This was a fun stand alone with a concept that I think could be made into a series. I loved the idea and the writing witty.

This is an ok SFF novel in which a young woman becomes a Chosen One, animals can talk, and aliens take vacations by inhabiting human bodies and experience Earth life. There are a lot of disparate elements, and things get a little overloaded with alien politics, secret missions, bureaucracy, dating, sentient ground, and more. But overall it's a fun read and the trope of the girl who saves the day is down pretty well.

Her job is to keep their secrets safe.

A secluded Retreat Center full of preternatural clientele. A talking crow who thinks she knows everything. A new boy in town asking a lot of nosy questions. Sound like a lot to handle? Not for fifteen-year-old Macy Steward, who lives at the Center and helps her parents run the highly unusual retreats.

For Macy, this is simply normal routine. And it’s all going exactly as expected, that is until the guests become dangerously unpredictable, the talking crow goes suspiciously missing, and the new boy turns out to be so much more than he first appeared.

I was automatically intrigued by this blurb as it had a lot of… “what the heck is this book going to be about?” vibes and it turned out to be such a read!!!

I am a big fan of fantasy and otherworldly narratives and this book had it all. The characters were strange, intriguing and crazy and the plot was full of action, suspense and twists and turns that had me reading the book in one sitting it was that good!

Lakhani has created a world full of magic and excitement with characters you grow to love and I just hope that there are more books to come in the future.

#bookreviewsbymrsc #thesafekeeper #estherarcherlakhani

Fifteen-year-old Macy Steward works at the Greenmont Grith Retreat Center with her parents but there's a catch. It's not just a normal retreat. It's organized by the Orbit Center Council Order for exchangers to enjoy three days of life on Earth. They spend vacation at the center and get to do all sorts of activities including yoga and going to the beach.

Nick is new in town and he's been asking Macy a bunch of questions about the Retreat Center making her a little suspicious of him. But then again, it's a small town so everyone knows about each other's business, right?

However, things prove to be wrong when Clio, the talking crow, disappears suddenly and no one can seem to find him. Then Nick shows up at the wrong place at the wrong time and the exchangers are behaving weirdly. What could possibly be happening?

The plot and characters weren't hard to understand which made this book a lighter read. I enjoyed having Clio as a character because he made me laugh a lot. Though it was easier to read, it didn't take away from anything that was going on. I was immersed in the book and finished it pretty quickly.

This book is a great debut novel and I liked the author's writing style. The book was a fun, easy read which I definitely found relaxing. It was nice to sit on the couch and just read the entire afternoon. I was curious to find out what was happening to Macy up until the very end.