Six words that have thrown the hockey playing tomboy Arizona in an alternate dimension.
Suddenly, she lives the life of an idolized cheerleader. She is from the happy life with her father pulled and pushed into a new, unknown life with her mother hated.
All they know as Arizona Darley, but she is not. She is Arizona Stevens.
While she tries to find answers for them are fixed only two things: that her mother Olivia is responsible for everything somehow - and that she needs to reclaim her old life.
Until she meets Kellan ...
Imogen Rose is the author of the bestselling series "The Portal Chronicles," which has reached both young people and adults cult status in the indie literature. She published her first novel in the 2010th Meanwhile, she has been working as a writer and is currently working on "The Bonfire Chronicles," her second book series for young readers.
Imogen was born in Sweden and moved to London after her studies in immunology, which is still one of her favorite cities. After completing her PhD at Imperial College in 2001, she moved with her family to the United States over to New Jersey. Imogen is a selbstbekennender Hermès fan and admits that she idolized Kurt Cobain. She loves shopping, traveling, movies and being with her family, her friends, and Tallulah, her Chihuahua.
Broken. I couldn’t think of a better word to describe it. I felt as if I’d been torn to bits, maybe even shredded. I was suffocating, surrounded by a wet tightness of skin and flesh all crusted together. My body was home to excruciating stabs of pain searing about randomly before a final thrust of sheer agony. I couldn’t tell if the source of the pain was within me or if I was being repeatedly sliced open with a knife. Did it matter? I felt as though it was only a matter of seconds before my thoughts would end.
“Cordelia!”
My name. I flinched as the same voice repeated my name again and again. Why? Who was it? It—he—sounded familiar. I heaved as the voice triggered the memory of his face. Then, not being able to stop the bile from traveling up my throat, I gagged and purged, emptying my stomach completely. The next time he muttered my name, his voice was laced with disgust. But his revulsion couldn’t compete with my utter repugnance and disbelief at what he’d done. Him. Someone I had trusted with my life, even though the rule was clear:
Trust No One.
About the Author:
Imogen Rose is the author of the bestselling series, Portal Chronicles, which has attained cult status within indie literature and become a favorite among teens and adults alike. An immunologist by profession, Dr. Rose published her first work of fiction in 2010. She now writes full time and is currently working on her second teen series, Bonfire Chronicles. Imogen was born in Sweden and has lived in several places, counting London among her favorites. She moved to New Jersey in 2001. A self-confessed Hermès addict, Imogen freely admits to being obsessed with Kurt Cobain. She enjoys shopping, traveling, watching movies, and hanging out with her family, friends, and Chihuahua.
1. What is your favorite thing about writing paranormal fiction?
I love that there are no rules and that I get to explore feelings and reactions without normal human moral restrictions.
2. Where did the idea for your book originate from?
The Bonfire Chronicles saga started with the book Faustine. AndFaustine began with a photograph I took of my younger daughter. I felt the urge to use her picture on a book cover, and when I started playing around with it on Photoshop, Faustine was born in my imagination. I had no idea who the character was until I started writing the book. Once I was done withFaustine, questions about her life at the Academy and her relationship with Ryker spurred me to take a look at that aspect of her life. I wanted to write the book from an older student’s perspective, and Cordelia obliged.
I love Cordelia; she is my favorite in the Bonfire Academy series.
5. Tell us about the most difficult scene you ever had to write and why.
My books write themselves. I don’t sit down and plan any scenes out. I laugh and worry for my characters as they go through the various scenes. Without giving away any spoilers, losing a character is always difficult.
6. What are you working on now?
I am currently writing Fusion,which is the fifth book in the Portal Chronicles. I am also having some of my books translated into several languages.
A Teaser Excerpt
Broken. I couldn’t think of a better word to describe it. I felt as if I’d been torn to bits, maybe even shredded. I was suffocating, surrounded by a wet tightness of skin and flesh all crusted together. My body was home to excruciating stabs of pain searing about randomly before a final thrust of sheer agony. I couldn’t tell if the source of the pain was within me or if I was being repeatedly sliced open with a knife. Did it matter? I felt as though it was only a matter of seconds before my thoughts would end.
“Cordelia!”
My name. I flinched as the same voice repeated my name again and again. Why? Who was it? It—he—sounded familiar. I heaved as the voice triggered the memory of his face. Then, not being able to stop the bile from traveling up my throat, I gagged and purged, emptying my stomach completely. The next time he muttered my name, his voice was laced with disgust. But his revulsion couldn’t compete with my utter repugnance and disbelief at what he’d done. Him. Someone I had trusted with my life, even though the rule was clear:
Trust No One
Overall:
This book seriously made me lose some sleep time. I love that! Thankfully, I work a late shift so I could stay up and read into the night. There are some time jumps that are a little distracting, but overall, Cordelia is a character that you grow to love. The book has a dark undertone, but that only makes me want to go and read the rest of what Imogen has written, especially the first book in this series, so I have a little more background into the story and the characters. I love the world building and it brings to mind Harry Potter, but with some really cool demon princesses with snarky attitudes and awesome clothes. Watching to see what was happening with Jagger and Cordelia was very interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. Does she want Quinn or Jagger? Will the synching with Jagger be the determining factor? Not telling...no spoilers!
The Bonfire Academy is the prequel to The Bonfire Chronicles. I can't wait to go back and read more!
4/5
About the Author:
Imogen Rose is the author of the bestselling series, Portal Chronicles, which has attained cult status within indie literature and become a favorite among teens and adults alike. An immunologist by profession, Dr. Rose published her first work of fiction in 2010. She now writes full time and is currently working on her second teen series, the Bonfire Chronicles. Imogen was born in Sweden and has lived in several places, counting London among her favorites. She moved to New Jersey in 2001. A self-confessed Hermès addict, Imogen freely admits to being obsessed with Kurt Cobain. She enjoys shopping, traveling, watching movies, and hanging out with her family, friends, and Chihuahua.
Title: Integration (Bonfire Academy Book 2) Author: Imogen Rose Pub. Date: July 10, 2012 Acquired: From author, for honest review Find "Integration": Amazon / B&N / The Book Depository
Second Haiku warning:
A boyfriend missing A lover must pay in blood A princess must die
Welcome back to Bonfire Academy.
~Review~
Integration, the second book in Imogen Rose's Bonfire Academy series takes place a few months afterInitiation.
And in true Imogen Rose-fashion, I fall more in love with these characters as the series goes on. I'm still convinced that Cordelia is my favorite character of Ms. Rose's ever. She is so multi-faceted and believable. One moment she is watching over Faustine, taking care of her, almost mothering her. The next she's a badass demon who is terrifying.
Then, there's Faustine. Who I first met when I read Faustine, the first book in Ms. Rose's Bonfire Chronicles series. As much as I loved her in Faustine, I loved getting a peak into what she was like, in this prequel, as a young teenager. She's quirky, loveable, and in the process of discovering herself.
With these two characters, plus a slew of others, I was left with an unforgettable story. A story with a couple of fantastic romantic situations, that barely just skim the surface as to what's possible for these couples.
Integration has the intrigue and suspense of all Ms. Rose's other novels, with a fantastically superb paranormal setting. The rule of the academy is "Trust No One". By the end of this story, I realized that I had done exactly what I shouldn't have. I'd trusted characters and was completely blindside by those that I thought, were in fact, pretty trustworthy.
This story was brilliant, captivating, and I can absolutely not wait until the next installment.
My Rating:
~Excerpt~
Broken. I couldn’t think of a better word to describe it. I felt as if I’d been torn to bits, maybe even shredded. I was suffocating, surrounded by a wet tightness of skin and flesh all crusted together. My body was home to excruciating stabs of pain searing about randomly before a final thrust of sheer agony. I couldn’t tell if the source of the pain was within me or if I was being repeatedly sliced open with a knife. Did it matter? I felt as though it was only a matter of seconds before my thoughts would end.
“Cordelia!”
My name. I flinched as the same voice repeated my name again and again. Why? Who was it? It—he—sounded familiar. I heaved as the voice triggered the memory of his face. Then, not being able to stop the bile from traveling up my throat, I gagged and purged, emptying my stomach completely. The next time he muttered my name, his voice was laced with disgust. But his revulsion couldn’t compete with my utter repugnance and disbelief at what he’d done. Him. Someone I had trusted with my life, even though the rule was clear:
Today I have the awesome chance to review Imogen Rose’s newest book in her Bonfire Chronicles series, Integration. This was a phenomenal follow-up in the series. I will warn anyone who has not read the first book, Initiation, you may be a little confused in parts of my review and I will try not to have any spoilers.
Integration begins betrayal, but you don’t quite know who is betraying Cordelia. We just know it is someone close to her. We then jump back two years to the beginning of the Integration years for Faustine and Cordelia’s apprenticeship. She is excited for this opportunity, but many things from the start make her realize this isn’t going to be easy coming back. Mason has returned and her problem of having two boyfriends and only one she can really be with. As the years go on so do the problems with Faustine and the shifters. Although, Cordelia is there to help and protect her she can’t always prevent her from what she does. Threatening haiku’s come into play and become ominous when one of Cordelia’s boyfriends goes missing. After dead-end after dead-end, Cordelia seeks out the help of Faustine’s father, the king of London. Many intricacies and plot twists play out and in the end we are back where we started a betrayal.
I loved this book. It was much more detailed than the first book and the story reached depths that I didn’t know it could reach. I loved the love triangle and you could truly feel the angst Cordelia felt trying to do what she knew she had to do. The diverse characters and paranormal entities really allows the story and those to come to go in many different directions. I love the story building and how it can just suck you in. I do recommend though that you read the first book, Initiation, before diving into this one. You will be given more precedence and understanding if you do so. But, I will say this read those two books and you will be writing Imogen Rose an email asking her to hurry up for the next book. I know I can’t wait and I have a TBR list a mile long.
For additional information on Initiation and/or Integration by Imogen Rose you can visit her website,www.imogenrose.com or go to Barnes and Noble, Amazon or any other book retailer. I want to thank Imogen Rose for stopping by today and for Bewitching Blog tours for allowing me to host this stop.
A big thanks to Imogen Rose, who took the time to sit down with Dr. Amour, one of the characters from her novel, Integration.
I first spotted Dr. Amour on the Amazon forums when she was serializing one of her romance novels. I have been trying to get an interview ever since. However, she is loath to talk about her books, sometimes even pretending to be dead to avoid it. She has finally relented to an interview as long as I don’t mention the book. I met her for coffee in St Moritz. She arrived looking slightly stressed, but opened up after chugging down on five Espressos.
How long have you been at Bonfire Academy?
I’ve been at the Academy for going on three years now. It has been the most frustrating, challenging, and rewarding three years of my life.
Were you trained here at Bonfire Academy or somewhere else?
I was brought in to the Bonfire Academy at the age of ten and was schooled and trained here. This is the only place I know as home.
What are the most frustrating aspects of your job?
Administration. Professor Kunz can be especially difficult to work with. He doesn’t always play well with others.
Are you a full faery or a hybrid?
I am a hybrid. I am three-quarters faery, but my grandfather was a Wanderer. I attribute my constant search for truth within each of us to him.
Which kind of paranormal seek your advice most often?
I seem to attract the largest Troll audience. It may be because of their appearance or their general grumpiness; most of the other therapists tend to avoid them.
There has been a lot of talk about Rea and Noella this year. Have they been in to see you?
No, they haven’t, but they should. Thank you for reminding me. I must make a note to have them come in. Rea has gained the reputation as a troublemaker. Noella seems more levelheaded, so hopefully I can reason with her.
Being a faery, do you find it difficult to council other types of paranormals?
Not usually. I believe being a hybrid has something to do with it. We all have our strengths and weaknesses in being who we are. The trick is to find a common ground and work through it from there.
Do demons ever seek your advice? How do you protect yourself from their temper?
Demons don’t come in very often to see me. They are already convinced that they know everything and find counseling to be a waste of time.
Do you think love has a place in the paranormal world or is it all about lust?
I think love has a place in every world.
Professor Kunz was a bit disparaging when he described you as the paranormal “Dr. Phil.” What do you have to say about that?
What do you expect from a warlock? For someone who cries himself to sleep every night, he lacks compassion.
Is there a natural animosity between warlocks and faeries?
I don’t believe so. There are bad seeds in every group, but I see real hope that one day, hopefully in my lifetime, we can all live in peace and harmony.
What are your plans for the future?
Hopefully, the Academy continues to see my work here as helpful. I couldn’t imagine being any other place.
From Imogen Rose: I’d like to thank Anne-Marie Monlezun for getting into character and responding to my questions as her paranormal alter ego, Dr. Amour.
About Integration
Second Haiku warning:
A boyfriend missing
A lover must pay in blood
A princess must die
Welcome back to Bonfire Academy.
An Excerpt from Integration
Broken. I couldn’t think of a better word to describe it. I felt as if I’d been torn to bits, maybe even shredded. I was suffocating, surrounded by a wet tightness of skin and flesh all crusted together. My body was home to excruciating stabs of pain searing about randomly before a final thrust of sheer agony. I couldn’t tell if the source of the pain was within me or if I was being repeatedly sliced open with a knife. Did it matter? I felt as though it was only a matter of seconds before my thoughts would end.
“Cordelia!”
My name. I flinched as the same voice repeated my name again and again. Why? Who was it? It—he—sounded familiar. I heaved as the voice triggered the memory of his face. Then, not being able to stop the bile from traveling up my throat, I gagged and purged, emptying my stomach completely. The next time he muttered my name, his voice was laced with disgust. But his revulsion couldn’t compete with my utter repugnance and disbelief at what he’d done. Him. Someone I had trusted with my life, even though the rule was clear:
Trust No One.
About Imogen Rose
Imogen Rose is the author of the bestselling series, Portal Chronicles, which has attained cult status within indie literature and become a favorite among teens and adults alike. An immunologist by profession, Dr. Rose published her first work of fiction in 2010. She now writes full time and is currently working on her second teen series, Bonfire Chronicles. Imogen was born in Sweden and has lived in several places, counting London among her favorites. She moved to New Jersey in 2001. A self-confessed Hermès addict, Imogen freely admits to being obsessed with Kurt Cobain. She enjoys shopping, traveling, watching movies, and hanging out with her family, friends, and Chihuahua.
Giveaway
Enter to win a Kindle Fire by using the Rafflecopter code on the main tour page. Click the tour badge below for the link. The giveaway ends on October 14th.
Indie Book of the Week; Initiation (Bonfire Academy #1) by Imogen Rose
This weeks Indie Book of the Week choice blew me away, seriously I don't even know where to begin with the greatness that is this book, so, I am just going to get on with it and hope that my review does it justice.
Without further ado, I bring you, Initiation (Bonfire Academy #1 Bonfire Chronicels) by Imogen Rose!
Synopsis:
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 and Review:
This is my first read by Imogen even though I own several of her books, okay I think I own all of her books. I bought them after hearing so much about her talent as an author, something I always hesitate to do because lets face it, there is nothing more disappointing that getting all excited about a book or series or author and then finding out that the hype wasn't worth it.
All I have to say is that I am so glad I already own several of her books because if I didn't already, I would certainly be buying them all up now, in fact I plan on getting whichever ones I don't own (if there are any) as soon as I get done writing this review.
Yep, I loved this book and her writing that much.
I don't even know where to begin to describe this book other than to say if you like the Hex Hall series, H.P. Series, Vampire Academy Series and the Mythos Academy series you will love this book! Not saying her work is a copy of any of those, because it certainly isn't but it does have that same feel of greatness that those series hold.
Truly this was such a fun book to read. There is a little bit of everything in this one. Mystery, romance, more supernaturals than even I, lover of all paranormal, knew what to do with, twists and turns, action and just plan really good writing.
I couldn't help be swept up into the story and the lives of the characters. Cordelia, Faustine, Jagger, Quinn, really I loved them all. The secondary characters are just as fabulous as the main ones. In fact, it is really hard to pin down who my favorite actually is they are all that wonderful.
I know, I know, I sound a little fan girl, but I feel a little fan girl about this series. I can't believe it took me so incredibly long to pick up one of Ms. Rose's books. I mean, what it wrong with me?!
So if that little spiel up there wasn't enough to make you consider buying one of her book, then I don't know what will make you want too, seriously, what are you waiting for? Go buy it and read it now, any one of them, I;m not picky!
You won't be disappointed! Imogen Rose is an extremely talented author, this book will blow you away with its beautiful writing, engaging storyline, loveable characters and unforgettable uniqueness.
I very seldom give first books in series a 5 Stars rating but I feel like I would be doing this book (and the author) a huge injustice if I didn't so...5 Stars it is!
.png){kind=small}
