Book Review: Wilde Magic (Ashcroft Academy - Book 1)
Wilde Magic (Ashcroft Academy – Book 1) by K.M. Charron
3 stars
Category: Teen
Summary: When Ainsley’s father commits suicide in a trance, Ainsley refuses to let it rest and tries to figure out what caused his suicide, tracing it back to Ashcroft Academy, which he had been investigating. The school is populated solely by mean girls, who spend the entire book dwelling on petty dramas and trying to bully and hurt each other.
Comments: I loved the first chapter! Absolutely adored it! I kept thinking about it long after I read the sample. But then I sort of lost it on my Kindle because the description didn’t really match the first chapter. The description though does fit the rest of the book. While the first chapter had me wrapped up in the mystery of what was her father doing to get himself cursed that way, what mystery had he uncovered, and I felt for Ainsley to watch the impending doom as her favorite parent did the unthinkable while she tried to stop it but couldn’t reach him. The rest of the book focuses on mean girls bullying other girls and the girls getting bullied. As a person who got bullied in school, I hated every minute of it. Rather than focusing on Ainsley, the book switched perspective and setting to Sydney, the main queen bully of the school. I hated her, even with her controlling, demanding mother and father hooked to life-support. She was vile, repugnant, and I hated that we had to spend the larger portion of the book from her perspective as she bullied and belittled other characters, including targeting Ainsley. There are actually a handful of guys in this, but I honestly can’t tell one from the other since they are barely one-line mentions. Same with Sydney’s cronies. They were just names that oddly tried to add some diversity to, but they are switchable and nothing makes them standout and nothing actually makes them diverse except the mention of their nationalities. The school is an average private school and hardly any time is spent on the classes. There is a hidden place within the school called The Nest where a handful of students learn magic. And Sydney and her cronies basically use their magic to keep the average students in line. Like if someone shows an interest in one of the guys, they use magic on them. If they take a dislike to a student, magic is used on them. It felt really petty compared to the beginning. I was really looking forward to a book starring Ainsley as she infiltrates a Harry Potter type magic school to uncover evil sorcerers while discovering her own magic, entirely from her viewpoint, while dealing with the death of her father. That was the book I wanted to read. But instead this book focuses on Sydney, who I couldn’t stand, and she really didn’t improve any (except in the last two chapters where her attitude does an unexplained 180 for no good reason). Some of the reviewers said it picked up at the halfway mark (that was when Ainsley finally got past being a new student and started to actively poke around). I personally didn’t think it picked up any and still remained irritated at the book.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that I won’t be picking up future books in this series. I’m actually surprised I bothered to finish this. I was very tempted to delete it after Sydney’s first chapter and I’m now regretting that I didn’t.
3 stars
Category: Teen
Summary: When Ainsley’s father commits suicide in a trance, Ainsley refuses to let it rest and tries to figure out what caused his suicide, tracing it back to Ashcroft Academy, which he had been investigating. The school is populated solely by mean girls, who spend the entire book dwelling on petty dramas and trying to bully and hurt each other.
Comments: I loved the first chapter! Absolutely adored it! I kept thinking about it long after I read the sample. But then I sort of lost it on my Kindle because the description didn’t really match the first chapter. The description though does fit the rest of the book. While the first chapter had me wrapped up in the mystery of what was her father doing to get himself cursed that way, what mystery had he uncovered, and I felt for Ainsley to watch the impending doom as her favorite parent did the unthinkable while she tried to stop it but couldn’t reach him. The rest of the book focuses on mean girls bullying other girls and the girls getting bullied. As a person who got bullied in school, I hated every minute of it. Rather than focusing on Ainsley, the book switched perspective and setting to Sydney, the main queen bully of the school. I hated her, even with her controlling, demanding mother and father hooked to life-support. She was vile, repugnant, and I hated that we had to spend the larger portion of the book from her perspective as she bullied and belittled other characters, including targeting Ainsley. There are actually a handful of guys in this, but I honestly can’t tell one from the other since they are barely one-line mentions. Same with Sydney’s cronies. They were just names that oddly tried to add some diversity to, but they are switchable and nothing makes them standout and nothing actually makes them diverse except the mention of their nationalities. The school is an average private school and hardly any time is spent on the classes. There is a hidden place within the school called The Nest where a handful of students learn magic. And Sydney and her cronies basically use their magic to keep the average students in line. Like if someone shows an interest in one of the guys, they use magic on them. If they take a dislike to a student, magic is used on them. It felt really petty compared to the beginning. I was really looking forward to a book starring Ainsley as she infiltrates a Harry Potter type magic school to uncover evil sorcerers while discovering her own magic, entirely from her viewpoint, while dealing with the death of her father. That was the book I wanted to read. But instead this book focuses on Sydney, who I couldn’t stand, and she really didn’t improve any (except in the last two chapters where her attitude does an unexplained 180 for no good reason). Some of the reviewers said it picked up at the halfway mark (that was when Ainsley finally got past being a new student and started to actively poke around). I personally didn’t think it picked up any and still remained irritated at the book.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that I won’t be picking up future books in this series. I’m actually surprised I bothered to finish this. I was very tempted to delete it after Sydney’s first chapter and I’m now regretting that I didn’t.
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