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The Calder Academy #1
Dulce pesadilla
La mayoría de las escuelas ansían ser las mejores, pero, ¿esta escuela? Esta ansía ser la peor. La Academia Calder es el lugar al que van los paranormales rebeldes, los que rompen las reglas o pierden el control. Y cuando se llena de vampiros, hombres lobo, brujas y faes, se vuelve bastante aterradora.
Yo lo sé mejor que nadie. Porque estoy atrapada aquí.
Toda chica de diecisiete años piensa que su madre es una tirana. Pero resulta que la mía dirige la Academia Calder, cosa que me ha convertido en una gran diana. La única manera que tengo de conseguir sobrevivir en estos oscuros pasillos es evitando las cosas (y los niños) que aparecen en mitad de la noche.
Especialmente Jude Abernathy.
Pero cuando una extraña tormenta azota nuestra recóndita isla, me quedo encerrada sin un plan B. No hay energía, todas las luces se han apagado… Y nuestras peores pesadillas de repente se han vuelto reales y están sedientas de sangre. Ahora, si quiero sobrevivir, debo aliarme con un mal para evitar otro peor, y, ¿qué puede ser peor que la idea de acercarme a Jude? Que en realidad y en secreto, amo cada minuto que paso con él.
Yo lo sé mejor que nadie. Porque estoy atrapada aquí.
Toda chica de diecisiete años piensa que su madre es una tirana. Pero resulta que la mía dirige la Academia Calder, cosa que me ha convertido en una gran diana. La única manera que tengo de conseguir sobrevivir en estos oscuros pasillos es evitando las cosas (y los niños) que aparecen en mitad de la noche.
Especialmente Jude Abernathy.
Pero cuando una extraña tormenta azota nuestra recóndita isla, me quedo encerrada sin un plan B. No hay energía, todas las luces se han apagado… Y nuestras peores pesadillas de repente se han vuelto reales y están sedientas de sangre. Ahora, si quiero sobrevivir, debo aliarme con un mal para evitar otro peor, y, ¿qué puede ser peor que la idea de acercarme a Jude? Que en realidad y en secreto, amo cada minuto que paso con él.
672 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2024
1041 people are currently reading
47069 people want to read
About the author
Tracy Wolff
137 books12.3k followersNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff is a lover of vampires, dragons, and all things that go bump in the night. A onetime English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing dark and romantic stories with tortured heroes and kick-butt heroines. She has written all her sixty-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her family. tracywolffbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,674 reviews
May 25, 2024
I don't even know what to say about this. I don't even know why or how I got through this absolute shit show.
I REALLY don't think Tracy Wolff has ever experienced a hurricane. I don't think she even knows what a hurricane is, if I'm honest.
This book was a dumpster fire. Too much going on, no clear plot, every mythological/paranormal character that has ever existed is written into this book with ZERO context or explanation for their powers and history and inter-species dynamics, people just...jaunting around outside in a CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE like it's normal -- like that would even be possible.
The magic system didn't make any sense, had no rules and nothing to explain why the characters could do what they did.
I've cared more about bowel movements than I cared about the romance. Because it's not a romance.
I just.
I'm just gonna leave my chapter notes--because there's just too much going on in this book (and none of it is good) to try and write a coherent review.
1 last thing: Almost every review I came across (on GR and other sites) mentioned Wolff's Crave series as justification for why they picked this book up. Regardless of star rating, people were pointing fingers at this other series. Look. If a book can't stand on its own without someone (everyone?) mentioning another, unrelated series, then there's a problem.
I REALLY don't think Tracy Wolff has ever experienced a hurricane. I don't think she even knows what a hurricane is, if I'm honest.
This book was a dumpster fire. Too much going on, no clear plot, every mythological/paranormal character that has ever existed is written into this book with ZERO context or explanation for their powers and history and inter-species dynamics, people just...jaunting around outside in a CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE like it's normal -- like that would even be possible.
The magic system didn't make any sense, had no rules and nothing to explain why the characters could do what they did.
I've cared more about bowel movements than I cared about the romance. Because it's not a romance.
I just.
I'm just gonna leave my chapter notes--because there's just too much going on in this book (and none of it is good) to try and write a coherent review.
1 last thing: Almost every review I came across (on GR and other sites) mentioned Wolff's Crave series as justification for why they picked this book up. Regardless of star rating, people were pointing fingers at this other series. Look. If a book can't stand on its own without someone (everyone?) mentioning another, unrelated series, then there's a problem.
May 16, 2024
What The heeeeeeck. I flew through this book. Ugh it was so good. Everything I could've hoped for for the beginning of this spin off series. I loved the Crave series SO MUCH and im so happy to be back in this world. I cannot wait for the next book, I just don't know what I'm going to do until then.
May 18, 2024
Giving two stars to "If Katmere Academy Students Used Fentanyl Bought Behind A Dumpster".
June 18, 2024
Okay, apparently it's a trilogy now woo hoo!!! I finished it yesterday and boy was it messy...like messier than usual. See, I forgot this wasn't Remy's book, he showed up at around 12% (yes I was counting), and spent the entire book as a side character.
I mainly read this for him, and also because I'd read any paranormal series/book Tracy Wolff wrote, but I was expecting to see more of him. He wasn't a friend of the main characters exactly, maybe near the end, but even then we saw Clementine's actual friends a lot more than Remy.
You're allowed to laugh at me when I say this next part, I was MAD LIVID ANNOYED with Jude, because again, I thought this would be a love triangle or love square type of thing with Remy as one of the love interests...womp womp.
Clementine and Jude were exchanging forever-long I love yous and my brain was still like "damn ok that's gonna be hard to beat, but I know Remy can do it". And what makes it even funnier, I did see him and Izzy having moments, but they were in the background so my brain didn't register them till the second half of the book at least.
This partially could've been avoided had I read the blurb for book three again, but you know what? Jude was still annoying!!! He's kinda like Jaxson, but if you can imagine someone even broodier and more dramatic.
The romance was cheesy with an extra side of cheese on top. In the Crave series, it was charming, here...not so much. Maybe it's because I didn't care for Jude, but the romance really got on my nerves.
The plot was all over the place, I had no idea where it was going half the time and the vibes from the first series weren't fully there, but I had fun listening to it and I'll be seated for the next two for sure.
If you're a new reader, I wouldn't suggest starting here. There are events that are key to Clementine's character that happened in past books, even if she herself didn't appear there. Same for Remy (but he appeared from book 3-ish onwards). You get a bit of an explanation, but I think it's worth reading the Crave series to get the full picture.
So much of the world is explained there, but not here, I can see why someone might get confused.
I'm also not completely sure how to rate this, it's between a 3 and a 4, but I think I'll round up to 4 on the enjoyment scale.
June 28, 2024
1.5
wayyyyy too many characters. way too much stuff going on. i didn't care about anyone or anything. the extra half-star is for the chapter titles, which got a chuckle out of me, to be fair.
wayyyyy too many characters. way too much stuff going on. i didn't care about anyone or anything. the extra half-star is for the chapter titles, which got a chuckle out of me, to be fair.
dnf-d
May 6, 2024DNF @ 44%
I tried really hard to get into this but I just couldn’t. The book just felt off. The worldbuilding was off and the plot was weird. I couldn’t connect to characters to save my life. And the chemistry between the mmc and fmc felt nonexistent.
I tried really hard to get into this but I just couldn’t. The book just felt off. The worldbuilding was off and the plot was weird. I couldn’t connect to characters to save my life. And the chemistry between the mmc and fmc felt nonexistent.
July 11, 2024
tracy wolff graduated summa cum laude from Tell Dont Show university and now shes made it my fucking problem!!!!
i went in knowing i wasn't going to like this book simply based on the fact that it was supposed to be REMY'S book (one of the few characters i actually liked from the original crave series) and at the last minute she decided remy did not need to be the main character of it. oh and also its now a 3 book series about ppl i dont know or care about. teehee. so remy is delegated to barely doing anything on the side besides make ONE fucking portal and saying kind of sassy stuff in what was originally promised to be his cool series. and ALSO the absolute disrespect to not only sideline him but also to whitewash him too??? he is not the only character of color tracy's written to only go back and retcon their appearance as well... girl what on earth is going on. so: a heads up for anyone who was under the impression this would flesh out any of the backstory for him being raised in prison, any description on his time-wizard powers, or even getting more than crumbs about him dealing with the death of his best friend... dont even think about it because tracy didn't either. we're focusing on clementine and jude now.
and lets be honest?? clementine and jude were simply not written well enough to make me care about their dynamic, much less carry the plot of the spinoff. they have a pre-established on/off relationship that we're not really given any information about, so it makes it really fucking hard to root for them when they just seem weird and whiny and BORING and you don't really get to know why. very strange to not be given any flashbacks or anything from their past, very strange for us to only have exposition told to us through the laziest way i've ever read: music references like "this song would be the theme song of our relationship" and a half-assed game of two truths and a lie. please give me SOMETHING about them that will make me root for their relationship i am BEGGING. i dont know them, and what i do know about them i don't even like.
jude is so dramatic to the point of being ridiculous. he's tortured by his trauma that he won't ever talk about until the very end, he's dark and twisted and if you get too close to him he'll hurt you.... he's almost 7 feet tall and he runs shirtless off into a category 5 hurricane. he's also a nightmare guy and can control nightmares... somehow. he has to harvest them to protect everyone (unclear why, nightmares i guess are somewhat corporeal and need to be contained, but does this apply to everyone in the world or how do oneiroi decide who's delegated to harvesting nightmares from whom in specific areas...) and jude stores them on his body, then weaves his nightmares into a blanket.... somehow. then they get turned into physical monsters.... somehow. this is a problem in all of her books- tracy's magic systems are never defined in any of her writing, things just happen and you're supposed to just go along with it.
and clementine, surprise surprise, sucks and is annoying and dumb. just like a certain other tracy wolff feminist girlboss protagonist i remember.i don't even care if this is being marketed as a feminist YA book or not but clementine literally cannot do a single thing. it takes her 200+ pages to realize something very basic that i, as the reader, figured out in the sentence it was hinted at. plus, she always is being rescued by jude at the last minute, he always sweeps in the protect her or fight on her behalf after she fails or gets her shit wrecked. literally unforgivable. it's fucking 2024 aren't we over this damsel in distress trope??? aren't we tired???
too many things are going on in this book. and yet nothing happens. it's the most bizarre kind of boring. people are dying nonstop and there's ghosts and monsters and sharks and bullying and CLEMENTINE CAN SUDDENLY SEE THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE ALL OVERLAPPED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, but the only thing they are even trying to do is evacuate the fucking island. they have no idea what's going on, and keep running around aimlessly from place to place, but beyond that, not a speck of a plot. tracy wolff and her editor are fucking asleep at the wheel here. i have so many basic worldbuilding questions, and I truthfully dont think anything has been considered beyond "hey that sounds pretty cool let's just slap that in lol." like. for example:
there are way too many types of supernatural beings suddenly thrown into this canon, all of them supposedly have their own courts kings/queens and stuff, there's apparently a MAFIA? of FAE? so does that operate separate to their court or is that just how their monarchy decided to organize itself? what are the political ramifications of the mafia on the greater democratic-monarchy system of the other paranormals? that's what i'm actually interested in. but i'll never fucking know because that's not the book i'm reading.
So, what is all of sweet nightmare leading up to? a tapestry MacGuffin. this dumb ass tapestry i swear to christ. everything is happening in this book because of this mysterious tapestry breaking. i'm not lying. it has magic powers, it breaks, that's why the hurricane is happening and clementine can see the past and the future all in real time, clementine's long lost dad comes out of it, they fix the tapestry by turning it back on and off again and then everything is fine (except for the hundreds of dead children, oops). tell me why plot finally speeds up into a ridiculous car crash of an ending and a million things get dropped on your head and now you have to wait until the next book for any explanation. i am so, so tired. learn how to pace a novel tracy i am begging you- if you just tried to follow the three-act structure i would forgive you for so much of this other dumb bullshit. at least then it wouldn't feel like such a (sweet) nightmare trying to slog through your work.
i went in knowing i wasn't going to like this book simply based on the fact that it was supposed to be REMY'S book (one of the few characters i actually liked from the original crave series) and at the last minute she decided remy did not need to be the main character of it. oh and also its now a 3 book series about ppl i dont know or care about. teehee. so remy is delegated to barely doing anything on the side besides make ONE fucking portal and saying kind of sassy stuff in what was originally promised to be his cool series. and ALSO the absolute disrespect to not only sideline him but also to whitewash him too??? he is not the only character of color tracy's written to only go back and retcon their appearance as well... girl what on earth is going on. so: a heads up for anyone who was under the impression this would flesh out any of the backstory for him being raised in prison, any description on his time-wizard powers, or even getting more than crumbs about him dealing with the death of his best friend... dont even think about it because tracy didn't either. we're focusing on clementine and jude now.
and lets be honest?? clementine and jude were simply not written well enough to make me care about their dynamic, much less carry the plot of the spinoff. they have a pre-established on/off relationship that we're not really given any information about, so it makes it really fucking hard to root for them when they just seem weird and whiny and BORING and you don't really get to know why. very strange to not be given any flashbacks or anything from their past, very strange for us to only have exposition told to us through the laziest way i've ever read: music references like "this song would be the theme song of our relationship" and a half-assed game of two truths and a lie. please give me SOMETHING about them that will make me root for their relationship i am BEGGING. i dont know them, and what i do know about them i don't even like.
jude is so dramatic to the point of being ridiculous. he's tortured by his trauma that he won't ever talk about until the very end, he's dark and twisted and if you get too close to him he'll hurt you.... he's almost 7 feet tall and he runs shirtless off into a category 5 hurricane. he's also a nightmare guy and can control nightmares... somehow. he has to harvest them to protect everyone (unclear why, nightmares i guess are somewhat corporeal and need to be contained, but does this apply to everyone in the world or how do oneiroi decide who's delegated to harvesting nightmares from whom in specific areas...) and jude stores them on his body, then weaves his nightmares into a blanket.... somehow. then they get turned into physical monsters.... somehow. this is a problem in all of her books- tracy's magic systems are never defined in any of her writing, things just happen and you're supposed to just go along with it.
and clementine, surprise surprise, sucks and is annoying and dumb. just like a certain other tracy wolff feminist girlboss protagonist i remember.i don't even care if this is being marketed as a feminist YA book or not but clementine literally cannot do a single thing. it takes her 200+ pages to realize something very basic that i, as the reader, figured out in the sentence it was hinted at. plus, she always is being rescued by jude at the last minute, he always sweeps in the protect her or fight on her behalf after she fails or gets her shit wrecked. literally unforgivable. it's fucking 2024 aren't we over this damsel in distress trope??? aren't we tired???
too many things are going on in this book. and yet nothing happens. it's the most bizarre kind of boring. people are dying nonstop and there's ghosts and monsters and sharks and bullying and CLEMENTINE CAN SUDDENLY SEE THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE ALL OVERLAPPED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, but the only thing they are even trying to do is evacuate the fucking island. they have no idea what's going on, and keep running around aimlessly from place to place, but beyond that, not a speck of a plot. tracy wolff and her editor are fucking asleep at the wheel here. i have so many basic worldbuilding questions, and I truthfully dont think anything has been considered beyond "hey that sounds pretty cool let's just slap that in lol." like. for example:
there are way too many types of supernatural beings suddenly thrown into this canon, all of them supposedly have their own courts kings/queens and stuff, there's apparently a MAFIA? of FAE? so does that operate separate to their court or is that just how their monarchy decided to organize itself? what are the political ramifications of the mafia on the greater democratic-monarchy system of the other paranormals? that's what i'm actually interested in. but i'll never fucking know because that's not the book i'm reading.
So, what is all of sweet nightmare leading up to? a tapestry MacGuffin. this dumb ass tapestry i swear to christ. everything is happening in this book because of this mysterious tapestry breaking. i'm not lying. it has magic powers, it breaks, that's why the hurricane is happening and clementine can see the past and the future all in real time, clementine's long lost dad comes out of it, they fix the tapestry by turning it back on and off again and then everything is fine (except for the hundreds of dead children, oops). tell me why plot finally speeds up into a ridiculous car crash of an ending and a million things get dropped on your head and now you have to wait until the next book for any explanation. i am so, so tired. learn how to pace a novel tracy i am begging you- if you just tried to follow the three-act structure i would forgive you for so much of this other dumb bullshit. at least then it wouldn't feel like such a (sweet) nightmare trying to slog through your work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2024
This book was not enjoyable for me, I think there was just too much everything crammed into it - too many characters, too many magical creatures, just too much chaos in general. It was really hard to follow what was going on.
❌ THIS KIND OF FELT like an attempt at creating a YA, less extreme version of Zodiac Academy? Is that a crazy statement lol?? Everything was always going wrong for the MC, it seemed like everyone was out to get her, completely over the top teachers, some random ridiculous bully’s thrown in, idk… it didn‘t work for me.
❌ WAY TOO MANY magical creatures. It felt like every single magical creature I have never heard of was included in this book. I had to google so many things just to try and picture what I was reading about but eventually just gave up.
❌ EVERYTHING WAS CHAOTIC and didn‘t flow together well, which made it really hard to understand what was going on. The hurricane was absolutely ridiculous and seemed like an excuse to make everything bad happen all at once. I was also just so confused for like the first 60%+ of the book because it was really unclear why things were happening. I don‘t like to feel “lost” for so long.
✅ THE FOUND FAMILY was cute and I liked the friend group that was formed. I think these characters would be extra beloved if you actually read the Crave series, because my understanding is there’s a bit of crossover.
I didn’t even mention the romance… honestly, I barely remember the romance other than the MCC being some super powerful perfect person with a bunch of miscommunication thrown in for good measure 🫠🫠
Overall, I think you might like this better if you were a big fan of the Crave series - maybe certain things would make more sense to you then. But I didn’t really enjoy this and won’t be continuing with the rest of the series.
❌ THIS KIND OF FELT like an attempt at creating a YA, less extreme version of Zodiac Academy? Is that a crazy statement lol?? Everything was always going wrong for the MC, it seemed like everyone was out to get her, completely over the top teachers, some random ridiculous bully’s thrown in, idk… it didn‘t work for me.
❌ WAY TOO MANY magical creatures. It felt like every single magical creature I have never heard of was included in this book. I had to google so many things just to try and picture what I was reading about but eventually just gave up.
❌ EVERYTHING WAS CHAOTIC and didn‘t flow together well, which made it really hard to understand what was going on. The hurricane was absolutely ridiculous and seemed like an excuse to make everything bad happen all at once. I was also just so confused for like the first 60%+ of the book because it was really unclear why things were happening. I don‘t like to feel “lost” for so long.
✅ THE FOUND FAMILY was cute and I liked the friend group that was formed. I think these characters would be extra beloved if you actually read the Crave series, because my understanding is there’s a bit of crossover.
I didn’t even mention the romance… honestly, I barely remember the romance other than the MCC being some super powerful perfect person with a bunch of miscommunication thrown in for good measure 🫠🫠
Overall, I think you might like this better if you were a big fan of the Crave series - maybe certain things would make more sense to you then. But I didn’t really enjoy this and won’t be continuing with the rest of the series.
May 15, 2024
I’ll start by saying, I am OBSESSED with the Crave series. Covet and Charm are two of my all time favorite books (followed by ACMAF for reference). I have read the Crave series books 2-4 times at this point. I was very disappointed in the second half of Cherish(the last book of the series) and this book felt very similar. Rushed, a lot of random stuff and no rhyme or reason. I was so excited for the journey to continue and to get more of Remy, but I am sooooo disappointed. I can’t believe how many good reviews this has. There was no story line or flow, it was all chaos. And all of which happens in two days. The FMC literally doesn’t get a break at all. The characters are not developed at all. It was so violent for no reason, it didn’t add anything to the story and again it happens so fast and the FMC doesn’t ever get a chance to heal from her continuous almost deadly injuries. I love a good fast paced book, but this was just total chaos with no flow. The relationship between the two main characters is rushed (obviously) and you don’t get enough background info even though there are a few flash backs. There were some things that were just so confusing and didn’t make sense for the story. Idk I’m just so disappointed. It’s hard to believe that it’s the same author who wrote my very favorite books and series of all time. It doesn’t feel like it’s the same author at all. But I did feel like Grace and Clementine have very similar qualities. The story did come together a bit at the end, and I understand leaving some things unanswered for the next book, but it was not done in a good way at all because it felt like there was so many loop holes. I really hope she’s able to get it together by the next book and especially by Remy and Izzy’s book.
May 7, 2024
Release Day! 07May2024
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
4.5 hearts
Sweet Nightmare is the first book of The Calder Academy , a spin off to the Crave series set in the same world with a few cross over characters. I have not read the Crave series and kept up just fine, but I'm sure there are some nuggets in here for those who have read the other series. Set at a school for the magically blessed...vampires, witches and fae oh my, Calder academy is where you get sent when there isn't a good place to keep you and your magic or you are a bit out of control. Clementine has been there her whole life. Not because she is bad, but because her family runs the school and her mom is in charge of it all.
Clementine wants nothing more than to get off the Island she has lived on her whole life. Her mother, on the other hand, is never going to let that happen. She is stuck in the school, stuck on Trickler duty (trust me it isn't fun) and stuck trying to avoid the boy she has loved her whole life that ghosted her three years ago. Well, as much as you can ghost someone you go to school with on an Island off the coast of Texas. Jude and Clementine were everything to each other, until they weren't. She never found out why, but with a storm coming to the Island and everyone getting ready to evacuate, she might just have a chance to find out why.
I adored Clementine and Jude. I loved their pet names for each other, their banter, the longing...oh the longing. I was engrossed in the story and couldn't wait to find out more about their history and why a boy who is so clearly in love with the girl would walk away like he did. I just knew it was going to be good and man was I right. But in the middle of all of that, there is danger around every corner. The hurricane is getting closer to the Island and the ward keeping all the not so well adjusted kids without their magic is failing. Chaos is a bunch of teenagers getting their magic back all at the same time. Something strange is going on and with the storm everyone's nightmares are released too. Clementine, Jude and friends will have to fight for their lives and try to find a way survive or get off this crazy Island.
There was quite a bit going on with the plot. Some twists, turns and pretty big surprises near the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and the imagery of this story. I would classify it is a bit romance, a bit urban fantasy and a little horror lite to it. The ending isn't a cliff-hanger but does give the reader a lot to ponder on before the next book in the series. I am looking forward to digging in deeper to some of the revelations made and getting to know a few of the characters a little better especially Remy and Izzy who I hear are in the Crave series.
Narration:
Suzy Jackson narrates the majority of this book, all but one chapter in fact. I have enjoyed her is a few other series and think she plays the young spunky protagonist well. A few of the voices sounded a little similia for some of the very minor characters but other than that she was again phenomenal and a perfect pick to be Clementine. Andrew Wehrlen only got to do one chapter as Jude but I hope he gets more voice time in the next book. I enjoyed the audio narration as I believe it added to the excitement of the story. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
4.5 hearts
Sweet Nightmare is the first book of The Calder Academy , a spin off to the Crave series set in the same world with a few cross over characters. I have not read the Crave series and kept up just fine, but I'm sure there are some nuggets in here for those who have read the other series. Set at a school for the magically blessed...vampires, witches and fae oh my, Calder academy is where you get sent when there isn't a good place to keep you and your magic or you are a bit out of control. Clementine has been there her whole life. Not because she is bad, but because her family runs the school and her mom is in charge of it all.
Clementine wants nothing more than to get off the Island she has lived on her whole life. Her mother, on the other hand, is never going to let that happen. She is stuck in the school, stuck on Trickler duty (trust me it isn't fun) and stuck trying to avoid the boy she has loved her whole life that ghosted her three years ago. Well, as much as you can ghost someone you go to school with on an Island off the coast of Texas. Jude and Clementine were everything to each other, until they weren't. She never found out why, but with a storm coming to the Island and everyone getting ready to evacuate, she might just have a chance to find out why.
I adored Clementine and Jude. I loved their pet names for each other, their banter, the longing...oh the longing. I was engrossed in the story and couldn't wait to find out more about their history and why a boy who is so clearly in love with the girl would walk away like he did. I just knew it was going to be good and man was I right. But in the middle of all of that, there is danger around every corner. The hurricane is getting closer to the Island and the ward keeping all the not so well adjusted kids without their magic is failing. Chaos is a bunch of teenagers getting their magic back all at the same time. Something strange is going on and with the storm everyone's nightmares are released too. Clementine, Jude and friends will have to fight for their lives and try to find a way survive or get off this crazy Island.
There was quite a bit going on with the plot. Some twists, turns and pretty big surprises near the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and the imagery of this story. I would classify it is a bit romance, a bit urban fantasy and a little horror lite to it. The ending isn't a cliff-hanger but does give the reader a lot to ponder on before the next book in the series. I am looking forward to digging in deeper to some of the revelations made and getting to know a few of the characters a little better especially Remy and Izzy who I hear are in the Crave series.
“The past is set, but the future can change.”
Narration:
Suzy Jackson narrates the majority of this book, all but one chapter in fact. I have enjoyed her is a few other series and think she plays the young spunky protagonist well. A few of the voices sounded a little similia for some of the very minor characters but other than that she was again phenomenal and a perfect pick to be Clementine. Andrew Wehrlen only got to do one chapter as Jude but I hope he gets more voice time in the next book. I enjoyed the audio narration as I believe it added to the excitement of the story. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
May 8, 2024
The Calder Academy series is the spinoff of Tracy Wolff’s highly successful Crave series, featuring Katmere Academy. Two fan favorites from the Crave series, Remy and Izzy link the series. I have yet to finish the Crave series. Luckily, The Calder Academy series stands on its own.
Sweet Nightmare is the first book in The Calder Academy series. From start to finish, I was glued to the pages. This resulted in sleep loss, but I don’t regret it. I mean really, has anyone ever said, “Just one more chapter” and actually stuck to it?
Told primarily from the point of view of seventeen-year-old Clementine Calder, yes, you read that correctly. Clementine’s family owns and runs Calder Academy which is in essence a juvenile detention boarding school for paranormal teens who have done something bad in the real world and can't go to a regular paranormal school. The school is located on a secluded island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Galveston, Texas. Unlike a lot of the kids at the school, Clementine who is a manticore was born on the island and has never left. Meaning she has never shifted or used her magic because a spell blocks students from doing so.
Jude Abernathy-Lee, also seventeen, is a oneiroi. He has been at the academy for ten years which is unheard of as usually students come in their early teens. Until three years ago, he and Clementine were the best of friends when he suddenly stopped talking to her with no explanation given. This changes when the two are forced to partner together for a Brit Lit assignment.
For Clementine, this is a nightmare. But things can and do get worse. It's summertime in Texas and that means tropical storms and hurricanes. What starts as a seemingly inconsequential tropical storm turns into a massive category five hurricane in a matter of hours and it has the island and school in its sites. Unexplainable things start to occur and Clementine's mother Camilla, the headmistress, decides that the school will evacuate to higher ground. With a school full of paranormals who hate each other, things go from bad to worse really quickly. Luckily for Clementine and Jude, they have friends who have their backs through it all. But Jude is hiding a huge secret that could be everyone's undoing.
I have nothing but praise for Sweet Nightmare. I loved the characters of Clementine and Jude. Clementine is a really strong character, though she thinks she's weak at times. She has a heart the size of Texas. Jude is a brooding hero who is a tortured soul but is probably the best out of everyone on the island. They have great chemistry. And despite not talking to each other for three years, they never stopped truly caring for each other. They are braver than they think they are. The secondary characters of their friends were great as well and often added humor to tense moments. And there are a lot of tense and shocking moments. Tracy put in all of these surprise twists.
At its core, Sweet Nightmare is about friendship, found family, and believing in yourself. I wouldn't say Sweet Nightmare ends with a cliffhanger, but you definitely know there is some unfinished business. I would love to say this upsets me, but I can't. It leaves me wondering what's going to happen next and just what this mix of characters will do with everything they've learned about themselves and each other. I can not wait for Sweet Chaos, the next book in the series.
Sweet Nightmare contains what some would call horror elements. I am by no means a person who reads horror books or watches horror movies. Yet, I had no problem with anything in this story. If you have concerns, please check the publisher’s website for content warnings.
~ Favorite Quotes ~
“I am stronger than all of the problems and challenges I encounter. I just have to believe in myself.”
“The past is set, but the future can change.”
**Received a copy of the book from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed it. Also personally purchased a hardcover copy.**
Sweet Nightmare is the first book in The Calder Academy series. From start to finish, I was glued to the pages. This resulted in sleep loss, but I don’t regret it. I mean really, has anyone ever said, “Just one more chapter” and actually stuck to it?
Told primarily from the point of view of seventeen-year-old Clementine Calder, yes, you read that correctly. Clementine’s family owns and runs Calder Academy which is in essence a juvenile detention boarding school for paranormal teens who have done something bad in the real world and can't go to a regular paranormal school. The school is located on a secluded island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Galveston, Texas. Unlike a lot of the kids at the school, Clementine who is a manticore was born on the island and has never left. Meaning she has never shifted or used her magic because a spell blocks students from doing so.
Jude Abernathy-Lee, also seventeen, is a oneiroi. He has been at the academy for ten years which is unheard of as usually students come in their early teens. Until three years ago, he and Clementine were the best of friends when he suddenly stopped talking to her with no explanation given. This changes when the two are forced to partner together for a Brit Lit assignment.
For Clementine, this is a nightmare. But things can and do get worse. It's summertime in Texas and that means tropical storms and hurricanes. What starts as a seemingly inconsequential tropical storm turns into a massive category five hurricane in a matter of hours and it has the island and school in its sites. Unexplainable things start to occur and Clementine's mother Camilla, the headmistress, decides that the school will evacuate to higher ground. With a school full of paranormals who hate each other, things go from bad to worse really quickly. Luckily for Clementine and Jude, they have friends who have their backs through it all. But Jude is hiding a huge secret that could be everyone's undoing.
I have nothing but praise for Sweet Nightmare. I loved the characters of Clementine and Jude. Clementine is a really strong character, though she thinks she's weak at times. She has a heart the size of Texas. Jude is a brooding hero who is a tortured soul but is probably the best out of everyone on the island. They have great chemistry. And despite not talking to each other for three years, they never stopped truly caring for each other. They are braver than they think they are. The secondary characters of their friends were great as well and often added humor to tense moments. And there are a lot of tense and shocking moments. Tracy put in all of these surprise twists.
At its core, Sweet Nightmare is about friendship, found family, and believing in yourself. I wouldn't say Sweet Nightmare ends with a cliffhanger, but you definitely know there is some unfinished business. I would love to say this upsets me, but I can't. It leaves me wondering what's going to happen next and just what this mix of characters will do with everything they've learned about themselves and each other. I can not wait for Sweet Chaos, the next book in the series.
Sweet Nightmare contains what some would call horror elements. I am by no means a person who reads horror books or watches horror movies. Yet, I had no problem with anything in this story. If you have concerns, please check the publisher’s website for content warnings.
~ Favorite Quotes ~
“I am stronger than all of the problems and challenges I encounter. I just have to believe in myself.”
“The past is set, but the future can change.”
**Received a copy of the book from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed it. Also personally purchased a hardcover copy.**
May 22, 2024
Update since finishing:
You don’t want to read this book. You’re probably checking it out because you liked crave and this is NOT at all in the same arena as that book in terms of storyline or quality. Save yourself the time and disappointment and just re-read crave.
I’m 11 chapters in and there is no plot at all- no story arc. Thera no world building, we have no idea what’s going on, what creatures there are in this his world, the magic system, etc. we don’t feel anything for the main character because we don’t really know her motivations or who she is. It seems like the author cares more about punny/sarcastic chapter titles than she does the actual storyline itself.
This story doesn’t know if it wants to be YA or NA…there hardly any spice but there are like five-seven f bombs in each chapter. I don’t usually care about cussing but I don’t see how it serves its purpose in this story.
You don’t want to read this book. You’re probably checking it out because you liked crave and this is NOT at all in the same arena as that book in terms of storyline or quality. Save yourself the time and disappointment and just re-read crave.
I’m 11 chapters in and there is no plot at all- no story arc. Thera no world building, we have no idea what’s going on, what creatures there are in this his world, the magic system, etc. we don’t feel anything for the main character because we don’t really know her motivations or who she is. It seems like the author cares more about punny/sarcastic chapter titles than she does the actual storyline itself.
This story doesn’t know if it wants to be YA or NA…there hardly any spice but there are like five-seven f bombs in each chapter. I don’t usually care about cussing but I don’t see how it serves its purpose in this story.
June 2, 2024
There goes an hour of my life I’ll never get back.
July 22, 2025
#️⃣2️⃣5️⃣6️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 🌀🌊💠
Date : 📬 Saturday, July 19, 2025 🫧🛌
Word Count📃: 157k Words 🛢️✈️
𝜗𝜚⋆₊˚ 💧🥏🩻 ‹𝟹 𓇢𓆸 𓂂 𓇼˚｡ •
ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ My 41th read in "Why is Lorde's latest album so bad" 🩻 July
2️⃣🌟, too short for a long book
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
So this book is supposed to be this very crazy book about people surviving nightmares of all the students in this particular academy. The entire academic gets infiltrated by holidays different the years and all of them basically needs to survive all of them, which gets progressively more crazier because of the amount of things that they need to do.
My only problem when here is that it tries to do "too many things". I'd love me some survival story but this just leaves us with too many plot holes. With the amount of nightmares that they have to survive, there are certain unique solutions and loopholes that you can possibly theorize and will make sense to quickly solve everything. There are also a little bit too many characters, that isn't a wrong sing especially considering that this is a very long book. But all of them are very undeveloped because the focus here is in the plot and the events that happened and not on the characters. The romance in here IS ALSO pretty rushed and even sometimes just pops out all of a sudden. Like one time they're just trying to survive and then the scene shifts into a literal confession out of nowhere.
This book is pretty long but i do wish that this is more...LONGER, i wouldn't mind it. If a book tries to do so many things at once, then the least you can do is to make it a loooooooooooooong book because yes, (you're trying to do so many things at the same time)
Date : 📬 Saturday, July 19, 2025 🫧🛌
Word Count📃: 157k Words 🛢️✈️
𝜗𝜚⋆₊˚ 💧🥏🩻 ‹𝟹 𓇢𓆸 𓂂 𓇼˚｡ •
ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ My 41th read in "Why is Lorde's latest album so bad" 🩻 July
2️⃣🌟, too short for a long book
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
So this book is supposed to be this very crazy book about people surviving nightmares of all the students in this particular academy. The entire academic gets infiltrated by holidays different the years and all of them basically needs to survive all of them, which gets progressively more crazier because of the amount of things that they need to do.
My only problem when here is that it tries to do "too many things". I'd love me some survival story but this just leaves us with too many plot holes. With the amount of nightmares that they have to survive, there are certain unique solutions and loopholes that you can possibly theorize and will make sense to quickly solve everything. There are also a little bit too many characters, that isn't a wrong sing especially considering that this is a very long book. But all of them are very undeveloped because the focus here is in the plot and the events that happened and not on the characters. The romance in here IS ALSO pretty rushed and even sometimes just pops out all of a sudden. Like one time they're just trying to survive and then the scene shifts into a literal confession out of nowhere.
This book is pretty long but i do wish that this is more...LONGER, i wouldn't mind it. If a book tries to do so many things at once, then the least you can do is to make it a loooooooooooooong book because yes, (you're trying to do so many things at the same time)
May 28, 2024
Somehow, Sweet Nightmare is my first Tracy Wolff novel, and I have clearly been missing out due to how much I loved it! I heard this series is a spinoff of her Crave series but from what I can tell, it reads just fine having not read those books. I wasn't confused about anything going on in the story, and it was fun getting lost in a world of monsters and paranormals. This is a YA novel that many ages should be able to enjoy, and the quick pacing throughout kept me engaged and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I did think some parts slowed down a bit, but then they would pick back up and we were off to the races again.
Suzy Jackson & Andrew B. Wehrlen narrate the audiobook which is how I read this, and I loved every moment of listening to them. Jackson made a fantastic Clementine, and her narration is the bulk of this book, so I was really happy. The banter between the characters (especially Jude and Clementine) was top-notch, and Wolff was not afraid to kill people off that's for sure. I loved the darkness of the storyline and Sweet Nightmare was 100% edge-of-your-seat addictive. I'm dying over the cliffhanger at the end, and I wish I could have the next book RIGHT NOW. 😭 The found family and friendship group made my heart happy as well, and if you like YA fantasy I would recommend this one!
Suzy Jackson & Andrew B. Wehrlen narrate the audiobook which is how I read this, and I loved every moment of listening to them. Jackson made a fantastic Clementine, and her narration is the bulk of this book, so I was really happy. The banter between the characters (especially Jude and Clementine) was top-notch, and Wolff was not afraid to kill people off that's for sure. I loved the darkness of the storyline and Sweet Nightmare was 100% edge-of-your-seat addictive. I'm dying over the cliffhanger at the end, and I wish I could have the next book RIGHT NOW. 😭 The found family and friendship group made my heart happy as well, and if you like YA fantasy I would recommend this one!
September 4, 2024
I have soooo many unanswered questions and most likely that was the purpose of this ending- so we’d have to read book two…. But it’s not out till next year and I can’t wait that long to get answerssssssss HELp😂😩
May 20, 2024
This is not a masterpiece, but it's also not trying to be.
I saw someone say it's a combo between a deadly education and Zodiac Academy - I don't know about that but I guess I can see some resemblance.
We have a kind of prison school for monsters, where they are stuck on an Island. It is definitely for teens, not explicit stuff, but there is blood, fire, and death in the story. All are monsters, our main girl is the headmaster's daughter, and all the others are there for a reason.
I was having a good time with it, it was easy and fun to read.
It had an interesting concept and story that kept me engaged.
Where this fell a bit short for me was:
1) The romance (like could we not have had some flashbacks or something to give us more of the feels?)
2) The mate thing (came out of nowhere)
3) The ending (felt a bit rushed)
4) The family dynamics (but it also made sense in a way)
5) The teacher thing
I am curious about the next one and will be on the lookout for it. Also, you don't have to read crave before this.
I saw someone say it's a combo between a deadly education and Zodiac Academy - I don't know about that but I guess I can see some resemblance.
We have a kind of prison school for monsters, where they are stuck on an Island. It is definitely for teens, not explicit stuff, but there is blood, fire, and death in the story. All are monsters, our main girl is the headmaster's daughter, and all the others are there for a reason.
I was having a good time with it, it was easy and fun to read.
It had an interesting concept and story that kept me engaged.
Where this fell a bit short for me was:
1) The romance (like could we not have had some flashbacks or something to give us more of the feels?)
2) The mate thing (came out of nowhere)
3) The ending (felt a bit rushed)
4) The family dynamics (but it also made sense in a way)
5) The teacher thing
I am curious about the next one and will be on the lookout for it. Also, you don't have to read crave before this.
June 24, 2024
the plot twist of the century was this making me want to reread deadly education
June 15, 2024
4.5/5 🌟 *rounded up
4/5 ❤️🩹
4/5 🥰
0/5 🌶️
2/5 🔎
3/5 😰😱
3/5 🎭😂
4/5 🎭😭
2/5 👻🧟♀️
1/5 🔬
4/5 🔫
1/5 🏥
4/5 ✍🏼
0/5 🥱
⚠️⛔️TRIGGERS:⛔️⚠️
Blood
Gore
Violence
Death
Murder
Emesis
Injury/Injury Detail
Fire/Fire Injury
Parent Death
Child Death
Grief
Pregnancy
Body Horror
Confinement
Profanity
Bullying
Abandonment
Emotional Abuse
Toxic Relationship
Forced Institutionalization
Animal Cruelty
Animal Death
Child Abuse
Gaslighting
🗯️💬BOOK BLURB:💬🗯️
The scariest school on earth
Is about to experience real fear…
Most schools are about being the best. This school? It’s about being the worst. Calder Academy is where the rogue paranormals go. The ones who break the rules or lose control. And when that happens for vamps, werewolves, witches, and dark fae? It gets pretty freaking scary.
I should know. Because I’m trapped here.
Look, every seventeen-year-old girl thinks their mom is a tyrant. But mine just happens to run Calder Academy, which paints a giant target on my back. The way I make it through these dark halls is by steering clear of the things―and kids―who go bump in the night.
Especially Jude Abernathy-Lee.
But when a freak storm hits our isolated island, I'm stuck without a backup plan. The power is gone. The lights are out. And our worst nightmares are suddenly real―and out for blood.
Now the only way to survive is to align myself with one evil to avoid the other.
And the only thing worse than the idea of getting close to Jude? Secretly loving every minute of it.
🌎📖OVERALL REVIEWS📖🌎
Courtesy of Storygraph
COMMUNITY REVIEWS
SUMMARY OF 207 REVIEWS
Moods
adventurous 87%
mysterious 73%
dark 66%
tense 63%
emotional 50%
funny 32%
challenging 23%
sad 22%
hopeful 11%
lighthearted 6%
inspiring 1%
reflective 1%
Pace
medium 48%
fast 45%
slow 5%
Plot- or character-driven?
A mix: 63% | Plot: 19% | Character: 16%
Strong character development?
Yes: 64% | It's complicated: 17% | No: 17%
Loveable characters?
Yes: 79% | It's complicated: 14% | No: 6%
Diverse cast of characters?
Yes: 80% | It's complicated: 12% | No: 4% | N/A: 2%
Flaws of characters a main focus?
Yes: 60% | It's complicated: 19% | No: 19% | N/A: 1%
Average rating
3.84 ⭐️
🤔🧐🤯MY THOUGHTS:🤯🧐🤔
I absolutely love Tracy Wolff’s writing. I do need to check out some of her older books but as far as Katmere Academy I loved that series! Jaxson and Hudson were fabulous and so was our mighty gargoyle Queen! I love that they are making her Crave series into graphic audios!! They are always a joy to listen to for fun. I’m hoping that this series will be as equally enjoyable to read. From what I can tell this takes place at Calder Academy in Texas. This series also has a very much loved Remy and I’m stoked about that. I think Clementines will be every bit the heroine that Grace was. I’m super excited for this series!!
RATING KEY:
🌟 Stars - based on the overall plot and theme or idea of the book
❤️🩹 Emotions - based on how emotional I got while reading
🥰 Romance - based on how well I got invested in the love story aspect
🌶️ Spice - based on how the sex scenes were portrayed and written as well as the number of sex scenes
🔎 Mystery - based on how well it kept me guessing who, how and why
😰 Scared🫣/Anxious😱 - based on how scared or anxious the book made me while reading
🎭 Comedy😂/Tragedy😭
-based on if I laughed or if there was a tragic event and how it affected me. I will mark the Masks with either a C or T to indicate Comedy or Tragedy
👻 Spooky😵💫/Creepy🧟♀️ -based on if this had any occult or paranormal themes and if those elements creeped me out or gave me anxiety!
🔬 Sci-Fi -based on the Science Fiction in the book as well as the Dystopian elements.
🔫 Action/Thriller -based on if I thought this was more of a spy action type of thriller.
🏥 Medical Content -based on the amount and the accuracy of any medical content or if the book is supposed to be a medical style thriller.
✍🏼 Writing Style -based on if I enjoyed the writing style or not and how the author portrayed the world, characters, concept, plot etc.
🥱 Boredom -based on if I was bored if it held my interest or if I’d rather be doing something else 😴
🙅🏻♀️ DNF -based on if the book is just stupid, boring, childish, overly ridiculous etc.
4/5 ❤️🩹
4/5 🥰
0/5 🌶️
2/5 🔎
3/5 😰😱
3/5 🎭😂
4/5 🎭😭
2/5 👻🧟♀️
1/5 🔬
4/5 🔫
1/5 🏥
4/5 ✍🏼
0/5 🥱
⚠️⛔️TRIGGERS:⛔️⚠️
Blood
Gore
Violence
Death
Murder
Emesis
Injury/Injury Detail
Fire/Fire Injury
Parent Death
Child Death
Grief
Pregnancy
Body Horror
Confinement
Profanity
Bullying
Abandonment
Emotional Abuse
Toxic Relationship
Forced Institutionalization
Animal Cruelty
Animal Death
Child Abuse
Gaslighting
🗯️💬BOOK BLURB:💬🗯️
The scariest school on earth
Is about to experience real fear…
Most schools are about being the best. This school? It’s about being the worst. Calder Academy is where the rogue paranormals go. The ones who break the rules or lose control. And when that happens for vamps, werewolves, witches, and dark fae? It gets pretty freaking scary.
I should know. Because I’m trapped here.
Look, every seventeen-year-old girl thinks their mom is a tyrant. But mine just happens to run Calder Academy, which paints a giant target on my back. The way I make it through these dark halls is by steering clear of the things―and kids―who go bump in the night.
Especially Jude Abernathy-Lee.
But when a freak storm hits our isolated island, I'm stuck without a backup plan. The power is gone. The lights are out. And our worst nightmares are suddenly real―and out for blood.
Now the only way to survive is to align myself with one evil to avoid the other.
And the only thing worse than the idea of getting close to Jude? Secretly loving every minute of it.
🌎📖OVERALL REVIEWS📖🌎
Courtesy of Storygraph
COMMUNITY REVIEWS
SUMMARY OF 207 REVIEWS
Moods
adventurous 87%
mysterious 73%
dark 66%
tense 63%
emotional 50%
funny 32%
challenging 23%
sad 22%
hopeful 11%
lighthearted 6%
inspiring 1%
reflective 1%
Pace
medium 48%
fast 45%
slow 5%
Plot- or character-driven?
A mix: 63% | Plot: 19% | Character: 16%
Strong character development?
Yes: 64% | It's complicated: 17% | No: 17%
Loveable characters?
Yes: 79% | It's complicated: 14% | No: 6%
Diverse cast of characters?
Yes: 80% | It's complicated: 12% | No: 4% | N/A: 2%
Flaws of characters a main focus?
Yes: 60% | It's complicated: 19% | No: 19% | N/A: 1%
Average rating
3.84 ⭐️
🤔🧐🤯MY THOUGHTS:🤯🧐🤔
I absolutely love Tracy Wolff’s writing. I do need to check out some of her older books but as far as Katmere Academy I loved that series! Jaxson and Hudson were fabulous and so was our mighty gargoyle Queen! I love that they are making her Crave series into graphic audios!! They are always a joy to listen to for fun. I’m hoping that this series will be as equally enjoyable to read. From what I can tell this takes place at Calder Academy in Texas. This series also has a very much loved Remy and I’m stoked about that. I think Clementines will be every bit the heroine that Grace was. I’m super excited for this series!!
RATING KEY:
🌟 Stars - based on the overall plot and theme or idea of the book
❤️🩹 Emotions - based on how emotional I got while reading
🥰 Romance - based on how well I got invested in the love story aspect
🌶️ Spice - based on how the sex scenes were portrayed and written as well as the number of sex scenes
🔎 Mystery - based on how well it kept me guessing who, how and why
😰 Scared🫣/Anxious😱 - based on how scared or anxious the book made me while reading
🎭 Comedy😂/Tragedy😭
-based on if I laughed or if there was a tragic event and how it affected me. I will mark the Masks with either a C or T to indicate Comedy or Tragedy
👻 Spooky😵💫/Creepy🧟♀️ -based on if this had any occult or paranormal themes and if those elements creeped me out or gave me anxiety!
🔬 Sci-Fi -based on the Science Fiction in the book as well as the Dystopian elements.
🔫 Action/Thriller -based on if I thought this was more of a spy action type of thriller.
🏥 Medical Content -based on the amount and the accuracy of any medical content or if the book is supposed to be a medical style thriller.
✍🏼 Writing Style -based on if I enjoyed the writing style or not and how the author portrayed the world, characters, concept, plot etc.
🥱 Boredom -based on if I was bored if it held my interest or if I’d rather be doing something else 😴
🙅🏻♀️ DNF -based on if the book is just stupid, boring, childish, overly ridiculous etc.
July 8, 2024
Welcome to Calder Academy, where the juvenile outcast paranormals are trapped on an isolated island. Vamps, werewolves, witches, dark fae, and more, oh my. Clementine has a target on her back due to being a Calder and her mom running the school with an icy iron fist. Clementine just wants to keep her head down, graduate, and figure out a way to leave the island she was raised on once and for all. But when a violent storm hits the island, she must band together with other students and they must face their worst nightmares wide awake.
🐍🗡️🐍🗡️🐍
Given this is the first in a series, it is a little slow to start with the required world building necessary to understand the story but it picked up and I enjoyed it towards the middle/end when I finally understood what nightmares had to do with the plot and there was so much more action. I loved the romance aspects dabbled in and it wasn’t too YA for me at all. Ending was a little cliffhanger-y. I look forward to the rest in this series!
3.5/5 stars rounded up ⭐️
Thank you so much to Entangled Teen and Tracy for the gifted ARC and PR box! Y’all have got me out of my comfort zone and on a fantasy kick lately 🗡️✨
🐍🗡️🐍🗡️🐍
Given this is the first in a series, it is a little slow to start with the required world building necessary to understand the story but it picked up and I enjoyed it towards the middle/end when I finally understood what nightmares had to do with the plot and there was so much more action. I loved the romance aspects dabbled in and it wasn’t too YA for me at all. Ending was a little cliffhanger-y. I look forward to the rest in this series!
3.5/5 stars rounded up ⭐️
Thank you so much to Entangled Teen and Tracy for the gifted ARC and PR box! Y’all have got me out of my comfort zone and on a fantasy kick lately 🗡️✨
October 30, 2024
C’est un premier tome bourré d’action et original avec lequel j’ai passé un bon moment même si j’avoue ne pas avoir été particulièrement transcendée. C’est un peu trop dans le blabla et le too much pour vraiment me happer, beaucoup moins addictif que l’autre série de l’autrice à mes yeux.
Sympa mais sans plus quoi !
Sympa mais sans plus quoi !
July 15, 2024
Lo mejor de este libro es su edición y traducción, lo demás… ha sido un despropósito de historia que no se salva ni por la trama ¿qué trama? ni por los personajes.
May 22, 2024
What in the everlasting fuck was that Tracy.
The Crave series started my reading addiction and was absolutely amazing (should’ve stopped at book 4) and this was just incomparable. I have no idea why so many people are kissing this books ass. Have u read the Crave series? Seriously this book fucking suckeddddd.
Listen I stuck it through simply because I love Tracy’s writing style and again her Crave series was part of the reason I fell in love with reading.
I was confused, bored, nauseated, and strained my eyes from rolling them so much reading this monstrosity.
Let’s start with the main character Clementine.. holy pick me energy. She drove me absolutely nuts! Seriously nothing but whining, needing to be saved, and head over heels for a guy that rejected her every chance he could. She made me want to literally throw myself off a cliff.
Next is Jude. Just not my fav. He was kind of a dick the whole time. When he tells Clementine he would be her worst nightmare.. please. I rolled my eyes so far in my head, gagging for how disgusting that line was. Their love trope and the whole love story was just horribly done. It just not do it for me AT ALL.
Honestly, I liked the side characters way more then the main ones.
I wish the book was about Izzy, she had me cackling the whole time and was also another reason I decided to get through this book.
There were soooo many loose ends to this story. No world building. Lame fight scenes. There was twists and turns to the story assuming to keep you on the edge of your seat but really just dragged on the book and left me more confused to what the actual fucking point was to the story. Not to mention towards the end Remy was saying how he couldn’t make any portals the whole book then just made one out of nowhere with no explanation and no struggle? What.
AND THE ENDING? Girl. I have no words for how bad that was.
This book was so disappointing because the plot had so much potential and it just did not give whatsoever. The only stars I give are for my love for Tracy’s Crave series and Izzy.
The Crave series started my reading addiction and was absolutely amazing (should’ve stopped at book 4) and this was just incomparable. I have no idea why so many people are kissing this books ass. Have u read the Crave series? Seriously this book fucking suckeddddd.
Listen I stuck it through simply because I love Tracy’s writing style and again her Crave series was part of the reason I fell in love with reading.
I was confused, bored, nauseated, and strained my eyes from rolling them so much reading this monstrosity.
Let’s start with the main character Clementine.. holy pick me energy. She drove me absolutely nuts! Seriously nothing but whining, needing to be saved, and head over heels for a guy that rejected her every chance he could. She made me want to literally throw myself off a cliff.
Next is Jude. Just not my fav. He was kind of a dick the whole time. When he tells Clementine he would be her worst nightmare.. please. I rolled my eyes so far in my head, gagging for how disgusting that line was. Their love trope and the whole love story was just horribly done. It just not do it for me AT ALL.
Honestly, I liked the side characters way more then the main ones.
I wish the book was about Izzy, she had me cackling the whole time and was also another reason I decided to get through this book.
There were soooo many loose ends to this story. No world building. Lame fight scenes. There was twists and turns to the story assuming to keep you on the edge of your seat but really just dragged on the book and left me more confused to what the actual fucking point was to the story. Not to mention towards the end Remy was saying how he couldn’t make any portals the whole book then just made one out of nowhere with no explanation and no struggle? What.
AND THE ENDING? Girl. I have no words for how bad that was.
This book was so disappointing because the plot had so much potential and it just did not give whatsoever. The only stars I give are for my love for Tracy’s Crave series and Izzy.
May 24, 2024
I finished this book purely out of spite. It was not a good book, and the characters were really crudely constructed. I really started to hate them at about 65% finished. But at that point I had already gone through way more than half of the book, so I was determined to finish it. But everyone around me had to hear me say, “goddamn these kids are dumb. That’s a dumb thing to say. I hate this book. “
Anyway, read it if you want. But I’m angry that I wasted time on it.
Anyway, read it if you want. But I’m angry that I wasted time on it.
May 31, 2024
2024 reads: 148/250
as the daughter of the headmistress, clementine has been at calder academy her whole life. this school is for rogue paranormals to learn control. when a storm hits the isolated island that houses calder academy, all hell breaks loose, including students’ worst nightmares.
honestly, this was a case of “curiosity got the best of me.” i saw an ad for this book that described it as “harry potter meets five nights at freddy’s,” saw my library had the audiobook, and now here we are. the rest of my review will contain spoilers.
while reading this, i couldn’t help but think that it felt like the author tried to squeeze in every ya fantasy cliché she could. so, i decided to look up “ya fantasy clichés” just to see how many boxes this one checked. here’s what i got:
☑tortured boy x good girl
☑“i love you but i’m bad for you so this can’t work”
☑finding out your parents lied to you your whole life
☑if the mc’s parents are alive, they’re lying to the mc and holding her back from realizing her dreams
☑oh no! the love interest has a questionable past!
☑love interest has stupid nicknames for the mc
☑somehow going from not knowing about your powers to mastering them in a stupidly short amount of time???
☑incessant pop culture references (even though it makes no sense that the characters would know them?)
i started making this list 2/3 in, and didn’t continue it after, so this is not all-inclusive.
now, i’m not saying including any or all of these elements makes a book unenjoyable. however, it just didn’t work in this book. i feel like people definitely could have picked this up in 2012 and eaten it up, though. i have enjoyed a book by tracy wolff in the past, so i’d be willing to give her books another try. unfortunately, while i didn’t hate this one, it just wasn’t for me.
as the daughter of the headmistress, clementine has been at calder academy her whole life. this school is for rogue paranormals to learn control. when a storm hits the isolated island that houses calder academy, all hell breaks loose, including students’ worst nightmares.
honestly, this was a case of “curiosity got the best of me.” i saw an ad for this book that described it as “harry potter meets five nights at freddy’s,” saw my library had the audiobook, and now here we are. the rest of my review will contain spoilers.
while reading this, i couldn’t help but think that it felt like the author tried to squeeze in every ya fantasy cliché she could. so, i decided to look up “ya fantasy clichés” just to see how many boxes this one checked. here’s what i got:
☑tortured boy x good girl
☑“i love you but i’m bad for you so this can’t work”
☑finding out your parents lied to you your whole life
☑if the mc’s parents are alive, they’re lying to the mc and holding her back from realizing her dreams
☑oh no! the love interest has a questionable past!
☑love interest has stupid nicknames for the mc
☑somehow going from not knowing about your powers to mastering them in a stupidly short amount of time???
☑incessant pop culture references (even though it makes no sense that the characters would know them?)
i started making this list 2/3 in, and didn’t continue it after, so this is not all-inclusive.
now, i’m not saying including any or all of these elements makes a book unenjoyable. however, it just didn’t work in this book. i feel like people definitely could have picked this up in 2012 and eaten it up, though. i have enjoyed a book by tracy wolff in the past, so i’d be willing to give her books another try. unfortunately, while i didn’t hate this one, it just wasn’t for me.
October 13, 2024
2,5/5⭐ Para mí, esta fórmula ya está más que usada por la propia autora y no me vale. Tocaba darle otro toque, saber ser más concreta y apostar por algo nuevo, al menos para que yo siguiera leyendo los libros ambientados en este mundo relacionado con la serie Crave. Pero vuelve a utilizar recursos que ya vi en otros libros y a alargar de una manera totalmente innecesaria escenas que no llevan a nada. La trama no se sostiene solo con escenas de acción que no terminan de aportar a la historia.
Si no hubiera sido por el audiolibro, me habría costado mucho terminarlo. Lo mejor la traducción, que suma mucho a la historia, y la edición.
Si no hubiera sido por el audiolibro, me habría costado mucho terminarlo. Lo mejor la traducción, que suma mucho a la historia, y la edición.
July 2, 2025
I read somewhere that this book/series is set in the same world as another one of her series. So, I feel like I should just say it now: I did not read that other series (lol). Does that mean I might now after reading this? Sure. I'll find the time to do so ... eventually.
Sweet Nightmare was an okay book. It's a good start to the series for sure and I can see the potential of it getting better (hopefully). I definitely rolled my eyes a ton while listening to this book. So I can only think my eyes will get more reps in if/when I dive into the other series.
The characters were okay. There's a crap ton of death. And I'm not sure how I feel about the ending just yet. I need more time to simmer on things. I'll probably dive into the next book of this series just to see what's going to happen next. I just won't drop everything to read it.
Sweet Nightmare was an okay book. It's a good start to the series for sure and I can see the potential of it getting better (hopefully). I definitely rolled my eyes a ton while listening to this book. So I can only think my eyes will get more reps in if/when I dive into the other series.
The characters were okay. There's a crap ton of death. And I'm not sure how I feel about the ending just yet. I need more time to simmer on things. I'll probably dive into the next book of this series just to see what's going to happen next. I just won't drop everything to read it.
April 20, 2024
4.5/5 ⭐
RTC
RTC
May 7, 2024
This book was very fast paced and action packed. It is a spin-off from the Crave series. I haven’t read Crave, but I had no issues understanding and following this book!
This is YA and the characters go to a high school for paranormals on an island. There are shifters, magic and ghosts!
I really enjoyed this and will definitely be reading the rest of the series once it releases!
The chapters were short and it was honestly a pretty quick read.
This is YA and the characters go to a high school for paranormals on an island. There are shifters, magic and ghosts!
I really enjoyed this and will definitely be reading the rest of the series once it releases!
The chapters were short and it was honestly a pretty quick read.
August 10, 2024
Omg. I’m only reading this bc of book club and holy smokes. I have a feeling this book was written by AI because what even actually happens?!? It’s like a really shitty Percy Jackson. No charm, couldn’t have cared less about these dang 10000 characters, the pop culture references were one too many and took away any potential charm. I would’ve taken a shot every time Jude calls her Kumquat, but I would’ve died not even halfway. It stopped being cute after 2 chapters. Also, the Beatles nicknames? Hell no. And don’t even get me started on the titles for each chapter. So cringy. YA deserves better than this nonsense 😭
I wanted to burn the dang tapestry after they talked about it and gave no explanation for most of the book. Same with the dumb never ending hurricane. Nothing happens ever until the last 10 chapters, and even that is a hot mess. And suddenly, everyone matters to Clementine and it all affects her so deeply and it’s just a mess.
I’m looking at Crave sitting on my shelf wondering it’s as atrocious as this book. I’m adding this to my very short list of books I absolutely despise.
-.0001/5 ✨
I wanted to burn the dang tapestry after they talked about it and gave no explanation for most of the book. Same with the dumb never ending hurricane. Nothing happens ever until the last 10 chapters, and even that is a hot mess. And suddenly, everyone matters to Clementine and it all affects her so deeply and it’s just a mess.
I’m looking at Crave sitting on my shelf wondering it’s as atrocious as this book. I’m adding this to my very short list of books I absolutely despise.
-.0001/5 ✨
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