Diving into 'The Keeper Origins' trilogy felt like stumbling upon a hidden treasure chest in my grandma's attic—except instead of dusty old photos, it was packed with dragons, dwarves, and magic that crackled off the page. From the first chapter of *Dragon’s Reach*, I was hooked. Kate Reading’s narration (I listened to the audiobook) wrapped around me like a warm spell, and suddenly I *was* Sable, navigating a world where even unicorns have dark secrets.

The characters? Chef’s kiss. Flibbit with his mysterious cart gave me serious Dumbledore-meets-Merlin vibes—bumbling on the surface, but you just *know* he’s got centuries of wisdom tucked under that hat. And Thulan the dwarf? FINALLY a female dwarf who isn’t just ‘the beard in the background.’ Her banter with Leonis had me snort-laughing during my commute (‘Avoid dragon fire… sage advice indeed’).

What blew me away was how JA Andrews made morality feel like a prism—Viviane and Sable started as mirror images, both wielding magic to shape their worlds, but somehow I found myself fist-pumping for Sable while mentally booing Viviane. That’s some nuanced character sorcery right there.

By *Phoenix Rising*, I was emotionally wrecked in the best way. The politics! The phoenix metaphors! That moment when Sable’s ‘lawnmower unicorn’ subplot broke my heart? I ugly-cried into my tea. This trilogy isn’t just fantasy—it’s literature with swordfights. 45 years of reading genre fiction, and this? This is why I still believe in magic.