Review of Reaper (Secret of Alba Book 1) by Lindsey Winsemius

Reaper (Secret of Alba Book 1) by Lindsey Winsemius

5 stars
Reviewed by Char Webster for Late Night Books and Reviews


Reaper by Lindsey Winsemius is an amazing dystopian novel set after what the author calls the Great World War, in what today, is Northern California. The world had changed dramatically, the population was annihilated, City-states took control of different regions and the people were ruled with deadly control. Their lives were severely restricted to maintain the “balance.” Alba, the city this book centers around, has been completely isolated from the rest of the world since the Great War and the residents were not permitted to venture beyond the city walls.

Aerina is a member of the Patrician caste, the most elite of the residents, but hates the restrictions placed upon her within society and her caste. She longs for adventure, fun, excitement and information about the outside world. Aerina secretly dressed as a lower caste dancer to participate in the Founders Day Celebration. During the performance, one of the dancers attempted to assassinate the leader of the city.

Marcus, the Alpha Virmortus, is the leader of the military, nicknamed Reapers. They are extremely deadly and efficient in everything they do, especially protecting the city. He was brought up to believe that the only thing in his life is his job, which makes him extremely controlled, showing little emotion. As soon as the dancer approaches the leader, Marcus immediately eliminates all of the dancers in the troupe but spares Aerina, to fulfill a debt he owes her for having saved his life before. Marcus knows Aerina’s impetuous nature had led to her accompanying the dance troupe and that she was not guilty of collusion.

Aerina’s life was spared, but her place in society was decimated. She suddenly became an outcast, not welcomed anywhere. Her friends avoided her, her university professors shunned her and even her parents ignored her. To fight extreme boredom, and longing for adventure and answers as to why the dancer attempted to kill their leader, Aerina visits Marcus.

Marcus is drawn to Aerina but tries to fight his attraction, feeling things for Aerina that he had been taught not to feel. Aerina had always been fascinated with the sexy Reaper and spending more time with him only intensified those feelings.

There was great chemistry between Aerina and Marcus throughout the book. Their story was believable and I was routing for them the entire time. I loved the suspense aspects of the book and the author threw in a few plot twists that were done well.


Reapers was an exciting, fast-paced read that was well-written. I am not usually a big fan of dystopian novels, but I really loved this book. I look forward to reading the next book in this series!

Five STARS * * * * *


Late Night Books Reviewer Char