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Duskthorn Academy: A Spicy Reverse Harem Magic Academy Romance (Book 1): Year 1

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My emotions have always been a little... explosive.

I thought that meant crying at commercials, not accidentally conjuring free-roaming male anatomy in the school corridors. (Yes, it moved. No, I don’t want to talk about it.)

Apparently, I'm an Inkweaver. The last one alive. And my feelings can literally rewrite reality.

After my latest magical disaster, I get dumped at Duskthorn Academy, a reform school for supernatural misfits who struggle to control their powers. For once, being the weird girl who doesn’t fit in might actually be an advantage.

With pyromaniac dragons, territorial werewolves and seductive fae who treat manipulation like an art form, “control” is more of a suggestion than a rule.

The real problem? Some cosmic force has magically bonded me to three dangerously complicated men without my consent.

Professor Marcus Steele, a brooding alpha wolf with serious control issues.
Kieran Drake, a dragon prince whose smirk should come with a warning label
Elian Nightshade, a fae scholar hiding dangerous secrets behind those perfect cheekbones.

While I’m busy conjuring magical chastity belts and avoiding ancient Hollow Ones who want me dead, the academy itself is hiding secrets. And between territorial growling, fire-breathing flirtation, and suspicious fae agendas, survival is starting to feel like a full-time job.

At Duskthorn Academy, magic bites back, bonds run deep, and some disasters are absolutely worth the chaos they cause.

Book One of the Duskthorn Academy Series.
A reverse harem paranormal romance with steamy scenes, deadly magic, and three supernatural men who never learned how to share.
18+ Mature content.

306 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2025

190 people are currently reading
42 people want to read

About the author

Serena Cross

25 books2 followers

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Community Reviews

5 stars
48 (37%)
4 stars
35 (27%)
3 stars
25 (19%)
2 stars
13 (10%)
1 star
8 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Melo.
831 reviews19 followers
September 18, 2025
DNF 40% Reads like a Y/A

Mayas' characterisation totally killed this story for me. She's supposedly 21 yet she reads like a toddler having non stop tantrums.

The writing style also didn't work for me. Every explanation is dragged out, then Maya strops off to go ruminate about the same things we've just read. Were the things that interesting??? No.

Does she or does she not know how to use her powers? It's like going to war holding a random stick believing you are a wizard, when you are actually used to holding a broom to sweep. I'm trying to not drop spoilers, so NO there are no wizards in this story lol

This simply wasn't for me.
Profile Image for Sally Barnes.
14 reviews
November 9, 2025
horrible

Horribly written! Apparently this book/series has been stolen from another author and finished with AI.

So many inconsistencies I knew something had to be up with the book.
Profile Image for Katy.
698 reviews6 followers
July 31, 2025
EDIT THIS IS AI!! JUST STARTED DARKHOLLOW ACADEMY AND THEY ARE ALMOST WORD FOR WORD IDENTICAL SO EITHER ONE AUTHOR HAS RIPPED OFF THE OTHER OR MOST LIKELY AI BASED ON HOW BAD THE WRITING IS AND ALL THE INCONSISTENCIES AND CONTRADICTIONS.


I really wanted to like this. it has such potential and a really interesting premise. But it reads like the author wrote 90% of the book in her head and the other 10% that she put on paper forgot that little fact. There were so many contradictions and retcons and things that she speaks about as if they happened but actually didn't outside of her own mind. It was utterly unreadable as nothing made sense and you basically needed a crystal ball to read what wasn't written and understand wtf was going on.
Profile Image for J.C. Gordon.
Author 13 books59 followers
October 14, 2025
Gave up.

This had the makings of a half decent story and then it all seemed to fall apart. The author went from introducing some of the main characters to suddenly everyone new each other and had group texting. I had to go back to chapter 28 again to read the end because chapter 29 just made no sense with the flow of the story. I tried to keep reading but just couldn’t continue.

One minute the fmc is bonding with her second mmc and straight after that she’s huddling in a her room with the 3 mmcs and her roommate and they have 2 hours before some convergence happens that they all have to stop? This convergence hasn't even been mentioned before until this point. It made no sense. Think the author rushed this which spoiled it for me.
Profile Image for Just D.
169 reviews8 followers
August 24, 2025
Fast-Paced Magic and Mystery

This story had me hooked from the start! The magical school setting is vibrant and full of surprises, with dragons, fae, and werewolves keeping things exciting. The main character’s “fish out of water” perspective made her relatable, and her connections with three very complicated men kept me invested. The plot moves quickly and is intriguing, with plenty of twists that kept me turning pages. I enjoyed the friendships, the magical chaos, and the mystery at the heart of the academy. Definitely a fun read for fans of magical schools, reverse harem, fated mates, and mystery. I’m excited to continue with the next book.
Profile Image for Melanie.Reads.
190 reviews20 followers
October 7, 2025
Deja vu?

Honestly this was a skim and dnf for me. Why? After reading the first couple of pages I felt that I had read this before, just a few weeks ago in fact. After checking recent reads I found Darkhollow Academy (published before Duskthorne Academy by the looks of it) where other than the scene setting and name changes it read almost word for word the same. After further research I found that the book previously read was at least in part AI generated which leaves me to believe that this book is also not in whole the authors true work. I cannot in good faith recommend Duskthorne Academy (or the other story mentioned)
666 reviews12 followers
October 5, 2025
Pnr academy. Raised human by her grandmother, Maya meets her estranged father in a porta-potty. Yep, it gets stranger too. She's sent off to a magical Academy to learn about her rare ink weaver powers. The storyline showed promise but it was buried under over the top prose. Everything was a dramatic event, even breakfast. Each paragraph was repeated three times, each one using different but more unnecessary words? Then the point still isn't very clear. I did finish it but it was an exercise, so no more for me.
6 reviews
December 2, 2025
Good but could be great

The idea behind the story is great this book has loads of potential it just needs some serious editing. So many things happen to just be retold differently the next chapter or they mention something that never happened at all. She says her first bond was forced she didn't want it yet when it was happening she says I choose this I want you. Then another "bond" is first fae then a vampire same person. Another part says she has 3 months till she needs to be ready then the next chapter is the next morning and its happening already.
Profile Image for RK Byers.
Author 8 books67 followers
August 2, 2025
Maya's thick and fine and apparently, has men, werewolves, dragons and intellectuals eating out of the palm of her magic-charged hands. This was really some hot stuff. The spice was enough to make me grab several glasses of water. Women will wish they had it this good and men will wish they had Maya!
Profile Image for Hasina.
Author 53 books3 followers
July 3, 2025
Interesting

A thrilling start to a magical academy series! With strong-willed characters, sizzling chemistry, and just the right touch of danger, Duskthorn Academy is a must-read for fans of reverse harem fantasy.
593 reviews1 follower
July 24, 2025
Interesting story but really not a lot of depth. There was a lot of jumping around and no back story. I feel like I missed a whole other series with background I should know. However I did finish the book.
17 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2025
It has everything people love

I like that chapters are written from perspectives of different characters. This book had everything people love from this genre : professors, dragons, mystery and magic.
Profile Image for Debs.
1,182 reviews4 followers
December 22, 2025
Fab supernatural story

I loved this story about the last Inkweaver. Her mother died trying to close a void and now it's her turn to decide which side of the void she needs to be on. Hot read.
33 reviews2 followers
July 9, 2025
Fast paced

This is a fast paced book. It has a good main character called Maya. This is the first book in a series. A very good start.
Profile Image for readwithmariaxoxo.
505 reviews3 followers
dnf
July 25, 2025
DNF at 20%… i got bored as nothing was progressing and slow was really slow… couldn’t hold my attention at all
Profile Image for lisa jung.
5,421 reviews45 followers
July 30, 2025
Inkmaster

She just a 21 year old batista whose into art. But finds she's a rare inkmaster who can change reality while attending a magic school.
1 review
August 26, 2025
DNF after book 1

So, so many continuity errors, lots of repetition of the same events/lines. It truly reads like an unedited fanfic. Had to DNF after book one.
Profile Image for Jacquie Stolz.
555 reviews
November 13, 2025
Start of series

Interesting twist on magic. Maya is fierce and determined to make her own choices. Fated - mate marks. Mix of supernaturals.
133 reviews2 followers
November 16, 2025
Very close to another series but this one must have used AI. Repetitive paragraphs and most of some chapters. Couldn’t finish it. Very disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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