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Guardian Academy #1
Entranced
Alana Avery’s life is far from normal. Most of her family are Keepers, warriors chosen to protect the human race, and for as long as she can remember, she has been training to become a Keeper herself. So when she’s chosen to be a Guardian, investigators who solve paranormal crimes and murders, her life changes in an instant.
Alana has to attend Guardian Academy to train for her new role as a Guardian investigator. There, she meets Jaxon Gray, her new partner who happens to be a werewolf. Jaxon is smart, cocky, sexy, and drives Alana absolutely crazy.
Despite Alana’s confliction with Jaxon, her training and new life seem to be going well. That is until her grandfather is murdered.
Alana is determined to track down who killed her grandfather, even if it means getting help from Jaxon and Dash. But as she digs deeper into the case, she discovers there might be more to the academy than meets the eye.
Alana has to attend Guardian Academy to train for her new role as a Guardian investigator. There, she meets Jaxon Gray, her new partner who happens to be a werewolf. Jaxon is smart, cocky, sexy, and drives Alana absolutely crazy.
Despite Alana’s confliction with Jaxon, her training and new life seem to be going well. That is until her grandfather is murdered.
Alana is determined to track down who killed her grandfather, even if it means getting help from Jaxon and Dash. But as she digs deeper into the case, she discovers there might be more to the academy than meets the eye.
221 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2015
About the author
Jessica Sorensen
392 books20.1k followersJessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
December 2, 2015
4.25 / 5 stars
Note: For those who've yet to read part 1 or part 2 of Entranced, this book has both parts combined. For those who've already read part 1, skip to chapter 13 to begin where part 1 ends and part 2 begins
Entranced (Book One of the Guardian Academy series) is a lot different than its predecessor, the Falling Star/Shattered Promises series. It's a lot slower on the action scenes, but more focused on all the mysteries that are starting to appear. As a huge mystery fan, I'm actually impressed at the pacing of all the mysteries that are unfolding. It's sparked my curiosity and I can't wait to see what happens next.
There were a great cast of characters. I liked Jax. The banter and dialogue shared between Jax and Alana were pretty witty, funny, and natural. He doesn't have that much of a presence in the second half of the book, but the scenes that he had were delightful.
Alana was pretty witty and sarcastic, which is how I like my protagonists/heroines to be.
I'm curious to learn the mystery and secrets that's revolved around Alana's cousin, Jayse, just as I'm curious to learn more about Dash.
Overall, I'm very intrigued with how this series will go from here. Entranced, while a bit short, managed to end in a manner that has me dying to know what happens next.
Note: For those who've yet to read part 1 or part 2 of Entranced, this book has both parts combined. For those who've already read part 1, skip to chapter 13 to begin where part 1 ends and part 2 begins
Entranced (Book One of the Guardian Academy series) is a lot different than its predecessor, the Falling Star/Shattered Promises series. It's a lot slower on the action scenes, but more focused on all the mysteries that are starting to appear. As a huge mystery fan, I'm actually impressed at the pacing of all the mysteries that are unfolding. It's sparked my curiosity and I can't wait to see what happens next.
There were a great cast of characters. I liked Jax. The banter and dialogue shared between Jax and Alana were pretty witty, funny, and natural. He doesn't have that much of a presence in the second half of the book, but the scenes that he had were delightful.
Alana was pretty witty and sarcastic, which is how I like my protagonists/heroines to be.
I'm curious to learn the mystery and secrets that's revolved around Alana's cousin, Jayse, just as I'm curious to learn more about Dash.
Overall, I'm very intrigued with how this series will go from here. Entranced, while a bit short, managed to end in a manner that has me dying to know what happens next.
February 10, 2016
This book has a really weird pacing and a lot of plot holes. I know that there are more books after this one, but as a first book in a series, it has absolutely no character and everything is fast and unconnected. Nothing is explained and we are only left with a lot of questions in the end. I don't think I like it very much.
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January 1, 2016
Rating: 3.5/5
Review coming soon!
Review coming soon!
November 4, 2020
Rating ~1.5
Umm...was I reading the same book as everyone else?
Honestly, thank goodness this book was short. Because if not for that I would’ve given up on it entirely.
A quick way to sum up this book? A series of vague, trope-like, events held together by the weakest thread.
The pacing was quick, so much to the point that neither the character development nor the world-building were done probably. I cared about no one. Things kept happening one after the other, all of which I think was meant to have shock value but mostly left me feeling confused at best and disinterested at worst.
Almost everything about our main lead fell flat for me. Her so called friendship with her cousin, the budding romance, honestly, the only relationship I somewhat cared about was the one Alana had with Grandpa.
And that ending...I didn’t feel like the sort of place to stop a book. Basically, I’m done with this and I’m not looking back.
Umm...was I reading the same book as everyone else?
Honestly, thank goodness this book was short. Because if not for that I would’ve given up on it entirely.
A quick way to sum up this book? A series of vague, trope-like, events held together by the weakest thread.
The pacing was quick, so much to the point that neither the character development nor the world-building were done probably. I cared about no one. Things kept happening one after the other, all of which I think was meant to have shock value but mostly left me feeling confused at best and disinterested at worst.
Almost everything about our main lead fell flat for me. Her so called friendship with her cousin, the budding romance, honestly, the only relationship I somewhat cared about was the one Alana had with Grandpa.
And that ending...I didn’t feel like the sort of place to stop a book. Basically, I’m done with this and I’m not looking back.
July 3, 2016
Entrenched
I can't say that this is my favourite Sorenson novel - the issue for me is principally Alana's character which is immature at best and annoying at worst. I'll forge onto the next book and see how it goes.
I can't say that this is my favourite Sorenson novel - the issue for me is principally Alana's character which is immature at best and annoying at worst. I'll forge onto the next book and see how it goes.
June 16, 2019
The whole time I was reading this I felt like it was leading up to something really big but then that really big thing never happened and Bam! Cliff hanger. It wasn't terrible but just okay to me. I did get to mark off the letter "E" for a A to Z title challenge I am doing and if you are doing a state challenge you will get Virginia with this one.
November 28, 2015
Before reading Entranced I read the description which in turn is what made me want to read it. I didn’t read any reviews anywhere this time which is unusual. What drew me to it was the fact that it is some sort of academy and since I loved Jennifer Estep's Frost Academy and Richelle Meads VA (at the time) it seemed like a good idea to read it.
So then I started reading the book.
Something that I hadn’t thought of or even considered a possibility was the fact that it was a short story because it was a "part of" kinda book. I don’t get the need to this. Why? It actually annoyed me to a point where I might not read the second part which is a high probability. The lead female character was bratty and one dimensional and I already have an inkling of who the murderer is. I can say that I don’t care about what happens next which is why I probably won’t continue reading this series.
I’ve been a fan of the author since reading one of her series but this didn’t get a good reaction enough for me to continue. Noting that I haven’t read before. On a positive note: The cover was beautiful.
Update: The old cover was beautiful.
So then I started reading the book.
Something that I hadn’t thought of or even considered a possibility was the fact that it was a short story because it was a "part of" kinda book. I don’t get the need to this. Why? It actually annoyed me to a point where I might not read the second part which is a high probability. The lead female character was bratty and one dimensional and I already have an inkling of who the murderer is. I can say that I don’t care about what happens next which is why I probably won’t continue reading this series.
I’ve been a fan of the author since reading one of her series but this didn’t get a good reaction enough for me to continue. Noting that I haven’t read before. On a positive note: The cover was beautiful.
Update: The old cover was beautiful.
November 23, 2015
Riveting!!
Full of suspense, plenty of humor. A must read for everyone. You won't want to put this book down til the end
Full of suspense, plenty of humor. A must read for everyone. You won't want to put this book down til the end
March 6, 2017
Entranced is a great beginning to a young adult, paranormal series.
All Alana has ever wanted was to get her mark. To become a keeper like most of her family. It's what she knows, she’s been fighting her whole life. But when her mark finally appears it seems she’s destined for another life.
There’s a lot of mystery and magic thrown into Entranced. I think it’s a great beginning and I’m interested to see where it goes. It didn’t take me long to finish, I was able to finish in a couple hours. It’s even perfect for the younger YA crowd.
The writing was good, I’ve read a couple of Sorenson’s books. But I think it was the first time I didn’t really emotionally connect with any of the characters.
Overall, I give this Three Boundless Stars.
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All Alana has ever wanted was to get her mark. To become a keeper like most of her family. It's what she knows, she’s been fighting her whole life. But when her mark finally appears it seems she’s destined for another life.
There’s a lot of mystery and magic thrown into Entranced. I think it’s a great beginning and I’m interested to see where it goes. It didn’t take me long to finish, I was able to finish in a couple hours. It’s even perfect for the younger YA crowd.
The writing was good, I’ve read a couple of Sorenson’s books. But I think it was the first time I didn’t really emotionally connect with any of the characters.
Overall, I give this Three Boundless Stars.
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January 16, 2016
'Entranced' - written by Jessica Sorensen - is about Alana, the only Guardian in a family of Keepers, and her journey in the Guardian Academy.
The pacing was kind of weird. It was like job-she gets the mark-flight-her room in the academy-first 'lessons'-walking around with Jax-her grandpa is dead-who did it?did he steal something?
It was all really fast and choppy. She was at the academy for a day(?) before shit went down? So unrealistic. Suddenly, the second she is gone her grandpa is murdered? Of course.
The characters were flat and unoriginal. I'm being a little harsh here but I can't help it. I'm in this book hell where every story I read seems like it has the same freaking pattern.
All feisty heroine, cocky (mentor) love interest with a dash of special syndrom and a lot of pseudo mystery. Also, what's with the baseless hate from the principal? Is she the principal? I already don't know anymore. But that sucked. I don't want to read about girls hating girls. Why does she hate Keepers? What have the Keepers done to her? On that note, what's with Jax's twin Dash? (Was that his name?).
The main problem was that it wasn't written like a first book - it was written like a first part. And when it really started, I was already at the end of the book.
The pacing was kind of weird. It was like job-she gets the mark-flight-her room in the academy-first 'lessons'-walking around with Jax-her grandpa is dead-who did it?did he steal something?
It was all really fast and choppy. She was at the academy for a day(?) before shit went down? So unrealistic. Suddenly, the second she is gone her grandpa is murdered? Of course.
The characters were flat and unoriginal. I'm being a little harsh here but I can't help it. I'm in this book hell where every story I read seems like it has the same freaking pattern.
All feisty heroine, cocky (mentor) love interest with a dash of special syndrom and a lot of pseudo mystery. Also, what's with the baseless hate from the principal? Is she the principal? I already don't know anymore. But that sucked. I don't want to read about girls hating girls. Why does she hate Keepers? What have the Keepers done to her? On that note, what's with Jax's twin Dash? (Was that his name?).
The main problem was that it wasn't written like a first book - it was written like a first part. And when it really started, I was already at the end of the book.
March 15, 2016
Having read and enjoyed The Fallen Stars series I was excited to see that Jessica was writing a spin off novella series with Alex and Gemma's daughter Alana. I picked up this book and read it straight through yesterday. I was addicted from the very beginning; Alana is wonderful, smart, caring, and strong, a combination of both her parents. However, she's her own person. I really loved this book, My only complaint was it ended too soon. I know it's a novella series, and that's great, but still...
Alana is the daughter of two of the best keepers from a large extended family of keepers. She's been waiting impatiently for her mark to appear, but once it appears her life is forever changed. She no longer belongs to the Keeper world, but is now a member of the dreaded Guardians putting a wedge between her and everyone she's ever loved. Life changes at a drastic level; new home across the country at the Guardian Academy, a frustrating, handsome werewolf mentor Jax and his twin . Both twins are great new characters and I look forward to getting to spending more time with them.
If you are a fan of this paranormal, this is a great read. The story will captivate you from the beginning. Mystery, several mysteries actually, a feeling that there is going to be a great romance, complications, hardships; all the makings of a good series. It is written well and includes humor which is sometimes missing in YA with all of the angst. Totally recommend.
Alana is the daughter of two of the best keepers from a large extended family of keepers. She's been waiting impatiently for her mark to appear, but once it appears her life is forever changed. She no longer belongs to the Keeper world, but is now a member of the dreaded Guardians putting a wedge between her and everyone she's ever loved. Life changes at a drastic level; new home across the country at the Guardian Academy, a frustrating, handsome werewolf mentor Jax and his twin . Both twins are great new characters and I look forward to getting to spending more time with them.
If you are a fan of this paranormal, this is a great read. The story will captivate you from the beginning. Mystery, several mysteries actually, a feeling that there is going to be a great romance, complications, hardships; all the makings of a good series. It is written well and includes humor which is sometimes missing in YA with all of the angst. Totally recommend.
January 3, 2016
This book was fast paced and kept me wanting more. The ending though was very abrupt and for that reason I can't give it a five star rating. I need more now!!!!
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September 3, 2023
Rated
4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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May 19, 2021
the writing is horrible. the plot points are so broken. but it did entertain me for the first 10 minutes of english class for a couple weeks so it couldn’t have been the worst
May 26, 2016
Although I enjoyed this book, it reminded me too much of The Mortal Instruments series. From the characters names, to the plot of the story, it seemed to constantly remind me of that. I did enjoy the book, and I will be continuing the series to see how the story plays out.
December 1, 2015
THAT ENDING THO
to-read-own
January 26, 20161/26/16 Free on Kindle.
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November 23, 2023
It's alright, not the best foreshadowing; her thinking all the time about wanting her mark to be a Keepers mark and wanting to stay with her family and her best friend was a huge red flag that wasn't going to happen. Needed more to be more subtle.
Has some typos:
“Like the Keepers, humans no nothing of our existence,”
The pacing was good it didn't take too long to move the plot along!
I've read some truly mind searingly awful books this year so have become more lenient with other books that aren't like them.
Trust me this book isn't that bad, I like it well enough. :) Maybe slow down a bit and double check for typos. If there's no editor to help (or can't afford one) ask other authors on writing platforms, blogs, forms, boards, Facebook or here on good reads.
Not sure if we're allowed to say we'll help another author on here or not? Anyway one typo isn't a big deal stuff slips though. Not to mention there's worse errors like plot holes, consistency errors to watch out for and more. So far this book is doing fine and entertaining me.
And then it suddenly ends just before the middle. You can tell because it was just starting to become interesting. 😑 (A fairly good middle, not bad.)
— 2 star for not even giving half a book.
Characters are a bit flat and the descriptions/emotions heavy on telling.
Thanks for the story, better then many I read this year but not amazing.
Annoyed it drops off like that. Not sure I want to go after the second half with this obvious money gab. Meh.
Has some typos:
“Like the Keepers, humans no nothing of our existence,”
The pacing was good it didn't take too long to move the plot along!
I've read some truly mind searingly awful books this year so have become more lenient with other books that aren't like them.
Trust me this book isn't that bad, I like it well enough. :) Maybe slow down a bit and double check for typos. If there's no editor to help (or can't afford one) ask other authors on writing platforms, blogs, forms, boards, Facebook or here on good reads.
Not sure if we're allowed to say we'll help another author on here or not? Anyway one typo isn't a big deal stuff slips though. Not to mention there's worse errors like plot holes, consistency errors to watch out for and more. So far this book is doing fine and entertaining me.
And then it suddenly ends just before the middle. You can tell because it was just starting to become interesting. 😑 (A fairly good middle, not bad.)
— 2 star for not even giving half a book.
Characters are a bit flat and the descriptions/emotions heavy on telling.
Thanks for the story, better then many I read this year but not amazing.
Annoyed it drops off like that. Not sure I want to go after the second half with this obvious money gab. Meh.
January 31, 2018
The book takes place on an Earth where there are the fey (vampires, werewolves, etc), regular humans, Keepers (who track down evil fey and kill them) and Guardians (who are the investigators of those fey who are killed.) The Keepers hate the Guardians and vice-versa.
Alana is 17 and is waiting for her 'mark' to appear indicating she has 'officially' become a Keeper.
The best laid plans of mice and men go oft very, very wrong.
Alana ends up on the other side of the fence. Further, there's something going on with her grandfather (who gives her something special to keep.) Seems a whole lot of people think he's a bad man.
So, she has to go to Guardian Academy. Another problem- the head mistress seems to hate her (Guardian/Keeper conflict) and she ends up spending more time in detention than in class. Further, the other students don't like her, she's getting messages from her grandfather in her dreams, the Water Fey want a meeting with her grandmother, there's something about Electi, her best friend is going through something and won't tell her what it is and, to top it all off, it seems someone is out to kill her.
And that's just in the first book. I like her character, the others are done well and the book takes an interesting approach to human/fey interactions. I will definitely be getting further volumes in the series.
Alana is 17 and is waiting for her 'mark' to appear indicating she has 'officially' become a Keeper.
The best laid plans of mice and men go oft very, very wrong.
Alana ends up on the other side of the fence. Further, there's something going on with her grandfather (who gives her something special to keep.) Seems a whole lot of people think he's a bad man.
So, she has to go to Guardian Academy. Another problem- the head mistress seems to hate her (Guardian/Keeper conflict) and she ends up spending more time in detention than in class. Further, the other students don't like her, she's getting messages from her grandfather in her dreams, the Water Fey want a meeting with her grandmother, there's something about Electi, her best friend is going through something and won't tell her what it is and, to top it all off, it seems someone is out to kill her.
And that's just in the first book. I like her character, the others are done well and the book takes an interesting approach to human/fey interactions. I will definitely be getting further volumes in the series.
November 8, 2021
Alana Avery’s life is far from normal. Most of her family are Keepers, warriors chosen to protect the human race, and for as long as she can remember, she has been training to become a Keeper herself. So when she’s chosen to be a Guardian, investigators who solve paranormal crimes and murders, her life changes in an instant.
Alana has to attend Guardian Academy to train for her new role as a Guardian investigator. There, she meets Jaxon Gray, her new partner who happens to be a werewolf. Jaxon is smart, cocky, sexy, and drives Alana absolutely crazy.
Despite Alana’s confliction with Jaxon, her training and new life seem to be going well. That is until her grandfather is murdered.
Alana is determined to track down who killed her grandfather, even if it means getting help from Jaxon. But as she digs deeper into the case, she discovers there might be more to her family and the academy than meets the eye.
Heather's Notes
This was more like half a story. I had a hard time when I turned the page and there was no more. It also isn't even of what the synopsis states. I think I may go back and read the original series before continuing this. I feel the need for some back story.
Alana has to attend Guardian Academy to train for her new role as a Guardian investigator. There, she meets Jaxon Gray, her new partner who happens to be a werewolf. Jaxon is smart, cocky, sexy, and drives Alana absolutely crazy.
Despite Alana’s confliction with Jaxon, her training and new life seem to be going well. That is until her grandfather is murdered.
Alana is determined to track down who killed her grandfather, even if it means getting help from Jaxon. But as she digs deeper into the case, she discovers there might be more to her family and the academy than meets the eye.
Heather's Notes
This was more like half a story. I had a hard time when I turned the page and there was no more. It also isn't even of what the synopsis states. I think I may go back and read the original series before continuing this. I feel the need for some back story.
March 10, 2019
Yeah, not for me
I had hope for this book, but after reading this YA urban fantasy I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not for me. The murder mystery isn’t really holding my attention, and the protagonist and her partner’s interactions were just boring. Her family is too twitchy and your just know they are hiding stuff. I just don’t care enough about any of the characters to even consider picking up any of the other books.
I had hope for this book, but after reading this YA urban fantasy I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not for me. The murder mystery isn’t really holding my attention, and the protagonist and her partner’s interactions were just boring. Her family is too twitchy and your just know they are hiding stuff. I just don’t care enough about any of the characters to even consider picking up any of the other books.
July 8, 2017
Been a while since I read a Jessica Sorensen book, but after wrapping up the Bad Boy Rebels recently I couldn't wait to fall into more of her exciting tales. The Guardian Academy series piqued my interest and definitely keeps her streak of amazing works in play. So curious to dive deeper into the back stories of a few key characters (Jax/Dash just to name a few) ...now onto book 2......
December 30, 2017
Entranced
Hi have not read a book for entertainment since I don't know when. This book captured me to the point that I was there...feeling the sadness, the grief, the frustrated anger, the slipped in not and unknown anxieties. Some of the wordings kind of threw me but just about 2.5 seconds. Nice reading for someone into science fiction.
Hi have not read a book for entertainment since I don't know when. This book captured me to the point that I was there...feeling the sadness, the grief, the frustrated anger, the slipped in not and unknown anxieties. Some of the wordings kind of threw me but just about 2.5 seconds. Nice reading for someone into science fiction.
March 3, 2019
Interesting
This book was interesting but I didn’t feel any sort of connection to the main characters. Everything felt rushed and detached, and then it ended suddenly with no resolution or anything. Probably won’t read book 2 but I was entertained and the writing was fine so some people would probably like it!
This book was interesting but I didn’t feel any sort of connection to the main characters. Everything felt rushed and detached, and then it ended suddenly with no resolution or anything. Probably won’t read book 2 but I was entertained and the writing was fine so some people would probably like it!
March 14, 2025
Gemma and Alex have a child out of no where
It’s wild to me that we jumped from Jim resetting time and Alex getting sucked into a machine and then Gemma trying to save him and then the next book being that there are somehow married, somehow have a child that is now a teenager and there’s no like filling the gap in between what happened and The last book to this book
It’s wild to me that we jumped from Jim resetting time and Alex getting sucked into a machine and then Gemma trying to save him and then the next book being that there are somehow married, somehow have a child that is now a teenager and there’s no like filling the gap in between what happened and The last book to this book
November 14, 2025
Entertaining.
Like the storyline. There was some repeats. It keeps you guessing. The slowburn romance 😍... This is family and friends challenges at its finest..There is swearing, death, and murders.. recommend to all who love Paranormal mysteries/fantasies....Academy school didn't have much about it in this book, maybe 2 book will...
Like the storyline. There was some repeats. It keeps you guessing. The slowburn romance 😍... This is family and friends challenges at its finest..There is swearing, death, and murders.. recommend to all who love Paranormal mysteries/fantasies....Academy school didn't have much about it in this book, maybe 2 book will...
June 20, 2018
I really enjoyed reading this book.
I absolutely love Alana and Jax, and Dash isn't far off. Also I hope the author will continue the series and not leave it like that, because most reviewers feel it's unfinished.
I absolutely love Alana and Jax, and Dash isn't far off. Also I hope the author will continue the series and not leave it like that, because most reviewers feel it's unfinished.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews