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Starfall Academy #1

Witch Fire: A why choose paranormal academy romance

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Finding four soul-bonded mates should be a blessing for a magically incompetent witch, except they have no clue who or what I am.

Nobody does.

Not even me.

Officially, I don’t exist. At least I didn’t until I accidentally set fire to a farmer’s market. That’s when I’m sent to Starfall Academy for the most powerful magicals, where students hone their skills and learn control.

Alaric Vane is the son of the Mage Council leader. A storm mage with a serious attitude problem who enjoys making my life miserable when he’s not sending my magic haywire.

Zane Vanyx is the last of his kind, the only son of an insane mass-murderer. Everyone’s afraid of the incubus, but he’s taken to stalking me, which is concerning.

Maverick Wilder, our bear shifter PT instructor, is huge, fierce, and strangely protective. He claims he’s my mate, which can’t be true because faculty and students are forbidden from fraternizing. And that includes being naked together in his office after hours…

Kai Seathorne is a shy, sweet merman, and one of the few students who doesn’t make fun of me. I’d love to get to know him better, but in our elitist society, witches and lesser magicals don’t mix. Or kiss.

Sadly, my confusing love life is the least of my concerns.

I can’t afford to let my guard down.

Not with vicious hellhounds hunting me.

---
Witch Fire is book 1 in a new paranormal why choose series. It is a MFMMM magic academy romance that's slow-medium burn in book one and the female main character will not have to choose between her fated mates. This book ends on a cliff and is perfect for fans of Eve Newton, KC Kean, and Morgan B Lee.

382 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2025

1338 people are currently reading
1047 people want to read

About the author

Lyra Mishon

8 books46 followers

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5 stars
974 (41%)
4 stars
776 (32%)
3 stars
421 (17%)
2 stars
141 (5%)
1 star
53 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
Profile Image for Caroline.
564 reviews168 followers
December 19, 2025
I wanted to read something easy in this genre, and that's what I got. This is nothing new to the genre, but it was fine enough. The FMC is a bit TSTL, and the writing is a bit juvenile, but it was mildly entertaining.
941 reviews21 followers
February 2, 2026
DNF. which means this review is really solely for me so I don't pick this back up and try again because after the third attempt it's time to call it.


Future me:

The writing in this book is not great. The author clearly reads a lot of books and has absorbed the genre but it falls flat on its own. Not everyone who reads a lot is a great author and this book goes in that category.

you tried this several times and keep feeling the same way, stop picking it up.
Profile Image for sara reads smut ♡.
117 reviews41 followers
October 25, 2025
A big 5/5 stars for this read!

Tropes:
✨ Fated Mates
✨ Paranormal Academy
✨ Why Choose

Plot:
Raven, a sheltered witch, is spending a rare day away from the farm when she accidentally starts a small fire at the farmer’s market. She’s rescued by a handsome bear shifter and surrounded by a team of mages who force her to attend Starfall Academy, where she’ll spend the next three years learning to control her magic. But as she struggles to adjust to the world she was once hidden from, she’s quickly pulled into chaos, danger, and a pile of soul bonded mates.

My thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book! Raven is such a bright ray of sunshine. Even when she was scared and cornered, she still tried to kill them with kindness. I loved watching her confidence and relationships grow. I loved Zane! I have a biiiig weakness for incubi, especially the slightly unhinged ones. 😍 Maverick stole my heart too, his protective, fierce nature made me melt. The way his bear always wanted to make sure Raven was safe, warm, and fed made me smile. I am growing to like Alaric, but I’m definitely hoping for some heavy groveling in his future. I also can’t wait to learn more about Kai and Rasmus. I absolutely adore Raven’s familiar, Kenji the Kitsune. Every time he appeared he had me giggling and laughing out loud. I really hope he gets more page time in book two because I can’t wait to learn more about him.

The plot hooked me from the start and kept me guessing the entire way through. I loved trying to piece together how everything connected, and I can’t wait to see the larger role Raven and her mates will play moving forward. That cliffhanger absolutely wrecked me, and now I’m eagerly awaiting book two.

A massive thank you to Lyra Mishon and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC for my honest review! I can’t wait to read more by this author. ❤️
Profile Image for The_Book_Brat.
983 reviews172 followers
November 14, 2025
*Reverse Harem
*Paranormal
*Multi-1st-PoV
*Academy Setting
*Unusual FMC
*Elitist Society
*Fated Mates
*Building Harem (4)
*Mid Burn
*Book 1/?
Good start some FMC development
This is a good debut novel, although it’s a common storyline I found it gripping and was eager to keep reading! I really want to find out what makes our FMC different and pretty sire that cliffhanger is leading there 😁
The men are different to each others and have some substance to them and can see there will be further character development (looking at the Mage 😳😅) it is insta lust/love for some so it does move pretty quickly 🔥 the only thing I think is for the FMC is she’s a bit up and down and not quite sure what her core personality is. She’s also been kept away from civilisation for pretty much her whole life and some things she questions but others it’s just like she’s always understood so I think that needed a little more clarity to her responses. Other than that she was rather amusing with her kill them kindness attitude 😂 overall I did enjoy this and will be looking for the next book 😀
Profile Image for Sarah  thomas.
348 reviews
December 22, 2025
Generic reverse harem academy

I finished this but just barely. It's honestly not the worst academy romance I've read but far from the best. The writing is not my preferred style at times a chapter would end in the middle of a plot point and in the next chapter they'd have moved on to something else.
Profile Image for Haleigh.
64 reviews4 followers
March 11, 2026
suppppppper generic and the writing is meh but it's entertaining and easy to read
Profile Image for H.
994 reviews
January 21, 2026
writing is juvenile but the story is good. I like the world and characters will read book 2.
Profile Image for April More.
116 reviews17 followers
November 2, 2025
The banter between Raven and her familiar has me laughing out loud. I love her familiar. The cliffhanger has me desperately needing book 2.
Profile Image for Helô.
84 reviews2 followers
January 14, 2026
Am I proud I loved it? No 😂 is it perfect? No 😂 Innovative? No 😂 Still, listened to it in one day
70 reviews
December 20, 2025
Too many story lines

It's too long-winded for me, and I can tell will be dragged out into too many books. The cliffhanger wasn't exciting or a surprise. It didn't take much to figure out that Amulet suppressed her power or that she wasn't a witch. Why would she be hiddem if she was a witch. The next book will be about her going to hell and being rescued.
Profile Image for Amanda Crossland.
1,222 reviews13 followers
February 7, 2026
Wow

Spoilers Alert!
Raven the female lead character is basically taken from a market ( she was accused of making a magical fire) and thrown into the academy. She also met her first soul mate Maverick, a Kodiak bear shifter. He gets a job as a professor for PT. Basically gym class for defensive moves. Then, she meets Zane, an incubus with a talent to shipshape into multiple forms, has powers that range from extreme lust to fear so powerful, the target dies from fright. He’s also pretty savage and is known for being unhinged. There’s a bunch of catty witches, mages and shifters, bullying her. She also meets Alaric Vane, son of the magical Mage council member. Alar-dick as she so affectionately nick names him from all his cruel comments and petty magical tricks, is also her mate. He is adamantly against it, we learn the reason later on in the book during one of his multiple point of views, his family is f’d up, and he can’t put her through that with how naive she is about the world. She starts to learn about the world, how vampires were killed off by a human virus that mutated to take out the vamp who bit them. It’s started trickling into the shifter community though, no one can understand how though. Any shifter turned feral is an instant death sentence. Zane and Maverick both protect her the best they can, they are also taking out demons left and right, demons that are crossing magical wards into the academy. There’s talk, the portal to the demon realm was closed down, but Alaric overhears his dad and his uncle Adam talking about the seal about to break. Since the reader can put together all the different pieces of information we learn from each point of view of the main characters, it’s obvious to us. Additionally, the talk of the demon realm, hit my foreshadow radar. The shadows also burst from her during extreme emotion, whether its lust of fear, on top of her fire magic. We also learn about Rasmos, the vampire sealed in a box, withering away, but his dream magic reached out to Raven and turns out he’s another mate! And she needs to rescue him from wherever he is. She’s collected the most powerful species, Maverick in his huge Kodiak form, Zane, the last incubus, Alaric, a storm mage, and his power supersedes his dad’s power. Kai, the crown prince heir of the mermaids, and the crown prince of the vampires, Rasmos. Something is going down, and her weird purple gem necklace has something to do with it. That end though, Princess of Hell was it? I’m not as shocked as I thought I would be from that foreshadow earlier but I am kinda happy that’s where this went. I can’t wait to see what else is in stock for Raven and her group of men.
Profile Image for Erika.
382 reviews2 followers
March 18, 2026
Questo libro è arrivato nel momento in cui avevo bisogno di qualcosa di leggero che mi spezzasse le letture più pesanti.

Lo stile ironico e divertente ha fatto si che non riuscissi a staccarmi dalle pagine, così come dei protagonisti veramente ben riusciti. E si tratta dell'opera di esordio dell'autrice.

Nei reverse harem con così tanti protagonisti maschili spesso è difficile rendere le personalità dei diversi personaggi distinguibili, invece qui la Mishon ha fatto un lavoro eccellente, riuscendo a caratterizzare ognuno di loro e rendere uniche le interazioni con Raven e il modo in cui formano una relazione con lei.

Raven è cresciuta in una specie di "culto" di streghe, conosce poco il mondo esterno tanto che all'inizio pensavo fosse una bambina e non una diciannovenne. Quando viene sottratta al suo tutore e trasferita alla Starfall Academy per poter imparare a controllare i suoi poteri entra in un mondo perlopiù sconosciuto, in cui incontrerà i suoi compagni.

Il primo a cadere ai suoi piedi è Mav, il mutaforma, e anche il personaggio che mi è piaciuto meno. L'ho trovato troppo sopra le righe e in generale estremizzato. E' davvero necessario ringhiare ogni 2 parole? Io non credo.

Zane, l'incubo, finora è uno dei miei preferiti. Adoro la sua vena psicopatica e il modo in cui ogni sua interazione con Raven sia tra il sarcastico e il flirt. Il passato di suo padre rende perfettamente comprensibile il motivo per cui non vuole legarsi a Raven, nonostante cerchi in tutti i modi di starle vicino.

Nonostante la sua stronzaggine, ho un debole per Alaric, che la tratta male (anche se non troppo) per tenerla a distanza e proteggerla dal padre psicotico. Anche qui il fidanzamento con Kinara e la preoccupazione del padre giustificano le sue azioni, a differenza della maggior parte dei libri simili, dove il compagno tiene a distanza la central per motivi perlopiù assurdi.

Arriviamo a Kai il merman, il più sensibile e gentile tra tutti. Anche lui ha dei motivi per tenere a distanza Raven, anche se finora non sono stati rivelati. Visti i precedenti non vedo l'ora di saperne di più. Il fatto che non sia lui a proteggere Raven, ma la ragazza sia andata in suo soccorso è stata una piacevole sorpresa. Finalmente un protagonista maschile che non è troppo tronfio per ricevere aiuto.

La vera sorpresa è stata la comparsa di Rasmus il vampiro. L'idea di farli incontrare in sogno e della necessità di salvataggio pone delle buone basi per il prossimo libro.

Ho parzialmente intuito il finale, spero solo che Adam sia uno dei buoni e non il tipico passato ingombrante della protagonista
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kcee.
41 reviews3 followers
November 8, 2025
I received this as an ARC & I am so grateful for the opportunity!
This is book 1 to the Starfall Academy series & Wow! did it set an amazing tone for the rest of the books! I was hooked from the get-go, the story/plot drawing me in immediately!
The FMC is likeable & smart with a witty, relatable inner monologue & the MMCs are fine AF, funny & I loved being able to read from their POVs.
The academy setting, the magic system, and the world itself are easy to follow along with while having just the right amount of detail to keep the pace enjoyable without being too much to keep track of. I never once felt like I was missing something or wondered what was happening. The depth of detail was well balanced with the pacing of the story!
I will warn ya, there is a cliffhanger at the end of this one, so be prepared!
All in all, it's safe to say, I can not wait to find out what happens next!!

Definitely give this one a read! 10/10 recommend!
Profile Image for Mybookish.odyssey.
139 reviews7 followers
February 1, 2026
4.5⭐️
With this paranormal, academia romance; I wasnot sure what to expect, But I was pleasantly surprised. !I really enjoyed the multi POVs. Raven the main female character, definitely evolved through out the book. The concept of having multiple mates/ soul bonds becomes pretty interesting.
Other tropes include found family, shifters, witches, sirens/Merman, vampires, incubus, strange familiar and of course spice.
The interesting plot twist made this a page turner for me!
Omg the cliffhanger had me looking for book 2!
I also purchased the ebook immediately after finishing this arc.
Thank you, booksirens, and Lyra Mishon for this advance reader copy.
Profile Image for _beingbritt.
135 reviews
October 25, 2025
Wow I loved this book so much. A witch named Raven is taken from the only home she’s ever known and thrown into a magical academy. She quickly learns that she has mates, not 1 but 5. Maverick - a burley broody possessive Bear shifter. Zane - a sneaky Demon hunting Incubus that reminds me of Leon night and Sin wilder mixed together. Yessss please. Alaric - A powerful mage with status and baggage. Kai - a soft spoken merman crown prince and a thought to be extinct vampire she seems in her dreams. She also bonds a familiar - a hilarious foul mouthed supernatural fox with an attitude problem. Ravens background is a mystery that is slowly starting to unravel. The cliffhanger at the end was rude but it made me all that more excited for book 2. I have a feeling this series is going to be one of my top favorites.
Profile Image for books.with.alicia.
14 reviews3 followers
October 30, 2025
When I say I DEVOURED this book, I mean I spent every waking minute reading it because I couldn’t put it down!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book was fantastic. The twists and turns had me gasping and sitting up straight MANY times saying “OMG”

🌶️🌶️🌶️
It had some spice in it but it didn’t over power the story at all.

Tropes:
•Why-choose
•Fated mates
•Enemies to lovers
•Grumpy x sunshine
•Magic Academy

I was NOT expecting that ending 😭

I NEED book 2 and will be recommending this book to everyone I know that loves romantasy!
Profile Image for The Bodacious Bibliophile.
1,091 reviews
March 13, 2026
I wanted to give this book 3 stars, but I gave it an extra star for the humor alone.
I don’t care what anybody says. This book was funny as hell. The FMC had me laughing out loud constantly and her familiar also.
Is the story new and innovative? No. Is it anything that we haven’t already read before? No.
But it made me laugh, and that is important to me. And the story itself isn’t horrible. Neither is the writing. But it wasn’t fantastic and amazing either.
But the humor kept me around, and I will definitely be reading book 2.
Profile Image for Your_bookish_fantasy Kerri-louise Whitham.
196 reviews18 followers
January 23, 2026
**🅽︎🅾︎ 🆂︎🅿︎🅾︎🅸︎🅻︎🅴︎🆁︎🆂︎**
𝔻𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕠𝕗- WITCH FIRE by LYRA MISHON

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤-
🗣(out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
📚 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5
🌡️ 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲🌶🌶 / 5 -increases with each book
♟️𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹- >>>⚔️<<<
🎃: 𝐶𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 🌑: 𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑦 ⚔️: ᵒᵒᵒʰʰʰ ˢᵗᵃᵇᵇʸ ᵖᵉᵒᵖˡᵉ••• 💀: 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 M̶E̶N̶U̶ 😳 -𝑖 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠!! ☠️: P͟I͟T͟C͟H͟ F͟C͟u͟K͟I͟N͟G͟ B͟L͟A͟C͟K͟!


𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠:
•📖#  381 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀
•𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁? 1 day
•# MULTI 𝗣𝗢𝗩
•𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲- 11 November 2025
•𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 or 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 driven? A MIX
•𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗻𝗼- STARFALL ACADEMY, Book 1
•𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 on 𝗞𝗨? ✅
•𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗲- FAST
•𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲?✅
•𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀; 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒚, 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒚, 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍, 𝑴𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔, 𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈


●𝕋ℝ𝕆ℙ𝔼𝕊
🪧Pᴏʟɪᴛɪᴄᴀʟ Iɴᴛʀɪɢᴜᴇ
🪦𝕳𝖔𝖗𝖗𝖔𝖗 𝕰𝖑𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘
🪄𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡
🏫𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑒/𝐴𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔
🧸𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦
👩‍❤️‍👨𝙵𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜
🙅 𝕽𝖊𝖏𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝕸𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖘
🎲𝕎𝕙𝕪 ℂ𝕙𝕠𝕠𝕤𝕖
🌡𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝔸𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕥, 𝕋𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟
😍IᑎՏTᗩ ᒪOᐯᗴ
💘𝐻𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡
🧩𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒚
💈 ᗷᗩᑎTᗴᖇ
🍆𝑅𝑒𝑣 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑚
☠️𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕...
🤍𝑉𝑖𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝐹𝑀𝐶
⏳𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
⌚𝔸-𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕖
⚰️𝑉𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠
🧙‍♀️𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰
🌊Տᗴᗩ ᑕᖇᗴᗩTᑌᖇᗴՏ ᗰᗴᖇᗰᗩIᗪՏ ՏIᖇᗴᑎՏ
🌕𝑊𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑙𝑓 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
👹𝖉𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖘?


🌍 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘:

This was a quick and fun read, it got its hooks into me right away and had intrigue in a bucket fulls. The world building isn’t detailed, but it’s good. It’s a simple read and easy to follow but the writing style shows that it’s a first novel. This series offers real potential as the author clearly knows how to grab your attention and keep it.

One of my favourite parts about the book is that the author gave us multiple POV, seeing through different eyes gave me all the feels and brought those strong emotions straight to the forefront. Mishon also knows how to write a reverse harem full of yearning and angst potential. I imagine the spice will increase with each book and I cannot wait to learn more about those piercings.

This was a very fast paced read which kept me on my toes the whole way through- I genuinely didn’t want to put this down. The academy setting, the magic system, and the world itself is really easy to follow along with and lose yourself too. There were some predictable elements with satisfying conclusions and there was so many mysteries and questions arising as you continued to read that only book 2 can answer.

Some elements felt a little rushed and not fleshed out- particularly the reverse Haram and how quickly the mates were introduced, as it felt like they were crammed in all at once under a time restraint. Having so many important characters revealed in such a quick succession didn’t give us time to create those emotional bonds meaning the romance side felt a little shallow and surface level in parts..

I’m happy we get so many mates to enjoy, and one of my favourite troops is reverse Haram, especially when -like in this book- all of the mates had completely different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, and were all separate supernatural beings. I think because they were all so different I wanted more time to breathe and learn about each one. It would’ve been great to develop a stronger connection to their weaknesses when it comes to her, plus their individual circumstances and their own history, along with their strengths and true feelings.
it would’ve been great to get some more law around the different species too.
Now the groundwork has been laid I’m hoping book 2 will give me all these things I so desperately want, I do like being left with questions but not at the cost of character development and understanding. Basically the bones are there, The ideas are incredible, and the flesh has started to form, but then it feels like the author was given a one week deadline to complete the book and so she was forced to rush through it giving us just enough information to make it a good story when it deserved more time to become a great story.

All in all There was the main plot, there was the relationship drama, there was sub plots, and there was the School. These were the bones of a truly brilliant five star read, although I thoroughly enjoyed it and have now read it twice it’s a little heartbreaking that it didn’t get the depth, character development and detail that it needed. If you’re into low fantasy or after an easy to read laid-back supernatural School than this is absolutely for you but if you want complex characters, epic world building and unpredictable twists you may possibly be underwhelmed.

🧝‍♂️ ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤:
I love how we have a strong cast of side characters and I’m a sucker for a great best friend. I really appreciate that the best friend has her own personality strengths and weaknesses and I can’t wait to learn more about her too.. speaking of best friends the Familia -Kenji, brings sarcasm and banter in bucketfuls. I’m not sure yet if it’s funny or belittling as he seems to straddle that line, I’m hoping for funny because a Familia should be a best friend, a confidant, and you’re number one fan, but I suppose it’s another thing we’ll find out as the series continues.

I love how the main FMC is a mystery even to herself she sheltered and naive but so kind and a genuine ray of sunshine but has no clue about her past or her magic. And I love how innocent she is which lends itself to a genuinely good read when it comes to her mates and how they’re all so much more experienced… well, once they realise they are all her mates and will have to share that is! A gorgeous, grumpy, overprotective bear shifter who does NOT want to share, a lust fuelled incubus who only wants to share, and then there’s the rejection of a third mate and the mystery surrounding the 4th… all great characters so far and I love how they act together and clash when it comes to her!

😥 𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝕟𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤?
Because I enjoyed it so much I just wish there was more more background more history more law more relationship detail more character development just more an extra hundred pages would’ve been perfect for me but this is just a personal reason. There is nothing actually wrong with the story.

⏳ 𝕎𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕚 𝕣𝕖-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕?
I’ve already reread it so yes, and I will absolutely recommend it over and over again. It’s one of my favourite books.

🪧𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
This is a highly entertaining light fantasy romance with simple world building fun, magical intrigue and plenty of mystery. It’s packed full of your favourite tropes and looks like it’s going to get spicier with each book. You absolutely need to stick this on your TBR if you want a simple easy to follow spicy magic Academy.


𝐹𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠;

𝕋𝕚𝕜𝕋𝕠𝕜
https://www.tiktok.com/@your_bookish_...

IᑎՏTᗩ
https://www.instagram.com/your_bookis...

 

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𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕤:
⭐️ DNF

⭐️⭐️
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but  it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands

⭐️⭐️.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!

🔥⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!

 SPICE SCALE:
🌶️– segsual language and a little on-page action

🌶️🌶️– a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times

🌶️🌶️🌶️– a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.
Profile Image for Tish Fleming.
93 reviews
January 18, 2026
2⭐️ 3🌶️
I really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me.

The pacing was way too fast—everything happened at lightning speed, especially the FMC’s connections with her mates. Every bond felt instant, shallow, and unearned, which made it hard to feel invested. The FMC herself came across as very juvenile and lacked the depth I usually look for in a main character.

The overall vibe felt very YA, but with smut layered on top, which made the tone feel mismatched. It never quite decided what it wanted to be.

That said, the kitsune was hands-down the highlight for me and deserved way more page time.

Tropes: Reverse harem, why choose, insta-love
If you enjoy fast-paced paranormal romances with instant connections and a younger-feeling FMC, this might still be your thing—but it just wasn’t for me.
Profile Image for Nessie.
50 reviews4 followers
January 26, 2026
This book is an absolutely amazing why choose and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one. The banter between the characters are absolutely amazing. The story follows Raven as she meets her soul-bonded mates.
There will be spoilers below!








I love Raven and how she keeps Zane in line and Maverick from killing him. Her build with Kai is sweet and slow. He bond with Alaric is fire and ice and I can’t wait to see how they come crashing together. As for Rasmus I can’t wait to see what happens there.
I’ll set the stage and let you have a preview of what you’re getting into!

Imagine going to the market, meeting a bear shifter who your instantly connected magical with, then in a blink of an eye all your being taken by magical law forces. Forced to an academy where now you are the weakest mage in a group full of mages who want to kill you. You find yourself around incubus who wants to seduce you, a mage who thinks that you’re an absolutely annoying obnoxious girl. All while having dreams of a yummy hot vampire, who is locked away telling you that he needs you to come find him as soon as possible because he doesn’t know if he’s going to survive much longer.
Oh and that bear shifter yeah well he shows up at said academy as the new PT teacher!
Profile Image for Kaitlynn Esquibel.
221 reviews
November 7, 2025
I was genuinely intrigued by the premise of this book but there were many things throughout that caused me to not like the book or take away my enjoyment. First we have our main character Raven she is a witch whose power develops after meeting one of her many mates and has to go to a reform school in order to hone her power. My issue with how she is written is that I feel the author never truly understood what she wanted to make of her. As she is written Raven is very naive and doesn't understand the world but yet she knows all this obscure pop culture references and has no problem socializing with others? That's one of the big problems I had connecting with Raven as a character. Another big issue I had was that there was no real conflict/rising action. Even when there was some inkling that there was it was completely ignored and nothing was done with it before the end of the story. I'm all for cliffhanger endings but this one if anything just made me not like the story as it didn't contribute to anything that was previously established and felt rushed. Overall I did like the potential this story has but it does need some work in order for it to be truly great. I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Profile Image for Allie Vaughan.
3 reviews
January 7, 2026
This was a DNF for me. Not my jam at all - I prefer strong female characters and by like 40-50% of the way through that should be well established. The main character is continually called stupid by those around her, but literally nothing she does or says refutes that claim. Her inner monologue was trying to be strong and sassy I think but it failed miserably to connect with how she projected herself into the world. The female character was weak and continually demeaned and sexualized by every male character she seemed to come across which she didn’t seemed to have a big problem with.

I didn’t get the feels, I got more of the ick. I don’t think it’s very well written or developed.
Profile Image for TheVelvetHammer.
162 reviews52 followers
January 8, 2026
I told myself I was going to finish this one no matter what... but I just couldn't do it. :-/

It reads like it's written by a pre-teen, which is even more awkward when it starts throwing around sex terms. World building is absent, and instead the reader is left with a story having an identity crisis - TikTok-esque slang and pop culture references, poorly defined societal structure, contradictory character traits, confusing timelines, and a penchant for lazy plot devices.

I finally had to quit when the Familiar was introduced. The exquisitely pucker-worthy, try-hard attempt at a "sassy" side character subjected me to dialog so far beyond cringey I searched Urban Dictionary to see if there existed some new phrase to articulate the palpable biological reaction I felt. You know that feeling you get when some smooth-brained podcast bro uses the term "alpha" to describe himself unironically? It was kind of like that.
Profile Image for KLynn.
1,535 reviews28 followers
December 20, 2025
A fun fated mates, why choose magical academy read.
This was a pretty typical read for the genre, but it did have a couple really great tropes that were done well. (touch her and die, obsessive mate, crazy mate, etc.)
* pretty big cliff hanger at the end, luckily book two is already out.
(🤦‍♀️book 2 is not in fact out! January 26th)
Profile Image for Spinneretta.
2,918 reviews20 followers
December 28, 2025
Good

WARNING! Cliffhanger! This one probably rates a 4 or 5/5 on my scale. Four for those who saw it coming, and just want to read more, five for those who were a bit surprised! Either way, you will have to wait for more story.

Raven was a sheltered nineteen year old, never let off of the compound on which she was raised, until an incident with her magic led to her being taken to Starfall Academy for magical training.

There she meets the males who are her fated Soulbound Mates, and begins to learn all the things a normal upbringing would have taught her. And maybe, she might actually bond with some of her mates…

Raven is an intriguing blend of naïve innocence, and righteous anger. She has a rather grey sense of morals, (fairly common in the fantasy universe I find) which can be an amusing thing at times. We have met four of the five soulbound mates the story has given us so far, and although she knows who the fifth is, there are complications!

Maverick is an intriguing shifter character. I love that he’s a huge Kodiak bear, and he definitely has teddy bear tendencies- though he can also be fierce.

Zane is a complicated character. As an incubus, he’s rather tricky in temperament, but his story is enough to explain just why he’s the way he is. He is incredibly powerful, and I don’t think we’ve seen the full extent of what he can do.

Alaric is both secretive and complicated. His background has shaped him, and he’s struggling against the bindings his father has around him. He’s a formidable mage, and I think it will be interesting when he finally gets to align himself with Raven and the others.

Kai is a complicated character we don’t see as much of in the book as I would like, and I am hopeful that we learn a little more about him, and Raven’s fifth in the next book.

Kenji, Raven’s kitsune, is a holy terror with massive secrets. Possibly related to exactly who Raven is, which we will also hopefully get answers to in the next book. That being said, he’s by far the funniest and cutest character!

Glynda, Raven’s new friend, seems to be a good person, and although she is definitely “lesser” to the elite, she’s smart and powerful in her own way. Contrastingly, Willow, Raven’s childhood friend, seems to be much less trustworthy, and I wonder how that will play out.

Ultimately, this is an engaging book, with likeable and interesting characters. There are quite a few steamy scenes, though the spice level is maybe three out of five peppers, it is definitely going to ramp up in the future. There is an interesting background plot, with several different stories playing out, and I’m also looking forward to learning more about those too!

All in all, an entertaining read and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series and seeing where it goes.

This is a good choice for RH Academy/RH Fantasy enthusiasts.
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