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Chimera Chronicles #1
Secrets in the Dark
Be Careful What You Wish For…
Hiding from bullies in the town cemetery seemed like a good idea. Right up until we fell through a creepy secret doorway into a magic land called Chimera.
That certainly changed things. My friends think change is cool. But me? Not so much. What’s wrong with how things are?
I mean, it’s already pretty weird around here!
In our town, people still talk about that time twelve years ago — the year we were born — as THE STRANGEST YEAR EVER. Yeah, like that. ALL CAPS.
Turns out, only someone born that year can get through the secret doorway.
Too bad school doesn’t teach what’s really important. Like what to do about fog that smells so bad you can barely breathe. Or an enchanted forest where you can get lost forever, and shrieking monsters that want to eat you for lunch.
Or what to do when everything you say can trigger a magic spell. Actually, some spells are pretty cool, but others — Ugh!
My friends and I promised to keep Chimera a secret, but that’s hard when you go there every month. Especially when the town bullies keep trying to make you tell them all about it.
Who knew being born in THE STRANGEST YEAR EVER could change…everything!
Hiding from bullies in the town cemetery seemed like a good idea. Right up until we fell through a creepy secret doorway into a magic land called Chimera.
That certainly changed things. My friends think change is cool. But me? Not so much. What’s wrong with how things are?
I mean, it’s already pretty weird around here!
In our town, people still talk about that time twelve years ago — the year we were born — as THE STRANGEST YEAR EVER. Yeah, like that. ALL CAPS.
Turns out, only someone born that year can get through the secret doorway.
Too bad school doesn’t teach what’s really important. Like what to do about fog that smells so bad you can barely breathe. Or an enchanted forest where you can get lost forever, and shrieking monsters that want to eat you for lunch.
Or what to do when everything you say can trigger a magic spell. Actually, some spells are pretty cool, but others — Ugh!
My friends and I promised to keep Chimera a secret, but that’s hard when you go there every month. Especially when the town bullies keep trying to make you tell them all about it.
Who knew being born in THE STRANGEST YEAR EVER could change…everything!
- GenresFantasy
Kindle Edition
First published December 15, 2012
3 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
K.D. Blakely
5 booksKaren - KD - Blakely believes life is better when you’re owned by a cat. And that you should never leave home without a book.
After reading Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time in fourth grade, Karen knew she wanted to be a writer. Though she refuses to show her early efforts, after joining a fantastic writers group and participating in conferences and retreats, she is thrilled to have achieved that goal.
Her current middle grade/YA fantasy series, The Chimera Chronicles, plunges five friends into a realm of magic and monsters, separated from our world by a secret doorway that few can enter. What begins as an innocent exploration of a strange and fascinating land becomes a dangerous quest for answers.
Available in June 2019, Karen joined four other writer friends for a retelling of Beauty and the Beast — with a twist.
In late 2019, Audrey Murphy — a story of ghosts, greed and redemption — will be available, followed by the first book in the Dark Seighly paranormal romance series — focused around a hidden town guarding a monstrous gateway for more than 800 years.
Find her at www.Kat-Tales.net and Stonehenge Circle Writers (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
After reading Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time in fourth grade, Karen knew she wanted to be a writer. Though she refuses to show her early efforts, after joining a fantastic writers group and participating in conferences and retreats, she is thrilled to have achieved that goal.
Her current middle grade/YA fantasy series, The Chimera Chronicles, plunges five friends into a realm of magic and monsters, separated from our world by a secret doorway that few can enter. What begins as an innocent exploration of a strange and fascinating land becomes a dangerous quest for answers.
Available in June 2019, Karen joined four other writer friends for a retelling of Beauty and the Beast — with a twist.
In late 2019, Audrey Murphy — a story of ghosts, greed and redemption — will be available, followed by the first book in the Dark Seighly paranormal romance series — focused around a hidden town guarding a monstrous gateway for more than 800 years.
Find her at www.Kat-Tales.net and Stonehenge Circle Writers (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 17, 2012
This is a fabulous book. A group of middle school friends fall into a whole new world (literally) when hiding from a group of bullies. The new world is intriguing and dangerous and vividly described. There are quite a few characters but the author did a wonderful job keeping each on distinct and interesting. Secrets in the Dark is the first book of a series and I can't wait to read the rest and learn more about each character as they grow older and find out more about this mysterious new world, Chimera. Fans of Harry Potter will find this book an enjoyable read and must have for their library.
April 30, 2013
Too many italicized words and notes to self.....uh yeah. No thanks. I didn't make it through many chapters before I decided I wasn't going to waste my time.
Not for me.
Not for me.
December 2, 2019
The book absolutey great.
June 2, 2013
Secrets in the Dark follows the adventures of Kat and her two best friends–who definitely didn’t expect to fall into a magic world, when they were just trying to hide from a group of bullies. They discover that an old tree in the town cemetary is a portal to another realm. Every full moon, they and their friends can pass through to the magical world of Chimera. It would be great…if the bullies didn’t keep following them, and if something hadn’t gone horribly wrong in Chimera, causing everyone living there to disappear.
This story is a lot of fun, and very engaging throughout. The characters are my favorite part. There’s a big cast of kids, but I never had trouble keeping people straight or telling them apart–and I’m not very good at that! Kat is part of a group of five and there are four people in the group of bullies, so that’s quite a few people…but they all come to life as clear and distinct. Kat and her friends all have their quirks, as well as their strengths and their flaws, and I particularly enjoy how they all have to work together with their different skills to deal with the challenges of Chimera.
Kat is a very likable narrator. She’s not perfect but she is appealing, making for the best kind of heroine. She’s twelve-going-on-thirteen, and is struggling to accept how much her world is changing. It’s a very believable and sympathetic part of her character, and so appropriate for her age.
My favorite character may be one of Kat’s friends, Brady. He’s super-intelligent, and talks that way. His dialogue and the way he sees the world is so entertaining. There’s also one major older character, Kat’s sister-in law, Ronny. She has a special connection to Chimera, and does not always fit comfortably in the normal world. In particular, she constantly gets sayings wrong–like “slow and steady wins with grace,” or “the grass is always cleaner on the other side of the fence.” So much fun–and sometimes her sayings make a strange amount of sense!
I’ll end with one of my favorite aspects of the story: thanks to a wish that came true in an unexpected way, all the kids have familiars when they’re in Chimera. The story is just asking for promotional-tie-in stuffed animals. :) Kat and her friends have fun and adorable animals like a tiny owl, a cat and a fox. They don’t talk, but they’re intelligent and often help as the kids explore the world. The bullies, on the other hand, get rather nasty animals like a rat and a pig, which they keep trying to chase away. It really makes me want a familiar…and who wouldn’t want a chance to explore a magical world?
This story is a lot of fun, and very engaging throughout. The characters are my favorite part. There’s a big cast of kids, but I never had trouble keeping people straight or telling them apart–and I’m not very good at that! Kat is part of a group of five and there are four people in the group of bullies, so that’s quite a few people…but they all come to life as clear and distinct. Kat and her friends all have their quirks, as well as their strengths and their flaws, and I particularly enjoy how they all have to work together with their different skills to deal with the challenges of Chimera.
Kat is a very likable narrator. She’s not perfect but she is appealing, making for the best kind of heroine. She’s twelve-going-on-thirteen, and is struggling to accept how much her world is changing. It’s a very believable and sympathetic part of her character, and so appropriate for her age.
My favorite character may be one of Kat’s friends, Brady. He’s super-intelligent, and talks that way. His dialogue and the way he sees the world is so entertaining. There’s also one major older character, Kat’s sister-in law, Ronny. She has a special connection to Chimera, and does not always fit comfortably in the normal world. In particular, she constantly gets sayings wrong–like “slow and steady wins with grace,” or “the grass is always cleaner on the other side of the fence.” So much fun–and sometimes her sayings make a strange amount of sense!
I’ll end with one of my favorite aspects of the story: thanks to a wish that came true in an unexpected way, all the kids have familiars when they’re in Chimera. The story is just asking for promotional-tie-in stuffed animals. :) Kat and her friends have fun and adorable animals like a tiny owl, a cat and a fox. They don’t talk, but they’re intelligent and often help as the kids explore the world. The bullies, on the other hand, get rather nasty animals like a rat and a pig, which they keep trying to chase away. It really makes me want a familiar…and who wouldn’t want a chance to explore a magical world?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews