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Nyx Fortuna #1
Guardian of Chaos
Earth’s hub for the magical universe is in need of a new Guardian, and Nyx Fortuna is so the person for that job...
It’s easy to feel forgettable. Nyx literally is, and the condition seems to be getting worse. Homeless and alone, she's at the end of her rope when she stumbles onto Earth Between, a nexus between worlds. The residents may be magical and alien as hell, but they don’t have any problem remembering she exists.
Though she never intended to become the Guardian of a Waystation between worlds, the gig is pretty simple: act as glorified passport control for the ley lines that connect the planets. But when an illegal traveler slips through her Station, she’s given an ultimatum: apprehend him or lose her new job—and the only place she’s ever belonged.
Things start looking up when the illegal traveler turns himself in, until Nyx learns he actually came to Earth looking for her. He thinks his best friend—and coincidentally Nyx’s ex-boyfriend—hid the most powerful object in the universe with her: the Harvester of Worlds. Nyx is determined to sort out this intergalactic mess, even if she has to visit the most dangerous planet in the galaxy and rescue her ex-boyfriend to do it.
Oh, and if she suspects she’s been wearing the Harvester of Worlds as a necklace for the last five years, well, what’s the worst that could come from a power object with a name like that?
It’s easy to feel forgettable. Nyx literally is, and the condition seems to be getting worse. Homeless and alone, she's at the end of her rope when she stumbles onto Earth Between, a nexus between worlds. The residents may be magical and alien as hell, but they don’t have any problem remembering she exists.
Though she never intended to become the Guardian of a Waystation between worlds, the gig is pretty simple: act as glorified passport control for the ley lines that connect the planets. But when an illegal traveler slips through her Station, she’s given an ultimatum: apprehend him or lose her new job—and the only place she’s ever belonged.
Things start looking up when the illegal traveler turns himself in, until Nyx learns he actually came to Earth looking for her. He thinks his best friend—and coincidentally Nyx’s ex-boyfriend—hid the most powerful object in the universe with her: the Harvester of Worlds. Nyx is determined to sort out this intergalactic mess, even if she has to visit the most dangerous planet in the galaxy and rescue her ex-boyfriend to do it.
Oh, and if she suspects she’s been wearing the Harvester of Worlds as a necklace for the last five years, well, what’s the worst that could come from a power object with a name like that?
346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 31, 2021
178 people are currently reading
1899 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Manus
11 books90 followersMichelle lives in a desolate land with a dark wizard, a unicorn, and a feline overlord. Despite certain stereotypes you may be familiar with, the dark wizard is not holding her captive, nor does the unicorn require virgin riders. The feline overlord, however, may well be evil.
She holds dual BAs in English and Philosophy, which has gotten her about as far as you would expect it to in life. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she’s still desperately holding out hope that in an alternate reality she’s a sword-wielding princess.
She holds dual BAs in English and Philosophy, which has gotten her about as far as you would expect it to in life. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she’s still desperately holding out hope that in an alternate reality she’s a sword-wielding princess.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
September 9, 2022
This was an interesting read that I enjoyed, though I have no desire to continue the series.
I have a great deal of empathy for Nyx. She has been denied lasting relationships for as long as she can remember because of whatever is making people forget about her. The story picks up as the strain of that isolation has become so strong that she no longer cares if it kills her to leave the area she has been bound to (with increasingly debilitating effects the farther she gets away from that area). So I was interested when she gets to a place where that forgetting effect doesn't apply. It totally made sense that she'd start befriending everything in sight and I liked how that extension of trust played out in the story.
The other characters were interesting, too. each with their own motivations for joining her various missions. The magical world Earth isn't a part of was multi-faceted and with lots of things to keep the adventure going. Nyx is a good PoV to join as she navigates this new world and her responsibilities.
So why don't I care to continue? I've been trying to figure that out, myself. Part of it is that I really like the device of how she is bound to her station in Earth Between, but the stories all have her jaunting off all the time to other places. A constrained protagonist was interesting to me, and that's not at all what these stories promise to be. And some of that may be that it feels like every limitation we learn about is almost immediately violated by the story. Nyx can't leave the station until she does. You just don't survive a brush with "chaos bubbles", until Nyx does. Nobody leaves the prison planet until . . . you get what I'm saying? This isn't so much that Nyx is magical special girl who gets all the things as it is that I stopped taking any new limitations seriously. No, it's worse than that, I started seeing new limitations as just another way to screw with Nyx and that broke my immersion even as it made me tense.
Anyway, as I said, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It bogs down in the awful conditions of prison planet and the limitation pattern above started intruding on my awareness in the latter parts of the story so I'm going to go with four stars. It was good, and I liked Nyx all the way through. But I'm kinda over her millieu.
A note about Chaste: There's an ex boyfriend who represents a troubled relationship from her past who shows up in her new world. So there could have been shenanigans. But I kind of loved how that developed and that Nyx stuck to her guns on what amounts to his betrayal. His reasons for leaving are good ones. But his manner in doing so was all the wrong in the world. So there's no sexy times and no steam at all and this was very chaste.
I have a great deal of empathy for Nyx. She has been denied lasting relationships for as long as she can remember because of whatever is making people forget about her. The story picks up as the strain of that isolation has become so strong that she no longer cares if it kills her to leave the area she has been bound to (with increasingly debilitating effects the farther she gets away from that area). So I was interested when she gets to a place where that forgetting effect doesn't apply. It totally made sense that she'd start befriending everything in sight and I liked how that extension of trust played out in the story.
The other characters were interesting, too. each with their own motivations for joining her various missions. The magical world Earth isn't a part of was multi-faceted and with lots of things to keep the adventure going. Nyx is a good PoV to join as she navigates this new world and her responsibilities.
So why don't I care to continue? I've been trying to figure that out, myself. Part of it is that I really like the device of how she is bound to her station in Earth Between, but the stories all have her jaunting off all the time to other places. A constrained protagonist was interesting to me, and that's not at all what these stories promise to be. And some of that may be that it feels like every limitation we learn about is almost immediately violated by the story. Nyx can't leave the station until she does. You just don't survive a brush with "chaos bubbles", until Nyx does. Nobody leaves the prison planet until . . . you get what I'm saying? This isn't so much that Nyx is magical special girl who gets all the things as it is that I stopped taking any new limitations seriously. No, it's worse than that, I started seeing new limitations as just another way to screw with Nyx and that broke my immersion even as it made me tense.
Anyway, as I said, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It bogs down in the awful conditions of prison planet and the limitation pattern above started intruding on my awareness in the latter parts of the story so I'm going to go with four stars. It was good, and I liked Nyx all the way through. But I'm kinda over her millieu.
A note about Chaste: There's an ex boyfriend who represents a troubled relationship from her past who shows up in her new world. So there could have been shenanigans. But I kind of loved how that developed and that Nyx stuck to her guns on what amounts to his betrayal. His reasons for leaving are good ones. But his manner in doing so was all the wrong in the world. So there's no sexy times and no steam at all and this was very chaste.
September 7, 2022
I just don’t understand when people compare this book to the Innkeeper by Ilona Andrews. In my eyes it’s a travesty. Where the inn was full of magic, possibilities, freedom and wonder, the station here is a gloomy, repressive, oppressive, dead end, where the people themselves compared it to prisons or a lifetime sentence. A glorified passport control! Plus cardboard characters who are inconsistent, the avatar has one character at the beginning and an entirely different one towards the end. The heroine, the narration, the love interest, the obstacles, the villains are not only Not engaging but it’s a struggle to stay put and go on reading. In the innkeeper, scenes are full of drama, a bit over the top (but done in a tasteful way) sometimes, but you can’t put the book down and read with bated breath, here you get bored and skip and skim just to get through.
August 28, 2023
I should have dnf'ed it.
This book is all action in the form of problem after problem after problem with no real substance to it.
You don't know any more about any of the characters at the end of the book than you do at the beginning.
There is zero humor. No smile, no laugh, just boring recitation of one problem after another.
I honestly have no idea what the overarching plot and or mystery is supposed to be. Her background? The council being shady? The race of look alike assassins that have killed out her "kind", the harvester of worlds and what it is and what it can do,... I could go on - because nothing really gets resolved.
Add to all that, the author breaks her own world building rules over and over and over. You can't.... then she does. No one has...then she dos. It's not possible... then she does. What's the point? Apparently every problem just needs Nyx to do something no one else ever has or can. Even though she is as dull as a rusted through, falling apart knife.
I will not be continuing the series.
This book is all action in the form of problem after problem after problem with no real substance to it.
You don't know any more about any of the characters at the end of the book than you do at the beginning.
There is zero humor. No smile, no laugh, just boring recitation of one problem after another.
I honestly have no idea what the overarching plot and or mystery is supposed to be. Her background? The council being shady? The race of look alike assassins that have killed out her "kind", the harvester of worlds and what it is and what it can do,... I could go on - because nothing really gets resolved.
Add to all that, the author breaks her own world building rules over and over and over. You can't.... then she does. No one has...then she dos. It's not possible... then she does. What's the point? Apparently every problem just needs Nyx to do something no one else ever has or can. Even though she is as dull as a rusted through, falling apart knife.
I will not be continuing the series.
June 27, 2023
I was pleasantly surprise with this novel. I wasn't sure what I was getting into. The cover pulled me in. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it enough to continue the series.
I love the world that Nyx Fortuna is thrust into. Nyx has no genuine memories and aside from the lover who gave her the necklace she wears, no one remembers or really sees her until she falls into the in-between.
FRTC
Rated: 4 Stars
I love the world that Nyx Fortuna is thrust into. Nyx has no genuine memories and aside from the lover who gave her the necklace she wears, no one remembers or really sees her until she falls into the in-between.
FRTC
Rated: 4 Stars
October 17, 2022
I have to say; I love the world that Nyx Fortuna is thrust into. Nyx has no genuine memories and aside from the lover who gave her the necklace she wears, no one remembers or really sees her. It’s not just a figment of her imagination. When she loses her job and gets an eviction notice, she leaves town. On the bus, she gets a pounding migraine and blood runs from her nose and ears. She escapes the bus and in the terminal she stumbles upon Earth Between, a nexus between worlds.
Here Nyx becomes the Guardian of a Waystation between worlds, and our adventure begins. I loved Nyx from the onset, and you will too. Despite her shitty life, she is kind to all, kickass and wise beyond her years…well, sometimes.
Nyx has to tackle a difficult situation the moment her job begins. First, she has an influx of visitors to check in, then she is asked to deal with an illegal traveler. She needs to apprehend him or she’ll lose her new job.
I loved her avatar, a griffin she dubs Grif and the people of the village surrounding her waystation. The Waystation is magical and expands as needed. The author brought it life and explained the world while dangling knowledge that has me curious to know more.
We met quite a few characters, but each was unique enough that I easily kept track of them and look forward to learning more. We have a potential love interest, which is complicated by some past issues. Secondary characters added humor and suspense.
We traveled ley-lines, worked with magical objects, and did some creepy things with thorns. It was refreshing and original. The story left me excited about the next audiobook.
For a first in series, it was well paced, and I slipped into the audio narrated by Desireé Ketchum. She captured Nyx’s personality and helped set the tone for the series. I will definitely be listening. Currently, there are three books in the series, so I am hoping the audiobooks release quickly.
Fans of Ilona Andrews and her InnKeeper Chronicles will enjoy this one. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
Here Nyx becomes the Guardian of a Waystation between worlds, and our adventure begins. I loved Nyx from the onset, and you will too. Despite her shitty life, she is kind to all, kickass and wise beyond her years…well, sometimes.
Nyx has to tackle a difficult situation the moment her job begins. First, she has an influx of visitors to check in, then she is asked to deal with an illegal traveler. She needs to apprehend him or she’ll lose her new job.
I loved her avatar, a griffin she dubs Grif and the people of the village surrounding her waystation. The Waystation is magical and expands as needed. The author brought it life and explained the world while dangling knowledge that has me curious to know more.
We met quite a few characters, but each was unique enough that I easily kept track of them and look forward to learning more. We have a potential love interest, which is complicated by some past issues. Secondary characters added humor and suspense.
We traveled ley-lines, worked with magical objects, and did some creepy things with thorns. It was refreshing and original. The story left me excited about the next audiobook.
For a first in series, it was well paced, and I slipped into the audio narrated by Desireé Ketchum. She captured Nyx’s personality and helped set the tone for the series. I will definitely be listening. Currently, there are three books in the series, so I am hoping the audiobooks release quickly.
Fans of Ilona Andrews and her InnKeeper Chronicles will enjoy this one. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
December 20, 2021
I think this was recommended in a Facebook group and I'm so happy I checked it out. This was awesome! An amazing read for fans of the Innkeeper series by Ilona Andrews (which I LOVE!!). The world is similar, maybe a touch darker, but I love that it's different enough to have it's very own feel. If you love the Innkeeper series as much as I do I hope you'll jump in and love this as well. FYI - the romance is slow going, at best. Don't go in thinking it's filthy because that's what I write. ;)
February 28, 2025
2025 Reads #95/250
October 16, 2023
Listened to the audible version. Not overly invested but entertaining enough to finish. I’m not sure I’d continue the series if I had alternative reading material.
I read a lot of reviews in which this series was compared to The Inn Keepers series. I don’t think that’s inaccurate but it’s certainly not accurate either. Don’t read this book with that expectation you’d be disappointed. I’d describe the Weigh Station as a mix between Ilona Andrews Inn concept & Michelle Sagara’s Fiefdoms (Avatars/ Towers? I think they’re called) in The Chronicles of Elantra series. I didn’t mind the similarities but ofc it’s not identical to either series in action characters nor world & it shouldn’t be. 3 stars
I read a lot of reviews in which this series was compared to The Inn Keepers series. I don’t think that’s inaccurate but it’s certainly not accurate either. Don’t read this book with that expectation you’d be disappointed. I’d describe the Weigh Station as a mix between Ilona Andrews Inn concept & Michelle Sagara’s Fiefdoms (Avatars/ Towers? I think they’re called) in The Chronicles of Elantra series. I didn’t mind the similarities but ofc it’s not identical to either series in action characters nor world & it shouldn’t be. 3 stars
April 13, 2022
An unimaginative read
Yes, a lot happens all the time. The plot goes from one event to the next within a page's time. And that's exactly the problem. There is no lingering, no fleshing out the story or the characters, no grit, no true heartache, no suspense waiting for a resolution. It's just problem followed by solution, next problem next solution and so on. Some of the ideas are okay, but some are just stupid, and read like bad 1960's science fiction. Some editing would have been nice. I won't be reading any more books in this series.
Yes, a lot happens all the time. The plot goes from one event to the next within a page's time. And that's exactly the problem. There is no lingering, no fleshing out the story or the characters, no grit, no true heartache, no suspense waiting for a resolution. It's just problem followed by solution, next problem next solution and so on. Some of the ideas are okay, but some are just stupid, and read like bad 1960's science fiction. Some editing would have been nice. I won't be reading any more books in this series.
January 28, 2022
Struggling to finish anything lately. Scattering almost finished books all over. Never thought my go to of escape by reading would fail me but... This clicked one chapter in and then I couldn’t put it down. Enjoyed the characters and the adventure. Looking forward to the next one. In very high stress times this book was just what I needed.
June 28, 2023
There are a lot of bad paranormal suspense books around. People take the same premise and just write it over and over, it seems, usually not very competently. This book is also open to the accusation of having a well-worn premise, or rather a couple of them: the main character gets introduced to the existence of magic in her 20s and discovers she's someone important; there's a hidden travel nexus that visitors from other worlds use, and the main character becomes its guardian. But it handles these ideas well, for the most part, and certainly the suspense part is well done, and the character is neither an idiot who's supposed to be highly intelligent or a neurotic mess who's supposed to be competent, so points for that.
Like every book I've bought via BookBub in the past couple of years, it needs more editing, by someone with a good vocabulary who knows the difference between subsequently and consequently, askance and askew, peeling and pealing, rivets and divots, running the gauntlet and running the gamut, turning someone "into" the authorities versus turning them "in to" the authorities, that "all though" isn't how you spell "although", and that "brethren" is plural; who knows when not to use a hyphen (not for numbers that aren't between 21 and 99, not between words that aren't currently functioning as an adjectival phrase directly modifying a noun, definitely not between an adjective and its noun) and when not to use a comma (not between adjectives in a list if their order can be changed and still seem natural), and how to avoid committing a dangling modifier. A degree in English, which this author has, doesn't automatically teach you these things; I didn't learn them when I got my English degree either. I had to pick them up for myself. I marked over 60 issues, which would land it on my "seriously needs editing" shelf except that most of them are excess hyphens or commas.
There are a few moments where my suspension of disbelief broke, such as when someone is able to play two melodies at a time on a flute (the author clearly knows nothing about music, based on the terminology she uses in that context, but it doesn't take much knowledge to know that flutes only play one note at a time - and no, if you don't lampshade it and make it clear that it's magic allowing this, I'm not going to assume that's the explanation). My biggest question needs spoiler tags:
So there's plenty to criticize here at one level. On the other hand, as I said, the suspense was well done; I certainly found the various challenges that the protagonist and her companions faced exciting. However, because (by the nature of her unfamiliarity with the world) we never got to know in advance what was and wasn't possible with magic and the various artefacts, the magic didn't conform to Sanderson's Laws, and therefore was slightly disappointing as a method of resolving problems, since any problem could potentially be resolved with a magic solution we didn't previously know about. The positive in this context was that these resolutions came with a cost to the protagonist, and she had to be smart and loyal and determined to achieve them, so this is one of those books that, while it has a number of flaws in concept and mechanics, nevertheless works well in terms of its emotional throughline. I've put books like that on my Best of the Year list before, and this one joins them - firmly in the Bronze tier, but that's still a recommendation, even if it comes with a big asterisk.
It didn't quite win me over to the point that I'll read the series, though. There are enough flaws, and it's similar enough to other books, that this is where I'll stop.
Like every book I've bought via BookBub in the past couple of years, it needs more editing, by someone with a good vocabulary who knows the difference between subsequently and consequently, askance and askew, peeling and pealing, rivets and divots, running the gauntlet and running the gamut, turning someone "into" the authorities versus turning them "in to" the authorities, that "all though" isn't how you spell "although", and that "brethren" is plural; who knows when not to use a hyphen (not for numbers that aren't between 21 and 99, not between words that aren't currently functioning as an adjectival phrase directly modifying a noun, definitely not between an adjective and its noun) and when not to use a comma (not between adjectives in a list if their order can be changed and still seem natural), and how to avoid committing a dangling modifier. A degree in English, which this author has, doesn't automatically teach you these things; I didn't learn them when I got my English degree either. I had to pick them up for myself. I marked over 60 issues, which would land it on my "seriously needs editing" shelf except that most of them are excess hyphens or commas.
There are a few moments where my suspension of disbelief broke, such as when someone is able to play two melodies at a time on a flute (the author clearly knows nothing about music, based on the terminology she uses in that context, but it doesn't take much knowledge to know that flutes only play one note at a time - and no, if you don't lampshade it and make it clear that it's magic allowing this, I'm not going to assume that's the explanation). My biggest question needs spoiler tags:
So there's plenty to criticize here at one level. On the other hand, as I said, the suspense was well done; I certainly found the various challenges that the protagonist and her companions faced exciting. However, because (by the nature of her unfamiliarity with the world) we never got to know in advance what was and wasn't possible with magic and the various artefacts, the magic didn't conform to Sanderson's Laws, and therefore was slightly disappointing as a method of resolving problems, since any problem could potentially be resolved with a magic solution we didn't previously know about. The positive in this context was that these resolutions came with a cost to the protagonist, and she had to be smart and loyal and determined to achieve them, so this is one of those books that, while it has a number of flaws in concept and mechanics, nevertheless works well in terms of its emotional throughline. I've put books like that on my Best of the Year list before, and this one joins them - firmly in the Bronze tier, but that's still a recommendation, even if it comes with a big asterisk.
It didn't quite win me over to the point that I'll read the series, though. There are enough flaws, and it's similar enough to other books, that this is where I'll stop.
December 14, 2021
Better than I expected from the blurb, possibly not quite as good as I expected from the sample.
But good!
New and old aspects of fantasy blended relatively seamlessly into a pleasing whole with only minor hiccups.
I like Nyx. I like her relationships. I'm curious to know more.
But good!
New and old aspects of fantasy blended relatively seamlessly into a pleasing whole with only minor hiccups.
I like Nyx. I like her relationships. I'm curious to know more.
did-not-finish
March 11, 2024DNF at 9%. It's fine but it doesn't make sense. She's so accepting of something that i would find traumatic. There's so much her I don't understand and I'm not intrigued enough to try, especially since there are some critical reviews that make some good points.
November 12, 2021
This book is an adventure and a mystery. The world is complex and interesting and the characters are equally complex and fun to get to know. I cannot wait for the next book
December 6, 2021
I really liked it.
December 24, 2021
Good start to the series
February 7, 2022
An exciting and enjoyable read. The setting is an unusual universe. Nyx Fortuna wakes up everyday not remembering who she is. She becomes through apparent happenstance the Guardian of a station for interplanetary travellers. Then she has exciting adventures. Good stuff.
December 3, 2021
Well Written and Compelling
I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.
This is the first book in a continuing series. The book ends at a natural break in the narrative but you are aware there is plenty more to come in future books.
This is an unusual book in that it feels like it is derivative from many different sources, however by the end of the book I just didn’t care because I’d come to like the main character so much. Though there are many different aspects from other fantasy and urban fantasy books used within the story the melding of them is very well done.
Nyx woke up at aged 18 with no memories. She was left with an apartment, a scholarship to a college and some funds and a note telling her about her financial situation and nothing more. For the last 7 years she has been practically invisible to everyone with the exception of one man, who disappeared. When she finally reaches the end of her tether she escapes the city in which she ‘awoke to herself’ at a very severe cost to her health and sanity. She found her way to a Station and was appointed Guardian before she knew what was happening.
Finding herself in a broad universe filled with magic users her reality is turned on it’s head, however for the first time in her memory everyone can see her. They remember her and recognise her and she can form relationships. When things start to look positive for the first time in years, the universe decides to set her some challenges she is not equipped for.
Nyx is an interesting character that we get to know through the course of the book. She also changes and grows as we get to know her, because her experiences are so exceptional they can’t help but change her. She starts out desperate and bone-crushingly lonely and it encompasses her whole being. It’s only once she starts to form connections with other and recognise that her circumstances are truly changed that we start to see the true Nyx. She is curious to the point of being nosy, she is intelligent and desperate to form connections with others. However, she is not stupid about that need to connect and recognises that it can be a flaw. She is compassionate and fair-minded and seeks to help others when she can.
This is an excellent first book in a series because we are introduced to a vast complex universe by standing on the edges of it looking in beside Nyx. She is equally befuddled by this new universe and asks the questions we want answered. The plot is complicated enough to be interesting without overwhelming the world-building and character development. There is a good balance between the three aspects of the story.
The supporting characters are all interesting and I hope we get to see more of them. They all have intriguing pasts that I want to see explored.
I’ve not come across this author before but I will definitely read her books again.
I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.
This is the first book in a continuing series. The book ends at a natural break in the narrative but you are aware there is plenty more to come in future books.
This is an unusual book in that it feels like it is derivative from many different sources, however by the end of the book I just didn’t care because I’d come to like the main character so much. Though there are many different aspects from other fantasy and urban fantasy books used within the story the melding of them is very well done.
Nyx woke up at aged 18 with no memories. She was left with an apartment, a scholarship to a college and some funds and a note telling her about her financial situation and nothing more. For the last 7 years she has been practically invisible to everyone with the exception of one man, who disappeared. When she finally reaches the end of her tether she escapes the city in which she ‘awoke to herself’ at a very severe cost to her health and sanity. She found her way to a Station and was appointed Guardian before she knew what was happening.
Finding herself in a broad universe filled with magic users her reality is turned on it’s head, however for the first time in her memory everyone can see her. They remember her and recognise her and she can form relationships. When things start to look positive for the first time in years, the universe decides to set her some challenges she is not equipped for.
Nyx is an interesting character that we get to know through the course of the book. She also changes and grows as we get to know her, because her experiences are so exceptional they can’t help but change her. She starts out desperate and bone-crushingly lonely and it encompasses her whole being. It’s only once she starts to form connections with other and recognise that her circumstances are truly changed that we start to see the true Nyx. She is curious to the point of being nosy, she is intelligent and desperate to form connections with others. However, she is not stupid about that need to connect and recognises that it can be a flaw. She is compassionate and fair-minded and seeks to help others when she can.
This is an excellent first book in a series because we are introduced to a vast complex universe by standing on the edges of it looking in beside Nyx. She is equally befuddled by this new universe and asks the questions we want answered. The plot is complicated enough to be interesting without overwhelming the world-building and character development. There is a good balance between the three aspects of the story.
The supporting characters are all interesting and I hope we get to see more of them. They all have intriguing pasts that I want to see explored.
I’ve not come across this author before but I will definitely read her books again.
May 26, 2022
I am going through a reading funk so I am not sure that I can even rely on my norm when reading a new book or series. However, "Guardian of Chaos" is an interesting enough tale about a twenty four year old woman Nyx Fortuna who is leaving Arizona to escape an unremarkable life with no friends and no connections. She is four months behind in her rent and has nowhere to go but she boards a bus
but makes a hasty departure when she has a bloody nose and gets sick. She ends up in the woods where she stumbles into a waystation of sorts that connect Earth with travelers from different dimensions and world all powered by leylines.
Nyx is in for a surprise when she discovers she has been named the new guardian by her Avatar whom she affectionately names, Griff. Her new job is to check out the credentials of travelers just as security would do at an airport or other major travel fare. In addition to her new duties, Nyx discovers she has been given a new assistant, Evra, an Amazon. While thy may not like each other they will have to find a way to survive because they are about to embark on one of the most dangerous journeys of their lives.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Nyx has no memories of her past and she will discover new things about herself that will serve her well in the present and future. There are several good things about her: she is kind, loyal and a good person.
The characters were creative and the plot imaginative. Overall, the storyline was not quite what I expected but was interesting. There was also plenty of action and subterfuge. While this was a good, solid read at the end of the day it just wasn't my cup of tea. Therefore, I will not be going on to the next book in the series.
but makes a hasty departure when she has a bloody nose and gets sick. She ends up in the woods where she stumbles into a waystation of sorts that connect Earth with travelers from different dimensions and world all powered by leylines.
Nyx is in for a surprise when she discovers she has been named the new guardian by her Avatar whom she affectionately names, Griff. Her new job is to check out the credentials of travelers just as security would do at an airport or other major travel fare. In addition to her new duties, Nyx discovers she has been given a new assistant, Evra, an Amazon. While thy may not like each other they will have to find a way to survive because they are about to embark on one of the most dangerous journeys of their lives.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Nyx has no memories of her past and she will discover new things about herself that will serve her well in the present and future. There are several good things about her: she is kind, loyal and a good person.
The characters were creative and the plot imaginative. Overall, the storyline was not quite what I expected but was interesting. There was also plenty of action and subterfuge. While this was a good, solid read at the end of the day it just wasn't my cup of tea. Therefore, I will not be going on to the next book in the series.
February 28, 2023
The concept of this book does remind me of Ilona Andrews series Innkeeper Chronicles as some other reviewers mentioned. However it does not feel totally like a stolen idea, more revamped or done in a different way.
I enjoyed most of the book, but I would say a few things made me want to speed through to the end and ultimately I was not interested in continuing the series.
1. It did have a bit too obvious 'You are special'/'Your arrival was prophesied'/'No one could do what you just did' MC syndrome. The first time this happens you can forgive it as a plot point but the next three or four times makes it feel like lazy writing.
2. Not sure how I felt about the love interest. At first it was obvious that this person should not be forgiven for his actions but then you somewhat begin to understand the story as knowledge of what he went through is filled in. So would I want to keep reading to see what happens to their relationship? Nope.
3. The bonding with the station at the end also felt like a weird dead-end to the story. Like why do that? Committing to a lifelong responsibility with many many restrictions purely because you feel like you have a home for exactly 3 days? Again this was overdone and did not seem like a realistic decision making process.
I enjoyed most of the book, but I would say a few things made me want to speed through to the end and ultimately I was not interested in continuing the series.
1. It did have a bit too obvious 'You are special'/'Your arrival was prophesied'/'No one could do what you just did' MC syndrome. The first time this happens you can forgive it as a plot point but the next three or four times makes it feel like lazy writing.
2. Not sure how I felt about the love interest. At first it was obvious that this person should not be forgiven for his actions but then you somewhat begin to understand the story as knowledge of what he went through is filled in. So would I want to keep reading to see what happens to their relationship? Nope.
3. The bonding with the station at the end also felt like a weird dead-end to the story. Like why do that? Committing to a lifelong responsibility with many many restrictions purely because you feel like you have a home for exactly 3 days? Again this was overdone and did not seem like a realistic decision making process.
October 3, 2022
Fairly typical for the genre. IMO it is not like Innkeeper by Ilona Andrews.
September 26, 2022
I dropped this in chapter 10.
It's just not good. The world itself is fascinating and I would love to learn more about it but the actual plot is very contrived and the characters are unbelievable.
So far it has been a fantasy adventure mixed with power fantasy wish fulfillment with little regard for consistent characters.
I am failing to properly describe what exactly it is that is wrong with this book but I can't find the words to express myself better so here we go.
The premise is the MC is being forced into a mind-bogglingly restrictive role without any preparation. But she just takes everything like it's not a big deal. The book utterly fails to convince me that the MC is a person with human emotions. But with these types of books, you kind of have to allow the book its premise even if it's questionable.
But it just keeps going, one strange situation after another and all the tired tropes you could possibly think of without any interesting twist or nuance on any of it.
The main focus of the story is strong female characters but it goes about it in the most typical and shallow way imaginable by making them badass, op af assholes. But at the same time, the MC is this naive, innocent goodie-two-shoes that can not hurt others to save her life.
The thing that broke the camel's back was guards casually getting killed and nobody caring about it because they are just guards and why the fuck would anyone care about people that are not protagonists. Certainly not the MC. It's only bad if you are the one doing the killing. But deliberately causing it to save your own hide is no problem whatsoever.
There is one throw-away sentence or another devoted to these problems but none of it sticks as far as I could tell.
Maybe I am doing the book an injustice here because I haven't read it in its entirety and maybe all this emotional baggage will eventually be handled in a believable and nuanced way but I very much doubt it.
And while that is probably the most glaring example there are lots of more minor cases of this kind of strange/unnatural and contradictory behavior.
This book is trying to do something amazing but takes one wrong step after another. It's not any individual failing that robbed me of any and all enjoyment reading this, but the sheer number of them. Emotion is very obviously only ever employed to serve the purpose of spicing up individual scenes and doesn't seem to persist beyond that. These characters seem to mainly just serve as tools to do things the author thought would make for cool scenes which reads very much like wish-fulfillment fan-fiction.
It makes it very hard to empathize with anyone not to mention take the protagonists seriously.
It's just a lot of good ideas very poorly executed.
And sadly there really aren't any redeeming qualities either. It's just tired tropes meshed together in yet another almost indistinguishable configuration without anything original.
It's just not good. The world itself is fascinating and I would love to learn more about it but the actual plot is very contrived and the characters are unbelievable.
So far it has been a fantasy adventure mixed with power fantasy wish fulfillment with little regard for consistent characters.
I am failing to properly describe what exactly it is that is wrong with this book but I can't find the words to express myself better so here we go.
The premise is the MC is being forced into a mind-bogglingly restrictive role without any preparation. But she just takes everything like it's not a big deal. The book utterly fails to convince me that the MC is a person with human emotions. But with these types of books, you kind of have to allow the book its premise even if it's questionable.
But it just keeps going, one strange situation after another and all the tired tropes you could possibly think of without any interesting twist or nuance on any of it.
The main focus of the story is strong female characters but it goes about it in the most typical and shallow way imaginable by making them badass, op af assholes. But at the same time, the MC is this naive, innocent goodie-two-shoes that can not hurt others to save her life.
The thing that broke the camel's back was guards casually getting killed and nobody caring about it because they are just guards and why the fuck would anyone care about people that are not protagonists. Certainly not the MC. It's only bad if you are the one doing the killing. But deliberately causing it to save your own hide is no problem whatsoever.
There is one throw-away sentence or another devoted to these problems but none of it sticks as far as I could tell.
Maybe I am doing the book an injustice here because I haven't read it in its entirety and maybe all this emotional baggage will eventually be handled in a believable and nuanced way but I very much doubt it.
And while that is probably the most glaring example there are lots of more minor cases of this kind of strange/unnatural and contradictory behavior.
This book is trying to do something amazing but takes one wrong step after another. It's not any individual failing that robbed me of any and all enjoyment reading this, but the sheer number of them. Emotion is very obviously only ever employed to serve the purpose of spicing up individual scenes and doesn't seem to persist beyond that. These characters seem to mainly just serve as tools to do things the author thought would make for cool scenes which reads very much like wish-fulfillment fan-fiction.
It makes it very hard to empathize with anyone not to mention take the protagonists seriously.
It's just a lot of good ideas very poorly executed.
And sadly there really aren't any redeeming qualities either. It's just tired tropes meshed together in yet another almost indistinguishable configuration without anything original.
May 24, 2023
THIS BOOK! I think it was AMAZING! It's one I listened to in audio and WANT to read the paperback too. It's a book worthy of being in print and kept on my TOP shelves.
Just one chapter in and I was checking my audible credits for ordering the next books in the series. I even was looking at Michelle's other series, which I'll be picking up in the future. Yes. it was that catching.
I found Nyx to be a kind character and I was really curious about why she couldn't leave her home town. Then, when she was lead to the Station... Oh things got so interesting! First, I could TOTALLY live in this Waystation with Nyx. She love my kind of scenery, a library full of fantasy books! And meeting Griff. He's such a great avatar. I love his personality.
Nyx finds she loves being here, especially after living her life as not being seen by anyone. Now she's seen and has friends. And her friends list grows! It might be with those in the Earth Between and it might be people she...shouldn't? be friends with. At least when it comes to the Council's thoughts. But this group of friends is so cool. I love all their personalities and relationships. There's something special about them all as they are all from different worlds.
It's hard to learn and do everything on the first day. Nyx is learning the hard way. She's handling it in stride. Until she receives a missive that she had an traveler that wasn't allowed to travel the ley lines, and she has to find and capture him. This leads Nyx on a great adventure as her assistant, Evra, has other plans as well.
Each chapter has big events happening that kept me wanting more. Nyx does far more than any Station Guardian should do and even puts more into it as this is the first real home she's felt to have, that she remembers.
I love all the details that feel important to me. There's so many possibilities for the future books that are coming. There's tidbits here that could come into play in the future. I'm excited to see it happen!
I loved this book so much, I've ordered the next two that are out and I'm diving into book two NOW!
What are you waiting for??
Just one chapter in and I was checking my audible credits for ordering the next books in the series. I even was looking at Michelle's other series, which I'll be picking up in the future. Yes. it was that catching.
I found Nyx to be a kind character and I was really curious about why she couldn't leave her home town. Then, when she was lead to the Station... Oh things got so interesting! First, I could TOTALLY live in this Waystation with Nyx. She love my kind of scenery, a library full of fantasy books! And meeting Griff. He's such a great avatar. I love his personality.
Nyx finds she loves being here, especially after living her life as not being seen by anyone. Now she's seen and has friends. And her friends list grows! It might be with those in the Earth Between and it might be people she...shouldn't? be friends with. At least when it comes to the Council's thoughts. But this group of friends is so cool. I love all their personalities and relationships. There's something special about them all as they are all from different worlds.
It's hard to learn and do everything on the first day. Nyx is learning the hard way. She's handling it in stride. Until she receives a missive that she had an traveler that wasn't allowed to travel the ley lines, and she has to find and capture him. This leads Nyx on a great adventure as her assistant, Evra, has other plans as well.
Each chapter has big events happening that kept me wanting more. Nyx does far more than any Station Guardian should do and even puts more into it as this is the first real home she's felt to have, that she remembers.
I love all the details that feel important to me. There's so many possibilities for the future books that are coming. There's tidbits here that could come into play in the future. I'm excited to see it happen!
I loved this book so much, I've ordered the next two that are out and I'm diving into book two NOW!
What are you waiting for??
January 5, 2024
Nyx, the heroine, is a woman with amnesia on Earth who physically cannot travel away from her home town without causing herself a lot of pain. And not only does she not remember her past, but people can't seem to ever remember her for long, making it very hard to live her life, keep a job, etc. She's fed up. The only guy who could remember her left without notice a while ago right after telling her he loved her. So she boards a bus to move away, and ends up collapsing at a bus stop along the way and being drawn to a parallel Earth called Earth Between. There's a station for ley-line travelers there, and she's been chosen to be the new guardian, so she finally has purpose. Her predecessor barely gives her a run down before skipping out, and the station avatar is a griffin who she asks for instruction. She also finds out she has an apprentice starting - an Amazonian. Then some stuff happens and she's suppose to track down a criminal, the apprentice steals something to save her sister causing the station to go into lockdown, and they all go to a prison planet to get wrongfully imprisoner people out and the artifacts back to the station. Along the way, Nyx brushes against a Chaos pocket, which gives her some new features. And her amnesia starts to breakdown. And her wayward boyfriend is on the prison planet. And she is foretold by the intelligent cats of that prison planet. And she learns how to kill clone warriors. Lots of wacky stuff. It's mostly slap-stick violence and very fast paced. The narration is good, too.
Currently reading
June 16, 2023Her assigned "guardian" is a sentient creature. The book makes a huge exaggerated deal about how everyone else treats him like a nameless slave and what a great wonderful human being she is for (*gasp*) giving him a name
Except, she doesn't ask him if he'd prefer a name. She just says "You asked me to call you guardian, I'm not doing that, I'm going to call you... something I pick on the spot"
As questionable as that is, it gets worse. She doesn't pick a name based on his personality, or, say, some fond memory from her childhood that always makes her smile, or anything else. She superficially looks at him and picks a name based on a physical characteristic of his race. Or in this case, a shortened version OF his race. "You're a griffon? I'm gonna call you Griff"...
Patronizing and basically racist. "Oh, your skin is darker than mine? I'm gonna name you..." "Oh, your a dwarf? I'm gonna ignore the name you gave me and call you.. dwarfy!"
Fine behaviors if you have a new dog. Not if you're dealing with another sentient creature, and DEFINITLEY not if the book is trying to make a big deal about how awesome you are for going so far as to treat the sentient creature as a living being with rights and thoughts and feelings
Except, she doesn't ask him if he'd prefer a name. She just says "You asked me to call you guardian, I'm not doing that, I'm going to call you... something I pick on the spot"
As questionable as that is, it gets worse. She doesn't pick a name based on his personality, or, say, some fond memory from her childhood that always makes her smile, or anything else. She superficially looks at him and picks a name based on a physical characteristic of his race. Or in this case, a shortened version OF his race. "You're a griffon? I'm gonna call you Griff"...
Patronizing and basically racist. "Oh, your skin is darker than mine? I'm gonna name you..." "Oh, your a dwarf? I'm gonna ignore the name you gave me and call you.. dwarfy!"
Fine behaviors if you have a new dog. Not if you're dealing with another sentient creature, and DEFINITLEY not if the book is trying to make a big deal about how awesome you are for going so far as to treat the sentient creature as a living being with rights and thoughts and feelings
February 5, 2024
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring by more than 0.50 of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
I liked the worldbuilding and found the premise quite interesting.
I liked most of the characters, though I'm not sure about the love interest.
I liked the story in this book and the ongoing mystery around Nyx.
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
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. :-)
I liked the worldbuilding and found the premise quite interesting.
I liked most of the characters, though I'm not sure about the love interest.
I liked the story in this book and the ongoing mystery around Nyx.
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
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. :-)
January 4, 2025
The issue is strictly with the writing.
The author wants you to be angry.
And by golly the story will make sure you are mother f**ING angry.
Every scene is contrived for anger.
The author understands that emotions are what drive art and they figured out which one was the easiest and that's what you get.
The main character is a moron. The good news is that no one pretended that she wasn't.
The bad news is no one around her is any better.
The main bad guy for this book (Besides the author) commits a crime and i swear to the gods there strategy when the police officer catches them In Flagrante Delicto and I swear to the gods his strategy was: and he is believed.
That is the level of plot you are in for.
If you are spoiling for a fight with friends and family and need to get yourself worked up AND you have the intelligence of a concussed otter baby then go for it.
Do you feel I may have been harsh? Maybe over the top? Yup, that's because I just finished reading this tripe and it succeeded in pissing me off.
The author wants you to be angry.
And by golly the story will make sure you are mother f**ING angry.
Every scene is contrived for anger.
The author understands that emotions are what drive art and they figured out which one was the easiest and that's what you get.
The main character is a moron. The good news is that no one pretended that she wasn't.
The bad news is no one around her is any better.
The main bad guy for this book (Besides the author) commits a crime and i swear to the gods there strategy when the police officer catches them In Flagrante Delicto and I swear to the gods his strategy was: and he is believed.
That is the level of plot you are in for.
If you are spoiling for a fight with friends and family and need to get yourself worked up AND you have the intelligence of a concussed otter baby then go for it.
Do you feel I may have been harsh? Maybe over the top? Yup, that's because I just finished reading this tripe and it succeeded in pissing me off.
September 10, 2022
Somewhere, I read this book has been compared to the Innkeepers Series by Ilona Andrews and honestly, I thought if it was even half as good it would be worth it.
I was pleasantly surprised, I really enjoyed this book and read the next two in the series, and was "very pleasantly surprised". (Most urban fantasy series deteriorate after the 1st book, and fails to hold my attention- after two books, and by book 3, it becomes hopeless-, but I have to say, this series managed to hook, grapple and hold me.)
Even though some aspects such as the
I have signed up for the authors newsletters and will definitely continue the series.
April 23, 2025
I found this series from going through my Goodreads book list - it said that I've read the series, but after looking at the first book in the series, I'm super positive this was my first read of the book. It's definitely my favorite genre, urban fantasy, with a bit of space opera vibes for fun.
What a tremendous hook for the series - a main character that nobody can remember?! The book opens with Nyx trying to leave on a bus away from Arizona - she's gotten ill and turned back every time, but this time she's going to leave or die trying. Nyx realizes she isn't going to make it, crawls off the bus, and lays there in utter despair because nobody can even see that she needs help because she's so unnoticeable, and a road to somewhere else appears over her reality. As she drags herself to that road, she begins to feel better, and now the roller coaster of Nyx's next chapter in life flies down to paths unknown.
The hook and introduction are wonderful, and Nyx is a wonderful heroine who has more empathy than most because she has lived as an invisible person. It makes her even more intriguing, and you'll want to read the rest of this series!
What a tremendous hook for the series - a main character that nobody can remember?! The book opens with Nyx trying to leave on a bus away from Arizona - she's gotten ill and turned back every time, but this time she's going to leave or die trying. Nyx realizes she isn't going to make it, crawls off the bus, and lays there in utter despair because nobody can even see that she needs help because she's so unnoticeable, and a road to somewhere else appears over her reality. As she drags herself to that road, she begins to feel better, and now the roller coaster of Nyx's next chapter in life flies down to paths unknown.
The hook and introduction are wonderful, and Nyx is a wonderful heroine who has more empathy than most because she has lived as an invisible person. It makes her even more intriguing, and you'll want to read the rest of this series!
December 11, 2021
Nyx is dying because people can't remember her... homeless and alone, she stumbles onto Earth Between, a nexus between worlds. Within minutes of arriving she is confirmed as Guardian of a Waystation between worlds. She is a magical glorified passport control for the ley lines that connect the planets. Her first week on the job an illegal traveler slips through her Station, she’s given an ultimatum: apprehend him or lose her new job—and the only place she’s ever belonged.
Why I started this book: Looking for more fun books and this one popped up on my radar.
Why I finished it: Exciting new fantasy series with multiple magical planets, a passport station and believable characters. I immediately downloaded the second and I can't wait for the adventure to continue.
Why I started this book: Looking for more fun books and this one popped up on my radar.
Why I finished it: Exciting new fantasy series with multiple magical planets, a passport station and believable characters. I immediately downloaded the second and I can't wait for the adventure to continue.
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