Tag Archives: First Chapter Review

First Chapter Review: Alchemy by Mike Wood

Alchemy by Mike Wood is a coming of age novel that I grabbed as a Kindle freebie in 2014.

BLURB: The summer of 1984 was a golden time in America. From California, where gymnast Mary Lou Retton was winning Olympic gold, to Cape Cod, where explorer Barry Clifford was discovering pirate gold, the nation seemed obsessed with the precious metal. But for 15-year old Al, that obsession hits a little too close to home when he finds a code-filled notebook belonging to his missing father that may contain the ancient formula for turning lead to gold. Convinced that his father’s sudden disappearance is connected to his secret experiments in alchemy, Al sets out to find the truth. He enlists the help of Cammie, a beautiful girl staying for the summer while her marine biologist father tracks a wayward manatee, and together they begin unraveling the mystery. But the closer they get to an answer, the closer they grow to each other, and as the end of summer draws nearer, Al wonders if they can break the code without breaking his heart.

COVER: I live a little over two hours away from Cape Cod. This is the perfect cover to draw the reader into the setting where Al lives. I also love how the author works the year the story takes place into the road sign.

FIRST CHAPTER: Told by Al as if he is speaking directly to the reader, he explains the challenge of his name, a bit about his family and his life, and the day he made the mistake of taking a neighbor’s magazine.

KEEP READING: A resounding yes! I remember when I downloaded this book, because it reminded me of my high school years and was set in a place I knew. Even though Wood has Al give the reader a ton of information in the first chapter, I feel it reads like a teenager would speak and is a cohesive sequence of events. Al is funny and engaging, which makes the reader want to keep turning the pages… especially considering how the first chapter ends.*

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0038M2HC6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Booksurge (January 12, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 12, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1331 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages

    • This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

    *Based upon the ending of the first chapter, this novel may not be appropriate for younger readers.

    First Chapter Review: Seventh Dimension – The Door by Lorilyn Roberts 

    Seventh Dimension – The Door by Lorilyn Roberts is a Christian young adult fantasy novel.

    BLURB: The Door is the first book in the Seventh Dimension Series that combines contemporary, historical, and fantasy elements into a Christian “coming-of-age” story. A curse put on Shale Snyder, because of a secret, shrouds her with insecurity and fear. Following suspension from school, Shale’s best friend isn’t allowed to see her anymore and she feels abandoned by her family. When a stray dog befriends her, she follows it into the woods. There she discovers a door that leads to another world…

    COVER: This is a beautiful cover. The colors, the artwork, and the font all work together nicely to create a cover that catches the eye and makes you want to read what the story is about.

    FIRST CHAPTER: While hiding, Shale overhears Judd, Rachel, and Chumana talking about a horrible accident. Two years later, on the way home from school, Judd and Shale have a difference of opinion. That’s when Shale sees the white dog for the first time.

    KEEP READING: If it weren’t for the cliffhanger of the white dog appearing at the end of the chapter that piqued my curiosity, I’m really not sure. Judd and Chumana are not likeable from the start. Rachel and Shale engage in a conversation that seems to be nothing more than an info dump on Shale’s life. I might keep reading a chapter or two to see how the story progresses. This book has won numerous awards, so maybe it is just starting off slow for me.

    • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009R8Q1WC
    • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rear Guard Publishing, Inc.; 2nd edition (December 19, 2013)
    • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 19, 2013
    • Language ‏ : ‎ English
    • File size ‏ : ‎ 3384 KB
    • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
    • Print length ‏ : ‎ 255 pages

    I picked this up as a Kindle freebie in December 2012. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

    First Chapter Review: A Nick of Time (The Adventures of Rupert Starbright) by Mike DiCerto

    I received a digital copy of this middle grade fantasy novel from the author through Pump Up Your Book.

    BLURB: It’s New Year’s Eve in Graysland, but when the final second fails to come Rupert Starbright finds his entire town frozen in time. Rupert and his school crush Rainn Evertree must travel to the Land of Annum to retrieve the stolen second from the nasty and evil Epoch. They will explore a wild, imaginative, and musical world where all the characters of the Zodiac join Rainn in helping Rupert in his most colorful and challenging adventure yet!

    COVER: I love the cover art for this novel. It is so fun and colorful. I totally understand what genre I am reading by just looking at it, which always makes me happy because I want the cover to match the genre.

    FIRST CHAPTER: Rupert is with his family and the entire town as they wait for the giant metal bellberry leaf to drop. Then everything stopped.

    KEEP READING: I am definitely intrigued by this imaginative first chapter. From the very beginning, DiCerto constructs his characters’ world. Now, this is the fourth book in the series, so readers of previous novels will be familiar with Graysland, but for a first time reader, he used descriptions to paint a nice picture.

    My only niggle is that I had no idea what the main character looked like or what he was. For all the descriptions, there was none of Rupert. Even though Rupert spoke of what Rainn looked like, I could only assume she was human, which doesn’t match the cover. This didn’t take much away from everything wonderful about the story, and I would definitely continue reading thanks to that neat cliffhanger ending to chapter 1, but I kept waiting to see if I would learn who or what Rupert is.

    • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zumaya Thresholds (August 16, 2021)
    • Language ‏ : ‎ English
    • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 306 pages
    • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1612710999
    • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1612710990

    Purchase your copy from Amazon!

    This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I was not compensated for in any way.

    Visit the author’s website at www.ruperstarbright.com or connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.

    First Chapter Review: The Backyard Secrets of Danny Wexler by Karen Pokras

    This First Chapter Review is from a book the author’s publisher sent me back when it first came out in 2021. I am a little late in getting to it. 🙂

    BLURB: Eleven-year-old Danny Wexler, the only Jewish boy in his blue-collar town during the late 1970s, is obsessed with the Bermuda Triangle. When a local child goes missing, Danny’s convinced it’s connected to an old Bermuda Triangle theory involving UFOs. With his two best friends and their Spacetron telescope, Danny heads to his backyard to investigate. But hunting for extraterrestrials is complicated, and it doesn’t help that his friend Nicholas’s mom doesn’t want her son hanging out with a Jewish boy. Equipped with his super-secret spy notebook, Danny sets out to fight both the aliens and the growing anti-Semitism in the town, in hopes of mending his divided community.

    COVER: What a fun cover. Perfect for the genre. Love the vibrant font colors.

    FIRST CHAPTER: Danny’s story starts with him contemplating how true is Alice’s declaration that his piano teacher is a spider. His older sister insists it is and Danny likes to investigate things.

    KEEP READING: Definitely! I requested this book because it was set during my childhood. I also like mysteries and have read books by the author before, so I knew I wanted to read it. The interaction between Danny and Alice is funny. Danny’s rambling thoughts about his piano teacher being a spider, how he wound up taking piano lessons in the first place, and his family’s relationship–or lack their of–with their faith makes for an engaging read that I want to dive into. I hope to finish this while on vacation, but I can tell you that I have scheduled a lot into my vacation already. Fingers crossed.

    • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kar-Ben Publishing ® (November 1, 2021)
    • Language ‏ : ‎ English
    • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
    • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1728412951
    • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728412955
    • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 – 13 years
    • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 – 7

    I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

    First Chapter Review: The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper by Fiona Ingram

    I am reading The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper, the third book in Fiona Ingram’s Chronicles of the Stone series. Having read the first two books in this pre-teen action adventure series, I have high hopes for this one.

    BLURB: A plane crash! Lost in the jungle! Hunted by their old enemy, will Adam, Justin, and Kim survive long enough to find the Third Stone of Power? With only a young boy, Tukum, as their guide, the kids make their way through the dense and dangerous jungle to find the lost city of stone gods, where the Stone of Power might be located. River rafting on a crocodile-infested river and evading predators are just part of this hazardous task. Of course, their old adversary Dr. Khalid is close behind as the kids press on. But he is not the worst of their problems. This time Adam will clash with a terrible enemy who adopts the persona of an evil Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca, and is keen to revive the ancient tradition of human sacrifice. Adam, Justin, and Tukum must play a dreadful ball game of life and death and maybe survive. Will they emerge alive from the jungle? Will Dr. Khalid find the third Stone of Power before they do?

    COVER: Just what I would expect for this series. It fits in well with the covers of the other titles, and its colorful image catches the eye.

    FIRST CHAPTER: When Adam opens his eyes, the screaming of tearing metal has stopped. Shaken up by the plane crash, Adam, Justin and Kim need to figure out what to do now that their guide is injured. They quickly realize being alone in a jungle filled with hungry animals and unknown tribes places them in some of the greatest danger they have ever been in.

    KEEP READING: Definitely! I’ve loved this series since the beginning, so there is no doubt that this latest installment should be just as thrilling. Dropped immediately into the action, the reader will be eager to find out what happens next and how Adam, Justin and Kim will figure out their next steps.

    ORDER YOUR COPY

    Amazon (print): https://amzn.to/39swq1j

    Amazon (kindle): https://amzn.to/3iSb549

    B&N eBook: https://bit.ly/3psW6QL

    B&N Print: https://bit.ly/2Ymyf9E

    Kobo: eBook: https://bit.ly/2Yi9wTB

    iBook: https://apple.co/2KSX8GG

    iTunes: https://apple.co/3qUFXny

    Google Books: https://bit.ly/2MyMKEk

    I received a free digital copy from the author. This first chapter review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. Look for my full review coming soon!