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Dark World #1
Cage
Computer nerd, Cyra, finds herself crashed and trapped within a cage on a distant planet. When the walls to her jail come down two buff, commando aliens are staring at her. Their camouflage stripes aren’t fatigues but the color of their naked skin. Uninterested in her, they leave with the prize they sought, a strange, wild, flying beast enclosed within the larger cage with her. Cyra, knowing she’s no longer on Earth, follows the males.
Cage is in possession of a great power; he is leader of his Cloud Flyer tribe. His mate is gone, presumed dead. Cage learns that he can no longer reproduce a male heir to keep his all-male tribe safe. The human he encounters, after receiving that devastating blow, is lucky he lets it live.
But it’s not that lucky for Cyra. Cage has discovered a weapon in her fears. With his new abilities, Cage plans to steal another’s mate. War will wage, as a dark new world follows.
Cage is in possession of a great power; he is leader of his Cloud Flyer tribe. His mate is gone, presumed dead. Cage learns that he can no longer reproduce a male heir to keep his all-male tribe safe. The human he encounters, after receiving that devastating blow, is lucky he lets it live.
But it’s not that lucky for Cyra. Cage has discovered a weapon in her fears. With his new abilities, Cage plans to steal another’s mate. War will wage, as a dark new world follows.
124 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
22 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
C.L. Scholey
98 books457 followersBorn and raised in Ontario, C. L. Scholey developed her passion for writing through her love of reading books as a child. Her first book was contracted in Oct 2009 the very same month her first grand son was born. C. L. Scholey still lives in Ontario, in a rural community with her husband and daughter.
From the author:
Hello, I'm Connie! Now that we've met how about I tell you a little about me? I love to write, it's like having a super power.
I was born and raised in Ontario...yes I'm Canadian, no I don't live in an igloo, no I've never pet a polar bear, but I have run into a few black bears, seen wolves, moose, coyotes and I think there's a hundred pound squirrel in my attic.
I spend as much time as I can get away with looking for rocks in Bancroft. When I'm not in Bancroft I live in a small town, so people know me when they see me. Some ask me what I'm working on--some even ask me in a regular voice not a whisper.
I get bored easily, it's why one day I'll be working on assassins, the next Sci-fi, then Vikings, then vampires, then planning world domination--wait, what?
Moving on. I love animals and we have a dog, 120p mastiff. He's great with the kids and careful around them, but he'd run me over for a piece of bologna. Otherwise he loves us.
If you want to get to know me better join me on FB or twitter. Right now I need to change back into a mom, it's my best super power.
From the author:
Hello, I'm Connie! Now that we've met how about I tell you a little about me? I love to write, it's like having a super power.
I was born and raised in Ontario...yes I'm Canadian, no I don't live in an igloo, no I've never pet a polar bear, but I have run into a few black bears, seen wolves, moose, coyotes and I think there's a hundred pound squirrel in my attic.
I spend as much time as I can get away with looking for rocks in Bancroft. When I'm not in Bancroft I live in a small town, so people know me when they see me. Some ask me what I'm working on--some even ask me in a regular voice not a whisper.
I get bored easily, it's why one day I'll be working on assassins, the next Sci-fi, then Vikings, then vampires, then planning world domination--wait, what?
Moving on. I love animals and we have a dog, 120p mastiff. He's great with the kids and careful around them, but he'd run me over for a piece of bologna. Otherwise he loves us.
If you want to get to know me better join me on FB or twitter. Right now I need to change back into a mom, it's my best super power.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
February 8, 2015
Not my favorite from Ms. Scholey.
The world, warriors and idea are interesting. However the main character, Cyra did not endear herself to me at all. Ms. Scholey's female characters are usually full of wit and spunk. But, I felt Cyra fell flat and lacked those endearing qualities I so look forward too. Throughout the story I wanted to scream "dear god woman see someone about your "problem"....keagles even!".... which to me became irritating with it's frequency.
I will most likely give the second book a go, because I do love this Author, in hopes...
The world, warriors and idea are interesting. However the main character, Cyra did not endear herself to me at all. Ms. Scholey's female characters are usually full of wit and spunk. But, I felt Cyra fell flat and lacked those endearing qualities I so look forward too. Throughout the story I wanted to scream "dear god woman see someone about your "problem"....keagles even!".... which to me became irritating with it's frequency.
I will most likely give the second book a go, because I do love this Author, in hopes...
March 10, 2015
I highly anticipate any C.L. Scholey book and bought this as soon as it was released without reading the blurb. Usually a C.L. Scholey book has strong world building, tender alpha males and solid heroines. Cage, unfortunately fails in all these aspects.
Earth's fate is very different from the wreckage depicted in the New World and Unearthly World series. Earth is still livable and humans have come to cherish children to the point of obsession. Every child has a privileged education which includes international travel and experiences at the cost of interactions with the environment due to perceived threats. Earth also has a commercialism/consumerism issue where people are obtaining new products when the last one is only months old. This causes a waste disposal issue on Earth, where the solution is to dump these near-new items into space (no mention though, about where the resources were sourced from to create these products). The result is a generation of spoilt, smart arsed, phobic, wasteful and socially irresponsible people.
Cyra, our heroine, is one of Earth's best computer somethings. We never really know what she does, whether she's a computer engineer, programmer, analyst or heck, a tech support operator. All we know is that she's brilliant. She's also quite charmless and annoying with a perchance to piddle herself when she's scared. Honestly it's the most unromantic and unsexy thing when the heroine is pissing herself for the first 50% of the book.
On the other hand, our hero Cage is the leader of his group of warriors of the Cloud Flyer tribe. As the leader, he was born by parents whereas his tribe were created and ejected from a sacred mountain where everyone except leaders are created. Cage is conscious of this biological clock ticking and cooks up a plan to steal a woman from another tribe to mate with despite knowing that there is only one woman created from the mountain for each leader and that by doing this, he is tearing up the social fabric of his world.
While I'm relieved that there is no instalove or instalust in this series so far, I just can't get into a story where the hero gets his kicks out of terrifying the heroine into peeing herself just so that he can harvest her fears so that he can transform into these creatures and threaten other tribe leaders when stealing their women. That's kinda low in my estimation.
From about the 60% mark, the story did get better once Cage committed to the fact that Cyra was his mate and stopped scaring the shit out of her, but it wasn't enough to redeem the book. It is revealed towards the end that Cyra is part of a bigger picture in the upcoming war and that somehow her computer skills are transferable for a spaceship engineer's as she starts building a spaceship from rubbish. We also conveniently learn that she's been forewarned of the upcoming battle through a series of dreams she had as a kid where she played with the heroines of the future books in this series.
If you haven't picked it up from my review yet, this was a really far fetched plot with weak, unlikeable characters. I don't think I'll follow the Dark World series and implore C.L. Sholey to focus on her New World/Unearthly World books instead.
Earth's fate is very different from the wreckage depicted in the New World and Unearthly World series. Earth is still livable and humans have come to cherish children to the point of obsession. Every child has a privileged education which includes international travel and experiences at the cost of interactions with the environment due to perceived threats. Earth also has a commercialism/consumerism issue where people are obtaining new products when the last one is only months old. This causes a waste disposal issue on Earth, where the solution is to dump these near-new items into space (no mention though, about where the resources were sourced from to create these products). The result is a generation of spoilt, smart arsed, phobic, wasteful and socially irresponsible people.
Cyra, our heroine, is one of Earth's best computer somethings. We never really know what she does, whether she's a computer engineer, programmer, analyst or heck, a tech support operator. All we know is that she's brilliant. She's also quite charmless and annoying with a perchance to piddle herself when she's scared. Honestly it's the most unromantic and unsexy thing when the heroine is pissing herself for the first 50% of the book.
On the other hand, our hero Cage is the leader of his group of warriors of the Cloud Flyer tribe. As the leader, he was born by parents whereas his tribe were created and ejected from a sacred mountain where everyone except leaders are created. Cage is conscious of this biological clock ticking and cooks up a plan to steal a woman from another tribe to mate with despite knowing that there is only one woman created from the mountain for each leader and that by doing this, he is tearing up the social fabric of his world.
While I'm relieved that there is no instalove or instalust in this series so far, I just can't get into a story where the hero gets his kicks out of terrifying the heroine into peeing herself just so that he can harvest her fears so that he can transform into these creatures and threaten other tribe leaders when stealing their women. That's kinda low in my estimation.
From about the 60% mark, the story did get better once Cage committed to the fact that Cyra was his mate and stopped scaring the shit out of her, but it wasn't enough to redeem the book. It is revealed towards the end that Cyra is part of a bigger picture in the upcoming war and that somehow her computer skills are transferable for a spaceship engineer's as she starts building a spaceship from rubbish. We also conveniently learn that she's been forewarned of the upcoming battle through a series of dreams she had as a kid where she played with the heroines of the future books in this series.
If you haven't picked it up from my review yet, this was a really far fetched plot with weak, unlikeable characters. I don't think I'll follow the Dark World series and implore C.L. Sholey to focus on her New World/Unearthly World books instead.
May 31, 2017
OK, so i get it. Computer nerds. Not something you would associate with great deeds of valour and immense courage. But really now. Really. Please. I understand that you're a computer analyst, Cyra, and not a warrior goddess in the making or the saviour of the universe, but you have a small problem.
Or several.
Normally when you have to go, you have to go. I get that. Every human in possession of a bladder gets that. But girl... that often? I do have grandparents so i know about this stuff to a degree, and my recommendation would either be Detrol, Ditropan or Mirabegron. Just... take something and stop embarrassing the entire human race all over the galaxy. At some point it just became unbearable. I wanted her to get eaten by a dino or something just so she would stop being a useless creature. But do we get this?
NO!
Because unfortunately she's the MC and she cannot die in pain as much as we collectively wish for it. Just go with the flow
It seemed that Cyra's super power was focused on getting so scared that she always lost control of her bladder. If that wasn't specific enough to demonstrate my point, yes, this book utterly lacks character development. For her as well as for her very uninterested and uninteresting alien named Cage.
I know. It's a very alien name. One simply wonders how you can pronounce it.
The writing style is not neat. The sentences could have been better phrased. The plot could have had more drama, action building and believable momentum. The orthography made me cringe a bit and try to pretend that i was imagining the missing commas, the wrong use of em dashes and so on and so forth. Please don't ask about the repetitions and stilled sentences. Those bugged me a lot.
And you know what the best part is? Her giddy accomplishment at the end? The great goal she had been striving for? Th ultimate success? THE DAMN CROWNING GLORY OF THIS BOOK AND THE EPIC CONCLUSION?
*drumming crescendo noise*
Exactly.
That's it.
I will repeat it in case it wasn't clear enough.
She. Is. Proud. Of. Finally. Not. Peeing. Her. Pants.
The End.
I've read most of C.L. Scholey's books and I started noticing a pattern. Shoving a whole bunch of SF in her novels to mask the lack of world building, character development and action progress. You might not notice it at first, but if you have read around 2 of her alien series, this flaw is abundantly obvious.
I am sorry to say this, but
Or several.
Normally when you have to go, you have to go. I get that. Every human in possession of a bladder gets that. But girl... that often? I do have grandparents so i know about this stuff to a degree, and my recommendation would either be Detrol, Ditropan or Mirabegron. Just... take something and stop embarrassing the entire human race all over the galaxy. At some point it just became unbearable. I wanted her to get eaten by a dino or something just so she would stop being a useless creature. But do we get this?
NO!
Because unfortunately she's the MC and she cannot die in pain as much as we collectively wish for it. Just go with the flow
It seemed that Cyra's super power was focused on getting so scared that she always lost control of her bladder. If that wasn't specific enough to demonstrate my point, yes, this book utterly lacks character development. For her as well as for her very uninterested and uninteresting alien named Cage.
I know. It's a very alien name. One simply wonders how you can pronounce it.
The writing style is not neat. The sentences could have been better phrased. The plot could have had more drama, action building and believable momentum. The orthography made me cringe a bit and try to pretend that i was imagining the missing commas, the wrong use of em dashes and so on and so forth. Please don't ask about the repetitions and stilled sentences. Those bugged me a lot.
And you know what the best part is? Her giddy accomplishment at the end? The great goal she had been striving for? Th ultimate success? THE DAMN CROWNING GLORY OF THIS BOOK AND THE EPIC CONCLUSION?
*drumming crescendo noise*
Exactly.That's it.
I will repeat it in case it wasn't clear enough.
She. Is. Proud. Of. Finally. Not. Peeing. Her. Pants.
The End.
I've read most of C.L. Scholey's books and I started noticing a pattern. Shoving a whole bunch of SF in her novels to mask the lack of world building, character development and action progress. You might not notice it at first, but if you have read around 2 of her alien series, this flaw is abundantly obvious.
I am sorry to say this, but
September 27, 2017
DNF! 1.5 Stars...
This was a disaster roller coaster! Just a very frustrating read with WTF moments and full of nonsense! NONSENSE!!!!!
Literally halfway I was like...
Computer nerd, Cyra, finds herself crashed and trapped within a cage on a distant planet. She's found by alien men who can shift into beings or animals of your worst nightmares. They can see the image in your head and just transform into it. And heroin is scared of course... Alien hero takes her as a pet because she has vivid images of her fears. After that, things go loco... Pee shower party! NOT.
YES. Pee... Heroin pees like 70% of the book. Obviously scared but then it just turns into this cute habit? NOT!
It goes from acceptable to too much... Heroin's virtues are zero, zip- nada.
Hero... Not likable. He's an a-hole! Not interested in heroine and treats her poorly most of the time. Scares her on purpose and uses her.
There is no indication of a possible relationship between these two. There is no attraction from my point of view and though it tries to set a slow burn, that does not happen. They hate each other and suddenly they love each other... I didn't believe it, sorry.
As to the plot... Well, what can I say?
Its hard to see one beyond the pee...
It goes from hate, to love, to destined and then to epic foretold human female immigration!
World building. None existent.
No romance...
Flat one-dimensional characters...
Awkward pace and no memorable scenes.
I gave it a 1 star cause I thought the hero had kind of a cool power. Shift into what he sees in the minds of others. Convenient and cool.
I don't recommend this because of its false advertising. There is no romance here. No real Sci-Fi elements. I bid you farewell and may your next reads be fab!
This was a disaster roller coaster! Just a very frustrating read with WTF moments and full of nonsense! NONSENSE!!!!!
Literally halfway I was like...
Computer nerd, Cyra, finds herself crashed and trapped within a cage on a distant planet. She's found by alien men who can shift into beings or animals of your worst nightmares. They can see the image in your head and just transform into it. And heroin is scared of course... Alien hero takes her as a pet because she has vivid images of her fears. After that, things go loco... Pee shower party! NOT.
YES. Pee... Heroin pees like 70% of the book. Obviously scared but then it just turns into this cute habit? NOT!
It goes from acceptable to too much... Heroin's virtues are zero, zip- nada.
Hero... Not likable. He's an a-hole! Not interested in heroine and treats her poorly most of the time. Scares her on purpose and uses her.
There is no indication of a possible relationship between these two. There is no attraction from my point of view and though it tries to set a slow burn, that does not happen. They hate each other and suddenly they love each other... I didn't believe it, sorry.
As to the plot... Well, what can I say?
Its hard to see one beyond the pee...
It goes from hate, to love, to destined and then to epic foretold human female immigration!
World building. None existent.
No romance...
Flat one-dimensional characters...
Awkward pace and no memorable scenes.
I gave it a 1 star cause I thought the hero had kind of a cool power. Shift into what he sees in the minds of others. Convenient and cool.
I don't recommend this because of its false advertising. There is no romance here. No real Sci-Fi elements. I bid you farewell and may your next reads be fab!
February 4, 2015
Uhm… not anywhere near one of my favorites from this author but it was an interesting new world. More fantasy to me than science fiction, but now that the foundation is set for the series there’s hope that the next books will do better.
April 23, 2016
DNF 80%
What the heck was I just reading? Honestly I didn't mind all the pee... but this story is too ridiculous even for me! Cyra crashes onto an unknown planet after flying through a blackhole in a toilet... seriously. She follows some natives who find her in one of their traps and ends up helping Cage, their leader by adding to his repertoire of scary beasts. He is a shape shifter and the only guy in the 'all guy' tribe, that can communicate with her. He is on a mission to capture another leader's mate as his seems to have gone missing. He never met her, but she wasn't where she was supposed to be at the appointed time. What he plans to do is pretty despicable and his men and Cyra and even he knows it. But he does it anyways. Of course we know he will end up with Cyra, and then he's suddenly all into her, though he could find nothing he liked about her before. He isn't at all contrite. Then the story takes a dive off the deep end of silliness. Yes, more silly than toilets and heroines who constantly pee in fear. The story becomes all about mystical destiny and building a spaceship out of a dump and a mysterious evil about to take over the Universe. Skimmed the sex scenes and then found I'd skimmed the last 20% of the book. Had to ask myself why I was still reading it...
What the heck was I just reading? Honestly I didn't mind all the pee... but this story is too ridiculous even for me! Cyra crashes onto an unknown planet after flying through a blackhole in a toilet... seriously. She follows some natives who find her in one of their traps and ends up helping Cage, their leader by adding to his repertoire of scary beasts. He is a shape shifter and the only guy in the 'all guy' tribe, that can communicate with her. He is on a mission to capture another leader's mate as his seems to have gone missing. He never met her, but she wasn't where she was supposed to be at the appointed time. What he plans to do is pretty despicable and his men and Cyra and even he knows it. But he does it anyways. Of course we know he will end up with Cyra, and then he's suddenly all into her, though he could find nothing he liked about her before. He isn't at all contrite. Then the story takes a dive off the deep end of silliness. Yes, more silly than toilets and heroines who constantly pee in fear. The story becomes all about mystical destiny and building a spaceship out of a dump and a mysterious evil about to take over the Universe. Skimmed the sex scenes and then found I'd skimmed the last 20% of the book. Had to ask myself why I was still reading it...
May 19, 2015
Cyra is the government's smartest computer analyst they have, she travels the earth and beyond 'fixing' their problems. The shuttle she's riding in hits some galaxy debris and causes Cyra to crash. As Cyra comes to on what she thinks is Earth, she meets some very large, very different men.
Cage is the ruler of one of the tribes on this planet doesn't know what to do with the human woman that he finds in his territory. After Cage makes some very bad decisions, Cyra, helps him do what she feels is right. As they progress, Cyra, seems to have déjà vu about this planet and its people.
Together when the planet is attacked, Cage's warriors and other tribes join together after Cyra sees the solution. Cyra also sees other things in her and Cage's future. Can they save the planet and be together? Is a mere human enough for Cage.
I completely enjoyed this book. This is the first time I've read this author and I can't wait to read more of her work. She's very descriptive and magnetic, pulling you in with her words. It's hard to believe this story is in the science fiction genre.
Cage is the ruler of one of the tribes on this planet doesn't know what to do with the human woman that he finds in his territory. After Cage makes some very bad decisions, Cyra, helps him do what she feels is right. As they progress, Cyra, seems to have déjà vu about this planet and its people.
Together when the planet is attacked, Cage's warriors and other tribes join together after Cyra sees the solution. Cyra also sees other things in her and Cage's future. Can they save the planet and be together? Is a mere human enough for Cage.
I completely enjoyed this book. This is the first time I've read this author and I can't wait to read more of her work. She's very descriptive and magnetic, pulling you in with her words. It's hard to believe this story is in the science fiction genre.
February 3, 2015
great new series
This first book of a new series by the extremely talented author C.L. Scholey was eagerly anticipated by myself and once again, I was certainly not disappointed! Ms. Scholey excels at creating imaginative new worlds in her books. The heroine in this story is accidentally deposited on an unknown planet after the ship she was in crashed. I thought it was interesting and a little amusing that the cause of the crash was because Earth started dumping it's trash in space. The hero is the leader of a tribe of males whose reality is much different than humans. I enjoyed the interactions between the two main characters a lot. They eventually begin to see that this was all part of a bigger cosmic plan, and that they are the beginning of a planet wide change that is necessary in order for their race to survive. I'm really looking forward to the next book, which will be Roar's story. Well done Ms. Scholey! Another great read from one of my favorite authors!
This first book of a new series by the extremely talented author C.L. Scholey was eagerly anticipated by myself and once again, I was certainly not disappointed! Ms. Scholey excels at creating imaginative new worlds in her books. The heroine in this story is accidentally deposited on an unknown planet after the ship she was in crashed. I thought it was interesting and a little amusing that the cause of the crash was because Earth started dumping it's trash in space. The hero is the leader of a tribe of males whose reality is much different than humans. I enjoyed the interactions between the two main characters a lot. They eventually begin to see that this was all part of a bigger cosmic plan, and that they are the beginning of a planet wide change that is necessary in order for their race to survive. I'm really looking forward to the next book, which will be Roar's story. Well done Ms. Scholey! Another great read from one of my favorite authors!
February 15, 2015
Just started this series. Really enjoyed this book. I am now going to read another book called "Engulf".
June 22, 2015
Review of Cage by C.L. Scholey
1.5 stars.
I’ll start off with the most positive thing the author has going for her (because it gets worse from here). The author gets major kudos for integrating syfy and the paranormal. She has created an interesting world with interesting aliens (who have paranormal attributes). Maybe Scholey has missed her calling as a consultant/concept designer for the video game industry. They look for new ideas for new worlds and new character traits (such as new species).
As for the plot, Scholey had many ideas but none of them were really well developed. It’s an unremarkable plot. If she focused more on the controversial ideas she’s mentioned (in passing) and took the time to develop them, she could have elevated this book.
Character and character development: yeah... not believable. Furthermore, I wasn’t sold on the romantic relationship between the two characters. It was absolutely unbelievable and really forced. They go from not caring about one another to loving each other after some new evidence comes to light. It is only after Cage learns that
What also didn’t work was Cyra was given the interesting characteristic of needing to urinate whenever frightened. Now, initially that was an interesting trait, but the author uses this characteristic as a crutch whenever the plot gets dull. Things get boring? Let’s scare Cyra and have her pee. Things get boring again? Well, I’ve just scared Cyra in the last scene, so let’s make fun of her in this scene—make some sort of ‘did you pee yourself yet?’ joke. And rinse and repeat. I’ve lost count the number of times Cyra peed herself.
Lastly, the writing just passes the level of acceptable. There were only two lines that I liked. After looking at Scholey’s book list (as of this review, she has 40 distinct works), you’d expect that someone who’s penned that many books would have become a much better writer. Sadly, Scholey hasn’t. She has many awkward sentences, and her pacing is horrible. She hasn’t learned the art of creating dramatic tension by choosing which sentences go where, how much to cut out from a sentence, when a really short sentence would give it a spark, when to insert a new paragraph break for dramatic tension, or better yet, the one word paragraphs, and lastly, her punctuation shows that she doesn’t know what she’s doing (and she doesn’t make the same error consistently). I have found so many missing commas, comma splices, improper use of other punctuation that I want to point Scholey and her editor in the direction of a grammar textbook.
In regards to her writing, here are a few examples of where the fix is easy:
If the Scholey was clearer, she could have avoided losing my credibility in chapter 1. Her casual use of ‘black hole’ is misleading. Because from what I read here, I’m wondering if she’s ever passed grade 10 science. That sentence just defies how a black hole works. She should have clarified that this wasn’t what we traditionally think of when we hear ‘black hole.’ Unfortunately, she waits until near the end of the book to clarify that these ‘black holes’ are literally black holes and not a star that has collapsed onto itself, emitting a great gravity. She should have named these space holes something else.
The last sentence is too much. A simple change to the last sentence would fix this: a) “Death by a crapper.” b) “What a crappy death.” Using both crapper and crappy together is overkill.
That’s not how em-dashes work, Scholey.
Comma splice. Correction: She had traveled Earth before. Linking monorails over nations gave citizens access to any country [...]
There are a bunch more errors. Some repetitive ones were the missing comma. It was prevalent in the lack of the addressive comma (sometimes Scholey used it, and sometimes she didn’t) (e.g. How do you do, Jenny?), and in If statements (e.g. If I work, I get paid).
Whatever the origins of the publisher Whiskey Creek Press are, I’d steer clear of them. Clearly they haven’t done their job in the editing department. If you’re expecting them to elevate your book—well don’t.
My advice to Scholey is read outside of the romance genre and read different styles of writing. Study how other authors deal with pacing. Then, write many short stories completely outside of your genre. In this case, don’t write romance, syfy, and paranormal. Afterwards, write a short romance but leave out the syfy and paranormal. The idea here is to break old habits. Get better at plotting, character development, and pacing. Scholey depends too heavily on Syfy and the paranormal to mask her weaknesses. And it doesn’t work.
1.5 stars.
I’ll start off with the most positive thing the author has going for her (because it gets worse from here). The author gets major kudos for integrating syfy and the paranormal. She has created an interesting world with interesting aliens (who have paranormal attributes). Maybe Scholey has missed her calling as a consultant/concept designer for the video game industry. They look for new ideas for new worlds and new character traits (such as new species).
As for the plot, Scholey had many ideas but none of them were really well developed. It’s an unremarkable plot. If she focused more on the controversial ideas she’s mentioned (in passing) and took the time to develop them, she could have elevated this book.
Character and character development: yeah... not believable. Furthermore, I wasn’t sold on the romantic relationship between the two characters. It was absolutely unbelievable and really forced. They go from not caring about one another to loving each other after some new evidence comes to light. It is only after Cage learns that
What also didn’t work was Cyra was given the interesting characteristic of needing to urinate whenever frightened. Now, initially that was an interesting trait, but the author uses this characteristic as a crutch whenever the plot gets dull. Things get boring? Let’s scare Cyra and have her pee. Things get boring again? Well, I’ve just scared Cyra in the last scene, so let’s make fun of her in this scene—make some sort of ‘did you pee yourself yet?’ joke. And rinse and repeat. I’ve lost count the number of times Cyra peed herself.
Lastly, the writing just passes the level of acceptable. There were only two lines that I liked. After looking at Scholey’s book list (as of this review, she has 40 distinct works), you’d expect that someone who’s penned that many books would have become a much better writer. Sadly, Scholey hasn’t. She has many awkward sentences, and her pacing is horrible. She hasn’t learned the art of creating dramatic tension by choosing which sentences go where, how much to cut out from a sentence, when a really short sentence would give it a spark, when to insert a new paragraph break for dramatic tension, or better yet, the one word paragraphs, and lastly, her punctuation shows that she doesn’t know what she’s doing (and she doesn’t make the same error consistently). I have found so many missing commas, comma splices, improper use of other punctuation that I want to point Scholey and her editor in the direction of a grammar textbook.
In regards to her writing, here are a few examples of where the fix is easy:
The black hole came closer as the captain spewed more profanities
If the Scholey was clearer, she could have avoided losing my credibility in chapter 1. Her casual use of ‘black hole’ is misleading. Because from what I read here, I’m wondering if she’s ever passed grade 10 science. That sentence just defies how a black hole works. She should have clarified that this wasn’t what we traditionally think of when we hear ‘black hole.’ Unfortunately, she waits until near the end of the book to clarify that these ‘black holes’ are literally black holes and not a star that has collapsed onto itself, emitting a great gravity. She should have named these space holes something else.
Her last thought before she blacked out was she could be killed by a toilet. Death by crapper would be crappy.
The last sentence is too much. A simple change to the last sentence would fix this: a) “Death by a crapper.” b) “What a crappy death.” Using both crapper and crappy together is overkill.
It had been—never—since an insect had stung her.
That’s not how em-dashes work, Scholey.
She had traveled Earth before, linking monorails over nations gave citizens access to any country within hours at super speeds; [...]
Comma splice. Correction: She had traveled Earth before. Linking monorails over nations gave citizens access to any country [...]
There are a bunch more errors. Some repetitive ones were the missing comma. It was prevalent in the lack of the addressive comma (sometimes Scholey used it, and sometimes she didn’t) (e.g. How do you do, Jenny?), and in If statements (e.g. If I work, I get paid).
Whatever the origins of the publisher Whiskey Creek Press are, I’d steer clear of them. Clearly they haven’t done their job in the editing department. If you’re expecting them to elevate your book—well don’t.
My advice to Scholey is read outside of the romance genre and read different styles of writing. Study how other authors deal with pacing. Then, write many short stories completely outside of your genre. In this case, don’t write romance, syfy, and paranormal. Afterwards, write a short romance but leave out the syfy and paranormal. The idea here is to break old habits. Get better at plotting, character development, and pacing. Scholey depends too heavily on Syfy and the paranormal to mask her weaknesses. And it doesn’t work.
July 10, 2017
Cage
I love this book. I wish there were more. Love this story and the piddling problem. Lol
Please write more.
I love this book. I wish there were more. Love this story and the piddling problem. Lol
Please write more.
October 3, 2017
Fun
Fun, sweet read. Not earth shattering (ha ha) but entertaining. Good world building, Good characters, nice pacing. Nice set up for the series.
Fun, sweet read. Not earth shattering (ha ha) but entertaining. Good world building, Good characters, nice pacing. Nice set up for the series.
April 24, 2016
Cage, the first book in the Dark World Series was a very interesting read. Maybe not in the best way at times.
CL Scholey has created a universe in which humans are still selfish, self centered, consumer orientated and huge polluters.
Cyra was returning to Earth from a job when "space garbage" interfered with the ship and she found herself alone on a planet, locked in a toilet. Telling for the future action.
She was soon discovered by the planet's inhabitants and their leader, Cage. Cage was a sort of a chameleon alien who was using other people's fears to create creatures.
Cyra had a vivid imagination and the earth creatures became Cage's weapons against other tribe leaders like him.
Cage's mate was not found so he decided to steal the ones of the other tribe leaders. He was not successful because each female had a mate and obviously Cyra was his.
Eventually when faced with no choice a female made him understand that Cyra is his mate.
Following their mating Cyra discovers that she had dreams about the alien planet, Cage and the mountain and she finds her purpose.
After an alien attack tribe leaders travel to earth to look for earth mates and Cage and Cyra have their twins.
It all sounds well but in practice the book was hard to read.
CL Scholey usually does a very good job in portraying an alien male and his world. At the end of the book I do not have a clear picture on Cage, except that he is a huge jerk who used Cyra's fears to his advantage. There were no redeeming qualities in the book to make me overlook his bad actions.
And Cyra...she is one of the worse female portrayal that I have read until now. She peed so much and so often, in fear, that I wanted to give her a baby diaper to stop wetting Cage's bed.
This was the least romantic heroine and action that I could read. Peeing all the time and being scared. No back bone.
Her new found "messiah" qualities didn't impress me.
It is sad to read this poorly plotted book because it had a lot of potential.
A better world and character build would have helped. Most of the book at times felt like a philosophical reflection on the Earth's direction or lack off.
Not to mention that the intimate action was just meh. The hotness level, somewhere around -1.
There was no love or attraction between the two characters . They just happened on the mountain because the mountain said so...
I would have preferred the insta-love to no love.
I am not sure what to make of this book in the end. I am not sure if my rating really reflects how many times I cringed reading and rolled my eyes.
In the end I don't think i am going to pick up the next book in the series.
CL Scholey has created a universe in which humans are still selfish, self centered, consumer orientated and huge polluters.
Cyra was returning to Earth from a job when "space garbage" interfered with the ship and she found herself alone on a planet, locked in a toilet. Telling for the future action.
She was soon discovered by the planet's inhabitants and their leader, Cage. Cage was a sort of a chameleon alien who was using other people's fears to create creatures.
Cyra had a vivid imagination and the earth creatures became Cage's weapons against other tribe leaders like him.
Cage's mate was not found so he decided to steal the ones of the other tribe leaders. He was not successful because each female had a mate and obviously Cyra was his.
Eventually when faced with no choice a female made him understand that Cyra is his mate.
Following their mating Cyra discovers that she had dreams about the alien planet, Cage and the mountain and she finds her purpose.
After an alien attack tribe leaders travel to earth to look for earth mates and Cage and Cyra have their twins.
It all sounds well but in practice the book was hard to read.
CL Scholey usually does a very good job in portraying an alien male and his world. At the end of the book I do not have a clear picture on Cage, except that he is a huge jerk who used Cyra's fears to his advantage. There were no redeeming qualities in the book to make me overlook his bad actions.
And Cyra...she is one of the worse female portrayal that I have read until now. She peed so much and so often, in fear, that I wanted to give her a baby diaper to stop wetting Cage's bed.
This was the least romantic heroine and action that I could read. Peeing all the time and being scared. No back bone.
Her new found "messiah" qualities didn't impress me.
It is sad to read this poorly plotted book because it had a lot of potential.
A better world and character build would have helped. Most of the book at times felt like a philosophical reflection on the Earth's direction or lack off.
Not to mention that the intimate action was just meh. The hotness level, somewhere around -1.
There was no love or attraction between the two characters . They just happened on the mountain because the mountain said so...
I would have preferred the insta-love to no love.
I am not sure what to make of this book in the end. I am not sure if my rating really reflects how many times I cringed reading and rolled my eyes.
In the end I don't think i am going to pick up the next book in the series.
June 8, 2017
Interesting. Though it was a bit bogged down with the world-building and introducing the set-up of the series, but that's to be expected seeing as it's the first book. I hope the next ones focus more on the romance aspect of things.
Also, I have a feeling the peeing-in-fright was supposed to be funny, but since it occurred so often, it became less so. I mean, understandable the first time (sort of), but time after time after time? As the story got going, she knew it was him, that he wouldn't really harm her, that he was just playing/testing the forms he saw from her mind, so her response to the fear seemed a bit overblown then. I get a huge spider would be creepy, I could understanding screaming or running, but not peeing in fright. I don't know. Maybe if it was described as part of an actual medical condition - that the fear just made it worse - then it'd be more believable and I could accept it more. After all, there are people (young even) that struggle with incontinence issues of all sorts.
Also, I have a feeling the peeing-in-fright was supposed to be funny, but since it occurred so often, it became less so. I mean, understandable the first time (sort of), but time after time after time? As the story got going, she knew it was him, that he wouldn't really harm her, that he was just playing/testing the forms he saw from her mind, so her response to the fear seemed a bit overblown then. I get a huge spider would be creepy, I could understanding screaming or running, but not peeing in fright. I don't know. Maybe if it was described as part of an actual medical condition - that the fear just made it worse - then it'd be more believable and I could accept it more. After all, there are people (young even) that struggle with incontinence issues of all sorts.
November 17, 2015
This is more of a 2.5 stars in my opinion. But perhaps I was expecting too much from this author's work. I must confess, I am wonderfully addicted to her "New World" and "Unearthly Worlds" series. This book however, felt incomplete. The hero Cage, was a selfish bully who constantly terrorized Cyra, the heroin. After attempting to kill her because he was pissy and having a really bad day, he decided he would just scare the piss out of her on a daily basis instead (literally). Cyra on the other hand while being bullied, terrorized and shamed constantly by her fearful reactions to Cage's attentions, had to watch him still other warrior's mates to impregnate with her help. Of course somewhere along the way a dash of insta-love has them on the same page breeding like bunnies and soooo very much into each other. Completely unbelievable and insulting at times, but this read will not stop me from enjoying this writers other REALLY GOOD works.
November 26, 2016
I'm generally a fan of CL Scholey's books. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of this one. If, and I mean if, you can get past the heroine Cyra literally peeing her pants every time she gets scared (and she does this a lot - believe me, it isn't endearing) and if, you can get past the Hero Cage's decision to willfully kidnap and deliberately hurt other women from his race, not just once, but FIVE times, to serve his own ends before the numbskull figures out his plan isn't working and low and behold realises the female he has had under his nose for days but all but ignored till now (with the exception of what she can do to, once again, serve his own ends) is actually his mate, whereupon she experiences a convenient religious experience and falls in with his plans - breathe - you'll find the storyline is an alright one with a bit of promise. I think however, that for me, the promise was far outweighed by the irritating characters. Not for me.
February 6, 2015
I liked this book, although it was not my favourite by this Author!!
However, as usual C.L. has built an incredible world full of possibilities for the future of this series.
I think that the series will only get better now that the foundation has been set. I do have to admit that I howled laughing in some parts and cried in others ... read it and you'll see why!!
I'm looking forward to the next book to see where and how the series progresses and knowing Ms Scholey I don't think we will have to wait too long :D
However, as usual C.L. has built an incredible world full of possibilities for the future of this series.
I think that the series will only get better now that the foundation has been set. I do have to admit that I howled laughing in some parts and cried in others ... read it and you'll see why!!
I'm looking forward to the next book to see where and how the series progresses and knowing Ms Scholey I don't think we will have to wait too long :D
February 7, 2015
CAGE(Dark World Book 1)be C.L. SCHOLEY
Absolutely love this new start for the series. Smart,stubborn,sassy and emotionally challenging human female thrown into a alien world with fearsome metamorphic abilities in an awesome alpha male who finding out she's his mate just as his world is going to be facing new dangers and challenging times ahead. With plenty of heated scenes to keep them busy. With the universe in turmoil there's plenty more characters to see working to get their own HEA ROMANCE. Enjoy this fantastic storyline just as much as I have.
Absolutely love this new start for the series. Smart,stubborn,sassy and emotionally challenging human female thrown into a alien world with fearsome metamorphic abilities in an awesome alpha male who finding out she's his mate just as his world is going to be facing new dangers and challenging times ahead. With plenty of heated scenes to keep them busy. With the universe in turmoil there's plenty more characters to see working to get their own HEA ROMANCE. Enjoy this fantastic storyline just as much as I have.
February 25, 2016
I haven't minded this authors other books, but this was just plain terrible! I couldn't wait to get though it. I only read it because I paid for it. The plot was just bad. The whole "no control over her bladder" through the whole book was just weird, and unimportant. What was the point? To gross me out a not like the heroine? Than that was accomplished. Anyways, not worth your money.
February 3, 2015
Good!!!!
This book was a little different from the authors other books... It was still a great book.. I laughed so hard my bladder released itself (you have to read the book to understand).. I loved this new serious!!! Please don't keep us waiting...
This book was a little different from the authors other books... It was still a great book.. I laughed so hard my bladder released itself (you have to read the book to understand).. I loved this new serious!!! Please don't keep us waiting...
February 8, 2015
interesting new start
Like the new series, I hope to read more soon! Hardheaded male and a smart stubborn female who is stuck with him. It's a good start and a few strange things to conquer for these alphas, finding their mates, fighting off the bad guys.
Like the new series, I hope to read more soon! Hardheaded male and a smart stubborn female who is stuck with him. It's a good start and a few strange things to conquer for these alphas, finding their mates, fighting off the bad guys.
June 16, 2015
great book, I hope there is more soon!
The first book in a series is a little harder than the later books, as the world has to be built. The female character, Cyra, was funny what with her bladder issues. And loved the way it ended with the daughter.
The first book in a series is a little harder than the later books, as the world has to be built. The female character, Cyra, was funny what with her bladder issues. And loved the way it ended with the daughter.
October 21, 2016
I liked it, but...
I liked it and would have rated it higher if it wasn't for all the pee talk. Omg! The author could have done something to show fear other than the h pissing herself all the time.
I liked it and would have rated it higher if it wasn't for all the pee talk. Omg! The author could have done something to show fear other than the h pissing herself all the time.
February 5, 2015
It was great new story with some interesting concepts and just like always, she has knocked it out of the park :)
February 8, 2015
Good Read
Took awhile to understand some but was way worth it and hopefully there Re more on the way . Thank you for this book.
Took awhile to understand some but was way worth it and hopefully there Re more on the way . Thank you for this book.
February 9, 2015
Already a fan and this book just added nail in that coffin. It is funny. It is sad. And very enjoyable satisfying read.
February 12, 2015
Another winning series start from Scholey. The world building here is great, with excellent development for subsequent entries. Yay!
February 15, 2015
It's really very good.
I'm always impressed at how good her books are, but I really shouldn't be, by now. Ones again another great book. I can't wait to see what the next book is!!
I'm always impressed at how good her books are, but I really shouldn't be, by now. Ones again another great book. I can't wait to see what the next book is!!
March 29, 2015
Hot and humorous
Had me chuckling a lot. Loved the humour in this book. Can't wait for the next one. Thanks for an entertaining read.
Had me chuckling a lot. Loved the humour in this book. Can't wait for the next one. Thanks for an entertaining read.
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