Reave

Reave Series, Book 1

De: C. Miller

Narrado por: Dana Allen

How far would you go to be free—to make your own choices without being subjected to punishment for doing what you felt was right? Could you kill for it?

After being abandoned by her father as a child, Aster spent ten years of her life as a servant for the leader’s House in the broken city of New Bethel. She’d known, even as a child, that the cities of her world were corrupt places with human monsters—assassins—running rampant between their high walls. Thinking everything will remain the same as it always has there, Aster is startled to discover that one day . . . the cycle breaks. As a young new leader takes a strange and—at times—horrifying interest in her, will she be capable of discovering the reasons behind his actions and orders?

In a world where nothing is as it seems and all things are never anywhere near as simple as they appear at first glance, will she be capable of making the distinction between what is real and what is not? Will she find anyone at all she can trust? More importantly . . .Does she have the strength to do what is necessary to survive in a world filled with evil?

©2013, 2023 C. Miller (P)2025 C. Miller

An Absorbing Tale

I was entertained by this first book in the series. This was my first experience with this author, and the story was riveting. I thought the worldbuilding was creative. I liked Aster and her quiet spirit which wanted to be invisible to the monsters in her world, but also yearned to be free of them. I enjoyed the dance as Aster's path intertwined with those of the human monsters. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I thought Dana Allen's narration was fine, and her performance kept my attention. I was given a copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain, to leave this review which included my honest opinions regarding this story.

Didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did!

*I received a free audiobook copy from StoryOrigin in exchange for my honest review*

This book thoroughly surprised me. From what I was given as the general premise, I was unsure how much I would enjoy it. Miller weaves an interesting a unique world, but one that is altogether too familiar at the same time. Aster is an interesting an unique protagonist, and you're never quite sure who to trust and if you can even trust her. I loved having an unreliable narrator and learning things along with her.

The reapers are a fascinating breed of people and I found myself wanting to better understand them throughout. Aster's resilience in the face of all that she had been through and her willingness to stand up for what she wanted were admirable. The romance was initially believable and then became a little confusing as time went on, but her blindness to what was truly happening makes sense and it added complexity to the storyline. I also really appreciated that unlike other stories where a girl who has never had much physical exertion starts training for an important task suddenly becomes really strong in a fascinatingly short amount of time just because she can (or because it suddenly dawns on her that she's internally stronger than she thinks she is), Aster struggles. And she struggles HARD. It's believable and it makes her frustration and internal battling feel genuine.

My only major complaint is that it felt like the story was building to something (and it obviously is - I would know, given that finishing this led to me immediately tearing through the rest of the series on my kindle) at a steady clip and then abruptly ends without what I would consider a true climax. It felt like the story deflated slightly when you meet a critical character much earlier than you expect to. I did, however, love the way that led to the suspense required to complete the series. I'm not sure where else would have made sense for a break given the way the story continues in the rest of the series, but it's hard to understand that until you have the hindsight the rest of the series provides.

Dana Allen was an incredible narrator and I believe her reading of the story is really what sold me. It made it easier for me to differentiate between characters, dialogue, and the internal musings of Aster that I think helped tremendously even when I read the rest of the series on my own.

Bravo, Ms. Miller! You've created a cast of characters I couldn't help but love and hate at the same time and a world I would never want to visit but find myself drawn back to.

Captivating

This was a very captivating story with a couple of bombshells dropped at the end that had me saying ‘what!?!’ The ending is a cliffhanger that makes me what to get the next in the series. The narrator did a great job differentiating between the different characters and putting emotion into the reading. I would recommend this book to those who like light romance with assassins and surprises.

So good

This is an absolutely fantastic book. I really enjoyed listening to it. The characters are wonderful. The layout totally captured me and I enjoyed The narration

Reave!

This is a story about Aster, a young lady who lives a life of servitude. She is lives on the estate of the Leader, who is a part time resident. She is severely punished if speaks out or does something that is not liked. Things change when a new leader comes to reside at the estate. This is an incredible journey she takes in self discovery and growth. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to the nest in the series. The narration is nicely done and brings the story and characters to life.