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Academy for Reapers #1

Academy for Reapers: Year One

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I just died…and ended up with a one way ticket to the Academy for Reapers.
But first I have to pass my trial.

It’s like high school all over again.

Mean girls, homework, and the Untouchables—hot reaper guys with attitude. Of course I get partnered up with the meanest of the bunch. He’s got a serious chip on his shoulder and I find him irritatingly hot.

And did I mention there’s a war between Heaven and Hell and I’m stuck in the middle of it.

There’s a big bad demon trying to bring down the reapers and steal all the souls.

Including my dad’s.

Grab this new academy romance filled with reapers, angels, and demons who are batting for your soul!

*Academy for Reapers is an academy romance and the first in the Academy for Reaper series. This series is NOT RH. It’s recommended for 16+ due to language, mature themes, and smexy situations. Ends on a cliffhanger.

99 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2021

552 people are currently reading
238 people want to read

About the author

M. Guida

70 books213 followers
M Guida has always loved fantasy and romance, especially dragons. Growing up, she devoured fantasy books and all kinds of young adult books. And then she found romance and a whole new world opened up to her.

Now as an adult, she fell in love with academy romance and has blended all of her past loves into one compelling series. Dragons, vampires, elves, demons, and shifters all attend Legacy Academy.

When she's not writing, she lives in the colorful Rocky Mountains with her fur baby, Raven, and enjoys taking her for walks.

Would you like to become a Legacy? Sign up for her mailing list and enter a world of the supernatural. https://geni.us/akJn

You can also join her private Facebook page-Legacy Academy https://geni.us/aksDhUZ You'll become a legacy and find out about your special power and maybe even find some romance!

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5 stars
270 (46%)
4 stars
156 (27%)
3 stars
89 (15%)
2 stars
42 (7%)
1 star
20 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
Profile Image for Cheryl.
2,124 reviews63 followers
November 22, 2022
Kept my interest But....

I gave it 3 stars would have done 4, but there's several mistakes sitting the book. Some inconsistencies, spelling error, and errors within a sentence when using the wrong word.

With that being said.... The story itself was good. Not sure if all four books are about the same couple or not, but I assume it will be. Rusty is so stubborn and doesn't want to work with her. He will have too if he wants to clear his name.
3,003 reviews44 followers
November 23, 2021
This is book one of the Academy for Reapers series and the main characters are Julie and Rusty. Julie is getting ready for the Homecoming Dance and being egged on by her long term enemy, Samantha, who she has been at loggerheads with since elementary school. The two are now at college and in opposing sororities, but both like the same guy and have agreed to drag race after the Homecoming football game, to see who wins the guy. Unfortunately, they both end up dying as they drag race each other and Julie ends up in the Reaper Academy. Somehow she arrives a whole week after Samantha, who has let everyone know that Julie killed her and joined in with a group of bad guys known as the Untouchables! So now she has Samantha back in her life, or death as such, and they are both at the same school and have to be reapers until they atone for their sins. One of the Untouchables is Rusty, the boy who died saving another at Legacy Academy, during their end of term trials and who we knew became a reaper and have been keen to find out more about him and his life after death!
Julie ends up with a seemingly nice roommate Anne, but Samantha has put the Untouchables up against her and they are all vying to win a bet with her as the subject of it. All pushed into action by the nasty Samantha! Lots of bully tactics from her and the boys, Rusty in particular. They are in most of the same classes together, as all reapers are returned to the age of eighteen on their deaths, to start the academy on an even keel. In one of their classes, they have to call a scythe to them, the scythe that will forever be theirs, with Rusty and Julie getting very powerful ones and made the leaders of their year group. Not something either of them is eager to be. They are also paired up together after the headmaster brings in a new rule to safeguard the young reapers, after an escalation in demon attacks. Reapers can be killed by demons, but more importantly, they can lose the souls they have just reaped, which has a dangerous consequence. Lots of artifacts and relics kept at the academy have gone missing recently and whilst the Untouchables are thought to be to blame, no evidence of their guilt has yet been found. Archangel Michael is a fierce warrior and doesn’t trust Rusty one bit. When Rusty tries to get back to Earth to help a friend who is in danger, Michael catches him and the two of them are given less than a month to prove his innocence, after he was framed by a powerful demon who is out to put an end to all reapers and steal souls. Rusty is the perfect scapegoat and his attitude towards nearly everyone else doesn’t exactly help his case! An interesting beginning to the series, but far too short and would have loved there to be more. Julie and Rusty have passed one trial and been advanced to the second year of their studies, but what happens to the rest of their year group? I hope the next book is a lot longer. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Profile Image for Amaris.
139 reviews
January 4, 2022
This was a quick read so I won't do a big review but basically the book itself is actually really good and I would have rated it more for many reasons, a few being the plot was hella rushed. There was no room to getting to know the characters, school or anything. (Don't really think the characters needed a big intro)
There was so little pages in the book so I feel the author should have gone all out and continued till another cliff hanger instead of just cutting it short.

When reading this I felt like I was reading an actual book which I have no clue is a good or bad thing. The scenery was amazing as well as the writing just the reasons above are why I don't like it and when I finished the first book and thought if all the others are like that then I kinda dont wanna try them. Also because all that was meant to be in the span of one year-

Buttt I did like the book it just felt wrong for me to rate it high. I enjoyed the scenes though they were cute !
Profile Image for Christina Luberts.
2,792 reviews7 followers
November 26, 2021
This is a story of wanting the bad boys and rivals. Teens and young adults will love their story. We have Julie and Rusty. Julie is racing a rival and what happens next changes everything. What will everyone think and why I'm I becoming a Reaper? Why did my rival come to the same place? What is it about Rusty? He is nothing like I heard of him? He's a bad boy and making my life H*ll, why? His group hangs around my rival and treats me bad? What will happen in my new life? Can I really be dead or I'm I really alive?

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Wolf (Alpha).
922 reviews12 followers
September 4, 2023
I loved this book! I love that we get a spin-off series of Julie and Rusty. Rusty was definitely an ass when they first met and I hate him for siding with Samantha at first. I hated that Julie was seeing visions of her dad and how she was told she had to pass trials to be able to see him. I love her teachers and how they help her and I loved that Anne was her friend. I love seeing her grow in her power and I love that we get to see how she got to become a Reaper.
Profile Image for anjuli.
408 reviews22 followers
July 15, 2022
So, I decided to DNF this book after 4-5 chapters. It just wasn't for me. It felt too juvenile for my liking despite the character starting at 22 and then, eventually leading to 18 yrs old [starting over - you will have to read to know how it happens ;)]. There were some grammatical mistakes which I normally ignore but just couldn't here. Not to mention, every other para felt like an insta-lusty line like every dude instantly was badass or hot *eyeroll*. One incident she meets one of the dudes and he says something somewhat rude to her and her immediate response was just weird like I would expect out of a 13 yr old - running away crying - and it wasn't even that huge. It just felt "forced" instead of a natural flow....if that makes sense?

I am not a fan of insta-anything so I am sadly not going to continue. It never bodes well (for me) when it starts this early in a book.

Profile Image for Kreela.
665 reviews24 followers
December 12, 2021
I honestly don’t know if I liked it. The Reaper Academy supposedly was designed for those people who are morally gray, with enough good characteristics to give them a second chance rather than be sent to Hell. In order to impress a guy named Dan, both Julie and Samantha joined an illicit car race in the mountains. Since Julie caused the accident that killed them, they both ended up at the academy.

Naturally, Julie was immediately bullied as a cold princess, while Samantha schemed her way into the bad boys’ graces. Although the teachers tried constantly to inform them that their actions would be rated, Samantha kept lying and scheming. I honestly felt sorry for Samantha, despite her lying, because she was the victim. I got the impression that Samantha might have caused the crash in such a way that Julie was found at fault. Let’s face it, I like Drama 😜.

Julie turned out to be super-special along with her new partner, Rusty. Both received flaming scythes, which automatically made them the leaders. Since neither demonstrated any leadership skill, this was an obvious plot device which did not appeal to me.

While attempting to pass their training tests, the students were being blamed for thefts, which led me to believe one of the students is a plant. I suspect I know the thief, but to be honest, I didn’t like the story enough to continue the series.
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The Romance:

The romance was typical pseudo-enemies-to-lovers and felt plot-driven or forced. Although all the students start at age 18, it felt like a high school romance. Meh.
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The theme: Second Chance

What would you do if you had a chance to reform yourself? The side character Anne was an ex-drug addict, and I really wanted to hear more about her. The idea of being given a second chance, free of drug cravings (or not), appealed to me.

==============================

Profile Image for Allison Ripley-Duggan.
1,884 reviews16 followers
March 4, 2024
I loved it! It was so enticing that I couldn’t put it down, this book grabbed my interest from the very first page. I had to know what happened next. The story is well written with a very good storyline. Grab this new academy romance filled with reapers, angels, and demons who are batting for your soul. Welcome to the Academy for Reapers. This series is not a reverse harem. It’s recommended for 16+ due to language, mature themes, and smexy situations. This story is about Raven’s best friend Julie. Julie has just died and ended up with a one way ticket to the Academy for Reapers, but first she has to pass her trial. It’s like high school all over again. Mean girls, homework, and the Untouchables, hot reaper guys with attitude. Of course she gets partnered up with the meanest of the bunch. He’s got a serious chip on his shoulder and she finds him irritatingly hot. There’s a war between Heaven and Hell and she’s stuck in the middle of it. There’s a big bad demon trying to bring down the reapers and steal all the souls, including her dad’s. So with all that and more this story pulls you in and holds you tight. I can’t wait to find out what happens next. I highly recommend to everyone.
Profile Image for Michelle.
1,617 reviews16 followers
November 23, 2021
A combination of Sunday school Catechism and Harry Potter Soul Academy is the place where the new reapers learn to hone their craft. There are two ways you can become a reaper as I understood it die in an act of great courage or in an act where you need to be redeemed. Julie Sumners falls into the latter category. A stupid college drag race to impress a boy both she and her frenemy like and after death they both end up at the school. When strange things start happening and items of great significance are disappearing the students are paired up and set to train for trials. Julie is targeted by the popular click which becomes worse when she’s partnered with their leader. Confusion abounds when he is on occasion really nice to her. Things only get stranger when the two are unwittingly thrown into their first trial. To survive the Soul Academy they must become a team they have the ability, they might even want to but their pasts are holding them from reaching their full potential.
Short, intense with a bit of heat and a big cliffhanger. A good start to a series. I’m eager to see how it develops.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Ana.
2,038 reviews6 followers
December 19, 2021
One thing I do not like about the book is that it's a cliffhanger and I hate those, but it's pretty good in a sense. A look into bullying and how it can turn out to be a really bad thing for the bullied, or can it?

This is book one of the Academy for Reapers series and the main characters are Julie and Rusty. Julie is getting ready for the Homecoming Dance and being egged on by her long term enemy, Samantha, who she has been at odds with since elementary school. The two are now at college and in opposing sororities, but both like the same guy and have agreed to drag race after the Homecoming football game, to see who wins the guy.

Thing is they both die in the race and no one really knows who's responsible, but Samantha has arrived to Academy fo Reapers 1 week earlier and started the rumor that Julie caused the accident that killed them and is a stuck up b**ch.. Things take a turn though and Julie is paired up with the leader of the Untouchables where Samatha has taken up the pitty party for herself.

How will this pairing up work for Julie and Rusty, they are powerful when together?
Profile Image for Angela.
1,076 reviews43 followers
July 27, 2024
not good

Academy For Reapers Year One
Piper Fox, M Guida
Stars:⭐️⭐️
Spice: 0
Time to read: 1 hour
My review may contain spoilers!!!!!
Read Trigger Warnings!!!!

tags/tropes/genres
PNR
Enemies to l0vers
V1rg1n heroine

I'm going to be completely honest with you. I liked the idea of this book, but hated the execution. Honestly it felt like a child wrote it. There was a lot of noticeable typos bud grammar errors. There were several things that just did not make sense. Look I like a good enemies to l0vers/bully romance but this one was just done poorly. I wanted to DNF halfway through but I ended up finishing it.
Profile Image for Stacey Rankin.
477 reviews2 followers
November 30, 2021
I really enjoyed reading this book and could not put it down from start to finish. The story was well thought out, brilliantly written and the characters were fantastically developed with great chemistry. The story was filled with action, humour, mystery, chemistry and reluctant bonds, I hope the chemistry between the characters sizzles more and the reluctance reduces in the next book of the series as they try to pass their next trials.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
187 reviews5 followers
November 23, 2022
Insincere

The MC is constantly bullied for which there is normally a shameful response rather than defense. She is a weak female that fantasizes about love with a person she barely knows. While the characters in this story are pretty shallow, it still exemplifies a young infatuation with the hot guy at school mixed in a bit with angels, reapers, and the ever evil demons. I find this story not particularly entertaining so it's unlikely I will read further. If you don't read a lot of this genre this series may be unique for you and worth investigating.
Profile Image for Barbara Marie Warner.
1,738 reviews2 followers
January 17, 2024
Academy for Reapers Year One    

Academy for Reapers Year One  😍💞💕 I really loved ❤️‍🔥🩷 this book. The story was grest and the characters interesting.  I loved having Rusty and his attitude  loved him in Ebony's series and Julie is / was Raven's best friend now I am going to start year  two.  Definitely recommend this series... I truly believe you need to read the books in order starting with the Legacy Series & Ebony's or you will get confused with some if the characters!! 


356 reviews4 followers
June 25, 2025
dnfd at 26%

so this book does have a lot of mistakes especially like mixing up the people's names with other people. also there was so much going on that it almost felt like whiplash. also I'm not sure if you have to read the other books but it didn't give the impression that you did and it doesn't really link them either but they kept mentioning Raven who I guess is a character in one of the Legacy books. I haven't read that series yet and honestly based on the reviews I probably won't since I won't even be finishing this one
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Catherine Leigh.
1,538 reviews7 followers
January 3, 2022
great read

This is the first book for this series, it really sets a great foundation for what I expect will be a fantastic series. It’s well written and has a fast pace to the storyline. It was detailed so you could understand the theory/history behind the reapers.
Great to se done old characters from previous series pop up as the main characters.
Overall I enjoyed this book, looking forward to reading more in this series
Profile Image for Irene O'Brien.
315 reviews5 followers
June 21, 2022
Proving innocence is harder when you are dead

When Julie dies in a race, she ends up at the Reaper Academy. There she needs to prove herself, not easy when the hateful girl from the race is also there. She has to find friends and a partner, but when he is one who hates her, what can she do? In order to save the others, she needs to believe in herself.
A must read for all lovers of the supernatural world.
864 reviews7 followers
January 17, 2023
Good but way too short

This book had a lot of potential, there were interesting characters, fun locations, etc, but it was just too short...you start, the story goes by really quick, and then it was done. So if you want to read a good really short book, this could be for you. There could have been twice or maybe 3x the content and it would have been more fun for me. Then again I read fast, so short books are not as fun as longer ones.
Profile Image for ObsessiveReader.
1,335 reviews
November 30, 2021
Fast paced…

We met Rusty and Julie in the Legacy Academy books. Both have died and joined the Soul Academy as Reapers. Rusty’s as charming as ever (not!). He is bound and determined to keep Julie away however that isn’t going to happen while partnered together.

This book is actually pretty short. We will see what year to has brings.
Profile Image for Heather.
1,253 reviews9 followers
December 1, 2021
Awesome new series!

I can't wait to read more from this series. This is a companion series to the Legacy books and includes Rusty (yeah!) And even includes Ravens best friend from the human world.

I thought this was such a fun book and can't wait to see what happens next!!

I recieved an ARC for my honest review.
Profile Image for Scarolet Ellis.
7,445 reviews53 followers
January 6, 2022
Academy for Reapers Year One by M Guida is a wonderful story that I have loved reading. This is book number on in this wonderful start to a brand new series that I am hooked on. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading urban fantasy and paranormal romances.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Kasey.
15 reviews
March 19, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this book it’s really well written Great storyline and I loved how quickly it got into the story I was hooked from the first page and read it within a couple hours I couldn’t put it down.
I’m a big fan of the Legacy academy and Ebony’s legacy series and now this new series by M Guida , wow it did not disappoint!
I highly recommend!
4,542 reviews21 followers
December 4, 2021
The bad boy Rusty is back and meets his arch enemy Julie. Or is it Julie meets hers. Anyways a quick light read where these two end up at Soul Academy and must learn to be reapers. Full of fellow mean students and a mystery of who is the ultimate bad guy. Just light entertainment.

Profile Image for Lisa Lawson.
692 reviews4 followers
February 26, 2022
Academy for Dealers Year One

Julie and Rusty have found themselves dead and must go to the Souls Academy and learn to be reapers. Not what they expected.... These two have a love hate relationship from the start. A well written paranormal spin off of the Legacy Academy.
Profile Image for Shannon Risdon.
717 reviews
September 10, 2022
Quick!!

Well felt like this book finished as quick as year one!! Lol fast paced and full on all the way through...but there is so much fitted in. Moody shifters, high school bullies, archangels, angels, demons...and so much more...
3 reviews
January 16, 2024
After Ebony's

At least this this book explains how the years work for this academy. Plus I'm glag I picked the series after Ebony's and not have to search for the ones between it and this one.
Profile Image for Anna Beste.
432 reviews
December 19, 2025
Entertaining and a quick read, it does have some grammatical and spelling errors and could use a proof reader. Time acts weird throughout all of these books and there are some plot holes but did I enjoy this corny academy romance? Yes I did.
59 reviews
November 28, 2021
So good!

I could not put this book down until I finished it. I can not wait for year 2!! I highly recommend reading the Legacy series first so you know the main characters.
921 reviews1 follower
December 18, 2021
A pretty good start to a new series. Caught my interest but not sure if the rest of the story will be as good.
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