Show Me Five/ Firespell by Chole Neill

 Show Me Five is a weekly meme created by  That's a Novel Idea.
Each Saturday You will post the answer to these questions. The number indicates the number of answers you will provide.

1 Book you read: Firespell by Chloe Neill

2 Words that describe the book

Paranormal Adventure

3 Settings where it took place or characters you met

The setting takes place in downtown Chicago at  St. Sophia’s School for Girls. The school was once a convent and is vividly described as having “dismal grey stone," "tall skinny windows with one giant round one in the middle"  and "fanged grinning gargoyles" perched at each corner of the steep roof.”  

The school is located on Michigan  Ave which is filled with tall steel and glass building. Quite the contrast from the gothic architect of the school.

Lily, the protagonist, is sent to St Sophia when her parents go off on a sabbatical to Germany. needless to say Lily is unhappy about being sent to a new school in a new city. She feels abandoned and overwhelmed. She uses her sacarstic wit and natural curiosity though and makes friends with her new roommate Scout.

Scout is outspoken and fearless and quickly makes Lily feel welcome. Scout has been at St Sophia since she was twelve and definitely knows the inner workings, including the basement tunnels that connect St Sophia with the underground of Chicago.

4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it:

I loved how the setting was so intricate to the plot of the story. Neill's vivid and detailed descriptions of the school allowed me to feel like I was there.

I also liked the characters. Scout was intriguing and I really enjoyed her outspokeness and her frankness. Lily was also a very interesting character and while I felt sorry for her situation, I was glad that she was able to overcome her sadness and make the best of it. The two characters together made for an interesting and exciting read. I also like the secondary characters including Jason, who I want more of, and the "Brat Pack", who depite the fact come off as your typical stock mean girls, still added an interesting twist to the story.

Finally, I like Neill's plot. Almost from the start I knew that this was going to be different than many of the paranormal plots I have read. Scout's mysterious disappearance at night and Lily's need to know why her parents suddenly abandoned her to St Sophia's  made for a fast-paced read. There is even a little romance, which I got a feeling will heat up quite a bit in the next book

I disliked that part of the mystery was not totally solved at the end of the book. I was left confused and wondering about Lily's parents and their involvement with St Sophia and why exactly they felt the need to leave Lily. I can only hope that much of my confusion will be cleared up in the sequel.

5  Your rating? I gave this novel a 4 out of 5 cherries, because I felt that the plot, setting and characters worked well to create and compelling story, but because I wanted some things cleared up in the end, I couldn't give it a 5.