New Review! The Gauntlet (Imdalind Academy #1) by Rebecca Ethington 4 Cranky Stars

The Gauntlet by Rebecca Ethington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 CRANKY STARS


I really liked this book but am giving it 4 stars for two reasons. It is a stand-alone sequel to her previous series Imdalind Academy. This series takes place 200 years in the future. With all the referencing of events from the original series and the carry over of characters, some are Eternals, it would have been nice to read the other series first. I did see that series when I got this book from Amazon but didn’t realize it was so important. Secondly, the book is too short. It only took me 3 hours to read it. Part of that was because the storyline was so interesting that I couldn’t put it down. I can’t put too much description into this review or it will spoil it for future readers.


Gemma is an undermortal or as the Chosen prefer to call them, Drains. She was born and raised in the tunnels under the city. She has untrained magic and leads the Undermortals in rebellion. The locations are all in Europe, so they are old subways tunnels. Rowan is the son of the King and Queen. These are the Eternals. The Chosen Ones are the rich government rulers. They believe the undermortals are scum that should be done away with and Sia is one of their children. There are also Tarns and mortals.


Every year, the Chosen Ones between the ages of 17 and 21 can run the Gauntlet for a place in the Imdalind Academy. If one of the chosen few, you will be bitten by a bat like monster to awaken your magic. The purpose of the academy is to train these new magicians. This year, the King has instituted new rules, all residents of age in the kingdom are eligible to try. He sends buses to the underground to bring Undermortals to the race grounds. Of course, Gemma jumps at the chance to run the Gauntlet. While everyone is competing for a chance at admission to the Academy, she is looking to destroy the King and his family. Chaos ensues at the race. But things don’t turn out the way Gemma was planning.


This all sounds confusing, but it really isn’t once you figure out the characters. It was very entertaining but ended way too soon.


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