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Brawler Initiation is a closely guarded secret . . .

. . . that she will only discover if she survives.

Kiriai is thrown into a brutal, month-long test in the big leagues. She fights to prove she deserves her spot as an elite brawler, despite how little she wanted it in the first place.

But the stakes are high and everyone is depending on her.

Back home, her hood desperately needs reinforcements or they’ll lose the war. New enemies plot against her, while old enemies sharpen their knives.

Will the help of loyal friends and her AI sensei be enough to help Kiriai win the fight that could save or ruin everything?

Oh . . . and her ex-boyfriend, the one whose spot she stole, is back on her crew . . . when an unexpected proposal catches Kiriai by surprise. It’s a bit of a mess.

In a burb teeming with intrigue, only one fighter can defy the schemes of the powerful, defend her friends and refuse to surrender in the battle everyone expects her to lose.

You’ll love Combat Shift, the fifth installment of Kiriai’s story, because everyone wants to see the stubborn underdog save her people and win. Click Buy Now and start reading.

488 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2020

6 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Cath.
950 reviews17 followers
April 18, 2020
This is book five of the World of Combat Dystopia series and covers the Brawler Initiation for the main character Kiriai, who has worked her way up from being a simple scrapper, to now training to be a Southern Burb Brawler. In the last book she and her boyfriend Sento, were both working to advance to the next level of fighter and both qualified to try out for the tournament to become one of Jitaku Hood’s representative Brawlers. Kiriai didn’t make any friends in her fighting as she got faced against Sento and he wanted her to give up on the fight and let him win, as it was his dream to be a City Brawler. This ended their relationship and she went onto the City.

She chose a team of her best friends and trusted colleagues to be on her Brawler team, including her childhood best friend and tech genius Eigo, Ihsa as her fixer, Aibo as her aide, Mikata as her training partner, Ranger Tomi and Shisen to find out all they can to help progress her with any political manoeuvring and then Sento as her trainer, even after all that he did to her previously. They are now in what they consider luxurious surroundings in stark contrast to what they are used to in their home hood of Jitaku. Scrappers and those below Brawler level, all fight in individual conflict fights, but Brawlers fight for the whole city, which consists of four separate hoods. Jitaku hood is in danger of losing their ground to a rival hood, who is beating them in local fights.

If Kiriai can pass her Brawler initiation and challenge a suitable fighter for her first fight, her hood Boss Akuto could ask for more fighters to aid them, while it seems someone has been holding back on providing these extra fighters, for their own reasons. Kiriai is learning that politics plays a huge part in the fight scene and should have listened to Sento more, about this aspect of fighting. She just wants to fight. She has Yabban, her AI fight trainer which was a brilliant side effect of a piece of tech that Eigo found while scavenging in the desolate and radioactive wastelands. Her brawler initial training is for a month and she seems to have a few others that are against her, but maybe her anger is going to get her in trouble again!

She annoyed Chief Kosui, the leader of the Southern Burb, and in overall charge of all four hoods, when at the competition to find the best fighters to be allowed to progress to Brawlers. He hasn’t forgiven her and her smart mouth, but she is lucky to have the backing of her own Boss Akuto, whilst his second Jaaku, has had it out for her ever since she became a scrapper. She is fighting for her hood and her own standing, but also for all her friends who are like family to her. If her hood loses much more land, then the only chance for it to be won back, would be a Burb level fight with Brawlers fighting for the city. Tomi is hoping to get enough support, that it will never go that far.

Kiriai finds that the Brawler initiation is far more intense than anything she has gone through up to now and having some of the Trainers seeming to have a distinct ‘thing’ for wanting her to fail, makes her life and training days much harder than she thought they would ever be. Each of her team are doing their best to discover what ever information than can to assist their hood or any influence or friends they may be able to gain to help their cause. One hood boss, Boss Ryuin, has a personal hatred for Kiriai’s hood boss, Boss Akuto, which has been ongoing for decades. She will do anything she can to help the Western burb take over Jitaku Hood.

Kiriai is the only hope for reinforcements, but others are playing a much dirtier game than anyone can imagine and there are further hurdles put in place, that she will either have to overcome or be defeated by. There will also be unexpected surprises on a personal note, which may not be best timed during this. The Initiate Brawlers will have a fight at the end of this training period, before they can be called Brawlers themselves, with fully trained fighters, who they are expected to lose against. This is to help them be humble and accept their lowly position and a change in loyalty from their individual hoods to the Chief of the whole Burb. Kiriai isn’t very good at failing, especially when it comes to fighting and will defend her friends and family with all she has and will not surrender easily to any that try to take away her chances.

This whole book covers this fantastic chance she has been working so hard towards for the last year or so. It has cost her dearly, especially her boyfriend Sento and his training help, never mind his friendship, but she always carries on, no matter the hurdles she faces. A lot of skulduggery in the background, by the bigger politically inclined persons vying for favour and power. Also in the background is the fate of the ‘gifted’ children and the Chief’s search for them. Lots more to come from this series and I can’t wait to read some more. The training with her AI interface is fascinating and one of the best parts of the story for me and I love their interactions, often at odd moments. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
223 reviews3 followers
April 13, 2020
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
Zaugg does it AGAIN! In "Combat Shift: ( World Of Combat Dystopia #5 )" book five of the author's inaugural series.
The author weaves a rich tapestry of a story balancing action and exposition while ratcheting up the tension until the explosive resolution.
I was hooked from the first to the very last word!
Zaugg continues their excellent world building and character development particularly that of Yabban and Eigo.
Q: Can Kiriai make it through her brawler initiate training?
Q: Can Kiriai and her crew garner the much needed reinforcements to save Jitaku 'hood?
Q: Who is the "Hooded Man?"
A: Grab this entertaining book, read it and find out.
I recommend this page turner and I can hardly wait to read book six!
In the interest of transparency: I was given a review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review.
It is my own honest opinion.
Profile Image for Jennifer Willison.
215 reviews8 followers
April 10, 2020
A great book with a great story and lots of action. It will keep you turning pages!
Profile Image for Scarolet Ellis.
7,445 reviews53 followers
April 22, 2020
Combat Shift: A Dystopian Gamelit Adventure (World of Combat Dystopia Book 5) by Misty Zaugg is an amazing story that I have read. This is book number five in this amazing series that I have loved reading and I can not wait to see what this author will write next. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about Sci-Fi in their stories.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
694 reviews41 followers
April 26, 2020
After reading this book, I wanted to write and post this review to share my honest experiences toward the story.

Kiriai’s story continues in Combat Shift, this time focusing on her experience in Brawler training. No one ever said that it would be easy, and Kiriai faces many challenges during the course of her training. As with the previous books in this series, this was very well written and engaging, I really enjoyed the characters and the litRPG element, and the fighting style reminiscent of Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros games. The ending especially was filled with so many twists and turns, I can say from personal experience that my heart was racing during the last quarter of the book, and I physically could not stop reading. It was a pleasure to read this book, and I honestly cannot wait to see how the series continues.
16 reviews5 followers
May 23, 2020
I'm a huge fan of this series, and it gets better with each book!

Kiriai has made it to the big league status of a brawler, er brawler initiate. First, she must survive hazing and brutal training. She manages to forge alliances to help save her 'hood, as she hones her fighting skills.

(Having in Tang Soo Do, I really enjoy the fighting descriptions, wish I had an Artificial Intelligence like Yabban to guide me, and am grateful I'll never have to go through her training!)

Kiriai and Eigo continue to build their adorkable boyfriend/girlfriend relationship (it's so awkward and cute and adorable).

There's a surprising reappearance of Sento, her former boyfriend. I won't give any spoilers, but I'm grudgingly starting to respect him.

Read this series! You won't regret the time away from binging on Netflix, I promise.
119 reviews
April 21, 2020
Another great book in the fantasic series that has a refreshing new take on the dystopian genre.
In a world where organised fights determine everything, or at least appear to, we have a female lead who is a fighter which in itself is good to see but there's more to her world than she realises and our young champion is finding out more and more. Well written with great characters that you really feel you get to know, a mix of old and new combined with a great plot with many angles makes this a must read. Works as a stand alone but far better read as part of the series.
Profile Image for Holly.
22 reviews4 followers
June 1, 2020
A great addition to this series!
I love seeing the start of some new relationships and new advantages being acquired with Yabban! I always enjoy when Kiriai gets to unlock some new major advantage :) The endings always leave me curious to see where her story will go next!
146 reviews2 followers
June 17, 2021
Combat Shift

This book is a great read for older children, youth and adults. It you like books with combat, strong chatacters and an interesting storyline, then this series is for you!
60 reviews
July 3, 2021
Awesome!!

Love excitement, danger, female heroine! This is the book for you. Fears and Teamwork, standing your ground, following your principles, family, love. This series has it all.
Profile Image for Mik Wasiak.
388 reviews3 followers
July 11, 2021
Love these books only thing is I want the next book please 🥲🥲
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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