Rowena's Key by AJ Nuest

The key would unlock his future and the safety of his kingdom, but he never imagined the sorceress would unlock his heart…

Antiques restorer, Rowena Lindstrom, finds herself the owner of an ancestral armoire containing a hidden key and a magic mirror leading to another realm!

But the handsome warrior prince waiting on the other side is truly the final straw. This must be an elaborate joke, right? As she struggles to discover the truth, Rowena learns Prince Caedmon Austiere needs the key to save his kingdom. In the end, she cannot deny him anything. Including her heart.

I am a bit of a sucker for fantasy novels so I took one look at this and knew that I had to read it!

Rowena works in the antiques industry and finds herself making a crazy purchase of an antique amoire, wherein she finds a mysterious key with her initials on it. Upon waking one night, she discovers the armoire open and through the mirror she is met by a man called Caedmon from another realm. But it i can't be real, it must be all a hoax, but Prince Caedmon is too convincing to be an actor, and she discovers that she must give him the key for him to save his kingdom. She slowly starts finding herself to be feeling more for him and she surely cannot deny him anything...

I was not so sure of this to start off with and I couldn't really gel with the main character, but once Rowena starts to believe that the mirror and Prince Caedmon are real, I began racing through the story to discover what would happen. It was like she had a complete character change and she came alive in the story and the feelings that start to ignite between her and Caedom felt so undeniably real! I desperately wanted Rowena and Caedmon to be together and for one of them to pass through the mirror so that they could be united.

I loved the mystery surrounding the key and the thought of a different realm being through the mirror. I love fantasy novels as I believe they are the best form of total escape in novels and this one completely took me away.

And oh my, what a fantastic cliffhanger! Cannot, cannot wait for the next in the series! I will definitely be reading.

8.5/10