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A losing war. A deadly hunt for gifted children. A reluctant fighter.

Ordered to her enemy’s stronghold, Kiriai is forced to battle in the toughest tournament of her career. But her grandfather’s deadly secret is the real reason she fights. The chief has a hidden list of children, with emerging mental gifts, who are slated to be kidnapped and used by the city’s elite. Can Kiriai, her gaming AI and loyal crew find it in time?

Her boyfriend, Sento, has spent his whole career chasing the promotion to brawler. Being chosen for the tournament is everything he’s dreamed of—until Kiriai is chosen, too. He struggles between loving her and competing against her, especially when it’s evident she is keeping important secrets from him.

Plagued by flashbacks, worry about the gifted children and watching her relationship crumble before her eyes, Kiriai battles in and out of the arena to save herself and the children in danger. Will she complete her boss’s orders, find the list in time and still manage to salvage her first serious relationship? Or will everything crumble around her under the stress?

Combat Impulse is the fourth book in the World of Combat young adult dystopia series. If you like daring heroines, dangerous quests, litrpg and fighting for what you believe in, buy a copy of Combat Impulse today and dive in.

410 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 14, 2019

12 people are currently reading
11 people want to read

About the author

Misty Zaugg

21 books97 followers
Hi there. Thanks for stopping by!

Imagine a world where disputes are solved by single combat and a girl's dream is to become a scrapper, earning glory and wealth in the arena doing what she loves to do: fight. Pick up Combat Origin, and you'll fall in love with Kiriai, a kick-butt heroine that doesn't let anything stand in her way, ever.

That's the beginning of my Young Adult Dystopian Series: Combat World. It's a fast-paced series you'll want to curl up with and enjoy.

I've got two post-apoc series written now with woman who grow in the midst of disaster and never give up: Aftermath and Escaping the Virus.

Click over to my website if you'd like to read the free prequel to the series, Combat Genesis, and get my regular newsletter.

MistyZaugg.com

And thanks in advance for even a short, 1-liner review. When you're just starting out, like I am, each one makes a huge difference!

I collect hobbies because I love to learn including a black belt, M.D., beekeeper, herbalist, hobby survivalist, yummy bread baker, devout Christian and my greatest accomplishments: homeschool mom of six and wife to the other kind of doctor – the engineering kind.

Please email me with feedback, questions or just to say hi. I love hearing from fans!

— Misty

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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
16 reviews5 followers
January 1, 2020
I'm trying to save Jitaku while my AI is quoting Benjamin Franklin...

Wonderful series with a strong female protagonist! Book 4 continues the story of scrapper (professional fighter) Kiriai. Her 'hood (neighborhood/small semi-autonamous district) is in danger of being overtaken by a different 'burb (suburb/region) and its chief, which would cause devastating consequences for the people of her 'hood.

Kiriai must confront Chief Kosui again (she challenged him in book 3 to win her grandfather's freedom). All of this while she is trying to develop and understand her romantic relationship with Sento! (Nope, I still don't like him.)

Kiriai continues to learn physical and mental fighting skills with the help of Yabban, her Artificial Intelligence instructor. She develops more self-control and maturity, including using the technique of separating herself from an emotionally fraught situation and visualizing it from above. (I tried this during a difficult discussion recently, and it worked very well for me! Thanks, Kiriai!)

Meanwhile, she learns more about Gifted youth who are in grave danger of being kidnapped by the ruling families. The captured Gifted are forced to use their mental gifts for the nobles by cruel control collars and treated as no more than useful animals.

I look forward to seeing her be able to develop about strengthen her gift. The hints about the privileged ruling families and nobles are tantalizing and I want more details right now! It will be hard to wait until the next book, but I'm excited to see how the story unfolds. The world-building in this series is just incredible.
119 reviews
November 26, 2019
Another great addition to the series, our heroine is truly seeing the truth her world more abd more and finding herself in more and more dangerous situations with choices that always lead her headlong into it. Can be read as a stand alone but far better if you read the whole srries. Well written, fantstic story line, great characters and refreshing take on the dystopian genre, can't wait for more
223 reviews3 followers
November 16, 2019
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
In "Combat Impulse" Zaugg takes us on another exciting action-packed trip into the "Combat World" universe.
As usual, the author does a superb job of world building and character development in this outing.
It's a year on and this entertaining story shows us the changes that have happened since last we, the readers, visited "Combat World". As Kiriai and crew head back to the Southern core for the Brawler tournament.
Q: Will Kiriai and Sento's relationship survive the strain of the Brawler's tournament?
Q: Will Boss Akuto's ploy of sending Kiriai to the Brawler tournament backfire on him?
Q: Will Kiriai and crew intercept the list and rescue the young "gifted" from slavery?
A: Grab this book, settle in, read it and find out for yourself!!
In the interest of transparency: I received a free review copy of the book and I am voluntarily sharing this review.
It is my own honest opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Cath.
950 reviews17 followers
December 16, 2019
This is book four in the World of Combat Dystopia series and follows the main character, Kiriai, as she is placed in danger yet again and has to face a harder fight than she has ever had to before. This time the lives of others rely on her participating in the Southern Core city brawler tournament, even though she will never be able to become a brawler herself, due to her challenge of Chief Kosui the previous year, in an attempt to get her grandfather back.

Her relationship with her mentor Sento has progressed and they have been together romantically now for the last year. Her feelings for him have deepened and she realises she loves him, but is unsure what will happen with this next challenge. Three fighters from Jitaku Hood are being sent to the city for the brawler tournament and Boss Akuto has asked her to put herself forward for this chance, as he needs more information on whether the chief will help send fighters to their region to help them with the war against their neighbours. She will now be putting herself within the clutches of the chief she made an enemy of just a year before.

But, the main reason she decides to go is her grandfather’s request, to help save the lives of other gifted children who have been discovered by those in charge and are about to be seized and removed from their families. To an unknown fate and to never see their families again. Sento has made his wish to become a city brawler quite plain and isn’t exactly happy that Kiriai is now suddenly changing her mind and going to the tournament. Their relationship is at risk, mainly due to Sento’s tunnel vision of his future and his decisions to choose his ambitions no matter what.

Kiriai also has her great childhood friend and scrounger, Eigo, on her side. He is the one that found the AI tech on one of his scrounging expeditions. It has led to Kiriai having this AI trainer linked to her fighters implant and she has nicknamed them Yabban. It has helped her succeed as a fighter and led to her now being a senior scrapper for her hood, only a short year after beginning as a trainee. Her grandfather, a fellow fighter and a young aide all come with her to the brawler tournament and are working on this other goal, to get a list of those gifted children who are about to be snatched.

Kiriai still suffers from flashbacks of the awful ricing she was subjected to and which her boyfriend Sento was a part of. Her AI trainer gives her another tool to help her lessen the effect, but one of the fights she is about to undertake, will bring all of this back to her conscious mind. She has a lot to battle in this book and her first chance at a relationship and love may soon be broken apart at the seams. She and Sento know they may have to face each other if they reach a certain point in the tournament, but the chief hasn’t forgotten her previous actions and make events happen sooner than expected.

If Kiriai and her friends are caught in their secret mission, then they will all disappear, either to the mines and farms, or somewhere much worse. Never mind she also has to fight to the best of her ability against fighters from the other burbs, many who are much more experienced than her. The brawler tournament is a huge honour and could lead to bigger things, but she knows she will never be chosen, even if she gets through to the final sixteen fighters.

A lot more is at stake in this book for Kiriai, her family and friends, and even the ongoing survival of her own Hood. Another great book in this series and I can’t wait to read the next one! I would recommend it to all who like a bit of a different world scenario and strong characters fighting for their survival. Add in the extra ‘gifted’ powers that are being shown by Kiriai and others around her, and it brings bit of something different to the storyline. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
694 reviews41 followers
December 15, 2019
I received a digital arc in exchange for an honest review. This is simply my opinion on the book and is not influenced by any external factor.

Combat Impulse is the fourth book in the amazing World of Combat series. This series keeps getting better with every book. The brawls are more intense and the stakes are higher. Along with well-crafted, hateable villains, Kiriai must use all her skills and abilities to make it through this time around. But with the help of Yabban, her gaming AI, and her friends and family, she knows she always has people to support her. Yabban continues to be awesome as she gains more attribute points and becomes more ‘human’ as opposed to ‘AI’.

The second and third book in this series introduced us to the possible romance of Kiriai and fellow Scrapper Sento, and this is the first book we really see the depths of their relationship. (Not to worry, all romantic interaction is clean and there is no adult content!). Both Kiriai and Sento have their own career goals, and with an opportunity to progress arising, the couple’s relationship will be tested in several ways.

I’ve really enjoyed Kiriai’s adventures so far, and am looking forward to book 5 and what happens next!.
4 reviews
January 21, 2020
So, much as my previous reviews said, my favorite part of this story besides the main character has got to be the evolving world view. The AI and the side characters grow, the story gets more in depth, and we begin to see the intricacies hidden in earlier stories because the character's point of view was simply too immature. I don't want to ruin the story but we really just see more and more, especially the clash of personal feelings vs overarching goals and the secrets of her family. I've heard a book five is coming, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. I'm not even normally a scifi/dystopia reader but I really do enjoy this series.

I received an ARC for an objective review. But honestly I plan to buy the books once I figure out how to on my kindle, I adore them and the author is worth the support.
3 reviews
December 9, 2019
I love the Dystopia series!! I am amazed by how nicely this story has develop since book one. A very well done job Misty Zaugg. I enjoyed every pages I've read so far. In this forth book of the series, as Kiriai embarks on another adventure. you'll noticed how much Kiriai has grown as a character and how her decisions had impacted her way of thinking and her goals. This is a very good read that grasp you from the beginning until you are done with it. Its a very easy reading with amazing fighting scenes. You will definitely be immerse in this fantastic world. This is a real page turner with twists and turns that keeps you engaged with every page. I definitely recommend this and all the books in the series.
Profile Image for Holly.
22 reviews4 followers
December 8, 2019
First of all, I absolutely love the covers in this series <3
Combat Impulse was a great addition to the World of Combat series. The stakes just keep getting higher for Kiriai and she continues to step up! There are some great characters in this series and I felt like I got to know some of them better. I liked how this book concluded and am greatly looking forward to book 5!!!!
Profile Image for Scarolet Ellis.
7,445 reviews53 followers
January 16, 2020
Combat Impulse by Misty Zaugg is an amazing story that I have read. This is book number four in this amazing series that I fell in love with from the begining of this series. I highly recommend this series to everyone who loves reading about science fiction.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Pat Eroh.
2,618 reviews32 followers
December 15, 2019
Kiriai is an awesome character and by this time, having read the first 3 books, I totally love this young woman. This is an amazing series that I love throughout each book. Do not miss this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
16.7k reviews154 followers
February 16, 2021
She is about to enter the lion den and steal a prize item from them. She knows she will need to be very careful and keep safe if she is to help the others. Will she get the item? Will she get away? See just hoe she gets on

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
146 reviews2 followers
June 16, 2021
Combat Impulse

This series is gaining momentum quickly and I am really enjoying each installment. The action, suspense and character development are very good. I care about these characters and am really happy that there us a fifth installment, with more to come!

Anyone from grade 4 to adulthood can appreciate these books.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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