The description caught my eye and I had high hopes for this book. I tried to finish this on several occasions but it just wasn't for me. This is a DNF for me

Thank you for the opportunities to read this book. I have attempted it on a number of occasions but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get into it.

The scholar by JJ Anders.
Anna is clearly different from others. With obvious physical differences and powerful abilities, she’s never quite fit in… anywhere. Having no knowledge of her parents, she sets out to discover her true origin. On the run for most of her life, she’s become a master at eluding capture, even a little cocky you might say. When a sticky situation forces her hand, she hitches a ride with a wizard, who whisks her away to another world, where, according to him, she’d been exiled from as a child. This new magical place seems oddly familiar as Anna discovers powerful enemies and treasured allies on her quest for answers. The dangerous journey thrust her headlong into the arms of Kriston, who finds himself caught between sworn-duty and insatiable curiosity.
Really good read. Great story and characters. 4*.

The Scholar is the first book in the Genoa Chronicles series by JJ Anders. Anna is clearly different from others. With obvious physical differences and powerful abilities, she’s never quite fit in… anywhere. Having no knowledge of her parents, she sets out to discover her true origin. On the run for most of her life, she’s become a master at eluding capture, even a little cocky you might say. When a sticky situation forces her hand, she hitches a ride with a wizard, who whisks her away to another world, where, according to him, she’d been exiled from as a child. This new magical place seems oddly familiar as Anna discovers powerful enemies and treasured allies on her quest for answers. The dangerous journey thrust her headlong into the arms of Kriston, who finds himself caught between sworn-duty and insatiable curiosity.

The Scholar is a solid beginning to a great story. I loved getting to know Anna, she is pragmatic, curious, and kind. I like the way the details of Genoa, its history, and its inhabitants are revealed to the reader along side Anna. I liked that while there was a great deal of world building that needed to be done, there was a nice mix of action to break up the information. I liked Kriston and his men, as well as most of the secondary characters. I did like that readers get a better understanding of several characters because of the chang point of views in the story. However, I found that sometimes it was hard to figure out which character was narrating. I was less thrilled when I would just get a good understanding- or at least interest- in the role a character would play in the grand scheme of things as they were narrating only for them to die. My other issue with the book was that I was left with more questions than answers, and no real resolutions. The ending felt more like the end of a chapter or section of a larger book rather than an ending of its own. I understand that there is so much world and character building that needs to be done for this story to be complete but a couple solid answers rather than hints to bigger questions would have really made me eager to seek out the next book. I want to know how it all plays out, I want to see the big bad pay for their crimes and the world be saved, but the non-ending of this book makes me a little less eager to continue. I liked the story- but was just frustrated with all the loose ends when I reached the end.

The Scholar is a good start to a fantasy series. However, I recommend having the sequels on hand because if you do enjoy the world and character building you are going to want to keep on going.

I couldn't quite get into this one. The dialogue at the beginning felt a little stiff and forced. It was almost like it was written from the narrator's perspective of how the girl was not the girl's perspective of herself. There was a choppiness that left me less than engaged with the storytelling.

This was an exciting fantasy which certainly grew the further I got into the story.
The characters are really engaging and you want to see how they grow as the story progresses.
Well worth a read.

Woo hoo hoo!!! This book started with a bang, kept up the action, and YES...mic drop. It's my new favorite. This is the way to do the thing!

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Status: PR, YA
Keeper: Yes
Want More: Absolutely Yes!

Extremely exciting and magical new world filled with danger and mystery, this is an emotionally thrilling, action packed and intriguing adventure.

Anna is not what she appears to be (your average teenage girl). She is so much more and most assuredly not of this world. In her search for answers to who she really is she comes across some very intriguing and exciting charters and travels to a magical world called Genoa (which she is told is her true home). Loved every heart pounding, thought provoking twist and turn.

ARC - I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
Anna is not like any other human girl.
She has been on the run from the general.
When she is rescued by Leian, she learns that she is from another word called Genoa.
In Genoa, she finds out that she is a daughter of a king.
Kriston was just following orders, but he knew that Anna was innocent.
This is a very rich storytelling.
I loved storytelling + the characters!

I'm frustrated like I'm Anna. I have powers I have limited knowledge of, lots of people and magic creatures trying to capture me and everyone telling me I have magic I don't know of. BUT so exciting!!!! 😁👍😍

I need book 2! NOW!

DNF

I think maybe I am just a picky reader (as much as I am a picky eater). Sometimes a book doesn't draw my in. If I can't get drawn into a book it is extremely hard for me to enjoy or read it. I can't say I finished this book. There was something about the writing style that I couldn't get in to. I feel terrible since this is my first book I got from NetGalley, who kindly gave me a free version to read. I kept trying to go back to it. Trying to keep reading, but I could not get more than a couple of pages each time.

Overall: This was not a book that was enjoyable for me.

The storyline is cool and has promise to build into something more. There's powers that are being discovered/honed, fate of the world rests on protagonist, and we even have time to check out a guy. I just think there was a bit too much going on. There are multiple perspectives throughout, although our main POV is through the heroine's eyes. Anna is searching for her family's history to see where she came from as she obviously isn't just human. When she's rescued by a wizard from another world, she see's why she was never able to figure out her heritage- she's not even from Earth! This planet she is on is in the midst of political struggle and on the brink of war, and she is a key component in the fate of this world. I really wanted to like it, I just personally found the action to be choppy and the writing style didn't really capture me. The story line does try to follow a couple different threads to give the reader the bigger picture, but I just didn't really find the other threads that interesting to read. Plus I really dislike multiple narration when its not really needed. I had a hard time connecting with Anna as well, she didn't feel solid enough. But those are my hang ups. For those who do make it beyond this point- the story does end on a big reveal that definitely needs to be explained, so for the impatient ones (i.e. me) make sure that you have access to the second book if you decide to delve into this series.

I could not finish this book. Unfortunately, since it wasn't professionally edited, it seemed like every sentence had an error so I couldn't get into the story at all.

Hi, I'm sorry I requested this title without knowing it was for Kindle app only. I do not own a Kindle, therefore, won't be able to read the file. If there was any descriptive label announcing it was a Kindle exclusive, then I missed it.
Pay no attention to my neutral rating. NG won't allow me to send this comment without rating the book.

I found the premise of the story to be a lot more interesting than the actual book itself. I hate to say it but I've more amateur books than this one. The writing really wasn't that great along with the fact that the plot was extremely cliché and just unoriginal at all. This book was a DNF for me because I couldn't bear to finish it.

Anna knew she was different from others not only physically but she has abilities as well. Anna is left to search for answers about her identity after General Wilberg and his men kill her guardian. One day the General tracks her down, Anna is prepared to fight to the death, when suddenly she is rescued by a strange man. The man introduces himself as Wizard Leian from her home planet of Genoa and tells her he is taking her home.
Anna is taken through a portal to Genoa, a bizarre planet as unique as she is; a place where she might finally belong...if she lives. Genoa is on the verge of war and Anna, with her special powers, is the key. She must travel through Genoa gaining allies and escaping enemies who want her power.

This is the first novel in the Geonoa Chronicles. It is beautifully written YA fantasy with lots of magical creatures among exotic landscapes. I really enjoyed this book and am excited for the next book in the series. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves YA fantasy with loads of magical creatures.

The Scholar by J. J. Anders is the first of two books in The Genoa Chronicles. It is a YA fantasy story about Anna a young girl who has never fit in on Earth. She knows she is different, all she has to do is look in the mirror and see her white hair and translucent skin to confirm this. She also has this unique magical gift where she can acquire all the knowledge in a book just by touching its cover.
Despite searching all her life, Anna has never found another like herself. She has absorbed knowledge from books in libraries all over the world and successfully avoided capture by the military in her quest to learn about herself. It appears her luck has run out, or maybe she has become complacent, because she has been spotted in the library and must flee to avoid capture. Just as the military surrounds her and Anna thinks all is lost, a young man, Leian, comes to her rescue.
Leian claims he is a wizard and she is a princess that has been in exile and he has come to take her home to Genoa. As it turns out, home is a world Anna no longer remembers. It is full of magical creatures and others with magical abilities. Home is not exactly welcoming either, since it is not long before she is again running to avoid capture from an evil monarch that wants to steal her magic.
The Scholar has all the things I love in a great book, clever characters, an intriguing story, and a fast moving plot with surprises throughout that keep the reader turning the pages. In addition, the authors did a superb job with the world building, which is must for me. I am already looking forward to the next book, especially so because it ended on a cliff hanger. In short, this is a great start to a new YA series.
I will have to buy a copy for my grandson who loves YA fantasy. I highly recommend this book to readers who like YA and fantasy stories. I urge you to add this one to your TBR list, you will not regret it.
I received a free copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
For more of my book reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com.

I'm not going to post an online review. This book badly needs editing and a better story. So much time is spent discussing the heroine's hair and her amazing translucent skin and too little attention is paid to the part where she's mind-raping a librarian and thinks it would be rude to mind-rape her even more. I'm struggling to find something positive to say. At one point, I was counting how many paragraphs in a row could start with gerunds: Forcing, sliding, glancing, knowing, sprinting...

The heroine is the worst kind of marysue self insertion and the story suffers from it. I've found some overlooked gems on Netgalley when picking an overlooked self-published kind of piece. This, sadly, wasn't one of them.

I want to write something positive and encouraging because looking back this is really a downer and I only made it through 10% of the book before deciding I wanted to throw it against a wall (I didn't; it would have hurt my Kindle). So maybe find a writing group and read a few books on writing (much as your heroine learned Tai Chi moves by reading a book)?

I wish I had liked it more. I love "fairy meets urban reality" titles, so that was a great choice.

I enjoyed discovering the new amazing world of Genoa and all its magical creatures. What a fun paced crazy ride with great characters! Magic, Dragons, Wizard, Hunky shifter men, what more could you want in a book?