Okayyyy. I kinda like this to be honest. Was captured for the beginning! Love the banter and characters. It was intriguing and kept me on my toes tbh!

The synopsis of this book really hooked me. It sounded like an interesting Cinderella reimagining with a magic school, powerful individuals with unique abilities, and hot badass warriors. While it did have those things, the execution of the story did not work for me. The writing was jumbled and chaotic at times so certain events were hard to follow. The style of writing also made the story seem more for a younger audience. This world and the setup of the school and powers was interesting, and I wanted more. I felt we just skimmed the top and basic information of this world. There really could have been more development and building about it.
There were several tropes in this book, one of them I am not a big fan of, so I did not really like the development of certain relationships. I did not like Gabriel, he is a teacher and warrior at school. He was easily manipulated, and mind swayed back, and forth which really did not fit his role in this story. He handled a couple situations very poorly and even though he tried to make up for decisions it was too little and too late. Overall, this story was not for me. It had a number of compelling points, but I had too many issues throughout the story to keep me engaged.
Trigger warnings: severe bullying, blood, violence
I received an advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

Vote: ✩✩✩.5

Hi, readers! What do you think about romance, sci-fi and fantasy all in one book?
Because, let me say it, I absolutely love the mix and this is the book for you if you are on my side on this!

This book also reminds me in some way of the story of #Cinderella but more fantasy: she is a sort of housewife in her own house and she live with a stepmother and her stepsisters, let alone they are all witches. You will meet witches? Yes, but you’ll discover a lot of different other creatures, hybrids, powers at work and the famous X-gene, necessary to get into the academy!

Other than this, the story is full of mysteries, tricky games and difficulties for our main character. I liked the environment of a school, the Beaumond, and all the plots, but I guess the beginning is just a bit too slow for me and also confusing. You have to stay really focus on everything in order to understand everything and follow what is really happening.

Besides that, after a while I started to like the characters, mainly Gabriel and Max, and I also enjoyed the dual pov of them. This will give to the reader the possibility to follow both their stories.

I’m curious to see what will happen in the next book, even if I have some ideas!

Haaaaard DNF!!!
You are telling me that you are settling up a love triangle with a guy two stepsisters and one terrorizes the other. PAAS ME WITH THAT BULLSHIT! I don't give reviews on goodreads and on my Instagram to books I don't finish. I'm tempted but no. It would be absolutely unfair to the author and everyone involved in making of this book and the people who might like it. Different strokes for different folks.
But for mi it's a big NO!

Not sure why this didn't work me. It felt very inconsistent in both story mode and characters. It needs to be fleshed out more in my opinion. This book as is makes me want to put it down and then just move out without worry about the characters which makes me sad .. maybe it's just me

Innocence is the first in a new fantasy series by Woods. I'm having a hard time writing a review for this book as there are some things that I really enjoyed and other items I was left scratching my head thinking, why/how did that happen. I enjoyed Maxima's (Max) character and plot but I am having a very hard time liking or caring for Gabriel due to his confusing and in my mind poor choices. There are a lot to things left open for the next story and I am invested in Max enough to see where it leads. 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the story and the characters, I felt like the introduction to them was clumsy. I wanted to know more about them, and the side characters, their relationships and friendships. I did believe them, but there wasn't a lot of depth there. The writing throughoutthe book was disjointed and IMO needed more editing. For example, someone's suddenly smoking as a student-aged-teacher who pushes their body really hard and meditates? Came out of nowhere and threw me out of the story - there were a few moments like this. Not enough to stop me reading, but definitely made it more of an effort to read and enjoy. I'm interested enough to pick up the second book, but overall while I liked this, there were significant things that impacted on the enjoyment that make this a qualified 'like'.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

had to dnf early on because i was not a fan of the writing and this book was so confusing. i think this book has the potential to be amazing but not enough context was given which made it very hard to understand. i genuinely think that i’m the later books if more context is given this series can be great but it was just very hard to read.

This was ok. I liked the supernatural aspect of it but the school setting was a bit overdone. There were characters I liked including the heroine. The hero was ok but nothing g spectacular. The ending was pretty good. I'm not sure I'll continue the series but I'll see how I feel when I look into it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review #Innocence.
The summary of this book caught my eye because it reminded me of 'Wednesday' with the supernatural school and mystery surrounding the characters and death - but honestly that's where the similarities stop, and I ended up loving this book. I can't wait for the release of the others in the series to see what happens, although I have several theories - which seem very obvious.

The beginning was a little slow to get into with the world building and some parts were confusing where I needed to go back and reread a couple times to understand what was happening or who was being talked about. After a couple chapters though, I was hooked and stayed up all night finishing the book.
Innocence follows Gabriel & Maxima (Max) in a dual point of view story, which was perfect because the two characters have two very different storylines in the story, and I loved how they were starting to come together more at the end of the book.
The secondary characters were likeable, but not very memorable. There is no romance in this story, but may be building towards one in future books. This is the first book in the series, and although it has a clear ending/no cliff hanger, a lot of the story has yet to be resolved.

This book is compelling! Great wonderful story I am hoping is the beginning of a long series. Max and Gabe’s story is well written, exciting and entertaining. Definitely recommend!

I tried really hard to get into this book, but I did dnd it the plot was hard to get through, but I will definitely try to read it again in the future

Imagine Hogwarts meets 'Divergent' with a dash of 'Cinderella' and a bit of 'Mean Girls' thrown in, and you have it. You will want to throttle a few, root for a few, and maybe guess some of the secrets - but you won't find out, just yet ....

Thank you NetGalley and Fire Quill Publishers for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own!

I was truly amazed by this book! I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the sequel.

Max is a girl who lives exactly like Cinderella. I found many similarities between the famous fairy tale and the plot.
However, she is left without parents and she is forced to live as a slave for her stepmother Sienna, who is a very powerful witch, and her stepsisters.
It is immediately understood how difficult my life was until Max discovers that she has a very unique power that will give her access to the famous Beaumond Academy.

The plot is full of mysteries that will not be revealed in this first volume but which leave you wanting to continue with the saga.

The love interest is a professor, so I don’t need other explanations to make you understand why I liked it so much 😂
Plus the writing of Adrienne Woods keeps you glued to the pages.
I absolutely recommend it!

I love this book and need more!
Max could be a little stronger but I'm sure we'll get there.
The relationships are surprising too. I haven't read many books like this one and it was great!

I dnf this book, I just couldn't connect with it and I found that I was having to fight to finish it. I'm sure this book will appeal to alot of people but sadly it just wasn't for me.

This is a fun and creative new fantasy series. Yes there's a special school. Yes, there's a villain and a hero. Yes, there are secrets. Did it have moments where it felt like a cross between Cinderella and Harry Potter? Yes, BUT the world building is fresh and different. The storyline has some originality that I enjoyed.

Maxima Lane (Max) has been held under her stepmother's thumb for far too long. When she accidentally turns into a bat, she triggers a magical notification that indicates she has a special gene and qualifies for Beaumont Academy. This could finally be her way out and a pathway to freedom.

Unfortunately for Max, her stepsister, also goes to Beaumont and their rivalry doesn't end when they enter the campus. Also, her stepmother is determined to get her disqualified and bring her home. Nothing can ever come easy for her. And to make it all worse, she can't manage to get her bat to make an appearance again.

This book is a strong start to this new series. At the end, we are still left with many questions. There's a great deal to still take care of so I anticipate that several more books can come from this series easily.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This book made me feel like I had been dropped into a world with little explanation. I wanted to like it but unfortunately I was just confused most of the time.

I’m pretty much obsessed with this book. At first I was a bit confused trying to work out the magic system and the royal family structure but once we got to Beaumont Academy that all became clearer. I loved the characters (even the baddies are well developed and realistic, none of them perfect). I loved that there was a ‘I know I shouldn’t and this person is terrible but…’ type of romance. I was delighted to see that there is a prequel (which is next on my tbr list). I’m not sure how I’m going to wait to find out what’s next! Looking forward to reading the next books as they are released!

Maxima Lana is a 16 year old hybrid has the perfectly awful Cinderella life that causes the reader to cringe. As a baby her mother died, as a child her father remarried Sierra Duff, a powerful and evil witch, and as a child Maxima (known as Max) father dies leaving her in the custody of her stepmother and at the mercy of that stepmother and two evil stepsisters.

From the first line the reader is drawn into the conflicted world of a child who is the target of her stepmother's magic and the torment of her stepsisters. Sierra Duff is a powerful and influential in the world of witches and warlocks, the keeper of secrets and the manipulator of many. She wields the power of enhancing beauty and has mastered the art of appearing innocent and harmless - just like her daughters.

For Max living with her stepmother and sisters means being the target of illegal magic and terrible spells. Her only reprieve a kind witch named Maria who lives hidden in the woods. Maria has more than once sent her familiar to gather up Max when Sierra changes her to a toad or a mouse. But all this changes on one terrible day, when of her own volition Max shifts into a bat thinking her stepmother has spelled her again. The shift means that Max is gifted with the x-gene, a highly coveted gene that means extra powers and means admittance into Beaumond Academy.

Just as you think it could get better for Max it only gets worse and the mystery surrounding her, the secrets she is shrouded in become all the more tangled.

Gabriel Hendrix is the weapon wielder, and a trainer for the Shield (a force of highly trained x-gene supernaturals). He is searching for the Shadowed, to destroy them and free children who have been taken by them. But his life becomes more complicated when Maxima Lane is sent to him to be trained and when he runs into Liz Lane, Max's evil witch stepsister. He feels a pull to Max but seems to be drawn into lust with Liz. The tangled triangle can mean nothing but trouble.

The book is a quick read, although for me I am a fan of longer reads if the story is more complete. The last chapter leaves you tense and wanting to see the ending. However, it looks like there is going to be a total of 4 books in this series along with a prequal.

Yes! I've already purchased my copy of the prequel and am following the reader for the release of the rest of the book. This is a series I am sure that I will re-read again and again.

I received a free digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review of the book.

#innocence #netgalley #adriennewoods