Maria The Wanted and the Legacy of The Keepers (The Keepers Series #1): V. Castro
Reviewed by Steve Stred
“She needed to harden to survive.”
This is one of those books that I never, ever thought in a million years that I’d read and enjoy. I’ve pretty much stopped reading any vampire based books. I can’t quite place it, but sometime during that last few years, I’ve begun to avoid vampire and zombie books like they’d avoid sunlight and gunshots to the head.
So why did I read it then?
100% to support the author and help a hard-working indie author get another review.
And guess what – I really did enjoy this book.
Maria at times feels almost autobiographical. From what I’ve seen on V’s various social media pages (and through some interactions with her via DM), V’s had to work hard to get to where she is in life and still continues to struggle with things related to her heritage, being a woman and writing horror.
This story blasts out of the gates with an opening that would make any action movie lover proud. It gave me shades of The Strain TV show from Guillermo del Toro and as we hear Maria’s motivation for working so hard to provide a better life for her and her family, Castro sucks you in.
From there, the beauty of this book is that it is immense in scope and reimagines certain vampiric characters, before introducing some unique antagonists along the way.
All the while Castro is writing her rear end off, delivering scene after scene that had me riveted.
This is a book that I truly regret not getting to sooner. I snagged it some time ago and it languished in my TBR. Then I saw either a tweet or an Instagram story where V mentioned the difficulties of getting her book reviewed and I realized I was being a jerk by having it still sitting there unread. So I fixed that and I’m glad I did.
If you’re looking for fun, gore, action, revenge, an amazing female lead character, look no further. This was a brutally, goreriffic time and now we wait to see when The Keepers Series #2 will arrive!
Maria The Wanted and the Legacy of The Keepers (The Keepers Series #1)
Maria is a wanted woman. She’s wanted by and Aztec trafficker, a cartel boss, the people she fights for, and now the Devil she can’t resist.
Her journey begins as a would-be immigrant turned vampire in Juarez, Mexico until the injustices of the world turn her into something else. She’s not just out for blood, she wants answers.
Maria spends twenty-two years in motel cleaning purgatory trying to keep her faith and sanity intact. When she feels all hope is lost she meets an ex-boxer that offers her a new job and teaches her to fight. During this time, she becomes an unlikely badass enforcer of justice for the community that has embraced her. Is she a saint or an old God from a forgotten past?
Not only does she evolve into the woman she always hoped to be, but she finds her creator – Adam- he is nothing like she imagined. He invites Maria to travel with him to England to join The Keepers, a vampire organization led by the ancient Mordecai and Dr. Elizabeth Appleton.
Learning that the true vampire way isn’t destruction but the safety of humanity, Maria joins The Keepers as they uncover a plot set into motion by Lucifer himself. The Keepers must end his corruption through political manipulation or watch as the world hurtles towards self-destruction.
You can buy Maria The Wanted and the Legacy of The Keepers from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred writes dark, bleak horror fiction.
Steve is the author of the novels Invisible & The Stranger, the novellas The Girl Who Hid in the Trees, Wagon Buddy, Yuri and Jane: the 816 Chronicles and two collections of short stories; Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery and Left Hand Path: 13 More Tales of Black Magick, and the dark poetry collection Dim the Sun.
On September 1st, 2019 his second collection of dark poetry and drabbles called The Night Crawls In will arrive. This release was specifically created to help fund the 1st Annual LOHF Writers Grant.
Steve is also a voracious reader, reviewing everything he reads and submitting the majority of his reviews to be featured on Kendall Reviews.
Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
You can visit Steve’s Official website here
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