I loved this book. The characters had me right from the beginning and will read the rest in the series. The cover is what caught my attention first and then as I kept reading I wanted more. Loved Cassandra and then getting to know more about "silver".

So this is book in the series Weaver and I just finished it and loved it, I love how you get to meet Cassandra and find out what happened and how she got be kidnapped when she was five and how her family finds her . I love how its like a new take on how some people on earth are born with powers that can be used for either good or evil. once I started reading this I couldn't stop . can't wait to read the next one.

I absolutely loved this book. I was a little uncomfortable at first with the main character(s) being 13 and having to go through some horrible things that many adult women wouldn't be able to handle. Then I realized that the author did a great job with the scenes, or I wouldn't have been so uncomfortable!

From the beginning I was intrigued with the unique story line. I devoured this book in one sitting. It left me wanting more by this author. It also left me thinking about what it would be like to live in the world Vaun has created in this book. The social climate isn't too different from our own, with intolerance and misunderstandings. It feels that no matter what the world might be like, there will always be people that hate you for your differences, as well as people that will accept you no matter what. I like that the book takes that basic human trait and applies it to this story.

CHIMERA - The Weaver Series #1

Author: Vaun Murphrey

Cover Artist: Nathalia Suellen

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Publication Date: March 10, 2015

Publisher: Artemis Femme

Length: 299 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cassandra's parents were killed and she was captured and imprisoned at the age of five. She has spent the past eight years living in a ten foot by ten foot cell with no contact with other children and barely even any contact from her captors.

** NOTE **

There is a brief but disturbing scene near the beginning of this book that contains material inappropriate to younger readers. In my opinion this book is not appropriate for readers under the age of sixteen.

Cassandra is rescued after her eight years in captivity by an Uncle that she never knew existed. Gerome was her mother's brother and he had thought for many years that Cassandra had died alongside her parents.

Taken to live with Gerome and his wife Maggie, Cassandra must readjust to life outside of prison. This is easier said than done, especially once she discovers that she is not like everyone else.

Cassandra is a Weaver. This means she has the ability to access the Web. The Web is just that: a web of information, knowledge, memories and the minds of others, both living and dead.

Cassandra discovers that she has escaped captivity but is still not safe.

I enjoyed this book and the target readership is Young Adults who I believe will like this new series very much. The reason I gave this book 4 stars rather than 5 stars is that the lead character is only thirteen and yet acts much older. It seems a bit unlikely that any thirteen year old would be as mature as Cassandra is. However, she is obviously not a normal thirteen year old. She is a Weaver with very special abilities, so I assume that is why she is so mature.

This is the first book in "The Weaver" series. Books 2 & 3 are also currently available. The fourth book in the series is due to be published soon.

This book will delight readers who are interested in the Science Fiction genre. This is definitely an interesting book and keeps the reader's interest right to the last page. The ending leaves the reader wanting to immediately start reading the next book in the series which is exactly what I plan to do.

The cover was created by artist Nathalia Suellen and is absolutely stunning. This cover is what initially drew my attention to this book which is exactly what author's want their book covers to do.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Vaun Murphrey is a writer, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister and a friend. She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas.

To learn more about this author visit: www.vaunmurphrey.com

To read more of my reviews visit http://amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com

Follow me on Twitter @Amieroger

I will start as I wish to go forward, that is with honesty: I went beyond being merely tentative when it came to finally reading this one.

I was terrified it would be another cliché teenage book. You all know what I’m talking about here – instant love, crazy powers which cannot be explained until you find out the main character is pretty much a God (or at least a descendant of one), cheesy lines partnered with creepy borderline stalker behaviour, sob story, and the rest of the list that leaves us all banging our heads off walls. I expected it all and worse – especially considering how the main character is a thirteen year old who has spent her last eight years in captivity – meaning it was a nice surprise when some of these things failed to crop up.

It was a nice story, much better than I had expected it to be. Our story unfolds in a similar way to a number of other young adult books (you cannot get away from it, really) but there was more to it than the usual. This one does not spew the norms at us, the routine ‘oh my you are so special we must all love you even though we have no reason to because you’re being rather pompous’. This one takes a nice twist – and okay, it is suggested at the end that our main character is a bit of that cliché lead, but at least this time there is an actual reason for it. We are given something new, something away from the norm that is quite a jump (a rather daring charge which I really admire).

Don’t get me wrong, the book is far from perfect. As I mentioned before there are a number of the clichés to be found. Whilst they’re not as out of proportion and in your face as most books they still made me sigh when they cropped up. The writing style isn’t quite perfected either. Yet as a whole it was a great read.

Overall I was more than a little bit surprised by how much I enjoyed this one.

Finally I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this one. I’m already onto the next in the series!

Fast paced,a real page turner....can't wait to read the next one

Chimera is a book about 13 year old Cassandra who is rescued after 8 years being held captive without any verbal interaction. I found that my favorite thing about this book was, for me, the fact that so many of the explanations for why Cass is special make perfect sense! From why her sister is the way she is to why she is able to interact well with others despite not communicating for 8 years. The author also does an excellent job of still pointing out that she isn't as developed socially even though she has the necessary knowledge, such as when she asks Melody about her having children. The author does a good job of making a strong character without ignoring that she is still a 13 year old. My main problem with this book was that most of the side character felt rather flat and 2 dimensional. It felt like you could sum up most of the side characters with one word. However this book is definitely still worth a read.

Fantastic concept for a book. Thrilling and fast paced you really feel like you have been on a journey- one that I can't wait to continue when I get my hands on the next book!

This was an interesting book about a girl who witnessed her parents being killed at age five and then kept in captivity until rescued by family that she never knew she had. She then discovered she was a weaver and that she had special powers that an evil villain was looking for-and he would do anything to get her powers no matter who or what he destroyed. The book was interesting and it kept my attention. I would recommend it and suspect it will only get better as the series continues.

I received a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.

In Chimera We meet Cassandra, a thirteen year old girl, who has been held in captivity for eight years, since the people that took her broke into her house in the wee hours of the night and murdered her parents. The captors keep Cassandra under the silent treatment,and she keeps sane by interacting with herself in her mind, until the night when she gets her first menstrual cycle, she's taken to meet with the man behind her ordeal. Scary guy. There's a very disturbing scene here,(you have been warned!). Soon Cass finds herself discovering things about herself, and the world that challenges everything she thought possible.

Cass is strong, obviously, how many thirteen year old girls could have come out of that sane? The secondary characters were interesting as well.
I'll be honest, I had mixed feelings about this one. One on hand I was invested in the story, I wanted to understand this new concept, on the other I felt this story was slow going, which is funny considering most of the book takes place in a couple of days. I have so many questions and I hope I'll get a better understanding of what's really happening in the second book in the series.

With that being said, this definitively isn't everyone's cup of tea.
But if you like fantasy I would say you should try it for yourself.

Happy Reading!

This review can also be found at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1256015637

This YA sci-fi novel starts off slowly and requires persistent reading, but halfway through it really hits its stride and the pace picks up - after which it rollicks along.

Cassandra, the protagonist, is a thirteen year old who has witnessed the death of her parents and been incarcerated for eight years. Her jailers seldom speak with her and her treatment has, at times, been brutal. She discovers that she is a member of a group of humans known as Weavers. Weavers have expanded mental capabilities and can travel via an alternate plane to explore the universe. Cassandra is vastly more powerful than other Weavers and herein lies her problem: she will be hunted for her gifts.

My difficulty with the initial part of this book was that there was an enormous emotional distance between the reader and Cassandra. However, I began to wonder if this was a deliberate strategy on the part of the writer. Cassandra’s imprisonment has necessitated that she repress many of her emotions in order to survive, apart from the fact that there is no-one during this time for her to form any kind of attachment to. As the book progresses and Cassandra learns to show emotion and begin to form friendships, the reader is, similarly, more able to connect with the story. If this was strategy on the part of the author, then it was risky, because if I hadn’t been reviewing this, I may have actually stopped reading earlier on, though I’m glad I didn’t.

There is a really great, different, interesting and complex story here, the mechanics of which are well thought out. However much of the first part of the novel felt like it was setting up the story for the bigger picture/next books. The reader is given a huge amount of necessary background information in dialogue between characters, which barely avoided feeling like an info dump and slowed the pace.

The latter half does zip along really well and at this point I found myself not wanting to put the book down. When I finished it, I was disappointed and wanted more – I was glad to see that the first three chapters of the next book were there to read and they really romped along.

The verdict: 3.5 stars and yes I’d read the next ones in the series.

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. This was an interesting book about a girl who witnessed her parents being killed at age five and then kept in captivity until rescued by family that she never knew she had.

Chimera follows the struggles of 13 year old Cassandra in this science fiction thriller that starts out very strong and keeps you guessing what us going yo happen next. Vaun Murphey adds just enough twist and turns to leave you guessing, all the while you find yourself rooting more and more for Cassandra to grow into her own and find a way to survive

*I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.*

I put off attempting to read this book because I wasn't sure I would like it. I was WRONG! I just loved it. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was certainly a lot better than I was thinking. It just goes to show, you should try all things if think you might or might not like it.

I love all of the characters in the book. Well, I don't like the evil ones. I am looking forward to finding out more about this one that is supposed to be the Soul Eater. Cassandra's parents were killed when she was little and she was abducted and imprisoned for 8 years before her uncle yanked her out of the prison. They believe it was the Soul Eater that held her captive. I still can't figure out if he's human or an alien or what.

I'm trying to review this without any spoilers. Let's see, Cassandra comes to live with her uncle that saved her and her aunt. Their names are Gerome and Maggie. I really like Maggie, she's sweet and doesn't take any crap from anyone.

They plan on training Cassandra in physical training and in Weaver training. They are Weaver's meaning they can use their minds to bond to each other and other things. They call it the Web. I thought that was funny, lets surf the world wide web in your head!

So they have all of that planned out but things happen and she is going to have to go with a friend of the family to keep hidden. There is some evil alien that has found her and wanting to come after her. Poor Cassandra can't win for losing.

The counsel didn't want her there anyway. They think she is dangerous. They think the Soul Eater actual bonded to her and is impersonating her. Not! But she does have a little secret that I can't tell you.

James and Kara are awesome friends to Cassandra, they are close to her age and get along great. There is a story behind that but you will have to read the book.

Malcolm is really cool! He trains all of the kids from martial arts to weight training, etc.

Like I said, I really did love this book. I hope the rest of them are as good as this one. I would recommend to all of those that love science fiction/fantasy.

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1265439502

I've been putting off reading Chimera. I read the blurb on the back of the book and it all sounded a bit too... well, a bit too sci-fi for me I guess.

It is a strange and very dark story. It is billed as a YA fiction series but I really wouldn't like to think my 12 year old nephew was reading it.

Cassandra has been in captivity since she was five tears old. Her parents were murdered in front of her and she has been locked up ever since. Now, at the age of thirteen she is rescued by someone claiming to be her uncle. Cassandra discovers that she is special. She is a Weaver. And no, not the spinning jenny kind making rugs all day. This Weaver is a more advanced human, a superior being.

The world that the action takes place in has been well drawn and it is a fairly fast read for quite a long book. The story is fast paced and the characters are rounded and quite interesting. I found the ending a bit odd but I suspect that is because they had to find a point to tie off book 1 knowing that there is a book 2.

Don't be put off by the first few chapters - it does get better and its a pretty solid read.

ARC copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This has one of the most peculiar set ups I've seen in a sci-fi for a long time and consequently I didn't think I would like it. Happily I was wrong. I found myself invested in the story and enjoying the many shifts and switchbacks of the plot. Cassandra was an interesting character - seeing how her character develops will be something to look forward to.

The niggles I had were that the pacing is occasionally uneven and there were a few instances of dicey dialogue. These were minor concerns however and I found myself enjoying a fresh and unusual sci-fi. Perhaps not one for space opera fans but if you like strange theories and a future that looks different this one could be for you.

I really liked this book. It had a good plot and storyline filled with intresting charachters. It was well written and moved at a good pace. It did read like a set up for a longer story to come, but it was intresting enough to hold its own. I would recommend this book to someone who's looking for something a bit different. Don't be put off with the main charachters being teenagers, I didn't feel like I was reading a young adult book at all.

This book is more a sci-fi book but you don't just have to like sci-fi to read this book. This book is about Cassandra, a 13 year-old girl who has been locked away for 8 years. She gets rescued and learns she is from a certain type of people called Weavers. Through out this book we learn what a Weaver is and that there a war between two types of Weavers. We learn that Cassandra is a special kind of Weaver. This book sets us up for the rest of the series and makes you want to continue on reading.

I really enjoyed this book! I like the idea of a Weaver and the Web. What a fantastic concept. I feel it is only a matter of time until the future brings something similar to the Web to us. Being able to connect to a family member, almost like a literal lifeline is great. I feel the only downside would be the feeling of the emotions part, haha. Anyway, back to the story! I like the idea of Cass not only being a Weaver, but also a Chimera who has these abilities to do things that nobody else on the compound can do. We can see how this can be scary for Gerome, who is on the Council and has a lot at risk. Add in 2 outcasts as friends, and woo! We have one hell of a roller coaster ahead of us. Also, with having Silver in her mind and constantly wanting to tinker around with things, and knowing all this stuff that she herself has no idea about, is terrifying to me. She definitely deals with it cool, calm and collected for the most part.
Shall we talk about love interest? Well, there's James. Not quite sure how I feel about this pairing yet, as I feel the way they suddenly gravitated towards each other so quickly just did not flow right for me. I feel relationships that happen too quickly tend to make me less invested in the two characters journey together. I will save my judgement on it though until I read the rest of the series! I almost for a moment thought maybe Cass and Kara had a thing, but maybe it was just from the Web connection and having Silver bring her back. Who knows! Not I. Guess I'll see shortly! I am really interested to see where it goes, so I already have book 2 lined up and ready for reading.

This book had suspense and mystery around every corner. There's stil a lot that's unknown and a lot of people I still find suspicious, but I'm eager to see how things play out in book 2. I lost some interest in the middle because of something I can't explain without revealing too much, but it picked up again towards by the end in a big way.

I wasn’t really sure this was the kinda of book that was in the type of books I read. When it comes to several of the items that Ms. Murphrey connected to a few times … I was afraid that such an interesting story was going to turn into something that I just didn’t much care for. Boy was I was wrong.

A girl, Cassandra, is held captive in a cell for 8 yrs. After watching her hearing her parents murdered, and then seeing their bodies. She is abused for anything they believe is “wrong.” She never sees another child for this entire time. Her only company are two guards, who never talk to her. She is taken once a year for a physical.
Basically, there is not life in all of this. It is simply being held captive in a room where she is give food and exercise but pretty much nothing else. No communication with others, no education, no joy, no fun, no books … nothing but the cell they leave her in.

Until she is 13, when she hits puberty. Her captives decide to be a little sicker, and more twisted. She appears to others who are like her, who are going to do what they can to save her but in the end it comes down to Cassandra deciding what she must do to save herself. Who she must trust, who she must run from, and who she should learn from … even though she is pretty much a genius.

In this story, you might find a few mistakes. Here and there, but I am impressed by Ms. Murphrey’s beginnings. I am on book 2, Changeling, and her writing has grown as the story has grown.

This is one of those stories that is worth the time to read & enjoy!

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.

OK so I requested to read Vaun Murphrey’s first book which just happens to be the first book in her Weaver series. The description of the book caught my eye and when I noticed it was a series I also requested the additional books in the series. I have to admit that I was nervous about this one. I mean I requested three books from a series based on the description without even reading one of the books, what if I hated it and still had to read books two and three because I already said I would. Well WOOO let me tell you I’m glad I did it. I made myself sit down to start Chimera, before the end of the first chapter I was hooked. This is the story of Cassandra Rainbow, a girl who was taken after seeing her parents killed. She is then help prisoner until she turns thirteen, that is when her remaining family discover that she is still alive and breaker her out. When she is reunited with her mother’s brother, Uncle Gerome and his wife Maggie Cass learns who and what she is and why her parents were killed. We learn in this book that the human race is still evolving and Weavers are that evolution. But like with any people there are good and bad among them, then to add more we now know there is life out there.
I have to say that I'm very grateful because Ms. Murphrey has written a great book and I can’t wait to read them all!
** I was provided a copy of this story to read in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley. **

I actually quite enjoyed reading this book. It was funny and full of charisma. Its such a unique story and plot.

Chimera by Vaun Murphey grabbed me from the very first second, from the gorgeous cover, to the strange, gripping, and slightly disturbing first chapter. From there, we're thrust into a world of interesting powers, new people, and the rules of this world. I honestly got a bit bored during some of the initially world building, but it soon picked up and I was able to get into it, despite some of the narrative seeming a bit simple.

There are a lot of elements of realism in this book to keep it grounded, from illnesses to injuries to Cassandra's adjustment period to the normal world. I really enjoyed that element, which come Sci-Fi novels lack. I enjoyed reading this, and I will certainly be reading the sequels soon!

I liked the concept of the book; I thought it was unique, and I think the author made some interesting choices, and although there wasn't very much action; this book feels to me more like a set up novel, I still enjoyed it, and I was interested till the end. The age of the main character got in the way for me a bit, she's 13, but she doesn't act like a 13 year old, so it was odd, and the subject matter of this book is quite adult, so it was a bit jarring, and took me out of the story. I was going back and forth on giving it 3 or 4 stars, but I decided for 4 stars, mainly based on the unique concept, and I enjoyed the sassiness and intelligence of the main character, Cassandra. Cassandra has to deal with a lot of issues that are way too adult for a 13 year old, and I think she handle everything was beyond her years. I would forget how old she was, and when I did, I would enjoy the book more, but then it would be mentioned, and it would bring the book down for me. I'm going to read the next book in the series because I was entertained, and I look forward to seeing where the author goes with this.

Yes! This book is filled with action and takes you on a ride. I will be looking into the rest of the series.

I don't know why I selected this, because honestly, I thought it was going to be a little bit generic, that being said, this book had me pleasantly surprised, it was very surprising and very intriguing, I happily read in all in one sitting and look forward to reading more from this author