The Culling Trials (#2 Shadowspell Academy) by K.F. Breene - Starting September 7th 2021

[Vippi]

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

Being accepted into an elite school of magic, monsters, and assassins was not my idea of higher education. But here I am, fighting my way through the Culling Trials to claim my right to be taught.

As if the gauntlet-type physical and mental tests aren’t enough, people are going missing.

People that are my friends.

In a dangerous world where no one is as they seem, the golden rule is simple: Trust no one. They think we should just look out for ourselves. That we should leave the fallen behind and ask no questions.

They clearly think we’re idiots. I got this far by trusting my instincts, and I’m not going to back down now.

Those kids won’t be left to die.

Not on my watch.

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

16 %, chp. 3 (view spoiler)[I didn’t need to hear Pete’s thoughts about those perfect breasts, that’s for sure…

Everything seems strange, why did they change the schedule this year. On one hand I can’t believe this has something to do with Wild, on the other I’m thinking: maybe?

Do we need to talk about Troll dicks? No, that was unnecessary!

And there still is now worldbuilding whatsoever. We have Vampires, Trolls and all those magical creatures but we also have smartphones and the catholic church? What kind of world is that? Is it a dystopian future were somehow everything just appeared or…? (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

42 %, chp. 8 (view spoiler)[Wild must be the worst at hiding secrets. It feels like everyone already knows she is a girl, even Ethan figured it out. It's getting a little repetitiv. (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

74 % (view spoiler)[I think it‘s adorable how Wild, or Mirabel as we now know, reacts to the unicorns. (hide spoiler)]

[Vippi]

chapter 9
(view spoiler)[Yeah, there are some cringey scenes (e.g. #trollnudity) that could have been skipped without anyone suffering for that😅

Wild is terrible at keeping her secret. Half the Academy now knows she is a girl *face palm*
I still wonder what are Sideburns' motives to hide her identity...

Who is the Shadow Killer and why he is not considered a 'normal person'? (hide spoiler)]

chapter 10
(view spoiler)[Ok, so someone wants to kill her (did he kill her brother too?)... who is the killer? What Rory and Rufus🤣 know about him? And again, what sides Rory is talking about? The world may be pretty complex, we are just starting grating the surface.
Rory is likely in love with her. I am curious to see how their relationship will evolve. (hide spoiler)]

chapter 16
(view spoiler)[I am sorry to start all my post with some kind of questions... but... what kind of ability does Wild have? She can absorb other supernaturals' powers. It's not clear (at least to me) if it's something permanent or not, but I get it's pretty rare. (hide spoiler)]

Here is the thread for the 3rd book: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Vippi]

Ta || bookishbluehead wrote: "74 % [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[That scene was sooo cute... even though, again, she is terrible at staying under cover!

Yeah, her true name is Mirabel... very strange to get to know it halfway through book #2😅 (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

89 % (view spoiler)[Oh my god! At this point Wild could run around naked and it wouldn‘t be more obvious that she is a girl than now…. Everyone knows, even the director. Why are they keeping it a secret anyway when it‘s so obvious???? And I can‘t hear anymore of her „please, it‘s for my Brother“ - yes, we know. It‘s lazy writing to always bring it up for dramatic reasons and always in the exact same way (hide spoiler)]

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chapter 17
(view spoiler)[I like how protective of her crew Wild is, but I was also reflecting about what Orien said - that it's pretty unusual for a Shade not only because it makes me wonder if Wild is truly a Shadow, but above all, because it makes me want to know more about the Academy houses and the worldbuilding in general. I have this feeling that a bit more information would have made the reading more enjoyable, the experience more complete... (hide spoiler)]

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finished
(view spoiler)[

Colt and now even Director Frost know Wild's true identity.
Maybe I missed something but I did not get why even the Director decided to close an eye about it.
Ok, she is a good example of how different supernatural factions can work together... but still. (btw, isn't it strange that no other teams in all the years of the Trials have not tried to put their differences aside and work together to get an easier win?!)

What do you think about Colt? To me, it seems a very convenient character to throw in the mist to get a reaction from Rory... but maybe it's just the clinical me speaking 😅

I would have liked to know more deeply the other members of the crew. Ethan and Pete were pretty present - even Gregory before disappearing. But we don't know much about Wally or Orin's backstory.

All in all, even though it has the same flaws we talked about regarding book #1, I liked it and I am eager to know more about this world and Wild&crew. (hide spoiler)]

[Vippi]

Ta || bookishbluehead wrote: "89 % [spoilers removed]"

Sorry, I didn't read your post before writing mine! I totally agree with you(view spoiler)[ it's quite lame to use the same excuse over and over again... (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

Vippi wrote: "finished


[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[You're not alone when it comes to Colt. So convenient that he was there to kiss Wild when Rory walked in on them... And that kiss was SO random. He wasn't present for 99% of the book, just in one scene where Wild thought he's hot and Colt winked at her, and then in that last scene where he kissed her while they were trying to find Gregory. Why was he helping them anyway?! He isn't part of their crew and he's friends with Ethan, so he'll probably have a similar character. He clearly wants something out of this and I doubt it's a kiss...

I would love to know more about Orin and Wally as well, personally I'm hoping that we get to see more of them and their backstory, once we pass "their" test. Or maybe Wally's was the first one (I don't know for sure) but maybe we'll get to see her more now that she's rooming with the guys.

I love that gif by the way, it describes Wild perfectly. And I don't know why the director is closeing an eye about that. From who exactly are they hiding the fact that she is a girl anyway? The sandman knows, the director knows, are there any higher ups who could get Billy there? And why would they, when Wild is doing perfectly fine in all those Trials. (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

Vippi wrote: "chapter 17
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Yep, I think a little more about this world would have done a LOT to make this book more fun. But I think she's not a true shade, maybe half, because of her mother but I think her stronger power is something different, something that makes her special and let's her use other powers as well (understanding Pete in his shifted form for example). (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

Vippi wrote: "chapter 9
[spoilers removed]

(view spoiler)[Don't worry about all those questions, I mostly have the same :D I think you are right, it's a very complex world with a lot of lore and we just don't know anything about it.

The Shadow Killer: maybe he has the same abilitys Wild has and it's very rare? Is he the one who's kidnapping the kids? Or is he trying to kill Wild? Or maybe he's trying to safe the kids... just some thoughts I had about him. (hide spoiler)]

[Vippi]

(view spoiler)[Ta || bookishbluehead wrote: "You're not alone when it comes to Colt. So convenient that he was there to kiss Wild when Rory walked in on them... And that kiss was SO random..."

Yeah... that kiss was quite random... maybe he has some hidden motives to get close to Wild.

Ta || bookishbluehead wrote: "From who exactly are they hiding the fact that she is a girl anyway? The sandman knows, the director knows, are there any higher ups who could get Billy there? And why would they, when Wild is doing perfectly fine in all those Trials."

The only reason that comes up to my mind is that someone in her family (her mother? her older brother?) signed some kind of contract to make her ineligible for the Trials... at least, somewhere the Sandman seemed to hint that... Even so, it wouldn't have extended its protection to her younger siblings, so maybe they wanted to keep Wild's peculiar abilities off the radar... well, these are probably crackpot theories. 😅

Ta || bookishbluehead wrote: "Yep, I think a little more about this world would have done a LOT to make this book more fun. But I think she's not a true shade, maybe half, because of her mother but I think her stronger power is something different, something that makes her special and let's her use other powers as well (understanding Pete in his shifted form for example)."

I think you're right!

See you on the new thread :) (hide spoiler)]