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kaylimarie07's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mrose21's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Um
This wasn't what I expected, not sure what that was but this was not it.
RH is a bit of a guilty pleasure. Especially when it's a school setting and one of the guys is a teacher. I hated that but, I also did love him as well.
He's obviously a kinky guy and he's into tying her up or I guess will be.
The twins are OK. Shane is nice and Roman is not nice.
But yeah aside from the teacher bit the romance is OK. I'm curious about the mystery and subterfuge, there is obviously a darker plot going on.
This wasn't what I expected, not sure what that was but this was not it.
RH is a bit of a guilty pleasure. Especially when it's a school setting and one of the guys is a teacher. I hated that but, I also did love him as well.
He's obviously a kinky guy and he's into tying her up or I guess will be.
The twins are OK. Shane is nice and Roman is not nice.
But yeah aside from the teacher bit the romance is OK. I'm curious about the mystery and subterfuge, there is obviously a darker plot going on.
gypsydawn's review
4.0
Intense
This is an intense and epic ride through a paranormal academy that once served as an asylum. Coated in the sins of the past and the wickedness of the present, it holds mystery upon mystery - and a secures those “students” unfortunate enough to be deemed dangerous to society.
Pros:
- Fast paced.
- World building is refreshing.
- A bit of the phantom or the opera feel, in places.
- Fate is a fickle beast.
Cons:
- Little too fast burn, at least for me. Steamy though.
- Can I smack Roman? Please?
This is an intense and epic ride through a paranormal academy that once served as an asylum. Coated in the sins of the past and the wickedness of the present, it holds mystery upon mystery - and a secures those “students” unfortunate enough to be deemed dangerous to society.
Pros:
- Fast paced.
- World building is refreshing.
- A bit of the phantom or the opera feel, in places.
- Fate is a fickle beast.
Cons:
- Little too fast burn, at least for me. Steamy though.
- Can I smack Roman? Please?
ivy_ari45's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
thedailykaylee's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this first installment of this series. I like our main character and I want to smack Roman upside the head, yet he turns me on at the same time lol the author is great with her details to really help you picture this mansion. I’m anxious to see what happens next.
learningabc's review
Novel is too erotic and distracting. Not a fan of the way the inner monolgues were written
baylie_durocher's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
rouxreads's review
5.0
Wow, wow , WOW!! That was amazing! It was the perfect mix of suspense, mystery and romance!
That shower scene was crazy, and disgusting! Then all the added touches like the wall of hands and the black doors. I can’t get enough!
I have stopped reading long enough to review and will be starting book two in moments!
This was spectacular!
That shower scene was crazy, and disgusting! Then all the added touches like the wall of hands and the black doors. I can’t get enough!
I have stopped reading long enough to review and will be starting book two in moments!
This was spectacular!
daisybox's review
2.0
Review of the series
The plot was all over the place and there were LOTS of plot holes.
First thing first: I hated the vampires in this world. They're feral beasts who can't control themselves and they can't live together, meaning they have to kill the other vampires because if not, they just become monsters (a little bit like the newborn vampires in Twilight).
The books are written with 5 POV and it was too much. The author struggled to give a different voice to the 4 mens. Or she didn't care. In the first book, Lock disappears in the middle of the book and no one cares. Makes no sense.
Same goes with Holly. She's in the first one (being the typical shy friend to the heroine), then in the beginning of the second book she leaves the academy to hide. No one cares she's "missing" (and the students can't physically leave the academy without dying) and as soon as she's in hiding, she just disappears from the story until the end of book 3. Lu is an awful friend. Even Dominic could check on Holly, because she's all alone in his house !
Daphne, the mean bully girl becomes the new Holly and no one is shocked.
Now let's talk about the plot holes:
- Locke is the "gate keeper" of the only exit of the academy. In his POV we see the headmistress leaving by the tunnel to go to a secret meeting with the other professors. After that no more secret meetings. Lu and the others leave the academy all the time and they never get caught. How is that possible ?
- The students can't leave the academy because the have a tracker (a chip ?) in their arm and they feel pain when they try to escape. And all around the wall surrounding the academy they are like zombies who attack them. Lu got her tracker on her first day. It is never mentioned again. She doesn't even try to get it out like Shane and Roman. Does that mean all the students keep them even after the events in the end ? No one knows.
- Shane (or Dominic I don't even remember) tells Lu that the walls have ears and she needs to be careful about she says. Guess what ? During all the 3 books, they talk about taking down the headmistress EVERYWHERE. And no one ears what they're planning.
- The headmistress is the big bad character but we barely see her until the end of book 2.
- In the first book, Lu is allowed to go to town. She has a free pass for a weekend where she can go shopping and just chill (alone). The town is an American Hogsmeade, but without the magic. The headmistress still asks her to do one thing for her: destroy an artifact. So Lu goes, and she realised the artifact is a box filled with bones. She decides to keep one bone because if the headmistress asks her to destroy them it means they're important. We have no idea why the headmistress asks her to do that, it's never mentioned after that, or why she doesn't asks her to do that in the academy. Makes absolutely no sense that the bones are in a human town because we know that the shady things are kept in the academy (and well, bones from students are pretty shady).
- Lu, still with her bone, discovers that they are other bones from the same person in the Divination class. Why ? How ?
- The "cage" is 30 stories below the academy and when they go down they take the stairs. You tell me, in a magical academy, they are no other way to protect the cage but burying it in the ground ? And that they're not curses to protect it AND PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE THE STAIRS ? It's so stupid.
- All the students and patients who disappeared while being in the academy/asylum and NO ONE outside try to discover why ? Isn't the Tribunal suppose to take care of the witches and warlocks ? Makes no sense, even if the headmistress has enough power in the community not to raise questions.
- Beck was catatonic and then became a vampire. But, contrary to everything we've been told about vampires (they're feral, can't live near other vampires and they are blood thirsty crazy), he is as normal as ever. Can be around Lock and other humans, he even flirts with Daphne. We have no idea why. Lu says that it's "maybe" because he was catatonic but nobody knows the reason. The author doesn't even try to give us an explanation. In the epilogue we learn that Lock teaches Beck to be a vampire I assume ? But we don't really know. He's already a vampire in control, what does he need to learn ?
- Book 3, when Lu is eating with Shane and Roman and then follows Ivy outside to talk, the boys don't even react and follow her. The same boys who follow her everywhere even when she doesn't want to. MAKES. NO. SENSE. Well, actually, it makes sense for what happened just after, but it's out of character for the boys. Shan have visions but he doesn't see what's going to happen to Lu ? Girl got nearly killed.
I'm sure there are others I don't remember about but these are the biggest issues to me.
Why create a magical world and have no idea how to make it works ? It's a shame because it was well written. But a magical world in behind closed doors is not ideal, and the 5 POV didn't make it work because they were boring. When something a bit exiting happened to the guys, we didn't have their insight. They all talk a lot without saying anything. Fillers inner dialogues.
And the daily classes, we're just told of what the students learn, but they have no homework, no assignent, nothing. Basically, Lu goes to class, opens her book and takes notes. About what ? Does she finds the classes useful ? WE DON'T KNOW.
I have to admit I wasn't the biggest fan of the professor/student D/s affair. The amount of sex scenes increased too much as the story went. If you want to write an erotic book, it's fine but don't forget to tie up all the loose ends you wrote.
It was just too many plot holes. Too many things we don't have an explanation for. The story could have been reduced to one longer book. I would have teamed up Daphne and Ivy and not the useless new girl.
The plot was all over the place and there were LOTS of plot holes.
First thing first: I hated the vampires in this world. They're feral beasts who can't control themselves and they can't live together, meaning they have to kill the other vampires because if not, they just become monsters (a little bit like the newborn vampires in Twilight).
The books are written with 5 POV and it was too much. The author struggled to give a different voice to the 4 mens. Or she didn't care. In the first book, Lock disappears in the middle of the book and no one cares. Makes no sense.
Same goes with Holly. She's in the first one (being the typical shy friend to the heroine), then in the beginning of the second book she leaves the academy to hide. No one cares she's "missing" (and the students can't physically leave the academy without dying) and as soon as she's in hiding, she just disappears from the story until the end of book 3. Lu is an awful friend. Even Dominic could check on Holly, because she's all alone in his house !
Daphne, the mean bully girl becomes the new Holly and no one is shocked.
Now let's talk about the plot holes:
- Locke is the "gate keeper" of the only exit of the academy. In his POV we see the headmistress leaving by the tunnel to go to a secret meeting with the other professors. After that no more secret meetings. Lu and the others leave the academy all the time and they never get caught. How is that possible ?
- The students can't leave the academy because the have a tracker (a chip ?) in their arm and they feel pain when they try to escape. And all around the wall surrounding the academy they are like zombies who attack them. Lu got her tracker on her first day. It is never mentioned again. She doesn't even try to get it out like Shane and Roman. Does that mean all the students keep them even after the events in the end ? No one knows.
- Shane (or Dominic I don't even remember) tells Lu that the walls have ears and she needs to be careful about she says. Guess what ? During all the 3 books, they talk about taking down the headmistress EVERYWHERE. And no one ears what they're planning.
- The headmistress is the big bad character but we barely see her until the end of book 2.
- In the first book, Lu is allowed to go to town. She has a free pass for a weekend where she can go shopping and just chill (alone). The town is an American Hogsmeade, but without the magic. The headmistress still asks her to do one thing for her: destroy an artifact. So Lu goes, and she realised the artifact is a box filled with bones. She decides to keep one bone because if the headmistress asks her to destroy them it means they're important. We have no idea why the headmistress asks her to do that, it's never mentioned after that, or why she doesn't asks her to do that in the academy. Makes absolutely no sense that the bones are in a human town because we know that the shady things are kept in the academy (and well, bones from students are pretty shady).
- Lu, still with her bone, discovers that they are other bones from the same person in the Divination class. Why ? How ?
- The "cage" is 30 stories below the academy and when they go down they take the stairs. You tell me, in a magical academy, they are no other way to protect the cage but burying it in the ground ? And that they're not curses to protect it AND PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE THE STAIRS ? It's so stupid.
- All the students and patients who disappeared while being in the academy/asylum and NO ONE outside try to discover why ? Isn't the Tribunal suppose to take care of the witches and warlocks ? Makes no sense, even if the headmistress has enough power in the community not to raise questions.
- Beck was catatonic and then became a vampire. But, contrary to everything we've been told about vampires (they're feral, can't live near other vampires and they are blood thirsty crazy), he is as normal as ever. Can be around Lock and other humans, he even flirts with Daphne. We have no idea why. Lu says that it's "maybe" because he was catatonic but nobody knows the reason. The author doesn't even try to give us an explanation. In the epilogue we learn that Lock teaches Beck to be a vampire I assume ? But we don't really know. He's already a vampire in control, what does he need to learn ?
- Book 3, when Lu is eating with Shane and Roman and then follows Ivy outside to talk, the boys don't even react and follow her. The same boys who follow her everywhere even when she doesn't want to. MAKES. NO. SENSE. Well, actually, it makes sense for what happened just after, but it's out of character for the boys. Shan have visions but he doesn't see what's going to happen to Lu ? Girl got nearly killed.
I'm sure there are others I don't remember about but these are the biggest issues to me.
Why create a magical world and have no idea how to make it works ? It's a shame because it was well written. But a magical world in behind closed doors is not ideal, and the 5 POV didn't make it work because they were boring. When something a bit exiting happened to the guys, we didn't have their insight. They all talk a lot without saying anything. Fillers inner dialogues.
And the daily classes, we're just told of what the students learn, but they have no homework, no assignent, nothing. Basically, Lu goes to class, opens her book and takes notes. About what ? Does she finds the classes useful ? WE DON'T KNOW.
I have to admit I wasn't the biggest fan of the professor/student D/s affair. The amount of sex scenes increased too much as the story went. If you want to write an erotic book, it's fine but don't forget to tie up all the loose ends you wrote.
It was just too many plot holes. Too many things we don't have an explanation for. The story could have been reduced to one longer book. I would have teamed up Daphne and Ivy and not the useless new girl.