K.J. Chapman's Blog, page 63

Review: Grey by Kade Cook

Grey (Covenant of Shadows #1) by Kade Cook 3/5

All the truths of her life were born from the promise of a lie. A lie that could change everything. Gabrian Shadwell studied hard and kept her nose to the grindstone in order to live the successful full-life most humans strive for. The problem is, she isn’t exactly human; she can see auras…and she yearns to devour them-she is comprised of the things nightmares are made of. With her eyes opened to the truth of her Borrower heritage, her chaotic journey of self-discovery takes her down a dangerous road when the tainted eyes of the self-righteous Elders in the Realm turn against her. With good and evil before her, she must choose which path she will walk upon and learn the biggest truth of her life. The only difference between a Borrower and a Vampire is hope.

Thanks goes to Rambunctious Ramblings Publishing Inc for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review:

Gabrian was living an ordinary working life with a loyal best friend, loving parents, and a good job, but things change for Gabrian in the blink of an eye. People in her life are not who she thought they were, the world is not as it seems, and she is not the human she believed she was.

I am not usually a fan of prologues, but this one really piqued my interest. The story didn’t live up to the prologue for the first few chapters, but it did gather momentum and delve into a unique story line of Vampires, Shadow Walkers, and Mages.

I felt the pace was a little off throughout the book. As soon as I thought something was happening, and everything was stepping up a notch, it was followed by slower chapters full of info dumps. The descriptions of the realms and the different types of people and abilities were detailed and well thought through, and the concept and imaginative aspects involved were impressive, however, I would have preferred to have it shown to me in snippets rather than lengthy dialogue.

I am a fan of large character casts with distinct personalities, and this book certainly had a vast array of characters with their own back stories that interweave into Gabrian’s story arc. I can not fault Cook’s character development, or her ability to narrate well rounded relationships, considering the complex world building that takes place within the narrative. However, the book felt considerably lengthy.

 

The opinions expressed here are those of K.J.Chapman and no other parties

All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman

K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review

 

 

Review: Burn the Dead: Quarantine by Steven Jenkins

Burn the Dead: Quarantine by Steven Jenkins 4/5

Robert Stephenson makes his living burning zombies – a job that pays the bills and plays tricks on the mind. Still, his life is routine until one day his infected wife, Anna, shows up in line for the incinerator, and Rob must cremate the love of his life.

In a race against the clock, he must find his four-year-old son Sammy, who is stranded in a newly quarantined zone, teeming with the walking dead, and crawling with the Necro-Morbus virus.

Does Rob have what it takes to fight the undead and put his broken family back together?

Or will he also end up in the incinerator – burning with the rest of the dead?

I downloaded this book for FREE from Amazon Kindle

Review:

Zombies or ‘Necs’ are a real thing and normal human life carries on around them. There are even companies that incinerate the Necs- Robert works for such a company and is what they call a ‘Burner’. Infection breakouts are common, but quickly maintained. But what happens when they cannot be quickly maintained? When human misjudgment, or empathy for their infected families, or simple idiocy, gets in the way of the greater good?

Jenkins has a knack for shock- not simply by gore, but by cleverly mastered plot twists. I had only read 10% and I already had a ‘wow, I did not see that coming’ moment. Those moments are not sparse. Throughout the book, Jenkins continually surprises the reader.

The narrative was well paced and all the characters were believable. The range of emotions that Robert goes through in his quest to find his son are honest and his character felt well rounded. His character arc developed narturally, and his fatherly instincts take over an otherwise subdued man.

Zombie novels are everywhere and are full of the usual cliche tropes. This book felt different. I can’t put my finger on exactly why it did because there are some of the expected tropes throughout, however, the narrative felt fresh.

The opinions expressed here are those of K.J.Chapman and no other parties

All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman

K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review

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If You Like…Maze Runner

Maze Runner by James Dashner

Blurb: If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

The Last Orphans by N.W.Harris

Blurb: One horrifying day will change the life of sixteen-year-old Shane Tucker and every other kid in the world.

In a span of mere hours, the entire adult population is decimated, leaving their children behind to fend for themselves and deal with the horrific aftermath of the freak occurrence. As one of the newly made elders in his small town, Shane finds himself taking on the role of caretaker for a large group of juvenile survivors. One who just happens to be Kelly Douglas—an out-of-his-league classmate—who, on any other day, would have never given Shane a second glance.

Together, they begin their quest to find out why all of the adults were slaughtered. What they find is even more horrifying than anything they could have expected—the annihilation of the adults was only the beginning. Shane and his friends are not the unlucky survivors left to inherit this new, messed-up planet. No, they are its next victims. There is an unknown power out there, and it won’t stop until every person in the world is dead.

Content and opinions belong to KJ.Chapman

Blurbs and Images sourced from Goodreads.com

10 Weeks, 10 Prompts, 10 Minutes #5 (Prompt Me Special)

The purpose of these writing exercises is to take a prompt a week for ten weeks and allow myself ten minutes to expand on it. All the prompts are taken from my writing prompt eBook: Prompt Me.

To check out my list of ten prompts, and maybe have a go yourself, follow this link.  Go with the flow, take the prompt literally, or just allow elements to inspire a totally different story. It is up to you. Link back to me, so I can have a read of your creations.

The Prompt:

In total, sixteen ships came to rescue us. That meant that only sixteen thousand humans had survived the death of earth.

They call themselves Control Officers, the ones who have been assigned to watch over the humans. Most of us are subdued; happy to be safely off of Earth, but a few are already experiencing some kind of cabin fever. A Control Officer beat a man to a bloody pulp after he got hold of a gun from somewhere and shot at a window. The bullet ricocheted back into the room, imbedding into an old woman’s thigh. The woman would have bled out there and then if not for my mother’s surgical knowledge.

Mum and I barely converse with anyone in our dorm. After we boarded, we were separated into groups of two hundred and forced to live with strangers. There are five groups, so I’m guessing there are five areas of this massive ship that are occupied just like ours. There were sixteen ships in total, so that’s sixteen thousand people who have escaped the death of Earth.

Mum and I have to share a bunk no bigger than a camp bed, and the sweaty, musky smell from too many bodies in a small space is becoming intolerable. I try not to sleep- it sounds silly, I know, but its easier to doze for an hour or so in the rec rooms.

Our rec rooms are fairly spacious. There are arcade games, exercise equipment, and lots of tables and chairs. We do everything in this room, including eat. Vac pac food is wheeled in on trolleys three times a day; you miss it, you don’t eat. The Control Officers say that it will take three months to get back to their planet. I have a little piece of paper in my pocket, and I tally off the days just for something to keep me sane.

I’m alone in the rec room, so I drag some of the tables and chairs aside to make a clear space. I’ll put them back when I’m done. Then, pressing the button on the control panel for some music, a tune I have not heard before plays softly over the speakers. It is a pretty song- pretty but sad. My chest aches for home, and those who did not make it upon the ships. Removing my shoes, I stretch a little and let my body feel the music. Dancing reminds me of my Gran. She was my number one fan, and was so excited when I got into the dance academy, but then the solar flares started and life as we knew it fell to pot.

Dancing helps me rid myself of claustrophobia. We’re not supposed to be in the rec rooms after lights out, but its the only time I can breathe. It’s not like I’m being a nuisance. I always leave it how I found it, and have the music on its lowest setting. I’m dancing, for god’s sake, not shooting at windows.

I slump to the floor, out of breath and sweating.

“Your body moves like liquid,” says a voice from the door way. I jump to my feet at the sight of a Control Officer. “I have never seen that dance before.” His accent is strong. The Control Officers speak amongst themselves in their own language, but have learnt how to speak many Earth languages.

“I’m sorry. I know I’m not supposed to be in here–”

He raises his hand to silence me. “I know you come up here. I like to watch you. What is that dance called?”

I blush crimson. “Well, it doesn’t really have a name. I supposed we call it improvisation. I just do what feels right.”

“So, that is not a dance with steps?” he asks. I shake my head and set to moving the table back into place. “Interesting. You looked sad when you were dancing. Dancing is supposed to be joyous, yes?”

“Dance is whatever you want it to be. I was thinking about home and my late Grandmother. I was… expressing my feelings through my dancing.”

“Your home is a dead planet.” His brow is furrowed, and he tilts is head in curiosity. “Earth is a shell. There is nothing to miss.” He has the same black and white attitude that is apparent in all the Control Officers. They have no time for sentiment it seems.

“Yes, but it is still my home. All my memories are there. I had friends and family there. I’m grateful to be here, but I miss Earth- I always will.”

His lips turn down for a moment. “You will like my home, Zan. It is much like your Earth, but our main stars are different, ours is bigger and red. Yes, you will like it, and you will make new memories.”

I smile. He’s trying to make me feel better. None of the Control Officers act like they have any personality, and it’s reassuring to know that they are similar to humans in some ways. “A red sun. Wow, that I have to see. Why did you rescue us?”

“Because you were in trouble. That is a strange question.” His face is an open book. They really did rescue us because it was the right thing to do.

“Usually, people have motives for doing something that does not benefit themselves, or at least, human people do.”

“That is… er, what is that word?…selfish. What is your name?” he asks.

“Lily, like a flower we had on Earth.”

“I am happy to meet you, Lily Flower, my name is Lowen.” He holds out his hand to me and shakes mine awkwardly. I giggle at the sudden formality, and the way he said my name. “Did I do it wrong?” he says, looking at his hand as if it is something foreign.

“No. It was fine,” I say, still giggling at him.

He lunges toward me, wrapping me in a stiff embrace. “I’ve seen other humans greet each other like this,” he says into my hair. “Is this correct?”

I burst into full blown laughter. “Something like that. We can work on it.”

Content belongs to KJ.Chapman

 

 

Review: Feyland: The First Adventure by Anthea Sharp

Feyland: The First Adventure (a prequel) by Anthea Sharp 2.5/5

High-tech gaming and ancient magic collide when a computer game opens a gateway to the treacherous Realm of Faerie.

Jennet Carter never thought hacking into her dad’s new epic-fantasy sim-game would be so exciting… or dangerous. Behind the interface, dark forces lie in wait, leading her toward a battle that will test her to her limits and cost her more than she ever imagined.

I downloaded this novella for free from Amazon Kindle.

Review:

I have not read any of the books in the Feyland series, so I went into the prequel with absolutely no knowledge of the world or narrative. The concept is not an original one; virtual reality game gives user access into another realm, but the descriptions were vivid and brought Feyland to life.

Rather than acting like a prequel in its own right, the whole narrative felt more like a prologue for the Feyland series. There was very little conclusion, and was simply building up to the first book, rather than telling it’s own story completely and fully. There was zero explanation of the ‘game to another realm’ technology, or any meaningful interaction with the Feyland inhabitants. There was, however, backstory on both Jennet and her father.

The book read well, and the elements of reality, Feyland, and gaming were woven together confidently, but I shall not be looking to read the Feyland series.

The opinions expressed here are those of K.J.Chapman and no other parties

All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman

K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review

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REVIEW: The Last Orphans by N.W.Harris

The Last Orphans (Vol #1) by N.W.Harris

One horrifying day will change the life of sixteen-year-old Shane Tucker and every other kid in the world.

In a span of mere hours, the entire adult population is decimated, leaving their children behind to fend for themselves and deal with the horrific aftermath of the freak occurrence. As one of the newly made elders in his small town, Shane finds himself taking on the role of caretaker for a large group of juvenile survivors. One who just happens to be Kelly Douglas—an out-of-his-league classmate—who, on any other day, would have never given Shane a second glance.

Together, they begin their quest to find out why all of the adults were slaughtered. What they find is even more horrifying than anything they could have expected—the annihilation of the adults was only the beginning. Shane and his friends are not the unlucky survivors left to inherit this new, messed-up planet. No, they are its next victims. There is an unknown power out there, and it won’t stop until every person in the world is dead.

A spine-tingling adventure that will have you gasping for breath all the way until the last page, The Last Orphans is the first book in an all-new apocalyptic series.

I purchased this book for free from Amazon Kindle.

Review:

What would you do if all the adults on earth were dead, and you knew that unless you stopped the weapon that caused the slaughter, it will slowly start to turn against the younger generations? Not only that, you are one of the oldest children still alive- a teenager- with over seventy younger children looking to you as their leader?

This book was a pleasant surprise. I can’t believe that you can pick it up for free on Amazon Kindle. I thoroughly enjoyed this well written, perfectly paced, action packed story. Harris has a natural talent for moving along the narrative from one chapter to the next, and having group dynamics and relationships moving effortlessly along with it.

The older children, who have taken charge of the younger children, have not only to deal with the effects of the weapon, but other less accommodating gangs in the city. Each person plays a role in the group and have distinct personalities. There are deaths, and yes, they pack a punch.

The ending was brilliant and ended on a huge cliff hanger. I shall be buying the rest of the series for sure- as in this week.

If you are a fan of well written apocalypse stories with a great crew of characters, then get this book. It’s FREE people.

The opinions expressed here are those of K.J.Chapman and no other parties

All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman

K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review

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Thrown to The Blue Blurb Reveal!

The blurb for Thrown to The Blue is here!

I’m not going to lie, this was a tricky one to write. I wanted to capture the tone of the book, add some narrative, but not give too much away. I hope I pulled it off.

The next announcemnet will be the release date, however, that is not finalised as of yet. Keep an ear out of that one.

I shall be sending out ARCs when the editing is complete, so if you are not already on my list and would like to be an ARC reviewer, please give me a shout.

Content belongs to KJ.Chapman

10 Weeks, 10 Prompts, 10 Minutes #4 (Prompt Me Special)

The purpose of these writing exercises is to take a prompt a week for ten weeks and allow myself ten minutes to expand on it. All the prompts are taken from my writing prompt eBook: Prompt Me.

To check out my list of ten prompts, and maybe have a go yourself, follow this link.  Go with the flow, take the prompt literally, or just allow elements to inspire a totally different story. It is up to you.

The Prompt:

What would you do if you were woken by a ringing phone in your coffin?

I wake from a deep, dream-filled sleep, the type of sleep you only have when your on the brink of exhaustion or really really drunk. I know I wasn’t drunk, so I must have been shattered. Working sixty-five hours in a week at both the tea rooms and cleaning the school is dragging me down.

It is the shrill tone from my phone that has punctured my slumber. I can feel the weight of it in my hand, and my hand has cramped up into a claw from gripping it. I attempt to lift the phone to my ear, but my hand hits something hard directly above me. Panic grips at my stomach. I thought I was at home in bed- I lift my free hand and that, too, hits the solid mass. Wiggling my head, turns into thrashing as I realise I’m in a tight, confined space. I can’t raise my knees or lift my arms. Where the hell am I?

The phone rings on. Turning it in my palm, so the light from the screen illuminates the space around me, I realise I’m inside a box… a coffin. Bile rises into my throat, and all of a sudden my lungs feel deprived of air. Do not panic, Jules, panicking uses up air. I don’t know where I learnt that, but I’m glad I did. Why am I in a coffin? Am I dead?

Still the phone rings on. Using my thumb to slide the icon button, I pray I can hit speaker phone without looking. The ringing stops, and a male voice I don’t recognise speaks.

“Jules…Jules, answer me.”

“Help me,” I choke.

The voice sighs loudly as if he has been holding their breath to hear my voice. “You’re okay, Sweetheart. Just hang on for a little longer.”

“I’m trapped,” I sob, although it comes out more like a squeak.

“It’ll be over soon, Jules.”

The voice is soothing, and something stirs in the back of mind. The way he said sweetheart felt familiar. Do I know him? My mind is a hazey mess.

“Jules, you still there?” says the voice again.

“Yes,” I sob.

“Good girl. How is your head feeling?”

I hadn’t thought about it until now, but my head is pounding. “Sore,” I tell the voice.

“It’ll pass, Sweetheart. We’re nearly there now.”

Nearly there, that rings a bell. Someone has said that to me before… he has said that to me before. “Do I know you,” I say, struggling against my dry throat.

There is silence. “Do you not remember the last sixteen weeks?”

Why does he sound so sad? Sixteen weeks? The past three weeks I have been working, eating, and sleeping. That is the sum of it. “Work,” I croak. “I was at work last night.”

Silence again. “That’s okay, Jules. Sometimes they don’t remember… it’s okay.”

He sounds so sad, the sadness in his voice almost seeps through the phone and into my bones. “You’re upset. I’m sorry,” I say. It is instinctual to me. I apologise all the time- even if I’m not in the wrong, but I know I have hurt this man.

“It’s not your fault, Sweetheart. We’re nearly there, okay? Not long now.”

Everytime he speaks it’s like icicles slicing my heart. I can’t clear the blur of my thoughts. If try to think of anything other than my memories of work, a grey cloud mists over my mind. God, my head hurts.

Focussing on my breathing and my surroundings, I notice a dull rumbling sound. Slight vibrations shake the coffin, and I know I’m in the back of a freight lorry. How do I know that? Where did the memory of that come from? This is what is supposed to happen, I know it, but I do not know why I know it.

There is a hiss of air brakes, and the rumbling and vibrations start to slow and fade. A loud noise of metal on metal fills the space outside of the coffin, and daylight seeps through tiny holes at the head of the box. I never thought I’d be so happy to see daylight, even though the light is agony for my eyes.

There is banging and movement, and the sound of talking, although, I can’t make out the words. Wails and crying cause me to scrunch my eyes. What is happening out there? My coffin jolts violently, and I bite my lip to stop from screaming out. The taste of blood on my tongue sparks something in the grey mind mist; it starts to clear as if the memory of the metallic taste is diluting whatever it is that is blocking my memories. The last sixteen weeks flash through my mind in a heartbeat. His face… his face fills my minds eye, and a sob of relief catches in my throat.

The coffin lid is ripped open, accompanied by the sound of splintering wood, and blinding light dazzles me. I sit bolt upright, desperate to escape the feeling of claustrophobia, and shield my eyes with my forearm.

“Jules?” asks a shaky voice. I remove my arms and see his beautiful, worried, hurting face. “Hey, Jules, my name is-“

“Robbie,” I cry, throwing myself at him.

He drags me from the coffin, squeezing the air out of my lungs with his embrace. His breath on my neck as he snuggles into me is warm and welcome. “Thank Christ,” he says quietly.

I pull back slightly to examine his grey eyes and shaggy black hair. I run my hand over my own head, feeling the prickle of stubble, and the number branded into my scalp

“You’re one of us, now,” Robbie says, tapping at his own scalp.

Looking around the lorry, I see the other members of Robbie’s team opening coffins and helping women and men from their confinement. All of us look the same- white scrubs, bald heads, and a hazey glint in our eyes.

“You’re okay, everyone,” Robbie says, addressing the mass of people. “In fact, you are technically better than okay… you’re immortal.”

There is a whoop from the team members, and Sal slaps me on the back. “Good to see you, Jules. I can’t believe you pulled this off. This is the biggest break out to date. The coffins were ingenius.”

As I watch the men and women being helped from the lorry, a sense of pride swells in my chest. These people have been imprisoned for at least a year as a result of government clinical trials into immortality. Every innocent person was scheduled to suffer a terrible fate. The only way to kill an immortal is to remove all the organs and burn them before they can regenerate.

“You were so brave,” Robbie says, brushing his lips agaisnt mine.

“Well, I couldn’t be the only mortal on the team, could I? Now, you’re stuck with me for ever.”

Content belongs to KJ.Chapman

If you like… The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Blurb: Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford’s Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the alethiometer. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called “Gobblers”—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person’s inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

The Golden Compass (also known as Northern Lights) is the first in His Dark Materials Series.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Blurb: Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Mogget, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories. As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death — and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own hidden destiny.

With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen trilogy, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn’t always clear — and sometimes disappears altogether.

Sabriel is the first of the Abhorsen Series.

Opinions and Content Belongs to KJ.Chapman

Review: Thirst for the Hunt by A.C.Wentwood

Thirst for the Hunt by A.C.Wentwood 2/5

Experience true Vampire Lust with no cliffhanger and a happily ever after ending! Contains Bonus Inside!

Desperately needing a way out of her rough childhood life, twenty year old Emily Hoover decides to run away to the small sleepy town of Depoe Bay, Oregon. Immediately she makes friends with Joy, the local diner owner and she finds a job. One night after work she meets Adam.

Adam is the Peter Pan to his lost boys, five abandoned vampires that he’s picked up among his two centuries of living, and cares for them. After taking them hunting one night, Adam encounters Emily and is entranced by her smell and knows he has to have her. But Brie, the only girl in the group and who is madly in love with Adam, smells the girl on him and has other plans for Emily, Death. Adam barely makes it in time to save Emily’s life, and is forced to tell her the truth.

Will she continue to run, or let lust and desire turn her?

WARNING: Some bonuses contain mature themes and language and are intended for 18+ readers only.

I downloaded this novella for free during an Amazon promotion.

Review:

The vampire lost boys thing has been done, but I did like the dysfunctional gang as a whole, especially the highly jealous, more than crazy, lost girl.

I think the author is a huge fan of twilight because some similarities are uncanny- seriously, ‘vegetarian’, unique eyes, cold skin, uncanny. There is little time for character development and it felt like the characters made unbelievable choices just to progress the narrative.

I was pulled in by the Goodreads blurb, but the first line of blurb is misleading. I believe there to be a cliffhanger ending and there was next to zero steamy relationships.

This book was free on Amazon and included many bonus stories that I have decided not to read right now.

The opinions expressed here are those of K.J.Chapman and no other parties

All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman

K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review