Waiting to Breathe

by Chrystal Grcevich

Elizabeth is sixteen years old when she is abducted by Meaog, the incarnation of the Angel of Death. At seventeen, the ability to change her physical features manifests. After she assaults Meaog, she is sent to Tartarus to meet the Nephilim.

The Nephilim are human-angel hybrids that were bound in the depths of Tartarus thousands of years ago. They also feed on human flesh. Now Maester Azazel is attempting to recreate the Nephilim using genetic modification.

In Tartarus, Elizabeth joins forces with other humans that also display unusual abilities. Their goal is to destroy the modification serum while avoiding death themselves. Will they succeed in killing Azazel and his serum, or will they fail and become the new Nephilim?

226 pages, ebook

Published February 1, 2018

Reviews

[Kat]

This story completely sucked me in! Angels, demons, dragons, mythology, walls of blood and mind manipulation… lovely lyrical language and rich world building. “Waiting to Breathe” had it all. Elizabeth is living in a dystopian-feel world when she’s taken off the streets by Meaog and shown a different destiny. The descriptions are rich and intense, the feel of this world both old with spools of thread and old stale bread and cheese wrapped in cloth, but with a mix of sci-fi with genetic modifications and serums and fantasy elements. So much cool stuff in this one! I could taste and smell and picture every scene and found myself easily transported as Elizabeth found herself caught up in a rebel cause, one of the chosen few with special abilities that could be used either for good or manipulated against them. (The scenes with her and the other initiates were some of my favorite.) This was an awesome read, definitely recommended for fans of sci-fi, fantasy and dystopians!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.

[Helen Whistberry]

Really interesting dystopian fantasy tale that takes the mythology of the Nephilim, the children of angels and humans, and molds it into a quest adventure surrounding Elizabeth, a seemingly normal human woman who turns out to be anything but. We start out with shades of The Handmaid's Tale, as Elizabeth and other young girls of her town are destined to be sold to powerful men to be child-bearers upon coming of age. Elizabeth is headed for a quite different fate though, one that involves discovering her secret powers and leading an army to defeat the embodiment of evil. There is an interesting weaving together of all different world mythologies from Greek, Egyptian and Norse to the obvious Biblical references. At times, this can be confusing if you aren't familiar with all of these systems since a single character may be called by many different names throughout the tale depending on the folklore being referenced but I thought this added some universality and depth to what could have been a standard angels and demons tale. The mixing in of a genetic modification scheme and other sci-fi elements also lift this above your typical fantasy story. In some ways, the plot follows the predictable beats you would expect with a reluctant hero with untapped abilities forced to save the world, but the interesting blend of sci-fi, world myth, and fantasy along with some very unique and engaging characters make this a rewarding read for fans of speculative fiction.

[Deb]

Very happy with how I enjoyed the characters in this book. This first book by author Chrystal Grcevich has the makings of a great series. A great quick read,highly recommend to give this author a try.

[David J. Breeden]

Death comes to everyone, or maybe not
Wow, the book started slow, but kept building until I couldn’t put it down. A great fantasy of the future…one we don’t want. Elizabeth wanting like everyone, to just get by in the world. But she didn’t know the surprises in store for her. There are explanations of thinks we don’t want to know. It is her struggle with herself, the world, and where she came from. The story is full of surprises, knowledge, and growing up. To be continued…please.

[Drew Michaels]

Great debut novel

I must admit it started a bit slower than I expected, but once it kicked into gear I couldn’t put it down. I don’t think I realized what genre it was at the beginning but everything made sense when it hit me. Wonderful job on this debut. I hope it becomes a series!

[Samantha Hardin]

This book was unlike anything I have read before. I've read plenty of stories about mythology, but this book takes a while new spin on it. If you like sassy characters and flawed heroines (because let's face it- perfect heroines are boring) this book is for you.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/30/2021)! 🎁