#ventillas

All our times have come / here but now they’re gone..

OK, OK, no more Blue Öyster Cult references, I swear. God, I’m old.

Bubonic Plague is sweeping through the land like wildfire. In the midst of the deadly epidemic, rival nations Brisa and Oliveras have decided to put an end to their long-running war and hatred for one another through marriage. Princess Jehan of Brisa will marry the young King Rayan of Oliveras. I mean, sure, most of the party escorting Jehan to Oliveras die of Plague, but she still manages to make it and marry the king and everything is hunky dory. 

Apart from, you know, the Plague.

But it’s not it’s not like we know what it’s like to be living in a world in which a sickness is running rampant throughout the population or anything, right?

Right?

Ugh.

Anyway, within all of this, we meet Cas. The son of a nobleman, Cassiapeus (he’d much rather be called Cas, thanks) was captured by Brisan forces three years prior, spending much of that time in a miserable prison/labor camp. He only recently managed to escape because he caught the Plague, and, rather than dying like so many others, Cas wakes up in a hospital and just...leaves. Everybody else was busy being sick or dying, so no one stopped him. Cas just nabs a horse and some clothes and heads home. 

Though Cas was lucky enough to survive the Plague, it left him with an interesting side-effect: he can see, hear, and even interact with ghosts. And there are a lot of ghosts around. By the time Cas makes it to the outskirts of his home city of Palmerin, he’s learned, for the sake of his own sanity, to pretend not to see or hear the ghosts. Doesn’t stop him from being guilted into digging a grave for the old bridge keeper outside of town, though. I mean, Cas knew the guy. It’s kind of hard not to dig a grave for the guy when his ghost is literally right there and he knows that you can see him and yeah, fine, I’ll dig your grave, alright? Jeez, leave me alone. 

Cas really should’ve just called the Oliveran equivalent of Ghostbusters.

Unfortunately, the Oliveras Ghostbusters died of Plague. That’s what happens when you cross the streams.

Just as Cas gets done digging that grave for his old pal, Izaro the bridge keeper, his horse gets stolen by a girl dressed in the livery of a royal messenger. Her own horse was stolen, but she’s definitely not stealing Cas’s horse, she’s just borrowing it and she’ll totally give the horse back and she is super late and in a big hurry ok, thanks, byeeeeee!

This gif is not entirely inaccurate. 

The girl doesn’t make it far, though, as Cas only has to walk for a few hours before finding his horse again. Turns out the thief has been treed by a plague-addled lynx. Cas saves her because, horse thief or no, he’s not about to leave someone to be mauled to death by a plague-addled lynx. We learn that the girl is called Lena and she desperately needs a ride to Palmerin and Cas, being a decent human, lets her ride along with him. They reach the city, Lena takes off and Cas gets nervous as he gets closer to home. Is his older brother, Ventillas, alive or has he died of the Plague like so many others?

(This gif is extremely relevant to the entire plot of the book, by the way).

Luckily for, well, everyone, it turns out Palmerin is one of the few cities in the country where the Plague isn’t all that bad (mostly because the city is so far up in the mountains, but also because the city inspector seems to be one of the few people who have made the rats --> fleas --> Plague connection). So, of course, the royal family has fled the capital and taken up residence in Cas’s family home. The day Cas waltzes back into the city happens to be the same day there’s a massive celebration for the baptism of King Rayan and Queen Jehan’s firstborn son, named not-at-all-suspiciously after Ventillas, who was one of the few members of Jehan’s escort who didn’t die of Plague.

Cas watches the festivities, including the parade where the baby prince is being carried around by a nurse for all to admire. As the royal parade crosses a bridge, wham! ARROW! No, it doesn’t get the baby, what kind of book do you think this is? No, the arrow hits the nurse in the shoulder, causing her to fall off the bridge and into the river, and who else should come running to the rescue but our friend Cas? He jumps into the river with zero hesitation, saves the nurse and the baby and is reunited with Ventillas all in one fell swoop. He’s taken back to Palmerin Keep where, of course, people freak out in varying degrees upon seeing Cas again after believing he’d been dead for three years. Cas is also reunited with Lena who, aside from being a gorgeous horse thief is also an official court historian and the king’s half-sister. 

But! Who has time for that when there’s an assassin on the loose? Cas caught a glimpse of the archer just before they fired, and he’s certain it was a woman. But why try to kill an innocent baby? Is it Brisa, trying to stir things up again? Why would they do that when Queen Jehan is Brisan? Also, there’s clearly something suspicious going on - people are keeping an awful lot of secrets regarding Jehan’s journey from Brisa to Oliveras. As a historian, Lena is interested in knowing the finer details regarding the trip, but things aren’t adding up. As the assassin continues to target Rayan and Jehan’s household, it becomes clear that this isn’t some political maneuver. These attacks are personal. Someone is out to get the Queen. But who? And, more importantly, why? As the royal family begins their return to the capital, Cas and Lena team up to discover the truth. 

But if the truth could destroy two nations already devastated by disease and war, wouldn’t it be better to keep it hidden?

Oh man, this book is one hell of a ride. Twists! Turns! Mystery! Intrigue! Lynxes! Lynxi? Or is Lynx itself plural? Whatever: So. Many. Lynx(es)(i)! And they just live in people’s houses and both people and lynx are cool with it! I want my own lynx. I once had two cats whose grandfather was a bobcat which, I think, is as close to owning a lynx as I’ll ever get*. 

Just look at that cat!

But man. Year of the Reaper is a thrilling YA fantasy/mystery/romance/adventure that is really, really difficult to put down once you get started. My only complaint is that, unlike Lucier’s prior Tower of the Winds duology, Year of the Reaper is a standalone book. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say that the book leaves you with plenty of unanswered questions. Like, what will [Spoiler!] do once they find out about [spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler]? And why does [spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler]? Lucier definitely knows how to leave you wanting more, because I really could use a second book. 

RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone in the mood for a standalone YA fantasy/adventure/romance/mystery with plenty of courtly intrigue and also: plague!

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: People who look down on YA as a genre, ghosts, plague rats, the ghosts of plague rats who look down on YA as a genre. 

RELEASE DATE: November 9, 2021

RATING: 4.9 / 5, minus .1 of a point because I need all of the answers, damn it!

PLAGUE RATING: 5 / 5 pustules

ANTICIPATION LEVEL FOR SEQUEL EVEN THOUGH I KNOW FULL WELL IT’S A STANDALONE BOOK: Kangchenjunga