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The Cordelia Chronicles #1
Breathless
When tall, dark, and mysterious Chaseyn Lear arrives in the small town of Evergreen, Colorado, high school senior Lia Jameson’s life is turned upside-down. An unexpected twist of fate unravels a long-time family curse that puts Lia in the center of a supernatural drama and threatens her life.
179 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 4, 2010
About the author
Heather C. Hudak
211 books50 followersHeather C. Hudak has worked as a professional writer for more than a decade. She began her career as a journalist with a small northern newspaper, before working as a movie critic for an entertainment magazine. When she arrived at work one day and the doors were locked, she started a new chapter in children's book publishing. For eight years, Heather developed and wrote dozens of books, and she edited hundreds more for the educational market. Now, she is turning a new page in her writing career. Her first full-length, young adult novel, Breathless, is now available for ebook readers. Wanderlust, a second title in the Breathless series, is currently in development. Heather will be publishing her first chick lit novel, A New Life, this spring. When Heather is not writing, she enjoys traveling to new and exotic places, as well as camping in the mountains. With her husband, Heather rescues animals that would not otherwise find a loving home. Hershey, the one-eyed, blind, epileptic, snaggle-toothed cat, and Turtle, a sternumless Siamese, are just a few members of their menagerie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
January 5, 2011
My First Thoughts: Lovely girl, non-traditional family and supernatural hunk of unknown origin blows into town to sweep lovely girl off her feet with his devastating smile and extreme charm and worldly knowledge of all things. WRONG!
My Review: Lia Jameson, Cordelia actually, is a senior in high school. For the past month or so she is so plagued by disturbing dreams that she’s become sleep deprived. On the negative side, her grades are dropping but on the positive side her looks are improving because she has more time in the morning to tame her curly hair, apply make-up and put some effort into her choosing her wardrobe-most of the time things that Lia doesn’t spend all that much time at. She’d rather grab a little extra sleep then primp at the mirror. But Addie, Lia’s best friend sees Lia’s insomnia driven dreams as a fast-track to popularity. Less time to sleep, more time to primp.
When Chaseyn arrives as a new student to her high school all eyes are on him but he only has eyes for Lia. Lia is as taken with Chaseyn as he is with her. It seems that no matter where she goes, there he is. There’s something eerily familiar about him and when they finally officially spend time together she finds that the more she’s with him the harder it is to be away from him.
I’m not going to take this to much more in depth for the simple reason that the story completely owns itself and to tell too much would spoil the story for others.
What I will say is that with Chaseyns introduction into Lia’s life, many things change. An age old family curse comes to light, danger seems to lurk around every corner, romance abounds and adventure keeps those pages turning. There are also some really bad dudes waiting in the wings.
My Summary: I truly enjoyed this book; the story itself is very different from those within the similar genre. The characters are all richly defined, real and likable/unlikable depending on the character. The storyline and plot matched up beautifully---I didn’t have any of those annoying questions like “Well, what about [fill in blank]. The ending was just perfect enough to give me hope for a sequel.
My Review: Lia Jameson, Cordelia actually, is a senior in high school. For the past month or so she is so plagued by disturbing dreams that she’s become sleep deprived. On the negative side, her grades are dropping but on the positive side her looks are improving because she has more time in the morning to tame her curly hair, apply make-up and put some effort into her choosing her wardrobe-most of the time things that Lia doesn’t spend all that much time at. She’d rather grab a little extra sleep then primp at the mirror. But Addie, Lia’s best friend sees Lia’s insomnia driven dreams as a fast-track to popularity. Less time to sleep, more time to primp.
When Chaseyn arrives as a new student to her high school all eyes are on him but he only has eyes for Lia. Lia is as taken with Chaseyn as he is with her. It seems that no matter where she goes, there he is. There’s something eerily familiar about him and when they finally officially spend time together she finds that the more she’s with him the harder it is to be away from him.
I’m not going to take this to much more in depth for the simple reason that the story completely owns itself and to tell too much would spoil the story for others.
What I will say is that with Chaseyns introduction into Lia’s life, many things change. An age old family curse comes to light, danger seems to lurk around every corner, romance abounds and adventure keeps those pages turning. There are also some really bad dudes waiting in the wings.
My Summary: I truly enjoyed this book; the story itself is very different from those within the similar genre. The characters are all richly defined, real and likable/unlikable depending on the character. The storyline and plot matched up beautifully---I didn’t have any of those annoying questions like “Well, what about [fill in blank]. The ending was just perfect enough to give me hope for a sequel.
February 3, 2011
I wanted to read this because I was pleasantly surprised with Amanda Hockings books; however, this story seems a little disjointed. Lia is enamored with Chaseyn, and they become a couple. Her mother accepts Chaseyn...almost a little too easily, which was a little creepy. Grandma comes to visit and puts the evil eye on Chaseyn then tells Lia about a family curse thinking that Chaseyn has something to do with it. When Grandma leaves, she fakes an accident and gets Lia to come out to Amarillo for spring break instead of spending time with her friends and Chaseyn. This is where the story falls apart somewhat because the it loses believability when the Prince shows up to save the damsel in distress...and I was more than a bit aggravated at the ending.
April 8, 2011
I really really regret reading this awful book. (Can I give this book negative stars?) I wouldn't have wasted writing review for this book, but I have to warn people off. I thought MC in Fallen Angel was bad...but she was nothing compared to MC in this book. Ugh...she didn't have one (atleast one) redeeming quality..nope not even one. She is selfish, coward, fickle minded..so on. And the dark and mysterious hero comes off creepy (atleast in the beginning). He was okay towards the end though. He really cared for Lia (the MC), but she inturn is really bad to him. She keeps claiming to love him but not one gesture indicates it. She doesn't even care for him. She even states that he has no choice of liking another girl since he is bound to her while she has a choice and that he should be nervous about her choice. Bet this Eli guy (ahm..Jacob wannabe) gets bitten by werewolf in the next book...yeah unfortunately I think there's going to be another book, the way first one ended. What kind of ending is that anyway?
This book all in all was a very awful immitation of Twilight. Twilight fans...this will most likely taint your twilight images in your head. I am a huge Twilight fan and I don't have enough words in English vocabulary to describe how much I hated this book.
This book all in all was a very awful immitation of Twilight. Twilight fans...this will most likely taint your twilight images in your head. I am a huge Twilight fan and I don't have enough words in English vocabulary to describe how much I hated this book.
January 28, 2011
This book actually had a decent storyline. Unfortunately I found it slow in so many places. Truthfully I feel this book just needs a good editing. I read the ebook and the main female character Lia says the main male character's name in an early chapter and I was wondering how she knew his name. Then in a later chapter Heather Hudak has Lia discover Chaseyn's name for the first time (but really it was the second time- just an error but very distracting for the reader.) I also feel the characters need more development.
January 16, 2011
Horrible. I will never put a book down half way through, but I was incredibly tempted with this one!!
April 15, 2011
This is like the poor man's version of Twilight. Girl meets boy, girl and boy fall madly in love, boy turns out to be a vampire...kind of. Hudak manages to through in old Vlad though so there's a bit of a twist. Cordelia or Lia as she likes to be called seems to have no clue to the whole Dracula myth though...I'm like what? EVERYBODY knows about Dracula! Lia fits most of the other young, female main characters...beautiful, naive, a bit immature and a little brainless (though not as brainless as some). When her boyfriend disappears for the weekend without a word, Lia takes to bed, refusing to move, bawling her eyes out. When she sees him next, instead of giving the chance to explain she bawls and sobs some more then has a tantrum and runs away.
Overall, it's not a horrible book but Twilight it's not.
Overall, it's not a horrible book but Twilight it's not.
Read
March 25, 2011I have read some terrible books, and I would definitely add this into that category. I find this book trite and redundant. I have found many grammatical errors, as well which makes me wonder what was going on in the editing department.
It seems to me that Hudak was trying for the next "Twilight" series. The teenage angst is stifling, and the love story silly. In fact, I don't have enough adjectives in my vocabulary to describe how much I detest this book.
It seems to me that Hudak was trying for the next "Twilight" series. The teenage angst is stifling, and the love story silly. In fact, I don't have enough adjectives in my vocabulary to describe how much I detest this book.
Read
June 9, 2011I am a fan of Twilight - not a die hard crazy fan, but I think the plot is interesting and it certainly captures your attention. As a result, I tend to read Twilight-style books often - you know the ones with modern Vampires who fall in love with adorable humans. My only problem with this genre is the fact that so many of the books read more like fan fiction than an original idea.
Breathless (The Cordelia Chronicles) is one such fan fiction book. It rehashes the story of the adorable, totally amazing-looking vampire boy who falls for the completely normal, sometimes grungy looking human girl. The connection between them is immediate and life altering. Cordelia, Lia to friends and family, falls for Chaseyn the very first moment their eyes meet. But Chaseyn isn't just an ordinary boy, and he isn't just an ordinary vampire. He's fallen in love with her but also has to protect her from a multi-generation vendetta that includes other vampires wishing her dead or turned vamp. (Sound familiar?) Well, there is of course the good looking, normal boy, Eli, who Cordelia finds attractive even though she wants to be faithful to Chaseyn. And of course he's ready to put up a fight for her, even though they barely know each other. It ends with a cliffhanger and apparent distance between Chaseyn and Cordelia, (sounds like the beginning of New Moon, right?!)
Thoughts:
* I love the name Chaseyn - I have a thing for funky guy names and this surprisingly works so well for this character I couldn't imagine him with another name.
* The eccentric grandmother character is refreshing in a funky sort of way. I can see her playing a larger and larger role as the series continues.
* Cordelia and Chaseyn don't have much dialogue between each other. Their relationship just happens.
* The book could have used some scene edits, I think there were some superfluous parts that could have been cut to create a more compact read.
* It is on sale on Amazon for $0.99 - so for the dollar it is a fun fluffy read to kick back with.
Breathless (The Cordelia Chronicles) is one such fan fiction book. It rehashes the story of the adorable, totally amazing-looking vampire boy who falls for the completely normal, sometimes grungy looking human girl. The connection between them is immediate and life altering. Cordelia, Lia to friends and family, falls for Chaseyn the very first moment their eyes meet. But Chaseyn isn't just an ordinary boy, and he isn't just an ordinary vampire. He's fallen in love with her but also has to protect her from a multi-generation vendetta that includes other vampires wishing her dead or turned vamp. (Sound familiar?) Well, there is of course the good looking, normal boy, Eli, who Cordelia finds attractive even though she wants to be faithful to Chaseyn. And of course he's ready to put up a fight for her, even though they barely know each other. It ends with a cliffhanger and apparent distance between Chaseyn and Cordelia, (sounds like the beginning of New Moon, right?!)
Thoughts:
* I love the name Chaseyn - I have a thing for funky guy names and this surprisingly works so well for this character I couldn't imagine him with another name.
* The eccentric grandmother character is refreshing in a funky sort of way. I can see her playing a larger and larger role as the series continues.
* Cordelia and Chaseyn don't have much dialogue between each other. Their relationship just happens.
* The book could have used some scene edits, I think there were some superfluous parts that could have been cut to create a more compact read.
* It is on sale on Amazon for $0.99 - so for the dollar it is a fun fluffy read to kick back with.
July 26, 2013
Having read other reviews saying this story was just Twilight re-written I started reading this book prepared for repetition.I was pleasantly surprised to find it was not just a re-write but had a great number of differences.
The concept of this story was good and I enjoyed most of the supporting characters.
I do have one major problem with this book. I know it is probably a matter of perspective as I am a middle aged woman reading a YA book but what was going on with the lead character???
I have daughters, one who has come out the other side of adolescence and one who is smack bang in the middle of it and I have to say that if either of my girls behaved even half as melodramatically as Cordelia I would have shot them!!! My youngest can be selfish as Cordelia is but there is no way she would fall apart if a boyfriend disappeared for a couple of days or go running off in tears just because he may have had another girlfriend once upon a time in the past. Seriously, what was that???
It seems that Cordelia was not gifted with any common sense and sense of compassion or personal safety. Her determination to put herself into unsafe situations when she was upset or feeling a bit bored just seemed to me like the author being too lazy to come up with imaginative ways for the bad guys to get to the heroine. It was just way too easy for them as all they had to do was hang around and wait for Cordelia to do something stupid again.
I don't know if I will read the next one in too much of a hurry. If I do it will be to read more about the other characters rather than Lia.
Not the worst book I have read but far from the best.
The concept of this story was good and I enjoyed most of the supporting characters.
I do have one major problem with this book. I know it is probably a matter of perspective as I am a middle aged woman reading a YA book but what was going on with the lead character???
I have daughters, one who has come out the other side of adolescence and one who is smack bang in the middle of it and I have to say that if either of my girls behaved even half as melodramatically as Cordelia I would have shot them!!! My youngest can be selfish as Cordelia is but there is no way she would fall apart if a boyfriend disappeared for a couple of days or go running off in tears just because he may have had another girlfriend once upon a time in the past. Seriously, what was that???
It seems that Cordelia was not gifted with any common sense and sense of compassion or personal safety. Her determination to put herself into unsafe situations when she was upset or feeling a bit bored just seemed to me like the author being too lazy to come up with imaginative ways for the bad guys to get to the heroine. It was just way too easy for them as all they had to do was hang around and wait for Cordelia to do something stupid again.
I don't know if I will read the next one in too much of a hurry. If I do it will be to read more about the other characters rather than Lia.
Not the worst book I have read but far from the best.
June 1, 2011
I liked the book, but some things just bothered me, like this passage: "Can Chaseyn stay awhile?" I asked quietly, my eyes closed. My mom simply nodded and smiled." Ok how would you know that she nodded if your eyes were closed?
Another was some part where Chaseyn brought a picture of Cordelia's ancestor. And it said he unfolded the relic and handed it to her and "From the auburn ringlets to her golden brown eyes" it looked just like her. Who had colored pictures back then? Yet another passage that bothered me was one that said she shouted just above a whisper. >:0 what?!
Then she had to go away for spring break to take care of her grandma, and she cried for like 3 pages about how she going to miss Chase SO much, blah blah blah.
Then her grandma tries to set her up with this guy, who told his friends that they were dating. So when he finds out that she's totally not interested, he asks her just to pretend to be his girl while they go to an amusement park with his friends. She agrees, even throwing in a hug and kiss on the cheek for good measure. But when he put his shoulder around her when they ate, she said, and I quote, "...lecture him about his inappropriate behavior." Talk about sending mixed signals.
Another was some part where Chaseyn brought a picture of Cordelia's ancestor. And it said he unfolded the relic and handed it to her and "From the auburn ringlets to her golden brown eyes" it looked just like her. Who had colored pictures back then? Yet another passage that bothered me was one that said she shouted just above a whisper. >:0 what?!
Then she had to go away for spring break to take care of her grandma, and she cried for like 3 pages about how she going to miss Chase SO much, blah blah blah.
Then her grandma tries to set her up with this guy, who told his friends that they were dating. So when he finds out that she's totally not interested, he asks her just to pretend to be his girl while they go to an amusement park with his friends. She agrees, even throwing in a hug and kiss on the cheek for good measure. But when he put his shoulder around her when they ate, she said, and I quote, "...lecture him about his inappropriate behavior." Talk about sending mixed signals.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2011
Well this one took me a bit longer to read than most. I liked the story line, but it didn't really catch my attention until the 21st chapter. The writing was stiff and often too wordy in places. Most of the characters were sugary sweet which had my internal voice screaming "LAME!!" several times. When we finally get to see the villain he comes off as more of a psychotic stalker than anything else. Some of the "traits" for Chaseyn are contradictory with him being half of one thing & half of another. (Sorry, trying to avoid spoilers here) Don't even get me started on the weak, wish-washy attributes of Lia. Again, I liked the story line of this book & think it could turn into a good series with some major editing. I'll most likely read the next installment just too see if there's any improvement.
October 31, 2014
i really LIKED the book ... i loved how much both Chaseyn Lear & Cordelia Jameson LOVE each other !!!
and how they sound perfect together ... at first i knew something was ... wrong ...NO,Supernatural ... that's it !!! about Chaseyn but then the story Continues and it sounds like it is a normal LOVE story... but then the truth breaks Chaseyn is half-immortal (means half-human & half-vampire) and the story goes on ...
but at the end i was a little disappointed !!!
i mean when you love someone you simply don't let go !! NO,you work it out together ...!!! OR that's just my opinion but I'm happy it is not a final break between them ...
and i really wanna read the next book to know what happened ...
and how they sound perfect together ... at first i knew something was ... wrong ...NO,Supernatural ... that's it !!! about Chaseyn but then the story Continues and it sounds like it is a normal LOVE story... but then the truth breaks Chaseyn is half-immortal (means half-human & half-vampire) and the story goes on ...
but at the end i was a little disappointed !!!
i mean when you love someone you simply don't let go !! NO,you work it out together ...!!! OR that's just my opinion but I'm happy it is not a final break between them ...
and i really wanna read the next book to know what happened ...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2011
Um... I'm glad it's not just my imagination that this book is basically Twilight slightly edited because other reviewers are saying the same thing. Because it is. Except that the heroine is much, much more annoying and unlikable than Bella ever was. I seriously wanted to reach into the book and slap her the first time she refused to talk to Chaseyn and threw hysterics because he dissapeared from school for, like, three whole hours right after he kissed her and basically told her that he cared about her, accusing him of leaving her hanging. Wow. Tired of immature hysterics and painfully deliberate attempts at drama, I stopped reading about halfway through. I have, however, read much worse so this book gets two stars.
January 5, 2011
It was a good book. To say it was the best, well, I’d be lying. But for .99 cents, I was entertained. I enjoy books with more dialouge, rather than just telling what happens or describing a character. I like for it to brought to life through dialect.
I was a bit off put by the mysterious boy, I found him creepy rather than mysterious. They seemed to have a happy-go-lucky kind of relationship until his history is revealed. I enjoyed the back story of Chaseyn, and the curse that’s brought upon poor Lia.
The book was told from a teenagers view point, but I found some of the words used were too ‘old’ for a teenagers vocabulary. Even if she was smart and mature. It just didn’t fit.
I was a bit off put by the mysterious boy, I found him creepy rather than mysterious. They seemed to have a happy-go-lucky kind of relationship until his history is revealed. I enjoyed the back story of Chaseyn, and the curse that’s brought upon poor Lia.
The book was told from a teenagers view point, but I found some of the words used were too ‘old’ for a teenagers vocabulary. Even if she was smart and mature. It just didn’t fit.
March 29, 2011
Quick, easy read. Another YA paranormal romance, but honestly, if you're a fan of the genre like I am then you can't get enough of them. I loved the characters and the relationship between Chaseyn and Lia drives you to keep turning the pages. The only thing that started to bug me was how bratty Lia could be sometimes....taking off running when she would hear something she didn't like got annoying. Also there were several typos and grammatical errors. But all in all I loved it and am looking forward to the sequel.
August 22, 2011
I have read quite a few YA books and have liked them, but this one not so much.
The characters seemed to be lacking in personality and were just uninteresting to me. The story seemed to drag in certain areas as well. I basically HAD to make myself keep reading hoping the book would get better, but it never happened. The 'gasping' every time Lia shed a drop of blood was annoying.
Some people might find this book interesting, but it just wasn't for me.
Book Hollow
http://myparanormalbookreviews.blogsp...
The characters seemed to be lacking in personality and were just uninteresting to me. The story seemed to drag in certain areas as well. I basically HAD to make myself keep reading hoping the book would get better, but it never happened. The 'gasping' every time Lia shed a drop of blood was annoying.
Some people might find this book interesting, but it just wasn't for me.
Book Hollow
http://myparanormalbookreviews.blogsp...
August 25, 2011
OK...so I'm a little conflicted about this book, I was definitely waffling between 3 and 4 stars. Because I enjoyed the book, buuuut there were some parts I didn't really enjoy. It has some cliched parts, the love at first sight business, the girl of destiny part. It's firmly in 3 stars because it was pretty enjoyable to read, and it was fairly well written. So if you're in the mood for a YA paranormal romance, go for it, you won't be disappointed because it is exactly that.
February 17, 2011
WARNING: This book contains vampires. That may not bother you, but since I chose to read this book specifically because it was one of the few I was looking at that did not include vamps in the summary, I wasn't thrilled. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-vamp, I just wanted something DIFFERENT to read.
Other than that, the book was good. I enjoyed it; I'll read the others as they come out....
Other than that, the book was good. I enjoyed it; I'll read the others as they come out....
April 7, 2011
A twist on Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. When I first started reading it I was kind of bummed that it seemed to be a lot like Twilight, but as the plot developed (slowly) I actually got really into it. Not my favorite book, but it was interesting enough to finish. I'm not sure if I'll read any more in the series. It just depends on how interesting the summary sounds.
July 6, 2011
Far too slow and predictable. The descriptions of people, places and events just failed to paint a picture that I could get into. Being 40, I rightly struggle with high school drama unless it's very well done and contains a story line that isn't obvious. If your much younger give it a go, you might find it's a nice light read.
February 2, 2011
Amazing. The characters I thought were amazing every page was filled with something new and exciting, I could not put this book down after I started it.
Heather C. Hudack I hope is working on a second book now!!!
Can not wait!!
Heather C. Hudack I hope is working on a second book now!!!
Can not wait!!
February 18, 2011
I though this book was very well written.You come to know and love all the characters! I just could not put it down and so I read it all in one day!I can not wait for the second installment to come out! Love it!
April 30, 2011
Althought this plot has been done before, Ms. Hudak did this one with a twist. Good characterization, good editing, unforseen twists that keep you turning pages, easy to read...I liked it. Hope there will be a sequel to this one.
June 19, 2011
This book was amazing. the story between Lia and Chasian is amazing. Eli ANOYS ME TO NO END, i mean why would you go after a girl you know is takin thats really horrible!!! the story with Alexi is amazing and frost is bad ass!
January 3, 2012
Didnt even make it a 1/4 of the way through before I couldnt take anymore. The main character is too needy and clingy. The main guy character is creepy, not dashing or a smooth talker that is usually in paranormal romance books. Its just too sickly sweet and annoying.
January 16, 2011
Really really good sucks u in
April 6, 2011
I really enjoyed this book, although there were some odd points that made me go "huh?". I'm excited to read the second one. Curious to see where this series is going to go.
February 24, 2011
Well its very similar to the other types of books in this genre. Had nice twists and turns though. Overall it was okay and it was only .99c
March 7, 2011
The story line kept me on my toes the whole time. Loved the plot and everything, all together a really great book!
March 12, 2011
This book was so good...kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The whole romance story line was very good as well..I hated whenever I had to put it down.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews