I find it hard to believe that this was written in 2003, and not 1983.

It was a really good book and reading it was a great joy to me. I really liked Malory with her complicated character and energy, Flynn seemed a bit weak. I liked the story and I'm going to read the other books in the series soon. ( )

I typically really enjoy books by Nora Roberts. Not this one for more reasons then I can count. I stopped reading it and that is a rare thing for me. I don’t understand the high ratings. To me it was shallow and cliche. Not interested. I will chalk it up to everyone has different tastes and that is a good thing! ( )

cheesy, but good for when you just feel like some light chick lit. ( )

Key of Light
3.5 Stars

Fate brings three women together for a chance to unlock their deepest desires. On the first of three dangerous quests, Malory Price, who has the soul of an artist and an eye for beauty, must find the Key of Light that could fulfill her destiny...or forever destroy her life.

The intriguing mythology and quest atmosphere almost compensate for the lackluster romance.

The paranormal elements are more low-key as compared to Roberts’ other series in this genre: The Sign of Seven and Circle trilogies. There is enough detail in the mythology to whet the appetite but it is not sufficiently developed. The connection between the main female characters and the magical sisters whose souls are ensnared remains unclear by the end of the book, but will hopefully be explained by the end of the series.

While Flynn and Malory are likeable characters, their relationship lacks chemistry. It also seems to undergo a confusing role reversal halfway through with Flynn becoming quite hesitant after being the initial instigator and aggressor, as opposed to Malory, who was uninterested at first, becoming the pursuer. Moreover, Flynn’s contribution to the quest is virtually non-existent other than the fact that he is friends with the men who will feature in the sequels.

The secondary characters and the dialogue are the strong points of the book. The other two couples have more sizzle in their relationships and the witty banter, especially between Malory and her gay friend from the art gallery, make this a worthwhile read.

Key of Light is a decent beginning to the overall story arc, which is interesting enough to entice me to continue reading. ( )

Slightly entertaining but not worth the brain cells you lose from the bad writing. ( )

I have accidentally read the last book hence I did feel like this is a little draggy since I've known the ending. So my advice is read the proper order!

Here's my full review:
http://www.sholee.net/2017/06/mpov-key-of-light-key-trilogy-1.html ( )

Addicting

I've read this series before.... Multiple times. Let me tell you it NEVER gets old! Magic, love, suspending logic, old friends, New friends. And a crazy loveable dog all join together to save the souls of three magical sisters. A quest indeed with three strangers that day become sisters. Enjoy!! ( )

Interesting concept of 3 women quickly becoming friends as a result of the quest for finding keys. Predictable in knowing Mallory will succeed with her quest and the boyfriend and that the story ends but not completely. Liked the idea of appreciating art yet knowing you can not be an artist, the way the 3 paintings appear to bring the guys into the story along with learning about art, Flynn's sense of honor towards the family newspaper and for caring about stepsister, Dana, along with his friendship commitment. Good use of suspense with evil Kane. Nice knowing a bit about their personalities to make them believable characters. ( )

Do you believe in magic? Malory doesn't. Life is going according to plan, well, almost. She's spent all her money on beautiful things, her job is hanging by a thread thanks to The Gallery's owner's new trophy wife, and there's this cocktail party she's been invited to that no one she's talked to knows about. The winds of change are in the air.
So starts the Key Trilogy, a good read. Characters we want to identify with, when life gets, well, boring. And to live, we must create, in whatever form we desire, to achieve the life we imagine. ( )

Review for all three books in the trilogy.

The thing about these books isn't the vaguely supernatural plot or the romance, it's the found-family.

There is a vaguely supernatural plot. Strangers, Malory, Dana, and Zoe, are all invited to a mysterious gathering hosted by the even more mysterious Rowena and Pitte. They're told a story about a god, soon to be king, who traveled into the mortal world, fell in love with a human woman. He brought her back to his world and they had three beautiful daughters. When those daughters were grown an evil sorcerer, rival for the king's power, cast a spell on them, trapping their souls in a glass box, leaving their bodies lifeless. The only way the spell could be broken is if three mortal women found the keys to the glass box. Malory, Dana, and Zoe are those three mortal women.

There is romance. The first book centers on Malory, and deals with her romance with Finn. The second on Dana and her romance with Jordan. The third on Zoe and Brad. But the wonderful thing about these books is how little time they spend on romance and how much they spend on the friendship growing between Malory, Dana, and Zoe, the pre-existing friendsihp between Flynn, Jordan, and Brad, and the way these six people become family to each other. Not only do the three women fulfill their quests and find their loves, they also start a business together and spend a great deal of time discussing how wonderful, helpful, and supportive the friendship they're developing is. Sure, there's a great deal of discussion about each other's love lives, but there's also a great deal of discussion about the business, each other's talents, and what each wants from life. To a lesser degree--because this is the women's story, after all--the men have similar discussions.

Found-family is my thing. It gets me every time. And these six people, plus Rowena, Pitte, Zoe's son Simon, and Flynn's goofy dog Moe, make a great family. ( )

Key of Light
3.5 Stars

Synopsis:
Fate brings three women together for a chance to unlock their deepest desires. On the first of three dangerous quests, Malory Price, who has the soul of an artist and an eye for beauty, must find the Key of Light that could fulfill her destiny...or forever destroy her life.

Review:
The intriguing mythology and quest atmosphere almost compensate for the lackluster romance.

The paranormal elements are more low-key as compared to Roberts’ other series in this genre: The Sign of Seven and Circle trilogies. There is enough detail in the mythology to whet the appetite but it is not sufficiently developed. The connection between the main female characters and the magical sisters whose souls are ensnared remains unclear by the end of the book, but will hopefully be explained by the end of the series.

While Flynn and Malory are likeable characters, their relationship lacks chemistry. It also seems to undergo a confusing role reversal halfway through with Flynn becoming quite hesitant after being the initial instigator and aggressor, as opposed to Malory, who was uninterested at first, becoming the pursuer. Moreover, Flynn’s contribution to the quest is virtually non-existent other than the fact that he is friends with the men who will feature in the sequels.

The secondary characters and the dialogue are the strong points of the book. The other two couples have more sizzle in their relationships and the witty banter, especially between Malory her gay friend from the art gallery, make this a worthwhile read.

Key of Light is a decent beginning to the overall story arc, which is interesting enough to entice me to continue reading. ( )

Trojice žen se po vyslechnutí tajuplného příběhu vydává za pokladem. Společný cíl mezi nimi vytvoří přátelské pouto. Podaří se jim najít tři klíče ke třem skříňkám, ve kterých jsou kletbou uzavřeny duše tří žen? ( )

Despite the info dump in the early chapters and a bit of a slow section in the first half, I really enjoyed this book. Malory is one of three women who've been brought together for a very special task. They strike a deal to each find three hidden keys. One by one, they'll each take a turn to find their key. Malory is selected first and the journey begins.

I really enjoyed the relationship between the women. Their sleepovers and banter about men trouble was entertaining and realistic. I think Malory's relationship with Flynn moved way too fast, certainly too fast for true love, but I just went with it because it was enjoyable. Flynn was also a lot of fun, but Moe - the dog - took the spotlight. Watching Flynn try to keep up with his hyperactive dog added a layer of humor between the tension and drama in the plot. I also enjoyed Flynn's relationship with his step-sister and how honest they are with each other. It was a really fun read with an exciting ending. I'll be moving onto the next book! ( )

I didn’t know I’d enjoy Nora Roberts as much as I did. Her female characters come up off the page and sound like real people. Or perhaps I might credit the audio version reader – Susan Ericksen. Some of the dialogue was predictable, but because that’s the way people really talk.

Three women have never met yet are all invited to a mysterious mansion to attend a dinner. They are the only guests of the “otherworldly” couple occupying the mansion. By the end of the evening they have been given a quest to find a key. Surprisingly (especially to themselves) they accept the seemingly impossible quest of finding three missing keys to unlock the three boxes holding the souls of three other young women. This is book one of the trilogy … Mallory’s quest.

I do not read a lot of Nora Roberts, although I am a huge fan of her alter-ego J.D. Robb. Yet every time I pick up one of Ms. Robert’s tales based on legends and magic I find myself quite captured by the book. Production-wise Ms. Roberts rivals James Patterson so it amazes me that she can come up with the story lines and keep them interesting. I’m a lot jealous of the ability. Romance, legends, magic and mystery … always the perfect mix for a little much needed escapism. And there’s definitely nothing wrong with that!
( )

It was a fun, romance novel. The magical story line was great and kept the story going. The romance was so obvious and what you would expect. The male/female relationships are so stereotypical. But given all of that it still was a fun read. ( )

A whimsical and yet down to earth visit with three young women. This series is one of my favorites from Nora Roberts. ( )

Good not great. Fairly typical contemporary romance. ( )

DEAR Ms. Roberts,

I totally believe that two people who have spent a whole summer jumping out of planes and escaping DEATH BY FIRE together on a daily basis might fall in love and get married after knowing each other for only a few months.

It also seems plausible that you might fall in love with a guy who had a crush on you in high school, or even possibly your car mechanic, but deciding to marry this random dude with an annoying dog three weeks after you met him, just because you went on some wackadoo fairy quest with him and had sex on an ugly couch?

Unplausible.

Also, stuff like, "I can walk three miles in these heels. I'm a professional female"? VOM.

No love,

Jenne
( )

A good book and well written with characters that could be a little well developed. The story unfolds itself fast but it's efficient. It draws the readers attention even though the _target being women.

I admit having read this book for quite some time now and haven't kept reading the trilogy, but I remember being hooked despite thinking that the story was going too fast in some moments. Overall, I think it's a fluid and easy writing with character that, we might not enjoy at first, we learn to appreciate. ( )

First in the key trilogy.
Three women, Malory, Dana and Zoe are invited to a secret meeting. Told they and only they are capable of finding three keys and freeing the souls of three trapped godesses, the women agree to the search. Malory gets to go first and during her search faces terrible evil and finds love. But will she suceed and will the love be true.
I like Nora Roberts because her books are well written and easy to read. They're mainly romance though this one has a twist of magic in the search for the magic keys. Good characters, a fun read. ( )

This is strictly formulaic Nora Roberts, here. Three women brought together by coincidence and by circumstance, and three men inter connecting on the romance front. A lot ot the magical stuff, I eiither got confused, bored and skipped to the entertaining dialogue so typical of her characters. ( )

I'm writing this from the point of view of someone who's just read the first, so I'm reviewing this book alone rather than as part of the series. In fact, this is only the second Nora Roberts book I've ever read so I'm still getting a 'feel' for the author.

I'm afraid I'm disappointed. Now, in fairness, the book is good enough that I wanted to finish it. I just thought that the characters were not very subtly painted and a bit cartoonish and predictable. Too much man-woman conflict (you know, being cross and snarky with each other when really they're desperate to... ahem) which I don't think is *all* that common - every relationship in this book seems to include it.

I don't want to go into detail about the plot, but this 'find the magic key' seems to be a bit facile. Don't get me wrong, I *love* contemporary fantasy or paranormal stories, but I just think they need to be done with extra cleverness as it's difficult to pull off contemporary fantasy with our 'realistic' mindset. I just didn't feel convinced here.

I haven't decided whether to read the next one. I'm a bit of a completist so I'm tempted, but to be honest I'm quite lukewarm about this book. ( )

Key of Light is the first in the "Key" series by Nora Roberts. I had/have very high hopes for this series, as one of the main three characters is a librarian, and there is a mystery to be solved.

So far, I am NOT impressed. The mystery is VERY farfetched, the men in the book seem kind of cartoonish, and the women...I don't know. I'm just not liking them very much. Zoe seems to be suffering from Michael-on-LOST syndrome ("My boy! My boy! Why aren't we talking about my son? Let's talk about my son! He's the light of my world!"); Dana, the librarian, is supposed to be kind of a smartass but isn't coming off very well; and Malory, the focus of the first book, goes through such a rapid transformation that I didn't even care about it. Oh, one second you have a strict life plan and now you're going to quit your job, propose marriage to someone you've known two weeks, and everyone is just hunky dory about it?

And the mystery they have to solve! Oh, Nora, Nora Nora Nora. Could you be any more bizarre? Three women are called to a spooky mansion in the middle of nowhere and are given a task to find three keys so that ancient souls might be set free? Gee whiz. I think I've gotten cynical in my old age. 3,000 year old gods and an evil sorcerer...sure, that sounds interesting. But not in a 350-page book with a highly improbable romance and weak characters!

I wonder if I've just read one too many pure fantasy books. Can I not pick up a corny fantasy and enjoy it? Maybe my tastes have changed - or maybe this just isn't the right time for me to read these books. I wonder if I'm just sick of Nora Roberts. I haven't read any in a while. This might just be one of the "bad ones". I will probably at least give the next book a try to see how the librarian does. If I'm not impressed, I don't think I'd feel bad about skipping the third one. ( )