Human life has value.
The poor living in the gutter are as valuable as the rich living in a manor.
The scoundrel is no less valuable than the saint.
Because of this, every life a reaper takes must be redeemed.

Raven has lived by this first tenet since she was trained by her father to become a reaper. But since his death, she’s been spending years redeeming the lives she’s taken. By her count, she’s even and it’s time for that life to end. If she settles down and becomes a wife, she might just feel human again. But on the way to the life she thinks she wants, the baron of New Haven asks her to complete a task which she cannot ignore… Just when Raven decides to give up on her life as an assassin, she’s pulled right back in.

 

***Disclosure: I received a free copy in exchange for a review.***

We're introduced to Raven as she's saving the duke's youngest son from drowning, only to be arrested once her identity is revealed. Seems Reapers have been outlawed for about a half a generation, but the duke's eldest son has need of her services. She's to protect his nine year old younger brother, who may or may not be possessed by a demon, from their father who wants the boy dead. Hot on the trail of Raven and young Darius are the very guards who arrested her after rescuing the boy, led by Captain Jack Grant- who's grudging respect for Raven's skills and his own innate decency clash with his duty to the duke. Along the way they'll both discover more layers to their respective missions than they imagined and things aren't always what they seem.

Reapers aren't magical warriors- just highly trained and disciplined ones usually able to find something within any situation to turn to an advantage. In order to avoid descending into sociopathy they've adopted a mantra that all life is sacred and whenever they take one they must then save another, redeeming themselves by striking a balance- much like the axiom 'the life you save will be your own'. I also liked how the author weaved bits of personality and characterization into things- such as a reaper lamenting the lack of discipline in this new generation of wannabes who abandon the training once it becomes difficult. Art imitating Life.

Raven's past is a bit mysterious, of course, and remained so at the end of the book. Bits and pieces of her history were doled out during the story, revealing her character and her motivations. Jack Grant wasn't as developed as he could've been and the romance seemed forced as suddenly they're in love with each other. Whatever happened to liking someone/being interested and just wanting to see where it goes?

There's plenty of action and angst to feed your head, but the world needs fleshing out in order to get a clearer grasp of what's going on. The main problem I had was the sudden switches of POV. One moment Raven's upstairs about to confront a witch, next sentence Jack's charging up the steps and finding Raven laid out due to the witch's magic. Things like this kept happening so much I had to re-read several passages a couple times to make sure I had things straight before continuing.

The extras included are an excerpt about young Darius- whom will soon receive his own story- some pointers about writing from the author and the author's thoughts on what Steampunk is and why it should appeal to female readers.

This is a fast, fun read with a couple of twists to it. Pauline Creeden's crafted a nifty tale that teases you with future potential but needs fleshing out and more backstory. Enjoy.

Set in a steampunked England, this story follows Raven Steele, Reaper, as she tries to find balance in her life. She is tasked by the eldest son (Solomon) of the Duke to see Darius (the youngest son) safely to the Wood Witch in the hopes she will be able to cure his strange malady. Raven soon finds herself caught up in in a tangled web of plans laid by various nefarious folks. She is not sure that she can keep young Darius alive… not sure at all.

The Reapers are a unique set of assassins and righters of wrongs. For every life they take, they must in turn save a life. Raven comes from a line of Reapers and was raised with the code. I liked this give and take aspect to the story. It allowed some of the characters to pass that final judgement but did not relieve them of their responsibility to turn around and save a life without having passed judgement upon it. In this case, young Darius needs Raven’s protection from his own father, but he also needs specialized medical attention for this mysterious condition. This gives Raven plenty to worry about. Plus Darius has a loyal dog, Nikki, who Raven must also keep safe.

Raven has this corset that I really want to get my hands on and have a similar one made. It has big magnets on the back, making it easy for her to store a crossbow or sword. It’s sexy and steampunky, so I can overlook the obvious drawbacks of having items accidentally knocked loose or even someone imply taking something when she’s distracted by fighting. She is a careful and deadly fighter, so I am sure she has weighed the pros and cons of this. I trust her judgement.

Most of the cast is male. Raven stars at the center of the story, but there are few females besides her. Later, we do meet the Wood Witch, and also an herbalist names Marietta. These two ladies affect the plot and play integral roles. I grew quite fond of Marietta – so practical and a little sharp tongued. There are a few more, but they had very minor roles. Meanwhile, Raven is surrounded by men for the bulk of the tale.

Captain Jack Grant has been tasked by the Duke to bring Darius back. He’s also a potential romantic interest. He can’t figure Raven out and she is stumped over him. They have to build trust first, especially since the Duke wants Darius dead. One of my little criticisms is that I was confused for most of the story about Jack Grant. Now, obviously I now know that he is a single person. But for much of the story he is referred to either as Grant or as Jack and only a very few times is he called Captain Jack Grant. So, for most of the story I thought we had two separate men working in the Duke’s guards and that both were potentially interested in Raven. It was confusing. And I fear that I did the same thing with the medical doctor, Colton…. who I think might be Gregory Colton? Or are they two separate people? Sigh…. Obviously, if their last names were obvious surnames like Coltonson or Grantson, then I think I would be able to keep them straight with ease during this action-packed, fast paced story.

The steampunk aspects are nicely built into the story. The author doesn’t dwell on the mechanics and instead makes the mechanized items (like steampunk horses) tools for the characters. I like that not every bit of technology works all the time as planned and that not everyone likes the technology. Later in the story, we get an additional plot line that involves mechanized servants. This, along with keeping Darius safe, gives Raven plenty to keep her busy. Story was definitely entertaining!

I received a copy of this audiobook from the narrator at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

Narration: Andrea Emmes did a great job with voices and accents. Her little kid voice for Darius was perfect. I especially liked her accent and attitude for Marietta. All her character voices were distinct and she did a variety of regional accents too.

Trained by her father to become some kind of assassin, a Reaper, hunted down by the other Reapers, Raven has learned to fend for herself at a young age. But taking lives comes at a price. For every life that's taken she has to redeem and save another life. So, when she's asked to take the baron's younger brother, Darius, to the wood witch as a last means of saving him, it seems like a good way to redeem herself for Raven.

 

This was an interesting mix between steampunk and fantasy, that included Zeppelins and mechanical horses but also witches. The start was slow and it took me quite some time to get into the story, but near the end I wanted to know how it was going to end. Though a bit predictable at times, it didn't really disappoint.

 

The romance plot was unnecessary and not that original either. I'm not such a fan of switching POVs and the fact that another POV will be added in the next book makes I'm not completely sure I will continue this series. But I'll probably give it a try because I did enjoy myself with Raven.

 

Raven is the first book in the Chronicles of Steele. The second book will be called Darius.

 

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Follow my travels as I visit the world via books (since I have neither the money nor the time to do it in real life). It's not meant as a challenge (for my) but I'm just curious to see how many places I visit whilst reading. So I keep track of them and update the maps every ten books. Prepare and get ready for the next ten stops...

 

After my exams I now had one week to relax before starting again, and I think it's safe to say I used it one reading. I read more than 10 books, which means it's time for another update on my 'travelling'.

 

Only one book this time that didn't really have a setting that was made clear: Chronicles of Steele: Raven.

 

This episode focusses mostly on North America it seems. After starting in Chicago (Illinois, US) for Under Different Stars, I moved on to Michigan (US) for 18 Things to which I returned for 18 Thoughts after a short break in the UK for a literary festival (Fest). I then went to Boston (Massachusetts, US; The Scarlet Letter - Manga Classics), followed by New York (US; Seventh Heaven) and Seattle (Washington, US; Zhukov's Dogs). A short trip to Canada (Whisper) eventually lead to Florida (US; Half Lies), the last stop on this part of the journey.

 

Part 21-30:

Countries Visited: 3 (Canada, UK, US)

New Countries Visited: 1 (Canada)

Continents Visited: 2 (Europe, North America)

New Continents Visited: 0

American States Visited: 6 (Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Washington)

New American States Visited: 5 (Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York)

New Places: 6

Most Visited Country: USA (7)

Most Visited Place: Michigan, US (2)

Not Set: 1

 

 

Total:

Countries Visited: 6 (Canada, France, Germany, Spain, UK, US)

Continents Visited: 2 (Europe, North America)

American States Visited: 10 (California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington)

Most Visited Country: USA (14)

Most Visited Place: London, UK (3)

Not Set: 5

 

Also read my earlier travels:

Part 1 - Part 2

I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

Raven is a reaper; she was trained by her father when she was a young girl, it was her idea that he teach her how to be a reaper like him. Raven's job as a reaper is to kill people. For every life she takes she has to save another to balance everything out, to redeem herself for killing. After killing a lot of people some reapers just stop saving a life for every kill they make. I guess after a while their hearts just get so hard that they don't care anymore if they ever did. But Raven may be a tough lady and very good at her what she does she still has a soft heart and always saves a life for each kill even if it takes her a few years to catch up. Raven is trying to get caught on saving a life for all the kills that she has made so that she can finally stop being a reaper and settle down with someone she loves and have start a family.

Raven wanted her father to train her to be a reaper so that she could be highly alert and she could take care of herself if the need ever arose. She lost her mother when she was a small child and wanted to know how to fight like her father. She believes if her father had taught her mother how to fight she might still be alive. Raven's father was very good at what he did and he taught Raven well. Raven was a very strong and fast kicka** fighter.

As I was saying Raven was ready to give up her life as a reaper and settle down with the man she has loved for a very long time. But she got way laid on the way to his home. A small child, Darius was riding in a coach when the mechanical horse pulling it went out of control and started over a bridge and Darius was slung out and was hanging on to the coach when Raven came along and caught him just as he lost his hold on the carriage and was heading right into the water below. After she saved his life she was asked by his brother if she would take Darius to the witch in the woods. This witch was known as the wood witch. Everyone thought that Darius had a demon in him and that is why all of the mechanical horses exploded or stopped working when he was around. His brother thought that the wood witch could take the demon a way and he would be ok again.

Raven being the person she was she didn't have a choice but to take the boy to the witch hoping she could heal him. But if the witch could not heal him Darius' brother wanted her to take Darius and keep him with her and keep him safe from people that wanted him dead. After getting to know the person that Darius was and with the heart that Raven has there was no way she was going to let anyone hurt him. She would give up her life to save his. Darius and Raven was good for each other. They helped each other in more ways than I think either of them knew or maybe they did.

Chronicles of Steele: Raven is the first steampunk book that I have read. I have been wondering what a steampunk book was. I even Googled it. LOL! I wasn't sure if I would like this genre but when I saw the author was Pauline Creeden I no long cared if it was steampunk or not. All I knew was that I had to read it. I have read two other books, Sanctuary and Moonbow by Pauline Creeden and loved both of them so I had to read this one as well. So now I can say that I know what steampunk is and that I do like it very much. I loved the world that Pauline created for Raven and the other characters. I loved how she weaved in the mechanical horses and the airships into the story. Oh and I loved the sayings at the beginning of each chapter. There is a meaning in each and every one a message to learn from or live by. I can't wait to check out the next book of Chronicles of Steele. I also plan on checking out more of her work as well. I highly recommend that you check out her books if you have not done so.