I thought this book was alright. I really didn't feel attached to the characters or the plot in the way I think I should have. This kind of story has the potential to be so good and so strong but sometimes you just can't quite connect. I do think a lot of readers of the genre will love it but I'm just not one of them. Average across the board for me. The only thing I truly /didn't/ like was how the book started. Totally not the right place to open this book in my opinion, but again I think a lot of people are going to like it, I just didn't.

What an awesome premise - a school that trains assassins.  Throw in some murders, and you've got a ton of suspects, right?

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book.  The cover didn't do much for me, but the description sounded crazy good.  And it delivered - I wanted to finish this book in one sitting.  November's life changes vastly almost overnight - and she has no clue what's going on.  Every student at the school seems to know things about her, but she's never met any of them, and no one is willing to share their knowledge.  Every student is also a trained killer and strategist, and trusting the wrong person could be a fatal error.  The stakes are high throughout the book, and I found myself holding my breath in some scenes.  I'm pretty sure I suspected almost everyone at some point in the story.  It's obvious the author did her research in nonverbal communication and  weapons, with some historical tidbits thrown in that add to the authenticity of the story.    

Once the secrets are revealed, some are surprising and some predictable, but they sure do make for a tense, exciting read.  With fabulous character development, political intrigue, a complex, thrilling plot, and a main character whose life is in jeopardy on nearly every page, Killing November is addictive, and one of my best reads this year.  

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was really excited, when the notification for this book popped up in my email, it just looked so intriguing. Once I started, I just could not get into it. It was written in such a confusing manner, and while I knew that it was meant to be confusing for November, I wish the author would’ve realized as readers it’s hard to get completely emerged in a book, if you are constantly trying to work out what is going on. I do think it might be a fun book to some, but for me it just was not worth the amount of time I had to invest in trying to figure out what I was reading. I gave a three, because I try to be a neutral score when I can’t read it, unless it’s obviously errors that can be fixed. I am also a very moody reader, so if I am able to get into it at a later date, I will update my review to say that.
Will be letting members of Chapter Chatter Pub know about it’s uoxomibg release, will also use in a challenge. Thank you for the chance at reading!

I fell in love with this book. The mysterious boarding school aspect pulled me in and the mystery kept me interested. The world building, with the family and the politics is fascinating, and I wanted more. I wanted all of the information about these people called Strategia. This book definitely has some spooky Harry Potter vibes going on (without the magic,) and I was here for it. I can see myself reading this again and again.

Killing November comes out on March 26th, and I’m so glad I got a chance to read it early. I’ve already pre-ordered my own copy!

I want to thank Netgalley and Adriana Mather for a chance to read Killing November early.

I love everything that Adriana Mather has written so far. Killing November did not let me down at all. It was well writen and kept me on my toes

It book is about a girl that gets sent to a secret boarding school where she learns that everything she thought she knew about herself and her family is a lie and it makes things worse somebody is trying to kill her.

I think this book is a must read and I can't wait for the next book.

This was such a fun and crazy filled book!! From start to finish something always happened or someone was trying to kill November, the MC. There were so many twists and turns, and everyone was a suspect. It was definitely entertaining. I hope there will be a sequel because the ending was left open ended and I have to know what happens next. Pick this one up if you like reading about assassins, spies, and mystery!

Review will be posted to all links in my profile today and Amazon on release day.

Killing November by Adriana Mather is like Deadly Class if the main character was a part of one of the main families and just didn’t know. The setting is a boarding school unknown to the world that trains children of highly influential political families dating back a millennium. Being a descendent of these elite families doesn’t guarantee entry. Only the most elite of strategist are permitted entrance at fifteen years-old. These highly competitive students are out to form allegiances that are fiercely loyal, help their family climb in status and undermine students of rival families, if not outright kill them.
Academy Absconditi is cut off from the rest of the world, with no internet, electricity, phone (cell or landline). Neither the students nor their families know its location and visits are strictly prohibited unless approved by the headmaster.
The curriculum doesn’t consist of reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead it is more along the lines of poison, deception and knife skills. Discipline is simple. An eye for an eye. You punch someone? They punch you back. You kill someone? The headmaster and her guards take you out. Simple. No mess. No fuss. Should you not “not make the cut?” It really could be the end of your world. This isn’t a teenager being dramatic at the end of the semester, but real life or death.
After a break-in at her Aunt Jo’s house, the main character and heroine November is dropped into this boarding school for assassins, spies and master impersonators, pleading with her to trust him and that is for her own safety. After arrival she is informed that it is unheard of for a seventeen-year-old to be taken in mid-semester and given a specific set of rules that she quickly realizes everyone breaks. The first being that no one is to talk about their personal life. Not their family, not where they are from, who they are in any way. It will put them and others in danger.
November has no idea why this is, where she is or what she is doing at this school. All she knows is her dad says to trust her and so the mystery begins.
You can’t quite call November an unreliable narrator because she doesn’t know who she is, and we know that from the start and are on the journey with her to discover the truth. This is unlike an unreliable narrator where you are led to believe is telling narrating from a point of omniscience through 90% of the book until either the narrator has broken the third wall and has been lying to the readers the entire time (think Gone Girl) through their narration or the narrator, themselves has been led to believe mistruths about themselves throughout the story (think Girl on a Train).
The pace of the book is quick and exciting. The writing quickly brings you into November’s journey. You can feel her frustration. It is difficult to authentically not have any clue what is going on while everyone around you thinks you are either a complete fool or trying to play them in order to get information. Yet you have no idea what anyone is talking about. Meanwhile, everyone seems to know more about you then you do.
The surrounding cast of characters have their own agendas, some more hidden than others. Due to family status, reputation, alliances or what they already know about November, they make their disdain clearer than others. At times their emotions get the better of them and clues will slip. This will frustrate November further as she realizes that not only do students and faculty know more about her than she does and aren’t willing to tell her any information. Some wish her ill will. Yet her father sent her here to keep her safe. Nothing makes sense and she has no idea how to navigate any of it.
Other than a few predictable moments and one major plot hole that would spoil a major part of the book if I gave it away, this is a very enjoyable read. Most of the book keeps you guessing. The big reveals at the end of the book are quite stunning. I couldn’t have guessed them at all. There were a couple of pieces to the puzzle I that I gave me pause. However, the big shocks I didn’t see coming at all and was a real gut punch.
If the one major plot hole had been addressed earlier in the book, I would have given this book a higher rating than four stars. It was nonsensical and frustrating as a reader that November wouldn’t have acted right away on this point. Once she does, she receives much of the information she is searching for and to the author’s credit even within that there was a lot of twists that I didn’t see coming. I just wish it would have happened sooner.
Overall it is a fun, read that is full of intrigue, murder mysteries, family secrets and suspense that is highly enjoyable. Ending on a cliffhanger that leads you to believe there is a book two coming, I look forward to seeing where November's story goes next.

Murder, weapons, poisons? I loved every single moment of it.! This is another masterpiece and I’m ready to reread it; the plot, the twists and turns kept me doubting my own detective skills and once everything is laid out on the table all the pieces come together in a beautiful way and you’re left mouth open and crying. However, I found myself frustrated with November and at times had to put the book down so I could calmed myself but if you’re a mystery fan, you’ll love this book.

This book was so much fun. I'm a huge fan of Adriana Mather's books, but Killing November exceeded all of my expectations. It reminded me a lot of the Conspiracy of Us series by Maggie Hall, with the added creepy boarding school aspect. This book was incredibly action-packed and filled with sneaky, deceptive characters that I loved to hate (like Aarya!) I liked November as a character, but it was really the side characters that made me love the book so much. Layla was my absolute favorite, and I loved reading her interactions with her brother Ash. All of the characters were so complicated and I could never predict what they'd do next.
I also found the history of the Strategia very interesting. I really want to know more background about the Families, and I really felt November's frustration the majority of the book. The one thing I didn't like about this book was the occasional predictability. On one hand, I didn't manage to correctly guess anything about the murders, but who November and her family were was extremely obvious.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book, especially the murder mystery element and the history of the Strategia, as well as Adriana Mather's beautiful writing.

Woah. Wow. I kind of have no words. I just finished this incredible book and I totally have that deep gut-wrenching feeling - you know the one when you finish reading something so good that really affects you, that you don't know what to do with yourself? That one. What do I do now? I assume there will be a second book -- there NEEDS to be a second book.

I'm SO glad I requested an ARC for this and I'm SO glad I got it because THIS was BRILLIANT. My first impression of this book as I started reading was that it was going to be fun. And I was so so so right. It was fun, cunning, clever, deceptive and wild. It literally felt like I was reading Hogwarts for assassins meets The Sopranos. The world-building was perfect. The writing was impeccable. And the characters, even the ones you're supposed to hate, were so well-rounded and likable. I got sucked in immediately. Killing November is incredibly suspenseful, with secrets that unravel slowly and you can't get the answers you need fast enough - but it's so worth it!

At first, we’re just as lost as our heroine is in this new, crazy world that she’s been dumped into. But we slowly discover what's going on and it opens an entirely different world. We're given clues throughout the story as to what's going on, and it was so thrilling to be able to potentially figure out what was going on and happen to be right a few times. All the connections, all the hints and all of the training and classes build up to to a phenomenal conclusion of this first book.

November, our heroine, is smart and quick on her feet and I immediately liked her for her unashamed curiosity and openness. She was such a good narrator and I thrilled that as a reader, I was able to make some type of emotional and mental connection with her. And Ash - I loved Ash. I loved her slow-burn (let's be real - incredibly slow slow slow burn) friendship with him. More of them soon, please!

This was definitely a fun little world of feuding families, rivalries and mysteries with the unspoken promise of danger. I'm so happy I was able to get lost in it for a few hours. Let's do it again with the next one, pretty please?!

I really enjoyed this story. It was unique and very intriguing, but I found it all a bit confusing. I had a hard time following the political families and the role each one played in this world. I really liked this world so it was a bummer to be so lost when all the good stuff was being laid and explained. It felt too rushed and more of an info dump.

I also had a hard time buying into what November was capable of. I felt like the author couldn't quite figure out of she wanted her to be a complete badass or not and so she toed the line between oblivious and hardcore. It didn't sit well with me and I had a lot of questions when she would be great at something and then fail at something else. It all just didn't add up.

I think that was my main problem. I had so many questions that weren't ever answered and they should have been in this book. The ground work was laid down solid enough for me to buy everything the author was selling.

All that being said I did find it all intriguing and I will for sure pick up the next book if it's released. I am curious how the author will wrap it all up and i am hoping to get more about the families and be able to finally understand more.

Honestly, I was REALLY looking forward to reading this book and was oh so happy when I got selected to read an ARC. However, my enchantment soon fell away once I started reading it. I'll be honest, I didn't finish reading the book because I simply couldn't get past the 12% mark on my Kindle. This is why: The protagonist isn't too appealing. Not enough for me to want to go on a journey with her. The secondary characters didn't suck me in. The whole first portion of the novel has November wondering where in the world she is and what type of school she's at. However, anytime she asks questions, no one will give her a straight answer. This should, in theory, make the reader want to continue reading so they can find out what is going on. The issue though is, that NOTHING happened at the beginning (other than November finding herself at a new school) and we weren't given many clues either, and since the new classmates (at least her roommate was standoffish) it frustrated me and I honestly didn't care about continuing. Maybe someday I'll try to pick this book up again, but for the moment, no.

Murder, mystery, boarding schools, what's not to like? I was drawn in from page one, wondering what journey November would take us on. One thing I really enjoyed about Killing November is that it kept you guessing. It wasnt transparent and I was genuinely shocked at the end.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

For centuries, a handful of families have been orchestrating some of the biggest historical events. Welcome to the Academy Absconditi, where the children of these elite families come to train and perfect their skills in things, such as: strategy, mind games, subterfuge, knife throwing, climbing, and sword fighting.

When a "family emergency" arose, November was whisked off to this top secret boarding school in an undisclosed location. Little did she know, this was not your average school. Not only did November hone her skills and learn the secrets of her family while at the Academy, she was also forced to fight for her life.

Well, THAT was an unexpected and fantastic surprise! I had loved both of Mather's previous books. Though this one was quite different, it was equally as fabulous and entertaining as the others.

I was quickly wrapped up in the world of the Academy and the Strategia, the ruling families. Their connection to prominent world events and how they manufactured them was the stuff conspiracy theorists' dreams are made of. As always, Mather wove lots of interesting historical tidbits into the story, and I was utterly fascinated by the events she chose, as well as how she made them blended them seamlessly into this tale.

I also loved going to class with November. What they learned and how they learned it was so interesting, but at the same time, terrifying. The Academy dated back to the 1030s, and still subscribed to many archaic rules of justice. Students were punished by being thrown in the dungeon or having to suffer "an eye for an eye". There was one scene, which was especially savage. I just couldn't believe the culture of this school.

Yes, the Academy was quite an intriguing place, but it was also a place, where you had to constantly watch your back, as November quickly learned. One of the biggest mysteries, which was solved by the end of the book, was who was trying to kill November and why. I was definitely keeping my eyes wide open as November and the twins, Ash and Layla, attempted to solve the mystery themselves. Lots of action, lots of lying, lots of precarious situations -- Mather really kept me on my toes.

The characters, the action, the alliances, the history, the mystery -- I was onboard for it all. I did not realize this was a series, when I selected this book, however, I am now pretty excited about it, because I am itching to learn all I can about the world of the Strategia.

Well, I gotta say, this could be made into an epic TV show. Not only is the story interesting with great characters, but it's made to be engaging to the reader, as it easily integrates an underlying sense of suspicion through every event that occurs.

November, or Nova, is sent to a school that is completely off the grid, which is filled with students with a rather unique set of skills. Nova is a great MC, because of the way she handles the situation. She has no idea why her dad suddenly sends her to the school or the political battle that she has somehow landed herself in. Although she is a new student who is completely unaware of the situation she has been placed in, I'm glad that she is still able to take care of herself, but not in an OP kind of way. She still has her faults and she quickly tries to learn to adapt to her new life. She's not dumb in any way, just naive, but that's not a bad quality, in fact, she encompasses many qualities that many students lacked. From an outside perspective, she probably looked like a ball of sunshine compared to the rest of the tense cocky students. This is further shown through her relationship with Layla and Ash, who you can tell have thawed their cold exterior from being around her. Her perspective was also great to read, as the way Nova navigates her way through the mess is always accompanied by her touch of snarkiness/humor and sympathy.

The overall plot was pretty easy to follow as it was really interesting. We literally learn everything through Nova because she equally does not know anything that is going on 😂. I'm glad she voices my exact frustration. Aside from this, the mystery surrounding the deaths that occur in the story keeps you engaged, as you begin to doubt the actions and words of every character, which I've been doing since the very beginning of the story because... sketchy sketchy.

Overall, this is a great YA mystery novel. Plus it's set at a mysterious boarding school...who doesn't love that? I don't really have any complaints other than wishing there was some epilogue of some sort because I really wanted to know just a bit more on what happens after the big events at the end of the story.

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Hang a Witch comes a thriller set at a secretive boarding school where students are trained to carry on family legacies that have built - and toppled - empires.

November is trapped.

At the mysterious Academy Absconditi, a school that's completely off the grid, there's no electricity, no internet, and a brutal eye-for-an-eye punishment system. Classes include everything from knife-throwing and poisons to the art of deception. And the other students? All children of the world's most elite strategists, in training to become assassins, spies, and master manipulators. November Adley doesn't know why she's been sent to this place, or the secrets that make up its legacy, but she'll quickly discover that allies are few in a school where competition is everything. When another student is murdered, all eyes turn to November, who must figure out exactly how she fits in before she is found guilty of the crime...or becomes the killer's next victim.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Adriana Mather comes a captivating thriller that will leave you breathless."

It's like a prose version of Deadly Class!

This was a pretty fun book! I actually liked the author’s other series, How to Hang a Witch better, but this was a quick read! I also thought the characgers were well developed and I liked November!

This was a really fun and fast read. The story was interesting and kept me turning the page, even when I needed to get to bed. Having said that, I only gave it three stars because it felt very "been there, some that". Kind of like if "Harry Potter" and "Deadly Class" had a baby. Some of the twists are telegraphed a mile ahead of before you get there, while some were genuine surprises. The characters are fairly stereotypical and cardboard, unfortunately...But the real detractor lies in the fact that the writing wasn't great, which is my biggest issue with the YA genre. If this had been tackled with more gravitas, and with more skill, this could have been a really great read.

Sent to a boarding school at short notice, November quickly begins to realize that something is very odd about the other students, the professors. the curriculum, and even her. People seem to know who she is even though she doesn't have a clue. With no way to contact her father, she has to pull from everything she knows about her family, which isn't much, and put her faith in students who know more about her history than she does. To make matters worse, people start dying.

This is a very fast-paced read with enough of a mystery to keep readers enthralled through the unexpected ending.

This was a book I tried to like but it just did not grab me. Did not finish. The start to the book was too abrupt and from then on it just went south.