Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Mortal Shift

Rate this book
An academy of supernaturals, a human out of her depth, and three princely heirs determined to make her sorry for her mere existence. Can she break a fated bond and escape the walls of her academy prison or will this new life bring more than she could bargain for?
Cali’s life has been far from what you would call normal. A mother with a rapidly declining mental state, a father she’s never met, and no sign of things changing any time soon. In an effort to forget her worries for a single night, Cali tries to blow off steam and finds herself crashing a shifters’ party. Filled with ideas and concepts she doesn’t understand, Cali is dumbstruck when she comes face-to-face with Cole, a wolf-shifter and heir to the most powerful pack in America...and her fated mate.

Cali wants nothing to do with the wolf heir; Cole is horrified that a mere human should be his fated mate, and wants the bond broken. Upon arriving home, Cali finds a man waiting for her, who opens a portal to Darkveil Academy. As the fated mate of Cole, Cali is expected to attend the school and learn all about the world she must now be a part of, and share her room and all her classes with Cole.

But with Cole ignoring her as he desperately fights the sexual tension between them, Darkveil promises no better life for Cali than the one she left behind. Unable to shift, she cannot participate in most of the classes and soon finds herself at the mercy of a high fae set on humiliation and control, and a vampire prince with a desire for mortal blood. In a world of royal shifters, where weakness means death, Cali must find a way to rise above the mortification and disgrace that being human brings to survive long enough to find her place in the world.

Can Cali find love within the walls of Darkveil Academy or is she doomed to a life of degradation and disdain?

If you like slow burn steamy paranormal romances, enemies becoming lovers, and fated mate shifters, you’ll love Chase Meadow’s book, Mortal Shift, book 1 in the Darkveil Academy series.

Mortal Shift is the first slow burn bully romance in the Darkveil Academy series, where the heroine gets her guys...eventually.

Buy now to discover a world of fated mates and dark desires today!

493 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 18, 2023

235 people are currently reading
221 people want to read

About the author

Chase Meadows

11 books15 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
132 (40%)
4 stars
100 (30%)
3 stars
55 (16%)
2 stars
27 (8%)
1 star
14 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Melo.
840 reviews22 followers
April 18, 2023
Too much TSTL for me

This heroine is way too sure of herself to keep running her mouth at absolutely everyone. It's simply not believable, she had ZERO reaction to finding out supernaturals were real. To make it worse she just treated it like a normal human school. How does it make sense that the supernatural students are wary of the faculty but she just runs her mouth and gets away with it.

If the heroine had really been caring for her mentally ill mother, for 10 years, I'm very sure she would know how not to run her mouth. Queue the TSTL escaping the academy, did she know what was outside? Where she was? Where her mother was? So her plan to escape with no money, no food, no proper clothes, didn't even think to find a map!!!....It's like watching a 8 year old saying she's running away from home holding a teddy bear.

I just couldn't anymore at 60% this book needed more thought and a dial back on the sass.
1,106 reviews2 followers
September 3, 2023
Dang

So ya, I can't believe how this turned out!! Cole, of course, is an alphahole, and then you get more info and realize he has a right to be. Thaden, I see becoming a mate to her. I really wanna know what she is.
Profile Image for Erica🦋.
58 reviews
April 7, 2025
DNF @ 50% page 245

This could’ve been a really great read. I personally didn’t like it. It sounded interesting but these are the reasons I can’t continue reading..

In the beginning of the book, the female main character talked about how she couldn’t stand the cops for taking her mom to a mental hospital (because she tried to off herself..) yet continuously threatened to call the cops on other people.

Her mom literally gets shipped off to a mental hospital and as she watches the ambulance leave she decided now was a good time to go to a party. Strange..

Just a heads up, if ANY one touches her she’s going to scream.🙄

Throughout the book, she seemed overly confident, and I cannot stand that in a main character.

The mention of Cali being a human in every chapter. Omg we get it. She’s just a human.. supposedly..

Every time Cali tries to escape the academy she one gets caught and two always has to tell Cole the same reason why she’s trying to leave. EVERYONE KNOWS WHY!

If I read the word xenophobia again, I will literally throw my head into a wall. 🙄 I feel like I read that word 20 different times.

Cali calls everyone an asshole when she’s mad at them. She just acts childish and whiny in every chapter.

There is alot of repetitive lines in this book. I am refusing to force myself to finish it. The blurb claims it’s a “bully romance” it does border that line. I felt there were gaps in the storyline and the pacing was off. I tried to finish it. I was going to DNF @ 10% but I really wanted to give the book a chance.
1,073 reviews21 followers
November 25, 2025
An academy of supernatural’s, a human out of her depth, and three princely heirs determined to make her sorry for her mere existence. Can she break a fated bond and escape the walls of her academy prison or will this new life bring more than she could bargain for?

Cali’s life has been far from what you would call normal. A mother with a rapidly declining mental state, a father she’s never met, and no sign of things changing any time soon. In an effort to forget her worries for a single night, Cali tries to blow off steam and finds herself crashing a shifters’ party. Filled with ideas and concepts she doesn’t understand, Cali is dumbstruck when she comes face-to-face with Cole, a wolf-shifter and heir to the most powerful pack in America...and her fated mate.

Cali wants nothing to do with the wolf heir; Cole is horrified that a mere human should be his fated mate, and wants the bond broken. Upon arriving home, Cali finds a man waiting for her, who opens a portal to Darkveil Academy. As the fated mate of Cole, Cali is expected to attend the school and learn all about the world she must now be a part of, and share her room and all her classes with Cole.

But with Cole ignoring her as he desperately fights the sexual tension between them, Darkveil promises no better life for Cali than the one she left behind. Unable to shift, she cannot participate in most of the classes and soon finds herself at the mercy of a high fae set on humiliation and control, and a vampire prince with a desire for mortal blood. In a world of royal shifters, where weakness means death, Cali must find a way to rise above the mortification and disgrace that being human brings to survive long enough to find her place in the world.

Can Cali find love within the walls of Darkveil Academy or is she doomed to a life of degradation and disdain?

If you like slow burn steamy paranormal romances, enemies becoming lovers, and fated mate shifters, you’ll love Chase Meadow’s book, Mortal Shift, book 1 in the Darkveil Academy series.

Mortal Shift is the first slow burn bully romance in the Darkveil Academy series, where the heroine gets her guys...eventually.

Buy now to discover a world of fated mates and dark desires today!

Tropes: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Fantasy, Shapeshifters, Paranormal, Reverse Harem, New Adult

Mortal Shift is the 1st book in the Darkveil Academy Series by Chase Meadows.

Cali has never had what you would call a normal life. Her mother's mental health is rapidly declining and there's nothing that Cali can do to help her, she's never known or met her father and it doesn't seem like anything is going to be changing in the near future. All Cali wants is one night where she doesn't have to worry about her mom or anything else, and in order to try and blow off some steam, Cali ends up crashing a shifter party.

It's a party that's filled with all these ideas and concepts she's never heard of before and she certainly doesn't understand them, and then Cali is left mystified when she suddenly comes face to face with Cole, a wolf-shifter who is not only only the heir to the most powerful pack in America but he is also her fated mate.

Instantly Cali wants absolutely nothing to do with Cole or his pack; Cole himself is horrified to learn that his fated mate is some mere human girl, and he wants nothing more than for their bond to be broken and this entire mess to be forgotten by everyone.

When Cali arrives home, she is shocked to find out her mom has been sanctioned and sent to a hospital and this man waiting there for her, one who opens a portal to Darkveil Academy. She learns that as the fated mate of Cole, she is now expected to attend Darkveil, learn about the world that she has now be thrust into, share not only her room, but all her classes with Cole.

Cole does nothing but ignore her though, fighting with everything in him to ignore her and the sexual tension between them, and now Darkveil is promising a no better life for Cali than the one she had left behind.

As she is unable to shift, she can't participate in most of the classes and she soon finds herself at the mercy of a high fae with no protection in sight, and this high fae is set on her humiliation and but more than that, her control. And then there's the Vampire Prince who has a hunger for mortal blood. In this world of royal shifters where weakness equals death, Cali has to find her own way to rise above all the mortification and disgrace that being human and mortal means and survive long enough to find her own place in this world.

Will Cali be able to find love withing these walls of Darkveil Academy? Or is Cali doomed to continue down a road of degradation and disdain?

I have always been a fan of the shifter genre and I found that this was actually a really rather unique paranormal story, it's really not like any I've read out of all the other shifter novels that are out there this stands out in my mind.

I have to say that Cali really had some serious hate from her fellow Darkveil students, and even some of the staff and teachers weren't too happy that she was there. I do have to question why near the end of this book, her one friend Ling up and just diappeared? We don't learn what species she is; we don't learn where she went or why she left. She's just gone and that kind of confused me. Hopefully the next books will clear up what happened to her.

I do have to say that I loved Prince Thaden and Prince Davorin. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of them in the next book, Mortal Blood.

One thing I can honestly say is that I am really glad that this is one of those shifter stories that didn't end on one of those really annoying cliffhangers.

I have to say the quotes that stood out to me were:

“There’s something different about you,” he said slowly, after a long moment.

“May I?” He arched a brow at my arm, and I was so taken aback that someone was actually asking my permission for anything, it took me a while to realize what he was getting at. “Oh. Uh, sure. Knock yourself out.”

He lifted my arm and turned it carefully, then skimmed his nose along the inside of my wrist. “There’s something about your blood.” He frowned, sniffed again, and then shook his head. “Or… Maybe not. I’m not sure.”

He let me go and I tried to decipher his expression. “So… there’s something weird about my blood. Or there’s not something weird about my blood. That really narrows it down. Good job.”
Profile Image for Kat⚔️.
149 reviews4 followers
June 2, 2024
riveting!

Have to say, this is a very unique shifter paranormal novel, unlike any I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a bunch. Thankfully it didn’t end on an annoying cliffy.😅😂 Cali definitely had some serious haters from students, to the one in charge. I’m wondering why near the end, her bestie Ling just kinda disappeared from the story? And we never learned what species she was?🤔🤷🏻‍♀️ weird.😬😂 My fav characters are definitely Prince Thaden, and Prince Davorin.❤️Looking forward to the second book, Mortal Blood.🩸


“There’s something different about you,” he said slowly, after a long moment.

“May I?” He arched a brow at my arm, and I was so taken aback that someone was actually asking my permission for anything, it took me a while to realize what he was getting at. “Oh. Uh, sure. Knock yourself out.”

He lifted my arm and turned it carefully, then skimmed his nose along the inside of my wrist. “There’s something about your blood.” He frowned, sniffed again, and then shook his head. “Or… Maybe not. I’m not sure.”

He let me go and I tried to decipher his expression. “So… there’s something weird about my blood. Or there’s not something weird about my blood. That really narrows it down. Good job.”


Profile Image for carul_neon.
208 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2023
DNF 55% - my thoughts about this book are in Portuguese



Putz, geralmente não fico explicando muito porque desisti pois acaba influenciando algumas pessoas a não tentarem, mas nossa a FMC é simplesmente uma porta de tão burrona, o desenvolvimento dela é nulo no enredo, é apenas Cali e Cole se engalfinhando e é isso. O desenvolvimento é nulo, pelo menos nos 55% do livro, nada marcante, ela so fica balbuciando que ela precisa cuidar da mãe dela (e ela so tem 18 anos e se RECUSA a procurar ajuda porque ela acha que da conta sendo que claramente ela não dá), muito burra, paga de gostosona mas não consegue fazer absolutamente nada pra se proteger, so fica nessa promessa rasa de “ah não vou deixar eles me perturbarem ou me maltratarem” mas não existe absolutamente nenhum desenvolvimento sobre o assunto. Cole e o restante dos queridos, são assim menos que morno, nada de atraente, não existiu UM personagem que eu pensei assim “poha, gostei dele” nada, tudo muito sem sal.


Parabéns
25 reviews
July 10, 2024
While other reviewers are completely right on the TSTL stuff, I still give this 4 stars because....because it had an actual story...? Hmm, maybe because the best friend wasn't two dimensional because she was mysterious...? IDK at this time.

The story has some major gaps, and problems with two-dimensional characters, but it still kept me engaged. It wasn't all sex with no plot. The insta-attraction was the thing most likely to make me put down the book, but the world and some of the other characters (Ling, anybody?) kept me curious and interested enough to let go of the following:
- TSTL syndrome,
- "OMG, he is so distractingly hot. I hate his guts. But I can't help it, he's so sexy, " blech-ness, and
-gaps in the world-building and story.

So, this should probably be a 3, but I was riveted. So, it's a 4.
Profile Image for Lizzy.
202 reviews
August 11, 2025
Satifyingly good

One human in a whole school full of supernatural, what could possibly go wrong. For the only "human" ever to be admitted to Darkveil, Cali is about to find out. That is if she can live that long. This is a fast-paced story of discovery. Discovery of self, friendship, and love. But will Cali live long enough to see the end of the year? And what happens to the "Mate" bond that starts this whole fiasco? You're going to have to read and find out. But I can tell you that this is a magical storyline. One that will keep you guessing and keep you up all night, just so you won't miss a thing. It was an amazing adventure and a fantastic beginning to this series.
8 reviews
March 8, 2025
I give it 3.5 Stars

Good storyline; if somewhat a little predictable. Definitely needed an edit before publishing because there was quite a few typos and at times sentences that didn’t make any sense.

But in saying that I thought it was a good light hearted book; was catchy enough to want to keep on reading though why we couldn’t find out what sub-species Ling is was frustrating hopefully book 2 will actually reveal what she is and see if it actually works into the storyline.
Profile Image for T..
Author 13 books573 followers
October 1, 2023
Mortal Shift, the first book of the Darkveil Academy series, is an ebook I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited (KU). This is a book I found while randomly scrolling for Kindle Unlimited books. The academy trope is alive and well, but the writer managed to throw in a lot of curve balls to keep the reader guessing. Very engaging characters and well-paced. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of the series.
Profile Image for sara reads smut ♡.
112 reviews40 followers
January 13, 2025
I really enjoyed this book! I loved watching the relationship between Cole & Cali evolve and I can't wait to see the relationships with Thaden and Davorin change as well.
I love Ling and I can't wait to hear more about her and her story.

The only thing I disliked about this novel was the constant usage of "canted". It is used 18 times in this novel and I hope it doesn't continue in the rest of the series. Everyone is apparently canting their head in this book.
Profile Image for Heidi Corley.
131 reviews3 followers
July 14, 2023
There were some easy to figure out moments in the book. But loved the interaction between the characters and how when Cali would sometimes thought she was helping only to make it worse. Can't wait to see what happens in book two. My only lingering question is what exactly is Ling. There were times I thought I'd figured it out only to not be sure and keep second guessing myself.
Profile Image for Debs.
1,205 reviews4 followers
October 21, 2023
Good story

I enjoyed this story about Cole and Cali. After her mum is sectioned and sent to a hospital, Cali is sent to Darveil Academy. It appears that she is a fated mate to a Shifter called Cole. As far as she knows she is human but never met her father. The Academy is going to test her to see if she will made a suitable mate for Cole. Hot read.
26 reviews
May 21, 2024
Missed the mark

If it was possible to give half a star I would’ve. The fmc was so boring and boring. I couldn’t finish the book. The men were so similar the only difference was in which cast they belonged to. Literally pages on pages of repeated insults. I love a good bully romance but this was lacking in substance.
28 reviews
July 2, 2024
Oh no! What a mean wolf! How terrible for our FMC!

This book follows a formula but it does it quite well. Snooty wolf, nasty vampire and weirdly mostly in the background fae. All the usual mandatory attendance at supernatural college tropes - death trials, bratty birches, survival of the fittest (or best protected), mortifying ‘punishments’ etc. enjoy!
Profile Image for Belle McLaren .
118 reviews1 follower
December 16, 2024
DNF

for me … the style of writing / the FMC ( angry and zero personality) / the other characters ( zero charisma) / the story line … just didn’t interest me enough to want to finish …

though judging from other reviews … there are and will be readers who will like this book … just not me
57 reviews
August 8, 2025
Ok. Story isn't super action packed. More so sex scenes with Cole between some school drama. Typos were frequent enough to catch my attention and detracted from reading. Book doesn't end on a cliff hanger which made me less inclined to continue, but it's a quick enough read and I'm curious enough to learn what Calli and Ling are that I'll give book 2 a try.
Profile Image for Melissa Hickman.
1,043 reviews14 followers
May 3, 2023
Great Book!!

Loved the storyline and the characters are great!!! Cali is a great FMC who manages to hold her own against really sucky situations!! I can’t wait to read the next book!!!!!
Profile Image for Dila.
138 reviews6 followers
April 18, 2023
dnf @37%… 176 pages and ~nothing~ happened yet. Other than me getting annoyed with the fmc of course. Don‘t see my boredom or annoyance changing anytime soon so I‘m going to stop trying to force this
223 reviews1 follower
April 26, 2023
interesting twist

A strong FMC, who has to fight for everything. A few twists and turns, a good read. I would recommend this book.
17 reviews
June 20, 2023
Wonderful read

Great world building. Characters you love and some you hate and a select handful that you love to hate! Amazing world building and character development
Profile Image for gonzo.
178 reviews2 followers
August 12, 2023
DNF AT 20% the FMC was dumb as a box of rocks and as naïve as a 9 year old. It read like a teenager wrote it thinking it was the best story ever. Lots of tell not show and it was just annoying bland.
Profile Image for Cat.
1,508 reviews14 followers
October 22, 2023
needs an editor

I’m not sure if this author used speech to text or what but this book definitely needs some editing.

MC was completely unlikable.
Profile Image for Melinda.
818 reviews4 followers
February 12, 2024
This book had no redeeming qualities. One long bullying session with no relief. Disappointing.
Profile Image for Angel.
1,189 reviews14 followers
July 6, 2024
2.5

It was OKAY... But, I don't know why it is considered a RH.
She has ONE mate. And an ATTRACTION to an extra person.
Idk. I don't see it.
Profile Image for Sn8wflake .
2,391 reviews
October 22, 2024
academy

Definitely set up as a series. No cliffhanger. Romance and sex by a fated mate. So far fallows the academic year.
191 reviews
October 31, 2024
I can't wait to see what happens next. I really enjoyed this story, and I really need some answers about Cali!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.