Review: Pennyroyal Academy

Pennyroyal Academy (Pennyroyal Academy, book one)
By M.A. Larson, read by Susan Duerden
Published 2014 by Penguin Audio

A girl has no memory of who she is, where she comes from, or where she should be but she knows there is something for her at Pennyroyal Academy. She enlists, making friends with the princesses and knights enrolled, all learning the most important thing: how to fight witches and dragons. But strange memories begin appearing to her and it isn't long before she is on a dangerous quest to discover the truth.

I downloaded the audio edition of this recently, as I was in need of something to read and I thought this sounded interesting. Initially, I didn't think this was a great choice for a listen - the story begins with no context, with readers (and listeners) simply dropped into the forest with our main character. It was a bit much to try to follow at first, particularly as the main character has no name until one is given to her at the Academy.

Despite a bit of a rough start, I ended up enjoying this book. It's got a lot of familiar elements, but I think it tells an interesting enough story to hold its own. I really liked the friendships that Evie (as she is eventually called) develops at Pennyroyal, and most of the secondary characters are pretty entertaining. There is a bit of romance that, while predictable, was charming and plenty of action. The big reveal is probably not terribly surprising, though I didn't see it coming.

Overall, though, I don't have much to say about this one. It's not very memorable, but I enjoyed it well enough while reading. It's listed as the first in a series on Goodreads, though no word yet on when a sequel might appear. I'd be interested enough to check it out if it ever does.