Year of the Reaper

By: Makiia Lucier

Narrated by: Jonathan Myles

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

“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 best-selling 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), comes a captivating new standalone fantasy. 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.

Three years ago, young Lord Cassia disappeared in the midst of war. Since then, a devastating illness has swept the land, leaving countless dead and a kingdom forever altered. Having survived war and plague, Cas, now 18, wants only to return to his home in the mountains and forget past horrors. But home is not what he remembers.

His castle has become a refuge for the royal court. And they have brought their enemies with them.

An assassin targets those closest to the queen, drawing Cas into a search for a killer. With the help of a historian-in-training named Lena, he soon realizes that who is behind the attacks is far less important than why. Cas and Lena must look to the past, following the trail of a terrible secret—one that could threaten the kingdom’s newfound peace and plunge it back into war.

©2021 Makiia Lucier (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

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.