Year of the Chameleon 3

Shadowspell Academy #6

by Shannon Mayer

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

Broken, bruised, and battered beyond anything else, I’ve survived what I shouldn’t have.

But my day isn’t done yet. We finally have the key to stopping Frost—literally. Even if we don’t know how to use it.

One last time my friends and I have to scour not only the city but the supernatural world to find the pieces of this final puzzle—and we have three days to do it.

One final showdown brings us back to where it all began, and I face off against the woman who killed my brother. Who hunted my mother down. Who broke my uncle’s spirit.

If I cannot find the final pieces, then I will fail. And if I fail, Frost wins, and we are all doomed.

No pressure.

No pressure at all.

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

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2021

About the author

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I was born into a family of Star Wars nuts. I have a lot of siblings (somewhere I lost count but I think there was more than could be numbered on one hand) and being one of the young padawans I was subjected to Star Wars marathons, on a regular basis. If you've read any of my books you'll see there is often a reference to said movies as a small homage to my upbringing. May the force be with you and all that jazz.

I started writing when I realized I didn't want to grow up not believing in magic, or not believing in creatures everyone else said didn't exist. That being said, I have never seen a fairy, unicorn or dragon. I had a neighbour who swore they fed the leprechauns in their garden, but I never caught the little buggers no matter how long I lay in wait. (And consequently had to help the neighbours plant new flowers to replace those I killed waiting for the leprechauns to show their faces.)

Along the way, I found my husband who is the rock that keeps me from floating away into my dreams, and we have a little boy who is the centre of our world. Living on a farm keeps us busy (as if the writing wasn't enough) and I have more than my share of stories about wrestling with cows, helping birth calves and ending up in the creek during the process, falling in the mud (we'll call it mud but we all know that on a farm, mud is rarely mud) and chasing escaped livestock in the hopes the four legged convicts don't make it to the highway.

I've taken up archery, and the goal is to move into horseback archery in time (you know, when I can hit the target on a consistent basis) and when no one is looking, I love to bake (this doesn't happen often as it's hard to keep the sweet treats in stock with two boys in the house.)

As to what's coming next for me? More stories (since those never stop inside my head, I might as well share them with all of you!) and more adventures. Pretty much, when the fancy strikes, I'll jump on it. Leap before you look I'm sure that motto was created for me.

Or was that . . . think big and dream bigger, ready, set, pull the trigger . . . yeah. That one is a good one too. But only if you have a gun. And are hunting elephants. Which is not cool because of so many reasons. Let's stick with the first one with an addendum.

Leap before you look and let your dreams carry you on their wings. And that, my friends, is me in a nutshell.

Reviews

[Redhead Haze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: contemporary fantasy, YA
Tropes: Dark Academy,  magic school, magic houses, found family, love triangle
Trigger Warnings:  death, kidnapping, self-sacrifice
Series: Shadowspell Academy #6
Cliffhanger: No
Spice: 0/5 🌶
Rating: 4.3 ⭐

“Sometimes those who do not know are the most capable. Because they do not know enough to doubt themselves. They do not yet have the limitations of the world on them.”

Oh, this was a very catchy series and I'm glad I've picked it up. I was in some sort of a reading slump, but these 6 books? I went through all of them with greed.

》》The Plot《《

“Any ideas?” I shot a look at Wally.
She shrugged. “Ninety-nine percent chance they are not here to have tea and cookies.”
My adrenaline spiked, my body thrumming with energy, but I grinned at her. “Shit, I was hoping we’d be having tea.”

This was the final showdown in the magical war against Frost. There were a lot of ups and downs, unexpected twist and turns, new alliances and fights. The mystery of the 5 keys was finally solved, some family ties came to light and, in the end, the answers we got made sense.

“I will come with you,” I said after a moment. “But no games.”
Ash shrugged. “This whole world is a game, young Shade. You should know that by now.” 

We got chapters from Wild and Rory and, towards the end, one from each member of her crew, which was an interesting addition to the story. But what bothered me was that I was expecting more from the ending; I feel like we could have enjoyed an Epilogue to show how things settled after the final battle and how their world was shaped for the better. Maybe it's just me, but I did feel the ending was kind of abrupt.

》》Characters and Relationships《《

“Johnson, that better be you. Alive.”
“You sure you don’t want me dead yet? I’m kinda a pain in the ass if you haven’t noticed.”

You already know how I feel about the crew and their friendship, so no surprises here. I loved them togheter and I'm happy I got to see Nicholas' crew as well, especially with those members I didn't see coming but I probably should have.
A few things that really made me happy were that we got to see more of the Sandman and Mara, that Wild reunited with her father and the twins and that we were also shown a glimpse of the families of the other crew members.

“I will stand by you with all I have, Wild. I mean that.” His eyes closed. “You have all of me.”
My heart clenched, and I knew that if Rory had not been there . . . things would have been different.

The love triangle was solved, of course, but honestly, after reading a lot of books from Susanne Valenti and Caroline Peckham, I was sort of hoping she'll just keep them both, without choosing. Maybe I should stop reading reverse harems. Anyway, I feel like Ethan deserved more, a closure of sorts or something. And, after seeing Sam (Wild's younger sister) in action, I can't help but wonder if Ethan and Sam would make a good pair. Maybe in a future series?

》》Favorite Scenes《《

🧑🏻‍🎓👩🏽Rory sensing Wally in his mind
🥸👩🏻‍🦰🧑🏻‍🎓👩🏼Rufus and Mara telling Rory that it was obvious that he and Wild are a perfect match

“If Ruby had killed you, Wild would have been satisfied by nothing short of burning the world to the ground, not caring who she took with her, because while you two nincompoops can’t see it, the rest of us know that you are a match for her in every way. But injuring you? Leaving you almost dead? They did that to throw her off her game. To make her worry, to distract her from doing what she had to do. She said it herself.”

🧑🏻‍🎓👩🏼Rory talking to Wild on the radio
🦡Pete being able to talk to the cat
🧛🏻👩🏼Orin picking Wild up and carrying her

Knees shaking, I trembled and went to the ground.
Orin scooped me up in a fireman’s carry. “I got ya.”
“Oh, so romantic,” I mumbled.
“What, you want romance from me, too? Don’t you have enough from Ethan and Rory?” He snickered, and Ethan mumbled something imperceptible under his breath.

👥🧑🏻‍🎓Nicholas talking to Rory
📜Carson and Godry telling the story
🧑🏻‍🎓Rory showing up
💋  The kiss
🚜 The farm
🗝 Wild giving the 5 keys away

》》Conclusion《《

"Chameleons are . . . they spin chaos, amongst other things, if you haven’t noticed. Their luck can swing from amazing to the shits in seconds, and they can connect with people without meaning to.”

I definitely recommend giving this series a shot. It's not perfect, it's not a masterpiece, but it's catchy and addictive, it's fun to read and it has the potential to get you out of a reading slump (it did the trick for me).

[Sweet and Salty Reviews by DD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nooooo it is over 😢

But what a great day being and what a great 4 day bender of reason 😂

If you are in the mood for some outstanding writing and exceptional characters garb this series!!

Happy reading,
DD🥂

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

After reading six books in this series, I still don't know anything about this world. And I know I'm repeating myself but WHY is there so real worldbuilding? In all of these books?!

After that has been said, it was still a decent book. Very fast paced, the whole series happens in a short span of time (like 3 weeks max.). There is always action and something going on, the reader and the characters can't really catch their breath.

I didn't care for the romance in this book. It was unnecessarily added to generate more Drama. It was insta-love times three and not just for Wild, our MC, for some of her friends as well. This would have been more interesting without any of it!

The ending was meh. I don't want to spoil anything but I thought it was pretty underwhelming after everything they've been through.

[John Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been an enjoyable series, the first trilogy written with K. F. Breene (Whom I had read previously and it why I started this series), but in the second trilogy Shannon Mayer took on Wild and her crew fighting for justice against evil, and now I am a fan of her writing. Good stuff.

[Daisy Delfin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pages: 213
My rating: 4

I loved the conclusion. It all comes together in the last book. A lot of things suddenly make sense, some the reader did expect, others were unexpected. And Wild and her crew did well. They all grew in the series and got stronger in their personality and their magical abilities. But they also grew as a team. I liked both the main characters and the side characters. There were some really bad people in it, but they were well done. I am sorry to leave Wild’s world now. But it was a great ending to a series.

The Characters: Names and descriptions of the persons

Wild: FMC, her actual name is Maribel, takes Billy’s invitation to Shadowspell Academy because he is too young and soft, makes it through the Culling Trials
Billy, Sam: twins, brother and sister of Wild
Tommy: Thomas the older brother of Wild, Billy and Sam, was invited to Shadowspell Academy and killed there
Lexi: Wild’s mum
Rory: Wild’s best friend
Drexia: Wally, met Wild in the Helicopter that took them to the Culling trials and they stayed together as a team during and after the Culling Trials
Pete: Freckles, Honey Badger shifter, met Wally and Wild on the Helicopter, he was thrown out of the Helicopter but landed back in the Helicopter, he is very fierce in his shifter form
Sandman: nicknames: Sideburns, Sunshine but his real name is Rufus, he tries to protect Wild and becomes a teacher at the Shadowspell Academy
Gregory: Goblin, nickname Biebs, Wild saves him during the first trial, gets kidnapped in the Culling Trials but Wild frees him
Orin: Vampire, follows Wild and her group of misfits into the first Culling Trial and sticks with them
Ethan Helix: heir to a wealthy and well known family, did everything to win the Culling Trials including cheating and stealing form his group
Mara: Healer and Love interest of Rufus, married to him
Ash: Gargoyle and Weapon Teacher, alley of the Shadowkiller
Nicholas: also known as Shadowkiller, like his sister (aka mother of Wild, Thommy, Sam and Billy) and Wild he has all affinities, Kidnaps Wild, but the reason is unknown
Colt: friend of Ethan Helix, kissed Wild in one of the Culling Trials book, when Ethan failed to help Wild Colt stepped in, he wanted to be in Wild’s crew, he died in the first year of the Chameleon book when he tried to protect Wild.
Frost: Director of the Culling trial, Chameleon, wants Wild only to sustain her for years
Ruby, Jared, Mr. Helix, Jason, (Wally’s Dad), Olive, Sandra, : Frost Follower



Summery: detailed, lot’s of spoiler

The last book in the Shadowspell Academy: Year of the chameleon and I am not ready to leave Wild’s World. But who knows maybe there are other books in the future.

Wild and her crew are taking a breather in Ethan’s mums penthouse. And finally Wild remembers the role that Gordy the weapon dealer gave her. He told her that it is about Chameleons. And she finally read it, only to be totally shocked. We already know that Nicholas is Wild’s Uncle but now Wild finds out that Frost is also related to her: she thinks Frost is her great-grandmother.
And suddenly other things add up to: Nicholas has his own crew and he let them go. Wild and her crew think that Gordy and Carson are in his crew, the marge and the other guy that died. And they think they need to go and find out what Gordy knows.

Meanwhile Rory is recovering in a hidden place beyond the house of shade. Mara and Rufus are taking care of him. And they tell him to stay the night. But this night Rory is attacked by Gwen. She tries to kill him, but Rory turns the table and trap here, and Rufus comes to his room and together they restrain her. Rufus gets Mara, so she can give Gwen a truth serum. Turns out that Gwen is in Frost’s team. And when she attended Shadowspell Academy Rufus trained her and she fell in love with Rufus. But Rufus rejected her because he was already married to Mara. They also find out other secrets: Frost wants to own Wild. And they have three day to end Frost’s reign. After that Rory - even though he is injured - leaves the safe place to look for Wild. And he now sees that he can find her because they connected while growing up.

Wild and her crew leave the safety of the penthouse but run into trouble, because Frost send a Wolfpack after her. The fight with the wolfs on the roof of the penthouse where the wolfs attacked the sleeping alicorns. But Wild and here crew safe the Alicorns. They leave the penthouse for good and go to the shelter and Gordy. After finding him Carson joins them too. And both of them tell Wild the story, what happened to Nicholas. Turns out that Frost had his love (a lion shifter) killed in one of the monthly trials and Nicholas lost control. And then Frost forced him to bind to her. Frost also had him kill his friends - that was the reason why he became the Shadowkiller. After that he released his crew, so that Frost would not get to him. Rufus, Mara, Lexi, Gordy and Carson were bound to him and then distanced themselves from him to survive. But Nicholas had the plan to destroy Frost. First step was to hide the essence of the houses and Nicholas had Lexi do this, because she was always good at hiding stuff. They hid the essence of the five houses in five keys. Lexi hid them. And even when she was taken by Frost, she never broke and told Frost where the keys are.

They decide that they must find the keys and Wild tells Gordy that she already has two keys.

Meanwhile Rory runs into Ash. He tells him that he should come with Ash because the Shadowkiller wants to meet Rory. And Rory is shocked that Ash know how details about his life, while he grew up with Wild and Thommy. When they meet Nicholas, he gives Rory a journal, which belonged to Lexi and tell Rory to give it to Wild. Rory goes to the shelter and finds Wild and finally kisses her and shows her that he loves her. He also tells her that there was nothing between him and Gwen, but he will tell her the whole story at a different time.

They decide to go to the house of wonders, because they think that Thommy was looking for the key there. They have to leave in a hurry because the Darkness is hunting them, a creature that belongs to Frost. Carson wants to sacrifice himself to save the others, but Wild helps him to distract the Darkness and they all flee to the House of Wonders. In the subway Ethan is hit by the strange illness and he nearly dies, but Wild and Wally try to safe him. Wild ask Carlson if he can detect hidden spells and when Carson does this, they see that Ethan is infected by a magical spell, that was created by the house where Gregory and Gordy belong to. Together they safe Ethan. In the subway, they are attacked by Ruby and some Shades, who are Team Frost. But Wally defeats them, while the Darkness has also found them. Wild throws Ruby to the Darkness and hopes that she will not survive it.
At the house of wonders they call Thommy and he tells them that he can’t remember what he found. But he tells wild to go home.
Wild and her crew and Gordy and Carson decide to go to the house of claw next. They use a passage from Danielle’s office and a gargoyle tells Wild that he only has an order not a key and he already told Thommy the same thing: Go home. Wild is irritated because Ash said to go to the beginnings Thommy and the Gargoyle send her home. But then she reads the journal and finds a message form her mum saying that she should go home. And finally she realises that here mum hid the keys on the farm.

They leave Danielle’s office but send Danielle on the wrong path by telling her that they are going a different place, far away from Texas. On their way to the roof of the building they meet Rufus and Mara and they join them and all of them travel to the farm.

When they arrive there, Sam nearly shoots them, but Wild calls to her dropping out of the Helicopter. Turns out that Rufus told her family, that Wild was killed like Thommy. Wild is really mad at Rufus, but her brother and sister are happy to have her back. The twins tell Wild that her Dad is dying and they hurry to him and Gregory and Gordy save Wilds father, because he was spelled too. Wild’s father tells them that two keys are hidden on the farm. He put them in the ear tag of the two female cows. And the third key is at Rorys house. Rory’s father is the guardian. The wrestle the keys from the cows and then Ethan and Rory go to Rory’s father. The father nearly shoots his son, but Rory overwhelms his Dad. The Dad tells Rory that he killed his wife, because she wanted to leave and then would have told the people about the key. Finally Rory kills his father, because there is no other way to get the key.

Back at the farm the take the twins and Wild’s Dad with them and fly to meet Nicholas. Wild finds him through his link. Nicholas and his old crew do some magic to unlock the power of the keys and kill Frost, but they can’t pull it off. And Frost is laughing at Nicholas. Wild collects the keys takes the whole team and they flee with the helicopter to the beginning, the culling trials.

There they make a plan how to defeat Frost. At first everybody calls in reinforcements who are not bound to Frost. And then Wild addresses the reinforcement and tells them that her crew will try to beat Frost. And in front of all she give the key to her friends, according to their house. But they do not want to have the power and Wild tells them, that is exactly why they are the best fit for it.

Frost and her alleys arrive and they fight. Wild faces Frost, but Frost goes after Wild’s family. They have to face the Darkness. And then Wild hits the Darkness with a spell, something her mum told her - she thinks. And all her friend join her. But a the last moment, Wild breaks the connection to her friends to sacrifice herself. And Wild dies. But Nicholas asks Wally to save Wild by making a trade with Death: Give back Wild’s life and take Nicholas. And it works. So at the end there is only one surviving Chameleon, Wild.

[AℳY♔Queen of Fat cats♔Ain't no lie Baby Byebyebye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this could be done in less books but overall good!!! I'm onto her collab with Kelly st. clare sensei and loving all the fae drama despite my hating fae.

[Norma's Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic conclusion to a wonderful YA series, Year of the Cameleon 3 is the battle we've all been waiting for. As Wild and her crew fight to put all of the pieces together, the bonds between them grow stronger than ever. But will it be enough to take out Frost and Co.? The action was engaging, the mystery nice and complex, and the final battle was a rollercoaster. I loved this series and felt like this was the only ending that would fit this amazing story. While sad to see it go, it was wrapped up so perfectly that I find it hard to complain. This will be a series I come back to and share with my kids. Such a fun, magical ride!

[Anubha (BooksFullOfLife, LifeFullOfBooks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't dig the romance between characters, Idk honestly I liked Wild independent, the chemistry wasn't well developed for me to root for them. Did like Uncle Nicholas' character and well this book had an okay closure but I liked the book the least out of all in the series as it was hurried closure. Everything suddenly gets resolved, not in steps. the concept of collecting keys could have been collected throughout the last 3 books, not just 1.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book winds up the series very well. It ties up all the various threads, while still giving the action and suspense one has come to expect. It never did delve beneath the surface, but for just a fun ride where one doesn’t have to think much, it is great.

[Morgan Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not wrapped up

Ugh it was rushed. I mean after what six books you think the ending could have explained things like what happened to the houses now. What happened with the culling trials now. Where was the disease coming from? Why were nulls targeted? I wasn’t happy about it. I expected more.

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG where do I start? I have loved this series from the get go and although I am sorry to see it end, what a fantabulous ending it is! Questions are answered, secrets revealed, I laughed , I cried, I gasped in shock and awe and I literally have no nails left. I absolutely adore Wild and her crew. Each member is unique in their own way and it was amazing to see their powers grow, to see their connections to each other and Wild expand and grow and to be part of that epic battle, how they helped each other all the way through, it’s a true showing of family. It’s been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster, one hell of a journey and is definitely one I will take again and again. An incredible series set in an incredible world with incredible characters and one that I would very highly recommend.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some thoughts on this "series" (volumes 1-3 are all one book; 4-6 are the second book): it is exceedingly mediocre. I am always interested in reading a magic school trope, but this series - which is sort of like what would happen if Harry Potter went to the Hunger Games and fell into the Maze Runner - hardly even engages with the magic school trope. Like, the events of these books literally take place over the course of what, two weeks? Three, max? They were only at the magic school for a total of two days, for crying out loud.

My main complaint with this series is tied to the bizarre timeline of the series but is perhaps more egregious: the main character is a Mary Sue. I am not joking. She is present in this world for two weeks and somehow manages to succeed at literally everything. All the boys love her. She makes great, lifelong friends. She saves the world (or does she?). Even Mary Sues in fanfiction aren't this blatant.

This whole series gets three stars, if only because the ideas are there, and every book has nonstop action (I am a sucker for action). But the plot and characters are appallingly bad.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

finished this series up..good triumphed over the darkness :)

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A better ending could not have been written.

Oh what a finale. All the threads came together. All the ties and bonds linked and everyone worked together to end the darkness.
Wild was the Keystone to saving the magical world, through her the mabigcal community connected as one to drive away the darkness forever.
Magic truly is a wonderous wild thing to behold.

[Erin McDaniel Coolbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final conclusion to the Shadowspell Academy series. Wild has managed to free her crew from their cells only to be trapped by Frost and her lackies. They are going to need a miracle to escape or in their case a disaster will do. This final book is a race against the clock. Wild needs to find the house keys before Frost can complete a spell that will make her the most powerful chameleon. And she’s going to need more than just her crew for the final battle. This book is as exciting and heart pounding as the others. Shannon Mayer has a knack for keeping the momentum in a story going strong. It’s almost impossible to put down the book. Be prepared for some late nights reading (or maybe just one 😊). You’ll keep telling yourself one more chapter till you finally reach the end. Who needs sleep? I loved this book. It was a perfect ending to an amazing series. I’m just sad it has come to an end. I’m not ready to say goodbye to Wild and her crew. This will definitely be a series I reread over and over.

[Brandy Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

The End has to come.

Wild and her Motley Crew are at the turning point in this fight. They have to learn who to trust and who is the bad guys. They learn that their way of going in without knowing how to do something may be the only thing that will save them. There is a strong bond that we learn is going to be the all time fight. The one we learn who is going to be the powerful one. The one where we learn who is finally going to be the master of the houses. Everything is put in this book. The end was the only way it could happen. We just didn't know it till the last chapter where we would end up at the end.

[Stacey mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg the guys go through so much in this series in such a short time and I love them all.. this bunch of weirdos have stolen my heart and I’m sad to see it end. If you enjoyed Harry Potter, maze runner, hunger games and divergent you are gonna wanna devour this amazing series. It’s completely action packed and has so many omg moments that it just keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole series. The characters are funny, smart, and will kick your ass. Absolutely AMAZING I can’t recommend enough.

[Kathern Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.... OMG.... LOOOVED IT.... This Woman knows how to write a story that completely draws you in, Hook, Line and Sinker you are caught......
What an ending to a wonderful series.... A total Rollercoaster of a ride....
Wild and her gang shows what it truly means to have each others back. They are a family of their on and they don't let each other down. That is how a family should be. They learn some real truths about each other. Wild learns she has to believe in herself, and have confidence.
I very highly recommend this book.... You will absolutely love it....
Shannon Mayer knows how to write a book that will give the readers a ride....
My hat's off to you....
I received this book and volunteered to give an honest review.....

[Tigrish · Rating 4 out of 5]

So all the way from book one to six you can basically read that as one stand alone, and this is basically what I did. I really liked the books! Sure, there are some bits that might raise some eyebrows like the fact that the entire 6-book series basically spans 2, maybe 3 weeks tops?

And yeah, there's no way someone becomes an adept assassin/fighter in that timespan especially after spending life on a farm, but you know, I wasn't reading this book in order to find faults with it. I wanted to read something that would suck me in and distract me from real-life for a bit. In the way good stories do. And this book did just that! Action-packed might be an understatement. The author managed to get me invested in the story, and in whether characters lived or died. I see that as testament to good writing.

The books are definitely young adult, but it didn't bother me as it did in some other books. I do think they could easily make a movie out of this. Thanks Shannon, very much enjoyed this trip.

[DEBORAH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Mayer has, yet again, created and concluded a magnificent series. Wild and crew need to find certain keys that can hold back the threat to the supernatural communities. That they find them all is a given. That they succeed against the evil Frost is not.
The YA series briefly touches on teenage angst, but it is not all that intrusive in the overall story, much to my happy surprise. The themes of family, love, sacrifice and courage envelope the entire series, culminating in the conclusion that could be and the final conclusion that was presented. As usual in this series, the pace is jet fueled. Don’t bother even trying to breathe, sleep, eat, whatever. The emotions touched this reader on many levels, proving again what a great writer Ms Mayer is. The characters are extraordinarily well developed. Should Ms. Mayer ever decide to revisit this world, I would definitely sign up for the ride.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whelp...that was fun. I've quite liked this series, sure it wasn't the best, and felt a tad messy at times, but it was easy and interesting enough. And yes, I did cry again, what's it to you?! I think I would have liked it if all the books were a tad longer, and we added more depth to some of the characters (and let them bond more).

I will say though, no epilogue? Um, we need one! I'd have liked one to make this series just feel that tad bit more well rounded. Shame.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I FEEL SO EMPTY

I LOVE WILD AND HER FIERCE LOYALTY,I LOVE WALLY AND HER STATS,I LOVE GREGORY AND HIS JUSTIN BIEBER GOOD LOOKS, I LOVE PETE AND HIS FEISTINESS,I LOVE ORIN AND HIS SARCASM, I LOVE ETHAN BECAUSE DUH. and i have learned to love rory

My ship didn’t win but you know what? Im happy!

[Caro✯ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐

I'm not going to go into too much detail with the review, I'm simply going to say that the entire saga has shades of color similar to many similar books 🫣 At times the similarity was agonizing, as it becomes tiring to read more of the same or that the writers lack a touch of originality in their writing 😵‍💫
I kept my option until this last book of the saga, since the whole time I was expecting a surprise, a twist that would leave me totally astonished, unfortunately IT DID NOT HAPPEN 🫤

I'm going to highlight the protagonist as strong, determined, bold, reckless, and above all, a loyal friend to her group, always fostering camaraderie.On the other hand, not developing the romantic side of the story further left me with a bitter taste, since the ending had the potential to provide a proper closure between the two, but it was only a brief moment.
It's a saga that reads slowly at times and with good momentum at times, but it never reaches anything explosive, impactful, and mind-blowing.
After reading 6 books, the ending (beyond being a positive ending) was very weak with the closure, a shame sincerely.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly enjoyed it, but saw myself being less invested as I was in the earlier books (particularly the first trilogy). I feel like something was missing in this book to make this a satisfying conclusion. In my opinion, the finale was a little rushed and a little too convenient for the main characters. Plot armour is a huge problem in this book. The fact that it was apparently so easy for the characters to bring people back from the dead really lowered the stakes and made the finale much less exciting since you basically knew everyone would live.

I also have to agree with the reviewers pointing out the lack of worldbuilding in this series. What makes comparative works like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games great is the vast, immersive worldbuilding, which unfortunately fell a little flat here. After 6 books, we still don't really know that much about the magical world and how it works. For a series called Shadowspell Academy, I wish the story would have spent a little more time showing us the actual everyday life at the academy before shit hit the fan lol.

But all in all, I enjoyed the series, but I prefer the first trilogy by a mile.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Conclusion to the series!

WOW! Suspenseful, action packed, thrilling and utterly intense right from the very first page all the way to the end. We finally get the answers to all the questions we have had since the beginning of the series, plus a few new shockers thrown in to keep us readers on the edge until the end. I laughed a lot as Wild is one crazy, sassy, kickass woman with an amazing family and crew behind her.

“There is no such thing as cheating in the game of survival. Either we live, or you live. And I’m not putting my money on you today.”

This has been one hell of a journey of emotional ups and downs that I am sorry to see finished. It is brilliantly written and will forever be a favorite of mine.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abschließendes Review für die Buchreihe (yay):

Mir hat es sehr gut gefallen. Im Großen und Ganzen war es eine Geschichte über Zusammenhalt und Freundschaft. Es war die meiste Zeit spannend und ich hing quasi an den Büchern. Der Teil war sehr fesselnd und auch wenn das Ende etwas offen war, hat man trotzdem das Gefühl, dass die Reihe zu Ende ist.

Dinge, die mir aufgestoßen sind, waren zum einen, dass die Romance (schon sehr) unnötig war und dass das Worldbuilding relativ oberflächlich gewesen ist. Ich hätte mir da etwas mehr Tiefe gewünscht. Außerdem finde ich es im Nachhinein schade, dass erst später die Perspektivenwechsel dazugekommen sind und vor allem nur von 3 Charakteren, weil da Potential verspielt wurde. Diese Romance-Geschichte hätte man dadurch eventuell besser rüberbringen können und möglicherweise hätte man auch mehr von den anderen aus Wild‘s Team erfahren. Bis zum Ende hin hatte ich leider nicht so einen Draht zu den anderen, obwohl die Freundschaft in den Büchern eine wichtige Rolle spielt. Mir ist zudem aufgefallen, dass das Ende ziemlich gehetzt war.

Insgesamt ist es eine gut fesselnde Buchreihe, die ich ohne schlechtes Gewissen weiterempfehlen würde.

[~Shawna the crazy coffee reader~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe this journey is over. This has been a wild ride, pun intended. The group is closer than ever and the stakes are higher than ever. Frost is on a rampage and ready to take over the magical world. Everything along the way has led her and her crew to this book but they will need help. It’s time to bring all the houses together and see if they can cast off the hate and competition that has come between them. Can Wild trust Nicholas and his crew to help her? Will the darkness consume them all? Read this 6th book and find out. I fully recommend this book and series and hope for a possible time hop into the future at some point.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was enthralling and brilliant! It is amazingly fast paced.

I absolutely adore Wild, each of her motley crew and all the other characters. Wild and her crew grow rapidly together, both individually and collectively, over the course of the series and it was beautiful to watch. They are not perfect but they are magnificent together.

This magical world is brutal and shows some of the most ruthless sides of humanity, but the fight to make it right is beautiful and celebrates the best in us. While I wish this series didn’t have to end, the ending was perfect.

I am honestly astonished that this series hasn’t been made into a tv series / films yet! This is officially one of my favourite fantasy series, up there with the best of the best in my view.

[Johanny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shannon Mayer does it yet again!!!

I swear one day I really am going to break my screen trying to keep swiping for more!!! Love doesn’t begin to cover it, but neither does non stop, roller coaster, emotional edge of your seat, page turning, omg did I really just read that AMAZING book!! While I am sad to see the adventure come to an end...Holy Cats what an ending!! I am going to miss Wild and her crew but at the same time I truly enjoyed seeing the growth and bond that they shared and cultivated throughout the series.

[Nathalie* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did i ever love this series! Appropriate for teen girls too! I will totally let my daughter read this!

Love that the love in this book keeps u on ur toes! Love that the more u read the more u get to know the story of the characters .. very well done!

The strength of wild is perfect .. her character was so positive and fierce, and even tho her mom isn’t really around the love from her was beautiful

The ending was cut a bit short I wish we could have a bit more from everyone .. so many chapters so many possibilities 💕💕💕