Review – Spellwood Academy (Spellwood Academy, Book 1) by Kate Avery Ellison (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 255 pages
Publisher: July 29, 2019
Release Date: July 29, 2019
ASIN: B07V1CRCRR
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Spellwood Academy series
Source: Borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“It all started when I almost died.
First, I was healed from my wounds by a mysterious stranger masquerading as a doctor. A stranger who then vanished.
Two weeks later, a letter was delivered to my house by smoke and spiders inviting me to a place called Spellwood Academy.
As it turns out, I’m half mortal, half fae. My mother and grandmother have been keeping secrets from me. Who my father really is, where I’m really from. And, most recently, that the “accident” that nearly killed me was no accident at all. Someone is trying to kill me. Someone not human.
Now, in order to stay safe from whoever is trying to kill me, they’re sending me to a magical boarding school for those of both fae and mortal blood.
Everyone has to join a society at Spellwood. There’s Toadcurdle for the students who like machinery and nerdy games, Dewdrop for those who prefer cupcakes and books to adventure, Stormtongue for the clever who drink tea and debate mermaid philosophy, Flameforge for the brave and fearless, and Briar and Basilisk for the snobby elites.
There’s a lot of things to remember besides the school’s rulebook—Don’t go into the crypt at night. Don’t go in the labyrinth ever. Don’t attend any Basilisk parties (they’re dangerous). Don’t attend any Toadcurdle parties (they’re boring). Don’t go into the south woods alone at night. Don’t go into the west woods alone in the winter. In fact, avoid being in the woods alone at all times.
And absolutely no spells, charms, or curses allowed on school grounds.
My room is at the top of a vine-covered tower with a winding staircase, like I’m Cinderella or something. The headmaster has feathered wings like an angel, and my roommate keeps asking me why we mortals set our birthday cakes on fire. A beautiful, golden-skinned fae prince from the sun court is relentlessly pursuing me, but I can’t stop thinking about Lucien, the boy with dark hair and antlers whose golden-green eyes that pin me in place whenever he looks at me.
I don’t have the slightest idea what I’m doing, but I’ve already survived one murder attempt.
How hard can this be?”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Spellwood Academy series. I borrowed this for my Kindle through Kindle Unlimited.
Story (4/5): The story starts out pretty typical. Kyra finds out she has fae blood after someone tries to kill her and is sent by her mother and grandmother to Spellwood Academy (a school for part-fae) to keep her safe. Spellwood Academy channels very serious Harry Potter vibes but has more of a YA paranormal feel to it than pure fantasy. Kyra has to navigate the school and choose her House and (on the side) try to figure out who is trying to kill her.
The story was fast-paced and fun. In general I enjoyed it. It’s similar to a lot of other YA magic academy types of books out there. I did enjoy the fantasticalness of Spellwood Academy (very Harry Potterish). Although there is a bit more romance here and more beautiful descriptions than in Harry Potter. The book was very short and, aside from Kyra getting to the school and choosing her house, not a ton happens.
Characters (4/5): I like Kyra as a character and really enjoyed her roommate too. The leading male characters that were introduced: Griffin and Lucien were very brooding and mysterious and I enjoyed them as well. Although we are just introduced to the characters in this book, I think they show a lot of potential to be intriguing.
Setting (4/5): I loved the setting of Spellwood Academy. Even though it was very Hogwartish at times, I still really enjoyed it. The setting is a bit darker than I expected and I can’t wait to delve deeper into it.
Writing Style (4/5): This was very easy to read and engaging. This was also very short, it only took me a couple hours to read. This is more of an intro to the story, however I enjoyed the setting, characters, and mystery enough that I plan on continuing the series. Ellison does a good job with creating interesting characters and also created an amazingly imaginative setting for the story. I love some of the mysteries here but we will have to see how the story progresses since this was such a short book it’s hard to judge where the story is going.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. I love reading about faeries and this book presents some fun characters, an intriguing mystery, interesting magic, and a magical setting. The book is incredibly short but shows promise. I plan on continuing with the series to see how things pan out in the second novel. I would recommend if you like YA books in an academy setting and enjoy magic and faerie.
