The Chain Between Worlds

The Lost Artefacts #1

by Johnathon Nicolaou

Runner up in the 2021 TCK Publishing Reader’s Choice Awards: Fantasy Genre

At the age of five Lincoln was abandoned inexplicably at an orphanage by his father with nothing but a promise to return and an old wrist chain. 11 years later when seemingly ordinary 16-year-old Lincoln runs away from yet another foster home, heading to his favoured spot in New York City, he is attacked by a dog, a monstrous three headed dog the size of a truck. Becoming marked, a string of attacks follow, only ending when he is saved by El, Ben, and AJ, a group of enhanced people known as Ascendants. Discovering the world is not as it seems, with Sorcerers, Nature Spirits and demonic monsters all hiding in plain sight, he learns that he is a long-lost Ascendant himself; discovering that the chain his father left him was at the centre of a conspiracy that resulted in his abandonment and his father’s subsequent disappearance.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Science Fiction, Childrens

335 pages, ebook

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

Johnathon Nicolaou is an Australian author specialising in the Fantasy and Young Adult genres. He is the creator of The Lost Artefacts series as well as other fantasy and young adult books. All his books can be found on his website or through distributers like Amazon. You can follow him on Instagram and TikTok @johnathonniclolaouauthor.

Reviews

[Zola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this is going to be a full on universe with a lot of series (and the spinn-offs will probably be even better) and I'll get to say I was here from the start !
I honestly was a little bit bothered in the beggining with the similarities with previous series (especially TMI) but it's pretty commun in first books, it's like the universe and characters are still trying to find themselves. Once I got into the story and stoped comparing it with others, I really started to enjoy and get lost in it. I loved Lincoln a lot, I see myself following him for a few years even if I obviously liked the secondary characters more.
I wish that in the next books we'll have more POVs and get to know the others better. Liv and Ben are way superior that El and Link and I'll fight anyone on this cause I still have hope and I'm not giving up 😂😂 I would like too if once the story find itself we get a little bit more of a diverse cast but honestly other than that the story held itself really good and I'm super excited for what's next.

[Michael Jameson · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all can I say that i was really surprised at how much I enjoyed The Chain Between Worlds. I don't ordinarily read indie books from new authors, but I came across Johnathon Nicolaou on Instagram (he posts content around some of my favourite series), and liked his account so I figured why not. Best decision i've made so far this year. The character development was amazing. I found Lincoln super relatable and loved El as the strong female lead, rather than just a love interest. The will they won't they moments were well written leading up to a very satisfying result - all while maintaining a frustrating but enjoyable love triangle. Even the side characters, AJ, Ben, Arbol, Kane, Becca, and Eligh were very well written in both their personalities and flaws.

I loved the world building in that we see the characters move through different dimensions (Nowhere, Eden, and Earth), creating a large universe that allows for so much story to be created.

I don't want to drop any spoilers so I'll say this: the plot twist was amazing (even though it was like a knife to the gut) and the cliff hanger was at a level that i haven't seen in a book since House of Hades - which I loved and hated at the same time, because now I have to wait! Can't wait for book two to come out.

[Oscar Erran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was shocked to find out this was Johnathon Nicolaou's first book after reading it. I'm a huge fan of fantasy and this book ticked all the boxes for me!

Protagonist who we actually like? Check
Love triangle that makes you want to scream? Check
Mystery guiding the plot? Check
Betrayals and plot twists? Check
Romance? Check
Comedic characters? Check
An unforgivable cliff hanger? Check... unfortunately.

Can't wait to see where this series goes. If you haven't read it yet... get on it!

[Callum Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to a new series. Loved all the hidden easter eggs about mythology and references to other books like Harry Potter. The different dimensions were probably my favourite parts, especially when you see them travelling through Eden. Really liked how all the little plot points (like Kane and Becca's stories, or the visions) tied together in the final scenes when they're betrayed and you find out who the real villain was all along.Great finish to the book, can't wait for the next one!

[Johnny Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically I loved this book so much I had to make a Goodreads account immediately after finishing it because I thought Johnathon Nicolaou deserves the praise (hopefully he sees this). I was hooked right from chapter one. Everything seems normal until bam Lincoln is attacked by the Cerberus Daemon - love the homage to Greek Mythology (I'm a huge fan of PJO too!) From there the book starts running and doesn't slow down. I loved the mystery surrounding the chain and Lincoln's family, it steered the plot really well answering all my questions while asking even more. The characters were amazingly funny, loved the sass and AJ's desire to grow a beard. The Lincoln El and Liv dynamic was frustratingly good, and I'm officially adopting Odysseus as my spirit animal.

I can't wait for book 2!

Well done Johnathon Nicolaou!

[Andrew Jasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good for a debut novel. Characters were great and story kept me hooked (loved the plot twist btw). I noticed some similarities to some other series I've read in the beginning (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) but that being said there was a lot of originality that I enjoyed (for example the Eden and Nowhere dimensions). Looking forward to the next book!

[Sarah Wellings · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!?! I need to know!

There's so much I loved about this book. The different dimensions, the mystery the plot twists! Absolutely loved the little nods to greek mythology, but I need to know what happened now after that cliff hanger!

[Bill Renault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ended up going asleep way too late reading this book lol. I couldn't put it down! Can't wait for the next one especially after that cliff hanger.

[Miles Erron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutley loved this book. Excited to see where the series goes from here. If you love The Mortal Instruments (the Cassandra Clare books) - The Chain Between Wolds is a must read for you!

[Anthony Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ending had me like

[Carl Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty happy with where the story went. Ending was fantastic! Oh and I loved Freya and her Godfather complex!

[Maya Stevensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I was pretty sceptical about purchasing this book because of the unusual rating, but I am a risk taker and fortune favours the brave you know? Anyway I am extremely glad to have read this. Absolutely loved the different dimensions, Emerald Tower was especially cool! Lincoln's journey was great to follow, taking me on a rollercoaster of emotions that I would happily ride again. I thought the chemistry between the characters was great and I am looking forward to see how they evolve through the series. I am hoping to see Lincoln and co explore the different dimensions more in the next book...

[Hanso Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, deserves the 5 star rating. Loved the daemonic lore and the constant twist and turns!

[Iwan Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, characters you care about and loved all the different dimensions/settings. Everything a fantasy story should be ✨

[Mira Fraute · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was pretty good. Keen to see where the series goes from here.

[Harley Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this on the recommendation of a friend. Fantasy isn't really my preferred genre, but objectively the book was still good. I liked the mystery surrounding Lincoln's parents though.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

. I enjoyed the story, but some of the words being spelled differently kept throwing me out of it. There were also a lot of typos and things that the editor should have fixed, but those are all technicalities.

The important part is that the characters were likeable or unlikable where they should be. The story was creative and had great twists and turns. The cliffhanger....I hated the cliffhanger, but that made me love the cliffhanger.

I will be reading the second book in the series.

[Mikalya Dromat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!. El was by far my favourite character which was amazing since she was written by a male author - she's actually so badass. Really liked the love triangle between Liv Lincoln and El and the dynamic between the whole group. I really liked the concept of Phoenine - animals that share a bond with their master, boosting each other's abilities. AJ's Phoenine Odysseus was so cute!

Johnathon Nicolaou
The Chain Between WorldsThe Chain Between Worlds
The Chain Between Worlds

[DIPELUAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING.

[Wendy Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite interesting.

[Dirk Pruitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this book, but it's sophomoric, lacking polish and depth. The characters are thin and the story just didn't compel me. I don't understand such an incredibly high rating for this book? Makes me question the Goodreads rating platform...

[Dwayne Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs serious technical editing

[Michael Lever · Rating 1 out of 5]

For the dictionary definition of Penny Dreadful, refer to this work. Poorly proofread and abundant in misspellings, the plot doesn't quite make Young Adult grade.

[Demi Dickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so torn with this book as I was never bored and I wanted to keep reading but, there's a but.....it felt like a mixture of other successful fantasy books. Certain creatures, certain lands and I was like a bit put off by that. The actual story was weak, when you took out all the mythical/fantasy stuff.

The ending wasn't really that much of a twist I didn't feel. I think you will be hooked on this book if you haven't read/watched certain storylines, and carry on with the series. For me, I'm not that intrigued to carry on to the next book.

[ToddNS · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m confused as to how this can have 1244 votes bringing this to a 4.5/5 rating and can be so poorly written. I read digitally so I know I pushed through to 10% read when I had to DNF which I hate to do. I had to check to see if I had started to read a book meant for elementary school aged kids. So bad the writing that I started to Highlight sentences & paragraphs. How can the word “sceptically” be used so often in one novel? I think the number was 28 times in this book. Very odd. If you want to see well written Fantasy novels, just check my Read list and sort by 4 stars and up.

[Rojuroem]

this book is absolutely amazing

[Jack Tucker-Feltham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The kindle edition at least was riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, but aside from that I felt the book in general was quite repetitive in its story telling. Good ideas behind it but I wouldn't recommend for anyone over the age of 14

[smollnatsu]

sounds like shadowhunters??

[Harry Mitchells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read

[Colleen Morton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad spelling and grammar.