Akarnae: The Medoran Chronicles (book 1)

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I mean, after all the shenanigans that went down at the end of Raelia… Lynette Noni was evil. So evil. In its entirety the series teaches us about friendship, loss, love, bravery, overcoming challenges and forgiveness. Emerging dream-weaver Lynette Noni offers a fresh approach to the popular YA fantasy genre. With a recent YA focus on brutal dystopias, this narrative is full of youthful surprise yet offers difficult physical challenges, emotional consequences and magical foundations alongside a protagonist who has to work hard to realise her inner strengths. Adolescents embarking on their own overwhelming transitions – starting high school, completing studies or entering the work force – will easily relate to Alex and the tough decisions she has to make. Alex has no choice but to remain at Akarnae, with the only person who has the ability to return her to her world, now missing. Based on an age old method of sorting teens by their potential, Alex now finds herself within a multitude of advanced skill classes, including combat. With her two new friends in Jordan and Bear, Alex hides the secret of who she truly is from her peers. I loved The dynamic between Alex, Jordan and Bear. Their friendship wasn't complicated by a romance but it's undeniable that both Alex and Jordan share a connection. The two worlds of Medora which is where Akarnae is based and Freya, which is our own world where Alex was born and based were both very similar, apart from Medora being the magical plane on Earth. It made the storyline incredibly easy to follow even for non fantasy readers and kept the world building simple, making Akarnae perfect for fans who also enjoy middle grade reads.

Frustrated, Aven attempts to kill Delucia, but in an act of friendship Alex throws herself on top of Delucia, enduring the blade herself. The two are rescued and Aven escapes. Alex immediately meets Jordan and Bear who happen to be best friends. They remind me a bit of these guys. There aren't really any characters I don't like. They're all a bit different, and unusual, and psychotic. Karter is awesome. Finn ... nope. I would not want to do one of his classes at all, nuh-uh. Alex's initial journey from her world to Akarnae feels quite out of place, but once it's out of the way the story flows quite naturally, and fast. I rather enjoyed the dynamics between the main trio, as well as the colourful supporting cast, though it was a little frustrating that everyone was 'unnaturally good-looking'. Mostly I enjoyed the humour and the ease of the interactions - and the absence of moodiness. It was light and fun, despite the inevitable dark thread destined to tie the conclusion to the remainder of the series. Also Aven. The bad guy and at this stage the main reason why I am reading this book, I’m predicting or rather hoping that he gets more brutal.Hmm. A YA Fantasy novel set at a boarding school for 'gifted' kids. Where have I read this plot before??! The series stars Alexandra Jennings, a teenage girl that has to save the Medorans from different enemies that try to render them extinct. Alex has enhanced immortal blood, and the powers she gains from this, she has to learn how to control. She got this after being claimed by a disowned former prince of Meya named Aven. She also attends Akarnae Academy, a school she begins attending by mistake, but winds up fitting in. The majority of the book focuses on a SAS mission where Alex and her classmates follow subtle clues to achieve their mission objectives and I enjoyed it so much! Loved seeing Alex work with her classmates to go undercover. After the objectives are over though, I kind of found it to be a bit draggy but IT GETS SO GOOD towards the end and I'm still heartbroken. Alex meets Darrius, not knowing he is Headmaster Marselle, in the libraries inner section. He helps and guides her on the rest of her journeys throughout the series. THE CHARACTERS. Okay so I officially have a handful of members to go on my sweet-baby-characters-that-i-must-protect list. Jordan and Bear are like best friend goals. From the moment they appeared in this story I decided that I could listen to them two forever. Fletcher is just wonderful. Alex and D.C. both have some amazing character development and even secondary characters that are only there for small parts of the book like Monster or Sir Camden. You're just destined to fall in love with AT LEAST five of the characters.

The world of Medora is incredible. Lynette Noni described the settings, buildings and characters so well that the mental image of it all was real. I could see exactly what Akarnae was like and I was so envious because I wanted to be in that world and attending that school for people with abilities. Although there were some rough parts to the story that didn't flow too well she easily made up for it with her great range of characters, dialogue and imagination. My favourite part of this story is the Library. Without spoiling anything...it's the coolest library you're ever going to hear about! My first qualm is with the writing. It is very juvenile and Alex's narration sounds more like a twelve year old's than a sixteen year old's. The portion of the book I completed in fact read much more like middle grade then young adult fiction. Don't get me wrong, middle grade fiction is great, but since this was marketed as young adult fiction I expected a more mature narrator. Additionally, the middle grade feel just didn't mesh well with a protagonist who is already sixteen at the start of her series. Another positive is the world building, it is fascinating and well explained without your mind trailing off with about unpaid bills. The series had me laughing at points, crying at others, and immediately after finishing the last book i HAD to start the series again and I've listened to it multiple times since.

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Alex's best friends do not seem like actual people because they always go in a pair. I would have liked to have some character development for them separately. Additionally, the friends do not have much of an impact on Alex's outcome. They seem to just be important for her to make a decision to stay in the school.