Raven has been trained from that she was young to be a reaper, a trained assassin, by her father. But she has spent the last years trying to make amends for all the lives she has taken as a reaper by saving lives. She has not many lives left to save until she can settle down and be a wife to Gregory, the boy she loves and who promised to wait for her. But then she saves a young boy from drowning and suddenly she must do everything in her power to save him from his father who wants him dead.

I was a bit skeptic to the book in the beginning and I had a hard time getting into the story. But tenacity made me continue with the book and it got better and even though I wasn't that compelled by the story did I like the world that Pauline Creeden had created. That subtle blend between a steampunk world and ordinary world. Steel horses, zeppelins, witches etc. made the story richer and made this YA much, much more interesting to read.

Raven was a good character, and I liked Monroe Strider another reaper who she meets on the journey to save Darius, the young boy. I wasn't that interested in the predictable relationship between Raven and Captain Jack Grant, the man who hunted her.

I'm not that fond of YA, mostly because they often (according to me) lack any depth. This ended up better than I expected. Still, I wasn't drawn into the story in a way that made me forget time and place. But at least, the book didn't have a love triangle...

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! ( )

Reading Raven was fun and exciting experience. To be honest I was a bit reluctant to read and review this novel because I’ve never recanted any steampunk novels before. But I know I said 2015, was a year to read more diversely and step outside my boundaries so I decided to take a chance.

Raven is a confident, intelligent, young woman with assassin style fighting skills due to her job as a reaper. However, she feels she has paid her debts and that she is finally ready to retire from being a reaper. She agrees to take on one last task where she will take the baron’s son Radius on a quest to save his life.

The novel is chockful of action, drama, romance, and suspense which makes this book a page turner. The book sale start off a little slow, but the pace picks up pretty quickly. Though Raven comes off as a very strong women we get to see her overcome her insecurities and the troubles of the past with the help of others and by fighting obstacles on the journey.

This novel is very well written and all of the characters that bring their own color to the story. I also found the steampunk technology to be fascinating!

Final Verdict:

My first exciting steampunk novel! I throughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading the second installment in the Chronicles of Steele. 4 out of 5 stars.
( )

This is a young adult steampunk fantasy about a girl named Raven. She was trained by her father to be a reaper. I don't remember the book actually giving a definition of what a reaper is, but from the information given, I understood it to be a type of guardian. The reapers have fighting and survival skills way beyond that of the average person. I believe traditionally they were suppose to be protectors to the people. Also reapers are suppose to follow a code in order to try to maintain a balance. If they take a life, they must save a life. Raven still lives by the code, but many of her fellow reapers have become mercenaries to the wealthy royal families.

"It's a state of mind. Some people loathe the act of killing a person at first, but as they continue to do it, it can feel like a game. They can begin to feel superior, like the winner of the game. But, if the reaper has to save a life for every life they take, it keeps them humble. It's a matter of subservience so the reaper doesn't begin to think himself as stronger than he is."

Several of the characters in the story are corrupt, not just the reapers. There are the royals and their lies. Also the book contains witches. There is a correlation in the writing in that the characters who wholly give in to power have negative effects. One example is when the witch uses magic, she ages.

"Magic comes at a cost most are unwilling to pay."

The actual storyline is about a boy from the royal family who is set to be killed. Raven's mission is to keep him alive. The plot follows them through all their trials. They're hunted while on the run and come across automatons, huge spiders, solders and much more.

I believe this is the perfect story for the intended younger audience.

3.5 stars





***Copy given in exchange for an honest review***





toni





FangirlMoments and My Two Cents








FULL REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com/2015/03/chronicles-of-steele-rav... ( )

This is a young adult steampunk fantasy about a girl named Raven. She was trained by her father to be a reaper. I don't remember the book actually giving a definition of what a reaper is, but from the information given, I understood it to be a type of guardian. The reapers have fighting and survival skills way beyond that of the average person. I believe traditionally they were suppose to be protectors to the people. Also reapers are suppose to follow a code in order to try to maintain a balance. If they take a life, they must save a life. Raven still lives by the code, but many of her fellow reapers have become mercenaries to the wealthy royal families.

"It's a state of mind. Some people loathe the act of killing a person at first, but as they continue to do it, it can feel like a game. They can begin to feel superior, like the winner of the game. But, if the reaper has to save a life for every life they take, it keeps them humble. It's a matter of subservience so the reaper doesn't begin to think himself as stronger than he is."

Several of the characters in the story are corrupt, not just the reapers. There are the royals and their lies. Also the book contains witches. There is a correlation in the writing in that the characters who wholly give in to power have negative effects. One example is when the witch uses magic, she ages.

"Magic comes at a cost most are unwilling to pay."

The actual storyline is about a boy from the royal family who is set to be killed. Raven's mission is to keep him alive. The plot follows them through all their trials. They're hunted while on the run and come across automatons, huge spiders, solders and much more.

I believe this is the perfect story for the intended younger audience.

3.5 stars





***Copy given in exchange for an honest review***





toni





FangirlMoments and My Two Cents








FULL REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com/2015/03/chronicles-of-steele-rav... ( )

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

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. ( )