and Shaylee, the sidhe princess, you will find yourself howling with laughter. The close bond Syd has with her family, friends and her very special talking pets, brings a lovely tenderness to the story.

As is usual with this author's books, I could not put "Gatekeeper" down. Again I have to advise readers to get hold of the first five books in this series before reading "Gatekeeper". A huge cheer and 5 stars for another wonderful book! (Ellen Fritz)
Profile Image for Tricia.
11 reviews
June 13, 2012
Gate Keeper, by Patti Larsen, is the sixth book in the Hayle Coven Series (and as I sometimes call it in error, the Hayle Family Series). Larsen is quite adept at pulling me into her worlds, I think I might need to branch out and read some of her works not related to the Hayle family. After so many books focusing on this family, I almost feel as though I am a part of it. I am at war with myself, wanting to know how this ends and not wanting it to end all at the same time.

We find Syd as she begins her Senior year, the first time she has ever spent two years in a row at a school. She is excited by the prospect of not having to make new friends, of even having friends at all, until she realizes that her group of friends isn't what it used to be.

After a quite month or so (elapsed time since the previous book) Syd hopes things can stay quiet for a while for once, but we all know how that works out. If there was no drama or adventure there would be no book!

The first day back, Syd meets a new student and the new vice principal who is a real piece of work. Things are falling apart at home and she feels as lost and alone as ever even as she is faced with greater responsibility. Faced with another disaster of epic proportions, and seemingly no one willing to back her up, Syd must handle problems at home, with friends, with school, and of course, problems with the world of magic.

I give this book a 4 out of 5. I couldn't read it fast enough. My heart raced, I rolled my eyes, I got angry and I nearly cried. Perhaps I'm just emotional today, but Syd has sucked me in and I am enjoying the chance to continue to watch her grow.
Profile Image for Debi Domby.
124 reviews1 follower
December 30, 2013
I saw Ms. Larsen's first book Family Magic on BookBub.com and thought it sounded interesting, a which demon gal, different. That hooked me to buy the first story in the 20 book series. The writing and characters kept me hooked through the remaining 19 books. I rarely will buy Ebooks when they're $5.99 ... after Family Magic I didn't blink, just bought the next one and downloaded. I just had to see what was going to happen next. I really got invested in the story line, wanting to know what twists and turns would happen next. I don't know how many times I burst out laughing or cried my eyes out as the story unfolded (make sure you have a box of tissues for the last couple books you'll need them), or how often I didn't want to put the book down (but had to because my lunch hour was over) The characters were believable ... some you fell in love with, others you loved to hate. Anything I write about the story will give away what happens, but so you have to read them and see what happened. You won't be sorry you picked them up. I just wish there was more after book story, but there are more in the Hayle Coven universe. I read the books one after another, so this is the same review for all of them.

I'm 50 and enjoy young adult books because the lack of sex scenes in them You get to know the characters more in them. Although Syd does have sex in some of them, there is no description of it, just mentioned that she did have it and maybe waking up with her boyfriend. My niece is 14 and I'd give them to her to read.
Profile Image for Kimberly Kinrade.
Author 26 books679 followers
July 7, 2012
Patti Larsen is one of my favorite authors and this is one of my most favorite series. And within this series, the books just keep getting better and better.

I loved this book! Syd's life is never normal, no matter how hard she tries to make it so. Now that her best friend is gone, her boyfriend is pretending to be engaged to her enemy in order to bring down his birth family, and her other friends have moved or taken up with other social circles, Syd finds herself alone again.

But someone is coming for her. Dreams that are more than dreams intrude in her life and beckon her to a different world. Someone is knocking, begging to come in, but that probably wouldn't end well for Syd, or humanity. Now Syd must find the gatekeeper, and make sure he learns what to do to stop what's coming, before it's too late.

As if that wasn't enough for a girl to deal with, her grandmother has gone off alone to track their enemies, and the new dreamy boy at school? Yeah, he's involved too.

Oh my dear Syd, you have so much to deal with. Is it wrong that I derive so much pleasure from reading about all your adventures?

Keep writing, Patti Larsen. This series is the best!
10 reviews
February 7, 2016
Keep Reading!!

Each book brings more trouble, more suspense and excitiement. All of this I am sure is leading up to a great finish. Syd has accepted her role as witch, demon, sidhe...more or less, and is maturing and taking her place as a coven leader. After she once again almost single-handedly saves the world, the group is finally starting to support her.
Profile Image for Donna Huber.
Author 1 book305 followers
May 16, 2014
A little different story line, which I found to be a nice change. I liked the introduction of a few new characters. Not liking Harry at all. I know he has his own stuff to deal with, but they are his children.
Profile Image for Kirstin Lund.
40 reviews9 followers
June 30, 2012
The Hayle Coven series gets better and better with each book.
Profile Image for Stephanie Garza.
Author 9 books41 followers
June 14, 2017
Another winner

So much is starting to happen in Syd's life that it seems like a never ending roller coaster ride. Another great installment to an amazing series.
Profile Image for Jeanne.
223 reviews
October 7, 2015
As always, I enjoyed the Hayle Coven. These books are good mindless escapism. Each book gets a little better, and the plot becomes a little more complicated.
725 reviews8 followers
July 16, 2016
Still lovin' it

I continue to be amazed by the twists and turns of the plotline and am truly hooked on the story of Hayle Coven. Only trouble is that I can't stop reading.
Profile Image for Scott Roberts.
614 reviews81 followers
April 11, 2017
The book cover has a medieval look. I give this book 5 stars.
Profile Image for Abi.
2,281 reviews
May 1, 2017
This book was good! I liked all the Sidhe intrigue, with Venement(? on the name), Liam (gotta love him, though definitely best friend material), and Shaylee's dreams of the Gate. I really enjoyed all the stuff happening. Except Alison. I wish I could say that it was out of left field, but honestly? Her desperation and problems have been there and were building. I'm not saying good riddance, though. I liked her, and I hope she comes back to her former bitchy self one day. Also, that moment where Syd stood up to Lord Venement and was all "HAHAHA I am not some mortal you idiot I'm a kickass powerful witch-demon-princess combo" I was totally, completely, utterly onboard. It's so nice when the MC kicks ass. Insert sigh of happiness here. 5 stars. Definitely worth the read.

A note: I have been noticing slight editing errors. It pains me. Just little missing words, like "I went to home" instead of "I went to my home" or "I" instead of "It" at the beginning of a sentence. They weren't everywhere, but I did notice them, and they slightly detracted from the experience, because the nice thing about these books is that they completely and totally pull you into Syd's world and her issues and it's wonderful. :)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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