Ellis Academy: A Novel

by Cassie Snowberry, Trevor Adamo (Editor), Justine Trimboli (Illustrator)

When Prescott Academy burns down, Ellis Academy opens their doors, becoming a co-ed boarding school. The corresponding student councils must work together to make it as smooth a transition as possible, but that can be a challenge when they can barely stand to be in the same room.

Emma Bishop is clever, cynical, and despises Benedict—her new co-Vice President. Benedict is philosophical, doesn’t believe in love, and hates Emma. They struggle to work together as every encounter between the pair turns into a verbal sparring session—so much for an easy senior year. Things get even more complicated when their respective best friends start dating.

Ryan Tate is brooding, bitter and wants nothing more than to take his medio-hermano Phillip Westin—Prescott President—down a notch. With the help of his friends, Jason and Jose, he plans to do just that, but manipulating the group proves to be harder than he thought—he’s gonna have to go big or go home.

Garfield “Tiger'' Moriarty is asexual, aromantic, non-binary and never fit in anywhere until they carved out a place for themselves and created the disciplinary committee to keep the school bully—and budding psychopath—Jason, in check. They will have their work cut out for them when these two groups collide.

The ensuing games of love, deception, and revenge culminate in the long-standing feuds reaching their climax the night of the Harvest Festival where battle lines are drawn and unlikely alliances are formed. The final showdown will test friendships, reveal hidden desires, and force them to question everything they thought they knew.

348 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 9, 2026

Reviews

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote it, so I should give it five stars.

[Juniper L.H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm struggling to review this one. There were parts I enjoyed, and scenes/characters I somewhat liked. Yet there were so many details that bothered me and made for an unpleasant and annoying reading experience. I think that readers experiences may vary, but this one just wasn’t for me. I liked that there was some decently well done representation for people on the Ace spectrum, but that’s probably the most positive thing I can say about this book at this time.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOLKS
So Some Issues (though I will try to be brief and polite):
-Probably my biggest issue, and it may be a “me” issue, but these people were all far too forgiving. There were awful things done during the course of this novel, and people just shrugged it off with hardly a concern or a conversation. I have a hard time cheering for a happy ending if I firmly don’t believe it should be happening. Someone drugs you (glad you didn’t die!) and spends half a year actively plotting to bring you misery (successfully!) but one apology and its fine? Kelly knew all about the nasty plot that was causing everyone to be upset, could have cleared it up in an instant but said nothing, and no one was even upset with her? Your crappy boyfriend misunderstands a situation and immediately goes nuclear, publicly shaming you and spreading nasty rumors (for weeks!), doubles down after being presented evidence he was wrong, but one apology and its all fine? I could go on and on and on because that’s all this novel was….and that doesn’t do it for me.
-There were massive plot holes. There are characters that absolutely would have ended up in jail (with proof of guilt!) but instead nothing happened. I realize its fiction, but its too unrealistic. One example: when the police find out that you know who burned down the school, and have video of their confession, but you withheld that information, there would be some type of consequences. Same with admitting that you drugged another student. Also, how the aftermath of that situation was handled by the school. Etc.
-I wasn’t expecting the very uncomfortable rape-adjacent scene(s). The tone just seems very off for a novel like this; who is the target audience?? Maybe it’s my mistake but from the cover/blurb I didn’t expect this whatsoever.
-I just generally didn’t really like the majority of the characters.
-Far too many POV’s, and so many names. One character uses first names, another uses last names, and it was never clarified who was who (as far as I could tell).


Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.

[Steff Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

A fool? A joke? Lies when his wit fails him?
I could hardly believe what I heard. How dare she! Where does she get off saying those things? And to someone she thought was a complete stranger! I was gobsmacked.

DNF @ 37%

Listen—I just really struggle when the writing is so consistently poor. These characters are simultaneously horribly obtuse but also omniscient about things they truly shouldn’t be. Whether or not they’re aware of something depends entirely upon what the plot wants, which is not how you write realistic characters. On top of this, so much of the text is a ridiculous amount of exposition—a lot of it showing up in the dialogue—which ultimately makes the entire read feel incredibly painful.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve rolled my eyes.

Also, I kind of just hate everyone—especially the main characters—which makes reading from their POVs inherently cringe-inducing. And speaking of which, there are WAY too many character point of views in this book. It’s jarring—that’s something you save for sequels, and even then it doesn’t always work out. Then, speaking of jarring…don’t even get me started on the completely out of place flashbacks that only exist to further the exposition that has already been thrown in our faces—I get it, these characters have a history and that’s why they hate each other; but while we’re here, explain to me why 8-year-old Emma and Benedict sound exactly the same as teenage Emma and Benedict?

I do feel bad DNFing so early, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Myrrowyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shout out for the Ghostface and Davey Havok mentions.

Overall, I liked it. There were things I liked more than others, and some parts I struggled with. Let's start with the positive!

I really enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope; it's one of my favorites. I love when there's good banter and tension—arguing, insulting, all of it. I love it. It was well executed here. It felt a little juvenile at times, but considering their ages, it worked. So I enjoyed the dynamic between Emma and Benedict, although the reason for them hating each other was ridiculous.

I really LIKE that there was a diverse cast of characters but it was almost too much, I’ll get back to that.

Now some stuff I didn’t care for.

Too much going on. As I said earlier, I liked that this had a diverse cast of characters, having everyone feel like the same person is boring. It’s nice when authors give each person their own voice and personality; however, there were just way too many people to keep track of here.
There was Emma, Rachel, Andrea, Mariana, Kelley, Tiger, Benedict, Wook-Su, Fisher, Phillip, Jason, Jose, Ryan, and Michael.

Now with this large cast to keep track of, that leads me into Tiger.

Tiger, with the exception of Andrea and Michael, referred to everyone by their family name. With an all ready vast amount of characters to keep track of, using a different name for the same people made it feel like even more people to keep track of, trying to keep straight which family name went to which given name to be able to understand who Tiger was talking to/about. Tiger also spoke in a manner that didn’t feel like a teenage talks, or most people just in general. I think it was meant to be formal, which would also track with Tiger using people’s family names instead of their given names, but it really made Tiger feel a little bit robotic at times. They were just exhausting to listen to.

We get four different POVs; Emma, Benedict, Ryan, and Tiger. I like multiple POVs but being in FOUR different peoples heads just added to the chaos. I didn’t care for Tigers POV due to the stiff way he spoke/thought and Ryan was a douche. I would have preferred just POVs from Emma and Benedict.

Then we get to when the plot really spiraled for me.

You how the mafia will kill your family to hurt you, we get a similar sort of plan here. Ryan wants to hurt Phillip and he’s gonna use the friendship with Fisher to do it. So Ryan and Jason (who has to be a psycho but at least we don’t go inside his head) come up with a plan…

Ryan roofies Rachel and then leads Fisher and Phillip to watch Jason and Kelley—who apparently looks like Rachel from behind—having sex, telling them Rachel is cheating on Fisher.

Once the girls find out they want revenge against Fisher (which why not Ryan and or Jason but ok) What kind of revenge you ask?

Fake dating Benedict to make Fisher jealous.

This whole thing irritated me. Rachel was roofied and painted as a cheater, and fake dating for jealousy was the payback? That seems weak. Plus, Fisher was ALSO tricked, Jason and Ryan lied to him, saying it was Rachel when it was actually Kelley. Why are we getting revenge on Fisher? Because he was upset and lashed out at Rachel? I get them not liking the names he called her, but Fisher thought she cheated on him. I get Emma and Andrea not liking him embarrassing her and the names he called her but why is no one mad at Jason or Ryan?!?! They were the puppet masters.

I swear the last like 30% or so was just off the wall banana nuts, attempted murder and everything….

And then everyone just ✨ got over it ✨ and pretty much everyone (minus one person) was one big happy friend group.

Thanks to the Cassie Snowberry and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinions are my own.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Ellis for the ARC.

📚 Ellis Academy by Cassie Snowberry
Edited by Trevor Adamo | Illustrated by Justine Trimboli
Expected publication: June 9, 2026

Genre: Contemporary | Boarding school drama
Vibes: enemies to lovers, chaotic student politics, Shakespeare retelling, witty banter, multi POV chaos

What happens when two rival schools are forced together?

Absolute chaos.

After Prescott Academy burns down, its students are relocated to Ellis Academy, turning it into a co ed boarding school overnight. The student councils are supposed to work together to keep things running smoothly.

They cannot stand each other.

At the center of it all:

Emma Bishop and Benedict.

She is sharp, cynical, and already hates him.
He is philosophical, emotionally unavailable, and equally unimpressed with her.

Put them in a room together and you get nonstop verbal sparring.

What makes this story so fun:

🎭 A modern retelling of Shakespeare with a fresh twist
🔥 Enemies to lovers with elite banter energy
🎓 Boarding school drama mixed with student politics
🌀 Multiple POVs that bring chaos and depth
✨ Diverse representation including ace, aro, and non binary characters

While Emma and Benedict steal the spotlight with their tension filled dynamic, the supporting cast adds layers of drama, humor, and emotional complexity.

Ryan is plotting revenge.
Friendships are shifting.
Relationships are forming in the most inconvenient ways.

And then there is Tiger.

Garfield “Tiger” Moriarty is a standout character, bringing balance to the chaos with a strong sense of identity and purpose. Their role in maintaining order (or attempting to) adds both humor and depth to the story.

The narrative builds toward the Harvest Festival where everything comes to a head. Alliances shift, secrets come out, and long standing tensions finally explode.

The tone balances witty humor with emotional moments, and the dialogue especially shines with clever, sharp exchanges that feel very true to the Shakespeare inspiration.

If you love:

🎭 Shakespeare inspired retellings
🔥 Enemies to lovers dynamics
🎓 Boarding school settings
✨ Diverse and inclusive casts

this is a fun, chaotic read to keep on your radar.

💬 What is your favorite Shakespeare retelling?

#EllisAcademy
#YABooks
#EnemiesToLovers
#ShakespeareRetelling
#BookstagramReads

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

TW in review for mentions of SA and being drugged.

I was very interested in this one but man did I struggle with it. In all honesty, I would have DNF'd it had it not been a review copy.

The story itself has so many issues. It went incredibly slow to start, then rushed through major plot points. The first 50% -ish of the book dragged on, only to rush through the conflict, resolve it, have a second conflict, and resolve that one too. It gained my interest only to rush through the story. And the reconciliation felt faulty and unearned. Being in Ryan's head, hearing how much joy he took in roofing a girl, for him to then be incorporated into the friend group? It makes zero sense and was awful. He should have been expelled like his friend, between the drugs and the fire, he just didn't get caught with the drugs. And Rachel should not have forgiven Fisher, especially not that quickly. I know that follows the play it's based on but she deserves so much better. I also would have appreciated a warning about a sexual assault scene, as one side character is unknowingly viewed having sex with her then boyfriend, when he knew. And the friend groups plot to get Emma and Benedict together was too obvious for these supposedly intelligent characters to not catch on that they were obviously supposed to overhear those conversations. Emma really believes her friends think she was a duck because she made a quack noise? Between the pacing and the plot holes, I struggled with this one.

That being said, there were parts to this I enjoyed. I thought Benedict and Emma together was sweet, and I love the ace rep, especially the clear distinction that there is a difference between romantic and sexual attraction. (Though telling your friend you already knew they were LGBT when they come out is gross). As a biromantic ace person, I find it so frustrating when authors conflate the two, and was relieved that this was not the case, though given the author is panromantic and greyace, I supposed I should have had more faith, I just didn't learn that until the author blurb at the end.

In summary. Great queer rep, but struggling story.

TWs for the book that I caught: bullying, drugging someone, alcohol use, fire, sexual assault.

[Morally_Gray_Nola · Rating 5 out of 5]

ELLIS ACADEMY is full of amazingly diverse individuals. The mains here are Ben, or Benedict, and Emma. Both see each other as crass, brash, vile tempered—and the most beautiful beings they’d ever seen when they were 8 years old. Poor Ben let the wrong words slip through his 8 year old lips, creating a tiny snowball, that, over the years, became as big as a house. Thus, the biggest rivalry that needn’t ever begun, began.

Author Cassie Snowberry utilizes the eclectic ensemble of characters here to perfection. I find it incredible how well I have become acquainted with each character, both main and supporting, within a novel less than 300 pages. I feel ‘close friend’ level are: Emma, Ben, Tiger, Ryan, and Rachel—this one surprised me because she doesn’t provide a POV in this ‘episode’. The characters I feel at ‘friend’ level are: Phillip, Andrea, and Fisher. The few characters I feel remain ‘acquaintance’ level are: Kelly, Jose, Kim, and slimy Jason. This is a remarkable feat with such a huge cast of characters in such a short number of pages.

Oooo, and, yes, quality matters. I believe Ms Snowberry brings it to life in these pages. In true tongue-in-cheek fashion. I’m thinking PRINCESS BRIDE, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, and even, DUDE, WHERE’S MY CAR. With the exception of a handful of incidents, this book is brilliantly witty, refreshingly original redux, and generally just loads of fun.
*** Recommended ***

Thank you NetGalley, author - Cassie Snowberry, editor - Trevor Adamo, and illustrator Justine Trimboli for this ARC

MMC:
✨Ryan - Phillip’s 1/2 brother, super jealous of Phillip
✨Benedict - vice president, more cinnamon roll than viper,
✨Phillip - Benedict’s best friend, president, hides secret crush
✨Fisher - treasurer, Rachel’s crush, wildly immature w/girls
✨Jason - historian, shady on his best days, user
✨Jose - secretary, stoner, secret crush on Kelly
✨Kim - Andrea’s boyfriend, First Officer of Disciplinary Committee
✨Michael - Emma’s younger brother, Benedict’s friend, witty
Non-Binary:
✨Tiger, Captain of the Disciplinary Committee, stoic, asexual, . . . autistic?, caramel freak
FMC:
✨Emma - vice president, black cat personality, asexual
✨Rachel - Em’s best friend, president, dean’s daughter, sweet
✨Andrea - Em’s 1st friend at Ellis, close friend, boyfriend: Kim Wook-su
✨Kelly - treasurer, Rachel’s cousin, boy-dumb

[jade’s reading journey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a YA retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, which was what initially drew me in, and it definitely delivers on the drama it promises. The character dynamics are entertaining, and often genuinely funny, making for an enjoyable reading experience. I would especially recommend this book to readers who enjoy sharp banter and witty dialogue.

Unfortunately, I did not particularly like the initial introduction part, but I enjoyed the characters, particularly Tiger!

tropes:

Enemies-to-lovers dynamic
High levels of drama
Modern Shakespeare retelling
Inclusive representation
Boarding school setting

Thank you NetGalley and Cassie Snowberry for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Cassie Snowberry for this arc.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The character dynamics were particularly engaging and I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope which this book delivered well.

However, knowing it’s fiction some parts did impact my rating. There were plot holes and unrealistic outcomes that bothered me. For example, how can you withhold massive information from the police and not face obstruction of justice charges and potential court involvement? Another part I didn’t quite enjoyed were that there were too many POVs and all the names were dizzying me.

Overall it was not a big yes or no for me so therefore I give it 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Katherine Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for accepting my ARC request.

Personally, I had never read Much Ado About Nothing, so I thought it was quite fun to experience it through this modernized retelling of the tale! Emma and Benedict were very much the highlight. Their dynamic was wholesome and I liked watching them grow into people that not only became comfortable with one another, but also with themselves. I always love me some good asexual representation, and I think this book accomplished that in a very unique way.

I also found the side plots to be a quite humorous translation of the original tale. Even though I hadn’t read the source material, some of the transpired events and character decisions detailed in the book were just so wild that I knew these plot points had to have come from Shakespeare himself. I believe this was the intent of this retelling—not all of the shenanigans that the main characters were up to were necessarily realistic to how the average New England boarding school and laws operate, but it’s a Shakespeare retelling, and it’s a rom com; I’ve read some of Shakespeare’s even crazier works, and I imagine it’s no small feat to reimagine his work for a younger, modern audience. I did enjoy the book as a whole, and I think that, with her debut out of the way, the author’s writing career has great potential!

[Jamie Pitman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this before publication date from Netgalley.

Loved this book. Had quotes from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It was a retelling of the play in today's times.

I loved the added themes of queerness and lgbtq themes of asexuals being added into the mix. The story was really well paced and loved from all the different character perspectives as well.

[Febe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from netgalley. This review is entirely my own opinion without any influence from the author or netgalley.

The book started out promising but then there were way too many plots and i think i’m just too old for all this high school drama. Did love the asexual representation but yeah just too much going on

[Steve J]

DNF at 25%.

I tried to read this book but I found I couldn’t really care for all of the machinations among a group of teenagers who alternated between loving, hating and deceiving each other.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Olivia]

DNF at 10%

I couldn’t get into this story at all. I didn’t vibe with the writing, and the characters were behaving so childishly and immaturely and I can’t see it getting much better.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

[Doe Is Reading]

As someone from England, the quickest way to get me to DNF is to write british slang where it absolutely doesn't belong or make sense. A "Lad" is not the same as a "Fuckboy"

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma & Benedict
Enemies to Lovers
Shakespeare Inspired
Boarding School Setting
Student Politics

I wanted to love this one more than I did, but unfortunately it wasn't for me

[Justine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review and I drew some character art for the author.

This is a fun retelling of my favorite Shakespeare play. Beatrice and Benedict are so much fun and so out of touch with their own feelings and this book maintained that dynamic. This is a multi-POV story, I particularly enjoyed Benedict bevause he reminded me of one of my favorite literary characters (Amelia Peabody) and was very funny.

As an asexual, I am always excited to find smart, funny ace romances. The humor was great with some laugh out loud moments and other dry, witty moments that sneak up on you. There is a little bit of the absurd in this book which I always appreciate, it makes for an enjoyable read.

I really loved the way the story changed the source material by giving more power and agency to Emma (the Beatrice character). And Tiger (the Dogberry character) was a refreshing and delightful counterbalance to all the other characters' angst.

Overall, it was a lot of fun with one of my favorite tropes turned on its head- fake dating, but not how you'd expect it. Also enemies to lovers and a little love at first sight trope thrown in too.

Reccomended if you like bonkers comedy, witty banter, satire, and multi-POV.