Threads That Bind (Havoc Chronicles Series Book 1)

I discovered this book in me BookBub email. The cover made me stop and read the burb and then click to amazon to get more details.You can tell a good book when you hesitate to put it down for things like work and sleep. This is one such book.It is a YA book with a female heroine written by a man. Sounds like a recipe for disaster but in this case it turned out to be the exact opposite. Thankfully the dialog isn't written with mind numbing teenage verbiage but it is still authentic enough to not be out of character.What really made this different from a lot of the stories I have read was the power that the characters posses. It was unique in the super natural power world that I have read which really was the key that kept me turning page after page.The only negative and it really is hardly much of that is that this book is the first in at least a sequel series where one book feeds into the next without a clear ending for each book. I tend to like series where each book is a self contained part of the overall story of the characters.If this is a genre you enjoy then you would be doing yourself a favor by picking this up.

I would give this 4.5 stars (I save 5 stars for outstanding books that I would read again and again). It is a young adult paranormal book. When I got it (for free), I was worried that it would be similar to Twilight as many young adult novels now-a-days have the requisite beautiful funky-named heronine with two guys panting over her, etc. However, this book surprised me.It starts out with our heroine, Madison, "changing" over summer by losing weight, having her eyesight improve, etc. She is in high school and the speech patterns and behaviors of the characters ring true. Her crush asks her out and things are going well until she "glows". As indicated in the book synopsis, she finds out she is a Berserker and the book deals with her learning about Berserkers, Bringers, Binders and Havocs. The book has a clear arc and a resolution at the end --- however, it sets up the next book in the series without being too much of a cliffhanger (I hate cliffhangers and view them as a "cheat" by the author to get you to buy the next book).The book had some romance -- but very PG-rated. The focus was more on the Berserker action. I liked that there was NOT a love triangle and she didn't instantly fall in love with someone who was her instant "soul mate". The characters felt real to me.There were a few reasons for marking down the book a bit. I will keep this spoiler-free, so it may be a bit vague. First, there were a lot of loose threads at the end and while the ending wasn't a cliffhanger, several items didn't seem to have any resolution. I don't know if certain plotlines are done (and just went nowhere) or if they will come back in future books. However, there were several of these (her friend's relationship with Cory; Ginger's animosity towards her; Josh's knowledge of her glowing; etc). Additionally, there were several unexplained aspects to the story that didn't make sense (a berserker who died and came back to life was replaced but who got his money? Each Berserker has a binder but we only met 2 binders, so where are the rest? etc). Finally, for the most part the book was well-written without major problems. However, there were a few instances of missing words or use of the wrong word (e.g. "it didn't phase me" instead of "it didn't faze me") which pulled me out of the story.However, all-in-all, it was an engrossing story that I started and didn't put down until I was done with the book. As long as the sequel is reasonably priced, I would like to read the next story to see what happens next.

For me, this was another... I went by the cover, and I still say.. this works for me :).I really am loving this story, I love the characters, the frustration, the excitement. The story is easy to follow, and it has alot of little information, but it's not drawn out boring... the author does it in a very interesting way.The plain girl, who suddenly changes, and there's something that is going on, she can't figure it out. First crushes, and heart ache, and then the new love interest, while as an adult, I think omg, cut it out already, but it is how kids (even I did growing up) felt. It is kinda cute in a way I guess. She finds that she has something new with her, its scary and exciting, she meets new people and her abilities start to grow. She faces new things, and finds she has strengths that she never knew she had.I have started the 2nd book, and can't wait to pick it up and read some more!

I give the Author (who is male, surprisingly) kudos for writing a paranormal that doesn't feature Vampires or Werewolves. This one is about Berserkers. It had an interesting storyline, and the action scenes were good.The young Heroine was rather like Cinderella. First she was geeky, overweight, and wore glasses and braces. Then she transformed into a beautiful and powerful girl. She accepts her responsibilities as a Supernatural champion too easily. She doesn't seem to accept that she's beautiful, but still manages to a accept that the boy she's had a crush on forever wants to date her. There is also a slight Love Triangle between her and two of her fellow Berserkers that she doesn't grasp very quickly.I read my share of YA novels. I can generally put up with the usual teenage angst, as long as the Heroine isn't overly whiney. Although this one started out really slow for me, it did pick up and kept me reading through to the end (which was somewhat disappointing). Dialogue seemed a bit awkward. I didn't care much for the Heroine's extreme beauty 'transformation', as it doesn't send a very good message to young girls who are struggling with their appearances.All things considered, it was still an 'OK' read for me, and I'm sure that the younger reader will enjoy it. YA appropriate--no strong language or sexual situations, some gory action.

Now usually, I have to admit, I don't particuarly like male authors of YA or female perspective writings. They seem to make the females a bit 'too much' and OTT on everything that is considered female, young, teenagery and angst ridden. However, this author Brent Williams has written as well as any female who has herself been a young female once before.Moving onto the story - I was amazed nobody had at least written one review for this book but here I am and I will try not to ramble too much. Firstly, having just finsished I cannot wait until the second book at all! The main character is likable which always helps, with a bit of sass. She's someone you can associate with, you believe her life changes as they happen - from losing part of her old life as her new one comes into play more and more - she's honest about feelings, not simply letting those that have hurt her get away with it, and not also making mountains out of mole hills. Her responses are very believable and I really liked reading about her.The characters - her new 'family' of Beserkers - are all likeable and interesting characters - some of which I look forward to learning more about as the books continue. Eric and Rhys are lovely - both individuals and exciting male characters that come into her life. I also look forward to seeing where her feelings truly go with those two and if she will ever forget her first human boyfriend that accidentally hurt her, and she him.Overall - it's hard to write too much that isn't boring, something you can read about and easily learn for youself, without giving a lot away so let me just say bring on the summer and please read this! It's worth a go, I promise. Not the best book in the world but learning about a whole different world of supernaturals is always a plus from the repeated vamps and were's. I just wish there had been a little more description in the fight scenes and the history of the things the beserkers fight. I still feel a little confused about exactly what the Havocs are.

Madison is an unpopular overweight highschool girl. Until one day, she doesn't need her glasses anymore and somehow lost her appetite in rich food. She loses weight and when she returns to school after summer break, she is suddenly totally popular (I've always disliked this kind of premise).Then she finds out about her being a berserker.I don't want to give any more plot details. This book is clearly intended to be the first in a series, and the plot covers barely more than an introduction.What seems to be a Trend in recent fantasy books is that the main characters are simply too powerful (in their respective world's context), which i think is the case here, too, with Madison being not only a Berserker, but kind of an uber-one.Considering the plot, I'd recommend this book to girls age 14-16. To the rest of you: don't bother.

Holy wow!This ebook was amazing! Great development was evident with each chapter of it.I might even buy a copy of the second ebook in the series.The only negatives are the incorrect uses of a hyphen/an en dash instead of an em dash, and the incorrect use of the serial comma. That's about it, I think.

This is a different fantasy story and I loved it. Madison is a Berserker, a girl with powers to fight evil bringers and help binders to bind Havocs. Yet Madison is also a 16 year old girl with all the usual teenage baggage. The book is fast pace, with interesting characters, which are multidimensional in the main. A great story - although the end is a bit disappointing in that it ends abruptly but of course now I'll have to buy the next book - so that works out for the author!. A really good read, initiative and not a vampire or werewolf in sight .

This is a good fast paced read about a dorky 16 year old who then seems to undergo a transformation whereby she goes from loser to hot chick over the summer.Sounds familiar but then as if that wasn't enough she then also discovers she is a berserker with powers needed to keep the world safe and the secrets keep coming. Berserker secrets, family secrets and the inevitable "secrets of the heart". Some predictable but interesting love triangles keep the pace going.Some interesting fight scenes and monstrous enemies too.The only negative was sometimes you could predict what was coming.Still It got me hooked and I'm off to get the next one...