Publication date: October 2014 28th
Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Young Adult
Synopsis
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.
My thoughts
First time ever I’ve read a steampunk novel and I thought I start slow into this category by starting with a Young Adult one.
I quite enjoyed this story, I read quite quickly through it which means for me the story was well-paced and kept my attention. I was basically glued to the story. I love reading books where my imagination can really run free and I start to wonder why I haven’t picked up a steampunk novel before… well that is definitely going to change!
I instantly liked Raven, where she, as a reaper, has got to get the balance right. To take a life you need to safe a life. I could really see her reasoning why she wanted to help the baron. Not only because in the past it was the reapers duty basically to be the personal body guard of the Baron but also, she had 2 lives left to safe before she could finally settle, get married, and have a ‘normal’ life. Now we all know in novels, that when you read that in the first chapter that it is something never happens!
She comes across as a very strong character, which of course she needs to be, but I found her quite down to earth and with humour at the same time.
I am happy to read a Young Adult novel without a love triangle, one of my pet peeves is a love triangle. And I was really happy that it wasn’t in here! I was rooting for Captain Jack Grant, not sure why…. but I had this feeling from the moment I started to read about him.
I will definitely be continuing reading this series, it has really captured my interest! And on-wards to more Steampunk novels for me!
Author Bio
In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.
Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. It is also the 2013 Book Junkie’s Choice Winner in Historical Fiction. Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title 2013 Dante Rosetti Award and 2014 Reader’s Choice Gold Award for Best YA Horror Novel.
Miss Book Eater 
Wow the lack of triangle sounds so refreshing! Glad you liked it, Charlie! I’ll need to give this one a try! Raven sounds like an especially awesome character, too!
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It was refreshing and it was a nice introduction to steampunk for me 🙂 Let me know if you like it Giselle.
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Awesome Review! Thanks for being part of the tour…and hope you enjoy more forays into steampunk. It’s always hit or miss for me 🙂
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It was a pleasure! 🙂 I think most genres can be hit or miss, but you have definitely piqued my interest in Steampunk 🙂
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