REVIEW + GIVEAWAY: Initiation by Imogen Rose

Pub. Date: November 23rd 2011
Publisher: Imogen Rose
Pages: 412
Readership: Young adult
Genres: paranormal, demons, vampires

Welcome to Bonfire Academy. Set in the foothills of the alpine mountains in St.Moritz, this exclusive private school caters to a special kind of student. Enter at your own risk... but if you are human, you may not want to enter at all.

The cover was the first thing that got me. I know, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover but sometimes it's really hard not to! The striking eye and the half face close up really suckered me in. I jumped at the chance to be able to review Initiation.

I was completely unaware that this was actually a prequel series to Imogen's first series - The Bonfire Chronicles - which apparently centers around Faustine, the demon-human hybrid that the main character in Initiation, Cordelia, is entrusted to mentor and protect. But I'm not going to get ahead of myself.

Initiation reels you in and hooks you from the very first line. Trust no one. Immediately I was captivated and I wanted to read and read and read until I was finished, but alas I had to work. I was immediately intrigued by the storyline. I am a sucker for any boarding school kind of story but especially the supernatural kind. I thought it was very interesting and original that there was more than two supernatural species that call the Academy home. There are demons, vampires, witches, shifters, and even hybrids. I wondered how Imogen was going to do it and she did a fantastic job.

I will say that Initiation is not for the squeamish. They are teenagers and they are supernatural. Regular human teenagers can be vulgar at the best of times but throw into that them being supernatural and there being animosity between some species and, well, hormones flying around, and that is a recipe for sex and violence, which there are plenty of in Initiation. While the sex isn't exactly described, it is still very much there.

Cordelia is a strong lead. She is a full blooded demon. She has good characterization but the one thing that bothered me about the book overall was the love triangle. While her and Jagger have off the charts chemistry I didn't like that she was a) hot and cold with him and b) cheating on her boyfriend Quinn. I understood that she was torn but the cheating thing just really rubbed me the wrong way. That said, I still really like her with Jagger.

There are plenty of great characters in this book besides Cordelia. There's Jagger, Quinn, Faustine, and many more. A way Imogen kept people on their toes was that if you're a student at the Academy, you cannot ask another paranormal what they are. That creates a lot of mystery and intrigue around characters.

Initiation is chock full of action, suspense, romance and all around bad-assery. If you're looking for a page turner that will keep you hooked, Initiation is the way to go!

★★★★

I liked it

Thank you so much to Imogen and Alli Potter for providing a copy for review! 

And the giveaway swag.

PURCHASE

(amazon paperback) (amazon kindle)

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!!!

Rules

- Open internationally

- The winners will be emailed once I pick the winners and will have 48 hours to respond or I will choose new winners

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