Uncommon

Chronicles Of The Common #1

by Elise Night

She never expected to find herself in a universe of fairytales… and nightmares!

Eva had always been proud of her adaptability, until the day she crashed through a portal and landed across the galaxy in a place known as the “Common.” Nothing in her short human life could have prepared her for the discovery that the monsters of myth were real… and she was one of them!

With a wacky rebel clone as her guide, Eva embarks on a dangerous adventure filled with bizarre alien worlds, a space station from hell, a demon king, and a massive hairy shifter who can’t seem to take his eyes off her...

He never wanted to return to the fight that nearly destroyed all he loved… until now!

Luhcean was the most infamous shifter in all of the Common. As a leader of the hybrid Hahtta Alliance, he was also one of the most hunted men in the universe. After a brutal defeat where he nearly lost his life, Luhc abandoned his mission… until the night she entered his dreams...

He believed her to be a figment of his imagination. But when fate (with a little help from an ancient meddling witch) brings them face-to-face, he is compelled to risk everything to save a peculiar woman who awakens his soul, and threatens all he holds dear!

Genres: Shapeshifters, Paranormal, Science Fiction

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 18, 2019

About the author

Hey! Welcome to my profile. My name is Elise, and – as strange as I may continue to find it – I'm an author.
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I grew up in Los Angeles where I spent summers in holed up in my bedroom, reading Madeline L’Engle books until the wee hours of the morning. My rebellious teen years were filled with frightening tales from Stephen King and Clive Barker, but eventually I fell in love with all things paranormal and science fiction.
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Though I would have preferred to live with my head in a book, “adulting” is apparently an essential survival skill. So, I spent nearly twenty years working in the entertainment industry and loved every minute of it. But eventually, I decided it was time to take a risk and breathe life into a creation of my own.

I currently live in snowy Western New York with my four cats (yes, I am that crazy cat lady). When I am not writing, I indulge in reading, experimenting with hand embroidery, swimming, photography, music, and singing off-key.

Reviews

[Spinneretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Eva is a human, going about her human life in the human world, when an accident leads to her landing in the outer reaches of the Common, a part of the galaxy unknown to humans.
The common is filled with alien races, better known as the mythological beings humans tell tales of. And for some reason, Eva is in danger.
Working with new friends, Eva has to find her way to safety, and maybe complete a mission she never knew she was volunteering for.

This is the first book in the series. It introduces us to a complicated, but interesting universe, in which aliens are the creatures of myth.
It’s fast paced, and action packed, and although there are overtones of a romantic nature, it’s true sci-fi, not sci-fi romance.

Fasten your seatbelts for an enjoyable trip! Recommended for sci-fi fans.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent scifi/paranormal fantasy

This is fast moving, well written, tightly focused and funny. About as perfect as this blend of genres can get. I am so glad to have found this series as I've been suffering a fairly profound good-author drought. My thanks to Elise Night for breaking that unsatisfying trend so spectacularly.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (4/6/2020)! 🎁

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncommon

I love this series not many books grab me but this one did can't wait for the 3 Rd installment

[Mai Mai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addicting new perspective of paranormal science fiction romance

Well worth the read. The beginning was confusing to me because it felt like two stories, then about half way through everything made sense. There are basically couples, the main couple is a human woman and a shifter beast alien. The second is the shifter beast's blood sucking step brother and the human woman's alien 'guardian' who is ridiculously funny. It's an epic adventure.

[Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

DNF at about 148 pages in of 500? pages.

Alternates between two POVs.

TLDR:
[] Really great prologue starts the book, then we have a 30 year time jump and IMHO the story goes downhill due to too much 'telling not showing' especially of what happened in the intervening 30 years for the MMC (the POV in the great prologue). I wanted to 'see' his story not be told bits of it in odd internal monologues just to info dump.
[] IMHO this 1 annoying book, could have actually been 3 interesting and good books, if the 'telling' was showing!

--------------------------
More in depth

Characters:
[] I actually didn't mind either of the MCs. (Except for the author having MMC internal monologue instead of showing us what happened in the last 3 decades from the great opening to the story. -- See more below)
[] I did not care for those around them. ---- I especially found the FMC's 'guardian' grating.
[] I'm not sure I 'buy' the MMC and some of the others as being many centuries old. ---- Just didn't have that feel for me, with the plot lines.


World building
[] I'm always a fan of putting shifters, vampires etc. into a space setting, get the best of two favourite genres like that!
I wanted to learn more about this author's universe and their take on the above, but not with all the info dumps! (see below)


Plot:
[] Interesting.
[] Failed opportunities (see below)


Writing style:
[] Too much 'tell not show.' --- I much prefer 'Show, don't tell'!
It might just be because I'm not well, but the info dumping was getting on my last nerve.

[][] It made more sense for the FMC, who was new to the reality she found herself dumped in and needed bringing up to speed. (That's more my not being well coming into play part, the below annoys me at any time!)

[][] Then it switched to the MMC and a load of info dumping re him / his situation & family. Not in telling the FMC, but just him thinking about these things. IMHO him telling his love interest, makes more sense than his thinking so in-depth about stuff, just so the author can do an 'info dump' instead of showing us what happened!
I.e. he thinks about his brother, and about his being a 'brother in marriage' (actually meaning step brother). That could have been covered by FMC being 'so you're hybrids and just what, each got more of one parents genes?' and then MMC explaining that actually their parent, married his parent. So they're each full shifter / vampire.
Who actually internal monologues 'brother in marriage' when they use 'brother' at all other times. Also why would you compare your vampire brother's need for blood with an energy feeding vampire species, when the point of the internal monologue was that since his injury and strange coma he was drinking more blood. ---- You wouldn't but the author wants to info dump information, so just uses the most tenuous connection to shove some data re another 'vampire' type into internal thoughts!

Other:
[] I paused to read reviews, to find out that the two protagonists don't even meet until halfway in the story. At that point I decided I didn't care enough to continue. I like romance as a side-plot, but that wasn't the issue because I can take or leave that plot. I want to be 'shown' the interesting story, not just told bits of it in annoying info dumps.

[] I think I'd have preferred it if the combined story had been the 2nd book or even 3rd, with FMC's solo story being book 2. If in book 1 we got to 'see' the MMC's story, not just been shown a 'thirty years ago' prologue 'as it happened', then jumped to 'present day' and then being told what happened to him (etc.) in the intervening years that was important.







First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: No

Would you recommend?: No


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How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Rhea May · Rating 5 out of 5]

A show of hands, if you please. Who loved Lindsay’s Buroker Fallen Empire series?

If your hand is up, then you’re going to love Uncommon too. I guarantee it.

Wait, don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying Uncommon is some cheap replica (far from it!). But for some reason, it reminded me of the specified series. Because like Fallen Empire, Uncommon brings two things to the table: a slow-burn romance & a superb, crazy-detailed worldbuilding (which made me think of a certain movie franchise, famous for its plucky rebels, facing off against an oppressive empire). What differs is the ongoing mystery that keeps you turning the pages. We get some answers by the end, but not enough (which is why I’m going to read Untamed, the second book, as soon as I finish writing this review).

I loved the story’s pace: fast, yet comfortable. You’re not going to find too many long-winded, indecipherable descriptions, so it’s a quick and fascinating read.

Another thing deserving of a mention is the writing style. I mean, it’s impeccable. Pure. Sucks you right in, and then refuses to let go.

Uncommon keeps you entertained all throughout the reading journey. The best blend of paranormal and science fiction romance I’ve ever read.

Told from a dual POV, the story tells us the adventures of Eva, a regular human woman from Earth, and Luhc, a growly Keti shifter, who’s also (…wait for it) a rebel with one simple mission: save all hybrids of the Commons.

The story will keep you on the edge of your seat right from the beginning because the prologue starts with a battle. Battle ending with the ultimate disaster for the hero. A battle that’s crucial in justifying the need for Eva’s surfacing in the Common universe.

And surface she… doesn’t. Because her transition through the portal is more like a crash. In the literal sense. The theme from the prologue continues because Eva finds herself thrust in the middle of a battle here too, albeit a different one.

After several tense moments, Eva and Luhc finally meet. In a demon forest on a demon-controlled space station, and Eva demonstrates a new-found ability, which shows us she’s more than human: she’s one of the hybrids Luhc failed to protect before.

There, the group finds unexpected allies, and everything turns even more complicated for Eva when Luhc’s greatest foe pops up and gravely injures her.

I loved Eva. She’s a strong character and fair in recognizing her own shortcomings. In fact, that’s what makes her so compelling—the inner struggle she employs in trying to win against her past mistakes. She seems very real, so much so that, by the end of the book, it’s like she’s one of my oldest friends. That’s how good’s the author exploring the character: you feel like you know them, utterly and thoroughly.

Luhc, the other voice in the book, is also interesting for a main character. Instead of being portrayed as the typical alpha male, which you might have expected from a shifter (his nickname’s The Beast, for crying out loud!), he’s full of uncertainty, pain, and flaws. He’s also carrying an emotional suitcase the size of Earth.

I can’t finish the review without mentioning Issy, the comic relief, Eva’s questionable guardian, and crazy mentor. For a secondary character, she’s extremely well-rounded and lovable. I can’t wait to see what other antics she has prepared for the rest of the series. And also, I’m curious to find out how the secondary romance between herself and Luhc’s brother will play out.

Speaking of romance, Uncommon contains very little of it. But an ordinary amount for a slow-burn series (lovers of the genre learned to be patient). However, even if the heat level is low, Eva and Luhc’s adventures are enough to keep you entertained.

Conclusion: a strong first book. Beautifully written. Thoroughly entertaining. Interesting characters and intricate relationships between them.

Would I continue reading the series? Definitely yes. In fact, I plan to. Right away.

[Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced, funny and a bit of romance.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

This book is great! This is the beginning of a great adventure. I'm excited to read this series and see the sparks.