• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Challenges
  • Reviews
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Books of Amber

Latest Posts

Book Review: Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida

Book Review: The Survivors by Jane Harper

Book Review: Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

13/12/2014      2 Comments

Rites of Passage by Joy N. HensleyRites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: two-stars

Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.
At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.

Who wants to hear about how I was let down by another anticipated release? Oh, you do? Excellent! Then stick around, because Rites of Passage is one of the most disappointing books of my 2014 reading adventure.

What I Was Promised:

  • Fantastic female characters who take matters into their own hands
  • Hot romantic happenings
  • Exciting military training

What I Got: 

  • A fairly bland main character in the form of Sam McKenna. I was ready to be wooed, I truly was, but Sam failed to keep my attention. I didn’t find her enticing at all, although I did appreciate at least some of her characterisation, like how she suffered under the rule of her military father and, later on, her fellow students at the military school, and how she still held her ground. Unfortunately she was unable to captivate me because she was so damn boring. What was her personality? I still don’t know despite having finished the book.
  • A romance that was neither hot nor romantic. I don’t know, I just didn’t feel the chemistry. You might argue that this book is more about Sam than some guy, which is kind of true, but if romance has to be included then I want it to be steamy. This thing between Sam and that guy (whose name I neither learnt nor cared for) wasn’t steamy. In fact, I was falling asleep when they were together, especially since all of their kissing (almost or otherwise) scenes were described EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. There is only so many times that I can read about someone being pinned against a wall and (nearly) kissed before I grow bored, and this is coming from someone whose favourite kink is Wall Sex.
  • The military training was also the most boring thing. It just kept on happening and I really didn’t care for it. Reading about the way the guys treated Sam was disturbing, and was almost enough to make me care, but the rest of the training bits were dull.
  • Oh, oh, and can we talk about how Sam forgives a guy who treats her like absolute shit and goes along with the bullies, and yet she tells a girl who’s been sleeping with the opposite team to basically fuck off out of her life forever? What is this bullshit. They both deserved to be excluded from Sam’s life but nooooo, this guy is apparently her best friend forever and so very trustworthy. Ugh.

Rites of Passage was not the book that I was expecting, clearly.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nicole @ The Quiet Concert says

    15/12/2014 at 5:16 am

    Aww, it makes me sad that this one let you down. I didn’t really have any expectations going in and I loved the tense military setting and was inspired by Sam’s strength but I wouldn’t really call the romance a romance and the ending definitely supported that hah.

    Reply
  2. Lauren at Bookmark Lit says

    17/12/2014 at 7:35 pm

    YES FINALLY. I’ve been waiting and hoping for someone to share the same thoughts as me on this one. I found the military training to be repetitive and the hazing was cringe-worthy. Like REALLY, NO ONE can do something about this?? She needed to get over her pride and tell someone what was going on. I can’t even deal. I thought she, otherwise, was kind of a badass for sticking to her guns (in other ways) and staying there when everything else was forcing her out. I was really bored throughout and the only moments that got some emotion out of me were the hazing ones that made me ANGRY. I don’t want to be angry throughout 50% of a book and bored the other 50%. AND don’t even get me started on that ending.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe via Email

Join 4,579 other subscribers

Current Giveaways

None

Currently Reading

Currently Reading

Upcoming Reviews

None yet!

Blogroll

  • All About Books
  • Artsy Musings of a Bibliophile
  • I Should Read That
  • Lisa is Busy Nerding
  • My Friends Are Fiction
  • Recaptains
  • The Daily Prophecy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Hello!

Hello!

My name is Amber, I'm 27 years old, and I've been a book blogger, reviewer, and Tuber for ten years. When I'm not reading, I love gaming, exercising, cinema trips, hiking, and exploring.

Welcome to my blog!

Subscribe!

Blog Archive

Categories

Follow us on Instagram

(This book was sent to me by the author as a gift) (This book was sent to me by the author as a gift)

Happy release day to The Effort! I'm so excited to read this apocalyptic story about people coming together to prevent a global crisis. Like I said the other day, I'm really into disaster stories lately 😊

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookish #debutauthors #21ders #debutbooks #debutshowcase #dac21 #the21ders #reading #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #book
* ad - book provided by publisher for free in exch * ad - book provided by publisher for free in exchange for an honest review *

I'm smashing through my physical ARCs this week, which means it's almost time for me to read This is Not the Jess Show! I'm excited for this one, if a little cautious about how similar to The Truman Show it's going to be.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #bookish #youngadultbooks #booksofig #igreads #currentlyreading #igbooks #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer
The first week back at work put me in an unfortuna The first week back at work put me in an unfortunate reading slump, but I'm hoping Hold Back the Stars will get me out of it! I'm going to be reading this one today and hopefully forgetting about real life.

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookish #sff #sffbooks #holdbackthestars #bookstoread #currentlyreading #reading #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #bookstagramuk #booksbooksbooks #bookgram
* ad - book provided by publisher for free in exch * ad - book provided by publisher for free in exchange for an honest review*

I absolutely blasted through The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe this week! I was worried I was getting slumpy from too much sff so I switched to a YA thriller and WHEW, it was excellent. 

The Girls I've Been is about a girl called Nora who is the daughter of a con artist (and also bi!). She's living her own life now away from her mother, and then someone tries to rob a bank while she's inside it.

This was so fast paced and I love that it was told in a non linear format. Trigger warnings for lots of things, though. You can find the full list on the author's website but the main one for me was domestic violence.

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #thegirlsivebeen #yathrillers #yathriller #thrillerbooks #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #reading
Because I like to read about other apocalypses dur Because I like to read about other apocalypses during pandemics, apparently.

 I've just started The Lightest Object in the Universe and I'm intrigued! Have you read it?

#books #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookstagramuk #currentlyreading #dystopia #dystopianbooks #apocalypse #sff #sffbooks #bookish #booktube #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks
*AD - book gifted by publisher in exchange for an *AD - book gifted by publisher in exchange for an honest review* 

Siri, Who Am I? was my final read of 2020 and it was a fun one. While I didn't love how the main character treated others, particularly her attitude towards sex workers, I did like how fast paced this one was and the slight mystery element mixed with Rich People Drama kept me reading. Will I reread it? No. But I enjoyed my time with it well enough.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #bookreview #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #siriwhoami #romcom #reading
I'm supposed to be starting The Bear and the Night I'm supposed to be starting The Bear and the Nightingale on Tuesday for my weekly buddy read, but I want to read it now! I should probably finish some of the books I've already started though.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #bookstoread #tbr #tbrpile #toread #readingpile #reading #bookaddict #igbooks #booksofig #igreads #thebearandthenightingale #winternighttrilogy
Yes, I'm still reading this 😂 I'm trying to fin Yes, I'm still reading this 😂 I'm trying to finish it by the end of the year but who knows if that'll happen? I'm enjoying buddy reading it with @ishouldreadthat though, and I'm sure she's appreciating my rants and fangirling.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #wordsofradiance #thewayofkings #Stormlight #stormlightarchive #brandonSanderson #fantasybooks #sff
I am so unbelievably excited to try this YA thrill I am so unbelievably excited to try this YA thriller this month. I am tempted to drop everything and pick it up right now but, ya know, commitments.

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #yabooks #youngadultbooks #thrillerbooks #smallbookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #tbr #toberead #tbrpile #agoodgirlsguidetomurder
I just HAD to feature one of my favourite books of I just HAD to feature one of my favourite books of the year, and the start of one of my all time favourite series before the end of 2020. I adore The City of Brass so much, and I recommend it to everyone I come across. I've reread it three times now, and in 2021 I plan to make it four!

What's your favourite fantasy series?

#books #booktube #smallyoutuber #smallyoutubercommunity #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookworm #daevabad #daevabadtrilogy #thecityofbrass #fantasybooks #fantasyreader #fantasy #reading #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #igreads #favoritebooks #christmasbooks #vlogmas #bookmas

Copyright © 2021 ·