Review: Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff

Title: Summon the Keeper
Author: Tanya Huff
Pages: 331
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: C

This book is part of Calico Reaction's Monthly Book Club (July).

From Goodreads: Being one of Earth's protectors is never easy, but when Claire the Keeper andAustin the cat find themselves in charge of the Elysian Fields Guesthouse...more Being one of Earth's protectors is never easy, but when Claire the Keeper andAustin the cat find themselves in charge of the Elysian Fields Guesthouse Bedand Breakfast, all Hell breaks loose in the form of a gateway residing in the basement!

When I first started this book I was really excited and enthralled from the first page. I thought the tone and pace of the book was really good AND there was a talking cat. However, after some time the story's flow started to suffer and things just weren't as interesting as I thought.

There were two major problems I had. The first is lack of any real plot. There is some mention of something going on but it really only happens in the background. Things happen day to day at the hotel yet I felt like it was mostly for laughs and not for real substance. I think Huff has a great sense of humor but I think there could have been improvement on keeping the main story going and keeping the reader interested. I thought that sleeping Sara was exactly how the plot was acting: sleeping the whole time until the very end.

The other problem was the main character, Claire. She is extremely annoying because she never does anything fun. I couldn't like her because she was just a downer to everyone, even the reader. She puts down Dean the whole time, refuses to have any kind of interest in the ghost, and barely ever does any magic. She could have been way more likable for the reader's sake.

I did love Austin the cat. I love cats and I felt he acted just like I thought a cat would.

Overall this book was quick and easy to read (even though the constant scene breaks were a little annoying), I recommend if you want something light to read or if you really love cats. Although I don't know if that's enough to sustain you through the whole novel. I only stuck through it because I wanted to see Claire do something.