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Sam Burns
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Blackbird in the Reeds (The Rowan Harbor Cycle Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Sam Burns (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 801 ratings

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?


Not this redhead.


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.

This novel is intended for adult audiences, and contains swearing and sex scenes.

It is the first of nine books in The Rowan Harbor Cycle, not a standalone. Devon and Wade will return in book four to continue their story, so this book contains a HFN, not their HEA.

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  1. Book 1 of 9
    The Rowan Harbor Cycle
  2. Print length
    212 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    January 4, 2018
  5. File size
    2.5 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B078QF4YTS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sam Burns (January 4, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 4, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.5 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 212 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 801 ratings

About the author

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Sam Burns

Sam Burns

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Sam lives in North Carolina with husband and cat, which is even less exciting than it sounds, so she's not sure why you're still reading this.

She specializes in LGBTQIA+ fiction, usually with a romantic element. There's sometimes intrigue and violence, usually a little sex, and almost always some swearing in her work. Her writing is light and happy, though, so if you're looking for a dark gritty reality, you've come to the wrong author.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
801 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's storyline interesting, with one noting its careful weaving of Celtic lore, and they enjoy it as a quick, fun read. The world-building receives positive feedback, with one customer highlighting the good amount of time spent developing the setting. Customers appreciate the writing style, with one noting the witty dialog, and they consider it a good start for a new series. Customers have mixed opinions about the characters, with some liking them while others find it difficult to keep track of them.

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15 customers mention "Storyline"12 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the storyline of the book, finding it interesting, with one customer highlighting its careful weaving of Celtic lore.

"...a rich world filled with interesting characters and the promise of excellent stories ahead." Read more

"Absolutely loved this book, especially the careful weaving of Celtic lore. Ms. Burns never disappoints...." Read more

"...Welp, so four stars for a well written supernatural story 👍👍👍👍..." Read more

"I liked the story and where it was going. The writing was okay too...." Read more

12 customers mention "Enjoyment"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and interesting, with one customer particularly appreciating the fun unfurling of the town's mystery, while another mentions loving the characters Wade and Devon.

"...Well, more than a little. Very thin. Still, it's a good way to spend an evening. I enjoyed it." Read more

"Absolutely loved this book, especially the careful weaving of Celtic lore. Ms. Burns never disappoints...." Read more

"...I didn’t know anything else and it was genuinely fun unfurling the mystery of the town...." Read more

"...And this book is really great. Wade and Devon are so cute and I love Devon’s sense of humor...." Read more

7 customers mention "Series"7 positive0 negative

Customers are excited about the series, with several noting it's going to be great, and one mentioning it's a good start.

"...Judging from the first two books, the whole series is going to be great! Rowan Harbor, a small town on the Oregon coast, has secrets...." Read more

"...I still think the series could be good, but this first book was a frustrating struggle. Sex-wise it was very tame...." Read more

"...And this book is really great. Wade and Devon are so cute and I love Devon’s sense of humor...." Read more

"...This was definitely a good start for a series." Read more

6 customers mention "World building"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the world-building in the book, describing it as interesting and rich, with one customer noting the good amount of time spent on this aspect.

"...This being the first book in the series, a good bit of time is spent world-building: establishing the setting, introducing the characters, and..." Read more

"...It sure was a pleasant surprise to find out about the town and its residents! Mysterious unveiling done really well!..." Read more

"...Rowan Harbor isn’t your typical small town. Amusing and captivating...." Read more

"I liked the world building and the writing style. I also liked the characters - especially Devon...." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive0 negative

Customers like the writing style of the book, with one customer noting the witty dialog, and another mentioning it offers a fresh reading experience.

"...The book is well-written and fast-paced. The main characters are likable and endearing. They draw you right in to their world...." Read more

"I liked the world building and the writing style. I also liked the characters - especially Devon...." Read more

"I liked the story and where it was going. The writing was okay too...." Read more

"This was certainly a very different read than my usual. I loved Wade and Devon, and the supporting characters were great as well...." Read more

3 customers mention "Humor"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book humorous.

"...The dialog is witty and had me laughing out loud at times. So, good characters, check. Dialog, check. Writing, check...." Read more

"...Rowan Harbor isn’t your typical small town. Amusing and captivating...." Read more

"...With that came zero expectations. I found this story to be sweet, funny, and once the premise of the series came to light, interesting...." Read more

13 customers mention "Likable characters"9 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed feelings about the characters in the book, with some enjoying them while others find them difficult to follow.

"...of time is spent world-building: establishing the setting, introducing the characters, and hinting at the underlying conflicts that will drive the..." Read more

"I liked the world building and the writing style. I also liked the characters - especially Devon...." Read more

"...I gave this book 3 stars because I do like the work put into the main character and the premise behind the book (maybe?)..." Read more

"...I loved Wade and Devon, and the supporting characters were great as well. The storyline was intriguing and kept me guessing...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Duncan Husky
    5.0 out of 5 stars A rich world filled with interesting characters and the promise of excellent stories ahead!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    What Sam Burns is doing here is incredibly ambitious: The Rowan Harbor Cycle is three trilogies, nine books in all. The books are being self-published, and she plans to release all nine books this year, with the final book release planned by December. Now, if this was a series of short stories or even novellas I’d still be impressed, but these are ~200 page books. Judging from the first two books, the whole series is going to be great!

    Rowan Harbor, a small town on the Oregon coast, has secrets. The town is populated by werewolves and fairies, witches and vampires, all of whom look perfectly normal to any stranger visiting. That stranger will very quickly find themselves unwelcome and gently urged to move on, though. The families in town, each with a unique paranormal trait, rule, but the time is coming for a changing of the guard.

    Devon is a mess. He’s a bit of a drifter, afraid to get too close to people because he can be persuasive. Too persuasive, it seems, as in people will happily do most anything he requests. This weighs heavily on his conscience, though, and so he holds everyone at arm’s length. After many years away, he’s returning to Rowan Harbor, unaware of the uniqueness of the town (or of himself). We don’t get to learn too much about Wade here, though I suspect as the cycle continues we’ll get much more on him.

    Three couples are featured in the Rowan Harbor Cycle, and each couple stars in a book in each trilogy. This is good to know going into this, the first book in the series, because initially I felt that the romance between Devon and Wade was given short shrift. After reading Wolf and the Rowan the concept makes more sense, though. There’s a little bit of the “fated mates”/”soulmates” trope going on here, but it’s a trope I happen to like if done well, and that is the case here. I think if I had any complaint it’s that as the story gets laid out and the cast of characters grows it gets a little confusing remembering who is related to whom and what the unique trait of each family is. I think this is just a minor issue, though.

    At least so far, I would categorize these books as urban fantasy with some romance elements – a mix that I really enjoy. This being the first book in the series, a good bit of time is spent world-building: establishing the setting, introducing the characters, and hinting at the underlying conflicts that will drive the story. Burns excels at showing, not telling, as we learn about how it all works bit by bit.

    I would highly recommend Blackbird in the Reeds (and even moreso in the second book in the cycle, Wolf and the Holly (The Rowan Harbor Cycle Book 2)). This is a rich world filled with interesting characters and the promise of excellent stories ahead.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • Shannon M.
    4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD CHARACTERS, BUT LITTLE PLOT
    Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This is the first in a series about a small town in Oregon that is populated by werewolves, witches, vampires, and fae. They've drawn up an accord to live in peace there, both from each other and the outside world.
    The book is well-written and fast-paced. The main characters are likable and endearing. They draw you right in to their world. Secondary characters are a little two-dimensional, but you can't really give everyone a full backstory without bogging down the book in unnecessary filler, so that's understandable.
    The dialog is witty and had me laughing out loud at times. So, good characters, check. Dialog, check. Writing, check.
    It lost a star on the plot. The plot was a little thin. Well, more than a little. Very thin.
    Still, it's a good way to spend an evening. I enjoyed it.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • S. Rhodes
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
    Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Absolutely loved this book, especially the careful weaving of Celtic lore. Ms. Burns never disappoints. Looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
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  • Jessica B.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to get into. Vague storyline.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I had a difficult time with this book for a number of reasons. First off, it didn’t feel like a romance. At all. It sort of feels like a mystery, but that’s not right either. I’m not used to feeling so in the dark when reading a paranormal or fantasy novel. But the entire book felt like the author doesn’t want us to know what’s going on. In most books like this, you have clues or the world building let’s the reader into it even if the characters are clueless, but in this book the entire town knows something and our protagonist is clueless. And this book’s world is so different from any shifter story I’ve ever read before that it effectively left me in the dark too. I couldn’t guess what was going on or how the characters would develop. Instead of that drawing me in, it was frustrating and made me want to give up.

    The second thing I didn’t like about this book was the supposed romance aspect. The two MCs (at least who I assumed would be the MCs) meet at the very begging of the book then don’t so much as have a conversation until halfway through. Seriously, I was at nearly 50% before the love interest shows up again. There are about 80 characters introduced - each with a mysterious backstory, so it’s difficult to keep characters straight or to figure out where the author was trying to go.

    I still think the series could be good, but this first book was a frustrating struggle. Sex-wise it was very tame. The way the “romance” was written here doesn’t give me much hope for the future books, but I’ll still try the next one and hope the story develops more quickly and that we, the reader, finally learn a little about the town’s secrets.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Nikki Attenbrough
    4.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious and intriguing
    Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    The only thing I knew coming into this book was that someone was a werewolf. I didn’t know anything else and it was genuinely fun unfurling the mystery of the town. It sure was a pleasant surprise to find out about the town and its residents! Mysterious unveiling done really well!

    That said...now that the mystery is unfurled, I don’t know if it’s enough to keep me invested in this series 🤔 I might keep going but it’s lost a little of its shine for me 🙊 also, I want to add that this was a short book. So I’m doubly impressed that we managed to get through so much in a shorter than normal length.

    Welp, so four stars for a well written supernatural story 👍👍👍👍
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  • DLM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love it
    Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Admittedly the plot of this first book is a little thin, not much real conflict, but I thinks that’s by design, since the overarching plot is continued in each subsequent book.

    And this book is really great. Wade and Devon are so cute and I love Devon’s sense of humor. I wish the book had been a little longer and shown more of their emerging relationship, but I guess that ups the anticipation for their next book. Can’t wait to keep going with the series.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rowan Harbor has people you’d like to be in your life.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I sure would’ve liked to have grown up in the town with these kind of people to make you feel like your family is everywhere.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • K.H.
    4.0 out of 5 stars An exciting and mysterious start
    Reviewed in Canada on January 24, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This was a really good start to kick off a fascinating arc based series. As the series is already finished it is obvious that it will follow through the eyes of three couples over three arcs to create a complete story, each having a complete storyline for a single novel that connects to overall story of the rest of the arc. The way it has been setup it promises to be done very well and the continued learning of this world can only get better!

    This opening book was great as it followed Devon returning to his childhood home. Though he was born there and grew up there for a time, it has been a decade since he has been back. Yet he is considered by the town to be a local and his return is embraced as permanent and final, even though Devon hadn't known he would be making the trip until two days before. This is only the start of the weirdness to his return to town. There is some sort of secret in town, a knowledge of things going on that appears to be a part of the reason everyone dislikes outsiders. Devon is also supposed to be accepting a 'job' which no one explains but everyone expects. As Devon starts to investigate an unusual series of accidents and gets out into the town it becomes clear that everyone believes he knows the secret of the town, but no one says it aloud regardless, leaving an odd sense as Devon both tries to figure out the mystery going on for his new friend and the mystery of the very place he lives.

    Devon and Wade are an intriguing couple with how they start out and where it leads to. Neither particularly seem to click at first though there is obvious lust. With Devon sure that he isn't staying in town and the town holding onto its secrets, Devon can't really figure out what is up with the surly Wade and why everyone assumes they will be together. When things are cleared up they click on the most natural of ways that doesn't feel.forced but instead holds some amusements over the misunderstandings. However, it is clear that these two have much to learn about each other and there places in life so it will be interesting to see their continuing story in the rest of the series!
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  • Kitsune
    3.0 out of 5 stars ok read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    New author for me no spoilers i enjoyed the characters and world building i would say if your a 1st time reader in to M/M genre and want something mild then i would start with this book the storyline is intriguing enough and the romance is mild on to next book :-)
    One person found this helpful
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  • Johan Dark
    3.0 out of 5 stars Fun story
    Reviewed in France on May 27, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    It was a great story of discovery but I feel like the romance was just rushed at one point. It went from nothing to everything and gave me whiplash.
    Other than that it really flowed together and made me want to read more
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  • Aryea Hunt
    4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, imaginative and funny.
    Reviewed in Canada on March 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I stumbled on this book and was glad I did. I loved the mythical premise and the characters were easy to like and root for. Unlike some same sex novels, this one builds up the chemistry between the characters rather than having them jump into bed on the second or third chapter. The build up was nice because it made the end so much sweeter and the humor was spot on. I will read more books by this author.
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  • Alice_Joan03
    2.0 out of 5 stars Zero chemistry
    Reviewed in Germany on January 4, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book had potential but as a fan of romance (even if its small) this was a huuuuuge disappointment!

    There was ZERO chemistry. The MC had more going on with any other character than the „love interest“. This was a joke. One moment they arent even speaking, the next they are together. Im confused.

    The book wouldve been better without ANY romance for the MC. Just urban fantasy would apply way better!
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