3.5 stars.

A fantasy romance that I would classify as new adult due to some mature content, The Path Keeper has a dual story line construction based on the idea of reincarnated souls. This was a little confusing at first, but once it became clear how things were somewhat linked, the story started rolling pretty well.

The overall premise of the novel is that humans are on fated paths that they choose prior to birth. Ella is supposed to be kept on her path...redirected as needed if she gets off course...by Zac. Unfortunately, he instead interferes and drives her off the path and more or less into his arms. This situation disturbs the balance of her fated destiny and leads to severe consequences.

The writing in this book is overall good, easy to follow, and entertaining to read. There is definitely some corniness in some of the plot structure and the dialogue, but some of this can be chalked up to the intended audience and the fact that this is a more romance driven fantasy. I know there have been several who voice that they could not finish the book...I had no problems in this department. I admittedly struggled a little for the first quarter or so, but not enough to consider shelving the entire book. And once I understood where the plot was headed, things rolled quick and easy.

Overall, I enjoyed my read and found its premise to be intriguing. I also found it to have a nice and solid ending for a series starter. (Admittedly it would have been a bit of a cliffhanger for a standalone or those who choose not to continue with the series.) In fact, I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel.