Jessaca Willis

Reapers of Veltuur

Soul of the Crow

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Soul of the Crow

Author: Jessaca Willis

Book Series: Reapers of Veltuur Book 1

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: speech impediment main character and a character with a cleft lip

Recommended For...: fantasy lovers, death bringers

Publication Date: August 26, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (animal death, animal violence, childhood trauma, child abuse TW, grief and grief processing, gore, death)

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 228

Synopsis: When a mortal wants someone dead, they contract a Reaper of Veltuur, an individual born from the underrealm with fatal magic coursing through their veins.

Sinisa is one of them.

For three years, she’s slain her targets dutifully with the aid of her crow familiar. She only needs one more kill to ascend as a Shade, a coveted status of power. And when the King of Oakfall requests a Reaper to execute his daughter for an unforgivable crime, Sinisa is first to volunteer for the job.

It should be easy.

But when the Prince of Oakfall discovers his sister is in danger, he flees the palace with her. Sinisa is left with only two options: journey through the mortal realm to find and slay her mark, or face the consequences of returning to the underrealm empty-handed. It's no choice at all. She has come too far and is too close to earning her title to let it be taken away from her now.

Besides, no one can outrun a Reaper of Veltuur.

Or can they...

Review: This book was amazing! I loved the unique concept of it and I loved the world building. The book was well written and the two POVs had very distinctive voices and I loved that one of the main characters had a speech impediment like me! I loved the character development as well, especially in Sinisa.

The only issue I had was that the pacing was very fast and the story is very short. I think the author could have fleshed out the story a bit more and maybe even broke the book into two parts, but the book was great how it was and I’m excited to see what happens in the second book!

Verdict: A great fantasy!

Jess Ostrander

Sinisa is a Reaper of Veltuur. When a mortal wants someone dead, they contact a reaper- someone born from the underrealm with deadly magic. Sinisa has worked for three years, slaying any target given to her with the help of her crow familiar. One more kill, and she'll ascend to Shade, a coveted and powerful title. When the King of Oakfall requests a Reaper execution for his daughter, Sinisa volunteers right away. It should be an easy job. But the Prince of Oakfall discovers his father's plot, and runs away with his sister. Now Sinisa must journey through the mortal realms to hunt her target- or risk returning to the underrealm empty handed. 

I really enjoyed this one! It did take me a minute to get hooked, but once I was, I couldn't put the book down! I enjoyed Sinisa right from the start. And the reapers are so interesting! Immortal, dark assassins hunting mortal targets? Super cool. I would have liked a little more on how their powers worked though. I also thought the familiars were cool. 
Oh and Prince Acari. I wasn't sure if I liked him at first, since he can seem really naive. But he's definitely relatable with his anxiety and awkwardness. I like how devoted he is to protecting his sister too. I liked how Sinisa grew through her sort-of friendship with Acari and how we got to see a more human side to her.
I think this is definitely a unique world with a fast paced plot and characters I enjoyed reading about! This book is definitely setting up this series to be something really cool, and I can't wait to see where it goes! If you're a fan of the darker fantasies like Nevernight, The Shadows Between Us, King of Scars, etc. you'll probably enjoy this one! And can we just take a moment to appreciate that cover?? Wow. I'm really excited to continue this series and see how everything works out!

Manon van Heumen

This book. Oh my gosh this book. It was so so good! I was interested from the very first page: the fast pace, the immersive writing style, and the plot. This book had it all. And this book is just perfect to read during the spooky season, it gave me all the perfect vibes. So excited for the second book!

Soul of the Crow Reapers of Veltuur

Reviews