What do you think?
Rate this book
Nightworld Academy #1
Nightworld Academy: Term One
Welcome to the Nightworld Academy, attended by vampires, shifters, and witches. A place filled with harmony and mutual respect between the supernatural races. Sometimes.
I'm told my curse is a gift. A valuable one that could cost me my life. My visions of the future are weird, but my new school is weirder. All lessons take place in the evening and the majority of students are on an advanced program where they take extra classes late into the night. I enrolled at the academy because my last school expelled me for punching another student. Nobody believed that I knocked Tyler unconscious to stop somebody else dying. But why would they believe the crazy girl?
I expected to meet other troubled teens here, but the pupils are predictable for an English boarding school. There's Ash, the rugby team captain and the academy's most popular guy. Then there's Andrei, the moody guy with a bad attitude who takes pleasure in annoying me. And Jamie who's studious and friendly but intense. I thought I had the academy figured out: the mean girl, the quirky friend, the nerd, the emo, and the jock. But on the evening I swear allegiance to my new school house, everything spins out of control and I realise I'm dealing with more. Much more. One of us will die, and I know who.
.
I'm told my curse is a gift. A valuable one that could cost me my life. My visions of the future are weird, but my new school is weirder. All lessons take place in the evening and the majority of students are on an advanced program where they take extra classes late into the night. I enrolled at the academy because my last school expelled me for punching another student. Nobody believed that I knocked Tyler unconscious to stop somebody else dying. But why would they believe the crazy girl?
I expected to meet other troubled teens here, but the pupils are predictable for an English boarding school. There's Ash, the rugby team captain and the academy's most popular guy. Then there's Andrei, the moody guy with a bad attitude who takes pleasure in annoying me. And Jamie who's studious and friendly but intense. I thought I had the academy figured out: the mean girl, the quirky friend, the nerd, the emo, and the jock. But on the evening I swear allegiance to my new school house, everything spins out of control and I realise I'm dealing with more. Much more. One of us will die, and I know who.
.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 14, 2019
3208 people are currently reading
5382 people want to read
About the author
L.J. Swallow
73 books741 followersLJ Swallow is a paranormal romance and urban fantasy author who is the alter-ego of bestselling contemporary romance author Lisa Swallow.
Giving in to her dark side, LJ spends time creating worlds filled with supernatural creatures who don’t fit the norm, and heroines who are more likely to kick ass than sit on theirs.
Giving in to her dark side, LJ spends time creating worlds filled with supernatural creatures who don’t fit the norm, and heroines who are more likely to kick ass than sit on theirs.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 419 reviews
August 22, 2021
Everytime I read a book with teens that act like teens, I am so full of it thinking I was never as stupid or irresponsible.
Who am I trying to kid? I wasn’t better. But my screw-ups never involved people dying. Ah, sweet, boring, non-fictional life.
As much as I love RH, boarding school books, and magic academy, I could not completely get on board with Nightworld Academy.
Maeve is a complete moron. Sometimes so idiotic the whole story becomes painful to read.
She’s a basic teen; self-centered, arrogant, immature, ignorant, irresponsible, and driven by her hormones and pseudo righteousness. Her only specialness lies in her witchy seer powers and it does not make her particularly interesting as she manages to royally screw up every single possible way.
Sometimes you think she is actually very wise but she is not. Sometimes you think she is selfless but she is not. She is a difficult character to grasp - and to like- as her classic kid impulsivity slash stupidity gets in the way most of the time.
And it kind of makes the story hard to enjoy too as I am more focused on the different scenarios that could slap some sense into her that runs into my heart. Spoiler alert: it sometimes is messy.
July 12, 2019
Maeve was an annoying character. She was so sanctimonious which was funny because she had no idea what was going on so I didn't get the holier than thou attitude from her. She was incredibly selfish and her character had no personality what so ever. The entire book was lackluster. Suffice to say I will not be reading the next book.
April 15, 2019
Yet another great book from the author, that I couldn't put down once I'd started. The characters are as complicated as they're amazing. Maeve, Ash, Andrei, Jamie and Amelia has complicated friendships and interactions. The story mostly takes place at the Nightworld Academy, where anything can happen.
April 18, 2019
This was ok. Didn’t love it. But it kind of just coasted the whole way through. No major emotions, relationships or plot lines. Just felt ok.
May 16, 2019
Good story, but writing needs work.
I’m not sure where to begin with this one. I know authors pour their heart and soul into their books, and unless the book is flat out awful I don’t like giving a negative review.
The story itself is great. It’s a fun idea and you don’t see seers pop up as main characters often. But that’s basically all I’ve got for the positives list.
The main character is a whiney, self centered, b word. She literally gets upset at the way a main character saves her life. She comes off as shallow and immature. I get that she’s 19 but there’s not a whole lot of depth for this MC.
The book needs some major editing for both typos and grammatical errors. I can ignore most issues of grammar and I understand a few typos but it feels like no one bothered to edit this book at all.
For some reason the author enjoys taking you down long thought tangents that add absolutely nothing to the story. During an intense scene in the book that the author has been building up to for basically 90% of the story in which you think the MC’s friend might get hurt, you get a solid page or so of the MC wondering if a guy likes her or not. It’s obnoxious.
There’s this weird hot for teacher who’s way older thing going on like the author can’t figure out if there’s something there or not. It’s uncomfortable to say the least. But this could boil down to personal preference I suppose.
I think with a better editor and some time and practice this author has serious promise but unfortunately this book falls completely flat for me.
I’m not sure where to begin with this one. I know authors pour their heart and soul into their books, and unless the book is flat out awful I don’t like giving a negative review.
The story itself is great. It’s a fun idea and you don’t see seers pop up as main characters often. But that’s basically all I’ve got for the positives list.
The main character is a whiney, self centered, b word. She literally gets upset at the way a main character saves her life. She comes off as shallow and immature. I get that she’s 19 but there’s not a whole lot of depth for this MC.
The book needs some major editing for both typos and grammatical errors. I can ignore most issues of grammar and I understand a few typos but it feels like no one bothered to edit this book at all.
For some reason the author enjoys taking you down long thought tangents that add absolutely nothing to the story. During an intense scene in the book that the author has been building up to for basically 90% of the story in which you think the MC’s friend might get hurt, you get a solid page or so of the MC wondering if a guy likes her or not. It’s obnoxious.
There’s this weird hot for teacher who’s way older thing going on like the author can’t figure out if there’s something there or not. It’s uncomfortable to say the least. But this could boil down to personal preference I suppose.
I think with a better editor and some time and practice this author has serious promise but unfortunately this book falls completely flat for me.
February 13, 2025
3,5 ⭐️ bin auf die Folgebände gespannt 😊
April 19, 2019
Not a bad start, but but but... Maeve!
Mild spoilers ahead!
Some readers might give up on this book due to Maeve, aka the leading lady, who is rather annoying for about 90% of the book. But let's try and understand Maeve a bit, shall we?
Maeve is thrown into a magical mystery world that she knows nothing about, after being treated like a mental case for most of her life. So not only has she been told that being "a little weird in the head" is a very bad thing, she's also been diagnosed with serious mental disorders, force-fed drugs to keep her visions at bay, and finally, she has been kicked out of her school and taken to an academy where everyone is acting very oddly and secretively. Also, her family (aunt included) has kept all the magic stuff a secret from her, effectively removing any and all helpful support from her life.
And I'm guessing her life has lacked a certain necessary tolerance towards strange things and being different for her to be able to assimilate into the Nightworld Academy. So when she discovers, say, that the bad boy Andrei likes to snack on humans (which is a big no-no), she obviously freaks out and doesn't want to hang around with Bitey McBiteyFace. And if no one has ever accepted her freakiness, how can she accept and embrace it now, when she is bombarded with new freaky information?
Also, because she has had to keep her crazy visions a secret her whole life, she doesn't take kindly to nosey vamps (i.e., Tobias, the 150-year-old hot teacher), digging around in her brain, and thus she rides in on a high horse and tells people off for being supernatural freaks. And yes, that is all highly annoying and doesn't make her very likeable. But we're trying on her shoes now, so eh. They might not fit, but we can at least recognize their validity.
Luckily, at least in my opinion, Maeve changes her high horse and fancy shoes for just regular old sneakers so she can run around with her new freaky buddies and realize their worth and purpose in the (to her) new supernatural world. She gets her head straight a tad better at the end, and is able to accept and appreciate the academy, the people there, and her place in it.
Having said all this, however, I wonder if Maeve's inner musings could have been a bit more detailed, so that instead of finding her actions and words just plain annoying and rather terse, the reader might have been able to understand her struggles better. Or perhaps the dialogue between her and her new friends should have been more open and exhaustive, so that we might have felt more of a warmer connection between them, as well as gotten a glimpse of her more redeemable qualities. Sadly, as it reads now, most of the interactions between her and anyone, really, feel rather snippy, cold, and oftentimes even rude. I don't think we really get to see a softer side to Maeve, or even a truly kickass side. She just seems to float around, judging everyone, brushing off boys left and right, having a few arguments with the token bitchy girl (aka Katherine), and not really growing or developing into her own new witchy self (at least not until the very end, maybe).
All in all, I'm excited to see how the story continues. Oh, and one more thing (majorly spoilery...)
Mild spoilers ahead!
Some readers might give up on this book due to Maeve, aka the leading lady, who is rather annoying for about 90% of the book. But let's try and understand Maeve a bit, shall we?
Maeve is thrown into a magical mystery world that she knows nothing about, after being treated like a mental case for most of her life. So not only has she been told that being "a little weird in the head" is a very bad thing, she's also been diagnosed with serious mental disorders, force-fed drugs to keep her visions at bay, and finally, she has been kicked out of her school and taken to an academy where everyone is acting very oddly and secretively. Also, her family (aunt included) has kept all the magic stuff a secret from her, effectively removing any and all helpful support from her life.
And I'm guessing her life has lacked a certain necessary tolerance towards strange things and being different for her to be able to assimilate into the Nightworld Academy. So when she discovers, say, that the bad boy Andrei likes to snack on humans (which is a big no-no), she obviously freaks out and doesn't want to hang around with Bitey McBiteyFace. And if no one has ever accepted her freakiness, how can she accept and embrace it now, when she is bombarded with new freaky information?
Also, because she has had to keep her crazy visions a secret her whole life, she doesn't take kindly to nosey vamps (i.e., Tobias, the 150-year-old hot teacher), digging around in her brain, and thus she rides in on a high horse and tells people off for being supernatural freaks. And yes, that is all highly annoying and doesn't make her very likeable. But we're trying on her shoes now, so eh. They might not fit, but we can at least recognize their validity.
Luckily, at least in my opinion, Maeve changes her high horse and fancy shoes for just regular old sneakers so she can run around with her new freaky buddies and realize their worth and purpose in the (to her) new supernatural world. She gets her head straight a tad better at the end, and is able to accept and appreciate the academy, the people there, and her place in it.
Having said all this, however, I wonder if Maeve's inner musings could have been a bit more detailed, so that instead of finding her actions and words just plain annoying and rather terse, the reader might have been able to understand her struggles better. Or perhaps the dialogue between her and her new friends should have been more open and exhaustive, so that we might have felt more of a warmer connection between them, as well as gotten a glimpse of her more redeemable qualities. Sadly, as it reads now, most of the interactions between her and anyone, really, feel rather snippy, cold, and oftentimes even rude. I don't think we really get to see a softer side to Maeve, or even a truly kickass side. She just seems to float around, judging everyone, brushing off boys left and right, having a few arguments with the token bitchy girl (aka Katherine), and not really growing or developing into her own new witchy self (at least not until the very end, maybe).
All in all, I'm excited to see how the story continues. Oh, and one more thing (majorly spoilery...)
July 5, 2024
This is a clean reverse harem story. WTF! That is like saying carob is just as good as chocolate, if not better. Nope! It definitely is not!
The plot is weak at best, confusing most of the time, and haphazard all the time.
The MC is supposed to be this strong uber powerful game changing witch. I wish she was. I would like to read about that character. What she is, is a confused, whiny, dim-witted, fearful, weak person.
The plot is weak at best, confusing most of the time, and haphazard all the time.
The MC is supposed to be this strong uber powerful game changing witch. I wish she was. I would like to read about that character. What she is, is a confused, whiny, dim-witted, fearful, weak person.
did-not-finish
July 1, 2024DNF at 78%. Do I know what happened in this book or why I should care? Nope. So, moving on.
April 19, 2019
*I have received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed reading this novel. I devoured it from the very first page. The book had a great cast of characters and extremely hot boys.
Maeve's world is really cool. I really liked how unique everything is in the novel. There were such cool aspects to the entire boarding school and it wasn't run-of-the-mill. I liked the paranormal creatures and their complexity.
Meave as a character was really good. Meave is super spunky and fun. I really liked her sense of humor and her tough attitude. The boys in the harem, OMG they are so good. They are like the book boyfriends you need immediately. They are so sweet and different. Meave is one lucky girl to have them.
The romance is a really nice slow-burn. I liked how this book focuses on the characters knowing each other before things started more steamy. It was nice the burning chemistry.
I really enjoyed reading this novel. I devoured it from the very first page. The book had a great cast of characters and extremely hot boys.
Maeve's world is really cool. I really liked how unique everything is in the novel. There were such cool aspects to the entire boarding school and it wasn't run-of-the-mill. I liked the paranormal creatures and their complexity.
Meave as a character was really good. Meave is super spunky and fun. I really liked her sense of humor and her tough attitude. The boys in the harem, OMG they are so good. They are like the book boyfriends you need immediately. They are so sweet and different. Meave is one lucky girl to have them.
The romance is a really nice slow-burn. I liked how this book focuses on the characters knowing each other before things started more steamy. It was nice the burning chemistry.
May 2, 2019
I enjoyed this book but I didn’t realize it was a RH story until I was already more than halfway through it. If it wasn’t RH I’d continue into to the next book but I’m over RH books.
If you like RH you’ll probably enjoy this book!
If you like RH you’ll probably enjoy this book!
April 20, 2019
L.J. Swallow sucked me down the rabbit hole with the Nightworld Academy Term One. A touch mystery, a dash of humor and wit, and a sprinkling of romance.
Maeve is not your typical teenager. She has visions….or hallucinations, depending on who you talk to. After getting expelled from her school she is sent to an ultra private school which has a “special” curriculum. While at the school she befriends Ash, the star athlete, Jamie, the school “Nerd”, Amelia, her roomate, and Andrei, the dark and mysterious outsider.
When Maeve is attacked by an outside force she is thrust into a world she believed only existed in fairy tales. Her friends and teachers are not what they seemed, she is more valuable than she knew and is in danger, and to top things off, she saw one or more of her friends die in a vision. How will she navigate this new world and stop what is about to happen?
I have to admit, I read this book all in one night. It was such an intriguing story. I am not a big fan of the reverse harem scenarios, which this book has a very G rated tone of them so far, but I loved that each potential love interest has some sweet and heartwarming qualities and then have their own obstacles they have to overcome. I am interested to see how this plays out throughout the series. I am Team Andrei, just for the record.
The mystery of the first part was not my favorite only because I wanted the Maeve to hurry up and find out so we could move the story along. Plus I hate, but secretly love, not knowing.
I also was not a big fan of the multiple POVs. I was here for Maeve and that is who I would have prefered to see throughout the book. There was not anything wrong with the other POVs, they were well written and each character had their own voice shine through.
I did love how LJ Swallow was able to change the genre up a bit. Each Academy house is know for a specific ability, but within those abilities are smaller more specific sub-abilities. This for me, means there could be a lot of wildcards and unknowns, which excites me for further reading.
Overall I found the story to be good. Not great, but a fun and interesting read. That doesn’t mean I will not be getting the next one as soon as it comes out, especially with the cliffhanger of this one.
Maeve is not your typical teenager. She has visions….or hallucinations, depending on who you talk to. After getting expelled from her school she is sent to an ultra private school which has a “special” curriculum. While at the school she befriends Ash, the star athlete, Jamie, the school “Nerd”, Amelia, her roomate, and Andrei, the dark and mysterious outsider.
When Maeve is attacked by an outside force she is thrust into a world she believed only existed in fairy tales. Her friends and teachers are not what they seemed, she is more valuable than she knew and is in danger, and to top things off, she saw one or more of her friends die in a vision. How will she navigate this new world and stop what is about to happen?
I have to admit, I read this book all in one night. It was such an intriguing story. I am not a big fan of the reverse harem scenarios, which this book has a very G rated tone of them so far, but I loved that each potential love interest has some sweet and heartwarming qualities and then have their own obstacles they have to overcome. I am interested to see how this plays out throughout the series. I am Team Andrei, just for the record.
The mystery of the first part was not my favorite only because I wanted the Maeve to hurry up and find out so we could move the story along. Plus I hate, but secretly love, not knowing.
I also was not a big fan of the multiple POVs. I was here for Maeve and that is who I would have prefered to see throughout the book. There was not anything wrong with the other POVs, they were well written and each character had their own voice shine through.
I did love how LJ Swallow was able to change the genre up a bit. Each Academy house is know for a specific ability, but within those abilities are smaller more specific sub-abilities. This for me, means there could be a lot of wildcards and unknowns, which excites me for further reading.
Overall I found the story to be good. Not great, but a fun and interesting read. That doesn’t mean I will not be getting the next one as soon as it comes out, especially with the cliffhanger of this one.
December 7, 2024
2019 52 Book Challenge - 2) An Author You've Never Heard Of Before
I quite enjoyed this novel, I literally read it in one sitting, and just had to keep going until I'd finished it. I did like the concept of the book.
There were negatives to it though, including that the main character was very whiney and I'm really hoping that she improves in future books otherwise she is a major turn off for reading this series.
There were also numerous spelling and grammar problems. This book could really have benefitted from somebody checking it over because you couldn't go one chapter without an error.
I quite enjoyed this novel, I literally read it in one sitting, and just had to keep going until I'd finished it. I did like the concept of the book.
There were negatives to it though, including that the main character was very whiney and I'm really hoping that she improves in future books otherwise she is a major turn off for reading this series.
There were also numerous spelling and grammar problems. This book could really have benefitted from somebody checking it over because you couldn't go one chapter without an error.
September 20, 2021
The story was alright. The different races, witch, shifter and vampire are quite interesting. Maive is a good main character. The other characters are so-so, with Tobias being the most interesting. But, the magic isn't explained properly, the pacing of the book is off and the writing jumps around a lot, mixing present and past in a way which is sometimes hard to decipher. This has the potential to be a great series.
June 12, 2024
Great concept, but story was rather bland. Had to keep myself going through this but perhaps if I gave it more energy it would be higher?
May 8, 2019
Interesting storyline with an annoying lead
I really enjoyed the storyline and wanted to know more after every chapter. The concept of this book is a bit different, as it involves a little crime-related mystery, which I really like. I was hooked to see how the story would unfold, and it really did keep me on edge.
BUT
I have to say, the only thing that made me want to put the book down, and is making me unsure about reading the next book is the lead character, Maeve. My God, she is so imprudent and arrogant; not to mention SUPER selfish. She is so rude and childish to the point where the book became hard to read. She is so judgmental and won’t get off her high horse even when she’s aware of the larger-scale danger that might involve other people, too. But hey, she’s doing the ‘right’ thing, isn’t she? *eye-roll*
Anyway, I might wait until I can get a sample of the next book before deciding if I should purchase it. Honestly, as much as I despise Maeve, I’m still curious about Jamie’s situation.
I hope that I will see Maeve’s character development and growth in the next book, because it has so much potentials. If Maeve becomes more mature, perhaps the next book could become one of my favorite books on the shelves.
I’m really looking forward to Term Two.
I really enjoyed the storyline and wanted to know more after every chapter. The concept of this book is a bit different, as it involves a little crime-related mystery, which I really like. I was hooked to see how the story would unfold, and it really did keep me on edge.
BUT
I have to say, the only thing that made me want to put the book down, and is making me unsure about reading the next book is the lead character, Maeve. My God, she is so imprudent and arrogant; not to mention SUPER selfish. She is so rude and childish to the point where the book became hard to read. She is so judgmental and won’t get off her high horse even when she’s aware of the larger-scale danger that might involve other people, too. But hey, she’s doing the ‘right’ thing, isn’t she? *eye-roll*
Anyway, I might wait until I can get a sample of the next book before deciding if I should purchase it. Honestly, as much as I despise Maeve, I’m still curious about Jamie’s situation.
I hope that I will see Maeve’s character development and growth in the next book, because it has so much potentials. If Maeve becomes more mature, perhaps the next book could become one of my favorite books on the shelves.
I’m really looking forward to Term Two.
May 1, 2019
I think I'm going to have to throw out the 1.5 stars on this one. I feel like I'm in a slump and it may be effecting my ratings a tad so I rounded up to 2 just in case. This FMC, I could barely stand her. In fact I highlighted muliple passages that said exactly what I was feeling about the whole book.
"Maeve. I don't give a crap what you think. You've been part of the supernatural world for five minutes and don't know anything."
Tobias sneers. "You are naïve. All of you. You claim to be adults and behave like silly children."
The FMC Maeve was so incredibly judgy and whiney, it was just awful. She is constantly snubbing her nose at this newfound supernatural world that she knows absolutely nothing about. Total snob. Can't stand her at all. The story itself wasn't all bad but with the FMC leading the way and everyone seeming to fawn over her I barely made it through this one. I don't think this series is for me at all.
"Maeve. I don't give a crap what you think. You've been part of the supernatural world for five minutes and don't know anything."
Tobias sneers. "You are naïve. All of you. You claim to be adults and behave like silly children."
The FMC Maeve was so incredibly judgy and whiney, it was just awful. She is constantly snubbing her nose at this newfound supernatural world that she knows absolutely nothing about. Total snob. Can't stand her at all. The story itself wasn't all bad but with the FMC leading the way and everyone seeming to fawn over her I barely made it through this one. I don't think this series is for me at all.
April 17, 2019
Fantastic
Why did I wait so long to read a Swallow book? This book was absolutely fantastic!!! From the very first page we are pulled into Maeve's life where she has visions in a world of humans who think she is crazy so she has to hide it. After an incident she is sent to the Nightworld Academy where she will enter the world of paranormals, magic and intrigue. World building you will never want to leave. I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
Why did I wait so long to read a Swallow book? This book was absolutely fantastic!!! From the very first page we are pulled into Maeve's life where she has visions in a world of humans who think she is crazy so she has to hide it. After an incident she is sent to the Nightworld Academy where she will enter the world of paranormals, magic and intrigue. World building you will never want to leave. I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
January 29, 2023
This was hard for me to get through, I'll be honest. I'm not a fan of when authors use secret keeping as a plot driver. The main MC seemed really stupid and immature at times and was just overall really annoying. I can honestly say I'm not invested in any of the characters in this book and therefore don't see myself reading the next one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2019
Maeve finds herself expelled from school after making a drastic move to save a boy's life. She'd seen his death in a vision. Her aunt volunteers to pay for her to go to a private academy that will help her with her "condition". It doesn't take long for Maeve to realize this isn't a normal school and her visions aren't hallucinations.
I really enjoyed the story. It was invigorating. It was like House of Night and Vampire Academy. There's even a character that reminds me of Adrian from Vampire Academy. There's a girl in here that makes Aphrodite look like a docile cat. It's insane! I did have a few problems with this book though. Mainly the fact that I felt some scenes were rushed over when they should have been enhanced more. I also felt that focuses were placed where they shouldn't be.
The characters. I really feel like Amelia should have played a bigger part in the book than she did. I'm also torn between admiring Maeve and getting really annoyed by her narrow-minded opinions. She is great, but she really needs to keep her opinions to herself and stop justifying her opinions without even listening to the other people.
The narrators weren't really horrible, but they could have done a better job. I've listened to work from Sarah Colton before. I'm not sure I've listened to anything by Steve Campbell before. Either way, I like to keep an e-book companion with me. I may not follow super close, but I do follow. They changed the wording a bit in multiple places. I wouldn't really mind that because it doesn't change the story at all. However, they actually left off about a page of a chapter. I couldn't overlook that.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I do hope that Maeve has a personality change as the series continues. I don't see her keeping friends if she keeps looking down on everybody for what they do in life. I really adore character transformations. They add value to a book series. I can't wait to continue this series.
I really enjoyed the story. It was invigorating. It was like House of Night and Vampire Academy. There's even a character that reminds me of Adrian from Vampire Academy. There's a girl in here that makes Aphrodite look like a docile cat. It's insane! I did have a few problems with this book though. Mainly the fact that I felt some scenes were rushed over when they should have been enhanced more. I also felt that focuses were placed where they shouldn't be.
The characters. I really feel like Amelia should have played a bigger part in the book than she did. I'm also torn between admiring Maeve and getting really annoyed by her narrow-minded opinions. She is great, but she really needs to keep her opinions to herself and stop justifying her opinions without even listening to the other people.
The narrators weren't really horrible, but they could have done a better job. I've listened to work from Sarah Colton before. I'm not sure I've listened to anything by Steve Campbell before. Either way, I like to keep an e-book companion with me. I may not follow super close, but I do follow. They changed the wording a bit in multiple places. I wouldn't really mind that because it doesn't change the story at all. However, they actually left off about a page of a chapter. I couldn't overlook that.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I do hope that Maeve has a personality change as the series continues. I don't see her keeping friends if she keeps looking down on everybody for what they do in life. I really adore character transformations. They add value to a book series. I can't wait to continue this series.
July 29, 2021
Say it with me: Self. Pub. Doesn’t. Equal. Self. Edited.
Indie authors can use editors! Not just can- should! I know going into books on kindle unlimited that the plots are going to be small scale and full of holes, but I can deal with that if punctuation is used correctly!! This author was just throwing things in. Instead of full stops, she used question marks? Loads of little things like that. But added together I wanted to scream the entire way through.
Now the actual plot was kinda cool. Meet and fall for guy you have seen die. Except I couldn’t get over the fact how long it took for her to say something about it! Or why one of the people who looked into her brain (A TEACHER) didn’t seem to mind one of the students was gonna be murdered!!!
Other than that obvious character flaw of seeming to want this dude to die- the MC was alright. A master of the snark for sure. And the other characters were okay too. Except Ash. He was full of himself. And I say this while having the comparison of a cocky vampire right next to him.
Not upset I read this, but won’t be continuing the series.
Indie authors can use editors! Not just can- should! I know going into books on kindle unlimited that the plots are going to be small scale and full of holes, but I can deal with that if punctuation is used correctly!! This author was just throwing things in. Instead of full stops, she used question marks? Loads of little things like that. But added together I wanted to scream the entire way through.
Now the actual plot was kinda cool. Meet and fall for guy you have seen die. Except I couldn’t get over the fact how long it took for her to say something about it! Or why one of the people who looked into her brain (A TEACHER) didn’t seem to mind one of the students was gonna be murdered!!!
Other than that obvious character flaw of seeming to want this dude to die- the MC was alright. A master of the snark for sure. And the other characters were okay too. Except Ash. He was full of himself. And I say this while having the comparison of a cocky vampire right next to him.
Not upset I read this, but won’t be continuing the series.
April 2, 2021
This is a good beginning to this series, but I didn’t like the main character all that much for the first part of the book, as a matter of fact, I didn’t really like her much until the last part. She was very immature for her supposed age, and even though I think the author was going for snarky and rebellious, it didn’t work for me, it only showed her spoiled and bratty. When she finally started coming into her own, I started to like her more, but it took more than half the book to get there. Another thing to watch for, is the book is written in first narrative, but it switches from chapter to chapter and the reader needs to pay attention to the top of each chapter to figure out who has the voice. A couple times I caught myself having to go back and look.
With all that said, the action, the relationships, some of the fun, it’s all there and it’s still a good base for this series. I’m definitely moving on to the next book, and even though these say they are moving toward reverse harem, don’t let that worry you. This is still very much a young adult story.
With all that said, the action, the relationships, some of the fun, it’s all there and it’s still a good base for this series. I’m definitely moving on to the next book, and even though these say they are moving toward reverse harem, don’t let that worry you. This is still very much a young adult story.
April 18, 2019
A good start to a new series
A solid start to introducing new characters and defining relationships that are developing. I especially enjoyed hearing some of the guys backgrounds. Maeve was definitely one tough cookie, although I wouldn’t have gone alone somewhat passively as she did. I understand this is an intro book with a lot of world building, but I admit I almost had to set it down a few times. Books that introduce the h as completely clueless with minimal information passed to her and a large amount of secrecy for no real good reason tend to make me irritated. If I were Maeve, I’d call Bullsh@t and push for more answers rather than stumbling through dangerous bogs. I understand it is important for development not only if the story and world, but for the characters.
That being said, I am greatly looking forward to Term two and to see why Jaimie has such bad luck, who Maeve’s aunt is, and the extent of Maeve’s powers
I received Arc for an honest review
A solid start to introducing new characters and defining relationships that are developing. I especially enjoyed hearing some of the guys backgrounds. Maeve was definitely one tough cookie, although I wouldn’t have gone alone somewhat passively as she did. I understand this is an intro book with a lot of world building, but I admit I almost had to set it down a few times. Books that introduce the h as completely clueless with minimal information passed to her and a large amount of secrecy for no real good reason tend to make me irritated. If I were Maeve, I’d call Bullsh@t and push for more answers rather than stumbling through dangerous bogs. I understand it is important for development not only if the story and world, but for the characters.
That being said, I am greatly looking forward to Term two and to see why Jaimie has such bad luck, who Maeve’s aunt is, and the extent of Maeve’s powers
I received Arc for an honest review
June 6, 2019
Lent this with a free Kindle Unlimited trial.
Clean YA, no sex, no swearing.
Could have been a little more suspenseful.
Worldbuilding integrated in what the MC (Meave, the heroine) learns. Mostly.
Most chapters are from her POV, but some are from the POV of others (Jamie, Ash etc.), so if you do not like that, you have been warned.
OK read, but think, YA books could generally do with sex, regarding how old the people in this book are (17-20?), this does not strike me as realistic.
While the inner conflicts of the main people are well thought out, they are also not very interesting, and Meave as the heroine looks like she is interested and conflicted about 3 different guys, so more like a pesky love-square than a pesky love-triangle.
Not really sure, wether this will hold my interest enough for reading a second book, also depends on wether I can read that cheap (included in Kindle Unlimited?) - paying full price for it, even 3 Eur is too much. As it is not yet published and my free KU-trial end in July, I have to see wether I can squeeze it in ca. End of June, it is supposed to be published June 26th, 2019.
Recommended for a rainy weekend, if the things I said about the book do not bother you.
Then again, there should be better books in this genre.
Clean YA, no sex, no swearing.
Could have been a little more suspenseful.
Worldbuilding integrated in what the MC (Meave, the heroine) learns. Mostly.
Most chapters are from her POV, but some are from the POV of others (Jamie, Ash etc.), so if you do not like that, you have been warned.
OK read, but think, YA books could generally do with sex, regarding how old the people in this book are (17-20?), this does not strike me as realistic.
While the inner conflicts of the main people are well thought out, they are also not very interesting, and Meave as the heroine looks like she is interested and conflicted about 3 different guys, so more like a pesky love-square than a pesky love-triangle.
Not really sure, wether this will hold my interest enough for reading a second book, also depends on wether I can read that cheap (included in Kindle Unlimited?) - paying full price for it, even 3 Eur is too much. As it is not yet published and my free KU-trial end in July, I have to see wether I can squeeze it in ca. End of June, it is supposed to be published June 26th, 2019.
Recommended for a rainy weekend, if the things I said about the book do not bother you.
Then again, there should be better books in this genre.
October 15, 2023
3 ✨
It was decent enough im going to start book 2. (Mostly bc I haven’t read anything about this book and I can’t figure out if she’s going to end up with one of the guys, none of the guys, or all of the guys idk what’s going on)
However, I hate when supernatural books start with the mc not knowing the supernatural world exists and they just look like the biggest fucking bozo for like 10 chapters before someone has to slap some common sense into them. “You’re studying werewolf history because you’re in a class of shifters at the supernatural boarding school you attend clearly full of other supernaturals” like jfc
It was decent enough im going to start book 2. (Mostly bc I haven’t read anything about this book and I can’t figure out if she’s going to end up with one of the guys, none of the guys, or all of the guys idk what’s going on)
However, I hate when supernatural books start with the mc not knowing the supernatural world exists and they just look like the biggest fucking bozo for like 10 chapters before someone has to slap some common sense into them. “You’re studying werewolf history because you’re in a class of shifters at the supernatural boarding school you attend clearly full of other supernaturals” like jfc
April 17, 2019
Good start.
I was pulled in right away with this story. I liked the characters. Maeve was a good MC and I liked her a bit, I do feel that she was a bit whiny......but it could just be her getting her bearings, though she does grow as the story moves along. Even though I was pulled in, I feel like something was missing, maybe it could be the characters relationships being a bit slow but I'm not to sure. Either way I do want more from this story and can't wait for the next installment.
I was pulled in right away with this story. I liked the characters. Maeve was a good MC and I liked her a bit, I do feel that she was a bit whiny......but it could just be her getting her bearings, though she does grow as the story moves along. Even though I was pulled in, I feel like something was missing, maybe it could be the characters relationships being a bit slow but I'm not to sure. Either way I do want more from this story and can't wait for the next installment.
May 22, 2023
Love
I’ve been slowly making my way through LJ Swallow’s backlist and I’m really enjoying them. This story is part of a shared world with a couple other series by this author. This is a slow burn PNR with an FMC that doesn’t know she’s a supe. I’m not sure which guy is my favorite yet but I’ll be sure to mention it when I figure it out lol
I’ve been slowly making my way through LJ Swallow’s backlist and I’m really enjoying them. This story is part of a shared world with a couple other series by this author. This is a slow burn PNR with an FMC that doesn’t know she’s a supe. I’m not sure which guy is my favorite yet but I’ll be sure to mention it when I figure it out lol
May 29, 2019
I'm not really sure what to think about this book. I like it, the characters seem promising, the world building is great but the plot...I don't know what to think of it. I don't feel as if we get any answers in this book which is frustrating for me because I'm more of a 'I want to see her in full glory, kicking butt' but this seems to be more of a suspenseful type plot. I will be reading the next one since I like reading L.J. Swallow and I think this series has promise.
Overall: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
March 23, 2024
Gosh I hope this series gets better. The main character is simply annoying. She’s the most closed minded person and highly judgmental. I love academy series so I’ll give it one more shot but seriously, I don’t know why her friends are even friends with her.
September 24, 2019
Great start to a new series! I loved Maeve. I loved that the author made her reactions realistic. She didn’t just accept everything. She questioned and learned her own way. I liked that. I also really liked all the characters. I am looking forward to the next book!
#audiobookobsessionreviewer
#audiobookobsessionreviewer
Displaying 1 - 30 of 419 reviews