Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
Series: Consortium Rebellion #3
Published by HarperAudio on May 19, 2020
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy Romance
Length: 12 hours, 30 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Interplanetary intrigue and romance combine in this electrifying finale to the Consortium Rebellion series.
As the youngest member of her High House, Catarina von Hasenberg is used to being underestimated, but her youth and flighty, bubbly personality mask a clever mind and stubborn determination. Her enemies, blind to her true strength, do not suspect that Cat is a spy—which makes her the perfect candidate to go undercover at a rival House’s summer retreat to gather intelligence on their recent treachery.
Cat’s overprotective older sister reluctantly agrees, but on one condition: Cat cannot go alone. Alexander Sterling, a quiet, gorgeous bodyguard, will accompany her, posing as her lover. After Cat tries, and fails, to ditch Alex, she grudgingly agrees, confident in her ability to manage him. After all, she’s never found a person she can’t manipulate.
But Alex proves more difficult—and more desirable—than Cat anticipated. When she’s attacked and nearly killed, she and Alex are forced to work together to figure out how deep the treason goes. With rumors of widespread assaults on Serenity raging, communications down, and the rest of her family trapped off-planet, Catarina must persuade Alex to return to Earth to expose the truth and finish this deadly battle once and for all.
But Cat can’t explain why she’s the perfect person to infiltrate hostile territory without revealing secrets she’d rather keep buried. . . .
I have been loving this world in the Consortium Rebellion trilogy. One of three sisters is featured in each of the three books and now we meet Catarina. She is the youngest sister and I didn’t feel I knew her very well from previous stories. While her sisters were out fighting and learning off planet, she stayed home.
Catarina has played her role as a high house princess, going to social events and parties. She meets people, gathers information, and has developed some knowledge, maybe even some allies. Now she has a chance to find out information on the James house, as she is invited to a party at their place, off on another planet.
Bianca, (older sister from Aurora Blazing) ever the master of intelligence, doesn’t want her going alone and plans to send along two friends as bodyguards. Catarina has played “silly party girl” so well, sometimes others don’t think she can handle herself.
Catarina is so much more than I expected, even though she is so young. She’s smart and capable under that pretty facade. I love how she dived into the fray, to get the needed evidence to support her family and then to protect them. Thankfully, Bianca’s friends, Eva and Alex have her back. She also has her best friend from another house.
Packed with action, sexual tension and political maneuvering, I loved Chaos Reigning! Catarina was compassionate, well-trained and knowledgeable. Alex was more the strong, silent type. I didn’t get much from him. I did appreciate how he supported and encouraged Cat. I felt the connection between all the siblings and enjoyed how they came together to support the family in the end.
Narration:
I’ve always admired this narrator. Her voices for all the characters, male or female, sounded appropriate. The voices were somewhat distinct so I could tell who was speaking. Most of the time, we were in Cat’s head with her thoughts and it felt right. I enjoyed listening at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
About Emily Woo Zeller
Audie award-winning actor, voiceover artist, dancer, and singer Emily Woo Zeller (member SAG-AFTRA) is based in Los Angeles, though her work has been seen and heard internationally. Her wide range of work has included theater and extensive dubbing for film and television in Southeast Asia. Emily’s lifelong theater and dance work includes performance with Ellis Wood Dance, Dutch Kills Theater, FACT/SF, Facing East Dance and Music, Oracle Theater, and physical theater collective Lampazo Group.
Audiofile Magazine named Emily as one of the “Best Voices of 2015” in Nonfiction and Culture for her work on THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP by Marie Kondo and “Best Voices of 2013” in Nonfiction and Culture for her work on GULP by Mary Roach. Awards include 2018 Audie for FIRE ROAD by Kim Phuc Phan Thi, Ashley Wiersma; 2015 SOVAS VOICE ARTS AWARD for THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP by Marie Kondo; 2015 Audie Nomination for her work on THE BEAM: SEASON 1 by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant; Audiofile Magazine Earphones Awards for narrations of THE POPPY WAR by R. F. Kuang; FIRE ROAD by Kim Phuc Phan Thi, Ashley Wiersma, AFTER THE ECLIPSE by Sarah Perry, KITCHEN CHINESE by Ann Mah, UNDER A PAINTED SKY by Stacey Lee, THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP by Marie Kondo, GULP by Mary Roach, and TIES THAT BIND, TIES THAT BREAK by Leslie Namioka; the 2009 Tristen Award for Best Actress as Sally Bowles in CABARET; and the 2006 Roselyn E. Schneider Prize for Creative Achievement.
Emily holds a degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Dance and Performance Studies, with a minor in Nutritional Sciences. She is a certified yoga teacher.
About Jessie Mihalik
Jessie Mihalik has a degree in Computer Science and a love of all things geeky. A software engineer by trade, Jessie now writes full time from her home in Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing co-op video games with her husband, trying out new board games, or reading books pulled from her overflowing bookshelves.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
Oh yes I had a really nice time for this one as well!
I really enjoyed it!
Excellent review, Anne? Though I’m unfamiliar with the series and it’s a little out of my normal reading zone, it sounds intriguing!
Thank you! It’s very fun and I always enjoy strong women.
This series is new to me and I do enjoy the genre. Sounds like a page turner!
I’ve really enjoyed everything by this author. I hope she writes more. She had a free serial on her website I think but I listened to the audiobooks from Tantor. It’s a nice blend of scifi and romance. Definitely more romance and a bit lighter than most scifi. I hope you get to try it. The first in this trilogy was my favorite but they are all great.
action and sexual tension…love the cover…sounds like one i would enjoy too. thanks for sharing the great review
Thank you! It’s a great trilogy. I hope you get to read it.
Not my usual but it sounds good. Nice review 🙂
I like to read a wide variety of genres. It helps me not get stuck.
I’ve got this series on my TBR. Thank’s for the review!
Thank you! I hope you love it too!
I really enjoyed the first two books and plan to listen to this one hopefully next month. once it’s released. I agree with you that I don’t feel like we got to know Catarina very well in the first two books, so I look forward to getting to know her better in this one. It sounds like this will be another great read :).
Catarina is awesome. I am very impressed with her. I’m sure you will enjoy it if you liked the first two.
I am really looking forward to Catarina’s story. I loved the first book and can’t wait to continue on with the series. I really loved seeing the political manuvering, so full of depths and intrigue. Happy to hear you enjoyed this one….I just know I have so much goodness to look forward to
Fabulous Review
Thank you. I loved all three books in this trilogy. The first one was my favorite, which is actually rather unusual because sometimes I take a bit to get attached to the world and characters. I wouldn’t miss the next two as they were also so enjoyable.
Have this on preorder from Audible – so I just checked your rating and scrolled past. Looking forward to this one!!
The main character is unexpected and wonderful. I hope you love it.
Why haven’t I started reading this series yet? I own the first book and it sounds like something I would really enjoy. I need to make this a priority. I am glad you enjoyed it, Anne!
I think they are all pretty great with the first one being my favorite by a smidge. I’m not sure if it is because it feels futuristic or fictional with the space travel and other technology, but it feels lighter even when dark subjects are handled.
I really enjoyed the first two books so I’m really looking forward to this one. My daughter just picked the first book up and is loving it, too. I’m not sure I’ll do the audio this time. I feel like the narrator is a little overly dramatic in her performance and for me it was distracting and detracted from the plot. We’ll see. Most the time I’m only able to squeeze in non-review books by audio. Glad you enjoyed it, Anne! 🙂
I managed to do all of them on audio. I like the first one best but I did really enjoy them all. The women were strong and each had a different style. I liked Catarina more than I expected.