Whether you're a fantasy fan or not, The Keepers of Imbria book series is going to hook you this summer. Written by J. Barrett, the four award-winning books — Orabelle, Maialen, Blaise, and Eolande — have been described as "Game of Thrones meets Avatar The Last Airbender" and focus on the themes of betrayal, redemption, sacrifice, power, and family.
Here's the gist: For generations, the Keepers of Imbria have wielded the power of the four elements and kept their world safe, fostering peace and prosperity. They were united in this endeavor until one of the Keepers chose to forge her own path, igniting a spark that could burn their entire world to ash. Orabelle, the Water Keeper and Queen of Lehar, has unwittingly set in motion a chain of events that heralds the return of an ancient evil and begins a struggle for power that turns families against each other and allies into enemies.
A means of escape
Barrett's debut series has been racking up the accolades, thanks to its deep character development and anything-but-predictable storytelling.
She began writing the first book, Orabelle, while enjoying a successful career as a photographer. "I let a few friends read it and they loved it, but I never thought to get it published or anything like that," Barrett says. "It was just something I did for fun."
A series of personal tragedies followed and Barrett forgot all about the book. But then a friend messaged her asking about it, and Barrett figured why not? So she published it.
"I didn’t really think anyone would read it, and I mostly did it just because I knew that my mom would be proud to see it in print," she says. "The response to it was way better than I expected and I was blown away that people were actually loving it. I had a vague idea to write more books in the series, but hadn’t had the time and so I kept putting it off for months."
Then Barrett was diagnosed with breast cancer. "While I was fighting cancer, I wrote the next three books in The Keepers of Imbria," she says. "It gave me a world to escape to. I could get lost in the lives of my characters and not think about everything that was happening with me and my body that I had no control over. It was just what I needed."
Photo courtesy of J. Barrett
Into Imbria
In book one, Orabelle, a shocking and brutal murder threatens the fragile peace between the realms of Imbria. Orabelle finds herself thrust into a labyrinth of betrayal and deception that runs deeper than she could have ever imagined. Friends, enemies, lovers, and family — no one is what they appear to be, and most will do whatever it takes to make sure the mysteries of the past remain buried.
As her world begins to unravel, Orabelle enlists the help of a banished warrior and embarks on a quest for answers that takes her across Imbria and into the underground lairs of an ancient enemy, the bloodthirsty and savage Fomori. Realizing the fate of her enemies is intertwined with her own, the headstrong and willful young Queen tries to untangle the web of deceit that spans generations of Keepers and reveals a chilling prophecy she has unwittingly set in motion.
The choices Orabelle makes will change Imbria forever and the secrets she uncovers could cost her everything, including her life. Will she be able to find the answers she needs to save her kingdom and herself, or will the lies and treachery of the past destroy her hope for the future?
Photo courtesy of J. Barrett
An earthy sequel
In Maialen, book two, it has been ten years since the fateful battle of Queen's End, and Samirra is ravaged by famine and plague. The Council of Elements has fallen apart, and Maialen, the Keeper of Earth, is the only one who seems to care about holding together the tenuous peace amongst the realms. As the threat of the Fomori grows and war seems inevitable, she realizes that to save her own kingdom and the rest of Imbria, Maialen will have to betray those she has sworn allegiance to and look to the last person she ever thought she would trust.
All the while, the looming prophecy of the Solvrei still hangs over the world like a dark shadow. To do what is right, Maialen must decide if she believes the prophecy, and if her sister's child is truly of divine blood, or if he is merely a deranged little boy raised to believe that he is the descendant of Gods, another of Orabelle's mistakes that she is forced to try to correct.
Whatever the Earth Keeper chooses, the fate of the four realms now rests on her.
Photo courtesy of J. Barrett
Flames for the third
Book three, Blaise, concerns the prophecy of the Solvrei, something that the Keeper of Fire never believed in. He scoffed at the old legends, preferred to rule with action and consequence rather than mystical stories interpreted to suit the needs of those who coveted power.
But now Blaise has lost everything that once mattered to him, and he stands at the precipice of a new era, one where the Keepers of Imbria no longer reign unchecked and supreme. All he has left to hold on to in a crumbling world is his promise to protect the life of one young child, a boy whose destiny has been entangled with the prophecy of the Solvrei.
Blaise’s determination to safeguard the child forces him to come to terms with old adversaries, and to realize that the ancient tales he always laughed at might be the key to saving their future. His journey to find the truth and reclaim what he has lost will lead him to confront new enemies he never expected to face, including those within himself.
Photo courtesy of J. Barrett
A thrilling conclusion
The final book, Eolande, follows the prophesied child of the last true Water Keeper. She has endured a decade of brutal captivity in Veruca, held prisoner by a callous queen who exploits her divine blood for wealth. When a shocking betrayal is orchestrated by the queen’s own general, the resulting chaos allows Eolande to escape her captors, thrusting her into an unfamiliar world with no one to trust.
Hunted by the rulers of the four realms who seek to use her power for their own purposes, Eolande, the legendary Solvrei, is believed to hold the key to saving the world her aunt, Maialen, is destroying. The once benevolent Keeper of Earth now possesses two of the Elemental amulets, upsetting the delicate balance that exists between the Keepers. Maialen is desperate to hold on to her corrupt power, even if it means sacrificing her niece and everything she once held dear.
An unlikely band of island warriors has pledged their existence to stopping the Earth Keeper and ridding the world of the amulets once and for all, but they cannot do it alone. They need the power of the Solvrei. Eolande must decide who she will fight for, and if the world she barely knows is even worth saving.
The entire Keepers of Imbria series is available for purchase on Amazon.
