Fictional Candy: Initiation - Imogen Rose

For my stop on the tour I am featuring a review, an excerpt, and there is also a tour wide giveaway, so make sure you enter your information in the Rafflecopter below. Please note that Fictional Candy will not be picking or announcing the winner

Title: Initiation (Bonfire Academy #1)

Author: Imogen Rose

Format: ebook provided by Bewitching Blog Tours for Review

From Goodreads:
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.

This is part one of the prequel series (Bonfire Academy) in the Bonfire Chronicles. Book two, INTEGRATION, will be released summer 2012

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As a book blogger I have a very hectic “book life”. My “To Be Read” pile is enormous. I wanted in this tour as soon as I saw it on the Bewitching Blog Tours site. Then I got the book, and paid it no mind until it was time to read. Then I opened it up on my kindle. Over 400 pages! My first thought was “oh no, what have I got myself into???” Seriously, I was worried.

And that was the most useless thought I’ve had in a very long time because – no joke – this book had me hooked from the very first page, and I barely put it down until I was finished. Less than 24 hours later (which includes work, some sleep, and a bit of time with my daughter) and I was done.

So lets start, eh? This is a super power / paranormal private school type book. But that’s about where the similarities to any other private school book end. Perhaps this book is YA, but it’s definitely on the higher end. There is violence and swearing, and there is some steam, but not outright steam. Got it?

Cordelia is a third year student at Bonfire Academy, which is an ultra posh paranormal prep school in Switzerland (interesting note – that’s where the author is from!). She isn’t required to attend this year, but she does so that she can focus on tennis a bit more. Because demons have interests outside of being well, demonic. That’s when Jagger, uber hot Student Council President fae, assigns her to a new student as a mentor. It should be easy, since both girls are demonic princesses. Yep, I told you it was an ultra posh school! The new student is Faustine, and she’s only 12. But she is rare in the fact that she is half human. The paranormal beings often procreate outside their own race, but hardly ever with us humans.

“My words were supposed to come out in a firm demonic growl, but instead, they slithered out in an unfortunate raspy whisper”

Then something happens between Jagger and Cordelia that is 1) totally unexpected, and 2) totally life changing. And I loved every minute of it!! If there is one thing I could wish for this book, or this series, is more Jagger and Cordelia!! Of course, Cordelia has a boyfriend, Quinn, but who cares?? He is clearly not the one for her. She needs to drop him like a hot demon potato and get with some hunky fae Student Council President action!

This book has a lot going on. You’ve got vampires, weres, shifters, demons, fae and even more. And here’s something great – they don’t all get along! And this creates a ton of drama and mystery at school. You expect that you can go to school and feel safe walking down the hallway, but at Bonfire, things are more than a little different!

Something else that I absolutely loved – when demons or shifters shift into their paranormal form, it doesn’t mean that they turn into some 7 foot beautiful demigod of a being. Nope. Some of them are downright ugly and repulsive. Perfect!! It was surprise after surprise in this book, and I love how Imogen Rose has not only bent the rules, she’s downright broken and rewrote them.

Cordelia, that poor girl haha. She really takes a beating in this book. I hope the rest of her life doesn’t go on like her third year at Bonfire, because she’s spent so much time in the infirmary she should get a personal room there! Anyhow, she is a wonderful character. She has heart and a conscience, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a demon.

And there is a myriad of colorful characters to choose from. Mysterious Jagger, helpful Quinn, naïve Faustine, mile a minute Martha, and Ryker – another mystery. You will definitely not get bored reading this book, and I couldn’t recommend it any more than this! Read it! Love it! Come back here and tell me what you thought, cause I love to dish about my favorite books. And that’s where this book is going, my favorites list!

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INITIATION (excerpt 1, Cordelia and Jagger)

“Well, Cordelia, are you glad to be back?”

“Yes. Why did you ask for me?”

“Ah, straight to the point.” His eyes narrowed into slits. “Very plucky. Most would have the sense to be more fearful and not ask questions,” he growled softly.

I held my breath, controlling my instincts. A snarl was always a signal for me to transform. But, I held back, on full alert.

“I was told that about you. And that’s one of the reasons you’re here. You’ve been appointed as a mentor.”

It was my turn to smirk. I got to my feet. “I can’t be appointed anything. Thanks for thinking of me, though. I guess it’s some kind of honor. But, no thanks.” I made my way to the door.

And crashed right into Jagger’s chest. I should have anticipated his move; lightning-fast location transfer was something covered in the first semester. I clumsily stepped back, then met his darkened gaze.

He lowered his head, brushing his nose along my neckline, breathing me in. I stood dead still, letting my fingers fuse. I shivered as his lips found my right ear, his every breath forming icicles against my skin. Then, he touched my fused fingers.

“Easy, demon princess. Relax.”

I boiled over with anger. Who the fuck did he think I was? Some silly human girl who’d melt under his pathetic attempt at intimidation? Not so.

“Step back, and I will.” My words were supposed to come out in a firm demonic growl, but instead, they slithered out in an unfortunate raspy whisper.

He chuckled under his breath and took a half step back. He needed to be taught not to mess with demons. Slapping the smirk off his face would be too much of a cliché. My mischievous demon instincts took over.

As the corners of his lips curled into a leer, I jerked up my arm and swiftly wrapped my fingers around the back of his neck, pulling his face down to mine. His eyes widened in surprise, but he made no move to resist as I stood on tiptoes and roughly parted his lips with mine. I kept my eyes wide open, gazing into his, as I explored his mouth, drinking him in. He yielded under my touch. The kiss became more and more fervent, until a surge of hot and cold, of terror and excitement, zapped through me–and him, by the surprise on his face–leaving us shocked and unable to move. Our eyes remained locked together as we stood suspended in time.

Jagger looked as dazed as I felt. His eyes searched mine, but I had nothing to offer, no explanation. Then, it hit me. Dad had mentioned the extremely rare phenomenon. I raked through my mind, trying to remember what he had said.

Listen for his heartbeat, synch with it.

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Meet Imogen Rose

Imogen Rose is the author of the bestselling YA series, the Portal Chronicles. She was born in a small town in Sweden and moved to London in her twenties. After obtaining a PhD in immunology from Imperial College, she moved with her family to New Jersey, where she’s been based for the past ten years.

For as long as she can remember, Imogen has dreamt stories. Stories that continued from night to night, from dream to dream. So, even as a child, going to bed was never an issue, just an anticipation of the story to come.

PORTAL, Imogen’s first novel, would have remained in her imagination, to be shared only with her daughter, Lauren, had her eight-year-old not insisted that she write it down. In the course of a month, Imogen typed while Lauren waited eagerly by the printer for the pages to appear, and a novel took shape.

The warm reception PORTAL received encouraged her to continue with the story and the Portal Chronicles. The Bonfire Chronicles is Imogen’s new YA paranormal series.

Imogen is a self-confessed Hermès addict who enjoys shopping, traveling, watching movies and playing with her dog, Tallulah.

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