Review: The Initiation by Elena Monroe

This was a book that kind of fell in my lap. I came across it when I was perusing through my tour invites and the second book in this series is coming out soon and I wanted to read it, but first I needed to read this which kicks of the four book series. The Initiation is an inside look at the darkness of the founding families that are tired up in the Illuminati. It takes you through the seedy underworld of what being inside of their “inner circle” really means and how they’ve raised the rightful heirs of the families to be the very essence of the apocalypse. This book introduces all four of the heirs, who make up the four books of this series, but focuses on Grimm. He is the heir of the Rothschild’s and is the bringer of death. His entire life, he’s been trained and prepared for being the killer of the community. Regularly receiving messages of his targets and letting his inner monster become sated with each and every kill he makes.

Grimm has found a balance with his inner demons that plague to tear him apart and he uses medications, legal and illegal, to help him manage the beast within. But when one of the other horsemen of the apocalypse, Vic, tires of his secreataries inability to carry out tasks he assigns, Abigail is reassigned to be Grimm’s secretary. She is the corner stone of control, proper dress code, and demeanor. Until her balance of control over her life starts to blur with the whirlwind that is Grimm. They both have demons within them, and their demons call to one another.

Everyone wants to be the reason someone takes action. Good or bad, it doesn’t matter, just to be noticed by someone.

The Initiation, Elena Monroe

This book, and I’m sure the entire series, was a dark winding road into some very interesting topics. I loved the depth of Grimm and all of his little intricacies. Like his love for oreos and how they comfort him, to his complete disinterest in ever letting a women into his heart. A heart he doesn’t even believe exists until he meets Abigail. There wasn’t a single part of this entire book that was boring or drawn out – everything moves quickly and keeps you engaged wanting to know exactly how the next scene is going to unfold. The unpredictable of every event kept me anxious and on the edge of my seat.

There also wasn’t a single unnecessary character even with Grimm’s mother who I wanted to choke the life out of, or Jessica (Grimm’s arranged to-be wife) who made my skin crawl. Every character had their place in this story and it provided a solid foundation to the start of what is sure to be an epic adventure into these families.

The 4 Horsemen

Grimm – Death

Vic – War

Khaos -Chaos

Bowen – Famine

The Series

Book 1 – The Initiation (Grimm)

Book 2 – The Test (Vic)

Book 3 – The Sacrifice (Khaos)

Book 4 – The Control (Bowen)

About the Author

Elena Monroe grew up in Florida scribbling down stories from a very young age. These stories were really just wavy lines filling the paper, but she knew each word, each emotion, each character’s name, and there was no tricking her into forgetting what each line signified. Just like her unconventional way of writing as a toddler Elena is setting her own rules and just telling stories.

Much like her debut novel, The Best Years, life certainly imitated art. Transplanting from the South to the East Coast, Elena currently lives in Connecticut with her husband, reformed bad boy.

Find her on her social media through Twitter at @elenamonroe, Instagram at @elenamonroewrites, Facebook at @elenamonroewrites, and more!

Buy the Book