Review: Keir by Pippa Jay

Let’s come right out and say it: I’ve been gone for a while. I apologize, my three readers, but once you know my reason, you’ll be helpless to hold it against me. I figure, since you enjoy paranormal romance, you’re a sucker for a good love story. Well, thank goodness, I became embroiled in my own love story earlier this year. I know, right? It’s just like my novels, minus the paranormal bits. And all the action. And the wittiness. And appealing narrative flow. But otherwise identical!

Go, me!

So, that said, I’m finally going to post something long overdue: a review of Keir by Pippa Jay. Let me summarize my review in a single command: Go out and buy it. It’s one of the sweetest things you’ll ever read. Seriously. Okay, so a little less gushy, below is my official review.

This book has something for just about every speculative fiction reader: world hopping; fantastically creative species, cultures, and architectures; sexy and intensely sweet main characters; lots of explosions; harried flights from corrupt authorities; emotional breakthroughs; and, most of all, one of the sweetest romances you’ll ever read.


A very brief plot synopsis: Keir, the “Blue Demon” and a detested outcast in his world, meets Quin, the “Red Witch,” in a prison cell. Quin breaks them out and saves Keir from his mortal wounds. Together, they explore their various demons – his concerning his heritage, hers regarding her tumultuous, 300-year past – and ultimately end up kidnapped, hunted, and trapped by old friends and finally a mysterious stranger from Quin’s past. Meanwhile, they explore Keir’s burgeoning telekinetic and telepathic powers as well as their own romantic feelings.


Bottom line: The political animal in me celebrates how strong Quin is, how competent, how she continually rescues and instructs Keir, helping him become strong enough to accept himself and become a rescuer in return. I also love Keir, the shy and scarred – emotionally and physically – monster who ultimately finds beauty and meaning in his existence. The gushy romantic in me sighs over the very tender, healing love that these two share. And finally, the sci-fi geek in me loves the fantastic worlds they travel to, the different bodies, landscapes, and cultures that populate these so-creative lands.

My favorite message in this intensely moving book? That the scars both Quin and Keir sport are beautiful, are honored roadmaps of their pasts. Keir’s journey to accept his scarred body is a touching one, and one we can all relate to.