Chaos Looming by H.B Raneau (The Legion of Pneumos; #1)

Book Blurb:

Build more than you break. Heal more than you destroy.
But what if chaos can’t be tamed?

For centuries, the Legion of Pneumos has lurked behind the seat of power in Loren. To preserve order across worlds, they are charged with battling chaos in all its forms, no matter the cost.

Keira Altman, the newest Legionnaire, has spent years perfecting the art of wielding pneuma and channeling order out of chaos. Ripped from her own world and into one she barely understands, the only thing Keira knows for certain is that she has a purpose. Now, if only she knew what it was.

Yet when word arrives that the Regio lies on his deathbed, Keira’s new world begins to crumble around her. As the specter of a peasant uprising looms large, and political maneuvering threatens to unravel the fabric of society, Keira realizes that her only hope of avoiding the coming turmoil may lie in the very institutions she’s fought so hard against. But can she master the forces of chaos without losing herself to the chaos within? And what if the price of order proves too high to pay?

I received this book from the author for free, however I am leaving this review voluntary. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.

Rayleigh’s Review:

Chaos Looming is a story that delves into the complexities of chaos, order, and justice in a way that challenges readers to pick sides and think through the story, rather than simply hop on the wagon for a ride. It’s exciting, adventurous, and full of action sure to satisfy any adrenaline junky!

I was completely enthralled by the story world, as well as the story. I haven’t read a book with a story world setup quite like this, so I really enjoyed learning the world and I found it fairly easy to understand with how the author presented it. The story never lost my attention either. It is exciting and I love a good political upheaval plot with charming rebellion leaders and reluctant heroes!

However, the reason I’m giving it 3 stars instead of 5, is because I had a really, really, really, hard time liking Kiera during the whole story. In fact, even upon finishing the book, I honestly can’t say that I even like her after everything went down in the end–if anything, I dislike her a bit more. I disagreed with just about every decision she made and I saw little to no character improvement. I loved Danny–fiercely, and I hate that he was such a passive character that usually took the consequences of Kiera’s self-righteous ideas–he was severely mistreated. I know that Kiera is likely designed to be the unliked hero who gets better at the end, but her character didn’t change enough for me to root for her or hope that she was right at any point in the story–which made her triumph feel oddly, stolen for me. Like, I don’t feel like she deserved it and would have been more pleased to see her fail because it would have been the more appropriate ending after everything she had caused and chosen to do, forcing her to face her self-conceited nature and change. As it is now, the supposed character development that the book closes with, feels a little fake.

Overall, I loved everything about Chaos Looming, except for Kiera. And that presents a bit of a problem since she’s the main character. But, I love the other characters, the story, and the world enough to still be completely dedicated to the series and I can’t wait to start book 2. So, maybe, just maybe, this is all part of the plan and Kiera gets better in the next book.

There is some very mild cursing, mild romantic content (one kiss), and high action (gore) present.

Physical Copies/Ebooks:
Audiobooks/CDs: Unavailable

Rated:

Other books by H.B. Raneau

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