I haven't read the first book in this series, but that didn't hinder my reading experience with Chimera. Obviously there was some backstory I wasn't familiar with, but it was fairly easy to fill in the blanks. My rating is 3.5, but I've rounded up to 4 stars to take into account that I probably would've had greater investment in the characters if I'd read Weregirl.

PROS

I'm very picky about the YA books I choose to read because there are a lot of toxic tropes and unfortunate themes prevalent in the genre, but fortunately Chimera ticks all the right boxes to make this an enjoyable read. We have a mature level-headed female protagonist who has several meaningful platonic relationships instead of revolving around boys, which is a massive plus for me! I love that Nessa has a close bond with her brother and sister, being protective of her younger siblings and doing her best to look out for them. Nessa's mother is also an important part of the story - even if she's not always an active on-page presence, Nessa's thoughts frequently return to her since the major elements at play in Chimera involve her mother's health and scientific background. 

And it's great to see a healthy female friendship depicted in this book with Nessa's best friend, Bree, who is featured throughout the story so she isn't just a token female friend, but someone who impacts Nessa's character and storyline. It's realistic and refreshing that her character doesn't revolve entirely around Nessa either, instead she has her own life and relationships that she's pursuing in the background - but when it matters, she's there for Nessa. <3

Now onto the romantic relationship...a lot of times in YA, the main couple are ride-or-die for each other and have no perspective outside of their relationship; being with each other is the only thing that matters and they have no other considerations or priorities. I have to praise the author for taking the time to flesh out character arcs and motivations for more than just the lead, since in this case, we see Luc struggling to reconcile his love for Nessa with his long-held desire to turn fully wolf and retreat from the human world. I'll admit, I'm not overly invested in his character, but that would be due to having skipped the first book so I don't really know Luc since he spent most of this book off-page due to his wolf responsibilities. It's just really refreshing to me that we get to have these teenagers facing conflict over where their futures lie and how their paths are likely to diverge, but instead of angst and tears, it makes them appreciate the time they have together even more and they make the most of their brief moments sharing hot chocolate in their secluded cabin. This is what makes me root for a couple, not OTT drama!

Moving onto the plot, there is solid intrigue with the evil corporation Paravida plotting to scapegoat Vivian and exterminate the wolves. They seemed a little overpowered at times, considering the ease with which they manipulate the legal system and turn the town against Vivian, but I can see how corrupt corporations have an advantage when it comes to promoting their agenda in court and in the media. More successful is the family drama with Nessa meeting her estranged father and negotiating that tricky reunion while trying to find ways to help the wolves and cure her mother. 

CONS

I had some issues with occasional scenes where Nessa seemed to be written a little younger than her years and unrealistically naive. The court scene was strange in this respect because Nessa clearly identified the people loitering around with cameras as reporters, but then she becomes confused at one of them asking her questions:

---
Was this someone she was supposed to know? An old friend of Vivian's? Some distant relative she'd met once and didn't remember?

Who was this woman? Why did she seem to know Nessa when Nessa did not know her?
---

A few minutes later, she says that she thought the reporters were in court for another case, so again, she knows what these people are there for, yet she still somehow thinks maybe the first reporter trying to interview her on-camera is a distant relative or family friend? 

There was also a climactic scene near the end of the story where this cropped up - (mildly spoilery) characters are in danger and it looks like there's no way out...then a solution is found, but Nessa forgets about it a few minutes later and is at her wits' end, trying to think of how to save lives, whereupon she comes upon the same solution that was just employed in that same scene! Again, she clearly remembers the details of what just happened as it's referenced at the time, so this isn't an editing issue, but the fact that she doesn't think to use that escape method until later is baffling. 

A rather nitpicky point I want to make is that it's jarring how the narrative referred to Nessa's mother as 'Vivian' even when it was from her point-of-view. Most people don't think of their mom by their first name, so reading paragraphs like this pulled me out of the story:

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But in the hospital bed, Vivian looked worse than Nessa had imagined. (...) But still, she was Vivian. She was Mom. Nessa saw Vivian make the same half-smile she always made, as if to smile fully was to tempt fate. 
---

Even if we assume that the story is being told from an objective POV instead of Nessa's, that bolded line doubles down to suggest that Nessa is thinking of this woman as Vivian, and the continual jumping back and forth is very clunky.

Speaking of Vivian, her character has a few bizarre moments with the flip-flopping when it comes to accepting help from the children's father. For instance, I understand she has ethical disagreements with Daniel over how far to push the boundaries of science, but I can't help judging her for being a terrible mother since she never touched the child support payments he made when her family was struggling and badly needed that money!

Heartbroken? Hopeful? I don't know how to feel. A great story, well written and an emotional roller coaster. The ending was so sad, even the little hope given, couldn't help me feeling much better. A must read and highly recommended. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Chooseco!

I received Chimera from the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Chimera continues the story of Nessa battling with the company Parvida and trying to manage her newly found werewolf status. The Parvida wolf pack has started descending on the town of Tether and multiplying at an alarming rate. Her and Luc are trying to keep them at bay when Nessa’s has a major family crisis and her father reappears in her life. She may not have time to save both Tether and her family from collapsing.


I enjoyed this book far more than the first one. I felt the characters got deeper and it went further away from the typical werewolf teenage love story. I think it leaves a lot of mystery still open and I’m very interested to see if Daniel ends up a good or bad guy, and what happens to the Other Delphine. I loved the Luc and Nessa story and how it didn’t end with them running off into the sunset together. Can’t wait for the next one

teen/paranormal
This story starts right where Weregirl left off. This story picks up steam as it goes and by the end is a full blown locomotive. There are twists and turns and secrets and lies. We get a whole new cast of friends and enemies and are not sure where a few of them fall. We find out more about Nessa’s family and there are a few surprises there. This story left me panting for the final book in the trilogy.

My rating: 4.5/5 stars

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher (thank you specifically to Lizzi Adelman for reaching out to me) in exchange for an honest review of the book. Chimera comes out November 1, 2017 and the first book in the trilogy is out already.

I won’t go into too much detail about anything that happened in the book as I don’t wish to spoil anyone that hasn’t read it yet, or that wants to read the series if they haven’t started it.

Chimera picks up, I want to say, about a year or so after Weregirl ends. It starts off with Luc and Nessa playing around and then catching the scent of Paravida wolves. I enjoyed this scene, especially the very beginning of it. It was nice to see them playing around again after all that went down in the first book, Weregirl. At this point, I was interested in what would be the story line for the Paravida wolves. Would they be forever aggressive? Would they become completely tame? Would they end up blending in with the normal wolf packs?

Well, the answer to all those questions ends up being answered throughout the story. A story that weaves together the complex life of a 16-year-old girl as well as her life as a werewolf. This story, in contrast with Weregirl, is more about Nessa and her life as a wolf now that it’s been a year and she has gotten accustomed to being one. The reason I mention this is because this is one of the several pros I had for this book. While I did enjoy reading about Nessa’s human life in the first book, I felt that it might have been a little too much about her life as a human. In this story, though, it’s primarily about her time as a wolf (with Luc) and still trying to figure out what the deal is with Paravida.

Overall, I thought Chimera was better than Weregirl. It moved at a faster pace than Weregirl did, which I really enjoyed. I did not feel as though there were many (if any) moments that could have been taken out, and the story would’ve been fine without them. This, I thought, was a major improvement from the first book where I felt that were quite a few moments throughout that book that could’ve been taken out.

Now, onto another of pros. The cover. Before I read the book, I didn’t know how I felt about the cover. After reading the book though, I love the cover. There’s a section of the book that explains what is on the cover and when I realized this, the cover immediately made sense and I now fully support the use of this cover design. Also, may I just say, that was a hell of a weird scene to read (in the best way possible).

I really love the whole plot with Daniel and thought it was well executed. The whole thing with him and the Chimera’s gave me the creeps. The plot twist that involved him and a certain someone (when we’re first getting to know who his character is) was good and not something I expected at all.

Another of my pros was the scene with the wolves and the soldiers in the woods. I thought this scene was very well written and detailed perfectly. Especially that Luc part. That got me in the feels. Speaking of Luc, I love him, he’s such a great character in the story.

This book had me on a roller coaster of emotions. First, I was happy, then anxious, nervous, confused, shocked, weirded out, then sad, and finally happy again. Take all of that as you will, I’m not spoiling about what had me feeling all those emotions.

Overall, I would recommend this book (and the first book in the series if you haven’t read that). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the last book of the trilogy, which will come out…whenever it comes out.

Chimera: A Weregirl Novel by C.D. Bell is a book I requested from NetGalley and the book publishers and the review is voluntary. I have not read the first book but I did not have trouble getting into the story. I found this a great story for young teens or young adults. The suspense and intrigue of the FBI and the corrupt/unethical genetic experiments happening in Paravida Corporation and what her dad has to do with it was chilling. She finds out so much about her mom's past also. A great story with lots of twists and turns and secrets.... A very exciting story to be sure!

REVIEW
After reading Weregirl I really wanted to know more about Nessa Kurland and her family. I also still wanted more of the shifter genre too. I had questions I wanted answering upon finishing Weregirl and was looking forward to the answers.

The main feature of this cover is the back of a girl's head. The girl has two plaits either side of her head. The hair is a mixture of browns and grey. The girls neck has fur that has a kind of mottled brown look to it. The byline on this cover says, "the forest is full of lies".
Prior to reading this book I of course had the obvious thought that this girl with animal markings was Nessa in a part wolf/girl form. However that is not the case and wow when it is revealed who this is, well it's most certainly a wow moment in this second book of the trilogy.

So as the blurb reveals Paravida have left Tether and everyone is safe, or maybe they feel safer. . .but are they? Nessa is adjusting well under the circumstances to her ability to transform into a wolf. In fact that's where this book picks up, Nessa is out in her wolf form running through the woods with Luc. Luc was born with the ability to transform into a wolf, and one day not that far away his human side will walk into the woods, transform into a wolf and never return to his human form or life again.
It's whilst Luc and Nessa are chasing around, kind of playing in their wolf forms that they scent Paravida wolves. They follow the trail of the wolves when Nessa scents something familiar, however it is not so familiar to her in her wolf form. The two wolves then smell blood, meaning the wolves they are following are hurt. Eventually Nessa's wolf brain/memory clears and she recognises the smell as one she has been around in her work at the vets surgery. The smell is anaesthesia, meaning the Paravida Wolf has been shot with a tranquilizer gun. Luc and Nessa finally find the end of the trail and discover the tyre tracks. Whoever tranquilized the wolves have taken the bodies with them. Obviously somewhat puzzled Luc and Nessa make their way back to their little cabin behind Lucs home but far enough into the woods to be hidden. They change back to their human forms and hug and talk about what they have just discovered. Luc and Nessa have been dating a while and are comfortable with each other in both their human and wolf forms. I personally think Luc is a large part of the reason Nessa has adapted to her wolf so well. He has taught her about the transformation process, how to supress it and how to make it happen when you need it. Nessa still has to transform at both new and full moons. Nessa has also gotten to a point where she can move in and out of wolf form at will. Nessa merely thinks of her family to enable her to switch back easily into her human form. To become a wolf, Nessa think about the way she feels running as a wolf to transform into her wolf. Luc and Nessa's discovery soon becomes the least of her problems when she returns home to find the FBI and Homeland Security in and all around her home. Using her wolf hearing Nessa hears snippets of different conversations going on. Upon entering the house she and her family live in she first sees a worried Delphine, whose face instantly relaxes when she see's her older sister. Nate however is in an even worse state than Delphine. Nate is in the corner alone, as far away from the bustle as possible, hugging his knees and becoming more and more upset by all the people and police in his home which is usually his sanctuary. The officers are using Geiger counters and are searching every room and drawer and cupboard in the house. It's then Nessa's eyes finally land on her mother who is continually asking the officers what they are looking for. Vivian is sat at the table in an awkward bent forward position as her arms are in handcuffs behind her back. The officers pull Vivian upright to a standing position to take her away with them. Vivian has just moments to give orders to Nessa for her to call Aunt Jane to come get them. Vivian's other instructions are for Nessa to phone Dr Morgan to ask for more shifts at the vet surgery and to continue Vivian's work there. Both calling Aunt Jane and asking for extra shifts at the vets instantly make total sense to Nessa. It's the latter suggestion confuses Nessa somewhat as she is certainly not as qualified as her mum so couldn't possibly perform her duties at the veterinarian surgery.

I also enjoyed reading the sections that featured the Paravida wolves. The Paravida wolves had been scientifically created and raised by human researchers at the secret laboratories on the Paravida Corporate Campus North of Tethers town. These wolves had been purposely bred to be highly aggressive and were isolated from each other, kept in individual cages instead of being allowed to co-exist or form a pack as they would naturally do. In this book, Chimera these wolves had escaped into the wild, fighting each other, starving or ransacking garbage for food. Sadly this meant they had no idea of how to interact with natural born wolves. Luc has taken on the task to attempt to teach them what being part of a pack is and how they should be co-existing with each other and other wolves in the area. I love the relationship between the Paravida wolf Jack and one of the Tether wolf pack resulting in super cute sounding baby wolf cubs. There's some great scenes within the book of Luc and Nessa playing with these wolf pups.

There seemed to be a lot of things that had happened after the ending of Weregirl yet before Chimera begins, such as the whole Nessa & Luc relationship and also the incident where Bree, Luc and Nessa break into Paravida and take a box full of files and documentation. This box is mentioned as maybe being the information that the FBI and Homeland Security were searching for in the Kurland home? The box and it's contents could perhaps be a factor in Vivian's arrest too? The box is mentioned a couple of times and then nothing else about it. An envelope is found in the important roll top writing desk made or restored by grandpa, yet this piece of treasured furniture hadn't been mentioned before, in fact I initially thought that the girls were looking for a number/envelope in a roll-a-desk telephone number gadget from the description! To say there is a lot going on in this book is an understatement where in book one, Weregirl the plot initially felt a little slow, in this book, Chimera everything happens so very, very fast! We even get to meet Nessa & Delphine's father. There are many questions around and concerning their father. The one that immediately came to my mind was, well who is Nate's father? Then there is the whole ethics of the scientific experiments her father is doing. The shock that her mother once approved and did similar experiments herself. Then Nessa comes face to face with an experiment that should no longer exist. I could seriously go on and on and on about everything that happens in this book.

Another issue Nessa has to deal with is the increasing support in her previously peaceful loving town of Tether for hunting and killing the wolves. . . .all the wolves, not just the Paravida one's. There are some fantastic scenes where Luc and Nessa are trying to help the wolves to leave the Tether wood and escape from impending death.

I really grew to love the character of Nessa even more in this book. Nessa goes through lots of changes from the person she was in Weregirl to who she is at the end of Chimera. Nessa has to deal with losses of things and people close to her. Nessa has to become more independent and confident, she has many choices ahead of her with very few people she can discuss them with. What should she believe about her mother Vivian, Why has she been arrested? Why is she so set that Nessa should avoid her father along with any help he ever offers? Then there is her father, how come he is so rich? and the rest of the Kurland family so poor? What sort of experiments is he really doing? How should she feel when he reveals Nessa is named after his mother Vanessa? Nessa was very young when her parents split but she does have flashbacks to that time, which she uses to decipher the lies within the truths she is presented with.

Nessa really goes through the ringer in this book, she has to accept that what she has with Luc is not permanent. Nessa feels pulled in many directions during this book by her mother, her father and her pack, the Tether wolves. Nessa has to deal with the feeling of ostracisation when some of the people of Tether turn against Vivian. Nessa also deals with bullies at school who seem to love talking about her mothers arrest. It both annoys and upsets Nessa, these are the same people whose pets Vivian has saved or treated for free when they were down on their luck and money. Poor Nessa seems to solve one problem only to have another one land in her lap.

Another much smaller character within Chimera that I really liked a lot was Vivian's court appointed lawyer, Zach Chandler. Zach is young but knows what is needed to help Vivian and when because of his firm not wanting to go up against a large company like Paravida reveal they would take a plea for a shorter jail sentence instead of going the whole way through the court to free Vivian he meets with Nessa, explains the situation and gives her pointers on where to find the right sort of help.

My immediate thoughts upon reading the last page in Chimera was, Wow I really, really hope there are more books to come in this series! I now know, after a little research that this book is part of a trilogy. This book covered so much but I would truly love more! Loved it! I would love a novella or two, perhaps covering Nessa and Lucs relationship and him helping Nessa come to terms with what she transforms into. Also a novella on Vivian set before she returned to Tether, so we know exactly what she took part in and how she argued with Nessa's father about the ethics of what they were doing and maybe even more about Vivian after the ending of this book too. Every time I think about Chimera and its ending all I can think is wow when can I read the final book in the trilogy?

I have read both books in the Weregirl series and I do believe Chimera has indeed surpassed my sequel expectations. It was of course slow going but I felt like it was slowing reintroducing me to the world of Nessa and Luc. I personally enjoyed the slow climax but I do fear people tend to want plots rushed in order to capture their attention, so it might be a negative impact for those who find it difficult to submerge into a book. I also enjoyed learning more about Nessa and Luc. It definitely offers a clearer understanding into each of their motivations as the series progresses. Overall I feel it hit points on emotional connection, good plot twists, history development, and supporting motivations. I do also feel that their are new questions that will be answered in the third book and I am excited to see where this will lead.

Really enjoyed this second installment in the weregirl series (although - and be ready for a level of serious pedantry here - the word weregirl always makes my eyes water and my teeth ache. Were is an anglo saxon word for man. It has nothing to do with wolves or shapeshifting so 'weregirl' literally means 'man-girl'. I realise I need to let this go.) Chimera started off at the same pace as Weregirl. A little slow and leaving me feeling that the book was good but not all absorbing. Then once again at the halfway mark everything just off. The pace sped up and there were some serious moments of anxiety. The ending was perfection. I also really like Nessa and her relationship with the taciturn Luc. There's also a look at family dynamics both of wolves and humans. Overall this was a solid YA sci-fi/fantasy read.