Review ~ Chaos Born by Rebekah Turner

Title: Chaos Born

Author: Rebekah Turner

Series: Chronicles from the Applecross #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: November 14th 2012

A fresh and exciting debut novel introducing the Chronicles from the Applecross.

Lora Blackgoat, smuggler and mercenary, has been lying low after a job gone bad made her a laughing stock in the industry. When a childhood friend turns to her for help, Lora leaps to restore her reputation and starts hunting a killer who is stalking the gas-lit streets.

She never expects that her path will lead her to the Order of Guides, a sadistic militant religious organisation - or to Roman, a deadly and dangerously attractive half-angel warrior who also hunts the killer.

When Lora discovers that the killer has broken fundamental laws of magic to enter the city, she also uncovers a conspiracy that leads back into her own dark past.

Now that I have finished the Chicagoland Vampire series – until more books come out – I decided I wanted to try a new series with a kick-ass heroine and decided on this series by an Australian author, Rebekah Turner. The cover of the first book, Chaos Born grabbed my attention at first and when I read the description, I thought that this could be a great read. I was not disappointed at all!

Lora Blackgoat is a fantastic heroine to read about. She stands out in her hometown because she looks like a Witch Hunter, due to her white blonde hair, but she also has a noticeable limp caused by an accident that occurred in her late teens. Her reputation precedes her as well, due to the deaths during her last assignment. She takes it all in her stride and uses witty remarks that often had me giggling at her. She takes pride in the few possessions that she owns and has a normal girly attachment to her kick-ass boots and her ‘special’ cane. What cracked me up at times was when she was insulted by her weight, she always had a quirky retort ready to go, because you know what it’s like, stress eating can do that to a girl!!

The plot in this book was gripping, as we hunt a killer that is leaving gruesome bodies behind. It was difficult to see who was behind it all and was intriguing to see the direction of the plot. Lora has a lot of resources up her sleeve and at some points was pressured into helping others. She has a number of people that she has close to her from the past and present and soon she is unsure of whom she can trust. At times she was sad as she missed the friendship she had with Caleb when they were young, was confused about the current relationship she has with Seth and is in denial about the sparks she has with Roman! It was entertaining to say the least to see her deal with these men as well as hunt the killer.

I enjoyed reading about the world Rebekah created as she described the surroundings and all the paranormal creatures that were there, none of which are the normal ones we read about. They all seem to have been crossbred at some stage, so you never knew what you were going to run into next.  There was plenty of action, fast plotting and even a few swoon moments to confuse Lora!!

The pace of the book was fantastic and I was never left waiting for something to happen. Trouble seemed to follow Lora everywhere she went. Rebekah has done a remarkable job on this book and I am keen to see where things are going to go now. I’m looking forward to the next book, Chaos Bound, which I hope to get to soon!!

I received a copy of this book from the Publisher, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.