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  • Blackbird in the Reeds

  • Rowan Harbor Cycle Series, Book 1
  • By: Sam Burns
  • Narrated by: Chris Chambers
  • Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (241 ratings)

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Blackbird in the Reeds

By: Sam Burns
Narrated by: Chris Chambers
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Publisher's summary

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

What listeners say about Blackbird in the Reeds

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story & I Enjoyed Chris Chambers

Creative, clever, fun. I enjoyed all the little surprises along the way, and since I didn't really read the blurb that worked out well for me this time 😜.

I listened to the audio version of Blackbird in the Reeds and thoroughly enjoyed the narrator, Chris Chambers. He did a good job and I'm scrolling through Audible right now looking for more of his MM performances.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Blackbird in the reeds

This was a very interesting book. The characters were really good at keeping the story enjoyable.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Love the concept

Easy listen, low angst, and the paranormal/magical town promises some level of intrigue. The way the story is written is just a bit shallow. There’s a lot of situations that called for more development, but were glossed over quickly. Like the author didn’t want to elaborate or lacked the tools to flesh the character interactions out. It felt like lost opportunities while listening, and perhaps it’s a lack of mature storytelling or just the genre or …. who knows? Even the one sex scene felt underdeveloped and there was certainly more potential in that scene!
Sam Burns definitely set up the story and characters for more tales in the town of Rowan Harbor. And I occasionally enjoy audio books that don’t make me work hard to follow; makes it easy to multitask.
Chris Chambers did a pretty decent job elevating the character interactions.
The Black Friday sale made the purchase of the first few books in the Rowan Harbor series easy to buy so I don’t feel ripped off.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fun entertaining series

this is a great series. the writing is fun and engaging. the narrator does an amazing job. my only complaint (not a real one) is that they were short and I wanted more.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

So so

Story doesn’t go very deep and the romance is barely there. I’d say it’s pretty juvenile? Not YA but I think a teen might enjoy the book more if they want an easy listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

I'm a sucker for a good fantasy story and Blackbird in the Reeds delivers the world and character building that I crave.

Told from Devon Murphy's single, third-person point of view, Blackbird in the Reeds is a nice blend of contemporary fantasy and paranormal romance, and it sets up nicely for what's to come next without being cliffhanger-ish.

Chris Chambers enunciates every word very clearly and he uses a distinct character voice for each of the large cast. His pacing is very structured and he infuses some emotion into the text bringing the characters to life. Overall I enjoyed listening to the audio and would listen again. However, Chambers' enunciation resulted in a less than relaxed delivery and, though his performance is proper and clear, I would love to hear Chris loosen up and really enjoy performing the characters in the next book.

Note: The Rowan Harbor Cycle is a series of 9 books - a trilogy of trilogies. The main characters (Devon and Wade, Jesse and Sean, Fletcher and Conner) will have their own book in each trilogy with a happy for now ending and later their (hopefully) happily ever afters.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Weird Small-town Trope

Sam is good with her prose as ever. This is more novella than novel, but good. A nice intro to a series and a rather good narrator. Chris the voice actor is excellent with his characters but a little boring on some of his exposition. However he has a ridiculously sexy voice and I personally would love to hear him tell me bedtime stories while snuggling. #swoon

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A good start to a new series

This is the first of a three part series although it could be added to. This is the first time I've read any of San Burns books, I like his style of writing. Very practical and easy to read. Meaning any of the conversations I could image having them in real life. Very lite on the sex which is a goodthing when you have a good storyline. You are not depending on the distraction of sex to make up word count. A little mystery, a little romance and a lot of good characters. Chris Chambers does a good job narrating. I like his voice, it's easy to listen to and the characters are easy to tell the difference.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hate the narrator

The story is pretty good, I guess, but the narrator can make or break a story. This narrator is so monitored and unenthusiastic, he reminds me of those elderly college professors too old to care about teaching anymore but still required to lecture. Ugh! I hate that I can't even give a decent review of the story!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I'm captivated

Blackbirds in the Reeds is the first book in the Rowan Harbor Cycle series. Set in a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone, and newcomers are looked upon with suspicion - even 10 years after moving to town.

This book is told from Devon Murphy, POV and starts off when he is returning back to his hometown, Rowan Harbor after being away for many years. He's never felt as home as he does in this strange and quirky town, never felt like an outsider. He doesn't quite make it all the way to his grandmother's place but swerves off the road to avoid hitting a deer. Not only is he a little banged up, he comes face to face with the biggest wolf he'd ever seen, and an eerily smart one to boot...

After escaping the wolf, getting patched up and getting a good night's sleep, his grandmother introduces him to Maria, one of the "newcomers" in town. The two forms an instant friendship and I had a blast listening to them, their friendship was genuine. It might have been instant, but it was real. Only problem is that Maria has had more than a few too many near fatal accidents recently and Devon promises to look into them. After all, losing his new friend is not on his agenda.

There are a few things that I couldn't quite figure out though; like, did Devon know that the paranormal world existed or was this completely new. At times he seemed totally oblivious, I'm not talking about him knowing about himself or the town but in general, and in the dark and at other times it felt like he'd been in the know all his life.

I loved the secondary characters, the humans, Jesse the best friend and let's not forget Oak. They added some flavour and depth to the story and made the town come alive a bit more. It's going to be interesting to see how Devon brings the humans and the town together so that one side can stop being afraid - both refreshingly and ironically it's not the humans running scared - and so that the humans can start feeling included.

I've been very lucky lately in finding wonderful narrators to listen to and Chris Chambers is definitely one of them. He was perfect for this book. His voice fit the town, the people and the overall feel of the book. He brought feelings into his words and made Rowan Harbor and its inhabitants come alive. I am definitely looking forward to listen to more of his works in the future.

Blackbird in the Reeds was a good start to a new series; it was not perfect but holds a lot of promise with an interesting world building and good characters. It didn't really have the feel of a complete novel - nor an incomplete one as such. It felt more like a "This is how it all started…" kind of book. And I liked it; I want to know more about these characters and what happens next. So the story of Rowan Harbor is far from over and I'm looking forward to listening to the next book in the series.

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