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Confluence Academy #1
Unbound
Nineteen-year-old Nessa Thorne expects death when she volunteers for Empire's selection. Instead, she's thrust into Confluence Academy, where students harness elemental magic and bond powerful beasts—from wolves to ancient dragons—forging themselves into the Empire's most lethal weapons.
Students are branded by water, air, earth, or fire. But Nessa’s mark is different. A silver spiral—the mark of an unbound. It’s a power so dangerous her kind were hunted to extinction centuries ago—or so the Empire claims.
Nessa’s greatest threat may be the only other volunteer—Raith Hollow, a powerful fire affinity whose scorching gaze follows her every move and whose secrets could topple kingdoms.
Alliances are forged in blood, enemies circle like vultures, and forbidden desires close in. Death once seemed like release from her tragic past. Now it's not an option. She'll embrace her terrible potential or watch everything she's fought for burn.
At Confluence Academy, students leave as weapons... or they don't leave at all.
Students are branded by water, air, earth, or fire. But Nessa’s mark is different. A silver spiral—the mark of an unbound. It’s a power so dangerous her kind were hunted to extinction centuries ago—or so the Empire claims.
Nessa’s greatest threat may be the only other volunteer—Raith Hollow, a powerful fire affinity whose scorching gaze follows her every move and whose secrets could topple kingdoms.
Alliances are forged in blood, enemies circle like vultures, and forbidden desires close in. Death once seemed like release from her tragic past. Now it's not an option. She'll embrace her terrible potential or watch everything she's fought for burn.
At Confluence Academy, students leave as weapons... or they don't leave at all.
755 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2025
7540 people are currently reading
21237 people want to read
About the author
Penelope Bloom
69 books2,608 followersUSA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestselling author Penelope Bloom is taking her first flight into romantasy—and yes, there are dragons. After years of contemporary romance, she's temporarily trading meet-cutes for magical academies and coffee shops for castles that reek of blood. She promises the banter is just as sharp, but now it comes with deadly consequences.
Fun fact: “Penelope Bloom” started as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the family dog, Penelope—never meant to be anything serious. But then the books took off, and the name stuck. Behind the scenes, Penelope Bloom is actually a husband-and-wife team. He handles the writing; she edits, helps with brainstorming, and runs the reader-facing side of things (like social media and messages). So if you’ve chatted with “Penelope” online, you’ve likely been talking to her—with the author chiming in whenever needed. Together, they’ve built the voice readers know and love.
Fun fact: “Penelope Bloom” started as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the family dog, Penelope—never meant to be anything serious. But then the books took off, and the name stuck. Behind the scenes, Penelope Bloom is actually a husband-and-wife team. He handles the writing; she edits, helps with brainstorming, and runs the reader-facing side of things (like social media and messages). So if you’ve chatted with “Penelope” online, you’ve likely been talking to her—with the author chiming in whenever needed. Together, they’ve built the voice readers know and love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 889 reviews
June 8, 2025
Soooo much of this feels like it copied fourth wing. First day they have to do a test where they can wind up dead. Then be trained for a couple of months before Confluence day which I believe it said was in October just like threshing in fourth wing. On top of that, what is confluence day you may ask? It’s so they can bond with a creature just like bonding with a dragon on threshing day. There are other similarities but it felt like a rip off and I was disappointed. The books seemed like it was going to be a good one and it was a big let down.
June 8, 2025
“Weakling,” girl who has insane powers - ✅
Her dad and brother are dead - ✅
A school for these “elemental,” students, complete with deadly tasks and one major a-hole male character who targets FMC - ✅
Questionable headmaster (MAY or may not turn out to be evil
af) - ✅
FMC bonds to a grumpy, sarcastic dragon, & his name starts with T -✅
Mysterious, tall, dark, & handsome who just so happens to be missing royalty from the enemy kingdom - ✅
War - ✅
Siphons who drain power from others (or venin? idk) - ✅
If you haven’t already made the connections, this book was insanely similar to a very popular series. Clue: first book title rhymes with North Schming.
Had this book had significantly less similarities, I could’ve looked past it. I love PB, and love that she wanted to branch out into fantasy. I was so excited. The similarities became glaringly obvious the more I read, and it wasn’t until I was over halfway done that I realized I was both disgusted and invested.
Upon reading the synopsis, I thought it would be Avatar the Last Air Bender meets Fourth Wing, with maybe a little Zodiac academy, and I was BEYOND ready to read it. My mistake.
2⭐️ for the romance and the writing because I still love PB and her work. Girl can write a love story for sure. Not sure that this is “romantasy,” exactly but oh well.
This was incredibly disappointing. I cannot believe someone didn’t note the similarities to the other series during editing.
Her dad and brother are dead - ✅
A school for these “elemental,” students, complete with deadly tasks and one major a-hole male character who targets FMC - ✅
Questionable headmaster (MAY or may not turn out to be evil
af) - ✅
FMC bonds to a grumpy, sarcastic dragon, & his name starts with T -✅
Mysterious, tall, dark, & handsome who just so happens to be missing royalty from the enemy kingdom - ✅
War - ✅
Siphons who drain power from others (or venin? idk) - ✅
If you haven’t already made the connections, this book was insanely similar to a very popular series. Clue: first book title rhymes with North Schming.
Had this book had significantly less similarities, I could’ve looked past it. I love PB, and love that she wanted to branch out into fantasy. I was so excited. The similarities became glaringly obvious the more I read, and it wasn’t until I was over halfway done that I realized I was both disgusted and invested.
Upon reading the synopsis, I thought it would be Avatar the Last Air Bender meets Fourth Wing, with maybe a little Zodiac academy, and I was BEYOND ready to read it. My mistake.
2⭐️ for the romance and the writing because I still love PB and her work. Girl can write a love story for sure. Not sure that this is “romantasy,” exactly but oh well.
This was incredibly disappointing. I cannot believe someone didn’t note the similarities to the other series during editing.
June 15, 2025
5 ⭐️ and more holy smokes …
Okay I absolutely devoured this book and loved every second of it. It’s a chunky one (750+ pages!) but honestly I never got bored. The pacing was spot on, the worldbuilding was strong without being confusing and I was hooked from the first chapter when Nessa volunteers for a deadly magic academy for reasons we don’t fully understand right away.
There’s elemental powers, deadly trials, found family, political tension and the most chaotic ancient water dragon (Typhon, you hilarious menace … I adored him). The friendships were beautiful, the banter had me laughing out loud and the romance? Ohhh the slow burn between Nessa and Raith was so worth the wait. Tender, tense, and totally satisfying.
I was super invested in Nessa’s journey too … her powers, her grief, her guilt … it was all written in such a compelling, easy-to-read way. And that ending? Absolutely gut wrenching. I had a feeling a twist was coming but I still didn’t see that reveal coming. I’m obsessed though; bring on book two immediately
Okay I absolutely devoured this book and loved every second of it. It’s a chunky one (750+ pages!) but honestly I never got bored. The pacing was spot on, the worldbuilding was strong without being confusing and I was hooked from the first chapter when Nessa volunteers for a deadly magic academy for reasons we don’t fully understand right away.
There’s elemental powers, deadly trials, found family, political tension and the most chaotic ancient water dragon (Typhon, you hilarious menace … I adored him). The friendships were beautiful, the banter had me laughing out loud and the romance? Ohhh the slow burn between Nessa and Raith was so worth the wait. Tender, tense, and totally satisfying.
I was super invested in Nessa’s journey too … her powers, her grief, her guilt … it was all written in such a compelling, easy-to-read way. And that ending? Absolutely gut wrenching. I had a feeling a twist was coming but I still didn’t see that reveal coming. I’m obsessed though; bring on book two immediately
June 24, 2025
I have very mixed feelings about this book.
I've seen the complaints that it's a Fourth Wing rip off. That seems overstated. There are some similar elements: a test (trial) to enter a war college, a resistant romantic interest, working towards a tie to a magic creature, students killing each other for the betterment of the effort, something different about the mc that makes her struggle to be successful, friends that gravitate to her and help protect her, and plenty of secrets. But many of these elements are just part of an authors craft to create an interesting book. The war college setting is hardly a problem and of course there has to be something that creates the story. I was less worried about these similarities that the actual writing of the book.
First, this book is over 700 pages long. The story didn't need to be that long. A good edit could have trimmed it down by a couple hundred pages. It would have been so much better because so much of it didn't seem to push the story along. Instead it seemed redundant. Which brings me to the second problem. There are places where the story doesn't align. Raith is one big secret and he lets go of them very slowly. Sometimes one word at a time. Parts of those secrets changed slightly from one part of the story to another. Minor details that don't really matter at all except they don't line up with what is said the next time it's mentioned. Those kind of things jump out at me and bug me. Next there is this strange back and forth between Nessa and her abilities. She's struggling and can't do anything right but then she learns something about her affinity that lets her use it only to be powerless to pass a test in class. It swings like a pendulum depending on what is needed for the story. It was just too convenient and it grated on me. I could make an argument about the relationship between Raith and Nessa doing this as well but some of that is slow burn romance and I'm more accepting of that. I can overlook some of these issues in a book but the number of them made the book less enjoyable.
It's not like the book is bad. It starts strong and definitely keeps you turning the pages. I read the over 700 pages in about 2 days. Those elements that make it similar to Fourth Wing are things that I enjoy in a book. The mystery of Nessa's affinity, the elemental magic, the risks of the enemies, and the reason Raith is a volunteer all had me turning the pages. When things felt repetitious I found myself skimming to get to the story but I wanted to know the story. I had my guesses and mostly they were correct. I will say at one point I was yelling at the characters because they were missing the very obvious question about what had just happened. They questioned everything but never said a word about the clear problem. A successful author has characters talk about that but find a way to dismiss it so the reader doesn't have it jumping out at them. All of this just makes it an average book. Not a blockbuster. Not a run and tell everyone you know that they have to read it right now.
The ending was a let down for me. I had heard it was a cliffhanger and I've read some brutal ones. The ending to this book clearly sets up the next book but did not end as a cliffhanger in my opinion. There were some doubts cast, one of the manipulators was revealed, but it was hardly an ending that would have you clamoring for book 2.
Overall, I wanted more from this book. It needed a good edit to align the story and shorten it. It needed something to make it feel more unique. And it needed to convince the reader that that one thing the characters where ignoring wasn't the most important issue of all. If you have time and you enjoy romantasy, then yeah give it a go. But I really don't think I'll read book 2.
I've seen the complaints that it's a Fourth Wing rip off. That seems overstated. There are some similar elements: a test (trial) to enter a war college, a resistant romantic interest, working towards a tie to a magic creature, students killing each other for the betterment of the effort, something different about the mc that makes her struggle to be successful, friends that gravitate to her and help protect her, and plenty of secrets. But many of these elements are just part of an authors craft to create an interesting book. The war college setting is hardly a problem and of course there has to be something that creates the story. I was less worried about these similarities that the actual writing of the book.
First, this book is over 700 pages long. The story didn't need to be that long. A good edit could have trimmed it down by a couple hundred pages. It would have been so much better because so much of it didn't seem to push the story along. Instead it seemed redundant. Which brings me to the second problem. There are places where the story doesn't align. Raith is one big secret and he lets go of them very slowly. Sometimes one word at a time. Parts of those secrets changed slightly from one part of the story to another. Minor details that don't really matter at all except they don't line up with what is said the next time it's mentioned. Those kind of things jump out at me and bug me. Next there is this strange back and forth between Nessa and her abilities. She's struggling and can't do anything right but then she learns something about her affinity that lets her use it only to be powerless to pass a test in class. It swings like a pendulum depending on what is needed for the story. It was just too convenient and it grated on me. I could make an argument about the relationship between Raith and Nessa doing this as well but some of that is slow burn romance and I'm more accepting of that. I can overlook some of these issues in a book but the number of them made the book less enjoyable.
It's not like the book is bad. It starts strong and definitely keeps you turning the pages. I read the over 700 pages in about 2 days. Those elements that make it similar to Fourth Wing are things that I enjoy in a book. The mystery of Nessa's affinity, the elemental magic, the risks of the enemies, and the reason Raith is a volunteer all had me turning the pages. When things felt repetitious I found myself skimming to get to the story but I wanted to know the story. I had my guesses and mostly they were correct. I will say at one point I was yelling at the characters because they were missing the very obvious question about what had just happened. They questioned everything but never said a word about the clear problem. A successful author has characters talk about that but find a way to dismiss it so the reader doesn't have it jumping out at them. All of this just makes it an average book. Not a blockbuster. Not a run and tell everyone you know that they have to read it right now.
The ending was a let down for me. I had heard it was a cliffhanger and I've read some brutal ones. The ending to this book clearly sets up the next book but did not end as a cliffhanger in my opinion. There were some doubts cast, one of the manipulators was revealed, but it was hardly an ending that would have you clamoring for book 2.
Overall, I wanted more from this book. It needed a good edit to align the story and shorten it. It needed something to make it feel more unique. And it needed to convince the reader that that one thing the characters where ignoring wasn't the most important issue of all. If you have time and you enjoy romantasy, then yeah give it a go. But I really don't think I'll read book 2.
maybe
October 25, 2025Getting an audio on November 4th 2025
June 17, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s very much FW vibes with a splash of VA.
It sucked me in and kept me completely interested in it from page 1 to the very end.
I enjoyed the line up of characters, I enjoyed the storyline and that ending…definitely wanting book 2 soon!
It sucked me in and kept me completely interested in it from page 1 to the very end.
I enjoyed the line up of characters, I enjoyed the storyline and that ending…definitely wanting book 2 soon!
September 16, 2025
3.5/5.0
Man, it’s hard to know whether to round up or down on this book. It really could go either way, so the rounding down is very much just a personal opinion.
Any fantasy lover who has read Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (and that encompasses arguably 90% of the fantasy reading public) will easily see why so many have said this book is just a Fourth Wing re-telling only far less tightly written. And I would tend to agree with that, as the similarities are numerous as well as obvious. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if one loved FW it might be wonderful to get another story that is so similar. And, the author does switch it up enough that it isn’t a complete carbon copy.
The reason I rounded down was the list of small things that confused or annoyed me. Raith (MMC) is deeply committed and in love with Nessa (FMC) but we have absolutely no idea how that happened. He walks into the room, sees her and from that moment on starts protecting and supporting her…. The love story would have been fabulous IF I understood what made it so in the first place. Lots of small things like this adds up over the 700 page journey. Those little un-understandable annoyances that are never answered add up. Plus, I had figured out who Raith really was AND the secret about Voss very early on. Not sure if that is just because I’ve read bazillions of Fantasy books or if the author left it so freaking obvious. *shrugs*
Still, the story was engaging and kept me turning the pages, so…
Man, it’s hard to know whether to round up or down on this book. It really could go either way, so the rounding down is very much just a personal opinion.
Any fantasy lover who has read Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (and that encompasses arguably 90% of the fantasy reading public) will easily see why so many have said this book is just a Fourth Wing re-telling only far less tightly written. And I would tend to agree with that, as the similarities are numerous as well as obvious. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if one loved FW it might be wonderful to get another story that is so similar. And, the author does switch it up enough that it isn’t a complete carbon copy.
The reason I rounded down was the list of small things that confused or annoyed me. Raith (MMC) is deeply committed and in love with Nessa (FMC) but we have absolutely no idea how that happened. He walks into the room, sees her and from that moment on starts protecting and supporting her…. The love story would have been fabulous IF I understood what made it so in the first place. Lots of small things like this adds up over the 700 page journey. Those little un-understandable annoyances that are never answered add up. Plus, I had figured out who Raith really was AND the secret about Voss very early on. Not sure if that is just because I’ve read bazillions of Fantasy books or if the author left it so freaking obvious. *shrugs*
Still, the story was engaging and kept me turning the pages, so…
July 20, 2025
Okay… I have never been so close to DNF-ing a book in my life. The sole need to read and finish more books kept me going.
This book is SO similar to fourthwing with the tethers and her tethering to a large powerful being. With the school setting and ease to die in academy…
Also.. just.. the relationship with Raith, made me want to throw my book across the room in anger. How do people fall in love that quickly? From scrutiny to an all consuming love and fierce protection???
The plot of this book can be fantastic, but it all was written in a fast mediocre way. 15 pages in and you see the potential love triangle—immediately ha.
As I read the book I just had a game of connecting it with Fourthwing.
Also Typhoon really irritated me with his “sass” and how often he spoke the same gag to Nessa. Just shut up already.
ALL IN ALL. This book frustrated me, but the very very end still managed to hook me in the last 5 pages as cliffhangers do. Will I read the next books? If I’m desperate.
Also.. such a fast paced surface level book but then a 10 page sex scene in the most detail ever????? Come on. We know where the authors intentions are I guess
.
Edit: im back after reading the summary of the second book. I swear to god the emotional maturity and common sense is lacking in main characters in this series. If you listen to a villain’s words against someone you supposedly love so hard and then break up because of it then you are just stupid and unable to COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR OWN PARTNER. Literally do these characters have the brain of a 12 year old?????
I am also reminded of how much her friends joked about sex too, literally… Im EXHAUSTED by the immaturity of the characters. You are at WAR. Read a book like “the women” and then this and you want to suddenly burn the very book in your hands.
This book is SO similar to fourthwing with the tethers and her tethering to a large powerful being. With the school setting and ease to die in academy…
Also.. just.. the relationship with Raith, made me want to throw my book across the room in anger. How do people fall in love that quickly? From scrutiny to an all consuming love and fierce protection???
The plot of this book can be fantastic, but it all was written in a fast mediocre way. 15 pages in and you see the potential love triangle—immediately ha.
As I read the book I just had a game of connecting it with Fourthwing.
Also Typhoon really irritated me with his “sass” and how often he spoke the same gag to Nessa. Just shut up already.
ALL IN ALL. This book frustrated me, but the very very end still managed to hook me in the last 5 pages as cliffhangers do. Will I read the next books? If I’m desperate.
Also.. such a fast paced surface level book but then a 10 page sex scene in the most detail ever????? Come on. We know where the authors intentions are I guess
.
Edit: im back after reading the summary of the second book. I swear to god the emotional maturity and common sense is lacking in main characters in this series. If you listen to a villain’s words against someone you supposedly love so hard and then break up because of it then you are just stupid and unable to COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR OWN PARTNER. Literally do these characters have the brain of a 12 year old?????
I am also reminded of how much her friends joked about sex too, literally… Im EXHAUSTED by the immaturity of the characters. You are at WAR. Read a book like “the women” and then this and you want to suddenly burn the very book in your hands.
November 5, 2025
Was this book almost exactly like Fourth Wing? Yes. Was it predictable? Very. Did I still devour it in 2 days? Yes I did!
July 8, 2025
This is a total rip off of Fourth Wing…
Also whole time she is like “I want Raith but I shouldn’t but I do omg what do I do”
Also whole time she is like “I want Raith but I shouldn’t but I do omg what do I do”
July 17, 2025
wait for what this was it lowk wasn’t that bad even tho it was literally fourth wing with some minor changes. also one of the side characters tethers an otter and that’s so cute and obviously earns bonus points from me
August 8, 2025
Miss mam, this was two books with clear places we could have split it up and that choice was one of my major issues with it.
spoilers.
FMC:
for starters 700 pages of being in any main characters head can be a lot. Especially if you are like me and have a tendency to read straight through. I think the authors choice to not split this into two very separate books makes it hard to really notice how much progress we get from this character from the first page to the last because of all the extra crap in between. We start with a girl who thought she was volunteering to be killed by her kingdom who then is thrown into this school. She trains and works hard the entire time trying to be better and this get over shadowed between 45 percent and the end because we get hung up on her inner monologue I'm about Raith. At times the repetitive nature of her thoughts and conversations with her friends was almost tedious enough to put this book down. Aside from that I think I struggle when the FMC is called smart, strong, capable etc when we don't really have a ton to back that up. She doesn't do well in classes, she didn't come off as particularly bright, and she keeps almost dying but still we are getting conflicting depictions of her from others. Honestly I just was not very impressed with her.
MMC:
Can I be honest for a second? The plot twist about Raith was not a twist. No shade to the author but anyone who reads fantasy in any capacity was like welllll he's definitely an enemy, because you alluded to it with the subtley of being hit by a bus. Fire bad✅ parents are dead right when a new guy takes over the red kingdom and he has an orphan last name ✅ super secretive and spies on others....I mean come on.
I wish we got more of his POV in this book because the length and filler in it would've made more sense if we weren't stuck in our FMCs head the entire time. I do hope we see a little more depth as the series progresses because the growly character is great, we all love it, but we want to feel the connection too and sometimes this just seemed like annoying puppy love and a lot less like something real.
I also almost felt myself hoping for some why choose scenario to happen with Bastian, I felt like half way through this book I got bored with the will they won't they and it felt extremely immature. After reading the book I went to look at reviews and when someone said it is like Fourth Wing it clicked for me, because my annoyance with that book was the immature back and forth for no reason too.
Plot:
The plot is good. As I said before it's a tad predictable and speaks to someone who reads a lot of this genre. The twists are not exactly top tier but it is what it is. Overall I'm not sure I want to sign up for another 700 page book, especially if it's not a duet and if the main character is the main pov. I need a break from her head for sure. This should have been two books, one that ends after the night she gets the dragon, and one that ends with the bad guys being released. around 300 pages for each one and the flow could've been a lot better.
spoilers.
FMC:
for starters 700 pages of being in any main characters head can be a lot. Especially if you are like me and have a tendency to read straight through. I think the authors choice to not split this into two very separate books makes it hard to really notice how much progress we get from this character from the first page to the last because of all the extra crap in between. We start with a girl who thought she was volunteering to be killed by her kingdom who then is thrown into this school. She trains and works hard the entire time trying to be better and this get over shadowed between 45 percent and the end because we get hung up on her inner monologue I'm about Raith. At times the repetitive nature of her thoughts and conversations with her friends was almost tedious enough to put this book down. Aside from that I think I struggle when the FMC is called smart, strong, capable etc when we don't really have a ton to back that up. She doesn't do well in classes, she didn't come off as particularly bright, and she keeps almost dying but still we are getting conflicting depictions of her from others. Honestly I just was not very impressed with her.
MMC:
Can I be honest for a second? The plot twist about Raith was not a twist. No shade to the author but anyone who reads fantasy in any capacity was like welllll he's definitely an enemy, because you alluded to it with the subtley of being hit by a bus. Fire bad✅ parents are dead right when a new guy takes over the red kingdom and he has an orphan last name ✅ super secretive and spies on others....I mean come on.
I wish we got more of his POV in this book because the length and filler in it would've made more sense if we weren't stuck in our FMCs head the entire time. I do hope we see a little more depth as the series progresses because the growly character is great, we all love it, but we want to feel the connection too and sometimes this just seemed like annoying puppy love and a lot less like something real.
I also almost felt myself hoping for some why choose scenario to happen with Bastian, I felt like half way through this book I got bored with the will they won't they and it felt extremely immature. After reading the book I went to look at reviews and when someone said it is like Fourth Wing it clicked for me, because my annoyance with that book was the immature back and forth for no reason too.
Plot:
The plot is good. As I said before it's a tad predictable and speaks to someone who reads a lot of this genre. The twists are not exactly top tier but it is what it is. Overall I'm not sure I want to sign up for another 700 page book, especially if it's not a duet and if the main character is the main pov. I need a break from her head for sure. This should have been two books, one that ends after the night she gets the dragon, and one that ends with the bad guys being released. around 300 pages for each one and the flow could've been a lot better.
May 25, 2025
OUTSTANDING🙌
Oh my gosh, it took me a day and a half of constant reading to get through this mammoth romantasy and it was outstanding❣️My favourite read of 2025 so far❤️
The world building and the characters are so well done, I felt like I was there in the building with them and experiencing the same things. The concepts are new and refreshing and oh boy, Nessa’s elemental had me laughing out loud with his grumpy nature…even Beck inspired some good laughs😂
Nessa volunteers for Empire thinking her life is forfeit, only to discover she’s arrived at Confluence Academy and nothing is what she expected😳 She also discovers she’s one of two volunteers…which immediately makes her feel a connection to Raith when she finally meets him. But the journey is long, violent and filled with peril and unexpected obstacles. Prepare to enter Confluence Academy at your own risk.
I received an advanced copy via Booksprout and I voluntarily leave my honest review. I can’t wait to dive into the second book😍
Oh my gosh, it took me a day and a half of constant reading to get through this mammoth romantasy and it was outstanding❣️My favourite read of 2025 so far❤️
The world building and the characters are so well done, I felt like I was there in the building with them and experiencing the same things. The concepts are new and refreshing and oh boy, Nessa’s elemental had me laughing out loud with his grumpy nature…even Beck inspired some good laughs😂
Nessa volunteers for Empire thinking her life is forfeit, only to discover she’s arrived at Confluence Academy and nothing is what she expected😳 She also discovers she’s one of two volunteers…which immediately makes her feel a connection to Raith when she finally meets him. But the journey is long, violent and filled with peril and unexpected obstacles. Prepare to enter Confluence Academy at your own risk.
I received an advanced copy via Booksprout and I voluntarily leave my honest review. I can’t wait to dive into the second book😍
July 20, 2025
Mehhh
It took a lot of attempts to get to the end of this book. If it wasn't for the introduction of Typhon, I would have given up. He is literally the highlight of the whole story.
Nissa finds her attention drifting, A Lot. It wouldn't be an issue if she wasn't just repeating herself over and over. The dialogue should help move the plot along but off she goes ruminating. I started skimming through her thoughts, there was nothing new there.
Her obsession with the MC was a bit sad. It was over the top. The man said no so many times yet she was relentless in her pursuit. Even with the smut she was still the one pushing. It's like calm down girl, he's not made of chocolate.
We spent so much time in Nissas head I feel the plot was hindered because of it. The fact that the big bad seems to just be sitting on the fence, whilst the two kingdoms are the problem. We should have had more insight not just hints.
Not sure if I will be on the lookout for book 2. This was hard to read.
It took a lot of attempts to get to the end of this book. If it wasn't for the introduction of Typhon, I would have given up. He is literally the highlight of the whole story.
Nissa finds her attention drifting, A Lot. It wouldn't be an issue if she wasn't just repeating herself over and over. The dialogue should help move the plot along but off she goes ruminating. I started skimming through her thoughts, there was nothing new there.
Her obsession with the MC was a bit sad. It was over the top. The man said no so many times yet she was relentless in her pursuit. Even with the smut she was still the one pushing. It's like calm down girl, he's not made of chocolate.
We spent so much time in Nissas head I feel the plot was hindered because of it. The fact that the big bad seems to just be sitting on the fence, whilst the two kingdoms are the problem. We should have had more insight not just hints.
Not sure if I will be on the lookout for book 2. This was hard to read.
August 5, 2025
Could not get into this, super skeptical about everything from the outset: why didn’t the offerings know they were going to be magic trained because their magical affinities meant they were conscripts?
Why invest in driving 1500 children to a big castle to immediately dispatch at least 1200 of them, why not just work out a better way to get the ones you want and keep 1200 people in your workforce?
Why were the blonde elite boy and the dark scarred bad boy so immediately into the sad weird girl?
What’s the go with the elementals and why weren’t they in control and if they were why were 2 magic elements associated with the kingdom this kingdom is at war with?
Why make combat training so immediately important when you want children to learn magic and you could have kept those 1200 people around and given them martial training and turned them into cannon fodder?
And look all this set up could have been forgiven if the author had given me an interesting character without relying on my enjoyment of tropes.
Why invest in driving 1500 children to a big castle to immediately dispatch at least 1200 of them, why not just work out a better way to get the ones you want and keep 1200 people in your workforce?
Why were the blonde elite boy and the dark scarred bad boy so immediately into the sad weird girl?
What’s the go with the elementals and why weren’t they in control and if they were why were 2 magic elements associated with the kingdom this kingdom is at war with?
Why make combat training so immediately important when you want children to learn magic and you could have kept those 1200 people around and given them martial training and turned them into cannon fodder?
And look all this set up could have been forgiven if the author had given me an interesting character without relying on my enjoyment of tropes.
June 9, 2025
ARC REVIEW
I was on a 9-hour flight, and I decided to read this. Fastest flight ever! I was so engrossed. Imagine if Fourth Wing and Harry Potter had a book baby in THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE! The amount of action of banter, action, and smut between Nessa and Raith was perfect. I can't wait to see how Bastian gets pulled in. I feel he will eventually have a bigger role later on.
I can't wait for book 2
I was on a 9-hour flight, and I decided to read this. Fastest flight ever! I was so engrossed. Imagine if Fourth Wing and Harry Potter had a book baby in THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE! The amount of action of banter, action, and smut between Nessa and Raith was perfect. I can't wait to see how Bastian gets pulled in. I feel he will eventually have a bigger role later on.
I can't wait for book 2
July 18, 2025
I need to stop letting tiktok trick me into reading books
I felt like I was reading a Fourth wing rip-off. I was only able to get half way through because of the Ancient water dragon's snarky commentary
I felt like I was reading a Fourth wing rip-off. I was only able to get half way through because of the Ancient water dragon's snarky commentary
October 5, 2025
Very reminiscent of fourth wing
I like the writing style of this author. This book felt like a fourth wing knock off. I did like it more than fourth wing.
I like the writing style of this author. This book felt like a fourth wing knock off. I did like it more than fourth wing.
June 19, 2025
Struggled to get through this one a bit.Not awful but not amazing
September 26, 2025
Not sure what to make of this book. There are some Harry Potter vibes as the students are split into 4 houses (elements), and they live in towers. Plus the magical aspect.
There are also Fourth Wing vibes regarding classes, hierarchy, magical abilities, students killing each other while training and during competitions. There are some Violet & Xaden vibes between Nessa & Raith. Typhon could be a mix of Andarna & Tairn; grumpy & proud, with funny comments.
I chose this book for my 2025 A to Z challenge, so didn’t realized it was 600+ pages. 😂 There were some redundancies with all the fighting among students leading to the final battle.
As it’s the 1st book in a series, you can guess early on who will still alive at the end of the book. 😂
2nd book is planned for end of May, and if it’s one book per school year, should end up being a 5-book series.
Overall, a good book. Though could have been a bit shorter. 😂
There are also Fourth Wing vibes regarding classes, hierarchy, magical abilities, students killing each other while training and during competitions. There are some Violet & Xaden vibes between Nessa & Raith. Typhon could be a mix of Andarna & Tairn; grumpy & proud, with funny comments.
I chose this book for my 2025 A to Z challenge, so didn’t realized it was 600+ pages. 😂 There were some redundancies with all the fighting among students leading to the final battle.
As it’s the 1st book in a series, you can guess early on who will still alive at the end of the book. 😂
2nd book is planned for end of May, and if it’s one book per school year, should end up being a 5-book series.
Overall, a good book. Though could have been a bit shorter. 😂
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2025
Wooooow
Absolutely loved this book! If you enjoyed Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy and other books similar… add this to your TBR stat!!! It is sooo good! The world building, found family, magical animal companions and slow-burn love angst is sooo good! I cannot recommend this book enough!
Absolutely loved this book! If you enjoyed Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy and other books similar… add this to your TBR stat!!! It is sooo good! The world building, found family, magical animal companions and slow-burn love angst is sooo good! I cannot recommend this book enough!
November 21, 2025
Very unoriginal and highly entertaining
July 23, 2025
Fourth wing meets Harry Potter, Divergent, and Hunger Games
August 24, 2025
Lijkt heel erg op Fourth Wing. Ondanks wel leuk boek.
October 10, 2025
“he’ll burn this place down if he had to. if that’s what it takes to keep me safe”
July 8, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶
🔥🔥
Looking at the high rating, I was excited to dive into this book, but honestly, it ended up being underwhelming at best.
I can definitely see the resemblance to Fourth Wing, but I don’t really like to compare books too much. Let’s be real: very little in the fantasy academia subgenre is truly original at this point. So, I decided to judge this book on its own merits. But I do write the similarities below if we do want to compare.
We meet Nessa, who voluntarily chooses to attend a school that’s basically a death sentence. She’s trying to atone for a past mistake, and this is the only path she sees to make things right. Out of thousands of students, only one other person volunteered: Raith. He clearly isn’t impressed by Nessa on day one and already wields powerful fire magic. Nessa never intended to end up on his radar, but of course she does, and once she's there, she can’t seem to escape.
The Confluence Academy is designed to be deadly, forcing students to refine their elemental magic to become perfect soldiers. But Nessa is an Unbound, a type of magic user who was hunted and killed in the past for being too dangerous to the Empire. She has to keep her true magic hidden, hoping no one notices she’s different. She joins the Water track, where she makes friends, struggles with her magic, and somehow manages to keep her secret (mostly) under wraps.
Now, the struggles:
First, the romance. I could see the author trying to build tension, but it just didn’t land for me. There was some sass, sure, but it never felt flirty or had that spark. Thinking about it now, I don't know if there was much flirting at all. The chemistry between Nessa and Raith was practically nonexistent; I honestly didn’t care if they ended up together. In fact, I found Nessa’s relationship with the dragon far more entertaining than whatever was happening with Raith.
Second, the war. I understood parts of it, and the initial conflict made sense, but beyond that I couldn’t really tell you why they were still fighting. Maybe that’s on me, but I felt the author didn’t explain it clearly enough to keep me invested.
The world-building was pretty lackluster, though I will give credit where it’s due: the magic system was well-developed and clearly explained. So while I couldn’t fully grasp the larger world or its politics, I did appreciate the depth and logic of the elemental magic.
The writing style felt very YA at times, which just isn’t my thing. Totally a me problem. Definitely a me problem.
That said, the book isn’t terrible overall. I did enjoy it enough to finish, maybe because I didn’t have to think too hard. 😂
If we want to compare it to Fourth Wing, here’s my take:
➢ Both feature a deadly school with brutal trials. In Unbound, students are openly encouraged to kill each other, plus the school itself kills them off. Over 1,000 students start, and fewer than 100 make it. In Fourth Wing, while still deadly, it doesn’t quite reach that level of brutality. Also, in Unbound, students are taken by force with no choice, whereas in Fourth Wing, they get to choose.
➢ Both involve bonding with an animal companion. In Unbound, they’re elementals (spirits that can take any animal form), and they grow stronger alongside the student. In Fourth Wing, it’s dragons, and that’s that.
➢ Both have a sassy dragon. Yes, they’re basically the same in this department. Classic.
➢ Both have questionable leaders manipulating things behind the scenes.
➢ Both center around a war meant to justify the harsh training and weaponizing of students. The only real difference is the governments’ names.
➢ Both have a magic system. In Unbound, students are born with magic and then bond with an elemental, who doesn’t add extra magic but enhances their power. In Fourth Wing, students get their magic from the dragons and don’t start with it inherently.
➢ Both feature a mysterious, morally gray male lead. Whose side is he really on? 👀
➢ Both have pretty lackluster romantic relationships between the main characters, while their connections with their dragons or elementals are much more entertaining and, well, better. I said what I said.
Could I be missing some points? Probably. But I think I covered the big ones.
I did read this book in a single day, which is why it still gets a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me. I clearly enjoyed it enough to power through 700 pages. But am I dying to get my hands on the next book? Not really. I’m not even sure I’ll pick it up at all, so hence the generous ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
⟣Tropes⟢
✅ Touch her and 💀
✅ Obsessive/Jealous MMC
✅ Betrayal
✅ Secret Identity
✅ Dragons 🐉
✅ Single POV (first person)
✅ Enemies-to-Lovers
✅ No OM/OW drama
✅ FMC not Virgin
✅ Found Family
✅ He falls first
✅ Academia
✅ Cliff
🌶🌶
🔥🔥
Looking at the high rating, I was excited to dive into this book, but honestly, it ended up being underwhelming at best.
I can definitely see the resemblance to Fourth Wing, but I don’t really like to compare books too much. Let’s be real: very little in the fantasy academia subgenre is truly original at this point. So, I decided to judge this book on its own merits. But I do write the similarities below if we do want to compare.
We meet Nessa, who voluntarily chooses to attend a school that’s basically a death sentence. She’s trying to atone for a past mistake, and this is the only path she sees to make things right. Out of thousands of students, only one other person volunteered: Raith. He clearly isn’t impressed by Nessa on day one and already wields powerful fire magic. Nessa never intended to end up on his radar, but of course she does, and once she's there, she can’t seem to escape.
The Confluence Academy is designed to be deadly, forcing students to refine their elemental magic to become perfect soldiers. But Nessa is an Unbound, a type of magic user who was hunted and killed in the past for being too dangerous to the Empire. She has to keep her true magic hidden, hoping no one notices she’s different. She joins the Water track, where she makes friends, struggles with her magic, and somehow manages to keep her secret (mostly) under wraps.
Now, the struggles:
First, the romance. I could see the author trying to build tension, but it just didn’t land for me. There was some sass, sure, but it never felt flirty or had that spark. Thinking about it now, I don't know if there was much flirting at all. The chemistry between Nessa and Raith was practically nonexistent; I honestly didn’t care if they ended up together. In fact, I found Nessa’s relationship with the dragon far more entertaining than whatever was happening with Raith.
Second, the war. I understood parts of it, and the initial conflict made sense, but beyond that I couldn’t really tell you why they were still fighting. Maybe that’s on me, but I felt the author didn’t explain it clearly enough to keep me invested.
The world-building was pretty lackluster, though I will give credit where it’s due: the magic system was well-developed and clearly explained. So while I couldn’t fully grasp the larger world or its politics, I did appreciate the depth and logic of the elemental magic.
The writing style felt very YA at times, which just isn’t my thing. Totally a me problem. Definitely a me problem.
That said, the book isn’t terrible overall. I did enjoy it enough to finish, maybe because I didn’t have to think too hard. 😂
If we want to compare it to Fourth Wing, here’s my take:
➢ Both feature a deadly school with brutal trials. In Unbound, students are openly encouraged to kill each other, plus the school itself kills them off. Over 1,000 students start, and fewer than 100 make it. In Fourth Wing, while still deadly, it doesn’t quite reach that level of brutality. Also, in Unbound, students are taken by force with no choice, whereas in Fourth Wing, they get to choose.
➢ Both involve bonding with an animal companion. In Unbound, they’re elementals (spirits that can take any animal form), and they grow stronger alongside the student. In Fourth Wing, it’s dragons, and that’s that.
➢ Both have a sassy dragon. Yes, they’re basically the same in this department. Classic.
➢ Both have questionable leaders manipulating things behind the scenes.
➢ Both center around a war meant to justify the harsh training and weaponizing of students. The only real difference is the governments’ names.
➢ Both have a magic system. In Unbound, students are born with magic and then bond with an elemental, who doesn’t add extra magic but enhances their power. In Fourth Wing, students get their magic from the dragons and don’t start with it inherently.
➢ Both feature a mysterious, morally gray male lead. Whose side is he really on? 👀
➢ Both have pretty lackluster romantic relationships between the main characters, while their connections with their dragons or elementals are much more entertaining and, well, better. I said what I said.
Could I be missing some points? Probably. But I think I covered the big ones.
I did read this book in a single day, which is why it still gets a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me. I clearly enjoyed it enough to power through 700 pages. But am I dying to get my hands on the next book? Not really. I’m not even sure I’ll pick it up at all, so hence the generous ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
⟣Tropes⟢
✅ Touch her and 💀
✅ Obsessive/Jealous MMC
✅ Betrayal
✅ Secret Identity
✅ Dragons 🐉
✅ Single POV (first person)
✅ Enemies-to-Lovers
✅ No OM/OW drama
✅ FMC not Virgin
✅ Found Family
✅ He falls first
✅ Academia
✅ Cliff
December 4, 2025
I know I’m getting older bc when this man said “I’m too dangerous for you” my brain said “absolutely not leave”.
It was fun to listen to but it’s like someone combined fourth wing, throne of glass and the cornucopia from Hunger Games.
It was fun to listen to but it’s like someone combined fourth wing, throne of glass and the cornucopia from Hunger Games.
August 19, 2025
LOVED IT
I absolutely loved this book. Why are influencers not talking about this book. It has everything.l I love. Slow burn. Tethered spirit animals. Enemies to lovers. Academy. Trials. Magic. Hidden powers.
I absolutely loved this book. Why are influencers not talking about this book. It has everything.l I love. Slow burn. Tethered spirit animals. Enemies to lovers. Academy. Trials. Magic. Hidden powers.
August 20, 2025
✨ A book that felt like a copy of Fourth Wing with a zest of Zodiac Academy ✨
For real. What is this ? They shouldn’t have written « New York Time Best Seller » on the cover, but « from an author who wanted to write something like Fourth Wing but couldn’t bother to be original ». Some names are similar, even though they are just mentioned (hello Gareth and Dain), some scenes felt very familiar (the tactical war class for exemple), the fmc gets tethered to a dragon (a water dragon, but still), and of course, Nessa summons storms when she has high emotions (during sex for exemple 🙃). Like, what ??? To be fair, there were some original elements, but they were tarnished by the fact that many many things were obviously « inspired » by Fourth Wing 🙄
That being said, I didn’t DNF it (I know, what a surprise !), because the writing was… kinda decent ? Enough to keep me going anyway. And I say this despite the fact that I often felt like there was something off (even though I can’t quite say what exactly). What I know is that the dialogues felt unnatural / forced for a long time, especially between Nessa and her friends & love interest.
Since we’re on the topic of relationships, I don’t understand how Nessa and Raith became interested in each other. Their mutual attraction spawns out of nowhere. They talk once at the beginning in a hostile way, and yet afterwards Raith will do everything to protect her. Whyyyyy ? He doesn’t know her ! At least give them some interactions that would justify that ! I had the feeling something was missing, so I didn’t ship them for a loooong time. In hindsight, I think the author has a weakness when it comes to portraying the beginning of any sort of relationships, which was annoying to overcome as a reader 🫠
Speaking of annoying… what the hell was the author thinking when writing Typhon (the water dragon) ? He insists on eating people in EVERY DIALOGUE (and the book is unnecessarily long, but I’ll get to that later). It’s his whole personality. It’s like Bloom wanted to write an iconic entity, but he was just sooooo annoying. I ended up skipping most of his dialogues because I couldn’t take anymore of it. Mentioning his wish to eat Nessa’s enemies once or twice would have been enough, but in every dialogue ? It’s not funny or enticing, ffs 😒
Quick point about the length of the book: it was an easy read, however the story wouldn’t have been longer than 400 pages without all the useless dialogues, inner thoughts and paraphrasing. The consequence of bad author choices and a lack of better editing.
The plot twist was evident from the beginning, and it’s just stupid that Nessa didn’t feel it since she is tethered to Rain.
That being said, I really like the siphons, especially the way they were introduced. The fact that she felt it but couldn’t see it was a really interesting mechanism, it’s too bad it wasn’t more exploited.
To finish, in her author’s note, Bloom talks about taking a creative leap with this novel. Where is the creativity ? How is it a leap ? A leap from her usual genre and habits, maybe, but as an avid reader of romance and fantasy, this book felt quite wrong to me.
Anyway, that’s it. Byyyyyye 🚀🚀🚀
For real. What is this ? They shouldn’t have written « New York Time Best Seller » on the cover, but « from an author who wanted to write something like Fourth Wing but couldn’t bother to be original ». Some names are similar, even though they are just mentioned (hello Gareth and Dain), some scenes felt very familiar (the tactical war class for exemple), the fmc gets tethered to a dragon (a water dragon, but still), and of course, Nessa summons storms when she has high emotions (during sex for exemple 🙃). Like, what ??? To be fair, there were some original elements, but they were tarnished by the fact that many many things were obviously « inspired » by Fourth Wing 🙄
That being said, I didn’t DNF it (I know, what a surprise !), because the writing was… kinda decent ? Enough to keep me going anyway. And I say this despite the fact that I often felt like there was something off (even though I can’t quite say what exactly). What I know is that the dialogues felt unnatural / forced for a long time, especially between Nessa and her friends & love interest.
Since we’re on the topic of relationships, I don’t understand how Nessa and Raith became interested in each other. Their mutual attraction spawns out of nowhere. They talk once at the beginning in a hostile way, and yet afterwards Raith will do everything to protect her. Whyyyyy ? He doesn’t know her ! At least give them some interactions that would justify that ! I had the feeling something was missing, so I didn’t ship them for a loooong time. In hindsight, I think the author has a weakness when it comes to portraying the beginning of any sort of relationships, which was annoying to overcome as a reader 🫠
Speaking of annoying… what the hell was the author thinking when writing Typhon (the water dragon) ? He insists on eating people in EVERY DIALOGUE (and the book is unnecessarily long, but I’ll get to that later). It’s his whole personality. It’s like Bloom wanted to write an iconic entity, but he was just sooooo annoying. I ended up skipping most of his dialogues because I couldn’t take anymore of it. Mentioning his wish to eat Nessa’s enemies once or twice would have been enough, but in every dialogue ? It’s not funny or enticing, ffs 😒
Quick point about the length of the book: it was an easy read, however the story wouldn’t have been longer than 400 pages without all the useless dialogues, inner thoughts and paraphrasing. The consequence of bad author choices and a lack of better editing.
The plot twist was evident from the beginning, and it’s just stupid that Nessa didn’t feel it since she is tethered to Rain.
That being said, I really like the siphons, especially the way they were introduced. The fact that she felt it but couldn’t see it was a really interesting mechanism, it’s too bad it wasn’t more exploited.
To finish, in her author’s note, Bloom talks about taking a creative leap with this novel. Where is the creativity ? How is it a leap ? A leap from her usual genre and habits, maybe, but as an avid reader of romance and fantasy, this book felt quite wrong to me.
Anyway, that’s it. Byyyyyye 🚀🚀🚀
August 11, 2025
I’m not sure why this book got some hate and plagiarism claims. That made me laugh. There are soooooo many books out there with academy themes and yes, it did give off Basgiath, hogwarts. However, only because of the schooling and training. The FMC and MMC did not give off Violet and Xaden vibes, the plot and the characters themselves were different. Some people need to learn how to read a book as it presents itself instead of comparing it to other books. Enjoy them for what they are, drives me absolutely insane.
Typhon? Come on, he’s an ancient water elemental, are you not aware of a typhoon? That’s probably how she came up with the name. It’s fitting in my opinion.
Personally, i loved this book and I honestly did not expect to, so i was pleasantly surprised and devoured it in a few days. If you like to read for enjoyment and the story, not to try and nitpick and search for things to complain about. You’ll like this book, I’m also saying this after my last book i just read being Shield of Sparrows and having read The Empyrean series like 4 times. 🤌🏼🤷🏻♀️
Typhon? Come on, he’s an ancient water elemental, are you not aware of a typhoon? That’s probably how she came up with the name. It’s fitting in my opinion.
Personally, i loved this book and I honestly did not expect to, so i was pleasantly surprised and devoured it in a few days. If you like to read for enjoyment and the story, not to try and nitpick and search for things to complain about. You’ll like this book, I’m also saying this after my last book i just read being Shield of Sparrows and having read The Empyrean series like 4 times. 🤌🏼🤷🏻♀️
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