Year of the Reaper

By: Makiia Lucier

Narrated by: Jonathan Myles

“I love the magic Lucier weaves through this dark yet hopeful tale. I devoured it in one sitting!” —Kristin Cashore, author of the New York Times bestselling Graceling Realm books

""A beautifully crafted novel containing everything I love in an epic fantasy: complex characters and relationships, excellent world building, and a compelling story full of twists and turns."" —Juliet Marillier, author of the Blackthorn & Grim and Warrior Bards series

A rich and captivating YA standalone fantasy that's perfect for fans of Brigid Kemmerer, Rachel Hartman, and Naomi Novik, from the writer whose stories have been called “brilliant” (Booklist), “masterful” (Horn Book), and “breathtaking” (School Library Journal). In the aftermath of a devastating plague, a young lord is determined to discover the truth behind a mysterious attempt to assassinate the young queen.

A Sickness to kill them. A Princess to save them. And a Reaper who will stop at nothing to reveal the truth.

Young Lord Cassia was destined for death, kidnapped and imprisoned by the enemy three years ago. Now he has escaped, the sole survivor of a deadly outbreak that has ravaged the kingdoms of Oliveras and Brisa alike. His survival has won him his freedom, at a cost: Cas is now haunted by the souls of those with unfinished business left in the realm.

When Cas finally returns to his home in the mountains, he arrives just in time to celebrate the king and queen's newborn son. But when an assassin interrupts the festivities, Cas finds himself thrust into the dark underpinnings of court life. Nothing is as he remembers, and his only solace is Lena, a royal historian with a penchant for stealing his horse and keeping him anchored to the present...even as the past rises to the surface.

For the more Cas learns about the new queen-a former princess of Brisa, an old enemy-the more he is certain she harbors secrets. Secrets that threaten the one person Cas holds most dear.

Lucky for him, the past never forgets, and the secrets of the dead aren't always buried with them.

love this story :)

Such a good story. Listening to it for the 2nd time. I wish Isle of Blood and Stone by the same author were on audible. I read that last year and it was also amazing. I guess I'll have to go find it as an actual book and read it again too lol

Fun Read/Listen! Enjoyed it very much!

Really enjoyed listening to this book while making my holiday desserts! I'm hoping others will also have a go at it!

I loved this book!

This a great story with unpredictable twists and turns. It is very well written and well performed!

Narrator Really Isn't My Cup of Tea...

This is a tough review for me to write, because you can tell that Jonathan Miles is putting effort into his performance (for example he changes his voice for different characters, which is the only nice thing I have to say about his reading), but this is truly one of if not the most cringe-worthy performances on an audiobook I've ever encountered. He reads like an AI who has no idea what human inflection is like, or like a high schooler who got called on by an English teacher to read aloud in class. I struggled through the first 6 hours of the audiobook before throwing in the towel. The story is decent, but for me, connecting with any of the characters was impossible because the narration was so jarring and soulless. Odd pauses where there shouldn't be pauses, weird emphasis on certain words, side characters with grating/irritating voices, and -worst of all- a strange campy delivery to the dialogue that does NOT match the tone of the story in the slightest and made it impossible for me to get into the book. I thought that eventually I'd get used to Miles' performance but the longer I listen, the more I want to seal my ears with beeswax like Odysseus. I'll keep an eye out for other works by this author because I do like her writing style, but good god this narrator just really wasn't for me. I give him an extra star for effort, and maybe my grievances are just specific to me because I don't see any other reviews mentioning that the narration took them out of the story, but I would think wisely before you use your credit on this one.