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Chains of Darkness #1

The Child of Mystery

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The clock is ticking, and time is running out...

NOT ALL THINGS BOUND IN CHAINS SHOULD BE FREED

Time for Melinda is fast running out. Time for her to make her escape. And time to make a daring rescue.

The only thing fifteen-year-old Melinda has been thinking about ever since she found out that she was betrothed to a man twice her age was how to escape the madness of the cult she had been trapped in. But escape seems easier said than done, especially since Melinda is being kept under the watchful eyes of her Uncle, an Aunt who never seems to sleep, and the Elders.

Melinda has the unique ability to see things no one can, like Angels and, once one Halloween, a demon. Her power also allows her to see a boy named Caleb, who isn't really a boy but has the fading aura of an Angel, get captured by the Elders. Kept in chains and tortured, Caleb's agonizing cries are a constant reminder of why she must get as far away from the cult as she can. She must escape, and soon, but not without trying to rescue Caleb.

Does Melinda have the power to not only save herself, but to save Caleb? And if she can save him, has she saved an angel... or a demon?

45 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 17, 2013

104 people are currently reading
494 people want to read

About the author

Eve Hathaway

39 books4 followers

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Community Reviews

5 stars
84 (18%)
4 stars
109 (24%)
3 stars
123 (27%)
2 stars
72 (16%)
1 star
62 (13%)
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Melissa Levine.
1,028 reviews42 followers
July 26, 2015
I'm not going to bother with my usual question/comments with this story. This was just too stupid. I've read plenty of short stories but this was just....? I mean what was the point of it? It doesn't answer any of your questions or anything. I wasn't really sure what the hell was even going on.

The second short story afterward, I can't even remember what it was called? It was worst than the first one. I mean nothing even happened.
Profile Image for Ted Tayler.
Author 79 books296 followers
May 29, 2018
"They walk among us..."

It's good to step out of your comfort zone now and again. I rarely read fantasy or horror, but this one was worth the risk. It's no good moaning about not getting a full story, there are enough clues on the product page to tell you what the situation is.
If fantasy is your bag, then suck it up and get the whole series. It's an entertaining read.
Profile Image for Flamingcrystal Flamingcrystal.
Author 10 books11 followers
March 21, 2014
Melinda and Gabe discover what Caleb really is - a force that will upset the balance of good and evil. Ariel and Azgaroth attempt to use Melinda to stop Caleb, but things take a turn for the worse as it's not that simple...It’s a captivating story about angels and demons. I just feel the first 2 chapters of the sequel “The Spawns Blood” should be added to “The Child of Mystery” as a part of “The Child of Mystery” to make this book not such a short read. I am really looking forward reading Chains Of Darkness: The Complete Book.
49 reviews
August 8, 2018
I didnt care for it

A) This was insanely short. There wasn't enough time to build up a good plot, and when you thought maybe you were getting there, it was just over.
B) it was just weird, and not in an intriguing way.
C) The "romance" wasn't even remotely believable or appealing.

I kept reading it, thinking it had potential to get better (hence 2 stars), it just didn't.
219 reviews3 followers
September 12, 2018
Rose

Even Hathaway writes about a young girl and a young boy who are trapped in an unkind environment. When they escape, unusual circumstances begin. I enjoyed what I read but the ending came too soon without enough answers.
Profile Image for Barb VanderWel.
1,819 reviews31 followers
September 10, 2018
I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.
Profile Image for Angela.
337 reviews7 followers
November 8, 2013
I really am so unsure about this book I don't know how the heck to really review it. The plot was there and was great, the writing itself was great as far as descriptiveness and a good flow to it, and the characters were something to come to like. I left this book feeling like I didn't really finish anything about it. Not a thing was concluded. I understand it is a book one in a series, however most books of a series have some closure to something and just have that air of one main question that makes you want to read on in the series. This was more of a TV soap opera in book form to me because it was moving along okay and then it started a bit of a dragging out theme and then it picked up, but in the middle of the good part it just ended. No closure of any kind, just ended. I was left with so many questions and feeling so unsatisfied by this read that I have no intention of even picking up the next book in the series for fear that it would do the exact same thing and I would be sucked into a series of short snippets of what could be one longer great book. The potential for this book is right there, but the cutting of the story to make many short books just doesn't do it any justice. Bottom line? Great potential just frustrating to read as far as the ending.

3/5 Stars
Profile Image for Raymond Raymond.
1 review2 followers
September 2, 2014
This book was not worth the money I spent on it and seeing as it was free I feel like I am owed a bit of my life back. It took me a few weeks to read this book out of sheer agony. The characters (charactures?) were clumsy and had no reason to be together. The telling was rampant and I have never seen one instance were The main and her future Boyfriend had a past much lest a future. I'm infinitely more interested in Jessica than the main. The Angel kid had some of the best scenes in the book hands down, even the strangers he spoke too were better developed than the main and her future boyfriend. Hunter Green's death bothered me more than the pseudo relationship drama the Author was pushing for. It was way too short and had a very rushed/confusing ending. I honestly hope the second book is better but I don't plan to stick around and find out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
5 reviews
January 18, 2014
Book one.

The chains of darkness starts off with a teenager in the process of escaping a arraigned marriage. This book represents the start and only a portion of what appears to be a long chase, a sort of mending of a accidental mistake made by that teenager early on.

Be forewarned however the full story cannot be found in just the first book and I guess you will have to pick up book two to catch up with what happens to the characters!

My biggest issue is how this story has been laid out and suddenly stops at a the buildup of a big event for the characters. For that reason I'm knocking off one star out of what appears to be (so far,) a four star story.


Profile Image for Neil.
543 reviews55 followers
January 13, 2014
I find it really infuriating that almost as soon as you have got a mental picture of the characters, and you start to get to grips with the plot line, the book finishes. This happened not even 40% of the way through the kindle version. Up until then I was really starting to enjoy it, it was well written and was not following the regular format. The rest of the kindle version was taken up with some SciFi tale about time travel, with didn't really conclude either
Profile Image for siara brandon.
51 reviews2 followers
June 23, 2014
The Child Of Mystery

The Child Of Mystery was a really good book.I can't wait to read the Spawn's Blood it seems from what I read that it will been awesome book.My favorite part of The Child Of Mystery was where Melinda saved Calebs life.I don't get if Caleb is a bad or good angel.I can't wait to read the rest of the books to this series.I would love to read more of your books.Siara Brandon. :)
November 5, 2014
The book is full of grammatical errors and often changes from the past and present tense making it confusing to follow.
The author didn't give enough background to get into the storyline and random characters were thrown into the story with no direction or purpose at all.
The book unfolds too quickly and ends before it really starts. The plot had potential to be better.
147 reviews
December 30, 2014
Well as others have said, a really short book, disappointing that the kindle version had more extras for other books than it did this book! I honestly can't remember anything about the plot and overall gave it a low star ranking for those reasons.
Profile Image for Arie Antonia.
202 reviews2 followers
October 17, 2019
There really is no real story here. I dnt know what Melinda was. I dnt know what "Caleb" was. I dnt know why anything happened and I dnt know why I read this. It is also ridiculously short. I got to 13% or something like that and that was the end. I wnt be reading the rest of this series
Profile Image for Sam.
332 reviews
June 29, 2013
43 pages!?!?!?! why did i buy this book i hardly ever read a book under 100 pages let alone 50 pages. god
Profile Image for Lavana Sanchez.
160 reviews1 follower
October 22, 2013
i think that she should save him no matter what he is with gabb and nobody should ng stop her from doing so
Profile Image for Alicia Huxtable.
1,888 reviews59 followers
October 24, 2014
For a short story this packs a more intense punch than most. When Gabe rescues Melinda from a cult impound, they also takes Caleb....... they soon realise what a mistake they have made
429 reviews
July 21, 2016
I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This book cover is on my Pinterest board and my blog, Michelle Dragalin’s Journey.
160 reviews1 follower
September 9, 2016
Enjoyed the story but was disappointed. No sooner was I intrigued to find out what was going to happen to the main characters the story ended ...
Profile Image for Rachel.
1,235 reviews5 followers
owned-to-read
January 1, 2014
*downloaded free on ARE
Profile Image for Karen.
56 reviews
April 5, 2017
I think this is a good short storey .. but there is a lot left out. I think the author could have expanded a lot of areas and I think that some of those areas were a requirement for the main storey
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews

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