Fragile Chaos

by Amber R. Duell

Leah T Brown (Editor) and Tiphaine Leard

A GOD OF WAR SEEKING RESTORATION.

AN UNWILLING SACRIFICIAL BRIDE.

BETRAYAL THAT COULD DESTROY THEM BOTH.

“Every fiber of my being is woven from the rage of mortals.”

Theodric, the young God of War, has a talent for inciting conflict and bloodshed. After being stripped of his powers by his older brother, King of Gods, he sets out to instigate a mortal war to prove himself worthy of being restored to power.

“I loved Kisk once; it was my home… But that was before. This is now.”

Sixteen-year-old Cassia, like many in the modern era, believes gods and goddesses to be just a myth. Enemy to her country and an orphan of the war, she has no time for fairy tales. That’s until religious zealots from Theo’s sect offer her up as a sacrifice.

Can Cassia and Theo end the mortal war and return balance to the earth and heavens? Or, will their game of fate lead down a path of destruction, betrayal, and romance neither of them saw coming?

• ISBN10: 1946024244
• ISBN13: 9781946024244
• Publish Date: 11 July 2017
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Aurelia Leo
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 282
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

Ahh, I wish I liked this better! I feel as if I almost know this author (a friend of a friend, nearly). It came highly recommended, so I was really excited!

I loved the worldbuilding for sure, but it was the main relationship that left me feeling lukewarm. Since that was such a large part of the novel, it played a huge part of my overall opinion of the book.

Book content warnings
genocide (discussed)
unhealthy relationships

Cassia is a girl unwillingly sacrificed to Theo, the God of War. Theo is trying to prove himself to his family to earn his powers back, while Cassia is simply trying to survive amidst this deadly political game. When Cassia finds something to gain, will she start playing, or will she help Theo?

I love any rich world with well-thought-out mythology. The gods here are so well constructed and written, and I loved this book for that. But the book is mainly about Theo's relationship with Cassia, which is ... to put it simply, extremely unhealthy. Even past the halfway point, Cassia is still frightened he's going to kill her. Kill her. The power balance is so uneven and makes for a very disturbing relationship that made me so uncomfortable I almost didn't want to finish. :S Though things are sort of talked about at the Very end, it's not enough for me. Plus, Cassia is underage: she's sixteen. And when Theo's angry with her, he threatens her life, threatens her loved ones' lives, and threatens genocide against her entire race. It's just ... not good, to say the least. I'm just not into any of this, or any of these tropes. I'm tired of it.

So yeah, I was caught between being starry-eyed and being disgusted. :/

[lizarodz]

I love mythology and when I read the blurb for Fragile Chaos, I couldn’t help but added to my TBR list. It did not disappoint.

You get the gist of the story from reading the blurb, so I will not repeat it all again. I will add that the story takes place in a made up world that felt very modern at heart. All the gods are siblings and they have powers similar to Greek mythology (King, War, Nature, Sea, Love, Netherworld). Each of the gods live in a realm with the “in between” in the middle (sort of like the spikes in a wheel with a aweful center). The gods are all-seeing and all-powerful, but also depend at some extent on sacrifices to them. The rules are very clear on what happens to these “sacrifices”.

Cassia is 16 and has gone through a lot. When she ends up as one of Theo’s sacrifices she tries to understand better his world and to make a life for herself. I can appreciate her strength, her need to go on, to do something and not wallow in pity. Theo is strong, stubborn, pigheaded, but has a heart of gold.

I love Cassia and Theo together, but I wish they had more time to be together and get to know each other even better. I felt that more attention was given to the war and it’s strategy and to the sibling rivalry and intervention than to the relationship. Is there romance in this book? Yes! Fragile Chaos is short though. I would have loved more Theo and Cassia time.


I also didn’t think that Theo’s behavior was entirely believable. I felt like he should have known better for a god that’s lived for so long. He was very insecure and he’s fear of losing ground, losing control and his believe that he was always right was infuriating. Cassie was just 16, so I’m more understanding with her behavior and the cards she was dealt.

I think the world building was well done, especially given all the information at the end of the book (mind you, I read a digital ARC) and the maps. All this information would make it really easy for Duell to conceivably write other books with these characters, based on this world. I wouldn’t mind getting to know Theo and Cassia better or Theo’s siblings, especially Leander. The writing was easy to read an follow, even with all the politics and talk about war. Characterization was very well done, especially with Theo’s siblings and with his friend and adviser, Goran.

Overall, Fragile Chaos is a great story of the follies of pride, the consequences of abusing power, and the power of love to heal all wounds.