I had a lot of high hopes for this book. It was a unique cover and description. But it was paced slowly. The ending was anticlimactic for me. But it was still a good read but one that I had to really sit down and read.

A standalone YA Fantasy? Automatic thumbs up. Just kidding - or am I? Year of the Reaper was inspired by the aftermath of the Black Death, a topic I know way too much about so I admittedly was coming into this book with low expectations. I'm pleased to say that not only did this book exceed my expectations but it blew them out of the water. The world building, the mystery, the pacing, everything was what I look for in a standalone fantasy.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

It's a year after the plague has died down, a war has finally been ended by a dynastic marriage, and the survivors are making their way home and trying to pick up the threads of their lives.

I don't really know how Lucier pulls this one off. It's a meditation on trauma, and how people recover from it (or don't recover from it.) The characters have unusual depth and some of them really are wounded by what they've been through; convincing ghosts throng the pages; but the tone is warm and humane, and the story rolls along with satisfying twists and turns: it's not a heavy-feeling book at all.

It's both a fantasy and a whodunit. The world has a nice historical depth to it, and the romance, which is never really acknowledged, is all the more compelling for being tacit -- there's a bit of a Steed and Mrs Peel vibe. Such a satisfying read.

I won this eARC in a giveaway run by the author on Instagram. I’ve tried to start it multiple times, but I just don’t think it’s for me. Not a reflection on the book at all, as I personally know other readers who have really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

This is a book about a young man returning home in a plague year. Cass was taken prisoner and held for three years by a country with which his homeland is now at peace because of a political marriage. He's been through a lot and is quite changed. One of the changes is that he can now see ghosts, who sometimes want things from him if they realize that he can see them so he pretends that he doesn't have this ability.

This book has palace intrigue, an enjoyable romance with two likable characters, a vivid setting and high stakes. Cass has struggles with his responsibilities but is instinctively honorable. His love interest Lena is smart, resourceful, kind and feisty. The book is a bit YA but doesn't have any of the pitfalls I sometimes expect from that genre. This book exceeded my expectations and I'd like to read more by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

A good YA book and I love any type of fantasy tropes and themes. Very interesting set up and the characters are well written.

DNF. Couldn't get into this book, this book just wasn't for me, sadly. Thank you for approving me and I'm sorry I didn't enjoy the book.

This was an unexpected delight. I was worried at first because I wasn't quite engaged with the story but once everything started to come together, it went from enjoyable to I can't stop reading until I'm done. It isn't your traditional YA fantasy book. It is more historical than fantasy, and it is more of an engaging mystery and a meditation on recovering from the trauma in our lives. I enjoyed the story, the twists and turns leading up to the reveal, and the characters both leads and sides. I almost wish the author was writing a sequel but it was also pretty good as is (especially in a genre that is lacking in strong standalones).

This is one of those books where the prologue was better than the actual book. I wished that the prologue would have been the POV and the actual story as it gripped me from the first sentence. The actual story once it started left in the dust and I just didn't care about this character. I had already fallen in love with this princess and the people she had to leave behind.

This author has such creative ideas and her writing just draws you in. I loved this book and am actually reading the published version now! High rec for YA libraries especially in the wake of the pandemic. Potentially emotionally supportive.

I was hooked on this story from beginning to end, and riveted to Cas’s journey through the book. I’ve loved all this author’s stories. She writes great fantasy adventure tales with interesting twists and always a journey of discovery for the characters - whether far, or in this case, within one’s own home city and kingdom. In this book, I especially loved Cas’s relationships. My favorites were with his brother and also with Lena, but there are so many other characters and relationships I adored. I was expecting a little bit more to be made of Cas’s ability to see ghosts, but loved how the plot worked itself out and the secrets discovered along the way. Highly recommended.

It took me a while to get into this book but only for one reason. I started reading YOTR and realized it was in third person POV and at the time I couldn’t fully submerge myself in the story. Took a break from it, put it to the side and decided to come back to it later on.

Well I’m so glad I did because GOD WAS THIS AMAZING. First of all this world- WHAT IN THE GENIUS??? Its jarring, and dark in a sense but also so intriguing. It’s incredible to me how fluidly the author was able to weave several fantasy and paranormal elements into a world like this. And this cast of characters?? Subliiiiime. I literally was gasping with joy (and so much invested intrigue) with every turn of a page.

I’m noticing I’m more keen to books with a mystery aspect especially when it’s done really well and in this case- it was!! I genuinely did not see that twist coming and am kind of shambles.

My only complaint is I want more… A further detailed epilogue, a novella, a whole new book set in this world- I’m not picky just more please.

The plot twists in this had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! I loved all of the characters and the world was unique and well built!

This was such a well crafted stand alone fantasy! I love plague stories and this one was really unique.

I also enjoyed the characters a lot, neither of them felt very tropey.

The plot twists genuinely surprised me, which was refreshing! I loved the simple world building and the writing was just so great. Nothing life-changing, but I really would recommend this book!

This book surprised me so much. It's really an excellent book! I didn’t know what to expect and it was a good story that was a nice pallet cleanser from everything else I read like grimdark adult fiction.
Full review to come on YouTube.

This was a solid mystery adventure stand-alone!! It felt evenly paced and was easy to follow! I enjoyed the characters especially Cas, Lena, and Bittor! This felt like a true young adult read and I loved it for that! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review!

Did I just willingly read a pandemic book? LOL - I thought maybe in a fantasy world it would be less devastating. Nope! In fact, in this book the devastation was much worse. Heavy emotions flood through this one, all of our main characters have been touched in some way. Cas was captured, tortured and held as a prisoner of war, a war that was going on during the pandemic (again, a little close to home on theme!). When he makes his way to his home city, what remains of his family are shocked, they thought he was killed in the pandemic. As they come to grips with his reappearance, he comes to grips with the fact that the king and his new wife are living in his home. The royal marriage was one that brought about a treaty of peace between the two warring kingdoms. Now, in a time of peace someone is targeting the new queen and Cas must find out who it is and how to stop them.

It's funny, I chose this because I wanted a standalone fantasy and yet as I finished, I totally wanted more in this world. Cas and the other main characters we follow were lovely, principled people. There were quite a few twists that I thought were great and the ending tied everything up with a pretty bow.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel, although I didn't actually get around to reading it until after I got my Fairyloot copy. All opinions above are my own.