Unlocked

Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 8.5

By: Shannon Messenger

Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly

Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

Book 8.5 in the New York Times and USA Today best-selling Keeper of the Lost Cities series delivers what fans of the series have been begging for! Told in an exciting new way, the saga continues with plenty of huge reveals and shocking new twists! 

In this extra special installment of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, the story picks up right from Legacy’s particularly devastating cliffhanger. But chapters alternate between Sophie and Keefe’s perspectives to give listeners deeper insights into both beloved characters. New powers will be discovered. Hard truths from the past will come to light. And all of your favorite characters will find themselves tested in ways they never imagined. 

And that's not all! 

Unlocked also includes a comprehensive guide to the world of the Lost Cities, featuring new character and world details that have never been revealed before - plus fun bonuses like Keeper-themed recipes and so much more!

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.  

©2020 Shannon Messenger (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

great story, but book had some other major issues.

ok. i don't even know how many stars to give.. the story deserves 5 stars, as usual. but the rest of the book? like 1 or 2 stars at best. :( so the novella at the end was really really good. it seriously was.. but the beginning was FULL of stuff everyone ALREADY KNOWS!!! I am really disappointed that the author made us wait a year and a half for this, only to repeat a ton of stuff and then have a short story in the back of the book. how did that take so long to write? and I think the next one isn't coming out until fall of 2022!! ugh. the novella is super good but it was just way too short and most of the rest of the book was super pointless! so frustrating! I like Shannon Messenger's books, but I honestly feel like she made a mistake with this one :((( now everyone wants to learn what happens and can't for over a year, when the info probably should have been a part of this book :/ I feel like I'm being harsh. but it was so frustrating and disappointing. the story at the end WAS great though! :) great job again, author! and great job to the girl that has been doing the narration for the last several books. she does a great job!

Not a full book...

Just a heads up. There are only about 6 hours of the new book here. The other 10 hours is behind the scenes/extra type stuff that basically recaps what has happened in the past books and gives a couple of extras. Unfortunately, Shannon Messenger basically says in this book you need to read/hear this novella to set up/know what is happening in the next book.

The new novella is okay, but nothing great. Now another wait for the next book.

Caitlin Kelly does a good job as always with the narration, but there were a couple of times when it seemed she forgot which character was speaking and ends up using the wrong voice or forgets to change the voice she is using for the next character speaking. Otherwise a good performance, but it stops me from giving the performance 5 stars.

Worse Cliffhanger

I am a mom whose teenage daughter got me into this series….waiting for this release took a lot of patience. You won’t be disappointed as all the other books in the series.

Now waiting begins for the next book. I just hope they release the book with the audiobook at the same time. I have grown to love the narration and won’t preview the book until the audiobook comes out.

Enjoy!

Just a summary of the previous books

All three of my kids and I have been hooked on the previous books and were looking so forward to finally being able to get this one. What a disappointment. It is basically just a summary of everything that happened before, just as files telling it from the POV for every single protagonist. We made it through about 2h hoping that it would change, then just started each chapter to make sure that there is not some kind of story coming.

But, I wanted so much more...

So disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I love these stories... the entire series is great. And the narration - WOW! - Caitlin Kelly is one of the best there is. Her repitoire of voices is phenomenal. She captures both genders perfectly. Her accents are brilliant. There are numerous characters, yet the listener can easily identify what character is speaking. So, why am I disappointed? Waited a very looonnnggg time to find out what would happen next. The date for release kept moving. When the first date was posted, I pre-ordered and listened to books 1-8 over again. When the date moved again .., another 4-6 months later, I cancelled my pre-order, but put a reminder in my calendar. When the release was a week away, I pre- ordered again. I listened to books 1-8 again. Then the book was here. Yay! There's a PDF file attached with additional info. Yay! Start listening to the book. Had high expectations ... over 16 hours.. wow! Then I start listening... The author's note said she thought it would be fun to look at the registry record of a few characters... but it turned out to be 10 hours of review! I just listen to books 1-8. The last thing I wanted was to hear was review... seriously? I want to know what's happening... next! I knew what had happened ; so after the 10+ hours of review, there was barely 6 hours of new story... just enough to wet your appetite. I am so frustrated because I am enjoying the story a great deal. When you have to wait for a long time till the next installment, you want details. You want the plot to move along. Yes, you want more. So, Ms Messenger, you indicated that you were working on book 9. Please keep at it. If other reader's are like me, they are waiting.... some of us not so patiently. It's a great story, with great characters. I did enjoy getting Keefe's point of view in this novella. However, I was surprised that the Ms. Kelly used Sofie's voice for all the background and only used Keefe's voice or his dialogue. I strongly believe it would have been way more effective to use Keefe's voice for narrating his point of view. A chapter of Sofie, A chapter of Keefe. It would have flowed much better. Thank you for the tale so far. Please release book 9 as soon as possible... in print and in audio.

If you are looking for a great series, Keeper of the Lost Cities is it. It is a well woven Fantasy and the world built by Shannon Messenger is fascinating. The characters are well developed as is the story. There are numerous surprises, plenty of humour and many types of creatures. And if you are listening on Audio, Caitlin Kelley's talent is beyond fantastic. She can do both genders excellently, creatures like ogres, trolls, goblins, dwarves, and of course the Elves. Her accents are phenomenal. If you get the chance to listen to a book narrated by her, its a good bet. But, with this series, it is bang on... the story and the narration.

Did no one in the reviews read the book description

This book is half a guide book to the world and lore of the Keepers of The Lost Cities and half actual bonus story. This is not book 9 but book 8.5. It gives us so much background to the world building and characters and I absolutely love that because I feel like there are not enough books out there that just give us world building. This was beautifully done and I absolutely loved it and would love to get more glimpses of world building in the future.

Unlocked: A Masterpiece

I really loved the mix with information and story since I love remembering all of the small details, and the different things about all the people, items and places have gems hidden inside. And I love the switching in between the Sophie and Keefe P.O.V, since it shows how Keefe is thinking throughout all of this. Props, Shannon Messenger, props.

what happend to grady?

his lovable voice was botched to the normal male voice. what happened? he was such a lovable voice.

it definitely mot the best book

I struggled on this book it's kinda boring,but I am
only on chapter three is it just going to do files.But it still vary good,thow It needs some improvement. offense shannon messenger.

i’m crying

minus a star for the ending lol it was still a really good book! i liked the guide and i felt like it was a good addition considering there’s been a lot of books all ready.

Exactly as advertised!

Seriously, why are people complaining about the encyclopedia, when the description makes this totally clear? Is this why some people choose Audio, they're unable to read the written word?
A great book that provides a wealth of reminders, updated history and character portfolios which does a wonderful job of bringing us back up-to-speed on the world. It's topped off with a novella that's clearly designed as a bridge to book 9, but is thoroughly enjoyable in its own right.

A disappointment

This book was a disappointment to me as most of the book was just going through registry files, explaining stuff or authors notes? I read these books for fun, adventure and drama not for an encyclopaedia?! There is a tiny bit of a book at the end but not enough. I was very excited for this book but as I read further through I realised that it wasn’t just a little bit of information or some people’s registry files so this book definitely did not exceed any of expectations