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Edge of Dystopia Trilogy #1
Maelstrom
Darlene Coopersmith, a twenty-one-year-old allergic to restraint, stupidity, and Cyndi Lauper, has had a horrible week, and it's only three days in. Good sense tells her the universe isn’t through with her, and right she is. At first, she thinks the horrendous itching, lapses in memory, and overall body’s-been-put-through-a-meat-grinder feeling is due to an illness, but her assumption couldn’t be farther from the truth.
No, according to Darlene’s sister and best friend, the reason for Darlene’s discomfort is the Change: a process Wers go through to shift between their two forms. The news floors her. She isn’t human, and the two closest people to her have known for years. Her trust shaken, Darlene can’t help but wonder what other secrets they’ve kept from her.
And the secrets they have, especially Darlene’s sister, Mariah. When Mariah’s biggest secret rears its ugly head, everyone Darlene loves faces death. Like always, Darlene hurls herself into the danger, fists ready and thirsting for blood.
No, according to Darlene’s sister and best friend, the reason for Darlene’s discomfort is the Change: a process Wers go through to shift between their two forms. The news floors her. She isn’t human, and the two closest people to her have known for years. Her trust shaken, Darlene can’t help but wonder what other secrets they’ve kept from her.
And the secrets they have, especially Darlene’s sister, Mariah. When Mariah’s biggest secret rears its ugly head, everyone Darlene loves faces death. Like always, Darlene hurls herself into the danger, fists ready and thirsting for blood.
Kindle Edition
First published October 2, 2015
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About the author
Kitiera Morey
10 books34 followersKitiera Morey is a lively perfectionist with the mouth of a drunken sailor. When she’s not singing off-key for the entire world to hear or feeding her Sonic the Hedgehog addiction, Kitiera searches for the next action adventure or supernatural book to devour in a single night. She lives in New York with her fiance, their four cats, and a bottomless pit they’ve been assured is a dog.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 4, 2017
Good Story and Solid Characterization
The basis of any good story is a solid plot and well-developed characters. That’s what you get with Maelstrom, Kitiera Morey’s first book in the Darlene Coopersmith series. The book opens with a great scene that sets the tone for the entire book, as well as showing (not telling!) Darlene’s character. We soon find out that Darlene’s struggles have a source that even she’s unaware of until The Change into becoming a Wer begins.
I have to confess that I’m not normally a reader of were-animal stories (I was asked to read and review this book), nor any of the gothic or horror bents, so there are holes in my knowledge base for this type of story. What I can say is that I enjoyed this book, and found myself pulled in from the first few pages. Again, the characterization of a novel is crucial for me, and Morey did not disappoint on this. Darlene’s, as well as all the major characters, are very well-developed with full histories and distinctions that make them memorable. The one criticism I would offer on this front is that it was difficult to keep track of the array of significant characters and names in the first several chapters. I don’t know that this could have been handled better without pulling from the story; all these characters are important, but it was a distraction. It is, however, a distraction worth getting through as the story really takes off when Darlene’s change occurs and a host of characters, including Darlene’s Wer mother who tries to curtail the change, take a vested interest in what happens with Darlene.
The plotting in this story is careful and well-handled. Everything in the story is there for a reason, and contributes. Again, this type of story is less familiar to me, so I might not pick up on anything overly common, but with that disclaimer I would say that this story strikes me as very unique and creative. I know the standard archetype for the Were-stories, and this is not among them. I loved reading about the sub-culture of Wers, and found myself smiling at the undertones of politics that echo real politics without violating the unique world Morey has created.
This was a very fun read that clearly is the work of an author who knows how to craft a good story. Nicely done, Ms. Morey!
While solicited, I do not know the author and this review is an unbiased and honest opinion of the book. I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys this type of story, or anybody interested in an atypical Were-story that is well crafted and well written.
The basis of any good story is a solid plot and well-developed characters. That’s what you get with Maelstrom, Kitiera Morey’s first book in the Darlene Coopersmith series. The book opens with a great scene that sets the tone for the entire book, as well as showing (not telling!) Darlene’s character. We soon find out that Darlene’s struggles have a source that even she’s unaware of until The Change into becoming a Wer begins.
I have to confess that I’m not normally a reader of were-animal stories (I was asked to read and review this book), nor any of the gothic or horror bents, so there are holes in my knowledge base for this type of story. What I can say is that I enjoyed this book, and found myself pulled in from the first few pages. Again, the characterization of a novel is crucial for me, and Morey did not disappoint on this. Darlene’s, as well as all the major characters, are very well-developed with full histories and distinctions that make them memorable. The one criticism I would offer on this front is that it was difficult to keep track of the array of significant characters and names in the first several chapters. I don’t know that this could have been handled better without pulling from the story; all these characters are important, but it was a distraction. It is, however, a distraction worth getting through as the story really takes off when Darlene’s change occurs and a host of characters, including Darlene’s Wer mother who tries to curtail the change, take a vested interest in what happens with Darlene.
The plotting in this story is careful and well-handled. Everything in the story is there for a reason, and contributes. Again, this type of story is less familiar to me, so I might not pick up on anything overly common, but with that disclaimer I would say that this story strikes me as very unique and creative. I know the standard archetype for the Were-stories, and this is not among them. I loved reading about the sub-culture of Wers, and found myself smiling at the undertones of politics that echo real politics without violating the unique world Morey has created.
This was a very fun read that clearly is the work of an author who knows how to craft a good story. Nicely done, Ms. Morey!
While solicited, I do not know the author and this review is an unbiased and honest opinion of the book. I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys this type of story, or anybody interested in an atypical Were-story that is well crafted and well written.
January 5, 2019
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
From the start, it’s clear heroine Darlene Coopersmith is going to be a lot of fun. In fact, she’s all the ‘F’s – feisty, foul-mouthed, and – eventually – furry all over. Darlene, it turns out, is a Wer – a being who can shift between human form and a much more powerful and dangerous alter-ego. Only trouble is, Darlene doesn’t know this yet. Her sister Mariah knows – but hasn’t got round to telling her, because of the danger Wers face from human Hunters.
Morey sets up a convincing Wer society, describing their structure and politics vividly. There are different types of Wer – we meet Wer-hyenas, Wer-panthers, and Wer-crocodiles among others. The story races breathlessly towards an all-or-nothing showdown between the Wers and the Hunters. The author is at her best describing the action scenes, and the torments our heroes go through. She doesn’t shy away from gruesome detail. One death – no spoilers! – is particularly poignant.
A couple of grouses; there were a lot a characters. A LOT. It was difficult to keep track of all of them. Some popped up for a short while and disappeared; some popped up later and you had to remind yourself who they were. Also, some of the writing was over-descriptive with a lot of detail and exposition, which unintentionally slowed the pace down.
But the main characters were written well, and the dialogue is decent.
Overall, a great introduction to an exciting new character. Darlene Coopersmith, you can fight my battles any time!
From the start, it’s clear heroine Darlene Coopersmith is going to be a lot of fun. In fact, she’s all the ‘F’s – feisty, foul-mouthed, and – eventually – furry all over. Darlene, it turns out, is a Wer – a being who can shift between human form and a much more powerful and dangerous alter-ego. Only trouble is, Darlene doesn’t know this yet. Her sister Mariah knows – but hasn’t got round to telling her, because of the danger Wers face from human Hunters.
Morey sets up a convincing Wer society, describing their structure and politics vividly. There are different types of Wer – we meet Wer-hyenas, Wer-panthers, and Wer-crocodiles among others. The story races breathlessly towards an all-or-nothing showdown between the Wers and the Hunters. The author is at her best describing the action scenes, and the torments our heroes go through. She doesn’t shy away from gruesome detail. One death – no spoilers! – is particularly poignant.
A couple of grouses; there were a lot a characters. A LOT. It was difficult to keep track of all of them. Some popped up for a short while and disappeared; some popped up later and you had to remind yourself who they were. Also, some of the writing was over-descriptive with a lot of detail and exposition, which unintentionally slowed the pace down.
But the main characters were written well, and the dialogue is decent.
Overall, a great introduction to an exciting new character. Darlene Coopersmith, you can fight my battles any time!
October 20, 2015
Over all this was a really good book and I enjoyed reading it. The plot is straight forward and easy to understand. All the character are in one form or another are memorable and make the story flow faster, but in an enjoyable way. The reason I gave a four star rating is because I don't agree with one of the plot points. All I can say is someone has really bad leadership skills.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews