Chimera by Stephie Walls Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Published by Self Published on May 11, 2016.
Purchase links: Amazon
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Source: InkSlinger PR
I couldn’t be anything other than a romantic at heart — it’s my nature, it’s who I am. But this isn’t a typical story of traditional love. It isn’t a fairy tale. No happily ever after neatly tied up with a shiny bow. It’s a memoir of the reality left behind in the wake of grief — the desolation, the resurrection, and final culmination life offers to the fallen.
This is a journey through love…the love of self, love of a friend, and sometimes love is ugly, messy —destructive.
My name is Bastian Thames…and this is my story.
We received this book/audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
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— 3 stars —
“Chimera” was the story of Bastian. He struggled in life after losing the two most important things to him: His wife and his art. When he meets a beautiful look-alike of his late wife on Facebook, he thinks that fate has provided him with a second chance in life. Little did he know that fate has a sick sense of humor.
Phew, this book knocked me on my butt. And not in a good way! Honestly, there was so much wrong with it, that I would spoiler too much mentioning all. So, I’ll try to keep it short.
What I liked:
- The writing. I could delve right into the story and felt for the characters.
- Nate, a secondary character
- The very realistic reference to online-dating, because that’s obviously a normal thing nowadays
What I didn’t like:
- The pace of the story. It was too slow for my taste. The reason for that is simple: This book is not focused on the romance, but on the life-story of Bastian, the male MC.
- There were too many things this story has been focusing on. There was the art, which took up 70% of the book. Then there were the slight references to BDSM. Plus there was the fact, that the ever-present shadow of Bastian’s dead wife was a too big issue to believe in any romance blooming between him and Sera, the female MC.
- The twist and turn the story took in the last 6 chapters. I struggled for the majority of the book with the pace and suddenly, all hell broke loose! It was too much and not what I had wished for the poor Hero at all. Yes, it broke my heart.
So, I wouldn’t say, that “Chimera” was a bad book. But it just wasn’t for me. And I think that everyone, who searches for a romance with a heartwarming story woven into it, should NOT read it. Because had I known how much it would crush me in the end, I would have declined the offer to read it, stat. Sorry, Stephie Walls – but my emotions couldn’t handle what you tried to put me through.
All in all, I rate “Chimera” with 3 stars and don’t really know if I’d recommend it to someone. There were some references to violence and this story is definitely not for the faint of heart.
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