Dear book-lovers,

Welcome to the stop on blog tour for YA historical paranormal romance mystery – Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton 🙂 You will find in this post details about the book and author, my review, a link for giveaway, and the tour schedule.

Book Details

Title: Smoke and Key

Author: Kelsey Sutton

Release Date: April 2019

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Synopsis:

A sound awakens her. There’s darkness all around. And then she’s falling…

She has no idea who or where she is. Or why she’s dead. The only clue to her identity hangs around her neck: a single rusted key. This is how she and the others receive their names—from whatever belongings they had when they fell out of their graves. Under is a place of dirt and secrets, and Key is determined to discover the truth of her past in order to escape it.

She needs help, but who can she trust? Ribbon seems content in Under, uninterested in finding answers. Doll’s silence hints at deep sorrow, which could be why she doesn’t utter a word. There’s Smoke, the boy with a fierceness that rivals even the living. And Journal, who stays apart from everyone else. Key’s instincts tell her there is something remarkable about each of them, even if she can’t remember why.

Add to GOODREADS

Purchasing links can be found HERE

About Author

Kelsey Sutton is a young adult and middle grade author. She lives in Minnesota, where she received a dual bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing from Bemidji State University. She will soon have a master’s degree from Hamline University. Her work has received an Independent Publisher Book Award, an IndieFab Award, and was selected as a Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of 2013. When not writing, Kelsey can be found watching too much Netflix, ordering a mocha at the nearest coffee shop, or browsing a bookstore. You can visit her online at www.kelseysuttonbooks.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter or Instagram.

Author links: WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / GOODREADS

Review

Title: Smoke and Key
Author: Kelsey Sutton
Publication Year: 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy (Paranormal), Historical fiction (Victorian time), Romance, Mystery
Source: eARC via YA Bound Book Tours
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Recommendation: Recommended for YA fantasy readers

My Thoughts

Trembling, I open one eye and watch the dust settle. A thousand questions churn in my mind as I uncurl and look around.

The story begins with our MC – Key waking up in darkness, then falling and landing in the ‘Under’, where she meets Smoke, Ribbon, Journal, Doll, Handkerchief and some other inhabitants of this dark and strange place. The first murder happens after she arrives and the murder mystery starts intertwined with other puzzles. Many questions have to be answered, secrets unearthed and memories recovered.

You’re dead, darlin’. This isn’t hell, but it’s the next best thing.

I liked Smoke, he was mysterious and sweet. My feelings towards Key are a bit more complicated as I liked that she was brave and curious, she wanted to find out what was really happening and why, even if it put her in danger, she wasn’t going to give up. However, at times she a bit frustrated me.

My heart is a stallion on the moors, wild and racing. He lowers his head and our lips touch. His nose brushes my cheek. It’s such a foreign sensation, having someone else’s face so close to mine, and then it’s gone.

This was a plot driven story with few mysteries, bit of romance and magic. The world is intriguing, however, the pace at times felt slow as I wanted to discover faster some more answers. The memories came in flash backs, which I enjoyed. But I wasn’t a fan of the love triangle. Also the magic wasn’t fleshed out enough for me, the ending left me with desire for something more and a tad bit of sadness.