Nightworld Academy: Origins

Nightworld Academy #0.5

by L.J. Swallow

I saw the future and saved someone’s life. Mine changed forever.

My once fleeting visions recently sharpened into clear, haunting glimpses of the future. When I saw trouble coming for a classmate, I decided to step in and change events to save his life. As a result, another student ended up in the hospital, and my parents were forced to find a new school to help with my ‘issues’.

The moment I walk into the mysterious academy isolated on the Yorkshire Moors, everything I understand about my life begins to change.

My new friends seem normal—Jamie, serious and studious, his presence both a comfort and a mystery. Then there's Ash, whose easy charm and protective nature make my heart race in a way I can't explain. But among them lurks Andrei, the brooding figure whose mere glance sends shivers down my spine, hinting at secrets darker than I can imagine.

I swear the people and this place are more than they appear, but my friends hold their secrets tight. It’s clear that I'm not just a regular student sent to the academy for help with my ‘issues’, and I'm determined to uncover the truth about why I'm here.

But as I try to uncover their secrets, I'm troubled by whispers of a hidden danger known as the Dominion. And the deeper I delve into the academy and students, the more I realize that the future I need to change might be one of my new friends.

Nightworld Academy: Origins is a short prequel to the Nightworld Academy series. This is a glimpse into the world and the characters, including Maeve’s life before the academy, and what’s really happening in the background when she first arrives.

Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy

ebook

About the author

LJ Swallow is a paranormal romance and urban fantasy author who is the alter-ego of bestselling contemporary romance author Lisa Swallow.

Giving in to her dark side, LJ spends time creating worlds filled with supernatural creatures who don’t fit the norm, and heroines who are more likely to kick ass than sit on theirs.

Reviews

[Emilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025 52 Book Challenge - 11) A Prequel

I really enjoyed this short look at academy life and Maeve's life in the lead up to Maeve joining the Academy and the first week that she's there. I really enjoyed seeing it from all of the main characters points of view, and it added some nice backstory.

[NV Adda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to start, but easy to finish. It seems a bit cliché to me that vampires have Romanian names and their house too, suggesting their origin, but that's more of a personal opinion. I found it annoying that certain actions are skipped when the characters' perspectives change. I was expecting to see Maeve's perspective on how she gets to the Academy, but it immediately jumps to the perspective of another character who tells us that she was already at the Academy, which I found annoying. Another thing I didn't like was that a lot of abbreviations were used (ex: I've, We've). I can't say that this book blew me away, but I'll give the next volume another chance in the hope that something will change, because so far reading from the perspective of the 3 boys I had the impression that it was the same person, just with a different name.

[Jen Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast paced read with interesting and involved characters. Sets it up nicely to read the rest of the series. While not as detailed as I would normally like, it has just enough so you want more of the characters and more of the academy and world building. I think I’m a bit older than the desired demographic so while I can appreciate the storytelling and characters I don’t anticipate continuing the series as I would prefer a bit more mature of a story.

Overall a solid intro to a series full of witches, magic, vampires and shifters.

[Leah Desjardins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short and sweet prologue book essentially? It was good but there are a lot of POVs for such a short novella that it wasn’t always easy to keep track of who is who. Sometimes you don’t really need to read the novellas in a series to keep track of what’s going on, but in this case I would say this probably shouldn’t be skipped since it gives you a hearty background on what I imagine will be the main characters.

Was this jaw droppingly good? Probably not but it was still a fun time and I whipped through it.

[Rid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this very first since the beginning of book 1 said this was the prequel, but it’s all very confusing. There’s too many characters and everything jumps around. I am going to give book 1 a try. Though I’m feeling kind of hesitant given the confusion this prequel has caused. I’m intrigued by the story at least.

[Rebecca Horist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was given this complimentary.

This book was a good short length prequel.
The plot was simple, did not move much- all based around Maeve’s arrival to the academy and the start of the secrets WHY is she there…
Multiple view points did get a little much, trying to follow. (It’s just my reading style).

Overall interesting start to the series

[Saundra Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked on the first page. Terrific world building. Enigmatic and unique characters. This is a prequel that is as intriguing as it is full of details for the full series.

[Shawn Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a prequel to the series on how she ended up at the academy. Told in multiple view points. Really enjoyed can’t wait to read the series.