If you witnessed your parents killed at age five for reasons unknown only to endure eight years of isolation in captivity, what would you do with your life when you were suddenly rescued by family you never knew you had? What if you yourself were even more than you seemed? The universe can be both a terrible and wonderful place to live if you have the courage to explore it. Enter an alternate reality of civil war, secrets, murders and betrayals that transcends space and time with CHIMERA, Book One of the Weaver Series.
Title: Chimera
Series: The Weaver Series, Book One
Author: Vaun Murphey
Publisher: Artemis Femme
Published: July 29, 2014
This was one of my reads for #ARCAugust!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Okay so I hadn't read many reviews before I requested this one on NetGalley so I set out on this one pretty blind except for the description. Am I glad I read this one? I don't know yet. It was creative and I enjoyed the premise but ... I felt a little uncomfortable reading it.
It wasn't the violence. I liked the violence and the inappropriate scene at the beginning because it gave me a good understanding that this wasn't going to be a typical YA novel. Cassandra was only 13 which made it even more gruesome (see The Hunger Games for why I love this). But the romance felt stale and tacky because Cassandra was 13 and was pining over James to the extent of a love sick puppy. It was also kind of difficult to even see Cassandra as 13 because she acted well beyond her years. And I don't mean like 16 or 17, I mean 20 or 21. Yes, captivity would do this to you, but it also would have made her more reserved and humble than she acted.
I loved the idea of Silver and the chimerism. I loved that almost every Weaver had a sibling close in age and/or a twin but Cassandra absorbed hers which made her more powerful. But I did not like the execution of Silver. I thought Silver came off as a 100 year old wise woman who had all of life's answers, but she too would only be as old as Cassandra. AKA 13. I also wasn't a fan of Silver pushing Cassandra not to tell anyone about them but then not doing much when Cassandra did tell people about them (and boy did she tell a lot of people). It seemed a little ridiculous that they had so much ability, Silver especially, but no one seemed to notice and/or care. Except, of course, James.
The idea that only Silver/Cassandra would be the ones to have enough power and skill (and know this without seeing the power/skill of the other Weavers before declaring this) was really ridiculous to me. I would have been okay with it if she had sparred with someone and done something incredible or had more than just brief moments of being powerful but that is all we got. I think it was too presumptuous for Cassandra/Silver to declare them the saviours when in reality they are just children with no experience whatsoever.
But it wasn't a bad book. I liked the pacing and the bit of world building. I really enjoyed all the scenes in the Web. I liked the idea of the Weavers and their abilities. I would have liked to see a bit more of what other Weavers could do other than Cassandra/Silver but it was still super interesting. Overall not a bad read per say, but I do think I will be putting the rest of the series on hold for a bit because it took me longer than I would have liked to get through this one.
It wasn't the violence. I liked the violence and the inappropriate scene at the beginning because it gave me a good understanding that this wasn't going to be a typical YA novel. Cassandra was only 13 which made it even more gruesome (see The Hunger Games for why I love this). But the romance felt stale and tacky because Cassandra was 13 and was pining over James to the extent of a love sick puppy. It was also kind of difficult to even see Cassandra as 13 because she acted well beyond her years. And I don't mean like 16 or 17, I mean 20 or 21. Yes, captivity would do this to you, but it also would have made her more reserved and humble than she acted.
I loved the idea of Silver and the chimerism. I loved that almost every Weaver had a sibling close in age and/or a twin but Cassandra absorbed hers which made her more powerful. But I did not like the execution of Silver. I thought Silver came off as a 100 year old wise woman who had all of life's answers, but she too would only be as old as Cassandra. AKA 13. I also wasn't a fan of Silver pushing Cassandra not to tell anyone about them but then not doing much when Cassandra did tell people about them (and boy did she tell a lot of people). It seemed a little ridiculous that they had so much ability, Silver especially, but no one seemed to notice and/or care. Except, of course, James.
The idea that only Silver/Cassandra would be the ones to have enough power and skill (and know this without seeing the power/skill of the other Weavers before declaring this) was really ridiculous to me. I would have been okay with it if she had sparred with someone and done something incredible or had more than just brief moments of being powerful but that is all we got. I think it was too presumptuous for Cassandra/Silver to declare them the saviours when in reality they are just children with no experience whatsoever.
But it wasn't a bad book. I liked the pacing and the bit of world building. I really enjoyed all the scenes in the Web. I liked the idea of the Weavers and their abilities. I would have liked to see a bit more of what other Weavers could do other than Cassandra/Silver but it was still super interesting. Overall not a bad read per say, but I do think I will be putting the rest of the series on hold for a bit because it took me longer than I would have liked to get through this one.
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