I received this e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Killing November had me intrigued from the very beginning. I have to admit that it took me a few chapters to fully get into it, but once I did, I couldn’t stop reading.

We follow November, who lives in a very quaint town with her father. She goes to a normal school and has normal friends, and for the most part, lived a normal life. Her mother died when she was 6, so it’s just her and her father. She is close to her Aunt, even though they don’t live close to one another.

From what November’s been told, Her father is a former CSI Agent. Growing up he has always taught her different survival skills. She has always thought it was because of his background in the CSI, but she soon finds out it’s because of other reasons. Something has happened to her Aunt Jo so her father decided to send her off to a “school” to keep her safe while he takes care of Jo. This all happens in a rush and her father can’t really give her details about this school but she trusts her father enough to go along without fighting.

November has no idea what to expect and she’s in for a real treat. This school she is sent to is completely off-grid. There is no way for anyone to sneak onto the premises but there is also no way for anyone to sneak out. There are tons of traps to catch whoever is coming in or out. Along with being completely off-grid, the school has a crazy eye-for-an-eye punishment system, and have some insane punishments for breaking the rules. This isn’t your usual school with the usual educational classes, the classes here include knife-throwing, poisons, strategy, and history. November soon realizes she is at a school with a ton of soon-to-be assassins, spies, and who knows what else.

November is also realizing that being the new girl is the worst, especially when you get thrown into a world you know nothing about, and everyone else seems to think you should. She makes a few friends, but it’s not the easiest, and there is really no one you can trust. While at this school November will learn a lot about her family’s history, and her past as well.

I really liked November. I loved learning things right along with her. She was fun to follow, and never really annoyed me at all. There were a lot of twists and turns and so many great scenes! Once I understood more and got more into November’s character I couldn’t put this book down. I had to know what happened next.

I was so excited to find out that this was the first book in a series! Towards the end of the book, I was wondering how the crud Adriana was going to tie everything up. I decided to look up the book on Goodreads to see if it may be part of a series and was so happy to see it was! I cannot wait to read the second book!!!

***I received this as an eARC from NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review***

Dropped off in the dead of night at a spy school, November doesn’t know why she is at Academy Abscondi. She quickly learns she is basically trapped here, with deadly students who are more experienced than her and do not want her there. All the other students are descendants of the world’s most powerful strategists, and November just wants her life back.

November doesn’t know how her family fits into this world or how her father hid so many things from her her whole life, while still managing to prepare her in other ways.

Then someone ends up dead. And November is on the line for it. Now its time to adapt or die. Find allies and uncover her enemies. But in a school where everyone lies as easily as breathing, who can she really trust?
………….

This book had a very interesting premise and I was so excited to have a chance to read it early. It was hard to just be dropped into everything and I liked that it made me feel like November would feel in that situation. Reexamining all these situations she had been in with father and what some of the double meanings might mean.

It has great pacing. I felt danger for her, and I was worried for her safety multiple times.

It makes it hard to review though because I can’t really tell you much. This was a great ride. I’ve heard there will be a second one and I am so into it. Or maybe this will be a series. That would be great.

I was paranoid about who to trust the whole time. Take everyone with a grain of salt and suspect everyone’s intentions. I liked that I couldn’t figure where this was going to happen next.

Things I didn’t like so much had to do mostly with the school. I have a serious justice-seeking personality, so I really wanted one of the teachers to be on November’s freaking side! It was so frustrating that they just didn’t believe her ever. This girl was not prepared to be here, and it bothered me.

All in All, I give this 4 stars and I look forward to more with these characters.

When I first heard of Killing November, I was really intrigued since it sounded like something right up my alley. I read How to Hang a Witch and liked it but the premise for Adriana Mather's new book spoke to me much more and I was not disappointed.  

Killing November starts off with our main character, November, waking up in a new secret school after being sent there by her father with not a lot of explanations except that she will be safe. We start to understand very quickly that safety is a subjective concept when it comes to this school that I like to call a dysfunctional Hogwarts. When one of the students turns up dead after November's first day, it becomes very clear that someone doesn't want her there and that she will need to work out who fast if she wants to survive. November is a great character that felt like a typical teenage girl but with a passion for survival skills. Her reaction to being thrown to the wolves was very authentic and her acceptance to her situation took time like you would imagine instead of just being skimmed like we sometimes see. Though she came off strong and fierce you could see that she wasn't too proud to admit she needed help, that help was scarce but came mostly from November's roomate Layla and her twin brother Ashai. They are reluctant to aid November at first, but they soon learn that they will all find that they are in this together. November starts to understand how to navigate her current situation at the same time as discover her place and that she truly does belong here.

I found Killing November to be very addictive from the premise to the execution. I never found it predictable which is a rare feat for me since I tend to see the outcome of the story from a mile away. I didn't want to put this one down and by the end I still wanted more. I'm really hoping that we will get a second book, the story surely keeps it open for one at the same time of closing the chapter. I found this is one of Adriana Mather's skills as an author, she keeps us wanting more but ties everything up by the end of the book. The pacing of this book was just right, even though some parts went super fast it never skipped ahead too much or leave out critical details. Everything seemed thought out and I must say I have so many questions about how she came up with this story. It's inventive and unlike anything I've read before.

If you are looking for a great Mystery/Thriller do check this one out, I don't think you will be disappointed.

The plot and description of this book had me hoping that this would be an interesting and adventurous read, but in truth it was flat and two-dimensional.
Starting with character development, there was none. The characters were as flat as paper with no ark or any development; they were given a little blurb at their first introduction and that was it. Because of this, I felt no emotional connection to any of the characters and didn’t really think that any of the supporting character had anything to do with the story. Also, I did NOT like the main character, she was annoying (and mainly useless) and honestly served no purpose to the plot or the book as she didn’t really do anything.
Next going into the plot of this book…there was none. Here me out, things did happen, but the way they were written and the way this book was structured, I could see everything that was going to happen from miles away and made this book extremely boring to read. Over 3/4ths of the book was just boring unnecessary fluff with tiny spikes of interesting plot developments.
The romantic relationship in this book was also unnecessary as I didn’t really see any chemistry between the two characters and they just seem smushed together in order to hastily paste a relationship together for the book.
This book was extremely disappointing because I was promised an interesting novel with espionage, twists and turns, and I was given a boring, bland novel instead.

After a break in at her home, Adley is sent to the Academy Absconditi by her father for her protection. She soon learns that Academy Absconditi is no ordinary high school. She also learns that she is in just as much danger at the school if not more so. Readers follow Adley at Academy Absconditi, a high school for future subtle manipulators of world events, where everyone has an agenda and scheming and mistrust are the norm. She starts school in the middle of the semester . That may be frustrating to some readers as Adley seems clueless about the dangers she is facing and everyone else are steps ahead of her because they are familiar with the curriculum. For other readers it makes it easy to follow along with Adley as they discover new bits of information alongside her. While many of the characters are not likable, the short, suspenseful chapters make Killing November an enjoyable read.

I read Adriana's first book, How To Hang a Witch and liked it. After reading this new book from her, I loved it. I enjoyed the new take on private school education - like a deadlier "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You". I loved the mystery aspect to this novel and the fact that November had as much of an idea what was going on as the reader does. Figuring out what is going on together is my favorite kind of mysteries. I also enjoyed the family set ups - it made a more dramatic view on Romeo and Juliet without sticking to the typical story plot. Overall, I really liked this book and I definitely want to read the sequel!

I really enjoyed this book. I think the synopsis kind of keeps it vague on what it is about or I just didn’t get it by reading it. I thought it would be a prep school murder mystery. It was so much more than that. This book had some good character development and a great mystery. The story was very interesting and I found myself wanting to know more than what was given at any one time. There are basically three mysteries in this read… who the murderer is and what the school is really about and who is November. Tons of mystery and over all a very unique and ominous read. I really enjoyed it.

November gets shipped off to a strange school in the middle of nowhere (location undisclosed) after her aunt had had a break in. November’s father is very worried and ships Novmeber off with no information about the school. Once in the school she finds some very strange behavior. First off the classes are not normal classes, there are strange questions asked, and the rules and punishments are quite extreme… oh and there is no modern technology… not even electricity. Trying to figure out what is going on within the school and in her won family becomes harder once a body shows up and November is the main suspect. Someone is trying to get rid of November, who or why are unknown.


I very much enjoyed this book. It wasn’t what I prepared myself for but that is okay because I think it was so much more interesting that what I was expecting. This read had so much to offer, interesting characters, intriguing story, an immersive setting, and lots of mystery. There were times I found myself with a little whiplash because there is so much in this book, but for the most part it was easy to follow and questions were being answered as quickly as they were asked. There were just so many questions. November goes into this strange school knowing absolutely nothing… so of course so did I.

November is an interesting character. I did find her easy to like. She was a strong independent girl who was able to overcome almost anything that was thrown at her. Her father has spent her entire life teaching her these insane lessons that didn’t seem to be important to her life. She always thought they were just to keep her from getting bored. Little did she know he had been preparing her for a just in case situation because of her family background.

There were many characters in this book but the author did a great job ensuring they were easy to keep up with. Many of the students seemed welcoming and nice at first… but they all have an agenda. November is able to make a couple really good friends and even find some romance. I have to say that Ash, the love interest, was a great character. I did love him. He was really hard to read and I learned early on when reading this book that you don’t know who you can trust. Which is hard for November too. Like I said everyone had an agenda. The romance was there and the build-up was nice. Nothing rushed or forced and it wasn’t the focal point of the story at all. In fact it was hard to really invest in any of the relationships because like I said… trust no one.

The murder mystery and the mystery of the school kept me on my toes for sure. I was never bored reading this book. The murders are there and are important but I spent most of my time wanting to know more about the school and the students there. The story behind the school is so very interesting and I just enjoyed know more. I can’t wait to find out even more in the next book.

It was all very well written and I have found that I quite like this author. I will continue to look forward to many of her future books.


A great mystery read!

Killing November by Adriana Mather is the first book of the young adult thriller series by the same name. This opening book of the series certainly set up a creepy atmospheric setting dropping the main character into a boarding school in an old castle in the opening pages.

November Adley had reluctantly agreed to go away to school for a few weeks when her father proposed the idea to keep her safe while dealing with some issues at home. Waking up in the strange location with no memory after the plane leaves November questioning what she had agreed to.

The rules at the mysterious Academy Absconditi certainly raise a few questions too as November is told about the eye for an eye system and told to keep her identity secret. Things certainly don’t kook up any when November joins the other students and not only stumbles across a dead body but needs to dodge attempts on her own life.

Well, Killing November by Adriana Mather certainly took an often used setting of a boarding school to a whole new level. This secret school was the home to an even more secretive society with whom family feuds had spanned decades and the kids here learn way more than a normal curriculum. A rather dark and eerie teen action thriller this one was hard to put down.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

So I can’t go into too much detail with this book because I dnf. I wasn’t hooked right away like I thought I would be. I thought the main character November was annoying and so where a major of the others. I didn’t like how the whole reason she was sent to this school was a secret, it just feel odd. Like the book was missing stuff that readers needed to know. This book is full of lies that’s for sure. The main character lies about knowing things I don’t understand what the point of that is. The plot its very slow and I just couldn’t get hooked into it.

Such a fun book! The premise alone was intriguing, and Mather definitely delivered in regard to the story. I loved the idea of a school for assassins, spies, etc. And while we don’t get the full explanation for all exactly the secret society/group does, we see enough pieces for it to make sense.

When November is thrown into the school (almost literally), both she and the reader are clueless as to where she is, why, and what’s going on. Bits and pieces are tossed in among other learning experiences, but for the majority of the story we remain in the dark.

As a whole, the story is engrossing. There’s a lot to take in, and it’s told somewhat slowly. I still am not sure just how long in reference to time the actions took place. Days, months?

I loved the elements of mystery and unraveling secrets. I won’t say there were any shocking twists, because I think everything is pretty easy to figure out. However, in their unveiling is the true mastery. There are small bits of romance, but it’s not overdone at all.

I’m a bit surprised with the way it ended, but I do look forward to seeing where November goes next and what she’ll learn on the next adventure.

Killing November is about a girl named November, who has an innate ability to recall the origin of ones name. It’s kind of like a superpower and so is her ability to strategize and throw knives. The novel begins with November waking up in some sort of creepy boarding school with other teens with similar talents. November has no idea why she is there (other than it’s for her protection) or the other ins and outs at this unusual school. And you as a reader will be equally lost. I don’t mind story lines like this, but as one reads information is (usually) slowly unfolded to maintain interest. What makes this worse is there’s so much emphasis on mind games. Is this the truth or am I lying to you to get what I want?! Every class. Every character. Every conversation. As a huge fan of the How to Hang a Witch series I’m disappointed with the constant confusion that is Killing November.

Like Adriana Mather’s previous novels, Killing November follows a generic YA format where the main character is absolutely clueless (I mean, she still doesn’t know anything at 76%) and she goes through a journey of figuring out her role in this strange and new school environment. Throughout most of the novel, November was a passive character trying to figure out the school, its students, and where she fits.

Mather’s protagonist manages “to wing” her way through her dangerous classes. At the same time, you can’t call November a mary sue because she had been taught sleuthing and knife throwing (just to name a few) and it helped her in her classes. The italic passages in this book explained her past, as if the main character was reminiscing about her past experiences) and how her father just conveniently taught her things a normal teenager wouldn’t actually be expected to learn. The transition can be jarring at times and I can’t help but wonder what she was doing while reminiscing about the past. I’m pretty sure her schoolmates noticed her zoning out most of the time.

After reading through a bunch of chapters (and some murders), I can’t help but feel that this story could be too contrived for my reading tastes. Also, November’s a teenager girl who sort of just knows the etymology of names. She can tell you where it originates and what the name means. Totally not a mary sue at all. *cough* An example is when she meets someone in her school (that may or may not be their name), she makes assumptions about them based on their names. I don’t remember if she had a backstory for this one. This is also one of my unanswered questions from the novel.

Additionally, there were other unexplainable parts in the novel that made me question about the school. For instance, where do the students go when they leave school (when punished)? This question wasn’t even addressed by the end of the novel. In fact, the story ended abruptly which left me feeling unsatisfied.

Needless to say, I did not enjoy reading this one as much as the “How to Hang a Witch” series. And although I did not care for any of the characters, I felt that the side characters were a lot more interesting compared to the main character. However, I’d still give this book 3.5/5 because I felt that this book can be an enjoyable read for many. Even if this had not been the case for me, I think teens will like this one because of the mystery, the high stakes, and the secret societyesque school inhabited by vicious students.

I love Adriana Mather so when I saw this I knew I had to request it.I loved how to hang a witch. I mean LOVED. While haunting the deep wasn’t as great as how to hang a witch it was still very good. Knowing my love for the series THIS WAS BETTER.Killing November gave me life. There was never a moment where I was bored. It is a winding twisting adventure of a read. It has assassins, secret legions of people, tiny bits of romance, knifes and the amazing goes on.It had some amazing scenes two of my favorites involved a game played in the dark and a pencil, chair and food. You will know it when you see it.The story is so fun that I don’t want to say anymore because you should go into this blind it’s so good you won’t be disappointed..... Also the end leads me to believe WE WILL HOPEFULLY GET A PICK TWO. This is not a drill! Please book gods let it happen. Thank you netgalley for hooking me up with this amazing read! A billion stars!

Killing November by Adriana Mather is the 1st book in the Killing November series, and a wonderful young adult book. November Adley is sent to a special school, in the thick forest, surrounded by traps, and off the grid for her own protection. There is no electricity, internet, and the school teaches deception, self defense and an eye for an eye punishment. Captivating, suspenseful, and a very entertaining novel! This beautiful thriller kept me on the edge of my seat while I was reading it! I can not wait for the next book in the series. I highly recommend this book.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

Killing November is perfect for fans of Deadly Class (a graphic novel and hit show on SYFY). Set at a boarding school that trains assassins, there is plenty of mystery and intrigue told at a fast pace. Filled with action, lies, political intrigue, and very strong characters, this is one that would make a great tv show. The writing is strong. Readers who enjoy YA novels with mysteries will enjoy this one.

I loved this book!! It has everything I enjoy - family intrigue, a super secret boarding school where the classes include knife-throwing, poisons, and strategy, where the students all have ulterior motives, and competition is fierce.

Shortly after she arrives at the school, a student is murdered, and November needs to find out fast why she is being framed and who wants to kill her. She'll have to decide who to trust with the help of her new roommate who can't decide if she's worth the trouble, and her roommate's twin brother who is too attractive and too good at reading people.
Side note: Layla is my favorite character. She's awesome.

If you have trouble keeping track of characters, I would suggest making a note for yourself about the different students, as there are 10 whose names come up often and are important to the story. I can't say who without risking revealing plot points, but there are some characters I definitely would have liked to know more about and seen more of. But what I did see I was intrigued by and was fully engrossed!

I am so excited this is going to be a series, and I am thrilled to say there is not a cliffhanger. We are pointed in the direction the next book is going, but luckily there isn't a crazy edge-of-my-seat cliffhanger that would keep my heart racing for a year or more (because I hate that feeling). This will definitely be a book I reread, and if you liked the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter, this is a much darker version. There is violence and murder obviously, so be warned if that upsets you, but I loved this first installment and can't wait to see where the series and characters are going!!

Overall this was an engaging read with a relatable main character. I especially enjoyed the last 10% of the book and the romantic plot (big surprise).
I did struggle at times with the believability of the school, the secrecy of the families and the naïveté of our main character, November. At times she seemed a little too good to be true and verging into Mary Sue territory. The plot also suffered from the lack of “showing” and instead depended on “telling”. This was evident in the connection November had with the small town she came from and her best friend Emily. We hear about the both of them A LOT but she never seems to grieve or do the dramatic things that teenagers do when they are separated from what they love. The book is full of dead bodies but we never mourn their loss and the only feel bad about them because it’s an additional inconvenience to November. This makes the reader seem disconnected from the events and not get invested in much beyond November.
At one point some students at the school from 25 years are described and I thought to myself “now THAT’S the book I want to read”!

I got such a kick out of this book. It’s just cool girls who kick butts, take names, and will put you in the ground if necessary fun!

November is a heroine you can relate to. Yeah, she’s YA-Trite-The-One, but she’s also pretty normal and funny. She’s kind of like the Buffy of her world.

As for our other characters, like em or loath em, they’re a whole lot of fun!

I’m so on board for this series and can’t wait for book two!

• ARC Provided via Net Galley

I want more!! I'm so glad this is going to have a sequel because I am not ready to be done with this world and these characters yet.

I started Killing November casually. I was actually reading something else, but I often like to have a couple books going at once, and I had received an ARC from Netgalley so I figured I should get to it. I eventually abandoned that other book entirely. I could not put this one down. I love the creepy assassin school concept. And the mystery and intrigue was just so well done; perfect pacing, great characterization. If a mystery is *too* mysterious, meaning the audience is given nothing and just dragged through endless pages with no idea what's going on, I tend to stop caring and give up. I was concerned that would be an issue here, but it wasn't. It was baffling with the right amount of crumbs of information thrown in here and there. I also genuinely cared about the characters and their relationships. I thought they were all really well done. I also loved that there was actual history and things woven throughout the narrative. I love when I can read an enjoyable fiction book and still learn things. (And yes, I actually look up the info to verify if it's real or just created/manipulated for the story. I'm impressed with the knowledge/research that went into this book.)

I haven't read anything by this author before, but I am very interested in picking up her other works now. And I will definitely be picking up the sequel to this one. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in contemporary mysteries or things with a secret society vibe. It actually really made me want to finish watching Deadly Class. Different concept, but similar vibe. Assassin schools ftw.

To sum it up this book is what would happen if the main plot of Game of Thrones took place at Hogwarts.

“Killing November” takes us on a wild ride through espionage and deceit as November finds herself at a reclusive school where the only goal is to navigate the extensive politics of the Families and to make it graduation alive. When a student is murdered and November is the prime suspect she’ll have to make tough choices and learn who to trust before she finds herself at the wrong end of a blade.

This is such a frustrating book because it introduces us to a world of deceit and murder at a hidden academy and not a single character is willing to give up their secrets so I spent a good amount of my time just as annoyed as November as she tried to maneuver through this world while being completely in the dark.

The school itself was great and definitely one I would be trying to get into as each class aims to create the perfect spy or assassin while using real world events to demonstrate those who fit those titles perfectly.

Not sure how I feel about the whodunit aspect of the book I felt like there were great moments of foreshadowing which all lead to a rather anticlimactic end that I’m not sure is enough to keep me interested in the series but the characters and their interactions, especially those whose motives were always in question, might be able to sway my favor.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**