After a break in at her home, Adley is sent to the Academy Absconditi by her father for her protection. She soon learns that Academy Absconditi is no ordinary high school. She also learns that she is in just as much danger at the school if not more so. Readers follow Adley at Academy Absconditi, a high school for future subtle manipulators of world events, where everyone has an agenda and scheming and mistrust are the norm. She starts school in the middle of the semester . That may be frustrating to some readers as Adley seems clueless about the dangers she is facing and everyone else are steps ahead of her because they are familiar with the curriculum. For other readers it makes it easy to follow along with Adley as they discover new bits of information alongside her. While many of the characters are not likable, the short, suspenseful chapters make Killing November an enjoyable read.

I read Adriana's first book, How To Hang a Witch and liked it. After reading this new book from her, I loved it. I enjoyed the new take on private school education - like a deadlier "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You". I loved the mystery aspect to this novel and the fact that November had as much of an idea what was going on as the reader does. Figuring out what is going on together is my favorite kind of mysteries. I also enjoyed the family set ups - it made a more dramatic view on Romeo and Juliet without sticking to the typical story plot. Overall, I really liked this book and I definitely want to read the sequel!

I really enjoyed this book. I think the synopsis kind of keeps it vague on what it is about or I just didn’t get it by reading it. I thought it would be a prep school murder mystery. It was so much more than that. This book had some good character development and a great mystery. The story was very interesting and I found myself wanting to know more than what was given at any one time. There are basically three mysteries in this read… who the murderer is and what the school is really about and who is November. Tons of mystery and over all a very unique and ominous read. I really enjoyed it.

November gets shipped off to a strange school in the middle of nowhere (location undisclosed) after her aunt had had a break in. November’s father is very worried and ships Novmeber off with no information about the school. Once in the school she finds some very strange behavior. First off the classes are not normal classes, there are strange questions asked, and the rules and punishments are quite extreme… oh and there is no modern technology… not even electricity. Trying to figure out what is going on within the school and in her won family becomes harder once a body shows up and November is the main suspect. Someone is trying to get rid of November, who or why are unknown.

 
I very much enjoyed this book. It wasn’t what I prepared myself for but that is okay because I think it was so much more interesting that what I was expecting. This read had so much to offer, interesting characters, intriguing story, an immersive setting, and lots of mystery. There were times I found myself with a little whiplash because there is so much in this book, but for the most part it was easy to follow and questions were being answered as quickly as they were asked. There were just so many questions. November goes into this strange school knowing absolutely nothing… so of course so did I.

November is an interesting character. I did find her easy to like. She was a strong independent girl who was able to overcome almost anything that was thrown at her. Her father has spent her entire life teaching her these insane lessons that didn’t seem to be important to her life. She always thought they were just to keep her from getting bored. Little did she know he had been preparing her for a just in case situation because of her family background.

There were many characters in this book but the author did a great job ensuring they were easy to keep up with. Many of the students seemed welcoming and nice at first… but they all have an agenda. November is able to make a couple really good friends and even find some romance. I have to say that Ash, the love interest, was a great character. I did love him. He was really hard to read and I learned early on when reading this book that you don’t know who you can trust. Which is hard for November too. Like I said everyone had an agenda. The romance was there and the build-up was nice. Nothing rushed or forced and it wasn’t the focal point of the story at all. In fact it was hard to really invest in any of the relationships because like I said… trust no one.

The murder mystery and the mystery of the school kept me on my toes for sure. I was never bored reading this book. The murders are there and are important but I spent most of my time wanting to know more about the school and the students there. The story behind the school is so very interesting and I just enjoyed know more. I can’t wait to find out even more in the next book. 

It was all very well written and I have found that I quite like this author. I will continue to look forward to many of her future books.


A great mystery read!

Killing November by Adriana Mather is the  first book of the young adult thriller series by the same name. This opening book of the series certainly set up a creepy atmospheric setting dropping the main character into a boarding school in an old castle in the opening pages.

November Adley had reluctantly agreed to go away to school for a  few weeks when her father proposed the idea to keep her safe while dealing with some issues at home. Waking up in the strange location with no memory after the plane leaves November questioning what she had agreed to.

The  rules at the mysterious Academy Absconditi certainly raise a few questions too as November is told about the eye for an eye system and told to keep her identity secret. Things certainly don’t kook up any when November joins the other students and not only stumbles across a dead body but needs to dodge attempts on her own life.

Well, Killing November by Adriana Mather certainly took an often used setting of a boarding school to a whole new level. This secret school was the home to an even more secretive society with whom family feuds had spanned decades and the kids here learn way more than a normal curriculum. A rather dark and eerie teen action thriller this one was hard to put down.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

So I can’t go into too much detail with this book because I dnf. I wasn’t hooked right away like I thought I would be. I thought the main character November was annoying and so where a major of the others. I didn’t like how the whole reason she was sent to this school was a secret, it just feel odd. Like the book was missing stuff that readers needed to know. This book is full of lies that’s for sure. The main character lies about knowing things I don’t understand what the point of that is. The plot its very slow and I just couldn’t get hooked into it.

Such a fun book! The premise alone was intriguing, and Mather definitely delivered in regard to the story. I loved the idea of a school for assassins, spies, etc. And while we don’t get the full explanation for all exactly the secret society/group does, we see enough pieces for it to make sense. 

When November is thrown into the school (almost literally), both she and the reader are clueless as to where she is, why, and what’s going on. Bits and pieces are tossed in among other learning experiences, but for the majority of the story we remain in the dark. 

As a whole, the story is engrossing. There’s a lot to take in, and it’s told somewhat slowly. I still am not sure just how long in reference to time the actions took place. Days, months? 

I loved the elements of mystery and unraveling secrets. I won’t say there were any shocking twists, because I think everything is pretty easy to figure out. However, in their unveiling is the true mastery. There are small bits of romance, but it’s not overdone at all. 

I’m a bit surprised with the way it ended, but I do look forward to seeing where November goes next and what she’ll learn on the next adventure.

One of the best books of 2019!

Adriana Mather is a Historical Fiction author, thats what you think when you see her name you dont even contemplate Mystery/Thriller... but you should.

Mystery/Thriller meets teenage assassins/spies being trained in a boarding school Now the idea doesn't exactly seem appealing, but done right its an incredible story and Adriana didn't just do it right she blew it out of the ballpark. 

The author will have you drooling over Ash, wanting to kill Brendan, and questioning everything November knows throughout the entire book.

Sign me up for book two and add a slice of handsome Ash pie to it because Im sold!

Killing November is about a girl named November, who has an innate ability to recall the origin of ones name.  It’s kind of like a superpower and so is her ability to strategize and throw knives.  The novel begins with November waking up in some sort of creepy boarding school with other teens with similar talents.  November has no idea why she is there (other than it’s for her protection) or the other ins and outs at this unusual school.  And you as a reader will be equally lost.  I don’t mind story lines like this, but as one reads information is (usually) slowly unfolded to maintain interest.  What makes this worse is there’s so much emphasis on mind games.  Is this the truth or am I lying to you to get what I want?!  Every class.  Every character.  Every conversation.  As a huge fan of the How to Hang a Witch series I’m disappointed with the constant confusion that is Killing November.

Like Adriana Mather’s previous novels, Killing November follows a generic YA format where the main character is absolutely clueless (I mean, she still doesn’t know anything at 76%) and she goes through a journey of figuring out her role in this strange and new school environment. Throughout most of the novel, November was a passive character trying to figure out the school, its students, and where she fits.

Mather’s protagonist manages “to wing” her way through her dangerous classes. At the same time, you can’t call November a mary sue because she had been taught sleuthing and knife throwing (just to name a few) and it helped her in her classes. The italic passages in this book explained her past, as if the main character was reminiscing about her past experiences) and how her father just conveniently taught her things a normal teenager wouldn’t actually be expected to learn. The transition can be jarring at times and I can’t help but wonder what she was doing while reminiscing about the past. I’m pretty sure her schoolmates noticed her zoning out most of the time.

After reading through a bunch of chapters (and some murders), I can’t help but feel that this story could be too contrived for my reading tastes. Also, November’s a teenager girl who sort of just knows the etymology of names. She can tell you where it originates and what the name means. Totally not a mary sue at all. *cough* An example is when she meets someone in her school (that may or may not be their name), she makes assumptions about them based on their names. I don’t remember if she had a backstory for this one. This is also one of my unanswered questions from the novel.

Additionally, there were other unexplainable parts in the novel that made me question about the school. For instance, where do the students go when they leave school (when punished)? This question wasn’t even addressed by the end of the novel. In fact, the story ended abruptly which left me feeling unsatisfied.

Needless to say, I did not enjoy reading this one as much as the “How to Hang a Witch” series. And although I did not care for any of the characters, I felt that the side characters were a lot more interesting compared to the main character. However, I’d still give this book 3.5/5 because I felt that this book can be an enjoyable read for many. Even if this had not been the case for me, I think teens will like this one because of the mystery, the high stakes, and the secret societyesque school inhabited by vicious students.

I love Adriana Mather so when I saw this I knew I had to request it.I loved how to hang a witch. I mean LOVED. While haunting the deep wasn’t as great as how to hang a witch it was still very good. Knowing my love for the series THIS WAS BETTER.Killing November gave me life. There was never a moment where I was bored. It is a winding twisting adventure of a read. It has assassins, secret legions of people, tiny bits of romance, knifes and the amazing goes on.It had some amazing scenes two of my favorites involved a game played in the dark and a pencil, chair and food. You will know it when you see it.The story is so fun that I don’t want to say anymore because you should go into this blind it’s so good you won’t be disappointed..... Also the end leads me to believe WE WILL HOPEFULLY GET A PICK TWO. This is not a drill! Please book gods let it happen. Thank you netgalley for hooking me up with this amazing read! A billion stars!

There was a lot to love about this book, namely the lore and the background of the characters. And it takes place in a secret boarding school, and that was pretty cool and I can imagine a lot of people loving that. There is murder and mystery as well, but there was something about this book that kept it from being really great for me. I would read it at night, and the next day when I came back to it, I had forgotten a lot of important details and I would have to backtrack and I really hate having to do that.

And then there were the characters. While I didn't hate them, they weren't all that well developed, and I never really felt like I knew them. So when the romance finally came into play, I just didn't care at all. I will say that I liked the female friendship when it was there, and the stabby nature of all the characters kept me on edge. But that's as far as it went.

I like the idea of teenagers learning how to spy and do sneaky things, but I wanted to know more of what their day to day was like. I wanted more information about the classes they were taking, though I did like the sneaking around that happened at night when the guards' backs were turned. 

I think that overall this was a fun and entertaining read, and it's not like I expected this book to absolutely blow me away, but it would have been a neat surprise if it had.

Killing November by Adriana Mather is the 1st book in the Killing November series, and a wonderful young adult book.  November Adley is sent to a special school,  in the thick forest, surrounded by traps, and off the grid for her own protection.  There is no electricity, internet, and the school teaches deception, self defense and an eye for an eye punishment.   Captivating, suspenseful, and a very entertaining novel! This beautiful thriller kept me on the edge of my seat while I was reading it!  I can not wait for the next book in the series.  I highly recommend this book. 

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher.  Thank you.

Killing November is perfect for fans of Deadly Class (a graphic novel and hit show on SYFY). Set at a boarding school that trains assassins, there is plenty of mystery and intrigue told at a fast pace. Filled with action, lies, political intrigue, and very strong characters, this is one that would make a great tv show. The writing is strong. Readers who enjoy YA novels with mysteries will enjoy this one.

I loved this book!! It has everything I enjoy - family intrigue, a super secret boarding school where the classes include knife-throwing, poisons, and strategy, where the students all have ulterior motives, and competition is fierce. 

Shortly after she arrives at the school, a student is murdered, and November needs to find out fast why she is being framed and who wants to kill her. She'll have to decide who to trust with the help of her new roommate who can't decide if she's worth the trouble, and her roommate's twin brother who is too attractive and too good at reading people.
Side note: Layla is my favorite character. She's awesome. 

If you have trouble keeping track of characters, I would suggest making a note for yourself about the different students, as there are 10 whose names come up often and are important to the story. I can't say who without risking revealing plot points, but there are some characters I definitely would have liked to know more about and seen more of. But what I did see I was intrigued by and was fully engrossed! 

I am so excited this is going to be a series, and I am thrilled to say there is not a cliffhanger. We are pointed in the direction the next book is going, but luckily there isn't a crazy edge-of-my-seat cliffhanger that would keep my heart racing for a year or more (because I hate that feeling). This will definitely be a book I reread, and if you liked the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter, this is a much darker version. There is violence and murder obviously, so be warned if that upsets you, but I loved this first installment and can't wait to see where the series and characters are going!!

Overall this was an engaging read with a relatable main character. I especially enjoyed the last 10% of the book and the romantic plot (big surprise). 
I did struggle at times with the believability of the school, the secrecy of the families and the naïveté of our main character, November. At times she seemed a little too good to be true and verging into Mary Sue territory. The plot also suffered from the lack of “showing” and instead depended on “telling”. This was evident in the connection November had with the small town she came from and her best friend Emily. We hear about the both of them A LOT but she never seems to grieve or do the dramatic things that teenagers do when they are separated from what they love. The book is full of dead bodies but we never mourn their loss and the only feel bad about them because it’s an additional inconvenience to November. This makes the reader seem disconnected from the events and not get invested in much beyond November. 
At one point some students at the school from 25 years are described and I thought to myself “now THAT’S the book I want to read”!

I got such a kick out of this book.  It’s just cool girls who kick butts, take names, and will put you in the ground if necessary fun!

November is a heroine you can relate to.  Yeah, she’s YA-Trite-The-One, but she’s also pretty normal and funny.   She’s kind of like the Buffy of her world.

As for our other characters, like em or loath em, they’re a whole lot of fun!

I’m so on board for this series and can’t wait for book two!

•	ARC Provided via Net Galley

I want more!! I'm so glad this is going to have a sequel because I am not ready to be done with this world and these characters yet.

I started Killing November casually. I was actually reading something else, but I often like to have a couple books going at once, and I had received an ARC from Netgalley so I figured I should get to it. I eventually abandoned that other book entirely. I could not put this one down. I love the creepy assassin school concept. And the mystery and intrigue was just so well done; perfect pacing, great characterization. If a mystery is *too* mysterious, meaning the audience is given nothing and just dragged through endless pages with no idea what's going on, I tend to stop caring and give up. I was concerned that would be an issue here, but it wasn't. It was baffling with the right amount of crumbs of information thrown in here and there. I also genuinely cared about the characters and their relationships. I thought they were all really well done. I also loved that there was actual history and things woven throughout the narrative. I love when I can read an enjoyable fiction book and still learn things. (And yes, I actually look up the info to verify if it's real or just created/manipulated for the story. I'm impressed with the knowledge/research that went into this book.) 

I haven't read anything by this author before, but I am very interested in picking up her other works now. And I will definitely be picking up the sequel to this one. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in contemporary mysteries or things with a secret society vibe. It actually really made me want to finish watching Deadly Class. Different concept, but similar vibe. Assassin schools ftw.

To sum it up this book is what would happen if the main plot of Game of Thrones took place at Hogwarts. 

“Killing November” takes us on a wild ride through espionage and deceit as November finds herself at a reclusive school where the only goal is to navigate the extensive politics of the Families and to make it graduation alive. When a student is murdered and November is the prime suspect she’ll have to make tough choices and learn who to trust before she finds herself at the wrong end of a blade. 

This is such a frustrating book because it introduces us to a world of deceit and murder at a hidden academy and not a single character is willing to give up their secrets so I spent a good amount of my time just as annoyed as November as she tried to maneuver through this world while being completely in the dark. 

The school itself was great and definitely one I would be trying to get into as each class aims to create the perfect spy or assassin while using real world events to demonstrate those who fit those titles perfectly. 

Not sure how I feel about the whodunit aspect of the book I felt like there were great moments of foreshadowing which all lead to a rather anticlimactic end that I’m not sure is enough to keep me interested in the series but the characters and their interactions, especially those whose motives were always in question, might be able to sway my favor. 

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I thought this book was alright. I really didn't feel attached to the characters or the plot in the way I think I should have. This kind of story has the potential to be so good and so strong but sometimes you just can't quite connect. I do think a lot of readers of the genre will love it but I'm just not one of them. Average across the board for me. The only thing I truly /didn't/ like was how the book started. Totally not the right place to open this book in my opinion, but again I think a lot of people are going to like it, I just didn't.

What an awesome premise - a school that trains assassins.  Throw in some murders, and you've got a ton of suspects, right?

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book.  The cover didn't do much for me, but the description sounded crazy good.  And it delivered - I wanted to finish this book in one sitting.  November's life changes vastly almost overnight - and she has no clue what's going on.  Every student at the school seems to know things about her, but she's never met any of them, and no one is willing to share their knowledge.  Every student is also a trained killer and strategist, and trusting the wrong person could be a fatal error.  The stakes are high throughout the book, and I found myself holding my breath in some scenes.  I'm pretty sure I suspected almost everyone at some point in the story.  It's obvious the author did her research in nonverbal communication and  weapons, with some historical tidbits thrown in that add to the authenticity of the story.    

Once the secrets are revealed, some are surprising and some predictable, but they sure do make for a tense, exciting read.  With fabulous character development, political intrigue, a complex, thrilling plot, and a main character whose life is in jeopardy on nearly every page, Killing November is addictive, and one of my best reads this year.  

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.