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The Firestone Academy #1
Storm of Shadows
Nine years ago, my sister died at Firestone Academy.
At least, that's what they claim. I don't believe their lies about a tragic accident.
Now I've come to face the trials myself - tests that will determine which Quarter I'll serve for the rest of my days. But I have other plans.
Behind these ancient walls, dark magic pulses through every stone, and three elite shadow weavers rule absolute - The Princes:
Beaufort Lincoln commands shadows like breathing, his charm masking deadly intent.
Dray Eros weaves darkness into deadly art, violence wrapped in seductive smiles.
Thorne Cadieux's silent power makes even teachers tremble.
They've marked me as theirs, offering protection through the brutal trials in exchange for complete submission. Students break here, crushed by the trials. Most return changed. Others never return at all.
The Princes may control these halls, but they don't know one thing: I'm not here to find my Quarter, play their games, or surrender to their seduction.
I'm here to expose the academy's secrets.
I'm here for my sister.
And I'll burn their empire to the ground to find the truth.
*First in a dark academy romance series where vengeance meets seduction, and deadly trials determine your fate.*
Storm of Shadows is the first book in the Firestone Academy series. This story will not complete in book one and contains some scenes that readers may find challenging.
At least, that's what they claim. I don't believe their lies about a tragic accident.
Now I've come to face the trials myself - tests that will determine which Quarter I'll serve for the rest of my days. But I have other plans.
Behind these ancient walls, dark magic pulses through every stone, and three elite shadow weavers rule absolute - The Princes:
Beaufort Lincoln commands shadows like breathing, his charm masking deadly intent.
Dray Eros weaves darkness into deadly art, violence wrapped in seductive smiles.
Thorne Cadieux's silent power makes even teachers tremble.
They've marked me as theirs, offering protection through the brutal trials in exchange for complete submission. Students break here, crushed by the trials. Most return changed. Others never return at all.
The Princes may control these halls, but they don't know one thing: I'm not here to find my Quarter, play their games, or surrender to their seduction.
I'm here to expose the academy's secrets.
I'm here for my sister.
And I'll burn their empire to the ground to find the truth.
*First in a dark academy romance series where vengeance meets seduction, and deadly trials determine your fate.*
Storm of Shadows is the first book in the Firestone Academy series. This story will not complete in book one and contains some scenes that readers may find challenging.
446 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 2025
2561 people are currently reading
10783 people want to read
About the author
Hannah Haze
45 books1,526 followersI'm Hannah Haze, a why choose paranormal romance author known for my sweet omegaverse books and not so sweet magical academy series. If you enjoy a touch of humour, a lot of steam and plenty of swoony, romantic moments; strong fmcs who know what they want and mmcs who vary from the devoted to obsessive, then I am the woman for you!
My other loves include long romantic walks in the countryside, undisturbed soaks in a hot bath and even hotter stories. I have one husband, three children, a very naughty cat and a new fluffy pupster. When I’m not writing stories, I’m thinking about stories, listening to stories, reading stories or dreaming about them.
Come follow me or get in touch!
Sign up to my newsletter: www.hannahhaze.com/about
Join my readers' group: www.facebook.com/groups/375024943829423/
Visit my website: www.hannahhaze.com
Catch me on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hannahhaze_author
My other loves include long romantic walks in the countryside, undisturbed soaks in a hot bath and even hotter stories. I have one husband, three children, a very naughty cat and a new fluffy pupster. When I’m not writing stories, I’m thinking about stories, listening to stories, reading stories or dreaming about them.
Come follow me or get in touch!
Sign up to my newsletter: www.hannahhaze.com/about
Join my readers' group: www.facebook.com/groups/375024943829423/
Visit my website: www.hannahhaze.com
Catch me on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hannahhaze_author
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 321 reviews
June 18, 2025
ARC Review
Rating: ⭐.5 | Rounded up to 2 stars
Every girl in the book tries to kill or make fun of Briony because they want the MMCs… this is 2025—if the only girl who isn’t like that is her best friend, there’s a problem with the book.
This also feels like the first half of a book instead of a complete book. Which gives the effect of having the reader excited for the sequel, but trades it off for enjoyment of the first book itself.
Let's go over some other quintessentially problematic and annoying tropes that every romance/RH author apparently feels the need to include (I’m clarifying that it’s okay to have a few tropes, but when there are too many, the book just starts to feel unoriginal):
> Slut-shaming against the FMC while the MMCs are manwhores AND absolute assholes.
> Girl from a lower sector/quarter/district gets with a richer guy with a higher social class
> Evil stepmom.
> Neglectful dad.
> Dead sister (which makes the FMC want vengeance).
> The same world as every other fantasy academy RH ever.
> Student/teacher romances that feel creepy for some reason (It takes talent to write something THAT disturbingly)
> MMC says periods are gross (If they're so grossed out by what almost all women go through, why do they keep sticking their ds in so many of them?).
> Whatever this is 🙄:
> Gay best friend.
> Female best friend there to talk about how good and lucky the FMC should feel that the MMCs are giving her the time of day.
> Bestiality? When she meets the wolf-shifter MMC, and the first two times she’s with him in wolf form, he sticks his snout in her nether regions and LICKS there.
> She’s stupid and rebellious when she doesn’t have to be and ends up looking like an idiot, and weak when she needs to be strong.
> It felt like the author was trying to make her look badass but ended up writing her as annoying and uncooperative.
> When the typical "I want your man" girl tries to KILL her, and is punished by the harem, she acts like they are the monsters. What? I wanted to shake her and tell her that it wasn’t the MMCs looking down on you because of where you're from—they’re angry because a girl freaking tried to kill you.
Let’s not forget how she reaches the conclusion that her sister was murdered, when there is NO logical reason to suspect that. The author didn’t even give a good reason to suspect her sister’s apparently premeditated death, and she sounded stuck-up and crazy because of it. Girl, you know people die by accident at the academy, and yet you just "have a feeling" that someone murdered her on purpose because she was smart?
In the end with this much glaring issues, the plot wasn't interesting enough for me to forgive the problems or even enjoy the book that much. Which is sad because Hannah Haze is one of my favorite RH authors.
Painfully average is all I have to say to summarize my thoughts.
Rating: ⭐.5 | Rounded up to 2 stars
Every girl in the book tries to kill or make fun of Briony because they want the MMCs… this is 2025—if the only girl who isn’t like that is her best friend, there’s a problem with the book.
This also feels like the first half of a book instead of a complete book. Which gives the effect of having the reader excited for the sequel, but trades it off for enjoyment of the first book itself.
Let's go over some other quintessentially problematic and annoying tropes that every romance/RH author apparently feels the need to include (I’m clarifying that it’s okay to have a few tropes, but when there are too many, the book just starts to feel unoriginal):
> Slut-shaming against the FMC while the MMCs are manwhores AND absolute assholes.
> Girl from a lower sector/quarter/district gets with a richer guy with a higher social class
> Evil stepmom.
> Neglectful dad.
> Dead sister (which makes the FMC want vengeance).
> The same world as every other fantasy academy RH ever.
> Student/teacher romances that feel creepy for some reason (It takes talent to write something THAT disturbingly)
> MMC says periods are gross (If they're so grossed out by what almost all women go through, why do they keep sticking their ds in so many of them?).
> Whatever this is 🙄:
“You’re so …” She screws up a brow.
“Big?” I suggest, smiling to myself. I’ve been told often enough that I am.
> Gay best friend.
> Female best friend there to talk about how good and lucky the FMC should feel that the MMCs are giving her the time of day.
> Bestiality? When she meets the wolf-shifter MMC, and the first two times she’s with him in wolf form, he sticks his snout in her nether regions and LICKS there.
> She’s stupid and rebellious when she doesn’t have to be and ends up looking like an idiot, and weak when she needs to be strong.
> It felt like the author was trying to make her look badass but ended up writing her as annoying and uncooperative.
> When the typical "I want your man" girl tries to KILL her, and is punished by the harem, she acts like they are the monsters. What? I wanted to shake her and tell her that it wasn’t the MMCs looking down on you because of where you're from—they’re angry because a girl freaking tried to kill you.
Let’s not forget how she reaches the conclusion that her sister was murdered, when there is NO logical reason to suspect that. The author didn’t even give a good reason to suspect her sister’s apparently premeditated death, and she sounded stuck-up and crazy because of it. Girl, you know people die by accident at the academy, and yet you just "have a feeling" that someone murdered her on purpose because she was smart?
“And end up dead.”
Amelia. That plain wooden box.
I look away from him.
“Why are you so against it?” he repeats. “Why, really?”
I snap my head back towards him. “Shadow weavers killed my sister!”
Shock spirals across his face, followed quickly by anger. “Who?”
“I … I don’t know. They never told us, but I intend to find out.”
“How?”
“I’m not sure yet. I think there may be information in the lib–”
“No, how did they kill her?”
“I don’t know–”
“You don’t know? You must–”
“All they told us—all they would tell us—was that she was killed in crossfire between shadow weavers practicing at the academy.”
“She died at the academy?” I nod. “Ahhhh,” he says, the anger and tension leaving his face.
“What?” I say with irritation. “What do you mean by ‘ahhh’?”
“It happens.”
“What does?”
“Accidents. Especially here at the academy. You said it yourself, people die here. You can’t hold all shadow weavers responsible for something–”
“Accident?” I snap, throwing back the covers and jumping up onto my knees. “It wasn’t an accident. She was special. And so they killed her.”
He rolls up to sit, the blankets coalescing around his waist.
“Why? Why would they kill her?”
I open my mouth. I don’t have the answers to that. It’s what I intend to find out.
In the end with this much glaring issues, the plot wasn't interesting enough for me to forgive the problems or even enjoy the book that much. Which is sad because Hannah Haze is one of my favorite RH authors.
Painfully average is all I have to say to summarize my thoughts.
April 4, 2025
1. Briony is not like other girls
2. Briony has no idea what life at the academy is like yet hates everyone and everything, even when they’re trying to help her
3. I don’t like Briony.
I’m not finished with this book yet but so far this reads like a bad YA high school bully romance. It’s been done time and time again. I can almost predict the cliffhanger ending, hell the whole book is predictable. Didn’t Haze just do this with her Arrow Hart Academy series???
There are many other academy why choose romance books that are WAY better written than this one. I recommend reading those instead.
2. Briony has no idea what life at the academy is like yet hates everyone and everything, even when they’re trying to help her
3. I don’t like Briony.
I’m not finished with this book yet but so far this reads like a bad YA high school bully romance. It’s been done time and time again. I can almost predict the cliffhanger ending, hell the whole book is predictable. Didn’t Haze just do this with her Arrow Hart Academy series???
There are many other academy why choose romance books that are WAY better written than this one. I recommend reading those instead.
September 8, 2025
Light, I mean light worldbuilding not very descriptive, definitely light in that area. The idea for the storyline is good, but the storytelling could’ve been stronger.
Did I laugh? Yes. Was I entertained? Yes. The book ends on a cliffhanger with so many unanswered questions. That’s the thing about why-choose romances sometimes they can be downright terrible, but this one? It reads like your typical why-choose. Is it the best? No, Did I like it? Yeah, Would I recommend it? Not really, because there weren’t any real wow moments.
What I did enjoy was the dark shadow daddy😈🩷 energy . It had that dark romance romantasy vibe, but it was missing some of the fantasy depth because of the lack of story development. I’m going to keep going to see what happens in books two and three.
Did this book put me to sleep? Nope, Was it hard to put down? Yeah. So while it didn’t tell me a great story, it did make me laugh and entertained me and honestly, that’s better than sleeping through 700 pages that bored me.
The spice also wasn’t written badly written.
💌 Verdict: This wasn’t bad. Did it ruined me the way I like books to? Nope, This book made me happy and laugh so yeah, I want some more.
Who my favorite Shadow Daddy I like Dray ❤️
Did I laugh? Yes. Was I entertained? Yes. The book ends on a cliffhanger with so many unanswered questions. That’s the thing about why-choose romances sometimes they can be downright terrible, but this one? It reads like your typical why-choose. Is it the best? No, Did I like it? Yeah, Would I recommend it? Not really, because there weren’t any real wow moments.
What I did enjoy was the dark shadow daddy😈🩷 energy . It had that dark romance romantasy vibe, but it was missing some of the fantasy depth because of the lack of story development. I’m going to keep going to see what happens in books two and three.
Did this book put me to sleep? Nope, Was it hard to put down? Yeah. So while it didn’t tell me a great story, it did make me laugh and entertained me and honestly, that’s better than sleeping through 700 pages that bored me.
The spice also wasn’t written badly written.
💌 Verdict: This wasn’t bad. Did it ruined me the way I like books to? Nope, This book made me happy and laugh so yeah, I want some more.
Who my favorite Shadow Daddy I like Dray ❤️
April 4, 2025
Btw: Cupcake is said over 40 times.
How does an author with a catalog as hers, does Haze not understand the rules of formatting nicknames or the words sir/ma'am?
This is nothing new under the sun.
FMC is slut shamed; 4 houses; superiority complex; FMC is hated by everyone for no reason; MMCs are assholes and manwhores; FMC lacks a backbone.
It just so boring because a book exactly like this has been written so many times before and it's just as boring as they were.
How does an author with a catalog as hers, does Haze not understand the rules of formatting nicknames or the words sir/ma'am?
This is nothing new under the sun.
FMC is slut shamed; 4 houses; superiority complex; FMC is hated by everyone for no reason; MMCs are assholes and manwhores; FMC lacks a backbone.
It just so boring because a book exactly like this has been written so many times before and it's just as boring as they were.
April 2, 2025
I really enjoyed Storm of Shadows and can’t wait for the next book (out 2nd July 2025).
Firestone Academy is for the talented to excel, but not everyone there has special gifts.
Briony only has one goal while she’s at the academy. That is to find out what happened to her sister. She attended the academy nine years ago and Briony doesn’t believe what they told her about her death.
Beaufort, Dray and Throne are the elite princes in the school. They’ve marked Briony as theirs, offering her protection but she resists their charm. Briony was told their kind are behind her sister’s death and it’s hard to know who to trust.
There’s a lot going on in this book and it’s all wrapped in a dark mystery. Can Briony stay safe while trying to get answers.
Available on KU, however I received an advance copy. I have KU, but who really wants to wait when the carrots dangling in front of you. 💕
Firestone Academy is for the talented to excel, but not everyone there has special gifts.
Briony only has one goal while she’s at the academy. That is to find out what happened to her sister. She attended the academy nine years ago and Briony doesn’t believe what they told her about her death.
Beaufort, Dray and Throne are the elite princes in the school. They’ve marked Briony as theirs, offering her protection but she resists their charm. Briony was told their kind are behind her sister’s death and it’s hard to know who to trust.
There’s a lot going on in this book and it’s all wrapped in a dark mystery. Can Briony stay safe while trying to get answers.
Available on KU, however I received an advance copy. I have KU, but who really wants to wait when the carrots dangling in front of you. 💕
March 22, 2025
*** ARC Review ***
3.5 Stars
Ok so I’m a huge fan of The Arrow Hart Academy series (minus the final book — we don’t talk about that one). I was expecting to be as mesmerized by this new series if not more but sadly that wasn’t the case.
This book has soooo much potential but I think the execution wasn’t there. We have Briony’s motive of why she’s attending the Firestone Academy but she makes little to no effort of actually going about solving the mystery of her sister’s death. Apart from some visits to the library, there’s no real action moving that mystery forward.
Overall, there’s very little action until well past the 60% mark when things started getting a bit more exciting. I wish we could have gotten more of everything — from world building to character development to just some more momentum with the plot. I deeply want to learn more about these characters because they all seem so interesting but I barely know more than the basics (or sometimes not even that because I don’t even think I know what Briony’s hair colour is).
Overall, there’s definitely a lot of potential here but the pacing is a big hindrance. I hope the second book shines brighter because I know this can be just as good if not better than the Arrow Hart Academy series. I WANT to connect with these characters by knowing more about them. I WANT to be immersed in this world by learning more about it. I WANT to be sucked into this story because it’s exciting. It’s not there yet, but I hope it will be.
3.5 Stars
Ok so I’m a huge fan of The Arrow Hart Academy series (minus the final book — we don’t talk about that one). I was expecting to be as mesmerized by this new series if not more but sadly that wasn’t the case.
This book has soooo much potential but I think the execution wasn’t there. We have Briony’s motive of why she’s attending the Firestone Academy but she makes little to no effort of actually going about solving the mystery of her sister’s death. Apart from some visits to the library, there’s no real action moving that mystery forward.
Overall, there’s very little action until well past the 60% mark when things started getting a bit more exciting. I wish we could have gotten more of everything — from world building to character development to just some more momentum with the plot. I deeply want to learn more about these characters because they all seem so interesting but I barely know more than the basics (or sometimes not even that because I don’t even think I know what Briony’s hair colour is).
Overall, there’s definitely a lot of potential here but the pacing is a big hindrance. I hope the second book shines brighter because I know this can be just as good if not better than the Arrow Hart Academy series. I WANT to connect with these characters by knowing more about them. I WANT to be immersed in this world by learning more about it. I WANT to be sucked into this story because it’s exciting. It’s not there yet, but I hope it will be.
May 6, 2025
A Storm of Clichés and Contrivance
I went into Storm of Shadows hoping for a dark fantasy romance with Academic setup that has tension, grit, and emotional depth. What I got instead was a bloated, trope-laden mess dressed up in brooding shadows and painfully forced slow-burn nonsense. It’s like Hannah Haze asked AI to mash together every generic fantasy romance plot and forgot to filter out the cringe.
Spoilers ahead – though honestly, not much to spoil.
Let’s talk about the plot—or lack thereof.
• Character Development Falls Flat
The protagonist Briony’s backstory is laden with trauma—an alcoholic father and an abusive stepmother—which could have provided depth and emotional resonance. However, the narrative fails to explore these aspects meaningfully, leaving the character’s motivations and growth underdeveloped. She enters Firestone Academy to investigate how her older sister Amelia died as she is convinced she was murdered.
• Problematic Romantic Dynamics
This story has the Reverse Harem trope. Also, the “why choose” trope is central to the story, featuring multiple male love interests. Yet, these relationships often come across as unhealthy, with love interests displaying persistent and, at times, violent behavior—not towards the protagonist, but towards others—which raises concerns about the romanticization of such traits. Then there is also the pervert Teacher trope which is a complete Cringy
• Inconsistent World-Building
While the setting is described as dark and dystopian, the world-building lacks consistency and depth. The societal structures and magical elements are not thoroughly explained, making it difficult to become fully immersed in the story’s universe. The different quarters of the Realm (Onyx, Iron, Slate, & Granite) and about commoners versus shadow weavers evoked Hunger Games Vibes but there are whole other glimpses of the world we get no insight into. Like the firestones and their history & significance , about dragons and how are they connected to the firestones? Then there are demons that are the main threat to the realm and Shadow Weavers are trained to fight against them . They were all mentioned like a couple of times and then later gladly forgotten . The Academy & the trials seemed to be inspired from Harry Potter.
• Pacing and Plot Issues
The story’s pacing is uneven, with prolonged periods of inaction followed by rushed developments. Key plot points, such as the protagonist’s experiences of bullying and the loss of her sister, are introduced but not adequately explored, leading to a narrative that feels disjointed and unsatisfying.
- All Briony does regarding investigating Amelia’s death was check the Library & her sister’s old assigned bedroom . She lacks determination for finding the truth .
- The one secret readers have been told that Briony will continue to hide from everyone until the end of the book is that she is in possession of a Firestone for the past nine years (although it is not mentioned that it is a Firestone) and it has fissures which I believe will make her a dragon rider again inspired from Eragon series.
Final thoughts:
Storm of Shadows reads like someone read A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, and a Wattpad fanfic, then blended them into a narrative smoothie where nothing is fully developed. The writing isn’t offensively bad—it’s just aggressively mediocre and drenched in cliché.
Rate : 1.5 Stars (.5 for the upcoming dragon arc being introduced in the second Installment)
I went into Storm of Shadows hoping for a dark fantasy romance with Academic setup that has tension, grit, and emotional depth. What I got instead was a bloated, trope-laden mess dressed up in brooding shadows and painfully forced slow-burn nonsense. It’s like Hannah Haze asked AI to mash together every generic fantasy romance plot and forgot to filter out the cringe.
Spoilers ahead – though honestly, not much to spoil.
Let’s talk about the plot—or lack thereof.
• Character Development Falls Flat
The protagonist Briony’s backstory is laden with trauma—an alcoholic father and an abusive stepmother—which could have provided depth and emotional resonance. However, the narrative fails to explore these aspects meaningfully, leaving the character’s motivations and growth underdeveloped. She enters Firestone Academy to investigate how her older sister Amelia died as she is convinced she was murdered.
• Problematic Romantic Dynamics
This story has the Reverse Harem trope. Also, the “why choose” trope is central to the story, featuring multiple male love interests. Yet, these relationships often come across as unhealthy, with love interests displaying persistent and, at times, violent behavior—not towards the protagonist, but towards others—which raises concerns about the romanticization of such traits. Then there is also the pervert Teacher trope which is a complete Cringy
• Inconsistent World-Building
While the setting is described as dark and dystopian, the world-building lacks consistency and depth. The societal structures and magical elements are not thoroughly explained, making it difficult to become fully immersed in the story’s universe. The different quarters of the Realm (Onyx, Iron, Slate, & Granite) and about commoners versus shadow weavers evoked Hunger Games Vibes but there are whole other glimpses of the world we get no insight into. Like the firestones and their history & significance , about dragons and how are they connected to the firestones? Then there are demons that are the main threat to the realm and Shadow Weavers are trained to fight against them . They were all mentioned like a couple of times and then later gladly forgotten . The Academy & the trials seemed to be inspired from Harry Potter.
• Pacing and Plot Issues
The story’s pacing is uneven, with prolonged periods of inaction followed by rushed developments. Key plot points, such as the protagonist’s experiences of bullying and the loss of her sister, are introduced but not adequately explored, leading to a narrative that feels disjointed and unsatisfying.
- All Briony does regarding investigating Amelia’s death was check the Library & her sister’s old assigned bedroom . She lacks determination for finding the truth .
- The one secret readers have been told that Briony will continue to hide from everyone until the end of the book is that she is in possession of a Firestone for the past nine years (although it is not mentioned that it is a Firestone) and it has fissures which I believe will make her a dragon rider again inspired from Eragon series.
Final thoughts:
Storm of Shadows reads like someone read A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, and a Wattpad fanfic, then blended them into a narrative smoothie where nothing is fully developed. The writing isn’t offensively bad—it’s just aggressively mediocre and drenched in cliché.
Rate : 1.5 Stars (.5 for the upcoming dragon arc being introduced in the second Installment)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2025
I had the privilege of being Hannah Haze's volunteer at her recent signing and this was the book she recommended for me since I'm a girlie who loves tension and angst in her books!
And this was such a fun and easy romantasy to jump into! I love a why choose and Hannah has made the dynamics between the three 'Princes' and Briony intriguing.
I love that there was a bit of mystery to the story, and I'm definitely eager to continue on and see who murdered Briony's sister, or if anyone did...
I will say, I need a better explanation to why Briony thinks her sister was murdered. Because from the info we have so far, I'm struggling to understand how she's jumped to that conclusion. So hopefully this is explained further down the line.
The world-building was easy to understand, and whilst I didn't dislike the FMC I did find some of her decisions difficult to understand so hopefully we'll get more of her back story as the series progresses.
My first book from Hannah Haze and I'm impressed! Definitely eager to try out her omegaverse series!
And this was such a fun and easy romantasy to jump into! I love a why choose and Hannah has made the dynamics between the three 'Princes' and Briony intriguing.
I love that there was a bit of mystery to the story, and I'm definitely eager to continue on and see who murdered Briony's sister, or if anyone did...
I will say, I need a better explanation to why Briony thinks her sister was murdered. Because from the info we have so far, I'm struggling to understand how she's jumped to that conclusion. So hopefully this is explained further down the line.
The world-building was easy to understand, and whilst I didn't dislike the FMC I did find some of her decisions difficult to understand so hopefully we'll get more of her back story as the series progresses.
My first book from Hannah Haze and I'm impressed! Definitely eager to try out her omegaverse series!
April 4, 2025
My initial thoughts were that she intended to write a younger age group but then made them 21 for the purposes of sexy times and lessening the impact of an age gap relationship (these were predictions I made within the first 5 pages of the book). The author refers to all of their age group in this as kids, the word comes up more than 50 times in the book. It makes them all seem younger and immature to me. There’s also a bully that literally steals everyone’s lunch in the first chapter. A 21 year old lunch stealing bully.
The environment is like Harry Potter meets the Hunger Games, you will constantly feel called back to both of those series as you read this one.
Overall, the story kinda jumped around and I felt like ultimately nothing REALLY happened. There were some fun moments with her friends and there are some steamy scenes that sorta came out of nowhere and felt like they were there to ensure there was spice for the readers. But really, we go to class with her and we find out nothing. Even the FMC is keeping the readers in the dark. So we don’t know what she doesn’t know, but we ALSO don’t know what she knows. It made it hard to feel anything about the characters because we didn’t get to build any real depth through history or emotional connection.
I don’t know… I hope that the next book makes more of an impact and starts to get a stronger plot direction because I felt a bit lost after finishing this one. That being said, I enjoyed reading this and I do like this author a lot. I had a good time even if I was somewhat confused.
The environment is like Harry Potter meets the Hunger Games, you will constantly feel called back to both of those series as you read this one.
Overall, the story kinda jumped around and I felt like ultimately nothing REALLY happened. There were some fun moments with her friends and there are some steamy scenes that sorta came out of nowhere and felt like they were there to ensure there was spice for the readers. But really, we go to class with her and we find out nothing. Even the FMC is keeping the readers in the dark. So we don’t know what she doesn’t know, but we ALSO don’t know what she knows. It made it hard to feel anything about the characters because we didn’t get to build any real depth through history or emotional connection.
I don’t know… I hope that the next book makes more of an impact and starts to get a stronger plot direction because I felt a bit lost after finishing this one. That being said, I enjoyed reading this and I do like this author a lot. I had a good time even if I was somewhat confused.
March 31, 2025
Arc reader here!
I’m a huge fan of RH books and always on the lookout for new and exciting reads. I was thrilled to receive the opportunity to read Storms and Shadows! It’s a fantasy RH book, and I must admit, I didn’t fully enjoy it. Some parts of the book were uninteresting and didn’t capture my attention because they were too similar to other RH books that I’ve read in the past. I was hoping for a more unique RH fantasy story—something that stands out from all the other books on the market and Kindle reads. I’m really sorry to give such a low rating, but it’s 3 out of 5. Yes, some parts of the book were better than others, but I can’t give more than a 3.
The story follows a twenty-one-year-old girl from a lower social class than her classmates. She’s given the chance to attend Firestone Academy, a prestigious school. I found the character to be somewhat melancholic and uncertain about her true desires. While I can relate to her feelings in the story, she wasn’t the strong female protagonist I had envisioned at the beginning of the book. She kept letting everyone walk all over her and not listening to her thoughts or feelings. I believe a strong female protagonist is crucial for a compelling story, especially in a romance fantasy novel! If she’s seeking revenge and answers, she needs to be strong and determined to uncover all the secrets and lies. She needs to want it with every fibre of her being. If you’re going to add “murder” or “disappearance” to a book, say them say the younger sister is desperate for answers, but don’t actually provide any good answers or explanations. If I had a sister who had disappeared or been murdered, I would stop at nothing to find the truth. I found that the younger sister did the bare minimum in finding out the truth. There was hardly any development in her character or the plot. I absolutely didn’t like the male characters. They went all out for “princes” and never listened to the female protagonist. One main male character was too quick to judge, and another went and put his nose in her crotch. It’s okay if it was a male dog that she considered a pet because, hey, dogs are just weird. But for him to turn out to be a shifter seemed completely wrong and unnecessary for the plot. The last male character was okay, but I didn’t like the her would-be love interest in general.
However, I felt that the characters lacked significant development throughout the story. The plot didn’t offer much excitement or intrigue, and it reminded me of many other RH books with academy-based characters. While it did evoke some Hunger Games-like vibes at the beginning, with a contrast between the wealthy and the impoverished, and a hint of magic, I wished the story had delved deeper into the characters’ personalities. It would have been more captivating if we had explored both their sad and happy sides, showing that even in moments of sadness, there must be some happiness, and vice versa.
I’m a huge fan of RH books and always on the lookout for new and exciting reads. I was thrilled to receive the opportunity to read Storms and Shadows! It’s a fantasy RH book, and I must admit, I didn’t fully enjoy it. Some parts of the book were uninteresting and didn’t capture my attention because they were too similar to other RH books that I’ve read in the past. I was hoping for a more unique RH fantasy story—something that stands out from all the other books on the market and Kindle reads. I’m really sorry to give such a low rating, but it’s 3 out of 5. Yes, some parts of the book were better than others, but I can’t give more than a 3.
The story follows a twenty-one-year-old girl from a lower social class than her classmates. She’s given the chance to attend Firestone Academy, a prestigious school. I found the character to be somewhat melancholic and uncertain about her true desires. While I can relate to her feelings in the story, she wasn’t the strong female protagonist I had envisioned at the beginning of the book. She kept letting everyone walk all over her and not listening to her thoughts or feelings. I believe a strong female protagonist is crucial for a compelling story, especially in a romance fantasy novel! If she’s seeking revenge and answers, she needs to be strong and determined to uncover all the secrets and lies. She needs to want it with every fibre of her being. If you’re going to add “murder” or “disappearance” to a book, say them say the younger sister is desperate for answers, but don’t actually provide any good answers or explanations. If I had a sister who had disappeared or been murdered, I would stop at nothing to find the truth. I found that the younger sister did the bare minimum in finding out the truth. There was hardly any development in her character or the plot. I absolutely didn’t like the male characters. They went all out for “princes” and never listened to the female protagonist. One main male character was too quick to judge, and another went and put his nose in her crotch. It’s okay if it was a male dog that she considered a pet because, hey, dogs are just weird. But for him to turn out to be a shifter seemed completely wrong and unnecessary for the plot. The last male character was okay, but I didn’t like the her would-be love interest in general.
However, I felt that the characters lacked significant development throughout the story. The plot didn’t offer much excitement or intrigue, and it reminded me of many other RH books with academy-based characters. While it did evoke some Hunger Games-like vibes at the beginning, with a contrast between the wealthy and the impoverished, and a hint of magic, I wished the story had delved deeper into the characters’ personalities. It would have been more captivating if we had explored both their sad and happy sides, showing that even in moments of sadness, there must be some happiness, and vice versa.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2025
✨ 3.5 stars ✨
I am a slut for fantasy academy why choose!
I could not stop reading this book. I was so curious to see what would happen next.
I did think that there was a lot of basic information missing. And a lot of stuff was hinted at but not explained.
I am a slut for fantasy academy why choose!
I could not stop reading this book. I was so curious to see what would happen next.
I did think that there was a lot of basic information missing. And a lot of stuff was hinted at but not explained.
August 25, 2025
This book was hard to put down.
March 21, 2025
3 ⭐️ I really wanted to love Storm of Shadows, but in the end, I struggled to connect with it. The premise was intriguing - Briony enrolls at Firestone Academy, not just because she has to, but because she’s determined to uncover the truth behind her sister Amelia’s death. With a reverse harem dynamic and the mysterious “Princes” vying for her attention, there was plenty of potential for a gripping story.
However, I found myself frustrated with Briony’s character. She repeatedly insisted that she wasn’t special, and unfortunately, the story never proved otherwise. I kept hoping for a turning point where she’d reveal hidden strength or depth, but it never really came. The push-and-pull dynamic between her and the Princes also felt repetitive, with the same conversations looping without much progression.
That said, I did enjoy the friendships she formed, particularly with Fly and Clare, which brought some much-needed warmth to the story. Professor Tudor was another wild card - his role added a layer of intrigue, even if it left me questioning what exactly was going on.
As for the mystery surrounding Amelia’s death, it felt more like a side plot than the driving force of the story, which was disappointing. I expected it to hold more weight, but it often took a backseat to the romance elements (or lack thereof aka the repetitive back and forth between the MCs).
Overall, Storm of Shadows had potential, but it didn’t fully land for me. If you’re into slow-burn academy romances with a heavy dose of push-and-pull, you might enjoy it more than I did - but personally, I was hoping for something more.
NOTE: I received this as an ARC and was grateful to do so. I’d love to read more of the series to see where the story and characters go.
However, I found myself frustrated with Briony’s character. She repeatedly insisted that she wasn’t special, and unfortunately, the story never proved otherwise. I kept hoping for a turning point where she’d reveal hidden strength or depth, but it never really came. The push-and-pull dynamic between her and the Princes also felt repetitive, with the same conversations looping without much progression.
That said, I did enjoy the friendships she formed, particularly with Fly and Clare, which brought some much-needed warmth to the story. Professor Tudor was another wild card - his role added a layer of intrigue, even if it left me questioning what exactly was going on.
As for the mystery surrounding Amelia’s death, it felt more like a side plot than the driving force of the story, which was disappointing. I expected it to hold more weight, but it often took a backseat to the romance elements (or lack thereof aka the repetitive back and forth between the MCs).
Overall, Storm of Shadows had potential, but it didn’t fully land for me. If you’re into slow-burn academy romances with a heavy dose of push-and-pull, you might enjoy it more than I did - but personally, I was hoping for something more.
NOTE: I received this as an ARC and was grateful to do so. I’d love to read more of the series to see where the story and characters go.
August 19, 2025
2020 52 Book Challenge - 52) A Book With A Foreword
I finished this book on the train going on holiday and then spent the entire holiday trying to verbalize how bad this book is.
Nothing in this book makes sense - and here are my main complaints:
1) We have no idea why FMC believes that her sister was murdered except that she is sure that she was.
2) We are not given any explanation as to how the magic system works in this world.
3) The gay best friend is little more than a caricature of a character. Also insists on calling the FMC "cupcake" constantly. He spends the entire book trying to convince the FMC to be a sex slave to three dudes.
4) We are not given any explanation of how the school works. Like... does every child in this world go to this school for one year? Seriously, what is the point??
5) The three MMC. Each one should have their own category on the list because they are All. So. Insufferable. I wanted to punch them through the entire novel.
6) The insta-love from the three MMC.
7) The bestiality.
8) The FMC is just as insufferable as the three MMC and she is so bad that I started enjoying the chapters from the men's perspectives because at least it was a break from the crapfest that was Briony's POV.
9) The massive cliffhanger that this book ends on and makes me want to suffer from reading book 2 - which according to the blurb, also ends on a cliffhanger.
This book is not worth the time to read it.
I finished this book on the train going on holiday and then spent the entire holiday trying to verbalize how bad this book is.
Nothing in this book makes sense - and here are my main complaints:
1) We have no idea why FMC believes that her sister was murdered except that she is sure that she was.
2) We are not given any explanation as to how the magic system works in this world.
3) The gay best friend is little more than a caricature of a character. Also insists on calling the FMC "cupcake" constantly. He spends the entire book trying to convince the FMC to be a sex slave to three dudes.
4) We are not given any explanation of how the school works. Like... does every child in this world go to this school for one year? Seriously, what is the point??
5) The three MMC. Each one should have their own category on the list because they are All. So. Insufferable. I wanted to punch them through the entire novel.
6) The insta-love from the three MMC.
7) The bestiality.
8) The FMC is just as insufferable as the three MMC and she is so bad that I started enjoying the chapters from the men's perspectives because at least it was a break from the crapfest that was Briony's POV.
9) The massive cliffhanger that this book ends on and makes me want to suffer from reading book 2 - which according to the blurb, also ends on a cliffhanger.
This book is not worth the time to read it.
August 18, 2025
Thank you! Finally a book that got me out of my slump. A series that is going to have you guessing and keep guessing after this book. A great start to what seems to be another fantastic series from Hannah Haze 🤩🤩
May 16, 2025
I was craving the rush I felt from reading a previous academy book and thought what the hell even though I never continued The Arrow Hart Academy series. It’s no surprise really that I feel the same way I did as when I finished Fractured Fates—empty. I have no sense of excitement or wonder, trying to figure out how this story will go. My main gripe is really that nothing happens in this book. Absolutely fucking NOTHING. It’s just cryptic visions, sister angst and sexual attraction. This was so painfully boring and average and I’m just a lot less impressed by the same old same old. I don’t trust this author to do anything remotely interesting anymore. I have no choice but to compare it to recent KU academy book that I read and I enjoyed that one a lot more even though we had the same tropes and it’s objectively written worse than this one. I hate when I’m reading a book and information is being kept for no other reason than to further the plot. We know next to nothing about this world. You have to give me SOMETHING to have me interested in continuing this series, be it the story or the characters and yet here we are about to stop after book one just like I do with most her novels. Guess we’ll just have to be happy that it’s one I actually finished this time.
April 1, 2025
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book & oh my god, am I glad I did.
This book had me hooked from page 1, I absolutely loved it. The characters were all likeable. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it & wanting to pick it up as soon as possible. I would of devoured it quicker but due to work & family commitments that wasn’t possible.
I won’t go on about the storyline as that’s all written out for u in the description & I’m not gonna post any spoilers but what I will say is READ IT! I would highly recommend this book & I can’t wait for book 2…. Hannah don’t make us wait too long 😀
This book had me hooked from page 1, I absolutely loved it. The characters were all likeable. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it & wanting to pick it up as soon as possible. I would of devoured it quicker but due to work & family commitments that wasn’t possible.
I won’t go on about the storyline as that’s all written out for u in the description & I’m not gonna post any spoilers but what I will say is READ IT! I would highly recommend this book & I can’t wait for book 2…. Hannah don’t make us wait too long 😀
June 5, 2025
This book has a few massive problems, problems others will have talked about so instead I will discuss the problems I noticed and are inconsequential alone but together, have a negative impact on the immersive experience of the book.
1. Writing
Technically, the book's writing is decent enough. It does make some choices with character voice and is fluid enough to be engaging. By and large, could tell which character was which based on how it was written which I appreciate, but boy, were there some odd choices with diction.
Chapter 7, pg. 37: "I mine the handkerchief for any remaining crumbs..."
What? This line singlehandedly took me out of the book because I had not a hot clue what it was saying at first. Mining? As in ore? Or strip-mining? For crumbs in the handkerchief? There were a bazillion better ways to convey the action of trying to find crumbs in a handkerchief. This is not one of those ways!
Chapter 24, pg. 186: "It's made from the threads of velvet silkworms."
This makes no sense. Velvet silkworms? Those are two different types of fabric made totally distinctly. Unless, the author meant the silkworms were velvet? And sure, this is a fantastical world so maybe there IS such a thing as velvet-silk, but then I have no idea why you'd even still be using Earthly names for fabric aside from laziness. In any way you look at it, stupid line.
Chapter 49, pg. 341: "Blood rushes up to the surface of her cheeks, and my stomach moans silently.”
This is the weirdest thing I have ever read. I don't know what Fox's problem is. Vampire? He has a TON of weird lines like this where his stomach is described as "moaning," and it is odd every time. On purpose? Who knows.
Chapter 57, pg. 396: “Why are you so against it?” he repeats. “Why really?”
I snap my head back towards him. “Shadow weavers killed my sister!”
There's nothing wrong this really, but it reminded me of that audio from Trolls - 'cause singing killed my grandma, okay?!
Chapter 43, pg. 293: “I think the lady doth protest too much,”
Yeah, this is so, so weird to me. For context, this is the love interest trying to convince our FMC to have sex with him, when out of NOWHERE, he says this. What? Nothing like this sentence has been said before or since this moment. He just randomly quotes Shakespeare once and it's never mentioned or addressed by anyone, the FMC doesn't react, I have NO idea why this was even said. It completely threw me out of the book and I've been thinking about it a lot because I have not a clue in hell as to why this moment even happened. It wasn't even a moment, it just happened and it implies, well, many things about this world's existence, speaking of which---
2. World-building.
There is none. Saying that there is an academy, and oh, a caste system means absolutely nothing to me because, yes, we learn this caste system is obviously oppressive, but we don't get into anything else.
Why doesn't the Slate Quarter go on strike? They make food for the entire realm, and yet, they're all poor and suffering from malnutrition (how?), and yet, no one that can actually enforce these oppressive systems are ever in Slate Quarter (FMC mentions that she's never seen a shadow weaver before, and they are the oppressive elites), so are they all just compliant and obedient despite starving? Except for our FMC?
We know legitimately nothing about the magic that is called "shadow-weaving." Where'd it come from? How can they shapeshift with shadows? How can they create lightning with it? How can they heal with it? We don't know. I have no idea how this magic works, it makes zero sense and there is seriously zero explanation.
I don't even know where we are in the story, what year it is, or the continent we're on. Or where the capital city is, for instance. It is mentioned they speak English, for some reason.
All we're given for history is 1) Dragons and 2) Firestones. Firestones and dragons are interlinked apparently, since they disappeared around the same time - firestones probably being the egg of dragons, not that we're ever told that. There are still a lot of mysteries in this series, but it is really hard to get your reader excited about these mysteries and theorizing when your reader knows LESS than everyone else. I don't know why you're in love with her in that vision, maybe you should describe the vision so I can try to guess? But of course we know why, it's shown to us at the very end of the book.
There's more. For instance, the author mistakenly calls the second trial the first. I can also criticize the way the FMC's story progression is going and how it feels like the very opposite of that, especially when the FMC - directly going against all her pre-established principles - seeks to feel "alive" by falling to her knees in front of the man who has 1) actually not protected her once, and in fact has only invited more bullies into her life, 2) is a shadow-weaver, her and her people's oppressors, and 3) does not respect her, her words, or her agency.
But I do think there is hope for this story. Because it is the FMC - abused and mistreated and endearingly (occasionally annoyingly) open about her hatred of the systematic oppression she is a victim of - that is being depicted as right, and bare minimum as it is, I think that's a good move. Even if this impact is cut by her having relations with the men. Unpopular opinion, but I would sooner want an uncooperative, irritating FMC than a bootlicking one.
I may continue this series if I see that the FMC will clearly gain strength and actually have the bite to back up her bark. 3.5 stars
1. Writing
Technically, the book's writing is decent enough. It does make some choices with character voice and is fluid enough to be engaging. By and large, could tell which character was which based on how it was written which I appreciate, but boy, were there some odd choices with diction.
Chapter 7, pg. 37: "I mine the handkerchief for any remaining crumbs..."
What? This line singlehandedly took me out of the book because I had not a hot clue what it was saying at first. Mining? As in ore? Or strip-mining? For crumbs in the handkerchief? There were a bazillion better ways to convey the action of trying to find crumbs in a handkerchief. This is not one of those ways!
Chapter 24, pg. 186: "It's made from the threads of velvet silkworms."
This makes no sense. Velvet silkworms? Those are two different types of fabric made totally distinctly. Unless, the author meant the silkworms were velvet? And sure, this is a fantastical world so maybe there IS such a thing as velvet-silk, but then I have no idea why you'd even still be using Earthly names for fabric aside from laziness. In any way you look at it, stupid line.
Chapter 49, pg. 341: "Blood rushes up to the surface of her cheeks, and my stomach moans silently.”
This is the weirdest thing I have ever read. I don't know what Fox's problem is. Vampire? He has a TON of weird lines like this where his stomach is described as "moaning," and it is odd every time. On purpose? Who knows.
Chapter 57, pg. 396: “Why are you so against it?” he repeats. “Why really?”
I snap my head back towards him. “Shadow weavers killed my sister!”
There's nothing wrong this really, but it reminded me of that audio from Trolls - 'cause singing killed my grandma, okay?!
Chapter 43, pg. 293: “I think the lady doth protest too much,”
Yeah, this is so, so weird to me. For context, this is the love interest trying to convince our FMC to have sex with him, when out of NOWHERE, he says this. What? Nothing like this sentence has been said before or since this moment. He just randomly quotes Shakespeare once and it's never mentioned or addressed by anyone, the FMC doesn't react, I have NO idea why this was even said. It completely threw me out of the book and I've been thinking about it a lot because I have not a clue in hell as to why this moment even happened. It wasn't even a moment, it just happened and it implies, well, many things about this world's existence, speaking of which---
2. World-building.
There is none. Saying that there is an academy, and oh, a caste system means absolutely nothing to me because, yes, we learn this caste system is obviously oppressive, but we don't get into anything else.
Why doesn't the Slate Quarter go on strike? They make food for the entire realm, and yet, they're all poor and suffering from malnutrition (how?), and yet, no one that can actually enforce these oppressive systems are ever in Slate Quarter (FMC mentions that she's never seen a shadow weaver before, and they are the oppressive elites), so are they all just compliant and obedient despite starving? Except for our FMC?
We know legitimately nothing about the magic that is called "shadow-weaving." Where'd it come from? How can they shapeshift with shadows? How can they create lightning with it? How can they heal with it? We don't know. I have no idea how this magic works, it makes zero sense and there is seriously zero explanation.
I don't even know where we are in the story, what year it is, or the continent we're on. Or where the capital city is, for instance. It is mentioned they speak English, for some reason.
All we're given for history is 1) Dragons and 2) Firestones. Firestones and dragons are interlinked apparently, since they disappeared around the same time - firestones probably being the egg of dragons, not that we're ever told that. There are still a lot of mysteries in this series, but it is really hard to get your reader excited about these mysteries and theorizing when your reader knows LESS than everyone else. I don't know why you're in love with her in that vision, maybe you should describe the vision so I can try to guess? But of course we know why, it's shown to us at the very end of the book.
There's more. For instance, the author mistakenly calls the second trial the first. I can also criticize the way the FMC's story progression is going and how it feels like the very opposite of that, especially when the FMC - directly going against all her pre-established principles - seeks to feel "alive" by falling to her knees in front of the man who has 1) actually not protected her once, and in fact has only invited more bullies into her life, 2) is a shadow-weaver, her and her people's oppressors, and 3) does not respect her, her words, or her agency.
But I do think there is hope for this story. Because it is the FMC - abused and mistreated and endearingly (occasionally annoyingly) open about her hatred of the systematic oppression she is a victim of - that is being depicted as right, and bare minimum as it is, I think that's a good move. Even if this impact is cut by her having relations with the men. Unpopular opinion, but I would sooner want an uncooperative, irritating FMC than a bootlicking one.
I may continue this series if I see that the FMC will clearly gain strength and actually have the bite to back up her bark. 3.5 stars
July 5, 2025
4.5 stars worthy.
It was hard to read her heart breaking emotions when she thought about her sister. It felt real, then when she would let one guard down and let either Beauford or Dray comfort her, then she would feel regret for falling for the Shadow Weaver Princes. She thinks she’s betraying her dead sister. She was told her sister walked between two groups of shadow weavers practicing their magic. Briony thinks it’s a load of horse crap and starts searching for clues. She’s picked as a thrall, she’s told they’re slave and can use them for anything, from sex to cleaning. Briony refuses the princes claim not realizing they don’t want a slave but a mate who they can protect and treasure/pleasure. She allows the mean girls beat her up, fry her to a crisp, and destroy her rooms contents. She refuses to tell the Princes because she says she can handle it herself. This little game she has going on with rejecting the thrall claim has the opposite effect, she thinks she’s winning by refusing, but she’s just letting others to abuse her. The jealous and mean girls have magic and have no issue using it on her. Briony is somehow Protecting these mean girls from the Princes by not telling them about the abuse even thought that’s not her intention. She just doesn’t want help. It’s a really stupid trait of hers and drives me batty. She almost dies multiple times, at the hands of bullies and even through the Princes know of some of the incidents and tries to stop it, they don’t know all of them. Yes, I agree a thrall, sounds really bad. The connotation is awful and no one wants to be someone’s slave at their beck and call but she doesn’t really ask the right questions and instantly assumes the worst. She jumps to a conclusion that works in favor of what she believes from the bottom of her heart. Shadow Weavers killed her sister and she’s going to find out what happened. Beauford, saw her first. I want to know more about his vision of her when they locked eyes. The details of it weren’t discussed. Dray saw her and decided to cosy up to her as a wolf, and he got to see a softer side to her besides the grouchy persona she plays with them. Thorne is quiet, the 3rd prince who always wears gloves. I think his shadow weaver magic is something to do with aging or poisoning or something. He saves her in the last trial by leaving a small sliver of his shadow to protect her, thankfully because Professor Braden went all jealous psycho on her. Using lightening magic, shadows and other things to basically torture her. I find her wishy washy feelings towards the princes annoying after awhile. Instead of the anxiety of assumption and confusion, have a dang discussion, and come up with a contract or something. It would have saved her many beatings from the mean girls.
She caught the eye of a Professor Fox Tudor. And from what is gleaned from all of his point of views, he got out of his quarter that is also Briony’s quarter because he was changed into something other. Maybe a vampire? It wasn’t talked about or thought about explicitly but he seemed to think about her veins a lot in one chapter and possibly changed by Professor Barden when he was in the academy years earlier.
There’s quite a few mysteries in this book. Information is slow to come by. Briony kept saying her sister was “special”. It almost felt like she had magic or something, she was more than intelligent, she was kind, and the best pseudo mother figure she had since her mom passed. We don’t know what makes her special. There’s no talk about how Briony is going to make those who killed her sister pay. She has all this gumption, determination, some sneaky lock picking ability, stubbornness to find those responsible but has not once mentioned a way how she’s going to get even. She has no magic, she doesn’t really seem like she has survivable skills outside of their quarter. I felt like with how much determination, she felt, there must have been some grand master plan. Or thoughts of how to accomplish it. The Only clue we get to what was in her bag was on the last 2 pages of this story. The academy was built on magical Firestone’s. And Briony found one close to where they buried her sister. She keeps it hidden in her backpack and checks ir every night. At the end, we see her take it out of her bag, and notices a crack in it that was never there before. I am definetly interested in reading the next book. I can’t wait.
It was hard to read her heart breaking emotions when she thought about her sister. It felt real, then when she would let one guard down and let either Beauford or Dray comfort her, then she would feel regret for falling for the Shadow Weaver Princes. She thinks she’s betraying her dead sister. She was told her sister walked between two groups of shadow weavers practicing their magic. Briony thinks it’s a load of horse crap and starts searching for clues. She’s picked as a thrall, she’s told they’re slave and can use them for anything, from sex to cleaning. Briony refuses the princes claim not realizing they don’t want a slave but a mate who they can protect and treasure/pleasure. She allows the mean girls beat her up, fry her to a crisp, and destroy her rooms contents. She refuses to tell the Princes because she says she can handle it herself. This little game she has going on with rejecting the thrall claim has the opposite effect, she thinks she’s winning by refusing, but she’s just letting others to abuse her. The jealous and mean girls have magic and have no issue using it on her. Briony is somehow Protecting these mean girls from the Princes by not telling them about the abuse even thought that’s not her intention. She just doesn’t want help. It’s a really stupid trait of hers and drives me batty. She almost dies multiple times, at the hands of bullies and even through the Princes know of some of the incidents and tries to stop it, they don’t know all of them. Yes, I agree a thrall, sounds really bad. The connotation is awful and no one wants to be someone’s slave at their beck and call but she doesn’t really ask the right questions and instantly assumes the worst. She jumps to a conclusion that works in favor of what she believes from the bottom of her heart. Shadow Weavers killed her sister and she’s going to find out what happened. Beauford, saw her first. I want to know more about his vision of her when they locked eyes. The details of it weren’t discussed. Dray saw her and decided to cosy up to her as a wolf, and he got to see a softer side to her besides the grouchy persona she plays with them. Thorne is quiet, the 3rd prince who always wears gloves. I think his shadow weaver magic is something to do with aging or poisoning or something. He saves her in the last trial by leaving a small sliver of his shadow to protect her, thankfully because Professor Braden went all jealous psycho on her. Using lightening magic, shadows and other things to basically torture her. I find her wishy washy feelings towards the princes annoying after awhile. Instead of the anxiety of assumption and confusion, have a dang discussion, and come up with a contract or something. It would have saved her many beatings from the mean girls.
She caught the eye of a Professor Fox Tudor. And from what is gleaned from all of his point of views, he got out of his quarter that is also Briony’s quarter because he was changed into something other. Maybe a vampire? It wasn’t talked about or thought about explicitly but he seemed to think about her veins a lot in one chapter and possibly changed by Professor Barden when he was in the academy years earlier.
There’s quite a few mysteries in this book. Information is slow to come by. Briony kept saying her sister was “special”. It almost felt like she had magic or something, she was more than intelligent, she was kind, and the best pseudo mother figure she had since her mom passed. We don’t know what makes her special. There’s no talk about how Briony is going to make those who killed her sister pay. She has all this gumption, determination, some sneaky lock picking ability, stubbornness to find those responsible but has not once mentioned a way how she’s going to get even. She has no magic, she doesn’t really seem like she has survivable skills outside of their quarter. I felt like with how much determination, she felt, there must have been some grand master plan. Or thoughts of how to accomplish it. The Only clue we get to what was in her bag was on the last 2 pages of this story. The academy was built on magical Firestone’s. And Briony found one close to where they buried her sister. She keeps it hidden in her backpack and checks ir every night. At the end, we see her take it out of her bag, and notices a crack in it that was never there before. I am definetly interested in reading the next book. I can’t wait.
November 16, 2025
I'm not gonna mince words: I do not like Briony. Period.
She is framed as this unique, badass girl, but it's just pathetic. Her whole "I'm not like other girls" schtick boils down to her being annoying, totally uncooperative, and hating everyone for no reason. She doesn't know what life at the academy is like, yet she hates everyone, even when they're trying to help her out.
The author wanted her to be edgy, but she came off as stupidly rebellious. She makes an idiot of herself when she doesn't need to and is weak when she should be showing some backbone. Her "uniqueness"? It's just her being unnecessarily dumb in every possible situation, which only generates more boring, recycled problems.
🤦♀️ The Level of Absurdity Is EPIC
Seriously, two scenes killed me:
* Sister's Murder: The conversation about her sister's death was a cosmic void of logic. Girl, you know people die in accidents there. Yet she concludes her sister was murdered premeditatedly because she has a "feeling" it was because she was so smart. She sounded crazy and arrogant. Where's the evidence? Where's the common sense? The author didn't even bother to make her suspicions logical.
* "I Want Your Man" vs. Harem: That girl literally tries to KILL Briony. The Harem (i.e., the MMCs) punishes the culprit. And Briony? She acts like they're the monsters! I wanted to climb into the book and shake her! They were angry because someone tried to effing murder you, not because you're poor, tiny, and different! In most cases and situations, she just acts plain stupid.
🐉 Predictable to a Fault
Plus, that very last scene where she says, "Maybe I'm not that weak after all," and her "stone" cracks? Come on! Can't we get something harder to predict? I'm 98% sure that rock is going to turn into a dragon. Because of course it is.
🤢 Professor Romance? Oh, God...
And don't even get me started on the romance with the professor... It is terribly written. There's no chemistry, just a gigantic pile of cringe. That "relationship" gave me secondhand embarrassment chills. It's so badly constructed that it makes you want to stop reading.
Not to mention, I'm pretty sure this exact same plot point happened in another series by the same author.
🛑 VERDICT
If you're looking for a predictable, irritating, and derivative romance with a stupid-but-"different" heroine who constantly pushes herself into trouble for no reason—this is it. I'm calling STOP. Briony exhausted me. The lack of logic in the key mystery plot exhausted me.
A total waste of time.
She is framed as this unique, badass girl, but it's just pathetic. Her whole "I'm not like other girls" schtick boils down to her being annoying, totally uncooperative, and hating everyone for no reason. She doesn't know what life at the academy is like, yet she hates everyone, even when they're trying to help her out.
The author wanted her to be edgy, but she came off as stupidly rebellious. She makes an idiot of herself when she doesn't need to and is weak when she should be showing some backbone. Her "uniqueness"? It's just her being unnecessarily dumb in every possible situation, which only generates more boring, recycled problems.
🤦♀️ The Level of Absurdity Is EPIC
Seriously, two scenes killed me:
* Sister's Murder: The conversation about her sister's death was a cosmic void of logic. Girl, you know people die in accidents there. Yet she concludes her sister was murdered premeditatedly because she has a "feeling" it was because she was so smart. She sounded crazy and arrogant. Where's the evidence? Where's the common sense? The author didn't even bother to make her suspicions logical.
* "I Want Your Man" vs. Harem: That girl literally tries to KILL Briony. The Harem (i.e., the MMCs) punishes the culprit. And Briony? She acts like they're the monsters! I wanted to climb into the book and shake her! They were angry because someone tried to effing murder you, not because you're poor, tiny, and different! In most cases and situations, she just acts plain stupid.
🐉 Predictable to a Fault
Plus, that very last scene where she says, "Maybe I'm not that weak after all," and her "stone" cracks? Come on! Can't we get something harder to predict? I'm 98% sure that rock is going to turn into a dragon. Because of course it is.
🤢 Professor Romance? Oh, God...
And don't even get me started on the romance with the professor... It is terribly written. There's no chemistry, just a gigantic pile of cringe. That "relationship" gave me secondhand embarrassment chills. It's so badly constructed that it makes you want to stop reading.
Not to mention, I'm pretty sure this exact same plot point happened in another series by the same author.
🛑 VERDICT
If you're looking for a predictable, irritating, and derivative romance with a stupid-but-"different" heroine who constantly pushes herself into trouble for no reason—this is it. I'm calling STOP. Briony exhausted me. The lack of logic in the key mystery plot exhausted me.
A total waste of time.
July 21, 2025
It is Briony's time to head to Firestone Academy, but she is not there to see what her future holds. Briony wants to find out the truth about what happened to her sister nine years ago when she died. Getting to the truth though is not as easy as she thought though especially when "The Princes" claim her as their thrall, which Briony has no interest in.
Beaufort Lincoln, Dray Eros, Thorne Cadieux are the most powerful shadow weavers at the Academy. Beaufort has seen a vision with Briony as their mate. Now they have to convince the stubborn woman who seems intent on defying them at every turn.
This was book one in the series and was riddled with complexities. Every turn of the page brings something new though. Briony is from an impoverished area and has secrets. The princes are the elite of the elite and all three are very different in personality. Loved this book, anxious for more.
Beaufort Lincoln, Dray Eros, Thorne Cadieux are the most powerful shadow weavers at the Academy. Beaufort has seen a vision with Briony as their mate. Now they have to convince the stubborn woman who seems intent on defying them at every turn.
This was book one in the series and was riddled with complexities. Every turn of the page brings something new though. Briony is from an impoverished area and has secrets. The princes are the elite of the elite and all three are very different in personality. Loved this book, anxious for more.
August 15, 2025
I REALLY wanted to love this one! But I just can't with the FMC. I love me a strong and confident FMC. Briony was just stubborn and quite frankly stupid by the end of the book. She only ever had a backbone and stood up for herself with people she KNEW wouldn't hurt her 🙄 like girl, if you want to avenge your sister be smart about it and take ALL the advantages you can get!. Putting herself at risk and in danger because of pride was just idiotic.
On another note! I did love where the story was going. I also am intrigued by the MMCs. Thorne annoyed me a little bit there but that's mostly because I can't stand the miscommunication trope.
I can't wait for book 2 but I may just wait until the series completes so that I'm not frustrated with the speed of how things progress.
I read and listened at the same time and I LIVED the Duet narration in this one. Fantastic and kept me listening to Briony being irritating af 😏
On another note! I did love where the story was going. I also am intrigued by the MMCs. Thorne annoyed me a little bit there but that's mostly because I can't stand the miscommunication trope.
I can't wait for book 2 but I may just wait until the series completes so that I'm not frustrated with the speed of how things progress.
I read and listened at the same time and I LIVED the Duet narration in this one. Fantastic and kept me listening to Briony being irritating af 😏
July 6, 2025
Plot: 3/5 • Smut: 1/5 ————> This whole book was nothing but a run around. She gets the academy with the intention of finding information about her sisters “murder”. However she literally gains nothing. This whole book she gets zero information. While getting that zero information she’s to become a thrall to the three top shadow welders. The whole time it’s an annoying internal battle of “no”. When you think she’s finally going to relinquish and say yes, she changes her mind. Honestly, I found this entire book so frustrating. It was the same thing over and over.
We do get one smutty scene with her and Beaufort. The part where we think she’s finally saying yes, but then immediately realizes that he’s an asshole and changes her mind.
We do get one smutty scene with her and Beaufort. The part where we think she’s finally saying yes, but then immediately realizes that he’s an asshole and changes her mind.
April 30, 2025
I ate this up! Hannah, you are killing me with the slow burn and all the mystery. I cannot wait for book two, July can’t come soon enough..
I love the academy setting, I love the MMC’s and I love the stubbornness of the FMC. Hannah Haze has become a comfort read for me at this point. And her new series did not disappoint.
Is it a masterpiece? No.
Does it have good vibes and make me kinda forget that I’m reading? Yes!
Four stars for enjoyability, the only thing I could wish for was a bit faster pacing. Hopefully that comes with the next one.
I love the academy setting, I love the MMC’s and I love the stubbornness of the FMC. Hannah Haze has become a comfort read for me at this point. And her new series did not disappoint.
Is it a masterpiece? No.
Does it have good vibes and make me kinda forget that I’m reading? Yes!
Four stars for enjoyability, the only thing I could wish for was a bit faster pacing. Hopefully that comes with the next one.
March 29, 2025
Rating: 4.5
Spice: 🌶
This was a great start to a series! This book kept me enthralled until the end. There is still so much the author is keeping secret, and I can't wait to continue the series and see how it unfolds. I want to learn the back story of all the MMC'S.
⭐️ stubborn FMC
⭐️ wolf shifter MMC
⭐️ shadow daddies
⭐️ MMC that stalks from the shadows
⭐️ why choose
⭐️ who did this to you
⭐️ professor MMC with secrets
⭐️ MMC that has visions
Spice: 🌶
This was a great start to a series! This book kept me enthralled until the end. There is still so much the author is keeping secret, and I can't wait to continue the series and see how it unfolds. I want to learn the back story of all the MMC'S.
⭐️ stubborn FMC
⭐️ wolf shifter MMC
⭐️ shadow daddies
⭐️ MMC that stalks from the shadows
⭐️ why choose
⭐️ who did this to you
⭐️ professor MMC with secrets
⭐️ MMC that has visions
June 9, 2025
Secrets
I thought this was going to be another hunger games knock off when I read about the quarters but surprisingly it's same-ish but different .
For one it's an academy , they still try to kill you but you get an education along the way .
Like the hunger games our heroine also comes from the poorest quarter but she's full of righteous fire & has a couple of secrets of her own . Exciting first book left on bit of a cliff hanger into book 2
I thought this was going to be another hunger games knock off when I read about the quarters but surprisingly it's same-ish but different .
For one it's an academy , they still try to kill you but you get an education along the way .
Like the hunger games our heroine also comes from the poorest quarter but she's full of righteous fire & has a couple of secrets of her own . Exciting first book left on bit of a cliff hanger into book 2
July 24, 2025
Loveeeeed this lol. I stayed up to 1am reading which is unusual in my old age (24). Fun world building, I loved the 3 mmc’s, love a strong and funny fmc. Tho I did text my boyfriend after reading the first page and finding out the FMC is name Briony (which correctable briney in my head) “would it be bad if I DNF’d this because the main girl has a stupid name?”. I’m glad I didn’t the spice in minimal and rather tame in comparison to other books I read.
November 3, 2025
3.5 stars
I love me a why choose storyline. There’s a lot I like about this book. However I’m so over the whole storyline of everyone bullying everyone and especially the main fmc. Idk, personally, just over it haha. Little information was given, you’re left with so many questions which is infuriating however I enjoyed the story nonetheless and will be continuing because I need to know more! The mfc’s are likable, I mean, what’s not to like? lol
I love me a why choose storyline. There’s a lot I like about this book. However I’m so over the whole storyline of everyone bullying everyone and especially the main fmc. Idk, personally, just over it haha. Little information was given, you’re left with so many questions which is infuriating however I enjoyed the story nonetheless and will be continuing because I need to know more! The mfc’s are likable, I mean, what’s not to like? lol
April 7, 2025
Another great book from Hannah Haze!Briony and the guys story is with twists and turns alongside mystery. I would've wanted it to be a bit more action-packed/the pace to pick up sooner, but it does build up from halfway through. Warnings of a cliffhanger, but looking forward to seeing where the story continues.
June 19, 2025
3.5 🌟 rounded up bc while this book felt just plain odd in its writing style, i ate it up. genuinely in physical pain bc i have to wait like 2 weeks for the next book to drop (kms). genuinely this book is “i’m just a plain old girl but the men in my life think i’m not like other girls !!!” & yk what hell yeah
glad to finally be out of my reading slump (i hope)
glad to finally be out of my reading slump (i hope)
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