Keepers Of The Flame

The Summoning #4

by Robin D. Owens

Two sisters born to serve…

The sorcerers of Lladrana have already Summoned three women to help fight the evil attacking their world. Yet their fourth Summoning brings the unexpected—twin sisters. And ones with strong ties to Earth.

Both have a special gift to heal. But while Brigid Drystan has explored that gift through unorthodox means, Elizabeth has poured herself into getting a medical degree and denying her powers.

Now, stuck in a strange land, fighting a plague sent by the Dark to weaken Lladrana, they must use all their resources to save lives. And one twin will risk her own on an experiment that might doom them both.…

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

560 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robin is a friend of mine, so I remember when she was struggling with squeezing what she’d intended to be two books down into one. The struggle shows, a bit, because knowing and loving Robin Owens’ work as much as I do, I could see places where normally she would have written a deeper scene. However, the book is still a good read. It’s a continuation of her Summoning series, and in this book, a set of identical twins with identical healing powers are called to the world of Lladrana. One twin embraces her gift, but hasn’t really trained, the other has just finished her medical residency, but has always rejected her gift. The evil forces of the Dark have inflicted the good citizens of Lladrana with a plague that strikes each person differently, and as it mutates, can kill within hours, and each twin must come to grips with her knowledge and her gift and herself, in order to figure out how to defeat the plague. And there are romantic complications as well. Good read—but there are places where I wish she hadn’t had to cut quite so much.

[Gardavson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so I didn't care for Bri and Elizabeth, but particularly Elizabeth. She/they were rather mercenary and egotistic. Perhaps pseudo on track for a doctor, but she just got her MD, she should still have some idealisticality. And Bri should be all altruism. Not so. I didn't care for how they didn't join in with the other Exotiques. They were determined to be outsiders and treated differently than the others. I was happy with Elizabeth's story completion, and kinda Bri's. She coulda been a bit more likeable and less childish. Raina. Raina? Ya. That was kinda weird introducing her in this book. It was kinda interrupting. I like her tho, I like her story so far. Looking forward to more of it in the next book.

[Sheena · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with so MANY Luna offerings this book felt more like a sketch than a fully developed novel. There is some great writing in there, some good characters and interesting ideas but nothing ever felt fleshed out. I have to wonder if Luna pushes their authors to meet unreasonable deadlines. I will stay tuned for other books by the author but skip the others in this series unless I find them at the library.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok...I really disliked Elizabeth. I like Bri though. The story was good and the wrting pretty good but she tried to cram way too much in this book. The main characters, each giving their own persective?! Waaaayy too much going on. If she had made this two books and actually explored some characters a little more it would be a stronger book. I still love the story arch though.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off interesting to me, especially because I am a twin so I could easily relate to the story. It felt jumbled up towards the middle/end. It was as if this could have been several stories into one. Usually I can read a book in a few days. This took forever as I set it down, read through a few pages, then set it down for weeks.... The first books in her series are much better.

[Deborah Joyner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wished Raine had her own book. I didn't like Cassidy at all. But still a fun read.

[Dima · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as good as the first 3 books.

[Le carnet de Calli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dans ce tome on se retrouve avec 2 jumelles appelées, pas facile pour ces nouvelles venues de se faire au monde de Lladrana, mais grâce a nos autre exotiques , ALexa, Mariam, Calli elle se familiarisent a ce nouveau monde.

Elles ont été appeler pour les bourg et ville pour soigné dès leur arrivé elle sont mis a contribution.

Elles y rencontrent l’amour, mais pour elles le sursaut les attends, resterons resterons pas^^

Et puis une surprise se trouve du coté de la mer.

( je ne vais pas tout vous dire non plus)

Ce que j’aime dans cette série c’est que l’on garde contact avec les autres exotiques appelées ce qui aide a garder un fil conducteur.

J’aime dans ces livre, l’entraide,l’amour, les croyances, l’envie d’aider, les différents caractères de chacun des personnages, le fait que les animaux de ce monde soit aussi doté de pouvoirs et qu’ils puissent communiqués avec les humains.

Maintenant il me reste le dernier tome avec toutes les exotiques et découvrir quelle sera la dernière appelée.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Drystan
Bri - Brigid Drystan

Elizabeth and Bri are twins that get summoned through a time dimension to a place called Lladrana. Stuck in a strange land, fighting a plague sent by the Dark to weaken Lladrana, they must use all their resources to save lives and get a chance to go home to Earth. This book is a very good book, it is a stand alone book so you don’t have to read the previous books. The book would appeal to a large number of readers, it has adventure, sweet romance, friendship. I really liked both Elizabeth and Bri. They both had tough decisions to make regarding their lives and did what they felt in their hearts. I would read others in the series.

[zjakkelien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keepers of the flame is book 4 of the Summoning series. All books are about women who are Summoned from Earth to Amee. There, they discover they have power, are needed in a fight against the dark, and they meet their significant other. Book four is no exception, except that instead of one woman being Summoned, this time there are actually two. Well, three, if you read a bit further.Having really liked the first two books, but being a bit disappointed in the third, I wasn't sure what to expect of number four. I needn't have worried: Keepers of the flame is one of my favorites so far. I liked the twins, I liked that personality-wise, they were not at all the same, and I liked that they were healers. There was a bit of macho behavior that crept into number three, which was fortunately completely lacking in nr. four. At some point, one of the women gets attacked, and even though she's in quite a state at the time, and one of the male heroes rushes to her aid, she manages things herself. In addition, most of the non-humans are female.

So, if you're looking for a great piece of art, pass this one by. But if you're looking for a nice light read, some fantasy mixed with romance without any gender issues, than Keepers of the flame fits the bill!

P.S. And one little detail I thought was lovely: one of the volarans (flying horses) is called Mud. It's short for Rich-Earth-Warm-And-Soft-From-A-Summer-Shower-To-Play-In. How brilliant is that?

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her earlier books focused more on the new Exotique's task and relationships. This has a lot more development of the overarching plot of the series, and less character development. (And a *lot* less relationship development.) By reusing characters from earlier books, Owens could focus her character development on Bri & Elizabeth since the readers were already familiar with most everyone else.

As a character, poor Raine really got passed over. There's zero character development for her, just a general sketch of her experiences. I think Owens used Raine as way to get two Exotiques from one book and to keep readers guessing about Elizabeth & Bri.

Most romance author's who write series revolving around related characters with each book telling a different person's story can't resist scenes from the pov of earlier characters. I always find that jarring. It takes me out of the current story and back to previous stories. Owens manages to resist that. So we get to see Alexa and Marian and Calli from the outside, so to speak. And that makes it easier to stay focused on our new characters, Bri & Elizabeth.

Despite my dissatisfaction and the book's flaws, I'll be reading the next (final) book in the series. I've got a lot invested in the world, particularly Alexa, and I want to see how it all turns out.

[Annette Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fourth book in the Summoning series. It’s my favorite of the five, and mostly for the interesting split to the narrative as we follow twin female protagonists as they are summoned into the fantasy world of Lladrana.

Bri and Elizabeth are pretty cute, in their relationship with each other, the ways they support and challenge each other, the differences between them. I really enjoyed reading about their relationship with each other and with the other Exotique (read: summoned from Earth) women, more than the sexual relationships in this installment.

There’s something really interesting about healers, and their capacity for giving of themselves. I of course resonated more with Bri than with Elizabeth—the New Age healer over the medical doctor. And the ending didn’t disappoint me, throwing wrenches into what I thought was coming for the end of the series, and laying the groundwork for the final battle that we know has to be coming.

If you’re this far into the series, there’s no way you’re going to stop now! Just one more book to go after this one, to round out a series that I enjoy returning to occasionally.

This and other reviews by me can be found at www.annaimber.com

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author, series, and book are fabulous. I read too late two nights in a row since I coudn't bear to put it down and can't believe I now have to wait for an entire year to find out what happens next!

Although each book could be read as a stand-alone, I recommend you read the series in order. Each one entails a female from Earth being Summoned to Llandarana to help them save their world from the encroaching Dark. Each heroine has to go through tests and tribulations to come into her Power and to find her Pairling (true love) that will help her...and then they have to decide whether to stay on Lladrana or return to earth.

Each book is well-paced, well-written, and has plenty of sizzle, suspense, comic relief, and hope.

The latest installment in the series had a twist: twins were summoned... Pick up the book to find out more.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate giving bad reviews. But this is just the same story (and I don't mean a continuation of the plot) as in the last three of this series, switching around a few details. Romance novel with a paper thin veneer of fantasy.

I just can't finish it. I'm not even going to try the last one, Echoes in the Dark.

Go read Robin Hobb. Start with Assassin's Apprentice, the first novel of the Farseer Trilogy. You won't be sorry.

[Slynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much plot was shoved into too little book. I didn't feel like you got to know the characters individually as well as you have in prior books in the series. It was bad enough that you had the 2 main heroines, but the addition of the next main heroine for the next book really took away from this book's potential.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the most recent in the Llandrana series. It's a really great read. At times I wanted to smack Elizabeth (She was my least favorite twin), and I thought that the part with Raine was a bit rushed. Hopefully the last book in the series (coming in 2009) will finish her story along with that of the last Exotique!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still loving these books but man was I unhappy about the ending! One sister leaving to go back to what sounded like a jerk of a fiance? I was actually sad for poor Faucon...I also felt like the end of this one was all of a sudden super sped up like an "oh shoot this is taking too long to finish" kind of way in order to sum up more.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I'm enjoying this series vastly I feel like this book had some flow issues. it came in fits and starts. I found the twins abrasive for a large portion of the story and couldn't root for them. I eventually rooted for Bri, but it took a long time. I feel terrible for how the story has gone so far for Raine and am sure the following book shall prove interesting.

[pauliree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the previous novels, although having two main Exotiques as the story flow became a little tedious, I would have preferred the straight narrative. Raine never seemed to get much of her own book, having to share this one and the next.

[Tina Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected but good

I thought I could predict where this book was going, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover I was wrong! Lots of plot twists expertly woven throughout the novel. Great characters, about to start the next instalment!

[Deanna Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with high anticipation and was well rewarded. I love this series of books and the world Lladrano.

Now I have to wait for the next one.

[Dawn Roberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am soooo looking forward tot he next Summoning Series book!

[Kris Hasenfratz Ten-Eyck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, this author surprises and delights.

[Steph Goose]

From Dorri

[Deborah Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Which I had purchased this series much sooner. A very enjoyable read. Can't wait to see how it all ends up.

[Thelma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

[Nikita Segadaes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too bad, some of the characters were really annoying at times, but otherwise a pretty good read!

[Alicia Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series. Even with the very clear pattern that MUST happen from book to book, I want to read it through to find out what happens next.

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE LOVE LOVE

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

#4 in The Summoning series; the Marshall's of Llandra desperately call another Earth female to assist in saving their world. Good series.