BOOK REVIEW - CHAOS BOUND by REBEKAH TURNER - THE CHRONICLES OF THE APPLECROSS # 2 - ESCAPE PUBLSHING - URBAN FANTASY - STEAMPUNK

By: Rebekah Turner

Published By: Escape Publishing

Released : Available Now

Details : Digital for honest review , 179 Pages

RATING: 5 ROMAN, CASPER & SETH STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

The long-awaited sequel to Chaos Born takes us back into the Applecross, where Lora faces increasing threats to her survival and her chance at love.

Lora Blackgoat — mercenary and smuggler — has only just recovered from the last threat on her life and hasn’t even begun to sort out the mess of having both a nephilim warrior and a reborn hellspawn as potential lovers. Work should be a refuge, but a job finding missing persons puts her in the crosshairs of a violent gang and a merchant with a taste for blood sport.

Reluctantly, Lora turns to the two men in her life for help. Roman — the nephilim — professes to be her soul mate and turns to her when he feels the darkness of nephilim madness descending. But though Lora is drawn to Roman, it is Seth, ex-lover and reborn hellspawn, who Lora must ultimately ask to protect those she loves. Can she trust Seth to save Roman and her adoptive family, or will this be a fatal mistake?

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Another awesome escapism had by myself inside Rebekah’s colorful and richly detailed world of The Weald. I do love this series. Rebekah really does paint a wonderful picture in your mind as you are reading. The detail of The Weald with its Victorian Steampunk appeal and it’s old school life combined with her menagerie of colorful characters is a world I love revisiting.

Lora Blackgoat is one of my favorite female leads. I only really have a handful of female leads that grab me. Lora is always thinking about others and she is such a tough, kickass chick. 

I smiled crooked, throwing out a single dimple. 'This would be the point where I offer you a last chance before I beat you bloody. But not today.' I pulled the knife from my boot. 'Today you're just in my way.'

She also finds herself with a new nickname. 

Crowhurst grinned at me. 'Heard you picked up a new nickname.'

My back teeth automatically clenched. 'I don't want to know.'

'You sure?'

I glared at Gideon. 'Do I  really have to work with this moron?'

She dresses the part and she acts the part. But under the tough exterior is still the heart of a woman that is trying to work it all out with Roman, the Nephilim. 

Roman gave me an amused smile. 'I can assure you, your honor is safe with me.'

I smiled back. 'Oh honey, that ship sailed a long time ago.'

Seth has his eyes on Lora but he has damaged the bond they once shared. It is in his nature to think about himself first and he doesn’t really care who he has to go through to get what he wants. Being a hellspawn will do that to you.

A hard habit to kick. 

"Hello, Dimples." Seth leant against a tree trunk, smoking a thin cigarillo. He wore a starchy City Watch uniform under a battered leather greatcoat, a wheellock pistol strapped against one thigh. He smiled at me, teeth white against his dark goatee. A straight razor sat in one hand, the blade angled to the sun.  A saddled horse stood a little way off. tethered to a low hanging branch.

"Having fun watching the show?" I asked dryly. Seth and I had a long past together; a patchwork of fights, long absences and moments of heated, sexual bliss. Then things had soured between us after I'd discovered he'd been keeping secrets about his past. Wasn't the kind of thing a girl could easily forgive, not when you understood the kind of past he'd been hiding. 

Things aren’t going well for the beautiful Roman in this installment.  

Roman was what you'd call broodingly handsome, with black nephilim eyes, pin-pricked with white pupils. His dark hair was cropped short and black rune tattoos marked one side of his face. Once, I'd asked him what the tattoos meant and he'd told me they were a prayer to the One True God, written in the language of angels.

Casper , The Collector, is a new addition to this cast of smexi lads and I really like him. He has a cheeky side to him, yet at the same time he is on his own personal mission. 

There are two unlikely allies in Seth and Casper, a joining of two sides for a mutual benefit. 

Lora is on her own mission to find The Key of Aldebaran, all the books and destroy them so nobody can know her secret and use it against her. 

The fun didn't stop there, either. I'd discovered I was the only female of my kind to ever exist. Not something I wanted anyone else to know. Nothing like being a freak to bring out the fanatics.

That rotten little book of spells was what had started this whole mess.

Casper can help her out. 

'So.' His sunglasses turned my way. 'You're the Lora Blackgoat.'

I served up a frown. 'Yeah? So?'

'So, nothing , sweet cheeks,' Casper said. 'Just heard some interesting things about you.'

'Interesting?' I returned the grin, flashing my dimples. 'Seems you have me at a disadvantage, since I don't know shit about you. Well, other than the fact you have the same nickname as a cartoon ghost.'

'You think you're pretty funny, yeah?'

'I have my moments.'

Casper looked at Seth. 'She's a smarty-pants, isn't she.'

He crooked a finger at me. 'Come here.' I drank more beer, suddenly feeling unsure. Casper saw my hesitation. 'Rest assured, my lovely, you can trust old Casper. I've got plenty of women to keep me happy and, quite frankly, you're not my type.'

No matter what, trouble always follows Lora around The Weald. 

There is also a green monkey. 

'Not everyone is a villain, Lora.'

In between all her man problems she has to do some babysitting that gives Chaos Bound its direction. Ivor Grogan is intent on keeping his actress daughter safe and away from male attentions, unless he is the one choosing the male attention for his own nefarious dealings. 

It was men like Grogan that denied women the vote, and while I was no suffragette, the injustice made my blood boil enough that I wanted to slap on a protest button and break a few noses.

Nicola has her head in the clouds about her daddy. She is not seeing him for the man that Lora sees. That is going to be one rude awakening. 

I rolled my eyes, 'Nicola Grogan thinks her father walks on water. She lives in a world where unicorns piss rainbows and puppies never die. She thinks her father is over-protective and I'm too cute for words.'

Crowhurst and Lora have an interesting working relationship. LOL!

'Anon's balls, Lora. look in the mirror before you answer the door, why don't you. You look like the living dead.'

They're filthy things. Maybe someone's got a crush on you, but can't afford flowers.'

'Somehow I doubt it.' I wondered how seriously to take the threat.

'Of course, if it had been spiders... Now that's a threat.' Crowhurst rubbed his chin. 'Then again, bit hard to slit a spider's throat.'

We learn more about Rueben aka Crowhurst the Griorwolf, and Gideon Blackgoat is in danger of all his runners jumping ship and heading over to Velkov’s team, The Sisters of No Mercy.

...the honking of oncoming-fucking-disaster. From what I'd heard about Velkov, she was a dirty fighter. If she was speaking any truth, Gideon was in for a nasty bitch-fight.

Cloete is having moral issues and Lora is trying to find Roman among all the mayhem. Before it is too late.

Can Roman be saved? 

'You're the bravest guy I know, Roman, but your pride will kill you.'

Is Seth trustworthy? 

'You know what.' I stared out the window, memories playing through my head, It had been my twenty-sixth birthday, and Seth had surprised me with a trip to Paris. We'd stayed in a tiny boutique hotel the entire time, only leaving to forage for food and coffee. It was probably the fondest memory I had with Seth.

Will Lora’s secret get out?

'Does it not frighten you to know that there are many males here who would see you as an interesting prize?' His gaze slid over my hips. 'Even if you're a little on the plump side.'

'Who are you calling plump?' I raised my voice. 'I'll let you in on a secret: this little kitty has some big fucking claws.' 

I highly recommend this series. I am rather addicted to Rebekah's world she has created for me to escape into.

Rebekah will have you laughing and intrigued all on the same page. A highly imaginative series with a tough kickass chick, colorful characters and two worlds , The Outlands and The Weald that keep me coming back for more. 

Rebekah is up there with the big names in Urban Fantasy as far as I am concerned. I have just had another satisfied reader I recommended this series to. She gave 5 star reviews for both books. 

Trust me on this one, you want to pick this series up and give it a go. 

Michelle