Not really my cup of tea, sadly. I usually enjoy a good fantasy but this just didn't keep my interest.

I enjoyed this one enough. The premise was the most enticing part of this book. I do think that the character relationships could have been improved I think. Also, if it was a bit more fast-paced.

DNF @ 30%
While lot has (finally) shown up; I feel there is nothing here to keep me interested. It feels pretty much exactly like a Harry Potter fan-fic. They just changed the names and made the lead a girl. I’m sure it would be fine to finish but I just couldn’t be bothered because, for me, it’s just meh.

The style of writing wasn't for me with the way the main character spoke/thought. Others may enjoy it but I DNF'd pretty soon into the book.

This is a spoiler free review of Akarnae by Lynette Noni. This is the first book in the Medoran Chronicles and I gave it 3.5/5 stars.

This is a fantasy novel that takes place within a magical academy called Akarnae.

Plot

"Embrace the wonder"

This novel follows Alexandra Jennings, a 16 year old student who's about to go off to boarding school for the next eight months while her parents are away for work. After arriving at the boarding school, Alex walks through a doorway and is transported to the magical world of Medora. Her only chance of returning to her own world is with the help of Professor Marselle, the headmaster for the elite academy- Akarnae. The only problem is that Professor Marselle is missing.

While she waits for his return, she attends Akarnae Academy, a boarding school for students with extraordinary gifts. During her time at the Academy, strange things begin to take place, and Alex is the only one who can save the entire Medoran Race. The only problem is that saving Medora may stop her from ever returning home.

General Thoughts

I did not really like the way the book began because it was very slow paced and didn't really hold my attention. As well, the beginning of Alex's time in Medora felt quite unrealistic. The way she became acquainted to the world and her situation just seemed to happen too quickly. Furthermore, I would have liked a better explanation of the Medoran technology and their magic system. Whenever Alex inquired about this, many characters just said they didn't know how anything in their world worked.

While I did have some issues with the book, there were many aspects that I enjoyed. I really liked the friendships Alex made during her time at Akarnae and the fact that there was no romance in the novel. I think a romance would have taken away from the main focus of the story and so I am glad that one was not included.

As well, I really liked the descriptions and stories that were told about The Library in Akarnae. The descriptions felt vivid and made The Library seem like such a magical place.

Characters

When Alex first enters Medora, she encounters two students of Akarnae Academy- Bear and Jordan. I absolutely loved both of these characters and their friendship with Alex. While I did find it hard sometimes to differentiate between the two of them, I found their relationships very realistic and I loved the humor they added to the story.

Final Thoughts

Overall, while I did have some issues with the story, I still enjoyed reading it and thought this was a pretty good start to the series.

Disclosure: I received a download of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

It has a Narnia essence to it and the characters are instantly lovable.
Despite some storytelling flaws I immensely enjoyed this book, it wasn't dense or too convulated . I flew right through it in few days.

Set in an alternative reality, Alex Jennings who is seemingly an ordinary kid being shipped off to boarding school by her parents but we quickly learn that she isn't the average teenage girl. This boarding school is for kids with above average abilities (much like that of magic, but magic is not how they describe it), gifted with super intelligence and the understanding of what they call 'technology'. Technology is composed of science and biology and apparently only a small percent of their world can actually do it. A lot of people have mentioned that this novel is reminiscent of a Harry Potter meets Narnia world, but for me it reminds me of the Xavier Institute from X-Men. The story line is an interesting one and I love the fact that in addition to the 'must save the world' plot, Noni has included the average adolescence issues as well i.e. peer pressure, making friends, and even crushes. I will admit it did take a while to get into, but once you get in a few chapters, you will start warming up to Alex, and all of her friends and their trying to navigate themselves through coming into their own power.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thoughts and Plot

When I heard the description of this I immediately thought Splintered or Narnia. Alex is on her way to her first day of school in a new school but is startled when she walks through a door and into Medora, a weird world with a school that screamed Xavier’s School for the Gifted to me (X-Men).

Who can help her? The headmaster, Marselle. Only he’s missing. So Alex is stuck in Medora until he returns and winds up taking a variety of classes (some potentially life threatening classes) at his school while she waits. But that’s okay because Medora is a strangely enchanting place and she makes friends among the students attending Akarnae Academy.

Strange things keep happening at Akarnae and Alex can’t ignore the feeling that something sinister is about to happen. Of course only she can save the Medorans and may have to sacrifice her ability to return home to do it. Because an awesome teen book just isn’t complete without the potential of a good classic teen cliché. Thank goodness the author went with friendship rather then the hated love-triangle. Kudos for that!!!


In Conclusion

I really enjoyed the friendship and adventure of this book. It’s refreshing to not have a love-triangle or anything like that within.

This is a great read engageing and has you asking questions the whole time and it’s wonderful!!

I really wanted to LOVE this book and there are many positives but I got a bit bored... alot. Story felt a bit slow. I do like my romance aswell which is probably why (there isn't any in the book in other words). But that just means male readers can enjoy the book too (don't be put off by the main character, Alex, being female! She's not very girly!). Speaking of Alex, I found her sarcasm too much. I think that's why I couldn't connect to her on an emotional level. She's cool though.

I could see it as an animated or live-action TV Series, it would probably be good as something you could watch rather than read,

Even if I didn't love it, it's still ok and I think there are people that will love it!
I give it 3 stars for the story, and an extra star to the Author for all the hard work. She is talented. I'll probably end up reading the next book, to 'embrace the wonder'

I really appreciate being given this by Netgalley but unfortunately my copy is completely unreadable and the text seems to be all over the place and it’s impossible to figure out what’s going on.
I’m giving this a neutral rating as I do truly like the idea of the plot and hope to pick up a copy of this soon!

The e-reader file was broken, completely disjointed and jumbled so incomprehensible. As a result I'm unable to review the novel, but I thank the publisher for the opportunity in any case. As 3 stars is the most neutral rating I can give I've attached a 3 star rating and will not be sharing opinions on either my blog or my Goodreads page.

I unfortunately was unable to read this because the words are all jumbled up and missing. I wish I could because I was excited to, but there's just no way.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and I wasn't sure that I was going to. It is legitimately a mix of Narnia (with the whole parallel world thing), Harry Potter (except not quite as magical and the main protagonist is female), and it's own blend of fantasy and reality.

I'm loving the Akarnae world, it's cast of characters, the situations they find themselves in. I appreciate the fact that the author is hesitant to call people's gifts "magic" because not all of them are magical. Sometimes it's just all so simple that it works perfectly (aka Alex's gift). It's all very light and hopeful; I definitely felt good after reading it and I want to read more!
I was kicking myself because I noticed that all of the books were on Netgalley and then somehow I missed the request window. I did, however, manage to snag a copy of the last one so I'm really looking forward to that. In the meantime, I have requested that my local library purchase the entire series ...so fingers crossed! I need to get my Akarnae fix.

Akarnae is a fun and unique portal fantasy that takes place in a parallel world. It blends fantasy with sci-fi in such a new and exciting way. Alex Jennings is a 16-year-old girl whose parents travel for work. When they decide to take an eight-month job with zero communication, she is left at a boarding school in the mountains of Oregon. It doesn't take long before she finds herself in a whole new world that has many exciting things to uncover.
Although the plot was unique, this story is all about the characters. Every single one is lovable in their own way, even the ones that are tough to get along with. The boarding school setting really reminded me of the feel of a Harry Potter book. The friends that Alex makes along the way really led to her growing as a person and learning what it means to love people other than her own parents. It really is a shame that this series is only available on ebook outside of Australia, because I think it would be a huge hit if it was printed in the US!

I was unable to read this ebook because text is all mixed up. Please disregard rating -- only there because I have to put something.

Following the great tradition of ya fantasy school adventures, our heroine finds herself not at the horrible boarding school her parents left her at in order to pursue their own adventure, but instead opens a doorway into a completely different realm. There Alexandra Jennings is enrolled in the Academy learning what to her seems like magic, but her teachers and fellow students call technology. Things are never how they seem and Alex soon learns that she is not there by mistake and she must decide if she is going to face the challenges ahead of her or go back home and try to forget about the world of Medora and the people she met.



A wonderful read for any age. A refreshing change from the school stories involving more romance than adventure. Lynnette Noni creates a captivating tale where boys and girls can be friends without the complications of love being thrown in at every turn. I look forward to the next books in this series and although there may be romance waiting for Alex down the road, I am glad it is not all that her character has been given.

DNF at 36%

I won’t judge the book on the story since I didn’t even finish it but the plot was nothing intriguing for me. There’s a doorway that led Alice into a new world which has been read and seen before (ahem, Narnia) but this supernatural occurrence fell absolutely flat when Alice came across as an illogical human being who didn’t even understand how weird this 'stepping into a new world' is. I think she was living in a bubble, which could’ve been fine if her age was resonating with her thoughts; if she was much younger than a sixteen-year-old, I would’ve let that fact slide but unfortunately, she wasn’t.

Then there is a boarding school that’s basically a castle (ahem, Harry Potter) and this, again, could’ve been fun to read if the world wasn’t confusing me with the tech-y stuff that contradicted the good ol’ setting or combat training. Not only this, Alice meets these two boys who, again, are not bothered much about how or why this random teenager is in their world. But the peak for me to leave this book unfinished would be the writing--maybe it’s my personal preference but I need more descriptions especially if this world has so many things incorporated in it, but the writing came across as bland and a little too ‘telling’. Anyway, I’m well aware that I’m in the minority here so feel free to give this a shot and see if it’s something for you, because I can’t recommend something I didn’t even finish reading.

3.5/5 Stars

This book has to have been put in the wrong demographic. It’s marketed and pitched as a young adult novel when it was clearly written to be in juvenile fiction. I’m not entirely sure if that was the author’s intention, but I can confirm that it is written in this way, which was slightly disorienting, since I was coming into this believing that it was in fact YA.

I have some slight problems with this novel that made me lessen my star rating, but I have to admit that this book has a plethora of potential at its fingertips, if written well.

My first complaint is the unrealistic ages of the characters. They talk and act as though they’re closer to twelve than sixteen and it just doesn’t make sense. I think I could’ve accepted them being 14 as being the best age without having to completely alter the plot or change the demographic. I hope that the author realizes how young they act in the future and actually makes them more mature-acting and sounding.

All of them seemingly accept every strange situation they’re put into very easily, with little to no hesitation or questioning, and are extremely accepting of change that most people would at the very least suspect. They become instantly friends with people they barely know anything about, and don’t even think about how quickly they did become friends with. Only one person in the entire book commented on this, who happens to be my favorite character out of the entire line-up, and I praised this moment because finally, someone mentioned this!

And then, of course, they go ahead and do the same thing 5 seconds later. Which kind of ruined the whole comment about this being breezed through like no tomorrow.

Other than those two things, I really enjoyed reading this! Yeah, the humor was hit or miss sometimes, but it was still a really enjoyable read!

I loved the amount of friendships in this book and how natural they all feel. The fact that I can relate to their banter and peer pressure is such a wonderful feeling and is probably the only area where every character acts their age.

Overall, I am extremely excited to read the sequel (I might actually pick it up tonight, I’m pretty sure they have it available to read on NetGalley as well) and I have a genuine belief that I will enjoy it a lot more than Akarnae.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I first picked up this book - I'd kind of expected a full-on fantasy world with dragons and elves and dwarves and stuff... and I was almost right! Akarnae is a story with a nice twist on the 'girl ends up in a different world' tale, there is 'magic' but it's explained it's more to do with science and biology rather than actual magic. I really liked Alex, though it took a bit for her to grow on me, and I loved her relationship with Jordan and Bear. Honestly, this story had some ups and downs, which is why I didn't give it a higher rating, but overall it's a nice story and I'll certainly check out the rest of the series!