The Culling Trials 3

Shadowspell Academy #3

by K.F. Breene, Shannon Mayer

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

The last of the Culling Trials is here. I foolishly thought I’d survived the worst.

My team is falling to pieces around me and my heart is shattered for the losses I’ve endured. But I can’t stop when I’m so close to the end. There are too many people depending on me.

I foolishly thought there wasn’t much more I could lose…until the nature of my bloodline comes to light.

I’m not what I thought I was. Not what anyone thought I was.
But to tell people the truth would be to kill us all.

To fail the trials will mean death, but to succeed might damn me for life.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Romance

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2019

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K.F. Breene is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, Amazon Most Sold Charts and #1 Kindle Store bestselling author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and fantasy novels. With millions of books sold, when she's not penning stories about magic and what goes bump in the night, she's sipping wine and planning shenanigans. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two children, and out of work treadmill.

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Reviews

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very anticlimactic. I feel awful giving it a 2 star rating but that's all it gets.

I have been waiting since book one to know more about Wild and why she's wanted, why her brother was killed. I thought this book would answer those questions but it didn't. Instead we are told who had been stealing the kids when that was not even the main plot line initially. I thought it was a secondary arc but apparently not.

So I still don't know who the shadowkiller is, I don't know why he is after her, why her brother was killed. It just seems a waste of time stringing us along for three books and still not having everything resolved. There is a possibility that there might be another book but quite frankly I am no longer interested.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 and it is a Harry Potter on an acid trip at the Universal Studio ride.
This is the end of The Culling Trial but not Shadowspell Academy, I hope, because while we finally see Wild and the gang bond and each of them grows into their magical ability we still don't have much clue about Wild's parents and other mysterious stuff especially the Sandman and the Shadowkiller.
I think these motley crew underdogs are entertaining, love their chemistry and their bonding. I just hope the next part will be solid in character development, bits, and clue, politic, and romance, maybe?
just not another roller coaster ride of kidnap and assassin....too much and it'll get boring, ya know.

[Jeanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope this isn’t the end of Wild’s story.

[Redhead Haze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: contemporary fantasy, YA
Tropes: Dark Academy,  magic school, trials
Trigger Warnings:  death, kidnapping
Series: Shadowspell Academy #3
Cliffhanger: No
Spice: 0/5 🌶
Rating: 4.5 ⭐

“No matter what, you fight to the end. You never give up. You never give in. You give them hellfire and brimstone, my wild girl.”

Damn. This was another afternoon I forgot I was supposed to have a social life, but this was too addictive to be put down. Did I get all the romance I was looking for? No. Did I get confused? Yes. Did I get surprised? Yes. I was angry and confused, surprised and happy and I really did go through a wide range of emotions while reading this. It may not have the best world-building or the most developed characters, but the vibes and emotions made this a worthy choice.

》》The Plot《《

The Plot of this book covers the last Culling Trials as well as the solving of the mystery regarding the missing kids. Some bonds are formed and even some romance blooms around.

“Are you ready?”
“No. You?”
He released a shaky laugh. “Nope.”

I think these three books covering the Culling Trials could have been one single book, but maybe I am way too used with very long novels. They were entertaining and fast-paced, with sort of cliffhangers endings, even though this third book has a more of an open ending, allowing the authors to choose if they want to start a series covering the years at university or end the story with the ending of the Trials.

》》Characters and Relationships《《

“We all passed that trial. But we shouldn’t have. You tie us together in a way that is not normal.”

I love the way the 6 of them bonded. It's really sweet and adorable and I think I can sort of see what each of them brings to the group.

Regarding the romance... well, I was sure Rory and Wild were supposed to have something, but there’s really nothing going on. Instead, we have an obviously interested Colt and, shockingly, a sort of interested Ethan?!

“Really? You hate me, but you’d do me, anyway?”
He shrugged, wiping the edge of his mouth with the back of his hand. “Why not? Not like I’d call you in the morning.”
“Sorry. I was caught off guard. Stopped thinking.” Colt gave me a mouth-watering smile. “I’d definitely call.”

I definitely need to read the next books to see where this goes, because I'm confused and intrigued. I mean, I never thought Wild and Colt could be an item and I was honestly thinking she would have at least a moment with Rory, but then things started to change with Ethan and now they would sort of make sense as well?!

“You sure you don’t change into an animal?”
“Only a she-devil in the throes of passion.”

I mean, the teasing, the banter, the missions they went on togheter and especially the events in the last chapters made the relationship between Ethan and Wild the best developed relationship in the series so far. Not to mention the fact that Ethan has clearly had the best character development.

》》Conclusion《《

“I warned you to be careful, and you’re on the goddamn dance floor in a dress at a party full of people who could kill you at the drop of a hat?”

I will be reading the next books and I enjoy the story a lot. I still feel the Zodiac Academy and Divergent vibes, so I guess I'll have to wait and see if that will change with the next books or not.

“You don’t need training to have heart,” I said. “To have the grit to see this through. You just do it.”
Nice, now we’re a Nike commercial? Pete said.

[Zara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll bump up the star rating if this isn't the last book in the series. Because it can't be!
Not because I loved this series so much that I don't want it to end. No, it's because book 3 ends with so many things left unexplained. Everyone knows the Wild is Wild (AKA not her brother Billy) but how do they react? They don't. Unless you count putting her in a room with Wally. Which I don't.
There was all this fuss about Billy. (specifically him) coming to the academy. They sent a letter where they threatened his family if he didn't come and gave him lots of money and a time limit. And yet nobody gives the slightest hint that they care about the fact that Billy didn't come to the academy. WHAT?

Then there's Wild and her crew going around, trying to solve these disappearances. Where's the higher authority, the people in charge? They're supposed to be the ones looking into this not Wild. Help police, there's a couple of kids (fine, teenagers) getting injured and and almost murderered!
That's how I feel. Wally herself says that the Culling Trials are different this year, more people are getting injured. Well, since there's clearly a society of people with magic, there has to be someone in charge. Where's the parents demanding to know why their kids are missing? Where, where, where? It's all a mess.

At this point you can probably see the point I'm trying to make. So, obviously it's no surprise that it's Wild who finds and saves the missing kids. Of course. And after when she and her crew are in an epic battle and she actually kills someone? What happens? You guessed it, nothing. There's no investigation or anything because as I said it before there's no one in charge!

The next day they have their ceremony thing (I forgot what's its called) where a magaical cauldron ("sorting hat") decides what house they get into (Harry Potter, anyone?). Wild is left alone with Mr. Sunshine (forgot his name) because he says it's better no one knows about her being a chameleon (power of all five houses) but it's OK for him to know? Maybe he's the one in charge? (who knows?)
Wild tells him that she'd rather be chameleon than a null (having no magic).

WHAT THE **** IS WRONG WITH HER?
In the first trial she mocks people for actually wanting to be a part of the magic world when it's so dangerous. But here she is, five extremely dangerous trials later saying that she wants to a part of it. What about her family? Her drunk father? Her fifteen year old sister who's running the ranch/farm/whatever they have? Wild didn't want to leave her family and with good reason but after nearly dying so many times, she bought into the "nulls are losers" mindset and now wants to be a part of it.

Which is why I'm glad that I'm done with the series for the moment. If the authors write another book, then yeah I'll read it because there's so much left unexplained but for now, I want a break from The Culling Trials.

[Vivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chyba moja ulubiona część pod względem akcji, wyzwania były najciekawsze, porwania, zastanawianie się, czy ktoś umarł czy nie, kto jest tym dobrym a kto złym, ogólnie dużo się działo

[Daisy Delfin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pages: 186
My rating (stars): 5
MC: Wild
SC: Billy, Sam (twins, brother and sister of Wild), Rory (Wild’s best friend), Tommy (Thomas the older brother), Drexia nickname: Wally, Pete nickname Freckles, Sandman = Sideburns = Sunshine = Rufus, Gregory Goblin nickname Biebs, Orin, Ethan Helix


The Culling Trials end in this book. And I really loved this series and hope there will be a follow up, because I am sure the story just began. So since I don’t want to spoil anything this is only a short review. I got this book today and starting reading it today and finished it in not even half a day. I could not put it down. And today the next book is released but Breene skiped out of the series and Meyers is the only author for the next parts.

Summery of the contend of the book. Loads of spoilers are included, so don't read it, if you are reading the book for the first time. But if you want a reminder what happened and have read the book, you will get a detailed summery here.

Again the book starts where the other ended with Rory finding Wild and Colt kissing. He starts a fight with Colt and Colt is out cold fast. Rory tells Wild that she has to keep herself save but she replies a group of two is a group. Wild is annoyed because Rory is overprotective.

When she gets back to her dorm room the others are their after they interviewed people who know the missing kids. The all found out, what Wild and Colt uncovered already: each of them were mediocre in their skills. And each of them where offered an easy out of the trials and into the academy.

That night Orin and Wild plan to break into the office of Director Frost. Before Wild has strange nightmares, where the person, who is after her, is part of the dream. When Orin wakes her up they sneak out of the room only to run into their roommates. They all want to come along. On the way to the office they hear people roaming the mansion. Wild fells a Vampire and because they are talking she knows the Sandman and Rory are the persons there. Rory wants to check on Wild. They leave but the Vampire Jared does not follow them. The question is who is following whom? Ethan breaks into the office with the help of magic. The only find a red file and when they open it, it’s a file about Wild with stamp that Wild is missing.

Day 5 of the Trials: Somebody wakes up Wild because it is 9 am and everything is still dark, the moon shining. Jared comes into the room and tells them that today is the trial of the House of Night. They get ready and board a bus. But somehow they end up alone on the bus. The driver is talkative. Turns out he is related to Gregory and he and Gregroy’s family don’t know that Gregory is missing. Wild is reminded of Tommy because they do know that he is dead but know nothing about the reason how and why he died.

Ethan found his cheat sheets and tells the group that they will be up against Necromancers first, then Ghostwalkers and finally Vampires. Wally tells them that the Necromancers will send Zombies after them, and they can only be bested (lay back to rest) if they disable the Necromancer.

They enter the trial and nobody is following them because it is the only bus which went to this entrance. Wild get her warning of danger. They find “a pastoral scene straight out of some fairy tails villein’s playbook”. They also are in the cemetery where only people who passed the culling trials are buried safe from being raised. Because a Zombi is a strong in death as it was in life.

And the Zombies start coming at them and there are so much, that they can’t fight them. They can’t figure out if they are have to prove that they can rise to the challenge or if the higher ups want them to fail. And the group thinks that Wild will go missing during the trials and they will be victims because they have to witness this.

As the Zombies come at them they decide to climb a Mausoleum. But Wild gets a warning while she is the last person on the ground. And the cruel necromancer sends Zombie Tommy after Wild. He attacks her but she can’t fight against her brother, until she sees that the eyes are not Tommys eyes. But he is stronger than Wild and it is hard to fight him. But suddenly Rory is there and help her onto the mausoleum, while he disappears into the masses of Zombies. Wild is devoted because she think that Rory will die defending her. But she gets a grip on herself and then she decides that they have to move to the necromancer. She tells Ethan and Pete to stay and try to help to clear a path. Orin throws Wild so she gets a head start. But the aim is off and her head hits a gravestone. Orin and Wally follow her. While they get through to the Necromancer Wally is not reacting well. The Necromancer takes Orin and he tries to fight is, but it is hard. Then the Necromancer taunts her that she is not strong enough to fight him. But her friends tell her that she can do it because she is defending her family. While Orin and Wild fight the Zombies, and Wild is taken by too many Zombies who bite her, try to tear her apart and so on, Ethan and Pete join the group. Wally rises to the challenge and disables the Necromancer. They decide to take the Necromancer as a present for the Vampires. Before they leave the cemetery Wild sees Tommy, with the eyes she remembers. He tells her to keep on fighting.

Because of the Zombie bite Wild has a bad infection and high fever. She is struggling and Orin picks her up and carries her to the next challenge, the ghostwalkers. There she meets her mum, who gives her a boost of energy and tells her that she has to fight and survive. Pete is at her side and tries to get her up, because she has to cross the bridge on her own. Because of the energy boost she does that.
And then they are facing the last Challenge, the Vampires. There are four doors and they have to choose which one to enter. But Wild gets a warning. But before she can come up with another plan four Vampires come out of the doors and taunt the group. But they tell the Vampires that they brought a the necromancer for them. The Vampires are not impressed, even after the group tells them, that the necromancer took Orin. They laugh and say that taking over Vampires is a myth. But Wally demonstrates it with one of the Vampires and tells them she learned it by observing the necromancer.
Suddenly the Sandman, Director Frost and other burst through the four doors and rescue the group. The lead them out of the trial and the group brings Wild to the healer. The healer tells them that they came in time other wise Wild would have been turned into a Zombie. After a painful healing the group caries Wild to the bus and later into their room. When Wild wakes up she hears that her secret is out and she is not kicked out of the school. Orin tells Wild that she ties the group together in a way that is not normal. He thinks that the ties can't be broken easily and that as a Vampire he should be bothered by this, because Vampires are loners. But he is not bothers. Wild tells him that he feels friendship and that it is normal to want to protect your friends.

Wild went into the shower and she takes time to grieve, because she knows that after the shower, there will be no time to grieve before the trials are over. Again she gets a warning and when she enters her room she finds Colt, who is copying Ethans cheat sheets. He thinks that this is payback, because Ethan left him in the first trial.

Day 6 of the trials:
Brainstorming about the situation:
Wild thinks that they should have been killed last night.
Orin thinks that Gregory would not have taken the easy way out.

They decide to investigate where Adam the Directors assistants is. They think about where Adam is. And talk about Jared. Turns out that Jared wants to be Director. Colt tells them that he saw Adam and they decide to go after him. They split up: Orin, Wally and Pete go after Jared. Wild, Ethan and Colt follow Adam.

When Wild and here group go to the after Adam they pass thee portables. Colt tells them that Ethel is the next kid, who get the offer to skip out of the trials. So they want to check out her portable but they find Adam around.Again they have to split. Colt goes to Ethals portable and Wild and Ethan go after Adam. They get caught by Adam. He warns Wild to watch out for herself or even leave the trials running and hiding. But Wild tells him that this is not her style. Adam also confesses, that he is looking into the kidnapping. There is nothing he can do about the other things happening, it's beyond him now.

Ethan and Wild leave Adam after Ethan slipped into the role of the entitled guy. Wild calls him out and he confesses that he always plays a part. They found out that the object Adam carries around is a memory ball, kind of a magical photo album, which records images feelings, sounds and smells - basically the whole memory. The ball has to be opened with a matching Retina.

Wild suggests, that the kids are kept close to the campus. The go back to the place where gregory was taken and follow footprints and other tracks. Ethan sees a stone and Wild joggs around a the tree to get there. On the way she falls into a hole, which was glammored. Ethan gets her up and they both decend a staircase into a cavern. On the stairs they are sucked into a unnatural noisecancelling darkness. The fall and are free of the magical darkness. They go to investigate but are found by the Sandman and an adverary, who fights with the Sandman. Meanwhile Ethan and Wild move on and find the missing kids in cells. But they cannt take them out of their jails. The Sandman fights against Wild and knocks her out. He also wipes here memory. She wakes up the next morning and can't remember what happened after their run in with Adam.

Seventh day of the trials.
They are going to the final trial which is hosted by the House of Wonder. When they enter the trial they are in a bare. Their task is it to withstand a magical spell. Orin goes for a portion and is knocked out. Wild sits at a poker tabls getting warnings. But she gets hit by a spell but manages to counteract. Ethan, Wally, Pete and Wild passed the first challenge. So the have to face the next trial, where they are hit by several hits and have to hit the marge with three spells. Ethan decides to go to the second hardest person. He gets out all right. Wild gets out and owns the ward of her instuctor. But after the challenge Pete and Wally is missing.
In the next trial they have to fight a T-Rex. Ethan gets his head meet a wall, so he tells her some spells and she is able to injure the T-Rex. But at the final show down, the T-Rex bites Ethan quite bad and he has to get to a healer. Luckily Wally and Pete and also Orin find their way back to the group. The help with saving Ethan by telling Wild how to shatter the illusion. They are finally free but the healer cannot save Ethan because he is to far gone. Wild tells her crew, that she has to rescue Ethan. Wally manages it with her necromancer powers.

At that evening they have a ball, where the placement of the persons. Wild finds out that Rory is living and leaves the main hall. Jared comes after her, telling her that Sam has been taken where the other kids are too and she has to come with him. They go back to the dungeons and Adam attacks Jared. But Director Frost comes there too. They tell Wild to free the kids and sent the kids out on an alternative root, but Wild just send them out, the same way she came in. When Jared and Director Frost come back, Director Frost slits Adams throat leaving him to die. Jared starts to take Wild the way they wanted the kids to go. And Director Frost tells wild that there are people with more than one ability. Colt has two but rarely they have five. The Shadowkiller is related to Wild and wants her dead. At the end of the tunnel the Director finds out that Wild send the kids the other way. She tells Wild that she drinks from the kids to rejuvenate herself. And that she and Wild are Chameleons, people who wield more than one skill. Wild tries to fight against Jared ans the Director. But the Director sucks the life out of her. But then Rory and the Sandman come to her rescue as well as her crew. Rory and the Sandman go after the Director and Jared but they get out of the situation and go after Wild. Wild kills Jared which distracts Director Frost and she is taken. That night Wild and Wally have to sleep in a girls room. In the middle of the night they go back to their old room, sleeping with the guys, the whole crew in contact with each other.

The next day the crew and the missing kids have to go to the cauldron ceremony which they missed. They are sorted into the houses. Colt gets two tokens back, one of the house of wonders and the house of shade. The others get sorted as expected. But when it is Wilds turn Rufus the new Director (and Sandman) sends the other out of the room, so they do not witness how many tokens she gets back. She gets all Tokens back and the Sandman tells her to go to the house of shade and that he will watch her and if she behafes like the other Chameleons then he would kill her.

The crew members are sad, because they have to split now that they have to leave for their houses. When Wild arrives at the bus which will take her to the house of shades, she finds out that Rory will be her mentor. In true Wild fashon she ask him how they settle things, when someone wronged her and Rory tells her that she has to challenge the person. And so she challenges Rory. Their friendship seems to heal a bit. They leave for the house of shade and the next adventure.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m on a 4.5 / 5 cusp.... something felt like it was missing and ending to quickly. There has to be another book to this storyline!

[★Me Myshelf and I★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

How Breene and Mayer have managed to keep this series as exciting and fresh as Book 1 I can't work out. But they keep on delivering.



If could use one quote to sum up the whole series it would be
"And just like that we went from the frying pan into the fire."

and also

"Something else was at work here. I could feel it. Something...not right."

With only 2 house trials left the anti is being upped. Wilds internal warning system is going on red alert every single page. Everything that can go wrong, will.



They are facing the toughest houses and it will make or break the crew. There is a reason why I'm using Potter gifs, the wands are out in full force. We even have a he who can't be named thing going on. The missing kids, Wild's magic, it's all coming to a head.

It continues to be clever, exciting, funny and also fast paced. But it's anything but over, even when it appear we’ve come to the end of this trilogy.

[Avada Kaddavra · Rating 4 out of 5]

...und es geht spannend weiter 😃 Jetzt sind mir nur eindeutig zu viele Love interests im Spiel - auch wenn es weiterhin keine Liebesgeschichte gibt😁

[Ashenta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh man, I guess I'm going to be the party pooper.

I've been on this ride of emotions, keeping me in the story and unable to put the book down. WHICH is usually how many books I fall into go but, how this story ended has really dampered my mood.

Why? Cause I feel like it didn't tie up anything, if not more than anything make more questions.
Like, who is this mysterious "shadowkiller"?
How did the fight between her and Rory go?
WHO does she pick, because lets face it, Rory, Colt and Ethan like her and with her liking them back as well.
What happens to her family? Do they try to get her siblings to come as well?
What happens in the school cause I'm sure it not just like that after the trials it done.
Does she see her friends again and how? Cause I feel like she would fight hell and back just to hang out with them.


Now from what I understand that this is the last book of the series but if there is going to be another series that answers everything, then this book deserves so much more. Don't get me wrong, I still love the characters and everything in it, I just feel like it ended way to soon without the ties it much needed.

[penta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mogłabym tu powtórzyć wszystko, co napisałam pod poprzednim tomem, bo te książki są tak identyczne, że nie tylko fabułę, ale nawet problemy mają te same, no ale szanujmy swój czas i podsumujmy jakieś nowe problemy.

Po pierwsze, cała intryga nie tylko nie dostaje porządnego wyjaśnienia (samo pokazanie palcem, kto za tym stoi, nie starczy jako wyjaśnienie, sorry), ale też autorki kręciły tyle kółek, by zmylić czytelnika, że zrobiły nawet obrót o 360 stopni i bohaterowie, z Wild na czele, wyszli na kretynów, że nie rozgryźli tego wcześniej. A, no i ofc, Wild mając szansę zapytać o jakieś zagrożenie, o którym inni wspominali, tego nie robi. Bo po co. Nie byłoby materiału na kolejne kij wie, ile tomów, każdy rozbity na trzy książki, z których każdą można rozbroić w jakieś dwie godziny.

Po drugie, wreszcie do tej książki dotarły romanse i to chyba najgorsze, co mogło się stać. Tzn już wcześniej były te bardzo "subtelne" aluzje co do Ethana czy Rory'ego, ale w tej części już nikt się nawet nie kryguje i Wild dostaje trzyosobowy harem. Cały czas drżałam o Orina, czy nie będzie czwarty, ale nie, członkowie haremu muszą mieć przynajmniej jeden opis dotyczący ich niedorzecznej atrakcyjności. Fascynujące w ogóle, jak Wild z pierwszego tomu niby była w miarę przeciętna z wyglądu, zwłaszcza w mało pochlebnym fryzie mającym z niej zrobić nastoletniego chłopca, a teraz latają za nią właściwie bez powodu największe ciacha.

Wild sama w sobie też jest problemem. Ja rozumiem, że ona ma jakieś wyjątkowe zdolności i to wymaga, by wszystko przychodziło jej łatwiej - tyle że jej te rzeczy nie przychodzą łatwiej. Ona może puścić bąka i okazuje się, że to jakoś magicznie ich przepchnęlo przez kolejną próbę. W żadnej scenie akcji czy napięcia nie ma żadnych emocji, bo to OCZYWISTE, że Wild się uda. W dodatku w tym tomie nawet jej myśli o rodzinie prawie zniknęły i stała się kolejną pozbawioną wad, overpowered bohaterką-wybranką, której nie czekają żadne konsekwencje. Tyle czasu poświęcono na powtarzanie, jakie to ważne, by nikt się nie dowiedział, że Wild jest dziewczyną - a jak się wreszcie wydaje, ZERO KONSEKWENCJI!!! ZERO!!! Tylko dostała pokój z Wally. No iks kurwa de. Poza tym im więcej czasu spędzamy w głowie Wild, tym głupsza i bardziej nieznośna się robi - w pierwszym tomie była konkretną, praktyczną osobą, a teraz musi co chwila wspomnieć, jaki przystojny jest Ethan. I w ogóle to zakończenie?? Osoba, która przybyła na próby tylko po to, by uratować brata, która wcale nie chciała tu być i przez cały tydzień prawie ginęła, nagle stwierdza, że gorsze byłoby do tego świata nie należeć. Kocham, jak każde fantasy YA nagle z dupy wyskakuje z tym "normies are useless", nawet jeśli bohater spędził w innym świecie TYDZIEŃ i wszyscy jego najbliżsi są takimi normies.

Chciałam skrytykować też świat, ale nie można rantować na coś, co NIE ISTNIEJE. Tu nie ma żadnej budowy, żadnych stałych zasad, wszystko jest dosłownie składane na kolanie w trakcie, jak akurat autorki na coś wpadną i człowiek tylko czeka, aż się zacznie sypać.

Kontynuację pewnie przeczytam po nowym roku, ale widzę, że tendencja spadkowa tylko się utrzymuje.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg, omg, omg, book 3 is here yay...
This trilogy has been compellingly amazing... and now we are at the end of the Culling Trials I seriously can't wait to see what happens when they are all at the academy, if this team could find so much trouble during the Culling Trials I pity their teachers...lol

Wild, Wally, Peter, Orin, and Ethan are a team whether they want to be or not, they are a seriously magical bunch of misfits who make each other better when they work together...

The Culling Trials have been much more than mere trials for this team but each and every time they have prevailed, somehow...lol most of the time its sheer stubbornness on Wild's part I do seriously love her never give up attitude.

My favorite scene in the book has to be when Wild laughed in Ethan's father's face I mean seriously that was just priceless...

The story is beyond intriguing, the magical loop-holes throughout the plot bring the story more to life and have me jumping out of my seat with wonder as I never know which way the authors will go.

For Urban Fantasy fans this is a serious must read series and I can't wait for more, I can definitely see it becoming an absolute favorite for me.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Wild and her team continue the trials the danger is greater than ever before and the challenge for the House of Night even sees them facing off against supernatural zombies! The team is still down one member as Gregory and the other missing students still haven't been found so not only is Wild trying to get her group through the last few trials in one piece but she's also determined to find out who is behind the disappearances.

This has been such a fun series to read, lots of fun magic, great characters and plenty of action. We finally start getting some answers about Wild's abilities here and we also see Wally coming into her own as she faces off against another necromancer. I've really enjoyed seeing how the team has come together  and that they always have each other's backs, even Ethan makes some positive improvements here although I'm still not sure he can be completely trusted.

The latest instalment has lots of twists and we finally get to see who survives the trials and which houses they get placed in. I'm really hoping the authors decide to continue the series so we can see how the gang get on inside the Shadowspell Academy.

[Ta || bookishbluehead · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Culling Trials 3 begins where the second one ended. Right in the middle of the Trials.

Personally I felt this part was the weakest of all the three books published so far. A lot of things were resolved very fast without any fuzz. Other things were dragged on and on, but didn’t do anything for the story itself.

The lack of world building really is a huge disadvantage for this book. I felt left out a lot of times and had the feeling I couldn’t get the whole picture because I was missing so much background info.

It also felt like Wild wasn’t herself in this book, her character was shallow and flat. There was some unnecessary romance in this book as well, which came out of nowhere. (But to be fair, there was some unnecessary romance in the second book as well). Everything in this one was missing substance.

With The Culling Trials 3 ends the first half of this series and we get a real ending, with resolved things and a prospect for the next book in this series.

[Camila · Rating 5 out of 5]

IS THAT FUCKING IT????????

ARE.
YOU.
KIDDING.
ME.

“The End.”
THE END??

No it fucking not is the end.
Get the hell back here and WRITE BOOK FOUR.

I am livid.

This book/series was a whirlwind of confusing fucking goodness AND IT’S OVER??

No.
I refuse to accept that.
Just. No.

I am near tears.
It was just so good.
The crew.
Rory
Colt
The crew
Orín
Wally
Gregory
Pete
Wild
Ethan

Wild + Ethan
Wild + Rory
Wild + Colt.


*crying*
What do you mean THE END??!
Imma bout to go Director Frost on these author’s asses if that’s the last book.
I will drain the fourth book right outta ya! Ya hear?!

Please excuse me while I go adopt a honey badger and cry.
(Okay let’s cut the crap where’s the rest of this series? When’s it coming out?)

[Natalie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sometimes you’re a good guy, Ethan, and sometimes I want to bitch slap you.”

Looks like its over for now. A great trilogy, this one filled with danger around every corner, secrets revealed and a slight touch of romance. Poor GG is still missing and the standard trials have been thrown out the window. The family team has their work cut out for them.

Favourite parts were Orin throw, sleepover and last message. Favourite character still Pete. Honey badger for the win. Could've been longer but that's my only complaint. Loved it. More please.

[Tracy D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope this isn't the end!

Everything was tied up nicely with the Culling Trials, but I have so many questions! More mysteries unanswered. This can't be the end for Shadowspell Academy! Seriously, I want to see what happens immediately after that ending! Jeez! Please, keeps writing these books!

[Anubha (BooksFullOfLife, LifeFullOfBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series isn't disappointing so far, the trials are over and finally the academy life will begin next book onwards. Can't wait to read them! Btw if you liked reading about Nevermoor, plz give this series a try! It's similar, more mature and more magical+ supernatural.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

In this book we get to see the gang- minus the missing Gregory- go through the House of Night trial for Wally, and the House of Wonder for Ethan. Again we see that something is not quite right with the trials, and some unknown force is working against the team to stop them from getting to the end.

Only this time around is seems like the baddies are going from setting impossible obstacles to outright murder and mayhem.





A lot of story spoilers and speculations:
Okay, so of course Wild has abilities from all of the houses- that was kind of a no brainer- but what I did like was that they didn't make her a 'speshul one'..well more or less.
It seems that this kind of situation has come up in the past, and people with these abilities are often called Chameleons.

I did not see the Frost/Jared punch coming, and was interested on why she hid the fact that women can be Chameleons too-- beyond the obvious. Are the other women out there with this ability that have gone under the radar?



Also, lets be honest- Its not to much of a stretch to think that the Shadowkiller is really Wilds dad. But since she had an older brother would he have been a Chameleon too? I don't assume so...so I'm interested to see how that went down.

Also...still kind of feeling Wild/Ethan. sue me
I mean, he really needs to step up in the serious department, but I see potential. He also needs to step up his magic game if he wants to stand a chance with Wild- but I look forward to all of the characters growing into their own.

I am sad that the crew is splitting up right after they just got back together with Gregory, but I highly doubt this is the end. I'm just not as interested in seeing Wild with Rory...or Colt (dollars to donuts he chose Shade)

So with more information on Wild's history and potential powers - I'm looking forwards to discovering more about the Shadowkiller and that backstory- as well as how each members of the crew grow into their powers and how they will come together again.

[Lien · Rating 4 out of 5]

YES! This is what I was waiting for! Things are happening and the unpredictability made this book so much more fun to read than the first two installments.

Previously I criticized that our heroine Wild seemed too composed, with too little emotions. But in this installment, she's (finally?) not so invincible anymore and gets some hardships thrown her way. Is it bad that I liked that? It made me relate to her so much more than before, because who wants perfection? Flaws are attractive lol. Special mention to my boy Ethan. Dare I say it? He became my favorite even though I hated him in book 1 and barely tolerated him in book 2. Oh and there's finally some romance!

The Culling Trials 1-3 seem more like a prologue to the actual story that's about to come so I really hope Breene & Mayer will continue with this series. There are still some unanswered questions left so I'm beyond excited to get to know more.


**ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review.

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➔ 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
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#1. My review of ➞ The Culling Trials | 3.5 stars
#2. My review of ➞ The Culling Trials 2 | 3 stars
#3. The Culling Trials 3 | 4 stars
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[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 3 was a lot better than the first 2 books. I give this one 3 to 3.5 stars. This book didn't bore me like the other two and the writing was better.

I didn't like the ending. It ended without giving the reader any real closure for what happens with these characters that we have gotten to know and like. Even a brief epilogue would have been appreciated.

I do not recommend this series. The only reason I kept reading is because I liked the characters and was curious what would happen with them. I didn't care for the writing or the storytelling.

This book felt very anticlimactic and we are left with multiple unresolved plot points and questions that were never answered.

Based on the ratings, I'm clearly in the minority so you might love these books. I just won't be the one to suggest you read them.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild and her group face the final trials for Shadowspell Academy. The trials are becoming more intense and seem to be geared to killing Wild in particular. Wild is also distracted by wanting to find out what happened to the kids that have disappeared. Her team rallies behind her to provide support, even Ethan.

Ok so, I think because the trials were more dangerous and intense, I ended up liking this book a little better than the previous three. We also get to see Wild solve the mystery about where the missing kids went and to some extent why. I say "to some extent" because I'm not sure if I was just distracted or if that part was a little vague. I have a lot of questions about the resolution of that particular problem in the plot. I'm also still scratching my head about the ending. This whole time, I thought Wild was just attending the trials to show participation in order to save her younger siblings from a similar fate. She had a healthy distrust built up and it was reinforced by everything that happened in the trials - so then why was she so happy to be going off to her new house in the Academy? It seemed a little out of character, especially since she will now be separated from her friends that helped her get through the trials and know her secrets. I am assuming that this series is just
a precursor to a new series that will focus on what happens at the Academy. Perhaps we will get a nice short explanation of what the hell just happened to start us off?

[Heather Rainwater-Alvarado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was amazing. It’s young adult and I’m already nagging my teenager to read it next. I am a diehard Breene fan, and not so much a Mayer fan (sorry) but I love their writing together. The first book was fun to tell who was writing what, the second book got a but fizzier, and I think the third was blended even better.
You have to read books 1 & 2 before book 3, and I’d recommend reading them pretty close together. Because of the shortness of the books, they do not recap the previous books so prepare to five in head first. The first two books build up the suspense and mystery, and the third does not disappoint. Book 3 does solve the mystery and wraps everything up with a nice little bow, but also leaves room for additional books in the future. Now, I just want to know what happens when they finally go to the academy! This did not fully resolve my addiction for this series which is one of my two issues with the series. My other issue is petty, but I wish they had swapped the covers because there is not a single instance of unicorns in this book. Which I was really excited to read about based on the cover.
I really really hope more Breene/Mayer books are coming down the pipeline in the future!

[Lorie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing change on this final book..

Book one was hard to get through since the story moved at a snail pace. No characters development or romance. It was boring. I skipped book two and decided to read book three to see if the story got better. The big reveal on who the mc was didn't happened until almost to the last chapter. Nothing changed on this last book, still no romance and it was still boring. The mc purpose on trying to saved her brother was mute point since everyone already knew she was a girl from the beginning given that shifters and vampires can smell her. The main plot of the series were weak at best but moved from the mc substituting herself to saving her brother to wanting to learn her true nature. That is it pretty much. Overall, with lacked of romance and plot lines, it made this series forgetful.

[Tink Magoo is bad at reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

I was hooked from the first book and have my fingers crossed we get another trio of books at the Academy and some romance 💓 Rory

[vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t realize that this was YA, but I wish there was more romance, especially with the way the book was written-it could’ve easily been an RH.

[Następcy Książeki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoko na raz

[Sabiba Hossain · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I want to say thanks to the people who recommended it to me. They're from a facebook group. Members in the group are friendly, sweet, and can give you custom-made recommendation , also the community is amazing!
Check it out if you like: https://www.facebook.com/groups/yafan...

Ok, so the last book ha? I think the biggest achievement of this book is that it brought some personality to some of the characters. Also, I thought the plot was predictable, but I did not see that coming! One objection, and that is, Wild is invincible. Failure can't touch her. I would rather like a protagonist who has some weak points, who is a human. Look at Kaz Brekker, look at Jude (FOA) - they try to show they are invincible, but they're not. They're expert, but not in every area. It's what makes them human.
Overall, the series was fun to read. I don't know if I'll explore her story further, but it was enjoyable while it lasted, and let me be honest, This Book Kept Me Hooked Until The End.
The ending scene was so damn beautiful!

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

This series is like a juvenile James Bond - constant, nail-biting action but very thin on storyline, explanations or understanding. All we really know after three books is everyone is after Wild (FMC). Have no idea why, but I absolutely adore her character, so I’ll keep reading.