The Keeper of Portals by V.S. Nelson - Review

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I received a free ecopy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

After Martin and his mother move into this stately old mansion on a cliff's edge, he just happens to find a mysterious door in his room that when he walks through it it leads from the present day directly to the 1600s.  While he's then and there he meets a maid called Isabel and the two learn that they'll have to move between time periods in order to stop her master from following through with his nefarious plan.

The Keeper of Portals by V.S. Nelson is a creative, action-packed, time-hopping middle grade novel with a dash of romance and some fantasy elements.  The concept of this novel is brilliant and hooked me from the beginning.  The short summary above just touches on the basic elements of the story as it would be difficult to say much more without spoiling some things that are better to go into fresh alongside Martin.  It has so many things that I enjoy, including time travel (you can probably tell how much I like time travel, if you've spent any time following this blog or my Twitter account!) and the author explains how the time travelling via portals work well,.  I particularly liked following Martin and discovering the differences between his home in his time as well as in Isabel's time.  Of course, I also enjoyed Isabel quite a bit as she takes everything in and just how well she is able to cope with all of this crazy new information.  And, on that note, Martin's reaction to how she is able to take it in stride as she does.

Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the novel, there are times where the storyline becomes a little confusing.  I felt that there are a few too many characters to keep track of, and sometimes the pacing can be either too slow or too fast.  As a result there are a couple moments when I had to reread a section to figure out who was talking and when and where they were.  Finally, as I mentioned above there is some romance, but I found the romance unnecessary and at times it needlessly slows down the plot,

Overall, The Keeper of Portals is a fun and suspenseful time travelling adventure.  Although it has a few weak points such as odd pacing and needless romance, it's still an entertaining read that does action well.  If you are enjoy the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, you may want to try V.S. Nelson's new release.  Thanks again for the opportunity to read your new novel, V.S.


I read this ebook from January 5 - 8, 2017 and my review can also be found on Goodreads.