Witches and Reapers

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Witches and Reapers

The world Kai Smith has created for his characters is dark and unforgiving. Readers are shown a corrupt monarch who will do anything to further her goals and a man favored by the god of assassins attempting to thwart her. But by doing so, Tobin will give up all he has built for himself through the years.

Witches and Reapers is one of those books that could have had such intricate and complex characters but fell short when building their stories. The Queen is impulsive and given to anger easily. And while she strikes out and shows how intense of a character she can be, her dialog was immature at times. She also wasn't given enough page time to truly build up her intentions and capabilities. And while she did come across as domineering and cruel, her choices were impulsive and resulted in little to no competition. I would have liked to see more of a struggle for her, a harder rise to her position that made her all the stronger for it.

On the other side, Tobin is built up to be a talented assassin. And Kai Smith did an excellent job at intense and gruesome fight scenes. Set perfectly for the world he created, each one was brutal and showcased Tobin's skills. But outside of battle, Tobin struggled to make an impact. His story was extremely plot-driven and readers didn't get to see many of his inner thoughts.

Not a series I will continue. I needed more explanations and time spent on developing scenes and characters. This is an extremely fast moving plot and does not allow enough time to sink into the moment and connect with what characters are experiencing.