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A Keeper's War #1
Perpetual Winter
A coming of age fantasy
The last hive has fallen.
Only one queen remains.
Would you give up your life to save a colony which hates you?
At sixteen, Estefania discovers her life has been a lie. Her father isn’t a warring king too busy to visit her. Her father never existed. Her island home is a carefully constructed facade to keep her safe from the mysterious Wasp Lord who wants
her dead.
Estefania is sent to the frightening world of Men. Instead of finding safety as a princess in a royal family, she meets the face of cruelty and becomes the victim of another complicated power play.
One man stands between her and death. He’s been with her since childhood, but she doesn’t trust him. She doesn’t even like him.
Estefania has a secret, one she must guard with her life.
She has a bee nature.
She’s seen the hive.
She is the last queen.
This is the first book in A Keeper's War trilogy.
Download it today FREE and grab The Bee Queen at its introductory price.
The last hive has fallen.
Only one queen remains.
Would you give up your life to save a colony which hates you?
At sixteen, Estefania discovers her life has been a lie. Her father isn’t a warring king too busy to visit her. Her father never existed. Her island home is a carefully constructed facade to keep her safe from the mysterious Wasp Lord who wants
her dead.
Estefania is sent to the frightening world of Men. Instead of finding safety as a princess in a royal family, she meets the face of cruelty and becomes the victim of another complicated power play.
One man stands between her and death. He’s been with her since childhood, but she doesn’t trust him. She doesn’t even like him.
Estefania has a secret, one she must guard with her life.
She has a bee nature.
She’s seen the hive.
She is the last queen.
This is the first book in A Keeper's War trilogy.
Download it today FREE and grab The Bee Queen at its introductory price.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 3, 2018
40 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
K.T. Bowes
39 books66 followersMarried and bringing up four children during her twenties and thirties, K T Bowes reserved her storytelling for them.
She emigrated to New Zealand in 2006 with her family on a one way ticket. They arrived with just one suitcase each. The international bestselling Hana Du Rose Mysteries began shortly afterwards, hammered out on an old laptop used for Skyping family back home.
Since then, she has published more than twenty five books ranging from women's literature through teen series, to a fantasy trilogy.
The author has given interviews to That's Life Magazine and the BBC during her writing career. Each of her first in series novels are free to readers on all digital platforms.
K T Bowes has a passion for folk art and renovating wooden furniture. Her work as an archivist often appears within story lines. After two significant falls, she gave up horse riding but often has a guest horse or two in the paddock. She lives above the city of Hamilton, close to the Waikato River and the Hakarimata Ranges. Many of her novels are based in New Zealand, but some transport the reader back to England and the Midlands where she grew up.
She emigrated to New Zealand in 2006 with her family on a one way ticket. They arrived with just one suitcase each. The international bestselling Hana Du Rose Mysteries began shortly afterwards, hammered out on an old laptop used for Skyping family back home.
Since then, she has published more than twenty five books ranging from women's literature through teen series, to a fantasy trilogy.
The author has given interviews to That's Life Magazine and the BBC during her writing career. Each of her first in series novels are free to readers on all digital platforms.
K T Bowes has a passion for folk art and renovating wooden furniture. Her work as an archivist often appears within story lines. After two significant falls, she gave up horse riding but often has a guest horse or two in the paddock. She lives above the city of Hamilton, close to the Waikato River and the Hakarimata Ranges. Many of her novels are based in New Zealand, but some transport the reader back to England and the Midlands where she grew up.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 22, 2018
I have read a few of this author's contemporary books, the first being her book based in Lincoln - Demons on her shoulder way back in 2014, being that I grew up in Lincolnshire I really felt the book come to life with the authors descriptive writing. This book is the authors first foray into fantasy, and again her voice gives the reader a lot to take in. The world building and characters both.
Now I did have a bit of a glance at this book when it was first published, I downloaded a sample and I did find it harder to get into that her other works, BUT the book I just read is an updated version, which has cleared up the confusion into the timelines of the story.
I don't want to give the story away, but we start in the past, then skip to the present at chapter 3. The new version I read clearly stated this and I had no trouble following the story.
So this is fantasy, but the author has still used her skills to immerse the reader into the story, both how the author has built up the world and her characters, but she has still kept her trait of keeping you guessing to what the path of each character will be , The writing is quite poetic in a way, the descriptions of memories, smells of plants and honey creating a place where you would like to visit for instance.
Our Lead character is Estefania, she is a Melitto princess who has been living on an island for her protection, when we meet her but she can feel the nature of Bee's and via her similie enter the hive. In book 1 we follow her journey as she is taken away by the Forlornn Prince, her tumultuous journey from her island home, sold as a bride, kidnapped by not one but two of her former guards, but through luck or misfortune, I've not decided which it is yet, shes still unaware of her purpose and destiny. And as all princesses kept in ivory towers, she is somewhat demanding and spoilt. My thoughts at 60% were still undecided on what would happen to her, but I still wanted to read on, hoping that the author would make her destiny clearer.
By the end of book 1 Estefania finds out her true lineage and when all seems lost, she finally finds courage to be strong enough to save herself and what happened to her mother, The Wasp Lord is to blame and she wants vengeance.
I will have to read Book 2 to see if she will follow what the Bee Keeper feels is her destiny or whether she will follow the vengeance she feels strong in her heart.
This may be the authors first Fantasy series - but it was the first I have found that centred around bees, and this in itself also gives an ecological reminder, as in the story the world of man suffers with the demise of the bees, and this seems a point that the reader should take note, Albert Einstein and other scientists have already admitted that the Bee is a crucial part of the ecological cycle, and humanity needs to remember this... when the bees die - so do we!
Now I did have a bit of a glance at this book when it was first published, I downloaded a sample and I did find it harder to get into that her other works, BUT the book I just read is an updated version, which has cleared up the confusion into the timelines of the story.
I don't want to give the story away, but we start in the past, then skip to the present at chapter 3. The new version I read clearly stated this and I had no trouble following the story.
So this is fantasy, but the author has still used her skills to immerse the reader into the story, both how the author has built up the world and her characters, but she has still kept her trait of keeping you guessing to what the path of each character will be , The writing is quite poetic in a way, the descriptions of memories, smells of plants and honey creating a place where you would like to visit for instance.
Our Lead character is Estefania, she is a Melitto princess who has been living on an island for her protection, when we meet her but she can feel the nature of Bee's and via her similie enter the hive. In book 1 we follow her journey as she is taken away by the Forlornn Prince, her tumultuous journey from her island home, sold as a bride, kidnapped by not one but two of her former guards, but through luck or misfortune, I've not decided which it is yet, shes still unaware of her purpose and destiny. And as all princesses kept in ivory towers, she is somewhat demanding and spoilt. My thoughts at 60% were still undecided on what would happen to her, but I still wanted to read on, hoping that the author would make her destiny clearer.
By the end of book 1 Estefania finds out her true lineage and when all seems lost, she finally finds courage to be strong enough to save herself and what happened to her mother, The Wasp Lord is to blame and she wants vengeance.
I will have to read Book 2 to see if she will follow what the Bee Keeper feels is her destiny or whether she will follow the vengeance she feels strong in her heart.
This may be the authors first Fantasy series - but it was the first I have found that centred around bees, and this in itself also gives an ecological reminder, as in the story the world of man suffers with the demise of the bees, and this seems a point that the reader should take note, Albert Einstein and other scientists have already admitted that the Bee is a crucial part of the ecological cycle, and humanity needs to remember this... when the bees die - so do we!
April 16, 2025
A completely different take on a shape shifter traveling between two realms story. At least in this first book the main character, Estefania, does not exactly appear capable of shifting into her bee form although she can enter the other realm.
The sentence craft is beautiful. In a dreamy sort of a way the beginning part of the story is quite confusing. I assume this is to allow the reader to more fully experience Estefania's reality from her own point of view rather than the outside looking in.
The sentence craft is beautiful. In a dreamy sort of a way the beginning part of the story is quite confusing. I assume this is to allow the reader to more fully experience Estefania's reality from her own point of view rather than the outside looking in.
October 22, 2018
Why?
I thought this could have been really good, but I was left wondering why and needed more background information. It was ok.
I thought this could have been really good, but I was left wondering why and needed more background information. It was ok.
February 13, 2019
Amazing
Amazing.
Amazing.
January 6, 2019
Estefania, what are we going to do with you. You never quit as you and your companions experience horrible people and situations. This revised edition of the book starts with a bang and doesn’t slow down. Her quest has just started as she learns the truth of her life. I enjoyed the book so much that I am looking forward to the next book, “The Bee Queen”. I do not normally read Epic novels, but I have read all of KT Bowes’ books and enjoyed them so very much that I decided to give this one a try. Thank you Kate for introducing me to a new genre.
October 30, 2019
It was a little bit confusing going back and forth between the human world and the hive (the bee world) but the story started to pick up more near the end. I also really like the concept of the bees being able to live in two worlds. It's pretty unique and not something I've read before!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews