Blackbird in the Reeds cover art

Blackbird in the Reeds

Rowan Harbor Cycle Series, Book 1

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Blackbird in the Reeds

By: Sam Burns
Narrated by: Chris Chambers
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $19.99

Buy Now for $19.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

Devon Murphy has never believed that there were fairies at the bottom of the garden, but when he's in an accident on his way to his grandmother's house and comes face to face with the biggest, baddest wolf he's ever seen, he's forced to reconsider. When his grandmother asks him to look into a string of suspicious accidents, he finds a much bigger mystery to unravel. From his childhood best friend to the too-attractive deputy Wade Hunter, everyone in Rowan Harbor seems to have something to hide. Devon has to get to the bottom of it all before the accidents turn deadly. Contains mature themes.

©2017 Sam Burns (P)2018 Tantor Fantasy Literature & Fiction Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Fiction Paranormal
All stars
Most relevant  
Reluctantly returning to visit his home town of Rowan Harbour, Devon Murphy is plagued by accidents and weird sightings, and an odd certainty by the townsfolk that he is exactly where he should be. Unfortunately, Police Deputy Wade Hunter is the exception, giving off electrifyingly handsome but hostile vibes. This supernatural, instalove romance was pleasant enough but surprisingly, given the werewolves and vampires, it lacked bite. There was some good world building, I especially liked Oak, but I felt the author missed an opportunity to make things more thrilling. The mystery lacked oomph and the fated-mates romance and the wholesome vibe left me a little flat. I’ll persevere with the series because I love Chris Chambers’ audio narrations (the first three are currently free on the Audible Plus catalogue).

Tepid supernatural romance needed more thrills

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There’s some interesting elements and wonderful world building, but overall the story just lacks…spark, thrills, drama…any action to get me invested. It just felt… mundane, and considering it’s supposed to be supernatural that was a bit disappointing.

Half way through it I’m wondering where the book is building to; where’s the conflict or mystery requiring a resolution? Almost at the end, it’s finally presented and I was left thinking, “That’s it? That’s the mystery I was supposed to be invested in? I thought that was a side plot, not THE plot”.

As a positive, many of the characters are likeable in their own way and you do get that country-town-embrace vibe. The world building is excellent though, setting sequels up for a lot of potentially amazing stories.

The narration is “fine” but has two main issues: it’s relatively monotone, lacking emotion or any contrast; the voices for different people are not different enough that it makes it difficult to know who is talking without actively concentrating.

Pair this with the relatively slow story and it’s an okay book to pass the time with, but I wouldn’t put it at the top of the list if you have other things to listen to.

Unsubstantial but with potential

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The romance was sweet and the world building was great. I'm loving the knitting shop touch. Wade's 180° personally shift irritated me though. I understand what the author was trying to do, but it was not explained very well in my opinion.
A fun story and interesting lore that I'm looking forward to continuing in the next books.

Too soft to be in the Erotica category

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
blackbird in the reeds by Sam burns. I was hooked after the first chapter but it did get a little slow after that too you hit about half way when it started to get really good. I loved this story being about fae but not the whole pointie ears etc. it was a nice change

intriguing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.