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Clouded Hearts
Keme said he wanted to find out who's voice whispered in the sacred woods. Be careful what you wish for, you may get it! Find out what happens in this lightning charged Part 2, when one of the highest clouds from Daruur pays a visit to Chroma. Her name is Cloudia a.k.a. Princess, her mantra, "The weak should be conquered not heard."
87 pages, ebook
First published February 21, 2019
3 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Elani Roman
59 books49 followersElani Roman started writing early in life through poetry. Well into her adulthood she discovered a fiction world inside of her imagination that consisted of fantasy, science fiction, and romance characters.
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There is so much more to come from this Author. Follow Elani to stay on top of the latest projects, events, and new releases.
Connect With Author Elani Roman:
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 12, 2019
"Teach me everything you know. I want to know everything you know, Grandpa. I'm ready for training, when do we begin?"
Grandpa's eyes matched my intensity; he leaned in closer.
"We start tomorrow."
Fantastic prequel! I was certainly not expecting it to end so sadly for Kem & Kit, because it would have been great to have their loss more developed as I really enjoyed the presence of that character ... who? Well, you will have to read the books to know who it is I am speaking of!
The action packed second half of this book had me reading so fast that I had to go back to re-read, as I found my eyes were not keeping up with what my brain was needing ... to get to the end!
Very well developed story! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy combined with a futuristic world. I am looking forward to reading the first instalment and how Ms. Roman begins the story of Kem, his family, his teaching career, the world in which he lives, and the ones that surround him.
But, wait! There must be a fourth in the works as well, because it ends with a death, one of which I am certain Kem will want to avenge? Will Kit help him, or slip deeper into a catatonic state? Will the voice he heard in the woods, which was the same voice that helped him at the end of this story, finally reveal herself to him?
It might please you to know that Kem, did not give into his sexual urges and lust as he did in the past! For this I am so proud of him as I believe it helped with him receiving the helpful spell that kept him and his brother alive.
Grandpa's eyes matched my intensity; he leaned in closer.
"We start tomorrow."
Fantastic prequel! I was certainly not expecting it to end so sadly for Kem & Kit, because it would have been great to have their loss more developed as I really enjoyed the presence of that character ... who? Well, you will have to read the books to know who it is I am speaking of!
The action packed second half of this book had me reading so fast that I had to go back to re-read, as I found my eyes were not keeping up with what my brain was needing ... to get to the end!
Very well developed story! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy combined with a futuristic world. I am looking forward to reading the first instalment and how Ms. Roman begins the story of Kem, his family, his teaching career, the world in which he lives, and the ones that surround him.
But, wait! There must be a fourth in the works as well, because it ends with a death, one of which I am certain Kem will want to avenge? Will Kit help him, or slip deeper into a catatonic state? Will the voice he heard in the woods, which was the same voice that helped him at the end of this story, finally reveal herself to him?
It might please you to know that Kem, did not give into his sexual urges and lust as he did in the past! For this I am so proud of him as I believe it helped with him receiving the helpful spell that kept him and his brother alive.
May 25, 2019
Clouded Hearts has an interesting concept and premise from which to draw but it falls flat due to uneven characters and odd interactions.
I found the dialogue clunky, people spoke unnaturally without any subtlety, finesse or awkwardness and often blurted out everything. When you have one or two characters to various degrees like that it is fair enough, but almost everyone had practically the same mannerisms, reactions and voice. The more interesting characters were peripheral, the two main characters were largely difficult to get invested in. I found nearly every female character to be sexualised and close to pointless, they seemed to be completely beholden to the main male character, but I struggled to understand why because he is obnoxious and childish. It wouldn't be a problem in and of itself except nobody else sees it, instead they fawn over him. It compounded the problem of not believing in the journeys of the characters. One character stood out as having some depth, something that pushes them to be but they too fall short because of their very sudden change of heart.
As I said there is the kernel of an idea, something to sow that could bear fruit but in this current incarnation I'm hard pressed to recommend the story and its soap opera style and melodrama.
I found the dialogue clunky, people spoke unnaturally without any subtlety, finesse or awkwardness and often blurted out everything. When you have one or two characters to various degrees like that it is fair enough, but almost everyone had practically the same mannerisms, reactions and voice. The more interesting characters were peripheral, the two main characters were largely difficult to get invested in. I found nearly every female character to be sexualised and close to pointless, they seemed to be completely beholden to the main male character, but I struggled to understand why because he is obnoxious and childish. It wouldn't be a problem in and of itself except nobody else sees it, instead they fawn over him. It compounded the problem of not believing in the journeys of the characters. One character stood out as having some depth, something that pushes them to be but they too fall short because of their very sudden change of heart.
As I said there is the kernel of an idea, something to sow that could bear fruit but in this current incarnation I'm hard pressed to recommend the story and its soap opera style and melodrama.
May 17, 2019
Clouded Hearts is a romantic fantasy that takes place in the future, (I think). The main conflict is between the Nubes, who are living clouds and wind people, and the Cubists, who are humans with magical powers. I’m really not sure why the conflict exists however.
This is the second of two prequel books to the Chroma Chronicles, and that may play into my confusion. However, some of it also due to the narrative. The story is told from the point of view of two main characters, both of which are told in first person, which is an odd way to tell a story. They are separated into different chapters though, so that does help.
There is a lot of telling in this book, (I did this, then I did this, then I did this). Enough so that it stuck out to me. And things just kind of happen. For instance, near the end, (no spoiler), one character says she must find a way to return somewhere without anyone knowing. Then, in the next chapter, she’s just there, with no explanation.
Overall, I wasn’t a huge fan of the book, but others may enjoy it.
This is the second of two prequel books to the Chroma Chronicles, and that may play into my confusion. However, some of it also due to the narrative. The story is told from the point of view of two main characters, both of which are told in first person, which is an odd way to tell a story. They are separated into different chapters though, so that does help.
There is a lot of telling in this book, (I did this, then I did this, then I did this). Enough so that it stuck out to me. And things just kind of happen. For instance, near the end, (no spoiler), one character says she must find a way to return somewhere without anyone knowing. Then, in the next chapter, she’s just there, with no explanation.
Overall, I wasn’t a huge fan of the book, but others may enjoy it.
June 17, 2019
The story opens with a scene in a bar. A tough-talking narrator by the name of Kem is drowning his sorrows, trying to forget the “memory stain of Sephena and the Man-Clouds”. It ends with a night of steamy sex with a mysterious sultry temptress in a black lace corset. So far, so intriguing. Chapter 2 takes place in a completely different world, Daruur, with a different narrator, Cloudia, although it too ends with a sex scene, this time between a whirlwind (Malik) and a cloud (Cloudia). Meanwhile we have learnt that Daruur is in the sky and Chroma (where Kem presumably lives) is on land. Daruur is a hierarchical society with ‘intelligent entities’ of which the Nubes are one of the most powerful. In a previous power struggle, the Cubists of Chroma won over the Nubes and since then a state of conflict has existed between the two. Now the terrible and merciless Cloudia, daughter of Cyrros, the most powerful Nube in Daruur, is bent on a new mission against the Cubists, in particular the hapless Kem.
Although the premise was interesting, it was not completely clear what was going what was going on and why. Sephena and the memory stain? There were more references to this incident but not much detail-‘there was a betrayal’…‘it was chaos’, and at the same time numerous characters were quickly but too briefly introduced. ‘Clouded Hearts’ is the second of two short stories, ‘Prequels to The Chroma Chronicles’, which promises to be a longer fantasy series. Not having read the first story I’m assuming that the plot was based on the Sephena incident. In this one the focus is on Cloudia’s new mission and the narrative continues with alternating voices, those of Kem and Cloudia and their different viewpoints.
While there’s interesting potential here, there were a couple of niggles. It’s irritating to get a lot of flashbacks in a story but if ‘Clouded Hearts’ is meant to be read as a standalone I think there should be more context, allowing the reader to concentrate on the action and the developing drama rather than trying to puzzle out what’s gone before. Also I was disappointed to discover that hard-boiled tough guy Kem of the opening chapter ends up acting and talking more like an over-sexed frat boy. The female characters have stronger personalities and are more consistent, Cloudia and her antagonist Morgance, and in particular Kem’s mother. There were some attractive domestic scenes with her, but again featuring a rather immature version of Kem who is supposed to be an adult history professor of some experience and credibility. The tone, too, was uneven, with the explicit sex scenes proclaiming ‘adult’, but the dialogue and interactions between Kem and his colleagues coming across as Young Adult.
On the positive side there was a lot of energy in the book, it was imaginative, the conflict and tension comes across well in individual scenes, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the proper series. Fantasy fans who have been caught up in these prequels will doubtless look forward to what happens next.
Although the premise was interesting, it was not completely clear what was going what was going on and why. Sephena and the memory stain? There were more references to this incident but not much detail-‘there was a betrayal’…‘it was chaos’, and at the same time numerous characters were quickly but too briefly introduced. ‘Clouded Hearts’ is the second of two short stories, ‘Prequels to The Chroma Chronicles’, which promises to be a longer fantasy series. Not having read the first story I’m assuming that the plot was based on the Sephena incident. In this one the focus is on Cloudia’s new mission and the narrative continues with alternating voices, those of Kem and Cloudia and their different viewpoints.
While there’s interesting potential here, there were a couple of niggles. It’s irritating to get a lot of flashbacks in a story but if ‘Clouded Hearts’ is meant to be read as a standalone I think there should be more context, allowing the reader to concentrate on the action and the developing drama rather than trying to puzzle out what’s gone before. Also I was disappointed to discover that hard-boiled tough guy Kem of the opening chapter ends up acting and talking more like an over-sexed frat boy. The female characters have stronger personalities and are more consistent, Cloudia and her antagonist Morgance, and in particular Kem’s mother. There were some attractive domestic scenes with her, but again featuring a rather immature version of Kem who is supposed to be an adult history professor of some experience and credibility. The tone, too, was uneven, with the explicit sex scenes proclaiming ‘adult’, but the dialogue and interactions between Kem and his colleagues coming across as Young Adult.
On the positive side there was a lot of energy in the book, it was imaginative, the conflict and tension comes across well in individual scenes, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the proper series. Fantasy fans who have been caught up in these prequels will doubtless look forward to what happens next.
June 4, 2019
Lovers of fantasy and tales about the future may enjoy this book. For myself, I got confused right away, likely because I had not read the first introduction to the series. Then I found myself going through the motions of distracted reading, which clearly added to my confusion. After I made up my mind to focus on the story as it unfolded, I did begin to understand it a bit more -- in stages.
But zeroing in more attentively caused me to become aware of some specific issues that took away from my enjoyment of this book. Characters seemed inconsistent; dialogue was unnatural. One character’s internal dialogue was present in a chapter told by a different character. Events and transformations seemed to occur far too easily, and often (in my opinion) without enough motivation or provocation. Several little bits of the plot / character’s actions didn’t ring true for me. Some examples would be – if Kem was so loved by his students, why wouldn’t he tell them he was leaving? I would have expected a big going away party. Why wouldn’t Kem’s mother, who wanted nothing more than to protect her family, tell them the vital information that she had learned? Kem’s mother obviously knew danger was on the horizon. Why wouldn’t she make sure the family had all their protection elements in place before heading outside? It’s details like these that sometimes makes or breaks the story for me as a reader. Once I start seeing a pattern of perceived improbabilities, I almost start looking for more, whereas – if there had only been one or two, I would be more inclined to just ignore them and enjoy the story.
Despite my initial confusion, then distraction, then over-analyzing, I did find many aspects of the story that I appreciated. I recognized that the author has a fantastic imagination and took great care in creating a futuristic world -- and in such amazing detail. I loved the idea of the Uber of the future. And though I felt the bathroom bit (which bathroom would the characters be allowed to use?) was overkill, I also chuckled, thinking this was social commentary at its best. If we don’t stop worrying and fighting about this type of stuff in our world today, this could be our future. Maybe we’re there already? The author seemed overall quite capable and clever at insinuating these subtle warning signals into her fictional tale.
The scene at the marketplace near the end seemed well-paced and well-done. And (no spoilers) I admit to feeling sad near the end when one of the characters met with a bad fate. This, and the aftermath of the event, was handled nicely and made me realize I had been beginning to feel for the characters after all.
Clouded Hearts could end up being one of those series that some people just “get”, and they love it. Though I feel this wonderfully imaginative series might appeal to an enthusiastic, devoted audience, overall and sadly, it just wasn’t for me.
But zeroing in more attentively caused me to become aware of some specific issues that took away from my enjoyment of this book. Characters seemed inconsistent; dialogue was unnatural. One character’s internal dialogue was present in a chapter told by a different character. Events and transformations seemed to occur far too easily, and often (in my opinion) without enough motivation or provocation. Several little bits of the plot / character’s actions didn’t ring true for me. Some examples would be – if Kem was so loved by his students, why wouldn’t he tell them he was leaving? I would have expected a big going away party. Why wouldn’t Kem’s mother, who wanted nothing more than to protect her family, tell them the vital information that she had learned? Kem’s mother obviously knew danger was on the horizon. Why wouldn’t she make sure the family had all their protection elements in place before heading outside? It’s details like these that sometimes makes or breaks the story for me as a reader. Once I start seeing a pattern of perceived improbabilities, I almost start looking for more, whereas – if there had only been one or two, I would be more inclined to just ignore them and enjoy the story.
Despite my initial confusion, then distraction, then over-analyzing, I did find many aspects of the story that I appreciated. I recognized that the author has a fantastic imagination and took great care in creating a futuristic world -- and in such amazing detail. I loved the idea of the Uber of the future. And though I felt the bathroom bit (which bathroom would the characters be allowed to use?) was overkill, I also chuckled, thinking this was social commentary at its best. If we don’t stop worrying and fighting about this type of stuff in our world today, this could be our future. Maybe we’re there already? The author seemed overall quite capable and clever at insinuating these subtle warning signals into her fictional tale.
The scene at the marketplace near the end seemed well-paced and well-done. And (no spoilers) I admit to feeling sad near the end when one of the characters met with a bad fate. This, and the aftermath of the event, was handled nicely and made me realize I had been beginning to feel for the characters after all.
Clouded Hearts could end up being one of those series that some people just “get”, and they love it. Though I feel this wonderfully imaginative series might appeal to an enthusiastic, devoted audience, overall and sadly, it just wasn’t for me.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews