Novella Review – Worlds Burn Through (The Chronicles of Nowhere, Book 1) by Vicki Keire (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Size: 470 KB
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Release Date: January 19, 2012
ASIN: B006ZQXCLW
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Chronicles of Nowhere
Source: eARC through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. It is a well written story but very short. The books ends literally with a “to be continued”. Still it was an egaging enough read with an interesting, if not completely unique, premise.

Chloe has a reoccuring nightmare about fire all around her and the boy who saves her. A bad night of partying and a fight with her mother reveal the truth to Chloe, she is the only hope for a race whose only planet died in a fiery apocalypse. Now the old enemies of her people are here to hunt the rest of Chloe’s race down. Right now all that stands between Chloe and her enemies is her Guardian, Eliot. Unfortunately Chloe remembers nothing of her past with Eliot.

This book was a fast paced and fun romp. The action is non-stop from the moment Chloe hits the party scene with one of her friends. I would recommend this only to older teens since there is an almost rape scene in here and girls are unknowingly drugged at the party. Anyway, Chloe is kind of a hard to like at the beginning of the story but her acceptance of the crazy situation surrounding her makes her more interesting. Chloe also has some interesting elemental magic powers. You are just starting to get to know her as the story ends.

The story is one that readers of this genre have read before. The last of a dying race has one hope, and that hope is Chloe, with their enemy becoming more aggressive Chloe’s life is shattered by the need for her to take up her responsibilities to her race. Of course there is the extremely hot Eliot who is her destined Guardian. He ends up helping her recover from a horrible attack when they are separated from the others. Eliot’s care for Chloe makes him lovable and his frustration at the fact that Chloe can’t remember their past together adds some interesting depth to his character.

Chloe is a bit of a victim this whole novel and that bothered me a bit. I hope in the next installment she steps it up and really starts to take action on her own rather than hiding behind Eliot.

Overall this was a fun read. There is an interesting world being built here, the writing is well done, and the characters are easy to relate to. There is just a hint of romance, a lot of action, and lots of world-building. Definitely for older teens only because of language and a sexual assault scene (although nothing ends up happening). I have two complaints: this is super short and nothing more than an intro to the story and Chloe plays a victim throughout the whole story. Not sure if I will read the next one or not; it was enjoyable but nothing outstanding.