Night School. Tras los muros de Cimmeria

Night School #1

by C.J. Daugherty

Cimmeria no es una escuela normal. Tras sus muros se esconde un secreto que solo conocen los alumnos elegidos y en el que están involucradas algunas de las personas más influyentes. Antes de que sea demasiado tarde, Allie tendrá que averiguar qué esconden sus compañeros y la razón por la que ella está allí. Pero, cuando todos mienten… ¿en quién puedes confiar?

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Paranormal, Fiction, Thriller

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 9, 2012

About the author

International bestselling author CJ Daugherty is a former newspaper reporter and crime writer. Her Night School series has been translated into 24 languages, and has been a bestseller in multiple countries. She also writes The Echo Killing crime series under the name Christi Daugherty.

Find out more on her website: www.ChristiDaugherty.com on www.facebook.com/CJAuthor and on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CJ_Daugherty

Reviews

[Maja (The Nocturnal Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always enjoy boarding school books (unless they’re contemporary, in which case I tend to run away screaming), and I’d hoped Night School would be a fine addition to the group, or in the best case scenario, that it would stand out in some way. Sadly, it’s not special at all, and it’s not even paranormal like I’d expected. It has the structure and the tropes of a paranormal YA novel, but no paranormal elements whatsoever. Consider yourselves warned.

Allie is a very troubled teen. After her older brother ran away from home, she started acting out and being completely out of control. She even got arrested a couple of times. When she gets herself expelled from yet another school for vandalism, her parents decide to take drastic measures. They send her to Cimmeria School, a very prestigious and very private boarding school located two hours’ drive from London.

Cimmeria is not your ordinary school. Students are all extremely talented and very rich, the program is highly demanding, and they get certain liberties and luxuries they wouldn’t get anywhere else. The school has many rules and failure to follow them always results in dire punishment, but one rule is most important of all: if you’re not invited to join Night School, don’t ask questions about it, don’t try to identify students who are in it and don’t ever, under any circumstances, try to disrupt Night School activities. Allie adapts to her life very easily, but she soon starts investigating odd things that are happening in Cimmeria, with the help of a few friends and her boyfriend.

Technically, Daugherty’s writing has no major flaws. There are no rough transitions, confusing or repetitive sentence structure, no naked dialogue, no telling instead of showing. The problem was entirely in the content.

Cliché after cliché after cliché, that’s what Night School has to offer, with the addition of some very disturbing details. The love triangle takes up a good part of the book, but it’s not just any love triangle: it’s about a difficult choice between the guy who’s been nothing but sweet and supportive and honest and the guy who got Allie drunk and tried to date-rape her on their first (and last) date. (But he is handsome and disgustingly rich and FRENCH!) Wow. How anyone could ever choose between them, I have no idea.

The way Allie changed from very problematic to obedient and hardworking the second she set foot in Cimmeria didn’t sit well with me. It takes a little more than a new school uniform and two gorgeous boys to fix those kinds of problems, and yet, Allie got better overnight. Her character was very inconsistent and it was clear to me that C.J. Daugherty doesn’t know the first thing about issues behind such behavior. It bothered me immensely that she didn’t approach the subject seriously enough.

In my opinion, she also failed to create tension in her story. More time was wasted on the love triangle drama and on the summer ball then on the main story line. Needless to say, when the big revelation came, it was very anticlimactic and it made very little sense. All this led to an unsatisfactory ending that really wasn’t an ending at all. It was almost like someone cut out the last chapter. There was no real climax and nothing was resolved at all.

Some of my friends on GoodReads rated this book very highly and I’m pretty sure it will have many more fans. Maybe I’m just getting tired of reading the same story over and over again.

For more of my reviews, please visit The Nocturnal Library

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Das ist schwierig. Die Thematik dieses Buches mag ich total. Ein Internat mit einer geheimen Schule und vielen Geheimnissen. Ich mag Internatsgeschichten, und ich liebe das Geheimnisvolle. Zudem geschieht hier ein Mord, alles ist sehr düster und mysteriös. Das ist genau meins.
Trotzdem hatte das Buch aber auch immer mal wieder Längen für mich. Eigentlich passiert in dem Buch viel, aber es kam mir nicht unbedingt so vor.
Vielleicht lag es an dieser Dreiecksgeschichte - Allie - Carter - Sylvain. Ich mag Dreiecksgeschichten nicht.
Dennoch ein interessanter Auftakt zu dieser Buchreihe, und ich werde sicherlich auch weiterlesen.

[~Tina~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yup, this is definitely a Tina book!!!

Since the Harry Potter days, I've always loved boarding school books. So as soon as I saw this book, I've wanted to read it, I'm not sure why but it sounded like something I'd enjoy and enjoy I did, in fact, it became an instant favorite! Also, the fact that it's set in London and it's British is an extra bonus. I love British books!

Night School has just about everything I love in a good escape. Mystery, intrigue, excitement, driven character and a heart pounding plot. I loved the atmosphere! It's set in an old and odd Gothic mansion turned into a school called Cimmeria Academy. That's where Allie's parents sent her as a last resort after being arrested-again- and decided they had enough and dropped her off at the academy doors, in summer no less. Allie was all for hating every second of her stay, but the school seemed to settle her in a way that she finally feels happy and after what happened to her brother she didn't know if that was ever possible again. Soon enough strange things start happening around Allie, some of the students are even getting hurt and Allie is starting to question exactly what kind of school she got landed in.
She really has no idea....

C.J. Daugherty writing is fabulous!! I love how easy it was to get into this story. She doesn't rush her characters or the plot along. The pacing is perfect and it's quite detailed. The school itself is like it's very own character, it has a very enchanting quality to it, traditional, impressive and intimating at the same time. I loved how expressive the grounds are. The garden and the church and then there's the library and the books and the art, I quickly feel in love with everything about it. I also loved the way the characters moved along. From classes, homework, dinners to romance and mysterious mishaps along the way, we get the full effect and it was really nice to be able to sink in a story that didn't feel rushed for a change. I got to know these characters really well, understanding them better. Some may find it a bit slow moving but I never felt bored, in fact I was genuinely interested in every aspect this book had to offer.

There are a lot of chracters to get to know, but each one has a unique role. Allie of course is our main protag and I really like her. She's had a hard go for awhile there but once we get to know her she becomes a different person right before our eyes. She's got a good head on her shoulders, she knows how to hold her own and even though life at the academy can be challenging she kept her head up and didn't stop fighting for what she believed in.
Jo is a great girl, she has issues, but I liked how natural their friendship felt, same goes for Rachel as well. All the secondary characters; Isabelle, Jules, Lucas, Lisa, Katie and Gabe were all well developed and most of them kept surprising me along the way.
As for the boys? Sylvain is a hard one, he's a charming guy even really likable in the beginning, but he did something that I usually don't find forgivable, but wonderfully enough, somehow Daugherty made him redeemable in my eyes and my heart actually went out to him by the end of the book.
But at last, Carter West owns me! At first this guy was so hot and cold I couldn't form a proper opinion of him till half way throughout the book. But once I hit a certain point there really is no turning back when it comes to Carter, he's the real deal and I absolutely loved him to bits! He and Allie shared some really fantastic moments. These two are so stubborn but the chemistry is intense and very sexy.

This story line is not at all what I thought it was going to be and probably my favorite part of the book.
When you look at the cover, read the title and the blurb that follows it, what is the fist thing that pops in your mind? For me, it's paranromal.
I thought for sure there would be some kind of paranrmal element in this book, it surly reads like one. It makes you feel anxious throughout the entire novel, like your missing the bigger picture or trying to grasp a clouded thought that slips away right before you remember it. This may seem frustraing and even unsettling, but it was actually the opposite for me. It made me want to savor this book instead of rushing to end it. It almost has a teasing flavor that made it so much fun trying to guess the punchline before the big reveal. Sadly, I couldn't for the life of me guess what this book is truly about -what Night School is truly about- so I'm not going to tell you guys, your just gonna have to read it and find out for yourself;)
I will say that this was nicely done, not only is it believable but it's also pretty creative and so not predictable.
If there was ever a book out there that needed a sequel, then this book would be it. My head is spinning and I physically need to know more! I have so many questions about, well, everything so I'm so glad another book is in the works. It simply can not end here!!

Bottom line, I loved this book guys. It was a blast to read and while I usually zip through books like candy, I wanted to savor this one for as long as I could. It's fun, funny, puzzling and incredibly alluring.
An enjoyable experience and a outstanding debut!!

MORE!!

[Reynje · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Night School. But I say that with a massive caveat. (More on that later.) So, Night School and upcoming Night School sequel: you and your ratings are on probation.

The synopsis is fairly ambiguous as to the genre of the novel. It drops hints about a strange boarding school and a mysterious loner guy, but is evasive on the specifics. Even the cover looks like it would be home among a shelf of paranormal romances. So while I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this, I’ll put in spoiler tags all the same: Night School is not a paranormal romance. Which I appreciated, but I suspect might disappoint others.

If you didn’t click on that spoiler, it’s going to be somewhat difficult to discuss the plot of the novel without giving it away, so bear with me as I attempt to dance around it.

Night School relies heavily on intrigue and suspense. By creating an atmosphere of vague threat and unease, and by alluding to mysterious goings-on all around the central character, Daugherty sets up a fairly compelling premise. It’s hard not to wonder what, exactly, this school is hiding and how Allie has landed in the middle of it. The unsettling vibe of Cimmeria Academy is well done, and the “all is not what it seems” undercurrent is sufficient to keep the initial pages turning.

That said, I’m not entirely sure the tension and mystery is enough to sustain the 451 pages of the book. To be fair, a lot of this time is used to set up character relationships so that they can effectively be broken down and convincingly illustrate Allie’s confusion as to who to trust. Daughtery does a good job of making everyone a suspect. However, that doesn’t change that fact that, well.. not a lot happens. There’s a fair amount of repetition to Allie’s routine (it is boarding school, after all) and the lack of and space between the action scenes compounds the issue of plot drag. I found enough tension to hold my interest, but reader mileage will vary on that front.

At the end, Night School gives some partial answers, but leaves the majority of questions unresolved, while raising even more question marks. The premise is somewhat far-fetched, but it’s one I like, so I’m willing to suspend some belief pending the follow up book.

There’s a slightly detached, cool quality to Daughtery’s writing. Night School is written in third person and I think this works for the story, although the reader is somewhat distanced from Allie. We’re still given insight into her character, while never completely getting inside her head. It’s a plot driven novel, and while Allie undergoes considerable development throughout, the focus is primarily on the secrets she finds herself caught up in. Nevertheless, there’s a toughness to Allie that I liked. She’s a character with assertiveness and drive, and she has agency beyond being buffeted between the brooding gazes of the love interests. (Although, of course, that happens).

Now, on to that caveat: Bloody hell. I can’t believe I have to say this: would-be date-rapists are NOT LOVE INTERESTS. No, okay. Just no. A guy who, by his own admission, encourages a girl to keep downing alcohol, then takes her outside and engages in pushing her into a situation she’s clearly not into, and only stops when he’s interrupted, is not a love interest. Hear that? I have NO SWOONS to give. NO EFFING SWOONS. And although this character later apologises for his actions, and Allie calls him out on them, its going to take a metric crap-tonne of contrition to bring this character back in the realm of my good graces, although I have a suspicion that he may figure in the follow up book in the obligatory romantic tangle.

Actually, while we’re on this subject, it would be remiss of me not to mention that almost all of the male characters engage in some level of tosser-like behaviour at some point. Even the other potential love interest displays some less than desirable conduct, and its these type of interactions throughout the novel that are the main source of conflict as to how to rate it.

Having not realised that Night School was not a standalone, I was pretty irritated to reach the final page only to find out I still had a plethora of questions to answered. However, I do want them answered, so I will pick up the sequel. Additionally, the Doc Martens scene at the end of the book was a nice touch, and the promise of some Allie kick-assery yet to come is a welcome note to conclude on. Fingers crossed she delivers.

[Anja Karenjina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pa, to je bilo mnogo bolje nego što sam očekivala

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, this was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.!

C.J. Daugherty managed to keep me in the dark about what was really going on in Night School until the very end. I had no freakin' clue and I loved that. Daugherty scattered a few hints here and there to make sure you never stayed on the right track. After a while I thought I had the whole thing figured out and was like "Ah well, this is just another one of those boarding school stories about vampires or whatever" but I was wrong. It really isn't. I think it's best to go into this with as little knowledge as possible, so don't go read any spoilery reviews. Just give this one a try and if at one point you think you know what the story's about, trust me, you're most probably wrong. :o) (When I picked this up, I hadn't even read the blurb properly, I had only seen that my friend Tina rated it 5 stars and had it on her favorites shelf and so I decided to give it a try. And I'm SO glad I did).

So, what else did I love about this besides the fact that Daugherty kept me on my toes the entire time? Definitely the characters. I adored the main character Allie, as well as some others which I don't want to name for spoilery reasons ;-) The only thing that bothered me was the fact that too many guys seemed to fall all over themselves to be with Allie for no obvious reason. It's just not very realistic if all the hot heartbreakers at one school fall for the same girl just because she's the heroine of the story and the author thinks that there needs to be a love triangle. Nevertheless, I thought this was a really great read and even though I finally know what Night School is about (at least more or less), there are still tons of questions left unanswered and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!

[Juliana Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia original con unos personajes geniales. Allie es un personaje fuerte y rebelde (eso me encanta) y los chicos tan diferentes pero con tantas cosas en común al tiempo.

El libro atrapa por el misterio, solo descubres de que va todo en los últimos capítulos y el final te deja lleno de curiosidad.

#TeamCarter

Reseña Completa: http://bastvilard.blogspot.com/2015/0...

[Athena ღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Το τελείωσα και δεν έχω καταλήξει ακόμα αν μου άρεσε ή όχι. Για τα τρία αστεράκια δεν είμαι ακόμα σίγουρη.



Δεν ήταν κάτι το ιδιαίτερο, αν και στο τέλος είχε μια αποκάλυψη, δε μπορώ να πω ότι σοκαρίστηκα. Γενικά ήταν ένα γρήγορο ανάγνωσμα που με κράτησε με το μυστήριο για το τι συμβαίνει τελικά σε αυτή την ακαδημία, χωρίς εν τέλει να γίνει κάτι το συναρπαστικό.

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5

I honestly don't know how to rate this book. It's such an odd read, I came in with certain expectations as to the plot, the characters, and the writing, and none were reached. That isn't to say it's a bad thing, considering I had low expectations, but this book was so different from what I actually got. From the title, I expected a House of Night ripoff, and instead I got Gossip Girl meet cloak and daggers with a hint at the paranormal and a set of rules straight out of Fight Club.

Just look at some of the rules in the student manual. I actually burst out laughing when I read them:

"6. The identities of those involved in Night School are secret. Anyone who attempts to find out their identities will be punished.
7. ALL Night School activities are secret. Any member of Night School found to be divulging the details of those activities will be punished severely."

Come on, doesn't that just scream Fight Club?

I'm just...speechless. This is not to say the book was bad, it's actually quite enjoyable, but then again, I place a high value on reasonable character behavior, good plot-building, and good writing, and the book has plenty of the above. It's just that it goes on so long, dangling various shinies in front of me as a promise to a Big Reveal...and when the mystery is finally resolved, it was so anticlimactic that it felt...flat. I understand that this is meant to be the beginning to a series, and as such, it feels like Night School 0.5, it would be better off as a setup to the actual book with an actual plot that doesn't require 3/4 of the book to unwind. The book is just far, far too long for what it contains.

The premise: rebellious teenager Allie has been repeatedly arrested, and her parents are sick of it. She is sent to Cimmeria, a school where super-rich and influential people send their children. It appears that she's the only "normal" student there, who is neither admitted by legacy, nor with wealthy or powerful parents. She makes some friends, meets the Mean Girls, and falls in a love triangle. Strange things are happening on campus, students get mysteriously injured and attacked, accidents happen, Allie is bullied, and nobody seems to be able to give her a straight answer.

The good: the writing. The pacing may be slow as molasses, but the writing is very well done. I expected piss-poor writing and storytelling, but I was proven utterly wrong. The atmosphere and setting are so well-described, I could visualize everything that the author describes, from the beautiful setting of the Cimmeria campus, to the simple appearance of the character. However, it is never overdone, you will not find descriptiveness rivaling Dickens here. The writing is simple, subtle, and evocative, the characters' speech are natural. The hints given are subtle and not obvious, we are not hand-fed anything. Whatever criticism I might have for the book, there is absolutely no complaints from me on the quality of the writing. That was what I most enjoyed about the book.

The bad:

1. Allie: she is not the most sympathetic character. She is rebellious, snarky, with a teenager's apathy and hatred for authority. She was not always like this, as we know. Allie was previously a good student, a loving child, but all that disintegrated with the disappearance of her brother Christopher. She has since then done everything she can to make life difficult for herself, and her parents. In the beginning of the book, I felt so much sympathy for her parents when we meet them briefly, and for the only time in the beginning of the book as Allie is being arrested for the third time after having been caught vandalizing her school. They're weary, they're empty, they're humiliated from having gone through this three times, they're tired of all this. Her parents are sympathetic towards her, they, too, have suffered due to the Christopher situation, but this is too much. No yelling, no screaming, no threats. This is it. They're sending her to Cimmeria, which is her last hope, even if they have to make tremendous financial sacrifices for it.

Allie is so tremendously immature. I think the writer intends for her to seem that way, to be unlikeable and childish and stupid initially, so that we can see her character development. Her lack of maturity seems deliberate but it doesn't really endear me to her:

"Setting the black pieces on her side, she handed Allie a white knight.
Allie held it up and made a neighing sound. Jo gave her a withering look.
'Pony,' Allie said weakly."

"'What's a parley?' Allie had asked at the time, adding hopefully, 'It's just a couple of letters away from party.'"

Brilliant...

The problem is that Allie never really grows up. She is rendered somewhat less rebellious by the strict code of behavior at Cimmeria, but her mental immaturity remains. She is defiant and obstinate, but I don't think she's too intelligent. She seems oddly incurious, Allie is frustrated by the lack of answers and all the secrecy because obviously something strange is going on, but she never truly demands that Carter tells her what the hell is going on. I do like the fact that she questions things, if something doesn't make sense, she does not hesitate to call it out, but she never outright demands answers. I did feel bad for Allie. She is out of place there, and everyone seems to know it. She is made to feel like she stands out, in a bad way. "Everybody treated her like the village idiot who’d slipped in when the guard's back was turned." Eventually, we get to know more about Allie and why she acts the way she does.

"'My mum and dad fought with each other, and I was just this...nuisance to them that they had to deal with. It was like, when he left he pulled the stopper from our lives and drained everything good out. They didn't love me any more. And I felt nothing at all.'
She sighed shakily. 'Feeling something became really important to me. So I drank a lot; but actually that's kind of the opposite of feeling anything, you know?'"

She ends up growing on me, she's still not the type of character that I really like, but she is by no means a Mary Sue.

2. Carter: man, what a douchebag. A mysterious, hypocritical douchebag, and part one of the love triangle. I hated Carter West from the beginning. "He's constantly in detention. Thinks he knows everything and everybody else is shallow. He's infuriating. Half the teachers hate him, and the others treat him like, I don’t know, he's their kid or something. And he's a notorious womanizer. He gets what he wants and then he's not interested any more." Allie is warned away from him from the start, and I have to give her credit for recognizing that she shouldn't waste her time on him at one early point:

"'God, can you believe the energy we’re giving this conversation about some guy we don’t even like?'"

Carter doesn't get the message, he constantly gets underfoot and harasses her. He runs hot and cold towards Allie, and he irritates the hell out of me.

"'You don't. Ignore somebody. For weeks. And then. Ask them. Personal questions. You. Arsehole.'"

He tries to warn Allie of something but his warnings are vague and without reason, then Carter gets angry when Allie doesn't listen to his enigmatic warnings. He tells her to stay away from Sylvain because he is a womanizer, when he has done the same himself. The tension between Sylvain and Carter felt like nothing more than two alpha males defending their territory.

3. Love triangle - towards the beginning, you could see my lips curl up in disgust as I read the insta-attraction between Allie, Sylvain, and Carter.

"'Sylvain is kind of...special. His parents are very important people – he's from a very old family. And he's kind of an interesting guy in his own right. Lots of girls over the years have tried to get his attention, but nobody's ever really succeeded.'
Jo chimed in. 'But then you came along and suddenly it’s like he has this huge crush.'"

Two of the most notoriously womanizing guy in the school are drawn towards her. Here we go again, ordinary-in-every-way girl all of a sudden gets the attention of the two most attractive guy in the school? Clichéd much?

4. The mystery - this was the most frustrating part. The mystery and how it was revealed moved like molasses. It was so slow to get revealed, I don't think I'm particularly stupid, but I had no idea what the hell was going on with all the attacks and the mysterious accidents until a good 3/4 of the book was over. Strange things happen in the forest. Students get hurt. Hints get given, but they're misleading:

"'I heard something growl,' she admitted, 'like a dog. But I heard footsteps, too. The human kind.'
'What do you think it could have been?' she asked. 'I mean, do people have dogs here? Like teachers or...staff?'"

Reading this, one might think that the author is setting us up for a paranormal of the big, furry, go crazy during a full moon type of Reveal. One would be wrong. I was so frustrated reading this, and so angry at the final reveal. It's like having a big slice of chocolate cake dangled in front of you as you run, and then after getting the cake...it turns out to be carob. What a tremendous letdown. I like the story, I grew to eventually like the characters, I'm curious enough to find out where this series is headed, but I'm just disappointed at the conclusion because it felt like I was so mislead. It's like a paper maze where the beginning and the end are just adjacent to each other, only the path on paper takes you through half the maze to get the the exit.

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Words: Privilege, school, friendship, family, love.

I have to admit that I put off reading this for a long time.

Why?

The cover. It just screams PNR. Or YAFantasy.

No, thank you.

But this month I wanted to finally read some of those books that have been sitting on my physical TBR for a long while, starting with the UKYA. And Night School was the first one I picked up.

And wow. Why did I leave it so long?

I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was absolutely NOT what I read. This book was all kinds of awesome and amazing. And so I'm going to push it on everyone.

This book is absolutely *not* fantasy, so why so many people have shelved it as such I don't know. It was a similar storyline to many YA books, but the way it was told really set it apart from the rest.

[Bookish Pengu · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I have just read it when I got it ( I was 14 I guess)... well my mum bought it before I went on a trip and I haven't read it since but I own the whole series... AHHHHH. But let's come to the book. I didn't like it as much as I expected it to do. The writing (maybe it was just the German translation) was really...not my type and you could just feel it was written my an adult trying to sound like a teenager. AND I HATE THIS. I HATE IT. AHHHHHH. And the plot was bad too! Everything was so clear! Aaaaand I someone tried to rape you it's not your fault. It isn't. Just saying. Hm.

[Bettina_kPunkt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ♡ it

Meine Reihenrezension:
http://lovelybooksbytine.blogspot.de/...

[Roobie · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4 stars⭐️

The voice in her head told her not to trust him. But then, the voice in her head didn't trust anyone.

Well, damn! I didn't expect to like this so much, probably why it took me so long to start it, but I'm glad I did. Although I'm sensing a lot of frustration in the future. stupid stupid love triangles I hate you and I know you'll ruin it for me

But oh well... Off to the next one.

[Ferdy · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

Sixteen year old Allie is sent away to boarding school after getting arrested for the third time. Hoping Allie will start to behave, Allie's parents drop her off at her new school - Cimmeria Academy, which much to Allie's dismay is in the middle of nowhere. This conveniantly gets rid of the heroine's parents pretty much straight away - everyone that reads YA knows that parents can't heaven forbid actually be there to parent our young heroes and heroines!
It was a bit unbelievable that Allie's mother sent her to a school/organization that she herself hated so much that she left and turned her back on the school and everything it stood for. Sure Allie was acting out but most teenagers do and parents don't need to send them to some far off school to discipline them.. it just made little sense for Allie's mum to happily send her to a place she herself wanted no part of.
It's not long before Allie naturally gets the attention of not 1 hot guy but 2! Both these guys are smart, gorgeous and have secret secrets..hmmm this sounds familiar..oh that's right they're just like every other YA hero! Allie is targeted by the impossibly beautiful mean girl and her friends who of course hate Allie because of her popularity with the boys..because everyone knows that teenage girls who's crushes are interested in someone else automatically turn into bitches who bully their crush's er new crush..please the majority of teenage girls are actually NOT that shallow and spiteful.
Moving on, when a girl is murdered, Allie investigates the super duper oh so secret Night School.
When we're first introduced to Allie I was pleasantly suprised to find that Allie seemed to be an honest to god bad girl. She was acting out, vandalising school property and getting arrested but her supposed bad girl attitude didn't last very long and she soon changed into every other YA heroine.. you know the heroine I'm talking about. The 'heroine' who's different from all the other girls, who's speshul, who much to the heroine's suprise has 2 hot guys who like her when in her oh so modest opinion thinks she's not even beautiful or worthy enough of said guys and when she's never had any interest from boys before.. heaven forbid a heroine who shock, horror has had a serious relationship before meeting the hero and the third member of the crappy love triangle who everyone knows won't be chosen by the heroine but is just added in for drama and teenage angst.. ah teenage angst - there's nothing like good old fashioned teenage angst!
Anywho Allie quickly goes from someone who could be mildly interesting to a whiny, self-pitying, uninteresting teenager. Much to my annoyance Allie tends to lift her chin defiantly everytime she wants to be stubborn. We know how impressed the male love interests get with the heroine when she lifts her chin defiantly because it symbolizes the heroine's stubborness and determination which as you know is all that's needed to make every guy fall in wuv with the heroine..aw yea.. so that's all us girls need to do to get a guy to fall stupidly in wuv with us..come on now..lift those chins girls and watch men fall at your feet!! Ah the powerful power of lifting one's chin defiantly..will wonders never cease.
Moving on to the disaster that is the love triangle. On one corner we have Sylvain who almost date-rapes Allie. In the other corner we have Carter who witnesses a very drunk and possibly drugged Allie shouting at Sylvain to stop assaluting her. Of course Carter saves Allie and is then mad at her for what happened, so she apologizes to him?!..WTF!!..how was Allie supposed to know that Sylvain who up until then had been a nice, normal guy was going to try to date-rape her?!..how was she at fault in anyway?! Why she apologizes like she's to blame for the entire thing is beyond me..ugh! Oh it doesn't end there..by the end of the book Allie the Idiot has forgiven and forgotten Rapey McRaperson attempted date-rape..yup Old Rapey gives a lame apology stating that he shouldn't have been rapey towards her because she's not that type of girl..again..WTF??!!!!!..so because she's a virgin she doesn't deserved to be raped and any girl who isn't a virgin can be treated roughly/forcefully..FUCK THAT!..I couldn't believe that Sylvain was made out to be a good guy at the end!
It's quite boring to read the same old type of characters in these types of YA romances. We have the heroine who has little to no experience with boys and then we have the male love interests who are somehow very experienced with girls and sex even though they're only in their teens. This trope is so boring and tiresome.. can we for once have a heroine who is just as experienced as the male love interests.. you know make it so it reflects todays teens more realistically.. instead of shoving the usual double standards BS down our throats.
The dialogue between the teens was pretty bad ..just because the words arse, bollocks, bloody and wanker are thrown around doesn't make them sound any more British! Oh and drinking tea and playing croquet also doesn't make them seem British. I cringed countless times because they didn't sound like any teens I know or have ever known. I've never heard any British teenagers that say things like - freaked out, totally, FYI and say the word like in every other sentance. The author tried to make the book sound authentically British but she failed.
The side characters - Jo, Rachel, Lucas and Jules were infiniely more likeable than Allie and Carter. It was refreshing to find that the whole secret surrounding Night School had nothing to do with the paranormal or supernatural. Also the mystery of Allie's brother, Christopher was actually quite entertaining and does make me want to read the sequel to find out more about him.

[Isamlq · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sixty four percent in four days does not a good sign make. I just couldn’t get into it; but, the Lord be thanked, for if not by the powers of skimming then I doubt I’d have managed to get through to the end.

Should I say that it’s the same old, same old?
Should I say that the boys are ridiculously controlling in this one?
Should I repeat the fact that, yet gain, there be two boys in this one; both of whom are into the same girl who thinks herself, yet again, as not that much to begin with?
Should I say that it took forever for things to kick into gear? (I mean sixty four percent, people!)

I guess, I sort of just did.

All those moments of ‘someone watching me,’ ‘someone knows something I don’t know’ had me coming up with all sorts of scenarios… but the one the book actually had was not too bad, just not as specific as I’d have liked it to be. That was the point though, for the school, the circumstances to be cloaked in mystery. My problem is not that much is resolved in the end. Sure, she knows a little more about how things work. Sure, she knows a little more of who she is. Sure, she’s found out the hard way that some people are to be trusted and others not… it’s just that I felt like the numerous stories going on didn’t quite get tied together in the end:

Consider the separate story of Boy #1, why was he the way he was. Or Consider Jo, BFF/fragile girl... what was her deal? And would it be that easy to resolve what had taken place? Or consider Ruth? Whaaa? Why? Who? And Christopher. I know you’re in this is for some reason; I just can’t quite put you where you belong… because there were missing pieces here.

I like the idea of girl-criminal sent to reformatory. There’s not much of that here though. In this, one gets the usual dose of girl meets boy then meets another boy. Here there be romance. Here there be friendships of the wacky sort, put to test by even wackier scenarios. Here be a mystery of what her school is and what role she’s to play in it. Of course, throw in some murder, some mayhem, and even a couple of stalky moments…

2/5

[isidora crni biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big love




Detaljnije o knjizi možete pročitati na blogu Crni biser&Prodavnica snova http://crnibiser87.blogspot.rs/2017/0...

[Milica's Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odlična priča, zaista odlična... ali mi fali nešto.. dobro, biću iskrena, fali mi seks u priči xD valjda u poslednje vreme stalno čitam ljubavne romane sa barem jednom seks scenom, ali avaj, ovde nema nijedne.. tako da #sorrynotsorry ostaju 4 zvezdice.
Linčujte me! :P

[jennyliest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ziemlich klischeebehaftet, aber dennoch ein guter Auftakt! Rezi folgt :)

[Izzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Awh man. I really wanted to be able to give this book more. Instead I shall tell you why I didn't (and why I gave it what I did of course).

Right, so the blurb and the first chapter of the book give the impression that Allie is somewhat of a troublemaker, what with the arrests and all. Sounds fun, right? We all love a good troublemaker. However, as the book went on I found her character *quite* and by quite I mean really inconsistent. She changed the moment she went to the boarding school to generic female protagonist who is loved by all and led around by all. Things happened to her she didn’t make them happen. For example, even the headmistress was sucking up to her. I mean, really? It was kinda like the character reverted to default...

About 2/3s of the way through though, Allie finally got her act togethor and became a character I liked rather than just tolerated. But IMO, that's a bit late for a character to finally become developed enough to be recognised as an actual human. I think I might just blame Slyvain for lack of cool Allie, just for someone to blame y'know? Speaking of the love triangle, it actually wasn't a bad one. I like how the first impressions each guy gave was somewhat different to the person they were.

The plot was actually pretty cool and really surprising. I thought the name Night School was just a really unoriginal name for a vampire book so this made me happy. Again, the book wasn't exactly boring, but only after the first half could I actually say I was interested. It was one of them "Oh, so finally something's going on..." moments.

Honestly, I was a bit bemused by the ending. I felt it took so long to get to some action where we get given some answers and then it just...stops.Pcha.

[Sláinte Wanderlust · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a paranormal or fantasy book - Ignore the bookshelves that say it is.
It is instead about spoilt teenagers who are whiney, full of issues and extremely annoying to read about.
The big surprise about what night school is...

That wasn't a surprise.. at all.
I wouldn't recommend this book, nor continue the series.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night School tells the story of Allie Sheridan, a teenage girl who is having a tough time dealing with her brother's disappearance. After being arrested for the third time, her parents decide to send her to the mysterious Cimmeria Academy, whose students include the children of the country's most powerful and influential people. Though the boarding school may house teenagers, electronics of any kind aren't accepted: no phones, mp3 players, laptops, TVs, anything.

Allie's life at Cimmeria starts out like any new student: struggling to keep up with school work, trying (and succeeding) in making new friends, and dealing with boy drama. However, this soon takes a turn when she realises that basically everyone is keeping secrets, from the teachers to her fellow students, including Sylvain, whom she has become very close to over the course of her stay. She discovers there's a secret society of sorts within the school - called Night School - that The Rules expressly forbids it to be discussed. And that this group is somehow organised with the devastating events of the Summer Ball. These events thrust Allie into the action, as she struggles to understand why she was actually sent there, and in turn discovers more about herself.

I really loved Allie as a protagonist, as she seemed like a typical teenager struggling with loss, and that usual teen angst. Her, and the other characters, especially Jo, were all very likeable, though I did have some reservations about Sylvain, and the fact that he always seemed to be hiding something. The romance between Allie and Carter was so cute, and I would like to see more develop with this in further books.

This book had a distinct vibe of the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter, which I absolutely loved, and the fact that this series is UKYA made it even better - I just love reading British books, and I know I don't read enough of them. I can't wait to read more, and would definitely recommend this book, and series.

[Meli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inhalt:
Weil Allie schon wieder festgenommen wurde, wird sie nun auf die Cimmeria Academy geschickt, ein altmodische Eliteinternat mit seltsamen Regeln und seltsamen Schülern. Allie fühlt sich vollkommen falsch zwischen den vielen reichen Schülern, deren Familien schon seit Generationen auf diese Schule gehen. Was hat jemand wie sie dort verloren?
Einige dieser privilegierten Schüler sind nett und freundlich zu ihr, zum Beispiel Jo, mit der sie sich schnell anfreundet, und der hübsche Sylvain, der sich sehr für sie zu interessieren scheint. Aber es gibt auch andere, wie die eifersüchtige Katie und Carter, der sie scheinbar ohne Grund nicht leiden kann ...
Aber Allie merkt, dass an dieser Schule so einiges nicht mit rechten Dingen zugeht.Und was hat es mit der Night School auf sich, deren Geheimnis so streng behütet wird?

Meinung:
Über das cover kann ich nur sagen, dass es mich überhaupt nicht reizt. Bei diesem Cover hätte ich das Buch nicht gelesen, wenn es nicht so viele gute Bewertungen gegeben hätte. Das englische Cover finde ich eigentlich ganz hübsch.
Am Anfang war Allie mir richtig unsympathisch, weil sie zickig war und sich unsozial benommen hat. In der neuen Umgebung jedoch ist sie anfangs ziemlich unsicher, und während sie sich an das neue Umfeld gewöhnt, habe ich mich an sie gewöhnt. Letzendlich mochte ich sie ziemlich gerne, aber bis dahin hatte sie einen schwierigen Weg vor sich.
Sylvain ... Also erst dachte ich: oh mein Gott, was für ein Schleimer. Dann fand ich in ganz in Ordnung, und dann war ich entsetzt und war einerseits enttäuscht und andererseits tat er mir Leid.
Carter mochte ich von Anfang an, ich habe eben ein Faible für schwierige Kerle ;) Natürlich war er mir sympathisch. Man muss sich nur ein wenig an ihn gewöhnen.
Wie gesagt, der Klappentext hatte mich überhaupt nicht angesprochen, aber erstmal angefangen, konnte ich nich mehr aufhören! Es ist wirklich spannend:
Erstmal eine Menge Rätsel. Zum Beispiel was sie dort zu suchen hat, was diese nächtlichen Vorfälle aus sich haben und natürlich die Night School. Dem Leser ist schon wegen dem Titel klar, das sie wichtig sein muss und man möchte natürlich mehr darüber erfahren. Aber es ist den Nicht-Night-Schoolern verboten, etwas darüber zu erfahren. Klar hat das unglaublich Spannung aufgebaut!

Fazit:
Ich konnte das Buch gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen, weil ich wollte, dass diese ganzen Geheimnisse gelüftet werden, denn es ist der Autorin wirklich gelungen, mich an dieses Buch und an diese Welt zu fesseln!

[ItsMedea · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5⭐ Das erste Buch das mich 2017 so unfassbar gepackt hat! Spannend von vorne bis hinten!

[aylin⋆𐙚₊˚]

this series is sooo underrated like sooooo underrated. its so good and very booktok worthy but i haven't seen anyone talk about it. IM BEGGING YOU PLEASE READ IT

[Stacey | prettybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you, like me, saw the cover of Night School and assumed it was a paranormal romance novel then let me assure you – it’s nothing of the sort!

Allie Sheridan is having a tough time coping with her brother’s disappearance. He was her best friend until one day he just wrote a note and left. When Allie gets arrested, her parents decide that they are unable to deal with her self-destructive behaviour anymore and send her to boarding school – Cimmeria Academy.

Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. It is phone, mp3 player and computer-free and the students have to abide by strict rules. Night School is a secret society, whose activities other students are forbidden to know about. When a student is brutally murdered, Allie is determined to find out what the academy is hiding and whether the murder has anything to do with Night School.

Night School starts off typically: Allie begins to settle in, make friends (and enemies), meet boys (Carter vs Sylvain), and get detention. Although this is a fairly normal novel-set-in-a-school storyline, there’s just something about boarding schools that make everything more exciting. Cimmeria Academy is especially intriguing because students are not allowed to leave the grounds unless they have permission to, which is “rarely given”. This means that I ended up knowing my way around the school very well by the end of the book, something that helped me become engaged with the plot.

I was completely sucked in as Allie begins to discover more and more secrets that everyone – the students as well as the teachers – is hiding. C.J. Daugherty does a brilliant job of keeping the truth just out of reach from the reader by offering many different, plausible possibilities. I love books that make me think about where the plot is going even though I never quite get it right. While it’s fun to guess, it’s more fun to be surprised.

Night School is a riveting boarding school mystery. I only had one issue with the book, which was that specific parts of the plot are mentioned, but never properly addressed. This is because it’s the first book of a series, which I already knew, but I prefer it when books read as if they’re a standalone novel, rather than feeling incomplete. Nonetheless, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more about life as a student of Cimmeria Academy.

Thank you Atom for providing this book for review!

I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.

[Mizuki · Rating 2 out of 5]

*sighs* Night School by first-timer C. J. Daugherty isn't awful, but the way-too-overused setting had irritated me quite a bit...

(1) New girl in a new school---a secretive boarding school, that's it.

(2) Love triangle---we all know there is no escape from this one!

(3) Two mouth-wateringly hot male love interests: one moody bad boy and one Straight-As student (and he is rich, mind you), and we all know there is no escape from this one neither!.

I'm actually surprised these two boys don't turn out to be vampire and werewolf.

(4) The heroine is not all that bright and she fails to notice a lot of things and/or not getting the warning signals.

(5) Hateful Queen Bee character and girl-on-girl-hating, we all know there is no escape from this one!

(6) Adults keeping life-saving secrets from the teenagers, and we all know there is no escape from this one!

Above all the listed overused stuff, this novel is also weighted down by yet another flaw: a very flat and underwhelming ending, plus way-too-many-questions are also left unanswered.

Honestly, I think Hex Hall is better written than this one (and I really don't like Hex Hall, mind you).

I don't hate this book, because hating it would request me to waste my energy and emotion. Perhaps I will read the next book, but I'm not sure.

[Nikoleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Υπέροχη ατμόσφαιρα που με απορρόφησε από τις πρώτες γραμμές, καλοδουλεμένοι χαρακτήρες και ενδιαφέρουσα υπόθεση, η οποία ξεφεύγει λίγο από τα συνηθισμένα. Είχα μόνο ένα μικρό θεματάκι με τη ροή, που θα προτιμούσα να κυλάει λίγο πιο γρήγορα. Πολύ καλό βιβλίο. Το προτείνω!

[Arybo ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. Ha tutti i cliché di questo mondo e, per di più, una scrittura noiosa e piatta.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need more!! That is the only thing going through my brain right now. I just want more of these words and sentences that Daughtry has strung together. The story flows like water and for 454 pages it has to flow to keep my attention and it not only did that but it left me wanting another 454 pages!
Allie has been sent to a school tucked in the middle of nowhere as a last resort to save her from herself. Ever since her brother left she has been on a downward spiral and her parents are at the end of their rope, so they enroll her into Cimmeria. This school is not like any other that Allie has been to before. The setting reminded me of Hogwarts with the school built into a very old castle and it just had that awesome Hogwarts feel to it. You have to read it to understand I suppose. Also all forms of technology are banned, the classes are beyond hard, and the students know everything about each other. So begins Allies story trying to fit into a school that she doesn’t want to be in and her quest to understand why her life is the way it is.
The story seems to be intricate I honestly am at a loss for words on it though because so much happened and yet I am left with so many questions! My mind is kinda in a cluster you know what because I loved everything that happened but I feel cheated. I wanted to learn why Allie was being guarded and I got nothing. We are also introduced to 3 new characters at the end and I know they will play a huge part in the sequel but I wanted to learn more about them now! I just want answers! I know that every first book in a series has to leave the audience wanting more but I just felt like the author left us wanting too much. I was also frustrated with Allie because she didn’t ask any questions and didn’t demand answers to the ones she did ask. Even though I am left frustrated I still loved this book. The author definitely has a beautiful way with words and if I knew where to find her I would BEG her for just 2 chapters of the next book! I want that conversation Allie has with her parents!
Thanks Tina for touring this one!

[Emilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edit avgust 2021: Mišljenje mi se nije promenilo, samo je bilo par delova koji su mi zasmetali.

Završila sam je sinoć i zaspala sam s njom u krilu.
Mnogo mi se dopala, ima neke Hogwarts vibes, valjda zbog te šume što okružuje školu.
Žao mi je što nisam poslušala prijatelje i pročitala je ranije.