Lady Reaper

Serving Magic: A Swords & Sorcery Romantic Fantasy, Book 5

By: Toni Cabell

Narrated by: Lisa Lynn Sandlin

Mara’s magic has stopped working—at the worst possible time! With chasms opening in the streets and chaos in the lower realms, should Mara seek help from the king of the elves?

**2024 B.R.A.G. Medallion Award**

**2023 Finalist - The Wishing Shelf Book Awards**

After rescuing thirty people, including Arnesto, from the dark fays, Mara’s physical injuries are healed—but her magic has never recovered—and her ensorcelled sword no longer responds to her touch.

Even worse, Mara’s heart is bruised by Arnesto’s long absences and rambling explanations.

Arnesto, however, has problems of his own. His brother’s spirit—along with many others in the lower realms—can’t cross over to the far shore, and Arnesto blames himself.

Mara must find a way to work with Arnesto despite their differences and misunderstandings. But can she gain admittance to the elven king, find a cure for her magic, and save both worlds—the living and the dead—before time runs out?

If you love warring kingdoms, strong, sassy heroines, and slow-burn clean romance, discover Serving Magic, a complete epic romantic fantasy series for fans of Shari L. Tapscott, Kenley Davidson, and Melanie Cellier.

©2023 Toni Cabell (P)2025 Toni Cabell

An Epic Conclusion!!

This was a wonderful conclusion to the series! I love Mara and her boldness. I loved how this book brought everything together for a happy resolution. The characters were great and the world building was fantastic! The romance was sweet and definitely geared toward a YA audience. I loved how the focus was on the plot and how that could be enjoyed by any age. Overall such a fantastic series!

Great conclusion to an incredible story

Great conclusion to a really good series! I will say, it's written for YA with YA ages, so the kids in the books I believe start at 16 and end at 18 in the series so there are understandably moments that they act their age as high school kids. I know this can get obnoxious for some adult readers so I wanted to mention it.
I love the growth both Mara and Ernesto have undergone in these books. Mara is definitely no longer anything like the girl you first see in the first book. She has grown and matured, even apologized and works hard to help others instead of being your typical mean girl.
Ernesto has learned to exercise caution and not always be so impulsive. However, this does kind of mean he's running from his problems and feelings, which can get frustrating.
I absolutely adore the sidekicks in this whole series but especially Griffin Gloria!
Make sure you have a box of tissues on hand because Cabell does not shy away from hard topics like death, even with some of the loveable sidekicks that have you asking "Why?"
Sandlin does a great job narrating as usual!

Lady Reaper is Real Romantic Deal

There’s a lot going on in Lady Reaper, with Mara, the protagonist of the previous book, Lady Spy, having lost her magic powers due to a traumatic incident, and now her magic sword is not responding to her either. Beyond romantic issues with her significant other, who has troubles of his own with family, the elven, human and fay worlds are colliding, and there is tension between the living and the dead when spirts cannot cross over. Mara must unearth old family secrets to resolve the cosmic issues. This book caps the Serving Magic series so other familiar faces also put in an appearance. It has a capable and supple narration from Lisa Lynn Sanders who must voice many characters due to the wide-ranging nature of the novel. Very enjoyable and fast-moving read with lots of heart as well as lots of complications.

A satisfying ending for Mara and Arnesto

Wow! After Lady Spy, I thought Mara and Arnesto were solid as a couple, but hurt and misunderstandings can creep into even the best relationships. Mara and Arnesto's struggles are both understandable and realistic, and in the end make them stronger as a couple. After all, hard won happily ever afters are the best kind. The author told a great story, which takes the reader to new, undiscovered parts of the Serving Magic world. It had some great twists that I didn't see coming! The narrator did an awesome job bringing each moment to life. She really brought home the tension and suspense in the action scenes, and it was overall fun to listen to!

A fantastical conclusion to Mara’s story

Toni Cabell crafts an action-packed story with fun magical elements and descriptive story building in Mara’s final installment of this series. I was kept on my toes the entire time due to all the action and little twists and turns throughout the story. The world was easy for me to see in my head as well. Narrator Lisa Lynn Sandlin does a great job portraying Mara’s emotions and making the story even more impactful. Perfect for lovers of YA fantasy!