Blood & Betrayals

Avalon University #1

by Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune

Fear, Fury and Fire.

To Know is Not Enough.

Power flows through the ancient halls of Avalon University like a neverending flood. Admission to the elite institution enables students to hone their magic under the watchful eye of their icy headmaster.

Summer Tuatha De Daanan planned to slide through her tenure at Avalon, unnoticed and inconspicuous. She has no interest in learning more about her past or why someone applied to the school on her behalf. Her emotional walls keep everyone at bay, and her sharp tongue makes people give her a wide berth. Yet, despite her best attempts, her emotional armor begins to melt from her feral vampire roommate to the angelic senior who is never dissuaded by her feigning disinterest. Maybe this could be good for her, a new life. Yet, dark secrets lurk in the halls of Avalon, and soon those same halls are drenched in blood.

Summer finds herself as the obsession of the sadistic stalker with the Seven lessons to learn. With the help of her new friends, she races against the clock to solve the mystery, hoping to save lives and catch the killer before it's too late.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Dark Academia, Fantasy Romance, Dark Romance, Romance, Fae

1026 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 23, 2025

About the author

Long time lover of Paranormal Romance, decided when I couldn't find a book that I was interested online to write my own! It spiraled from there. Degree in Classical Civilizations from Tulane University, missing New Orleans with a vengeance

Reviews

[Emmy Rosam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do I think this book needed to be 1000+ pages? No. Did I cry at the end? Yes. It could have been cut down but my goodness did it get me!!!!!! (I’m physically unwell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Vibes: Zodiac Academy meets Nocticadia

[Laura Jane ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I AM FREE FROM MY TORTURE CHAMBER!!

If you liked this book maybe skip this, sorry!

I don’t know where to begin. This book was 1000+ of nothing, like literally nothing but useless filler with no plot. What a waste of my time. If you want to feel nothing but disappointment, read this book.

The FMC was insufferable pick me vibes. She constantly goes on about her dark past and how the darkness calls to her, bitch please… we never even delved into your back story. Shhh.
The MMC is this cute golden retriever guy, and that is it. That is his whole personality, being in love with the FMC after 0.5 seconds.
Their mundane relationship is the WHOLE plot. Bear in mind this is the worse instalove I’ve ever encountered. They literally meet and instantly start having sex every other chapter. So of course they are in love… that makes so much sense. What happened to tension and yearning?!
Oh and her nickname for him is ‘Big Guy’… she even says to him, on about the 80th sex scene I suffered through “fill me up big guy” 😀😀😀

The whole book basically follows them two fucking, walking to class, buying coffee and attending frat parties. I’d like to mention they are meant to be 30.

As for the writing, so much time was spent telling the reader how they were meant to feel rather than showing us. So, instalove aside, I felt NOTHING from this relationship… and the whole plot is their relationship????
This is meant to be a romantasy but we barely learnt about the realms or the magic. They did a few runes here and there and that was it. We literally got nothing on the worlds or how they use their magic. The school is heavily guarded with wards, from what? No idea.

There’s a murder mystery popping off too, which apparently isn’t that big of a deal cause we spent like 2% of the book going over it.

The 1 star is for the headmaster and the stranger. They intrigued me, for a moment, but I fear they got lost in the hot mess that is this nonexistent plot.
The ending is the dumbest thing I’ve ever read.
So much lost potential.

Shout out to my Virgo bestie Kate for suffering through this horror show with me.

Thank you NetGalley & Rose and Star Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura Greenhalgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

GUYS!!! WHAT! this was so so good i absolutely devoured this. we have a paranormal/dark academic setting with fae, vampires, angels, demons, shifters, sorcerers etc. this is very much black cat FMC x golden retriever MMC (he's a total golden boy) and the found family in this book was so heartwarming. i also adored the strong female friendship that formed between Summer and Alice our chaotic and sassy duo. the banter in this book had me giggling and kicking my feet so many times.

throughout the book there's a murder mystery going on and all the while our FMC Summer is also being stalked by a mysterious (AND HOT AF) stranger. I also need to take a minute to talk about the headmaster because that man gave literal breadcrumbs and absolutely ATE THEM UP! he was super powerful, dark, brooding, grumpy and mysterious (literally my fave kind of book man). this was such a great start to the series and i cannot wait to read more!!

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH to Rose & Star, Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune for my ARC copy, i am so grateful!

[Iqra · Rating 4 out of 5]

That ending was so foul. Miss authors I am in ur walls !!!!

No bc I fr shed a few tears over that ending. What do u mean!!!! I was expecting smth like that but not in the way it happened 😭😫 I’m devastated. Truly shattered plssss i need the next book like rfnnnn I beggggg

At first I was pretty mad that there was essentially nothing interesting happening in this book for the beginning half of the book. Genuinely was confused about the direction of the story (tbvh I still am even after I’ve finished lol) but when I got to the second half things started really kicking in. It shouldn’t have taken like 400 pages for a book to actually get interesting but I’d say it was worth it.

The smut/sex scenes got annoying REAL fast. Like I was skipping almost every one after the first five times (and that was within the first 200 pages mind u). It felt unnecessarily repetitive and tired.

I only cared when Stranger showed up 🫦🫦🫦 watch me find a new obsession when he fully materialises.

The mouth on this man… 🚬 I need him on a cellular level.

The headmaster is also 😋😋😋 he reminds me of Nanami from jujutsu kaisen (it’s pretty clear I have a type)

Connor was too lovey dovey and there’s usually nothing wrong with that but idk their connection felt forced. As soon as we got introduced to him I was praying he wouldn’t her endgame lol.

Summer pissed me off. Her character is so frustrating 😭 i only stayed for stranger, the headmaster and bc I like world.

To address the Nocticadia and zodiac academy allegations I am saddened to inform u that it is nothing like Nocticadia — like at all. Idk why it’s even being mentioned in relation to this book tbh. There isn’t even a teacher x student relationship! I was lied to.

And as for zodiac academy I can see the similarities, the fmc is like a chaotic blend of Tory and Darcy in one body.
But there are no similarities with any of the male characters. The vibes of this book are different. Unique.

𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
I’m low-key scared this book is gna turn out to be a reverse harem or smth bc like why is every guy wrapped around her finger lol and why is she always so bothered when they don’t find her hot even while she has a boyfriend? It’s confusing as fuck.



─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

I saw someone said it’s Zodiac academy x Nocticadia?? I couldn’t resist so here me and manas are with our BR 🤭

[lex (samkiel’s version ⚡︎) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys. Did I finish this book or did it finish me?

easily a 5 star read. Many notes. Such a slay. All the feelings. I laughed. I cried. I crushed and was crushed. This one is for all of my fellow nerds who love to Easter egg hunt. The level of detail and care the authors take while building this world is astounding, and to know it’s just the start? I’m vibrating with excitement and BEGGING for more.

I’m in love with the entire cast of characters, male and female. Everyone is hot, funny and filled with personality. Summer, my dearest little fae, is like looking in a mirror. She’s so raw and messy, and I hurt when she hurts.

I actually don’t even want to talk about how obsessed I am with the male characters. Golden boy Connor. Broody Headmaster Emrys. A mysterious stalker known only as the Stranger.

I’m but a humble simp, Your Honor. I didn’t stand a chance.

The found family is everything to me. AND THE FEMALE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN SUMMER & ALICE IS ESPECIALLY SO PURE AND BEAUTIFUL. YOU CAN SEE THEY CHERISH EACH OTHER. 10/10 would lay down my life for them. The Morningstar brothers, Max, all of it is phenomenally and emotionally written.

The blend of dark fantasy and romantic suspense was handled so well. Was there a whole lot of boinking going on? Hell yes. But take that away and this plot is just as compelling, just as nail bitingly intense. I felt like a detective trying to sleuth things out & it was equally as maddening as it was exciting to be so invested in this story.

HONESTLY EVERYONE READ THIS PLEASE.

This is for you if you like:
- dark urban fantasy meets thriller vibes
- dark academia/magical university
- multi realm lore and myth based world building
- fae, shifters, angels, vampires, sorcerers, etc
- tattoo & rune based magic
- hyper independent fmc
- black cat x golden retriever energy
- twin flame besties & found family
- mysterious obsessed stalker
- spicy spice

Thank you to Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune, and Rose & Star for the Advance Reader Copy!

[Kaila.Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - This book had it all: surfing, spells, a fae king in sunglasses, ancient ruins. Liberties were absolutely taken with the world-building, but not with sexual protection, because yes, there were also condoms. If you're a vibes reader who lives for Zodiac Academy/CW shows, I think you’ll like this.

I was hooked at the start. We’ve got an academy setting, and our female main character, Tory Vega… oops, I mean Summer, is not like other girls. She has walls and she can’t love. The characters are supposedly in their late 20s to early 30s… and still acting like college freshmen (honestly, fine by me). The first 100 pages flew by. But then the pacing hit a wall. What followed felt like 100 pages of actual plot stretched into 400+ pages of filler. Also…. we need to talk about the sex scenes. If you’re going to give me THAT MANY at least make them interesting. I really was yelling AGAIN. I wasn’t scandalized, I was bored.

That said, the mystery was compelling, we also have multiple potential love interests (A PROFESSOR), lore, and twists. The last few hundred pages made up for some of the pacing issues and I will DEFINITELY be picking up book 2. Should this book have been 1000 pages????HELL NO. But as the self proclaimed queen of DNFing, I finished it and I’m happy I did.

[Bookishness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stalker? Check.
Mystery man? Check.
Headmaster? Check.
Murder mystery? Check.

I seriously loved all the breadcrumbs from the Headmaster. Every little hint had me hooked and guessing. And the messages between The Stranger and Summer? I ate those up. Every single one. So tense, so addictive kept rereading them because they were just that good.

"“Because he saw you naked. Because he got to see what does not belong to him.” My breath hitches. “Stranger…” “Because he saw what belongs to me,” he snarls, sounding feral. “You belong to me.”

Dark, mysterious, and impossible to put down.

[Joanne (BooksCatsAndTats) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Sorry but no. Party girl, I’m not like other girls, “let’s fuck shit up”, college party culture. Using every single pop culture magical character. Really? Merlin’s son, Alice the Vampire, Professor Draco??? Vlad Dracula?? I mean there is no really intro to anything unique. It’s party girl meets cute good boy and they immediately make out at a party. And we are told once that everyone on campus is 27-32 years old but they all act like 18-21???? Like why even tell us that and then jsut make it party college daily life.

If you are really into college party culture dark academia then this is probably for you.

Thank you to Rose & Star for the eARC. I wish this was for me but college books just aren’t my jam.

[manas (suffering)]

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈

ꕤ pre-read ꕤ

buddy read with my twin, iqra. 🙂‍↔️❤️

[MillennialMomReading · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t even know what to say…while I knew the end was coming, I was still completely unprepared for the emotional trauma this book inflicted on me. There are SO many fascinating characters in this book, and I am excited to explore them as the series progresses. While this book is super spicy, it also serves up a really intriguing plot/central mystery and if you’re not into spice you can totally skip those parts. There’s so much I want to say but it’s absolutely worth going into this book spoiler free. Prepare yourself that this book is extremely long, but it’s easy to skim over some of the descriptions if that’s not your thing and the plot is worth it! Grateful to Rose and Star Publishing for this ARC, expect my therapy bill, friends.

[Francesca · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 16% (roughly 160 pages). Listen, I don't normally like to leave reviews for books I dnf but honestly, it angers me when I'm catfished by a book and I don't want other people to fall prey to the same things, especially for such a chunky book. The following excerpt is from the first chapter of the book: " They pass by me, none looking twice in my direction. Most are in their late twenties or early thirties, and their plans have been neatly laid out for them. They spent their youth maturing their magic enough to meet the entry requirements, learning and building themselves up until they reached a point where they were found deserving of attending the prestigious Avalon University."

With the above, you would expect these characters to act even the tiniest bit mature, but instead it's the cringiest dialogue and all of them acting like horny teenagers. What truly pushed me to DNF is that by 16%, the main characters have already done the "deed" and the MMC is desperate to make the FMC his gf. Mind you, these two barely met. It's the most insta love shit I have come across in a book in a long time.

Even if there's a possibility for another love interest (honestly don't even know if that's the case), the behavior of these characters is annoying and immature enough that I have no desire to continue. What a shame as I tend to really like academic settings and loved Zodiac Academy which people said this was similar to. From my time reading this though, it doesn’t even hold a candle to ZA.

[Liz (lizzreadz) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up to 4⭐️ but why was that ending SO. ABRUPTLY. PAINFUL???

First off, if you loved Zodiac Academy, I think you’d love this book - the magical college setting full of supernatural beings, the found family, the spicy romance, and of course, the emotional damage😭 What I enjoyed most about this book though was the murder mystery/thriller element of the plot. The “stranger” definitely carried this book for me and the mystery surrounding his character kept me wholly invested, trying to form my theories.

That being said, I think I’m settling on 3.75 stars for this one? The main reason I didn’t rate this higher was because it was so unnecessarily long - not nearly enough happens plot-wise to justify the length of this book. It felt like a looot of filler but I do think this one is mainly a set-up book? The writing is very binge-able though, so it makes for an easy, albeit long, read that you can fly through. The characters are supposedly late twenties to early thirties but they attend a college academy, so for the most part they act like college aged students with typical college drama. While this never really bothered me, there were a few moments with this FMC that had me so confused. Sometimes it seemed like her emotions would come out of nowhere and she’d just lash out unprompted? Granted, she did have a lot of trauma and stress to process, which I tried to keep in mind while reading. That being said, I did enjoy seeing her character growth throughout the book, especially in her relationship with Connor (which was very black cat/golden retriever coded if you enjoy that trope).

Lastly…. that ending??? Criminal activity. I’ll definitely be picking up book 2 because I have too many questions and theories left unanswered. I SIMPLY MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.

[Gry ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would say "trust the process"... but idek what the process was tbh? I am confused, but I think it has potential? Maybe? I need a moment to just think

°. *࿐pre-read:

amber nicole recommended this so you already know I am picking this up

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropes & what to expect:
- Dark academia
- Urban fantasy
- Magic academy
- Fae, shifters, angels, vampires, sorcerers, etc.
- Black cat x golden retriever
- Found family
- Stalker
- Murder mystery

The ending?!?! 😭

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and the fact that it's at a magical academy. The plot was interesting and I was definitely wanting to figure out who was behind the murders, but this book was VERY long and unnecessarily so?

The beginning of this book had me so excited and I could see the potential. I was reading it so fast and loving every bit of it, but unfortunately the middle started to lose me a bit.

Then towards the end, they had me again. I was flying through the last 100 pages and by the end my face was soaking wet with tears.

I think this was a good first book to a series, a good start, and I am sure that book 2 will be even better! I can't wait to see what happens next and will definitely be reading book 2.

I definitely recommend this one & think people who liked Zodiac Academy will enjoy this series! 🩷

[Ashly Marx · Rating 2 out of 5]

The FMC and MMC were kind of insufferable. The mystery aspect kept me interested. I still want to know what happens but it would be great if Summer had a different personality and Conner had a backbone.

Also, these characters are supposed to be in their late 20s/early 30s and act 18-19. What’s the point of making them older if they were gonna end up being so immature?

[Sophie (lambsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There are those who die in fire and those who thrive in it.”

I am empty

“You do not get to decide your worth to someone else. Only they do.”

That is my dead body on the ground over there. Lifeless.

Honestly, how dare this book?

In this realm, knowledge is power, and no one knows better than I the danger of being powerless.

4.75 stars

I don’t really even know where to start with this review. I think I experienced every emotion while reading this, and she thicc, so there was lots of time to experience everything lmao

It’s a game, lives being weighed and discarded as chess pieces, all in pursuit of the final objective. The capture of the white queen.

I kinda hurt now. Summer was such a beautiful character. I fucking hated her at times and loved her other times and hurt with her, connected with her, cried with her. She felt the highs and the lows so strongly, with her loud thoughts, her loneliness and terror.

Are Alice and I cut from similar cloths, full of torn pieces we desperately stitched together, hoping no one would notice how mismatched they are?

Summer and Alice are peak besties and I need more friendships in books

Connor hooks his finger under my chin and gently tilts my head up so I meet his gaze. Oh, you smooth fucker. “Be my date.”

The men in this book. WHERE DO I EVEN START?? Connor, the Headmaster, the Stranger, Max, Rafe. Just to name a few.

“How was the golden dude?”
“The golden dude tried to make me eat a sandwich mid-makeout.”
Alice snorts. “Is that code for his dick?”
“What? No. He wanted me to eat an actual sandwich.”

Don’t even talk to me about the end. I need 3-5 business days to process that, followed by a 3-week vacation and tears.

“I’m always proud of you, babe. But I want you to be proud of you.”

The amount of highlights and notes I took throughout this. Unless you spell it out, I will miss hints and such, so imagine, for a second, how USELESS I was in trying to figure out the Strangers identity, literally flipped back and forth 50 million times, and he has a pierced peen, so end game please. And then this made me feel bad for Connor, and my mind was just as loud as Summer's while reading this.

“Well, I saw this girl at this party and all I could think was, Her. She is the reason I didn’t date before.”

Go into this book blind, you’ll thank me for it. Just know that it’s a dark academia/romantasy with lots of spice, mystery, hot men, murderous besties, and lots of magic, angels, shifters, vampires, and fae.

I sigh and turn back to my salad, getting more and more irate at the stupid fucking angel sitting across from me. One second, he’s smothering me, and the next he’s ignoring me? The fucking gall. Pick a lane.

Thank you so much to the authors for this eARC and PR Box!!

[Britney ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

One word. Trauma.

I am truly unwell after this. I would like to thank the authors for the gifted arc and all of the trauma because I will eat it up every time.

I knew going into this that it was going to be something I really enjoyed but I didn’t know how much I was going to absolutely love it. This is a thicc book and I spent every spare moment I could reading because I needed more and I needed to finish.

The mental health rep was incredible. They do a fantastic job of showing just what trauma can do to people. Summer constantly wars with herself over almost everything because she feels she doesn’t deserve love or kindness and it breaks your freaking heart. She deserves only good things in this world and I will hear no more of it.

Alice??? Perfection. No notes. She could unalive me and I would thank her profusely for it. I was so freaking suspicious of Connor for a large portion of the book. He was just so good and kind I was like 👀👀 there’s something sus here but I love him too.

The vibes were on point, the tension was 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻, and man the spice was SPICING. Even with it being as long as it was it was so easy to stay engaged. There were never any lulls and it never felt like there was just filler. All was as it should be 😌.

Book two please. I need it in my brain.

[Caitlin_ · Rating 1 out of 5]

❌ DNF

Sorry, gang. Draft manuscripts masquerading as indie author debuts just aren’t for me anymore.

For anyone feeling a book hangover from Zodiac Academy, this is NOT the cure.

Too verbose. Clunky sentence structure. Clunky dialogue. I feel like I was being forced into connections between characters rather than watching them develop. Too much telling and not enough nuance. It felt flat. Descriptions and thoughts expressed by the narrator were bloated and pseudo-intellectual; there was a lot of mimicking intellectual depth but an overall lack of true understanding or clarity.

Also why am I reading about adults in their late twenties and early thirties attending a university acting and talking like they’re 18, fresh out of high school?

Lastly, I loathe a victim mentality coded FMC. Ok you have weird eyes and a dark history. Give me something deeper to tie your angst and pain to, because that’s not a solid anchor.

_____________________________________________________


I’m here to be seduced by violence, fed by longing, and baptized in blood. Give me blood-soaked intimacy or give me NOTHING. 🩸

[morallygreykay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so in love with this book and I will not be recovering.




I received an ARC of this book and will be screaming about it between now and when the next one releases because my obsession knows no bounds. 😭

Blood & Betrayals follows Summer, a fae starting her first year at an elite magic institution known as Avalon University. While trying to move on from a dark past, Summer finds herself opening up to new people (her feral vampire roommate bestie Alice, and senior angel loverboy Connor) while navigating murders happening on campus & A MYSTERIOUS STALKER who seems to know her better than she knows herself.

I loved SO much about this book; the relationship dynamics, exploration of love and trust, representation of trauma, world building and the overarching plot. It feels very character driven and has all the vibes of an urban fantasy thriller/mystery.

I cannot tell you how many times I KICKED MY FEET AND SCREAMED over the banter and relationships (both platonic and romantic), I could not put it down to focus on anything else once I started. If I wasn't giggling, I was screaming and if I wasn't screaming I was sobbing.

Also I'm in love with everyone and call dibs on Summer, Alice, Connor, Rafe, the headmaster and the stalker. So fight me 🤺

All in all this was one of my favorite new series arcs l've read in a long time and I think it's going to BE BIG when people get their hands on it!

These authors will make you fall deeply in love while simultaneously destroying your heart and soul so if you're into that kind of thing this is definitely the book for you.

[Dayna | daynas.bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s even more painful when you see the twist coming but then start gaslighting yourself that there’s no way it would happen AND THEN IT DOES

full review below!! 🌙

THIS BOOK CONSUMED ME, MIND, BODY, & SOUL

Blood & Betrayals is an insanely addicting dark romantasy set at Avalon Academy, a school full of otherworldly beings and shifters, arcane magic, and dark secrets. I was hooked from page 1 and literally COULD NOT put this book down! it has an underlying feeling of a mystery/ thriller but set in a dark fantasy world (perfection)

this book is one i wish i could read again for the first time & i can’t wait to see more people reactions to reading it! if you’re a fan of zodiac academy and/or the bonds that tie you’ll definitely want to pick this up!

some more highlights-
✨ academy settings / dark academia
🌙 arcane magic & runes
✨ fae, shifters, angels, demons
🌙 thriller vibes
✨ golden retriever mmc black cat fmc
🌙 strong female friendship
✨ fmc on her healing journey
🌙 spice 🌶️

[Grace Btrs]

Bestie Laura Jane suffered through and shared this review so we don't have to.
hence = no read pile

[Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zodiac Academy… but make it bad 🫣 dnf for me

[Melanie Jakusz · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALMOST considered taking an entire star for “my big guy” but it seems that problem has resolved itself 🤐

[Ceacea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Dark Academia (Fantasy)
⭐️3/5
🌶 3/5 (An extra star for sheer quantity)
🧠 4/10
Cliffhanger: 10/10
Noteworthy: Book 1 of an incomplete series. First person POV (95% FMC 5% Mystery). Check content warnings. Available on KU.

Wow, okay, this one was a journey. Over 1000 pages and the plot is mostly relationship building through trauma. There is a side quest murder mystery that will keep you guessing so that's a plus. I liked enough aspects of this to continue the series but that doesn't stop me from wishing we got more from this lengthy first book. We ended knowing barely more than when we started. And the FMC Summer is not an easy head to be in. She's very neurotic and often becomes a character that needs attention to stop herself from spiraling. She has her good moments and I think the character wants to be a good and moral person, but deep down she doesn't believe she can. The MMC Connor is an obsessed golden retriever. He's also not a perfect character but he deserves better than anything this book gives him. The side characters are all interesting. I can totally see where it's going with Max. 🙄 There are so many secrets and after 1000+ pages we are still in the dark about most of them. Also, the cliffhanger may leave you sad and a little angry.

If you think the combined vibes of Zodiac Academy and Nocticadia with a Camelot theme sound intriguing, give this a try. Just be aware that it's a lot of mundane day to day relationship building.

[Ashley Cromie · Rating 2 out of 5]

god gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers (me finishing this book)

[Jøanne Kayser · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

I don’t really know what to say, but I need to start by saying I hated the relation between Summer and Connor… I was so annoyed all the time, it was such a green flag… so boring! And it starts from like the early beginning by « I saw you and fell for you », that was not the vibe I was here for. I had to skip a lot of part in the book because I couldn’t stand him.

On the other hand, the relation between Summer and Alice was so great and I love every moment of it. Can we talked about the headmaster and the stranger, that was why I was still there ! The last 10% was everything I liked, and I was so happy with the ending… Hopefully book 2 will give me the relation I’m really craving for 👀🌱

The intrigue and ambiance of the book were insane, the world building and magic system were nice. The school itself with dark academia vibes.

It definitely has Zodiac Academy vibes, now give me my Darius Vibes !

[Christine Seder · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one that is not my vibe at all. I genuinely had high hopes but it fell short quite quickly. Nothing felt unique with many characters and the fact this is supposed to be an older based crowd who act like 18 year olds is beyond me. Also, the writing was the nail in the coffin for me. I am finding myself not a fan of excessive inner monologues that are repetitive.
This series I can see being popular with the Zodiac Academy crowds as this gave that vibe.

[Kayla_Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a THICK read but if you enjoy paranormal and dark academia, then you definitely need to add this one to your TBR. I absolutely loved the friendship between Alice and Summer. Alice might just be my spirit animal. And the MMCs omg I loved them too! But this one gave me all the feels and easily a 5 star read.

[Kimmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blood & Betrayals by Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune
Rating: 3.5/5

Holy sh*t, I did not realize this book was over 1,000 pages. If I had, I definitely would’ve opted for the physical version instead of the eBook. 😅

No spoilers here but overall, the story was okay. I went into it expecting the characters to be in their late 20s or early 30s, but they acted more like college students. The first half of the book is full of partying, sex, and drugs, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just threw me off a bit at first.

The main character, Summer, is emotionally constipated. 😂 She thinks she’s incapable of love, yet wants so badly to fall for the main love interest. I was honestly a little nervous that cheating would come into play with the love triangle situation, but thankfully, the author steered clear of that and solved it…. LOLOLOL SORRY FOR ANYONE WHO READ THE BOOK AND KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.

Now Conner? He’s the blueprint. Too perfect, too sweet, and just everything you’d want in a book boyfriend.

This book is very spicy, expect lots of butt cheeks, flirty banter, and characters constantly getting it on. 🔥

Thank you to NetGalley, Rose and Star Publishing, LLC | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles, Jeanette Rose, and Alexis Rune for the eARC!

I’d recommend this one to readers who love university/college settings, high spice, and a touch of mystery. And if you're tackling a 1,000+ page book? Honestly, go physical, it’s just easier on the eyes. I think I spent a whole week glued to my kindle reading this LOL.

I didn't give it a four star because I was nervous when they introduce some love interest and I am loyal to my boy Conner. I also have some issues with introducing characters that never show up again but meh.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 3.5⭐ for me - rounding up for goodreads

Phew, what a ride. Blood & Betrayals follows Summer, a Fae with a dark and mysterious past, through her first year at Avalon University. She's prepared to keep her walls up and other people out but what she wasn't prepared for was the greenest of green flag men and a little psycho vampire of a roommate to barrel their way right into her heart. On top of navigating her classes and these new relationships, add on an intriguing stalker, a string of murders and one reclusive but insanely hot headmaster...yeah, a rollercoaster.

Thank you to the authors for providing me with an advanced copy. This review reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.

- I loved all the main and side characters and thought they were all written well. Summer started to grate on my nerves towards the end but such is the nature of her character so to me, that means the authors wrote her exactly as intended.
- Alice is perfection.
- I'm a sucker for a murder mystery plot so I really enjoyed that and almost wish we got more of that.
- The authors really had the audacity to give us perfect Connor, hot AF headmaster Emrys, the mysterious and also hot Stranger, tortured broody Rafe, and even Maxxy poo. Not a why choose, not a love triangle - just all these male characters to fawn over. I mean, I'm not complaining!
- I loved the glimpses we got of the world outside Avalon and I'm really looking forward to exploring more of this world in future books.

Though I enjoyed and would recommend this book, obviously based on my rating, I did have some hangups which I will share below and will include spoilers. Stop here if that doesn't serve you.
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- The characters being 27-32 made no sense. I have a suspicion they were aged up to account for the frequency of sex that was happening. Unfortunately with the college setting as well as their own actions and dialogue, the characters still seemed younger like 18-22.
- A note on the spice - the frequency is high but the individual scenes were always quick. I was hoping for a little more especially as Summer and Connor's relationship progressed. But it was always him just slamming into her 🤷
- It's been said before but I'll say it again. This was so. damn. long. I can read a long book when the plot calls for it but this did not. There were a lot of repetitive scenes and seemingly unnecessary ones. I think this could have been tightened up and been a much stronger story.
- Speaking of unnecessary scenes - the cheerleading tryouts. Why were Summer and Alice trying out for the cheerleading team and just pulling back flips, cheer dances and back handsprings out of their back pocket?!
- Summer only started to bother me when it became apparent that she was oblivious to everyone being obsessed with her. Like girl, stop it. You can't possibly think the emotional cheating you've been engaging in is innocent.
- Max is truly the only person thinking logically lol when Summer tries to initiate a second tickle fest and he said "why would I play"? to an ENGAGED Summer I was like HELL YES MAX.
- I really needed more from that ending. I just didn't think it was enough payoff for the 1000 pages read.
- Unfortunately, my heart was not ripped out like my fellow readers. I'm not good at guessing things in books, but every part of me knew Connor would die. First of all, he was too perfect and perfect characters have nowhere to grow. Second of all, we have a plethora of potential love interests at play. A small part of me is unsure if he is dead dead but alas, I did not get that emotional gut punch.