Keeper of The Lost Cities (also known as Keepers) is an amazing book series by Sharron Messenger that has nine and a half books (including book 8.5 which doesn’t have an actual story until the end). Keepers is about Sophie Foster, who has been different from everyone her entire life. But then, she finally finds out why. She’s an elf. Not the Santa Claus type of elf, but a type that has special abilities.
Normally, elves have one to two abilities. She has way more than that. Her most noteworthy ability is telepathy, the one that was bothering her due to its abnormality in the average human world. Keepers is a coming-of-age story where Sophie has to navigate a new world while fighting against villains with her friends, The Neverseen. And the heroes who take action against The Neverseen, The Black Swan.
Book One is really slow at first. However, once you get interested, you’re automatically hooked. This book kind of has a The Little Mermaid vibe. She’s adjusting to being part of The Lost Cities, and struggling with the new laws she has to follow and the Elven culture. For example, because of her experience in the human world, she has to adjust to being a vegetarian since elves don’t eat meat. She’s shy but strong. She also has a lot to learn. It’s very relatable and has a lot of adventure.
Book Three: Everblaze has to be the best book example for Sharron Messenger being a brilliant author. The book made me feel so many emotions, and the writing is so good it makes you feel something. It is a sad one, but when a book makes you cry, it’s a sign that the writing is amazing. it makes you go deeper into the main characters’ feelings that might make you respond in an emotional way.
Book Four: The Neverseen is a pretty dramatic book. It focuses on The Black Swan and their secrets. It’s a really important book in the series. There’s a character that we meet who I absolutely love and is sarcastically funny. When you meet her, you’ll know who I’m talking about and I think you’ll love her too. The book explores more parts of The Lost Cities.
I would have put in book 5-8.5 except they’re not as enjoyable as the books I’m including. Book 5-8.5 aren’t books you should skip but if I talked about them all, this article would be super long. Book 8.5 doesn’t really have an actual story, it’s filled with some information and illustrations of things but not exactly important until the end of the book where there’s a novella. Some of the moments in those books drive me nuts as well that I’d be too tempted to write about and I don’t want to risk giving any spoilers.
Book Nine: Stellerlune has to be my absolute favorite book in this series. There’s this one moment that made me thrilled, and it felt a bit more lighthearted than some of the other ones. It has a really great cliffhanger and you will be so overwhelmed with joy from reading this book.
Book 10 is coming out November 3, 2026. So yeah, you have to wait for a year to read Book 10. But that’s okay – it will probably take you a while to finish books one through nine. And it will definitely be worth the wait.
