This week, author Nicola S. Dorrington has released her second book, Chasing Freedom. Here’s a look at the gorgeous cover, book description, and a little about Nicola. To learn more about this fabulous YA author, look for my interview with her, coming up tomorrow.
About the Book
Chase Finn is being hunted, and if he ever stops running he’s going to end up dead.
It doesn’t matter that he’s only seventeen. It doesn’t matter that just a few weeks ago he was a normal teenager. All that matters is that he is a threat, and the Agents tracking him will stop at nothing to see him neutralised.
With the line between friends and enemies blurring, Chase discovers he is just a pawn in the middle of a war that’s lasted for centuries, but he isn’t going to let himself be used any longer.
Soon both sides of the war are going to learn that the most important thing about Chase Finn isn’t that he’s a werewolf, it’s that he’ll sacrifice everything, even his own freedom, for the people he loves.
Chasing Freedom in all other formats (Smashwords)
Author Bio
Nicola S. Dorrington is a 30 year-old writer from England, currently living in the Cayman Islands,
where she procrastinates by staring at the ocean. CHASING FREEDOM is her second novel, set in a wet and mythical version of the country she left behind. Her first novel THE LAST KNIGHT was published 2013. She fully expects to one day be a crazy old cat lady – only with dogs.
You can find out more about Nicola on her blog, on Facebook and on Twitter at @NSDorrington. You can add CHASING FREEDOM to Goodreads.
Here is my Goodreads review of Chasing Freedom:
Chasing Freedom by Nicola S. Dorrington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was lucky enough to receive an Advance Review Copy of Chasing Freedom, so I am writing this review before the official publication date. When I began reading Chasing Freedom, I immediately noticed that it was well-written. The story of Chase Finn, a newly bitten werewolf, unfolds with a skillful use of flashbacks. Chase is immediately likable, written with a strong voice and a no-nonsense personality. I found his attitude to be particularly refreshing—yes, his whole life was changed and he’s upset, but he’s pretty open-minded. I loved that “… a few weeks ago he had transformed into a snarling beast, so he felt about ready to accept anything.”
Chase falls in with a group of other ‘special’ people, and this is where the fun begins. For a little while, in the late beginning, while the story was still setting up, I felt like it had stalled out a little bit. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I was going to get into it. Perhaps, in part, this is because the story is a familiar one, and I’m not that young anymore, so it was not a new story to me. I think a younger reader (or myself when I was younger) would have maintained a higher engagement rate at this point. That being said, as soon as the new group of characters really start in, Dorrington finds her stride, and BAM! I went from “I’m not sure” to “must… read… more… now!”
The characters in this novel are so well-written, and their relationships grow with a subtle interplay between personalities. There’s the ongoing romance with Victoria, a shape-shifter who is drawn to Chase, but wary. She and Chase really sizzle together. Psychic Anna is a trip, always struggling with the stray thoughts of the other teenagers around her. Sassy, fiery Kat is far more likable than I originally suspected. And then there’s Maladict, a brooding, sarcastic vampire that is hard not to love from the first time he opens his mouth. I think that in the end, it was the complex relationship that Dorrington developed between Maladict and Chase, vampire and werewolf, that really made this book for me. I felt like these two were so real in the way they related to each other (despite being supernatural beings), and that the issues and intricacies of their relationship were perfect, valid, and powerful.
Aside from characters, the plot really gets going as the story develops, and it is hard to put the book down. I felt like I was in the middle of these battle scenes, with everything moving so fast around me. I experienced both fear and elation alongside Chase as he fought his way to freedom. The end of the book left me satisfied and wanting more. Cleverly done.
I would best describe this book as Teen Wolf meets the X-men, but the characters make it more than that. It was a fun read and I think it will appeal to a wide range of readers.
Nicola Dorrington
Love this! Thank you!