Title: Blythewood
Series: Blythewood #1
Author: Carol Goodman
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Goodreads Rating: 3.86
Published: October 8th 2013 by Viking Juvenile
Pages: 496
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
In A Nut Shell
Overall I felt like this was a fun read with interesting twists on historical events, I enjoyed the fantasy aspects and some of the surprising twists this book had, but to me this book was just okay, not fantastic or blow you away kind of read. I enjoyed the plot and the creative world that Goodman made. I was fascinated with he creatures and the school, but the main character to me was unlikeable who had little emotion and when she did it was just random cruel words to her friends. Other characters seemed pointless to bring in and had no need. The romance was iffy and just happened. If you do read this book I recommend borrowing it from the library.
Welcome to Blythewood.
At seventeen, Avaline Hall has already buried her mother, survived a horrific factory fire, and escaped from an insane asylum. Now she’s on her way to Blythewood Academy, the elite boarding school in New York’s mist-shrouded Hudson Valley that her mother attended—and was expelled from. Though she’s afraid her high society classmates won’t accept a factory girl in their midst, Ava is desperate to unravel her family’s murky past, discover the identity of the father she’s never known, and perhaps finally understand her mother’s abrupt suicide. She’s also on the hunt for the identity of the mysterious boy who rescued her from the fire. And she suspects the answers she seeks lie at Blythewood.
But nothing could have prepared her for the dark secret of what Blythewood is, and what its students are being trained to do. Haunted by dreams of a winged boy and pursued by visions of a sinister man who breathes smoke, Ava isn’t sure if she’s losing her mind or getting closer to the truth. And the more rigorously Ava digs into the past, the more dangerous her present becomes.
Vivid and atmospheric, full of mystery and magic, this romantic page-turner by bestselling author Carol Goodman tells the story of a world on the brink of change and the girl who is the catalyst for it all.
At seventeen, Avaline Hall has already buried her mother, survived a horrific factory fire, and escaped from an insane asylum. Now she’s on her way to Blythewood Academy, the elite boarding school in New York’s mist-shrouded Hudson Valley that her mother attended—and was expelled from. Though she’s afraid her high society classmates won’t accept a factory girl in their midst, Ava is desperate to unravel her family’s murky past, discover the identity of the father she’s never known, and perhaps finally understand her mother’s abrupt suicide. She’s also on the hunt for the identity of the mysterious boy who rescued her from the fire. And she suspects the answers she seeks lie at Blythewood.
But nothing could have prepared her for the dark secret of what Blythewood is, and what its students are being trained to do. Haunted by dreams of a winged boy and pursued by visions of a sinister man who breathes smoke, Ava isn’t sure if she’s losing her mind or getting closer to the truth. And the more rigorously Ava digs into the past, the more dangerous her present becomes.
Vivid and atmospheric, full of mystery and magic, this romantic page-turner by bestselling author Carol Goodman tells the story of a world on the brink of change and the girl who is the catalyst for it all.
UGHHHHH I WANTED TO LOVE THIS BOOK SO BAD!!!!!! When I started the book I really enjoyed it. I got excited because I was seeing interesting twists to historical events and I loved that! Anytime they mix fantasy with history it gets my mind wondering in the best way. I say the first 200 pages I was really enjoying it, but as the story went on I started to get annoyed. Avaline was so hard to like She was cruel to friends and it was always so random. She was just out of the blue say hateful things and it left everyone dumbfounded. She had suffered so much and not once did she have a breakdown. This book was almost 500 pages I am pretty sure a few pages could have been spared to make us feel like Avaline was not a robot. Some characters like her grandmother and her grandmothers maid? Helper? Assistant? I'm still not sure just appeared, took Avaline in and then just as soon as they appeared they were gone again and were not heard from basically until the very end.
Most of the time the problem in fantasy books would be world building and things of that nature, but that was what kept me going in this book! I LOVED the world that was built and found in interesting and creative. As I said before the historical twists were great, the monsters were interesting, and I loved the classes that they had. The school was so interesting every girl had a different "characteristic" that can help fight the evil in their world. I wish that we could have learned more about that. There is a character named Daisy that I loved! She was independent in her thoughts and stood up for what she thought was right. I truly want to read more about the world, but I don't know if I can put up with Avaline and the sporadic romance anymore then I already have. Just FYI the romance did not really build, it's just there.
So you be the judge. Have you read this book? What did you think, did the fantasy elements keep you going like me, or did you actually like Avaline and the romance?
Leave your thoughts down below and as always,
Happy reading Ya'll
Ashley
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