In the third book in a series of standalone novels, readers discover a chaotic world where science fiction, action, and mythology intertwine in a strange new future. Starting over and escaping her abusive ex, Zoe Daniels’s move across the country brings her to a job at Valhalla, a cutting-edge scientific institute seeking to discover the secrets of human potential where she can experiment with the volatile new element Chaos that kills the test subjects or grants them new powers. Gemma Weeks, the head of Valhalla, needs Zoe to solve Chaos so she can save her daughter’s life, but Zoe accidentally exposes herself to Chaos, changing everything about her life and her position at Valhalla. Complex, dramatic, and twisted, readers will love the details and intensity of this novel and the world that Zoe and Gemma inhabit. The characters are well-written and detailed, and a lot happens in this book without feeling too packed with information. The plot points and emotional and dramatic intensity add great depth to the story, and the world-building is particularly well done. A powerful, fascinating, and intense new novel, this is a great addition to this interconnected series of standalone novels from Matt King that readers will love.

Wraith by Matt King is a fast-paced blend of science fiction, dark mythology, and action that had its moments for me, but also left me wishing for a bit more depth. The story follows Zoe Daniel, who’s trying to start over after escaping an abusive relationship. Her new job at Valhalla, a mysterious scientific institute experimenting with an unpredictable element called Chaos, quickly drags her into a dangerous world where she gains unexpected powers and finds herself in the middle of conspiracies and threats, both supernatural and human.

The premise was interesting and I liked how quickly the plot moved. The world-building is imaginative, and the mythological elements add a nice layer to the story. I also appreciated that despite being part of a larger series, it works as a standalone and you aren't left too lost if you haven’t read the earlier books.

Where the book fell short for me was in character development, Zoe and some of the supporting cast could have used more nuance, and the emotional stakes never quite landed. Some threads felt underexplored (especially the mythology and Zoe’s personal history), and there were moments where the pacing felt a little too quick for me to really connect with the story on a deeper level. While there’s plenty of action and a solid setup, I found myself wanting more substance behind the spectacle.

Overall, Wraith is entertaining and reads quickly with an atmosphere reminiscent of superhero tales and myth-inspired adventures. If you’re into fast-moving sci-fi fantasy with a dash of dark mythology, you might enjoy it, but it didn’t leave a huge impact for me.

A solid 3 out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Wraith” is a science fiction story in which Zoe, a young woman escaping an abusive relationship, takes a job at the secretive and powerful Valhalla corporation. Its leader, Gemma Weeks, has discovered a mysterious and dangerous new substance named Chaos which seems to have the power to do anything, including curing cancer, from which Gemma’s young daughter suffers. In the process of her work, Zoe becomes exposed to Chaos and starts to develop strange powers.
I struggled with this book for a few reasons. First, it’s clear the author has never actually worked in a laboratory before or dealt with contamination protocols. It was also evident that the conflict between Zoe and Gemma, and their supervisor/employee dynamic, are supposed to be central to the story, but I found it underdeveloped and poorly portrayed.

Wraith by Matt King (book cover is in image) is the third installment in the New Mythology series. I read this without reading the first two installments but did not feel as if I missed any major elements.

Mixing mythology and science, this book is a fast paced novel with significant plot twists that keeps the reader engaged and wanting more. I cannot wait for the next installment of this series.

Thank you to BDA Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Audiobook Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: May 06 2025

Tags:
#BDAPublishing
#MattKing
#Wraith
#Mytholoty
#ScienceFiction
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#netgalley

This story was so good! I saw that this story was going to have easter eggs included from some of the author's other stories. However, seeing as this was the first book I've read of his, I did not feel lost while reading, and whatever the easer eggs were blended seamlessly into this story. It was fast paced, descriptive, and the main character was great. I really enjoyed her perspective of the world as she navigated through the story.

My Rating: 4.5*

I’m rounding up to 5* because this is exactly what I needed at the moment. Upon learning this was mythology reimagining, I eagerly opted to request this book to uncover its lore. When earning my Master’s, I studied copious amounts of lore, legends, and myths, and even though this is not a “classic retelling” or reimagining, I feel it was very clever. Though I have not yet read the others in this series, I will certainly be looking for them now that I've finished this one.

Zoe has escaped her tortuous life in Texas with her ex-partner, and is doing her best to slip under the radar and start a completely new life. Upon entering Seattle, she goes to a job interview for a job she really wants. Gemma Weeks, head of Valhalla, offers Zoe the job of a lifetime - to study a previously unknown element called Chaos.

Things seem to start out well until Zoe is accidentally exposed to the Chaos element and now she’s running and hiding all the while trying to figure out what powers Chaos has given her.

I truly enjoyed this book and it is certainly action packed and perhaps a bit too fast if all of these events happen in about 2 or 3 days. I will say the characters are a bit hard to like but I think towards the end I was finally on Zoe’s side and was really glad she found her backbone. I would love to see more world building which is one of the reasons I am going to seek out the other books.

Wraith by Matt King was a great novel. I didn’t know this was book was part of an existing universe in his previous works. With that being said, I found the novel very easy to follow and the time travel/universe exploration interesting. The FMC Zoe went through tremendous growth in such a short time. I would definitely be interested in a sequel post Zoe figuring out her new gifts now that she is comfortable in her own skin.. the novels quick pace kept me engaged and it had enough of a creepy/horror aspect to make it interesting. I really enjoyed it!

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Matt King in exchange for an honest review- thank you!

Woohoo!!!! Read this. Get lost in it. Let this book take you away on an adventure. You will not be dissatisfied or disappointed. Let the wraith win

I was optimistic for this one, and thought I'd enjoy it (obviously, since I requested the ARC!) but I didn't think I'd like it nearly as much as I did. I'm mad it's over! Give me more!!

I loved the non-stop action, the science, the mystery behind the new element Chaos, the limits of what FMC Zoe could do with Chaos, the tension and fear from the various threats to Zoe... And I really love when a magic system- even a science-based magic system- has rules. It's no fun if you can wave a magic wand and fix all your problems!

I thought this decision to have the main character experience misophonia was an interesting one. What was even more interesting was this wasn't a plot device, it wasn't a weakness to overcome or that landed her in trouble due to being debilitated by it, and it wasn't something to cure with the help of Chaos; it was just a part of Zoe and who she is, same as her hair color or anything else. I don't think I've ever read a book that featured a character with misophonia before, so it was nice to see how it impacted Zoe's daily life pre- and post-Chaos exposure, and to see the tools she used to help her cope with it, like her earbuds.

I loved the plot twists, the bait and switches, and all the layers that kept peeling back on this rich world. The book was described on NetGalley as being able to be read as a standalone, and this is completely true. Everything the reader needs to know about any mysterious government agencies or scientific and/or cultural differences between our earth and the earth in the book is all explained on-page enough for the reader to follow along unhindered.

This was a super fast read, at about 250 action-packed pages. Once the story starts, it does not stop. There are no "Let's pause and make a plan" moments, there is just raw and unfiltered "Gotta run gotta stay alive gotta improvise gotta go go go". There's no romance (but there is a toxic, narcissistic, abusive ex who may or may not try to murder the FMC.) There are few allies for Zoe, truthfully, and she has to rely on her own wits more often than anything else.

Wraith delivered lots of X-Men feels. There's all the familiar feelings of being alone and isolated and fundamentally different, and being judged for it. Even pre-Chaos exposure, Zoe's family had turned their back on her for her romantic choices, and she was looked down on. And it wasn't even for being in a queer relationship, it was because she "chose" to stay in an abusive relationship, so she "deserved" whatever happened to her, because she could "choose" to leave but didn't. But sometimes it's just not that simple.

I think the author handled all these really heave topics exceptionally well. I'm even more surprised it was a male author writing a female character in a queer relationship so well! Seriously, Matt King nailed it, in my opinion.

So why only four stars?

What was missing, for me, was a little more explanation and a little more climax. There were some things that happened off-page and I wish the reader had gotten to be witness to those events. I feel like there weren't enough consequences for some character's actions, and the consequences that were significant were, again, mostly off-page. Maybe it'll be revisited in a future book, but since each book in this world can be a stand-alone, I just don't know. The climax felt a bit rushed and the resolution felt a little convenient. Remember, we have multiple Big Bads against our FMC, and one was tidied up in about 5%, and the other neutralized in about 10%. I wish the threat had been ongoing for a little longer, and then would have made it felt a little more weighty, which would help it be truly satisfying when Zoe wins the day. I also tend to like when wins come with a bit of a hit. I find it more satisfying when the heroine saves the day but its a tad bittersweet. There should be some loss, some kind of stakes, to help the reader feel invested.

Despite this, it's an amazing book, and one I won't hesitate to recommend. If you enjoy action, mystery, sci-fi, superheroes/superpowers, quantum physics (don't worry, it's not technical, we just stop time sometimes), and relatable FMCs who are far from perfect but have a strong moral compass to try to do what's right, even if it's hard, even if they're alone, even if it's scary, ya gotta read this one.

This was a quick and easy read! It moved fast and kept me engaged. While this said it was a stand-alone I probably would have benefitted from reading the others first just to have a better ground of the world building, but over all, I liked it! Very curious to see what Matt King gives us in the future.

You really don't need to read the other serie to read this books and im really happy about it because this was so good, like I went in it with no expectation and came out with a good book that 230 pages. Hell yes.

This is technically a part of a series, but can be read as a standalone. I definitely didn't have my reading experience hampered too much by not having read the other books, but I suppose I had to think about the world building and what was going on a little more than if I had read them. There is a little disclaimer at the beginning that tells you a few key points which was very helpful to just get that bit of context.
The worldbuilding as a whole I could've done with way more of! It was what kept me interested in reading this, as I didn't care for the characters (except that one side character who is in like three scenes, loved him), I loved the whole mysterious magical force of it all but a lot of the first parts of the book just didn't have much of this.
The pacing was a little strange, the beginning starts off slow-ish and then moves at a medium pace, and then things start happening left and right and characters start behaving wildly and it all got a little convoluted by the end. Some scenes or chapters felt a bit random, there's one where our FMC gets confronted by her past again but then its over immediately and not really spoken of again, little strange.

Matt King didn‘t create something the world has never seen, I‘ll be honest, but still I enjoyed Wraith very much! It was a lot more fast-paced than I anticipated and in my opinion there was room for more in-depth information the world and a few od the side characters. However, I simple had fun on this wild roller coaster and I guess there is a reason I read it in a single day! I especially liked how King portrayed the relationship between Zoe and her ex and Zoes mental issues. Kinds wanna read about her next adventure!

Wraith is a science-fantasy adventure, with a tinge of horror. It is a decently fast-paced story that neither overstays its welcome, nor ends too abruptly. Overall, I quite liked this book, but mainly for the science-fantasy and horror elements. It did a fine job of establishing the world in which the story takes place early on, and firmly situating our protagonist within it. While it starts inconspicuous, the somewhat uncanny ambiance is established from the beginning, as things seem to be going too well for Zoe. The uncanniness only increases as Zoe's bond with Gemma deepens.
This relationship between Zoe and Gemma (her boss) is very well executed in my opinion, although it does feel like Zoe trusting Gemma happens way too quickly, especially considering Zoe's history of domestic violence.
The portrayal of Britt, Zoe's abusive ex, on the other hand, felt far less refined. Her behaviour, especially towards the end, felt almost comically overblown. I'm sure there are abusers out there who act like this, but that didn't stop the character from feeling out-of-place. Britt's past behaviours, as described by Zoe, are far more realistic and did contribute a lot to the eerie feeling of the story, but by the time Britt actually appears, she's already moved beyond that into unbelievability.
I've read far too many books recently that had lackluster or straight up infuriating endings, but this one was thankfully not one of them. It was a bit on the shorter side, but overall made for a nice conclusion that was actually kind of heart-warming. I do wish it had been explained why Cedric called her Wraith, and what happened to the adult Amaryn after Zoe unfroze her, but those are pretty minor gripes, all considered.

Unfortunately I didn’t love this book, don’t get me wrong the writing was fabulous and I liked the characters however I found it difficult to follow and found the storyline forgettable, i pushed through hoping to enjoy the book as I loved the writing style and the concept was really interesting to me, the storyline however just fell flat for me.

Not like anything I’ve read before! Moves super quickly. Struggled a little with the writing style but I enjoyed it once I adapted to it!

I haven’t read any of the authors previous works but this was for the most part easy to follow despite this!

I found this one was a little too weird for my liking. I don't know if its the writing style, the form of the novel or just then vibes were off but unfortunately, I didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Might try it again later but for now its not for me

I received this book as an ARC through NetGallery and the published book may have been altered to what I received.

I enjoyed this book! It’s action packed with so much going on and strong FMC with a tortured past. Saying it’s fast paced is an understatement and I felt I was going too fast but it was still overall a good read.

- SciFi meets Mythology
- Standalone x Part of a trilogy

Well first off, wow… just absolutely amazing. From someone who has not read the entire series, I love that I was able to read this book as a stand alone and still completely understand what was happening and know each character. Second, Zoe is a badass and I love the representation of growing from previously abusive relationships.
This book was not what I expected it to be and gave me everything and more when combining sci-fi & mythology. Wraith was the perfect blend of the two genres while also delivering a truly strong fmc!

Thank you so much to BDA Publishing and NetGalley for the early release of this book! I am very grateful,

This book follows Zoe Daniel as she tries to move on from her abusive ex. She has clearly gone through a lot in her previous relationship and so moves to a new city and takes a new job to get away from her past.

At this new company, Valhalla, she works on uncovering the secrets of the mysterious “chaos.” From here, the plot picks up at a breakneck speed with lots going on. I enjoyed that the book was full of action and once it gets going it never stops, with something new happening every page. Sometimes however, it felt like some bits came out of nowhere although with the shorter page count a lot is packed in. Definitely a fast paced read and easy to binge.

Overall, knowing that this is book three of a standalone series (I had not read the others in the series before this) I would now like to check out the others after this one.