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Raven
Author: Pauline Creeden
Series: Chronicles of Steele, #1
Genre: YA, Steampunk, Fantasy
Publisher: AltWit Press
Publication Date: October 28 2014
Format: ebook
Pages: 332
Source: Itching For Books
Purchase: Amazon | B&N
Rating: ★★★ . 5
This is the complete Steampunk Fantasy novel - all four parts of the serial in one volume! Also includes bonus features not found in the episodes ~
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. (Goodreads)
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. (Goodreads)
Opening Lines
“RAVEN STEELE COUNTED every footstep she chanced through New Haven with the knowledge that any could be her last. But the gamble wouldn’t last long. She quickened her pace. Only two kilometers of brownstone street stood between her and the safety of the forest.”
I always try to be 100% fair when it comes to genres, but I will be completely honest and say that I used to (okay, I kind of still do) avoid the Steampunk genre. Why? Because to be honest I don't always fully understand it. To some it's an easy concept, to others it's complex. And the most important thing is finding an author who can write and write it well! I have definitely found that in Pauline Creeden. This was my first read by her and boy was it ever interesting and intense!
We were lucky enough to receive Raven in different formats. I kept going back and forth between ebook and PDF version, the ebook version was easier to read on the go. While the PDF version I could sit and read while on my laptop and state at the detailing in the front choice, the headers for each chapter, and the design! It's so beautiful! I'm hoping that the physical copy will look like this because if it does I will buy it!!
I really, really liked the characters we are introduced to! Raven was strong, and a kick-ass kind of girl but she was vulnerable which made her more realistic and a relatable character to readers. Jack, well he's Captain Jack Grant. Although, I have to say that as much as I was somewhat rooting for Raven and Jack I'm not sure if I'm 100% team Jack. I just feel like the romance was rushed and I would have rather there been a more drastic tie in to their feelings for each other. I didn't get the ending I wanted, it wasn't a bad ending. I was just...wanting more. I don't want to give anything away, but I have high hopes for what might develop in the following book or books...please let it be books.
What kept Raven from getting 5 stars?
I chop this up to it probably being more "it's me, not you". This was difficult for me to read and I had a very hard time getting into to. It took me longer than expected to finish this (6 days) and I was just starting to get frustrated. I really wanted to invest myself into this book but couldn't do it. I think I just wasn't in the right mind set for it, but it did affect me being able to enjoy this story from beginning to end.
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Giveaway!
About the Author
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.
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