REVIEW: Initiation by Imogen Rose

Title: Initiation (Bonfire Academy #1)
Author: Imogen Rose - Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: November 23, 2011
Format: Kindle ebook, 412 pages
Rating: 3/5 stars
Get it: Amazon || B&N || Smashwords

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.

My thoughts, feelings & reactions.

Initiation by Imogen Rose was a good book with interesting concepts and cool characters. It was an nice and enjoyable read that grabbed my attention. I really liked what Imogen created in Initiation.


It starts off with Cordelia returning to Bonfire Academy for her Enrichment Program to develop her tennis skills. Instead, she gets roped into mentoring a human-demon hybrid. What was supposed to be an easy and fun year at BA, immediately turns into a series of attacks where danger seems to lurk at every corner.

What I liked a lot:



Bonfire Academy and the Writing.


• It’s like Hogwarts for paranormals, but a less fancy version. BA preps different kinds of paranormals: demons, faeries, shifters, vampires, trolls, wanderers and many hybrids to develop, control and master their abilities, powers and skills. Paranormals go there to learn about their own kind and about other paranormals. This idea was a good base for the overall story. It allowed me to become familiar with all the characters and everything that Imogen introduces into this first book. Imogen’s writing was also a plus for this book because everything flowed pretty well. There was a light touch to the interactions between the characters and there was something about the whole book that compelled me to finish it.


Cordelia: main character and demon princess protagonist.


• Strong-willed, determined and level-headed was what Cordelia was to me. She speaks her mind, she was nosy, and she didn’t let anyone walk all over her. She has a human form that was part beautiful and part caring. Cordelia was helpful and friendly; protecting an initiate that became her close friend, named Faustine. As a demon, Cordelia can heal herself, run at super fast speed, can sniff out other paranormals, has good hearing abilities and she can possess other people and paranormals other than her own kind. Cordeila was definitely terrifying in demon form with her warts and boils oozing pus. For me, she was pretty damn cool.

What I didn’t like so much:



Repetitive plot line.


• I liked where Imogen was going with the story, but most of the book lacked any kind of suspense or thrill. Throughout the story, Cordelia struggled with several attacks, figuring out motives for these attacks, figuring out the culprit to even smaller attacks, protecting and mentoring Faustine, and dealing with her feelings for Quinn and Jagger. It got repetitive after the first attack where the events go from more attacks, to a rescue, to an investigation, to helping out Faustine, to eating, and then going skiiing to cool down and then it starts all over with different scenarios, but the same layout. It got really tiring and boring after awhile and this had me struggling a bit while reading.



Unnecessary love triangle, insta-love and the like.


• As much as I liked Cordelia’s relationship with Jagger, I just couldn’t grasp their insta-love. Yes, I know that these characters are paranormals who don’t grasp human customs, but a relationship needs a base, a good build up, and time to grow. I have to feel their love and that’s the problem. I just didn’t feel anything. The whole “synching” thing that gets introduced into the story was supposed to be the explanation for Cordelia and Jagger’s love but it only did two things:
  1) it didn't make their relationship believable because synching doesn’t get explained at all, leaving two characters attracted to each other from this so-called “rare phenomenon” and
  2) it makes the love triangle redundant because synching with someone is the deal-breaker, so to speak.

Overall, I did have a good time reading Initiation despite some of the issues I had. I’m still fascinated with where Imogen plans to take Cordelia next and I still have a burning curiosity for what will become of these characters in their following year at Bonfire Academy.