• I always enjoy Michelle’s work. Angel in the Night School novellas is a kick-ass teenage girl in the vein of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They both have the weight of the world on their shoulders but always see their missions through. Michelle’s adult paranormal romance, Tourmentin, set in New Orleans remains one of my favourite reads this year. And now she’s back with the release of her latest book, Chrysalis.

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After the war between Man and the Supernatural.
The world settled back into a harmonious rhythm. Man and Preternatural existing side by side, building a society that was technologically advanced and beneficial to both kinds. Ruled by ThunderKins (Children of the Sun). But there was dissatisfaction in several of the Divisions. Some did not accept the rule of ThunderKin. The Thunderkin heir was targeted for destruction, believing this would cause the Thunderkin rule to be overthrown. So Chaos was birth and Chaos had a name….Ayda

Ayda Blackhawk was the beautiful, mysterious new girl at Kindale High School, in the Earthen Elemental Division of Bid’ABan.She was not there to make friends but to bring destruction. Her assignment? To kill the Thunderkin heir Adrian Dusong. But Ayda meets Adrian the ThunderKin leader, and through a twist of fate, the rules change which places Ayda, Adrian and their world at the cross roads to either destruction or redemption.

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My Thoughts: The fantasy backdrop and Native American element of the mythical Thunderbird drew my interest from the get-go. I liked hearing snippets about vampire hunter Angel from the Night School novellas and how her life and actions connected to the world of Bid’ A Ban. There is some terminology to get used to at first. I read the glossary of terms at the start of the book, but after a few pages, I became familiar with the new words anyway.

These days we’re used to vampires, werewolves and witches attending high school. Chrysalis was a lovely change of pace with Thunderkin, Fairies, other supernaturals and regular humans all attending classes together. In this world, humans know about the magical races and they live side by side, though of course not everyone is prejudice free.

Cheveyo, a dictator figure, is not content with the alliance between the races. He creates an Achina, Ayda, who has the appearance of a beautiful teenage girl. Her sole purpose in life is to eliminate Adrian, heir to the Thunderkin, but she soon finds her life mission thwarted when she starts to fall for her target. Of course, I’m a sucker for the star-crossed lovers theme so I was rooting for these two to make it.

I warmed to Adrian immediately. He’s a decent guy; you can see that when he’s hanging out with his friends. Ayda similarly has a warmth about there that really shouldn’t go with  a trained assassin. When she stops a Wendigo (vicious monster type) from feeding on her friends, her quip, “Well we all need to cut back here and there” made me laugh.

The descriptions of the secret hanging gardens in the mystical forest were gorgeous. Having whatever you want – clothes, food, etc magically appear before you when visiting these lush garden sounds great. I look forward to reading more about the world of Bid’ A Ban.

An enjoyable, easy read. ****

Check it out on Amazon & Goodreads.

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Read any good fantasy books recently?

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