I probably would not have picked up Year of the Reaper if both the Popsugar challenge and Around the Year in 52 books challenge hadn’t had prompts for “A book by an Asian or Pacific Islander author’. I wanted to focus on Pacific Islander authors because I know that is an area of talent I haven’t experienced much of. Finding a book for the prompts proved more difficult than I thought but I kept seeing this one pop up in the Goodreads discussions and StoryGraph challenge pages. When I found that my library had it through their Cloud Library app, I knew this was the one. I love completing challenges for this reason. It opens me up to books/authors that I would’ve never found on my own.
From Goodreads:
Before an ambush by enemy soldiers, Lord Cassia was an engineer’s apprentice on a mission entrusted by the king. But when plague sweeps over the land, leaving countless dead and devastating the kingdom, even Cas’ title cannot save him from a rotting prison cell and a merciless sickness.
Three years later, Cas 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.
When an assassin targets those closest to the queen, Cas is drawn into a search for a killer… one that leads him to form an unexpected bond with a brilliant young historian named Lena. Cas and Lena soon realize that who is behind the attacks is far less important than why. They 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.
Thoughts
I really enjoyed this book. It was very engaging and I couldn’t to put it down. The world building was solid, characters were intriguing, I didn’t see the plot twist coming, and the paranormal aspect was interesting. The mystery around the attacks was compelling and the conclusion was satisfying, if a bit rushed.
Cas was definitely the main draw for me in this book. After being away for 3 years, during which the plague ravaged the lands, he struggles to find his place at home. Everything is different and he doesn’t have time to acclimate when the threat on the queen’s life throws him into the fray. I wish they would have delved deeper into his newfound talent of seeing/speaking with ghosts. It hints at why he might now have this ability, but it stays very surface level. I would’ve liked more in the way of the supernatural.
Cas runs into Lena early in the book and they quickly establish a friendship and partnership in finding who is behind the attacks on the queen/her family. While the characters were developed well, I didn’t know Lena as well as I did Cas. I would’ve liked to get to know her better.
Overall, this was a solid stand-alone YA book. I would’ve taken it as a duology if it meant digging deeper into all the ideas introduced and we got a little bit more of Cas and Lena after the conflict is resolved.
“We are not promised a long life, Cassia. Just a life. Take what happiness you can. Hold tight to it.”
Makiia Lucier
I’m so glad I picked this up. It offered a great balance of action, characters, and the paranormal. I’ll be checking out Makiia Lucier’s backlist.
