Book Review - Night School

Title: Night School
Author: C.J Daugherty
Series: Night School (book 1)
Publisher: Atom 
Release Date: 5 Jan 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1907411212

Synopsis
Allie Sheridan’s world is falling apart. Her brother’s run away from home. Her parents ignore her. And she’s just been arrested.
Again.
This time her parents have had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to boarding school, far from her London friends.
But at Cimmeria Academy, Allie is soon caught up in the strange activities of a secret group of elite students.
When she’s attacked late one night the incident sets off a chain of increasingly violent events. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, she finds out that nothing at Cimmeria is what it seems to be.
And that she is not who she thought she was.

My Review
I won a signed copy of book 2 in this series, as I have to read series in the right order I requested this book from the library so I could make a start.
From looking at the cover and reading the synopsis I thought I was in for your typical paranormal school with things like vampires etc in it and was actually pleasantly surprised when I got something very different. 
Allie gets arrested for the 3rd time in the space of a year and her parents can't cope anymore so they send her away to Cimmeria, a mysterious boarding school that few have ever heard of. Allie is determined to hate it there, but when she arrives she finds herself fitting in and making friends, but just when she thinks she might finally be happy again strange and dangerous things start happening and soon her life is in danger.
I loved the mystery element in this book, to start Allie tells that her brother disappeared never to be seen again so you wonder what happened to him and why - you know he is alive but not why he left or where he went. This of course was a big trigger of Allie's bad behaviour. Then on top of that you have the mystery of what exactly the 'Night School' is, who is in it and what they do. And of course how it all links to Allie. Then there is a murder at the school that the teachers want to keep quiet so you wonder who is involved. I really enjoyed trying to figure out who was involved, who was trustworthy and who was a bad guy. I was almost constantly surprised and completely hooked by the book. I was only going to read for just under 2 hours, but I ended up sitting for over 3. I wanted to carry on and finish it but had to go to bed so I could get up for work the next day. I was then desperate to finish the last 100 pages today.
This book had me on my toes and desperate for more. Allie is endearing and I couldn't help but like her, she has some odd quirks and is by no means perfect, but that's what makes her so likeable and realistic. 
There is a love triangle with Allie and two guys - Carter and Sylvain. I changed my mind at least half a dozen times throughout the book of who I preferred. And even if I have chosen my favourite, I still like and feel sorry for the other. 
There are quite a few characters in the book (being at a school) but they all have their own personalities and pasts and I never got confused or anything. 
Just a fast-paced, action packed, exciting read that I could not put down. I am so happy I have book 2 at my side ready to start. The end of this one had me desperate for more.

My Rating