Crow's Revenge (Keeper of the Realms #1) by Marcus Alexander

Read from October 18th - 25th 2014.

Published February 2nd 2012 by Puffin Books

Format	Paperback - 448 pages
Review	Oh my word, I was on a fantasy and action rollercoaster whilst reading this book. After one chapter,we had already met a big black masked ' monster', who has what he calls Shades working for him (shadows) that do his will, sliding under door frames etc,and a green skinned race called Treman who live in what seems to be a fantasy land that you can access via steps down a cliff called Bellania. Charlie Keeper is a girl who has lost her parents and lives with her grandma in her large family home. Mr Crow who is her lawyer, is a nasty, horrible, selfish man who brutally bullies her into handing over her money/inheritance by convincing her that it is for bills and things that NEED paying.He is a thief and she knows it but no matter who she tells, no one would believe her. Charlie is visited by one of the afore mentioned green skinned Tremans called Jenson who leads her to another world (Bellania), a fantasy, magical world that Jenson guides her to through doors and corridors that she never knew existed in her house. Charlie soon learns that she is a Keeper of the Realms, the realms between Bellania and the human world.She is in charge of the portal. The evil monster Bane, is after Charlie, and her pendant that she keeps around her neck not realising it is full of magic and power.She believes it is a precious gift given to her by her parents. Charlie must learn very fast her new responsibilities and power. Charlie also learns that her parents are still around, kept in a tapestry on the wall in evil Banes castle. She needs to help Bellania and try and free her parents. Marcus Alexander has one heck of an imagination with non stop fast paced action and some well thought out characters.The evil guys in the book feel cold, nasty and just down right bad.Very clever of Marcus to bring these characters jumping right off the page and straight to the reader.You could feel the atmosphere throughout this book. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I found it very hard to put down. A lot of adult fantasy/fiction books could learn from Marcus's style of writing. Crows Revenge is very well written, with well crafted characters and a climatic finish. I wholly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of giving it a go.It is aimed at young adults but I very much enjoyed it and couldn't wait to see what was on the other side of the page.It was so very unpredictable,surprising and full of intricate detail. A strong female lead was also a nice surprise which worked very well. A must read. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.