Release: May 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Paranormal
Her parents dead, her sister missing, and those she loves branded traitors to the Old Kind... Chloe Masters is on the run.
To fulfill a parent’s dying wish she will do anything to save the sister she has never met. Can she learn the secrets of the Artifacts before it’s too late?
Surrounded by her friends; Slade, Edgar, Jess, Val and the man she loves James Nightshade, Chloe has never had so much to live for... but will her enemies let her?
Reviews about The Doorknob Society
“I am SO GLAD that I said I’d review the book!! It had me interested from the first chapter, and HOOKED shortly after that!”
Puretextuality.com
“Let me start by saying that I'm a pretty picky
reader. I have to be captured by a story almost
immediately in order to continue reading. Well, I
was captured by The Doorknob Society...and I
am hooked!”
Amazon
“I couldn't put it down and read straight through and was so mad at myself for finishing it. I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. FOR. THE. NEXT. BOOK!” Goodreads
Other books in the series...
MJ Fletcher was born in New Jersey and now lives by the beach with his very understanding wife and daughter. He has been writing since he first stapled pages together as a child and called them a book. He finally realized his ambitions when his comic book series Adam Zero The Last Man of Earth was published by Ronin Studios. His other comic book work includes Digital Webbing Presents and The Hero Initiative. His first novel The Doorknob Society released in 2012 was nominated for a Cybil award in the young adult category. He has continued writing the Doorknob Society Saga his rollicking steampunk adventure series as well as working on numerous other writing projects.
The Doorknob Society The Doorknob Society Saga #1 By M.J. Fletcher
Published: February 9, 2012
Available Formats: eBook ~290 pages
Synopsis:
Chloe Masters’s world changed in a heartbeat - and all she did was touch a doorknob. When she was young Chloe’s mother vanished. Wracked by feelings of abandonment and anger she lost herself traveling with her father's magic act, where illusions were part of her everyday life. Yet everything changes when they are pursued by a mysterious man in black out to kill her father. Touching a doorknob activates abilities she never knew she had and she finds herself thrust into a world of ancient societies and secrets.
When her father disappears it is a race against time to find answers before she loses what is left of her family. Now Chloe must choose who to trust, the man who will do anything for her or the one she can’t stop thinking about.
Cover:
The cover reveals tiny pieces of information. I love the glowing doorknob and the lion key hole. I like that we get to see a version of Chloe in her hoodies. What I really thought was great was the reference to only doorknobs and doors. The rest of what we read about is a surprise and I loved that!
My Thoughts: The Doorknob Society has the makings to be a fantastic book. There are hot boys, good friends, magic, and a world very reminiscent to my beloved Harry Potter. It wasn't a copy of HP, don't worry, but there were similarities. Chloe is the daughter of a magician and they are for unknown reasons are detained in Paris. Chloe, being who she is, decides to get their passports back. While trying to not get caught in the act she turns a doorknob from one room and ends up back in her hotel room miles away from where she was just seconds ago. Great start to the book, I was instantly intrigued. What happened? Was it magic? I was hooked and had to keep reading.
Come to find out, Chloe is part of a secret society, one that she had no idea existed until now. Her father, the one person she could trust kept so much from her. She still doesn’t even know why her mother left. I was expecting more information to be given throughout the story, but it was never enough. I think that if a few extra chapters were added to give more backstory and flesh out the characters I would have felt more. As it was, the book is a whirlwind of battles, escapes, fights, and very little dialogue.
There are five distinct variations in the societies and each group can do very specific things. The Skeleton Key Guild, my favorite, can use keys to get anywhere and their keys are their power conduit – just like a wand would be. All five organizations are as follows: The Doorknob Society, The Honorable and Venerable Order of Detective Inspectors, The Impossible Engineers, The Mapmaker’s Union, and The Skeleton Key Guild. There were originally seven groups, but nothing is learned about them.
Chloe doesn’t know where she belongs and is undeclared so she must attend the super-secret school Paladin Academy where she will learn the in which society she belongs. Her father is from the DS and she could be too, but there are other factors that Chloe doesn’t know about and she is on a mission to find out everything she can, especially when her father goes missing. She and her friends band together to help figure out the mystery and find an artifact that some in the society are willing to kill for.
I really liked the fact that Chloe wasn’t perfect. She knew she was broken and made sure that those who wanted to be around her knew it. Very insightful for a teenager, but that is about the most depth we get. On the other hand, I didn’t get into her and Slade. I liked James so much more because the chemistry was there, not a sudden need to be attached but genuine interest – a spark. James also had a past, something readers could relate to and sympathize with. I also enjoyed reading about the crew they assembled. No one was quite sure of one another and there was some genuine dislike in the group, but they worked together.
All in all, the story was interesting and kept my attention. The biggest issue I had is with the general copyediting. The grammar was lacking, but the punctuation was atrocious. There were so many question marks at the end of sentences that were not needed. I had to go back and reread to make sure it wasn’t a question so much that it interrupted the flow. Run-on sentences were a problem too, but didn’t distract as badly as the question marks did. I also did not like that the story seemed rushed throughout the entire book. I didn’t feel like adequate information was provided to the readers for the basic “Why” and “How” and “What” questions. I still have questions now and will be reading the second book, The Impossible Engineers, to find the answers.
Favorite Quote: "I envied that surety, that ability to know your place in the universe."
★ ★ ★ ★
FTC Advisory: I was given a copy of this book from an ARR program from Goodreads for an honest review. No backroom deals or whispered promises were made.
