Initiation

by K.E. O'Connor

Ruby Carmichael is your typical teenage girl, trying to ignore the unusual fact she sees ghosts. After she almost kills someone, she discovers she isn't so typical and has abilities and responsibilities she's never dreamed of.

After almost ending the life of her school crush at a dance, Ruby is humiliated and confused. She isn't prepared for the revelation that she's fated to join the School of Exorcists, a mysterious school that trains young Senders in the art of crossing over the undead and protecting the world from dark magic forces.

In this fast paced teen and YA paranormal romance and adventure series, Ruby meets Andreas, an undead member of the School, who introduces her to the weird and magically freaky world of the School of Exorcists.

It's not long before Ruby also meets Zander Ford and falls in love. The road to happiness is thwarted by unstable ghosts, dark magic crazed family members and Ruby's own fears that magic and romance don't combine well.

There's also the issue of Jarrod Deveral, a handsome but dangerous magic using soul freezer, who lingers in Ruby's mind. With the romance heating up between Ruby and Zander, she can't ignore the issue that her birth parents are causing trouble by using dark magic.

But when Ruby and her new friends come under attack from dark magic, she must draw on her new found powers to save herself and the School she has grown to love.

Initiation, Book 1 in the School of Exorcists teen and YA paranormal romance and adventure series, features fast-paced action, romance, magic and mystery.
The School of Exorcists Teen and Young Adult Paranormal Romance and Adventure series categories:

- Teen and YA Romance Ghosts
- Teen and YA Fantasy Series
- Paranormal Books for Teens and Young Adults
- Free teen and YA paranormal and Fantasy Book
- Coming of Age Series
- Free Young Adult paranormal and Fantasy Book

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Ebooks

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2015

About the author

K.E. O’Connor is the author of the Witch Haven mystery series, the Crypt Witch cozy mysteries, the Lorna Shadow ghost mysteries, the Holly Holmes baking mysteries, the Zee Town paranormal cozy series, and the Old Sarum mystery series, along with other titles available if you cast the right spell. She can imagine dragons, taste cookies when they aren’t even there, and hear the crack of a witch’s broom at a hundred paces.

K.E. (the K stands for Karen) lives in the United Kingdom (it isn’t very united, but that’s a mystery for another time) among the mystical stones and fairy creatures of Somerset. She graduated from the Universities of Southampton and Reading, where she received degrees in Archaeology and Cognitive Evolution (both highly entertaining to take part in, but with the career options of a ground witch’s toe bone.)

If you’re of the curious persuasion and want to know more, visit her website at www.keoconnor.com for enlightening knowledge on all things cozy mystery, book news, and a peek into the magical world of a writer who believes animals talk and magic is just a finger click away.

To contact her, visit her Facebook page – www.facebook/keoconnorauthor, join her email list, or dust off that haunted mirror in your cellar and speak the ancient magical words to transport yourself into her lounge. There may be tea and cookies waiting, or there may be giants – it depends on her mood.

Reviews

[Alicia Huxtable · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good or evil?

Ruby was adopted as a 6 month old and so had.no ideas that seeing ghosts was not all in her head. Until the day she found out and moved to a.new school. There she learns that she does fit in, just not with normal everyday kids. I enjoyed this book as Ruby's journey. Look forward to the next in the series

[Kelly-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read can't wait to continue the series

[Taylor Fenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hidden destiny

After nearly killing the first boy she's ever kissed 16-year-old Ruby learns that she is a Sender, a person with the ability to send the undead (ghosts) to the other side. Per an agreement her adoptive parents made with the agency that adopted her out Ruby is given a file that details what her life is about to become. An undead creature named Andreas (who had previously fed off one of her classmates) arrives to whisk her off to her rightful place at The School of Exorcists. At her new school she meets new friends, meets a boy that she has such a connection with that it feels as if they've known each other forever, and learns that she is the "One" that is destined to save the world. When she mistakenly reaches out to her birth parents she learns just how close the dark side is and how hungry they are to take her power.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a quick read and it reminds me a little bit of Harry Potter and another trilogy I read by Lee Nichols with its school of magic users. It makes you want to get the next book and see what else is in store for Ruby and the rest of her friends.

Is it wrong of me if I say I want to see if something happens between Ruby and Andreas or Ruby and Jarrod?

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. 3.5 on the rating. There are a few things that just don't make the story believable but overall keeps your attention.

[Gina G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and looking forward to reading Book 2.

[Katy Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting new concept! Dark yet funny!! Loved it!

[Karina Halt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for YA, still enjoyed it. Going to read what is happening next.

[Anne-Kathrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note 2

[Maryanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be seen as a darker version of similar books ,with the exception that it Carrie's with it an undercurrent of pure menace.
Ruby is a young girl about to turn 17 who has always been odd and has found her oddities becoming more acute as she nears her birthday.
Learning you were dumped outside to die would make anyone wary of her so called birth parents ,but for Ruby her birth parents are the stuff of nightmares.
On a night where her world and her parents one collide Ruby must make a choice , leave her adoptive parents or remain and sign their death warrant.
Like Harry of Potter fame Ruby enters a new school with others like herself only unlike Harry she must find a way to kill her parents in order to prevent their power subsuming her own.
Wonderfully crafted and fun to read I am now beginning book 2 .

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was mediocre. I did not particularly like it, as it wasn't written in a gripping or entertaining way. I felt, ironically, like a bit of a ghost while reading it - or it did. It floated by me, and wasn't very visible. Also, I got bored. 3 stars.

[Lesa Divine · Rating 3 out of 5]

So basically she's a medium she sees ghosts and helps them passes over.
Interesting, mysterious Ruby. Well written story but somethings left unanswered questions in the air.

[Sedna Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and even though it was entertaining, it was far too short and it would have benefited from more pages and chapters to flat out the magic system and the romance.

[JWinter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book with a nice solid plot.

[anita Ewing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

This is definitely a mix of feel good, bad and abnormal as me at teens. It's also a great coming of age story, mixed with magic and this is the formula for one exciting read.

[Mimi Davis Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I See Ghost

Great story! Sad however that the poor child did not know who she is our that the ghost that she saw was not just in Her mind. But thankfully she found out before she cracked. This story has great characters and a smooth flowing storyline.

[Connie Zinsmeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super great story!

What a super story of teens who learn in a special school about helping the dead move on and how one girl in particular is more special than she ever imagined. Mystery, danger and love story all rolled into one.

[Bun Head · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read. I like the story line as it was different. Ruby is a young lady with the power to cross ghosts over. She leaves her normal life for the school of exorcism where she begins learning all about who she is and what she can do. I enjoyed reading this book but it ended abruptly in my opinion. I was expecting that to be the end of the chapter not the end of the book. With that bring said, It was still a good book

[Kacey Armbruster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeing ghosts for as long as she remembers, Ruby knows she's not normal. But she doesn't know she's also a long awaited 'Chosen One' in the magical world either. Loved and cared for by her adoptive parents, Ruby grows up not being outcasted and shamed for the things she sees, but when things start happening around her, her adoptive parents are forced to step aside by a promise made when they took Ruby in. Before she even knows what's happening, Ruby finds herself a full fledged student at the School of Excorcists, where she's expected to be all powerful, and save the world.

Finding herself overwhelmed with trying to find her place, figure out who she is or who she wants to be, and meeting new friends and even a sweet boy who she can't seem to get out of her head, she's the typical teenager who's had her world turned upside down, but with the added responsibility of fate and prophecy causing her to question everything around her while she fights battles she doesn't think she's ready to take on... thankfully, she's not alone.

[tamilnadu09 · Rating 3 out of 5]

there's nothing particularly bad about this book, but there's nothing particularly good either- that is to say, nothing stands out as being original. It's a fast-paced read, dropping you into the plot abruptly and ending just as abruptly. I wouldn't call it "book one" so much as perhaps a prequel of sorts. Nothing huge happens; instead a lot of little things happen that seem to be building to an eventual showdown (that does not occur in this first installment). We meet a lot of characters but they all seem to be rather one-dimensional. Our main character, Ruby, doesn't behave in a very realistic manner. Her entire life gets turned upside down in a manner of days, yet she takes everything in stride- and is quickly caught up in what seems to be a love square. I think the book would have been more interesting if it had focused on aspects of her learning magic/spells/etc but it glosses over most of her school life to focus on her romantic life instead.

[Deanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was like reading a fanfiction. You hurry through the sentences because they make you grit your teeth, you ignore the repetitious explanations that are the only descriptions of the characters, and you blatantly disregard the lack of reality, just so you can escape into an easy read with a slightly interesting plot.

The first few chapters consisted of the main character flip-flopping between not believing a ghost could exist and talking to ghosts and thinking maybe they could exist. She's a blatant Mary Sue, is going to save the world, and despite her birth parents attempting to kill her, she still thinks they may care.

This school is filled with legacy children that can send ghosts to the afterword, but the only way to obtain this power is to die. Did you read that right? Legacy children, as in their parents went to this school, their grandparents went to this school. But you have to die and come back to life first.

But I did like Andreas.

[Anita Hargreaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

YA J K Rowling

Addictive Hogwells type school for ghost seekers. 16 year old Ruby sees ghosts and sends them on their way. Finding out she's adopted they give her a book that summons the magical body who collect her wiping her adoptive parents memory of her for their safety. At school she has 3 love interests and her birth parents are evil and want to kill her.

[Melinda Labuscagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. I feel sorry for Ruby. She just wanted to meet her parents and then they are evil. Luckily she has friends and a ghost, but I am worried about her great love with Zander. It is not natural.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was addicting. I didn't want to put it down. Ruby is seeing ghosts and really has no clue what to do about it. This is when her adoptive parents give her the manual. She finds out why she can see ghosts and what is expected of her. She is whisked away to a new school to learn about her powers and her destiny.

I loved this book! It has ghosts, senders (AKA exorcists) and oh so much magic! The book is very fast paced and my only complaint is that it is so short. There is a book 2 and it happens to be free so I will be reading it as well. I can't wait to see what happens next for Ruby & Andreas.

[Janet L. Hage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot get enough of Hogwarts try Exorcists School

A school for those that sends souls to crossover. Ruby's parents are prepared for the day when their adopted daughter can see death and talk to ghosts . Now that Ruby is supposed to be the savior of humanity everyone wants to be her friend including her dark side parents who gave her up for adoption. . Ruby and her fellow students learn, love and live at Exocists School. First in great new series that is well-written with well-developed characterization. YA for all Ages.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really excited to start this series. It sounded really good and fascinating. It started a little slow, but once we got to the school things started picking up. I really enjoyed meeting Ruby, Andreas, Annabel, Zander, etc. If you're a fan of Harry Potter then you kinda have to shove that out of your head because the magic they do here is different. It does have a sort of Harry Potter feel to it, but I do like how different it is. I can't wait to continue Ruby's story in the second book.

[Lanie]

It's to bad this wasn't any good, cause the idea seemed really neat. But the writing was just to awful for me to stomach for more than a few chapters. & the main character was a text book example of a Mary Sue. I HATE Mary Sues. Plus, I think bits were supposed to be scary and/or mysterious. :/ they were not. It was painfully cheesy with a ghost-seeing chick who rivaled the annoying-ness of Ever from that god awful "twilight" knock off. Nope. This book was definitely not for me.

[Rayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an interesting read. This book wasn't too sappy on the teen love and was a very easy read. A different approach to the supernatural, that was very refreshing. The characters are likeable, the world building subtle and the storyline strong. I'll definitely keep my eyes open for book 2.

[nadina j whitsitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initiation...School of Exorcists

Great first book! I was kept entertained and went back and forth on who was good and who wasn't good. I'm still guessing and looking forward to continuing the series.

[Hollie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was enjoyable, and enough to keep me interested. It felt like it was lacking, I'm not sure what but just felt like it was missing something.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Loved the book and the characters. Really good story. Can't wait to read the next one. Ruby is a wonderfully rounded character and very likable.