Chest of Bone (The Afterworld Chronicles #1)
Book ONE of The Afterworld Chronicles
by Vicki Stiefel
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Pub Date Feb 14 2017 | Archive Date Feb 21 2017
Description
As magical and mundane worlds retwine, empath and unawakened Mage Clea Reese must team up with the secretive and complex James Larrimer to hunt her mentor’s killer and stop the forces of corruption from obtaining the elusive Chest of Bone, the ultimate source of otherworldly power.
As Clea’s beloved mentor Dave Cochran lays dying, tortured by a sadistic killer, he unlocks her nascent Mage powers, tasks her to find a mysterious chest and guard his daughter, Lulu.
Not that Clea believes in “real” magic or understands she’s becoming The Key. She’s focused on revenge—on ending the man who destroyed her world.
Point man in hunting Cochran’s killer, James Larrimer is a predator who pursues endangered-animal traders. Or so it appears. Unbeknownst to Clea, Larrimer’s prime directive is to obtain the most exotic creature of all—Clea Reese.
Forces both powerful and strange align against them, as they, too, seek the all-powerful Chest. Only Clea and Larrimer stand between these malignant forces—self righteous in belief and unfettered by conscience—and their ruthless quest.
None of the players are prepared for the fusion of Clea’s and Larrimer’s song, a wild and harmonic resonance which can bind one to the other.
With the lives of those they love at stake, drawn inexorably to one another, will deception and death destroy Clea’s and Larrimer’s song? Or can they ferret out the killer, reclaim the Chest of Bone, and defeat their enemies, the most powerful of which may be their own conflicted natures?
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781620077412 |
| PRICE | $5.99 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Chelon P, Reviewer
You have to be patient with this one, took 3 days to get to 20% but once you make it it's worth it. This one sneaks up on you, the first 28% made me crazy way to much going on, all happening at once. It is a crazy, convoluted, WTF kind of book because, she throws everything in here and I do mean everything. But you end up caring about the characters and their relationships, and by the end I was eager for the next book. So don't let the unique writing style scare you off, take a breath and keep going it's worth it.
Dawn S, Reviewer
I liked it!
I found the story to be exciting, action packed and tense. Really the first few pages just grabbed you and you were just holding on for dear life. Then, the story kind of faltered. You knew what had to happen, but it took several unnecessary chapters to come to fruition. Clea was fantastic as the lead, but I was wishing she discovered more about her magic--since there are 5 boxes, and 1 has been found, then there are 4 more books. James was also fantastic, but I got a little tired of the stone face--i knew they were 'mates' from the start, i thought that could have been stepped up a little. It would have been nice to delve a little bit more into Tommy's background, we did get an inkling of the darkness in him during a memory with Cleo, and it would also have been nice to find out who this mysterious Tanya was. Bernadette, who was an integral part to the story, was also glossed over. We figured out she was Fae, from Clea's interaction with Charles, and then she died....There was a huge buildup to the facedown with Tommy which was a little disappointing.
Overall, I read the book quite fast, it was a great book, but could have been shorter and had the same impact, or the length could have been kept with a little more in depth into the interesting characters that kept popping up. Who is the Union, Tava, what's up with Bob????
Andi B, Reviewer
Chest of Bone by Vicki Stiefel was a wild ride. Stiefel has created a very complex world, and my gut tells me that Chest of Bone is only giving us a small peek.
I will say, the first quarter of the book requires you to really pay attention, and at times seems to be a little chaotic. Hang in there because once Stiefel has the stage set, you are off the races for the rest of the book!
I loved Clea. She was strong and smart. I loved she knitted while interrogating. I also respected her strong sense of loyalty. She didn't trust easily, but she understood loyalty and family, even if it was the family you made. WHERE can I get a Larrimer? I wanted one of my own as soon as we met him, but dragon dude is just what Clea needs as she looks for the chest and avenge her mentor's death.
I am looking forward to seeing where Clea, Lulu and Larrimer go from here. You will want to explore more of Stiefel's characters and worlds, and I have the feeling she's just getting started!
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