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Kelsey Rae Barthel grew up in the quiet town of Hay Lakes in Alberta, a sleepy place of only 500 people. Living in such a calm setting gave her a lot of spare time to imagine grand adventures of magic and danger, inspired by the comic books and anime she enjoyed. Upon graduating high school, Kelsey moved to Edmonton and eventually began working in the business of airline cargo, but she never stopped imagining those adventures. Beyond the Code is her first novel.
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
Loyalty, honor, and secrecy. These three pillars of the Code have kept Luna and her people safe and guarded the peace throughout generations of Knights and Masters. She and her fellow Knights are bounded by the Code. But times have changed and the Code is no longer being respected. Damon Lexus and his Knights are threatening and murdering the others for power. When her beloved Master is killed, Luna finds out that revenge is not enough as the corruption in the ancient Order runs deep.
Kelsey Rae Barthel’s urban fantasy, Beyond the Code, takes place in another world which has the same qualities as ours but differs in terms of history and geography. Familiarization with the world-building is easy, and as a reader, I appreciated it. The plot is well structured and has solid turning points that contribute to character development. It’s a shame that I don’t get to see what could have been for Cole and Luna's relationship. Even though Aurora and Luna are the same person, I perceived her persona more as Luna, whether as a Knight or a daughter of an influential family. I have a soft spot for Zander, whom I considered as Luna’s own Alfred.
Some parts of the narrative are slightly repetitive in terms of details, but this is just a minor dent in the story for me. The overall pace is quite swift for the well thought out plot. The ending wraps up nicely even though there’s still plenty of truth to be uncovered. Beyond the Code is an easy, enjoyable read with lots of action, and I look forward to seeing how the story continues.
