Disclaimer: I got this book at my library. Support your local library! All opinions are my own. 

 

Book: Year of the Reaper 

 

Author: Makiia Lucier 

 

Book Series: Standalone 

 

Rating: 3.5/5 

 

Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, high fantasy 

 

Publication Date: November 9, 2021 

 

Genre: YA Fantasy 

 

Age Relevance: 13+ (illness, plague, vomit and blood gore, war, PTSD, nonconsensual experimental procedures) 

 

Explanation of Above: The book showcases a plague that just occurred and shows and mentions illness that is still around. There is vomit and blood gore in the book, as well as war mentioned. PTSD is shown in the book. There is also a scene where people are shown to be experimented on without their consent. 

 

Publisher: Clarion Books 

 

Pages: 324 

 

Synopsis: The past never forgets... 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. 

 

Review: This book was really interesting. The book focused on our main character whose name is Cassia. He works for the king as an engineer's apprentice and he is sent on a mission by the King with a whole battalion of people. But then a plague, strikes and some other stuff goes down and anyways he ends up being captured by this other kingdom. Years later he is able to return back to his original Kingdom but his home is not what he remembers it to be. There is also an assassin that is on the loose that is trying to do in the queen and that sends our main character on this mission to figure out why and who. For the most part, I thought that the concept that this book was really interesting and the world building of it was pretty well done. I also liked the characters and I like that there was like a lot of twists and turns to these characters. 
 
 However, I wanted more plague in my plague book. For it being this really focal thing that happened it wasn't mentioned a lot nor was it really a thing at play. This book felt a lot more like a book that was a second or a third in a series rather than it being a standalone. And I just feel like there could have been more of just about everything and maybe it would have made the book better. 

 

Verdict: It was good, but I wanted more plague.