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The Beast Reaver: A Slayer-Summoner Fantasy Adventure
“I should be serving pints at the inn. Instead, I kill beasts to serve
me
.”
For generations, Peter’s family has run Blackstone Inn. After his father’s accident, its burdens fall to him alone. Leaving is impossible, even if he wanted to. The only way out is to be chosen as the town’s Reaver, a hunter who slays monsters and claims their power.
He wasn’t picked.
But a reclusive wizard has other ideas. Disregarding the Lord’s chosen hero, he offers Peter a Reaving Blade, one that no one knew existed. What Peter does now isn’t ordained by the nobility. His path is his own.
He must kill a beast.
To hunt a monster alone is suicide. To win the favor of the sweet Lady Sophie is less likely still. She distrusts Reavers, just as Peter distrusts the tanned thief who stole his coin purse—tempted as he is by her graceful acrobatics. He’s less worried about monsters than he is her monstrous upbringing, because trouble brews in the shadowy parts of town.
A crime lord witch is terrorizing the slums. Peter can’t stay behind the bar forever.
For generations, Peter’s family has run Blackstone Inn. After his father’s accident, its burdens fall to him alone. Leaving is impossible, even if he wanted to. The only way out is to be chosen as the town’s Reaver, a hunter who slays monsters and claims their power.
He wasn’t picked.
But a reclusive wizard has other ideas. Disregarding the Lord’s chosen hero, he offers Peter a Reaving Blade, one that no one knew existed. What Peter does now isn’t ordained by the nobility. His path is his own.
He must kill a beast.
To hunt a monster alone is suicide. To win the favor of the sweet Lady Sophie is less likely still. She distrusts Reavers, just as Peter distrusts the tanned thief who stole his coin purse—tempted as he is by her graceful acrobatics. He’s less worried about monsters than he is her monstrous upbringing, because trouble brews in the shadowy parts of town.
A crime lord witch is terrorizing the slums. Peter can’t stay behind the bar forever.
347 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 22, 2026
12 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Joe Vallen
4 books19 followersJoe Vallen began his career writing short stories and narratives but has since branched out to comics and now, a novel. His work bounces between horror/action, tragedy (and dark comedy) with much of it blurring the lines between genres. His writing has been called, "genuine" with a flow that is both exploratory, yet familiar. He continues to push the boundaries as a creator by taking classic literary mechanics and fusing them together in unpredictable ways. He has a core audience of loyal readers with an ever-expanding network. In a Vallen-esque world, nothing is off-limits and anything is possible.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 2, 2026
This book was a bit below average. It started off somewhat interesting, but the execution of the plot tailed off as it went on. I started to lose interest towards the last 25% but pushed on.
The MC runs an inn owned by his crippled father and with the help of his younger brother. Some chad in the village has been named the Reaver by the local lord, which the MC doesn't really care about other than he's a chad. But some hidden wizard that lives at the edge of the village gives the MC a Reaver's blade, and he manages to use it to kill a magpie, then a squirrel, thus binding the sword to him. The chad has his sword stolen by a local female thief before he kills anything, leaving it open to being claimed by someone else. Eventually, the MC kills some goblins, then some stronger monsters to fill out the "reaved monsters" he can summon to help him fight.
The LIs consist of the local lord's daughter that has some serious hang-ups, and the thief that stole the other Reaver's blade. They may be a third in the knight that's trying to train the MC in using his sword more effectively, but it's too soon to tell. He hasn't consummated with any of them by the end of the book, having only done gotten to third base with the lord's daughter.
The biggest problem was after a bit of a promising start, the plot kind of meandered and seemed to lose focus. The MC is easily distracted by female flesh at times to the point he's caught staring frequently. His problems with is father add nothing to the story, and his brother seems to be a tool to watch his direwolf friend more than anything else. A more refined plot would have boosted this book to average.
I don't think I'll read a sequel to this one.
The MC runs an inn owned by his crippled father and with the help of his younger brother. Some chad in the village has been named the Reaver by the local lord, which the MC doesn't really care about other than he's a chad. But some hidden wizard that lives at the edge of the village gives the MC a Reaver's blade, and he manages to use it to kill a magpie, then a squirrel, thus binding the sword to him. The chad has his sword stolen by a local female thief before he kills anything, leaving it open to being claimed by someone else. Eventually, the MC kills some goblins, then some stronger monsters to fill out the "reaved monsters" he can summon to help him fight.
The LIs consist of the local lord's daughter that has some serious hang-ups, and the thief that stole the other Reaver's blade. They may be a third in the knight that's trying to train the MC in using his sword more effectively, but it's too soon to tell. He hasn't consummated with any of them by the end of the book, having only done gotten to third base with the lord's daughter.
The biggest problem was after a bit of a promising start, the plot kind of meandered and seemed to lose focus. The MC is easily distracted by female flesh at times to the point he's caught staring frequently. His problems with is father add nothing to the story, and his brother seems to be a tool to watch his direwolf friend more than anything else. A more refined plot would have boosted this book to average.
I don't think I'll read a sequel to this one.
April 24, 2026
Don't know what it was, but I had a hard time getting into this, just couldn't connect with any of the characters. Also, not sure how this book is tagged as a romance. The MC is in an arranged, marriage of convenience and they come to an agreement of no kids (intimacy) so he can seek out others for his needs...which will lead to the "harem". I get the author was attempting to write the arranged marriage leads to real feelings trope, but it fell flat. For characters who communicated early on in their arrangement, there is no follow-ups when it changed? (Not sure it did because the agreement is still in place, no feelings are discussed) The 1 "spice" scene was put in there to just frustrate the MC so that he goes looking elsewhere for his needs.
DNF and not continuing the series, just didn't care about the world or the characters. The MC is a big fish in a small pond, and power is literally handed to him, not earned. Everything he obtains: the power, the status, the wealth, and access to the girl is not due to anything he does or who he is, but because of the sword he wields. Without the sword he's nothing.
DNF and not continuing the series, just didn't care about the world or the characters. The MC is a big fish in a small pond, and power is literally handed to him, not earned. Everything he obtains: the power, the status, the wealth, and access to the girl is not due to anything he does or who he is, but because of the sword he wields. Without the sword he's nothing.
April 28, 2026
Charming book! Good writing and cozy setting.
It's got that cozy village quest chain kind of feel. Help some farmer by killing ten goblins then meet the Lord and woo his daughter kind of thing. The whole book is charming and the characters are great.
There are no world ending baddies here, no sinister world that you peak at through interludes. Just interesting dialogue and small moments of heroism, action and connection. I'll be happy to read the next book too. Probably between some epic or full on combat books.
It's got that cozy village quest chain kind of feel. Help some farmer by killing ten goblins then meet the Lord and woo his daughter kind of thing. The whole book is charming and the characters are great.
There are no world ending baddies here, no sinister world that you peak at through interludes. Just interesting dialogue and small moments of heroism, action and connection. I'll be happy to read the next book too. Probably between some epic or full on combat books.
April 24, 2026
A slow build story and there is a bit going on . Lots of relatable relationships.
April 29, 2026
Well done 👍🏻
Mr. Vallen. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was original and intriguing. I can’t wait for the next one in the series. Keep up the good work.
Mr. Vallen. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was original and intriguing. I can’t wait for the next one in the series. Keep up the good work.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews