Synopsis

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait. 

 

Review

 

4,5 stars

This was a gift from a bookstagram friend and I devoured that story in two days!

 

This book will either be love or hate at first sight.

Those who couldn’t stand Twilight will hate it. I have seen many one-star reviews. Mainly because they found the heroine sounding “too young” or this being a poor copy of Twilight or…

I can respect and get why they would say this. After all, reading is a personal experience and should be seen as such.

 

But I am among the ones who truly loved it.

Is it flawless? No. But it’s damn addictive and so enjoyable to read! It felt like a guilty pleasure reading this.

 

So why did it work for me and not for others? Let’s see….

 

  • I don’t know why but stories happening in boarding schools or academia always get to me!

Add the element of supernatural students and the new girl having no idea who she is sharing the school with and this add an element of tension that makes impossible to stop reading.

 

  • There are many clichés tropes in this book: bad boy falling for the good girl, vampire falling in love with the human; etc (hint a Twilight) but they are really well done and they made me feel like I was sixteen-years old and the new girl at school.

Let me tell you that at fifty, feeling like 16 is priceless!

 

  • I love sexy vampires! And Jaxon is Uber sexy and sooo powerful! There is something thrilling in imagining that I was the heroine (because of course it’s what I do when I read) and that I would potentially be the love interest of such powerful being!

Laugh all that you want, why do you think we talk about the “prestige of the uniform”? Because men wearing uniforms are usually seen as badass fighters and alpha! This probably goes back to the cavewoman age when we selected our mates based on strength because they’ d be able to protect us and our babies.

So yes, I admit without shame that I love powerful and sexy vampires 😊

“Nothing to do but admit that—obnoxious smirk or not—this boy is sexy af. A little wicked, a lot wild, and all dangerous.”

 

  • There also is some mystery element that keeps you guessing.

Guessing who wants to kill Grace and why. Guessing if Grace is really “just” human and if not, what is she? This is a powerful motivator for me to stay glued to my book because I just want to know what will happen next!

 

 

And of course, I always love plunging in a new fantasy universe and discovering its lore, its rivalries and all the power plays.

 

I think that indeed Grace sounded like a seventeen-years old but …that’s because she is seventeen! Don’t read a book with teenagers/young adults and expect them to sound like old cronies duh! Of course, she would swoon when a sexy boy would look her way. I recall talking possible love interests with my friends at that age. That didn’t make me shallow as it was not the only discussion topic. It just made me a teenager.

 

And if I had guessed about who the villain was pretty early on (very obvious and the reason why this is not a five stars) the ending took me totally by surprise!!!

 

I bought Crush, the sequel, as soon as I had finished reading it!

 

Should you read it or not?

I would say read different reviews, the low rating ones and the others and make up your own mind. I am personally very grateful for my friend’s gift!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Sophie

Similar Posts

Let's talk!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

24 Comments

  1. Oh, I was indeed wondering about this book as I’ve seen some mixed reviews, but glad to hear you enjoyed it! I definitely love a good ‘guilty pleasure’ read so I may need to give this a try!

  2. I love sexy vampires too and loved Twilight back in the day so I’m excited to read this book! I got it gifted to me a week ago and now you have me even more excited to read it, yessss!!!!! Fingers crossed I love it as much as you!

  3. I have a love/hate relationship with Twilight mainly because Bella annoyed me. The school setting for this book appeals to me so I could see myself giving it a shot. Glad to hear it was such an enjoyable read for you. 🙂

  4. I wasn’t so interested in this one. I have enjoyed Twilight when I read it, because it was the perfect comfort reading /guilty pleasure, but I wasn’t so interested in going back, if I can say so. But you made this book seems so addictive!! Now I just have to go and see for myself!