Although a good story, I wish I were as enthusiastic about this book as other reviewers seem to be. I did find it an interesting diversion, but it never really engaged me. And, given the nature of the story, it did get a bit repetitive. Ultimately, I gave it a 3 because I'm not chomping at the bit to read more of the Neumarian Chronicles... ( )

After my experience with the first book, well, actually before reading the first book, I found this one for free on Amazon. Like most free books on Amazon, I bought it. Hey, can't argue with pricing like that. This is stated as #1.5 in the series, but can actually be read before the series, since it is merely the telling of Raeth's ordeal on the queen's ship four years before the events of the first book in the trilogy.

I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this book. In fact, I hadn't even read the blurb, so I wasn't sure what part of the story it would be telling. And I'm kind of glad it was a surprise, because it allowed me a pleasant "Oh!" when figuring out it would be in Raeth's point of view.

The layout of this novella is really nice. I love how each new chapters is headed with information about Raeth, or at least information about how Raeth will be in the chapter. I also love how well it flows. I mean, I saw no problem with it. And it was nice to see Semara from her eyes, and how she kind of double crosses the queen, using her need for followers and people to agree with her against her.

This part of the story just builds upon Raeth's strength. Many Neumarians would have probably died long before her, and seeing Ryder save her just marks them both as amazing individuals. This is, without a doubt, one of the best parts of the Neumarian Chronicles, at least in my eyes. ( )

This 36 page novella tells of Raeth Artere time aboard Queen Mandessa Valderak's airship. A 12 year old Neumarian, or a 'parasite' according to the Queen and her terrified entourage. In an attempt to uncover the plot against the Queen they have been subjecting Raeth to hideous torture. Her first major surgery was to remove the majority of one leg and replace it with a metal one - without anesthesia. With one vicious cut young Raeth has been turned into a Slag, making it so that she no longer belongs anywhere. Not that this will be an issue unless she should miraculously survive her time on the ship, and somehow escape before they kill her. . .

**Personal note - I feel this book should have come between Escapement and Pendulum. ( )

Author Ciara Knight gifted me a Kindle copy of Weighted that I won in a giveaway form Anagha @ BookSpark. I was interested in reading the book, which is 31 pages long, and I finished it in one sitting.
The synopsis itself caught my attention, since the story is set in 2185. Raeth is a Neumarian and possesses a power that the Queen believes will annihilate the human population. Hence, she is captured and tortured. Some of the scenes were quite cruel, but I think that makes it more real. I liked both, Princess Semara and Bendar, who seemed genuinely nice people and help Raeth. I did feel bad for Raeth for everything that she's been through. I hope we get to see more about her family and her life before the Great War in the coming books.
Overall, Weighted was an interesting and good read, though I wish it was longer! But then again, it is a novella, and I am waiting to read the first book in The Neumarian Chronicles. I love the word "Neumarian", by the way! ( )

This is a short story prequel to a series of steampunk novels coming out in 2013 called The Neumarian Chronicles. From this story, I can gather some aspects of the world building and that there are two types of people against one another, Slags and Neumarians. I don't know why they fought a war or why they hate each other so much, but what happens to the protagonist, Raeth, happens because of these feuding societies.

Raeth is a Neumarian and seems to be around 12-years-old. She has some sort of ability that she needs to keep hidden from the Slags who captured her in order to find out what it is. The Slags are people with bionic body parts—cyborgs, basically. That is so cool, but they are the bad guys and they are very not cool, not even towards each other. The Queen is execution-happy and everybody smacks everybody's faces all the time. Raeth suffers torture and near death at the hands of the Queen of the Slags who is completely evil and one-dimensional, but successfully strikes fear in you.

Although, a lot of the story is confusing, it still has elements I usually am drawn to: cyborgs, a mad scientist (Raeth gets tortured by a man in a gray coat at the behest of the evil Queen), sci-fi technology and even a fantasy element in Raeth's supernatural ability. It's quite an intense read for all it's worth and really gets your appetite whetted for the future subsequent novels.

*I received a copy of this title from the author in exchange for my honest review. ( )