Book Review: Raven (Chronicles of Steele #1) by Pauline Creeden

FTC Disclosure: I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“Raven” (Chronicle of Steele #1) by Pauline Creeden (2014)

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Steampunk

Page Length: 248 pages (electronic edition)

Synopsis:

Raven has lived by this first tenet since she was trained 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 become 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 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. (description from Goodreads)

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.