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Neverbound Academy #1
Angel of Ashes
Two years ago, my fated mates rejected me.
Now they want a second chance.
All my life, I've been a symbol of hope and a portrait of perfection, the daughter molded by legacy and duty.
On my 21st birthday, I stood before the Fates, ready to meet my mate and become something more than the pedestal I’d been placed on.
In a cruel twist, the ritual ended with four sets of eyes staring back at me and one word waiting on their lips.
Reject.
In one breath, they stole my future, along with any hope of ever claiming my power or my place at Neverbound Academy.
Two years have passed, full of fake smiles and hidden shame, reduced to a bargaining chip for my father's political gain.
Now I stand in bridal lace, walking toward the altar, but it’s not my father’s match waiting for me. Instead, I’m greeted with the same four sets of eyes that haunt my soul.
It seems they’ve changed their minds. Now I must decide what’s more important - changing my fate or protecting my heart.
Angel of Ashes is book one in a rejected-mate fantasy romance series featuring why-choose, academy secrets, and the four supernatural men who will regret everything.
Now they want a second chance.
All my life, I've been a symbol of hope and a portrait of perfection, the daughter molded by legacy and duty.
On my 21st birthday, I stood before the Fates, ready to meet my mate and become something more than the pedestal I’d been placed on.
In a cruel twist, the ritual ended with four sets of eyes staring back at me and one word waiting on their lips.
Reject.
In one breath, they stole my future, along with any hope of ever claiming my power or my place at Neverbound Academy.
Two years have passed, full of fake smiles and hidden shame, reduced to a bargaining chip for my father's political gain.
Now I stand in bridal lace, walking toward the altar, but it’s not my father’s match waiting for me. Instead, I’m greeted with the same four sets of eyes that haunt my soul.
It seems they’ve changed their minds. Now I must decide what’s more important - changing my fate or protecting my heart.
Angel of Ashes is book one in a rejected-mate fantasy romance series featuring why-choose, academy secrets, and the four supernatural men who will regret everything.
532 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 284 reviews
May 27, 2026
If you chose this book after reading the description, hoping for some great grovel, keep searching. This isn't it. I'm starting to believe that I have a very different definition of grovel from most authors.
Aggression toward any male who shows interest in the fated mate you threw away is not grovelling, It's ownership and control. "Why should I bother trying, since I'll never be forgiven anyway?" is not grovelling. It's martyrdom. Shamelessly flirting isn't groveling. It's arrogance, a belief that you can overcome the harm you've caused through sheer charm. Feeling proctective isn't groveling. It's too little too late.
Readers want and deserve more. Show us MMCs who truly understand the harm they've caused. Show us MMCs who are adult enough to apologize, without any expectations of forgiveness. Simply because it's the right thing to do. And show us MMCs perceptive enough to see where the FMC is struggling and willing to do whatever it takes to take away some of her burdon and make her life a little bit better. Again, without any expectation of forgiveness. It's restitution, not tit-for-tat. The only MMC in this book that was even close to meeting this criteria was Sax.
We all know how this will go. There will be some big reveal that the guys' rejected Ivy out of some noble purpose. Being mated to them would put her in the crosshairs of some villain or another, so it was really for her own good or something. Fine. It's a trope for a reason. But that's not what I'm seeing from their POVs. They show no remorse over costing her two years of her education. They feel no shame about her public humiliation and even doubled-down on her humiliation by dragging her to school in a filthy wedding gown. They treated her like she was a burden simply for existing in the same space, allowed other women to hang all over them, and behaved as if their own obsessive thoughts about Ivy was something she was responsible for. The only regrets these men seemed to feel center around what they're missing out on.
The sad thing is, I was really enjoying the first eighty or so percent of this book. I was eating it up, cheering for Ivy every time she shut these men down with dignity and self-respect. Until she didn't.
The last few chapters pretty much ruined the book for me. Why, Ivy? You were doing so good! Being the analytical kind of reader that I am, when an author makes (what I believe is) a stupid decision, I always ask myself what was its purpose. Here, I suspect that . Fine. I'd argue that there were other ways that wouldn't make the FMC a doormat, but I'm not the author.
Aggression toward any male who shows interest in the fated mate you threw away is not grovelling, It's ownership and control. "Why should I bother trying, since I'll never be forgiven anyway?" is not grovelling. It's martyrdom. Shamelessly flirting isn't groveling. It's arrogance, a belief that you can overcome the harm you've caused through sheer charm. Feeling proctective isn't groveling. It's too little too late.
Readers want and deserve more. Show us MMCs who truly understand the harm they've caused. Show us MMCs who are adult enough to apologize, without any expectations of forgiveness. Simply because it's the right thing to do. And show us MMCs perceptive enough to see where the FMC is struggling and willing to do whatever it takes to take away some of her burdon and make her life a little bit better. Again, without any expectation of forgiveness. It's restitution, not tit-for-tat. The only MMC in this book that was even close to meeting this criteria was Sax.
We all know how this will go. There will be some big reveal that the guys' rejected Ivy out of some noble purpose. Being mated to them would put her in the crosshairs of some villain or another, so it was really for her own good or something. Fine. It's a trope for a reason. But that's not what I'm seeing from their POVs. They show no remorse over costing her two years of her education. They feel no shame about her public humiliation and even doubled-down on her humiliation by dragging her to school in a filthy wedding gown. They treated her like she was a burden simply for existing in the same space, allowed other women to hang all over them, and behaved as if their own obsessive thoughts about Ivy was something she was responsible for. The only regrets these men seemed to feel center around what they're missing out on.
The sad thing is, I was really enjoying the first eighty or so percent of this book. I was eating it up, cheering for Ivy every time she shut these men down with dignity and self-respect. Until she didn't.
The last few chapters pretty much ruined the book for me. Why, Ivy? You were doing so good! Being the analytical kind of reader that I am, when an author makes (what I believe is) a stupid decision, I always ask myself what was its purpose. Here, I suspect that . Fine. I'd argue that there were other ways that wouldn't make the FMC a doormat, but I'm not the author.
June 25, 2026
Maybe don’t call it groveling if your characters can’t even commit to a half-assed apology.
August 2, 2026
Dnf 50%
"Two years ago my fated mates rejected me. Now they want a second chance"
Is the "wanting" a second chance in the room with us? Seems to me they're just arrogant, possessive, controlling assholes who didn't want the girl they rejected to be with another man.
My biggest problem is the fact I got 50% of the way through and literally nothing has happened. We don't have worldbuilding. I don't know any of the politics. I don't know how the magic system works. I know there's fire, water, earth, and air because holy fuck it's said a million times. But WHATS THE DIFFERENCE??? I obviously know what the 4 elements are but tell me their actual powers, or give me literally anything pleaseeeeee. Hell we have 5 main characters across all 4 of the elements and I dont even know what each of them have power wise, and I got FIFTY PERCENT through. I know which element they are sorted into and that one has a dragon and that's it. She's at a school, and yet we learn nothing. Where does their power come from? Does everyone have the capacity to wield? Is it genetic? Everything is just explained away by the "fates deciding" because she's dumb and knows nothing. The mf managed to throw HERSELF off a cliff ffs. Hell I don't even know why she's considered the "angel" or how she got that reputation. It's never explained, but it sure is mentioned a thousand times. Everyone knows her. Everyone loves her! But for some reason everyone at the school hates her. How is the general population is obsessed with her, but the school population absolutely despises her? Make it make sense.
Our fmc spends 90% of what I read throwing herself a pity party. Sure she has snappy comebacks, but at the end of the day she's a doormat. Her father pushed her around. Her mother pushed her around. Now she's letting literally everyone at the school push her around. She talks a big game but she's all bark no bite.
Our MMCs are all the same. All assholes. All possessive for little to no reason. All fuckboys who flaunt other women in front of her, but when she tries to talk to literally any guy, next thing you know one of them pops up, makes threats, and she runs away like a little coward. Everytime. There is no pining. There's no begging for forgiveness. In fact they all still hate her, and show it. For what purpose you ask? Fuck if I know. And I just know, in my bones, she somehow jumps into bed with one or more of them by the end of the book. Yet I'm 50% through and they've barely had 4 conversations, none of them going well, none of them with any kind of positive progression. All ending the same pitiful way. And honestly I don't even know if you can classify them as conversations. More like just throwing insults back and forth until one leaves.
Like yes 👏🏻 give 👏🏻 us 👏🏻 nothing 👏🏻
"Two years ago my fated mates rejected me. Now they want a second chance"
Is the "wanting" a second chance in the room with us? Seems to me they're just arrogant, possessive, controlling assholes who didn't want the girl they rejected to be with another man.
My biggest problem is the fact I got 50% of the way through and literally nothing has happened. We don't have worldbuilding. I don't know any of the politics. I don't know how the magic system works. I know there's fire, water, earth, and air because holy fuck it's said a million times. But WHATS THE DIFFERENCE??? I obviously know what the 4 elements are but tell me their actual powers, or give me literally anything pleaseeeeee. Hell we have 5 main characters across all 4 of the elements and I dont even know what each of them have power wise, and I got FIFTY PERCENT through. I know which element they are sorted into and that one has a dragon and that's it. She's at a school, and yet we learn nothing. Where does their power come from? Does everyone have the capacity to wield? Is it genetic? Everything is just explained away by the "fates deciding" because she's dumb and knows nothing. The mf managed to throw HERSELF off a cliff ffs. Hell I don't even know why she's considered the "angel" or how she got that reputation. It's never explained, but it sure is mentioned a thousand times. Everyone knows her. Everyone loves her! But for some reason everyone at the school hates her. How is the general population is obsessed with her, but the school population absolutely despises her? Make it make sense.
Our fmc spends 90% of what I read throwing herself a pity party. Sure she has snappy comebacks, but at the end of the day she's a doormat. Her father pushed her around. Her mother pushed her around. Now she's letting literally everyone at the school push her around. She talks a big game but she's all bark no bite.
Our MMCs are all the same. All assholes. All possessive for little to no reason. All fuckboys who flaunt other women in front of her, but when she tries to talk to literally any guy, next thing you know one of them pops up, makes threats, and she runs away like a little coward. Everytime. There is no pining. There's no begging for forgiveness. In fact they all still hate her, and show it. For what purpose you ask? Fuck if I know. And I just know, in my bones, she somehow jumps into bed with one or more of them by the end of the book. Yet I'm 50% through and they've barely had 4 conversations, none of them going well, none of them with any kind of positive progression. All ending the same pitiful way. And honestly I don't even know if you can classify them as conversations. More like just throwing insults back and forth until one leaves.
Like yes 👏🏻 give 👏🏻 us 👏🏻 nothing 👏🏻
July 18, 2026
Didn’t stand out to me, but entertaining enough. An easy, quick read!
May 26, 2026
I was soooooo excited for this. I really was! My most anticipated book of the month by far. However, these men just suck. The few that claim to grovel are not groveling to my standards, and most of them just read as hating Ivy for zero substantiated reason throughout the entire book. This is all while Ivy herself is way nicer to them than they deserve.
Not a bad book, just not really what I wanted. Given the book's ending there may be some groundwork for proper groveling in the next book, so maybe that one will scratch the itch and have the 5 star I thought I would give this one.
Not a bad book, just not really what I wanted. Given the book's ending there may be some groundwork for proper groveling in the next book, so maybe that one will scratch the itch and have the 5 star I thought I would give this one.
June 8, 2026
Car crash
First.. i want to say that this is not my fisrt book by this author but.....
I honestly don't know how to rate this book.
On one hand, I finished it.
On the other, I spent most of it staring at the pages the same way people stare at a car crash. Horrified, fascinated, and completely unable to look away.
The entire book felt like an Olympic-level attempt to cram as many tropes as possible into a single story while somehow keeping everything remarkably shallow. Fated mates, secret societies, hidden powers, chosen ones, dead-not-dead characters, prophecies, magical academies... it's all here. Unfortunately, very little of it felt earned or developed.
The characters felt flat, their emotions rarely matched what was actually happening on the page, and the FMC often behaved more like an immature teenager than a 23-year-old woman. Relationships developed because the plot demanded they develop, not because the chemistry or character growth supported them.
The worldbuilding was full of inconsistencies and plot conveniences. Rules seemed to change whenever the story needed them to. There were multiple moments where I stopped and wondered if I had accidentally skipped a chapter.
To make matters worse, I noticed numerous editing issues, including pronoun changes within scenes and other errors that pulled me out of the story.
By around 30% I stopped reading it as a novel and started reading it as a social experiment. Every time I thought it couldn't possibly throw another trope, twist, reveal, or dramatic secret at me, it somehow managed to do exactly that.
The strangest part?
I read 100–150 books a year, and this was one of the very few that actually motivated me to leave a review.
I still don't know whether that's a compliment or a warning.
First.. i want to say that this is not my fisrt book by this author but.....
I honestly don't know how to rate this book.
On one hand, I finished it.
On the other, I spent most of it staring at the pages the same way people stare at a car crash. Horrified, fascinated, and completely unable to look away.
The entire book felt like an Olympic-level attempt to cram as many tropes as possible into a single story while somehow keeping everything remarkably shallow. Fated mates, secret societies, hidden powers, chosen ones, dead-not-dead characters, prophecies, magical academies... it's all here. Unfortunately, very little of it felt earned or developed.
The characters felt flat, their emotions rarely matched what was actually happening on the page, and the FMC often behaved more like an immature teenager than a 23-year-old woman. Relationships developed because the plot demanded they develop, not because the chemistry or character growth supported them.
The worldbuilding was full of inconsistencies and plot conveniences. Rules seemed to change whenever the story needed them to. There were multiple moments where I stopped and wondered if I had accidentally skipped a chapter.
To make matters worse, I noticed numerous editing issues, including pronoun changes within scenes and other errors that pulled me out of the story.
By around 30% I stopped reading it as a novel and started reading it as a social experiment. Every time I thought it couldn't possibly throw another trope, twist, reveal, or dramatic secret at me, it somehow managed to do exactly that.
The strangest part?
I read 100–150 books a year, and this was one of the very few that actually motivated me to leave a review.
I still don't know whether that's a compliment or a warning.
June 28, 2026
I’ve really got to stop trying to read K.C.Kean books. I keep telling myself ‘maybe they’ve gotten better’, but no.
I’m still not learning my lesson.
As the last series, and the one before, the characters are so annoying it’s a talent. I disliked the events and characters so physically that I’m burdened with persistent sighs and eye rolls.
Good writing, good character building, good flow, good world building.
Hate the characters, hate how they interact, hate their reactions to events.
AaaaaaHHHHHHHHHH. See you all in the reviews of the next series I suppose. Hmph!
I’m still not learning my lesson.
As the last series, and the one before, the characters are so annoying it’s a talent. I disliked the events and characters so physically that I’m burdened with persistent sighs and eye rolls.
Good writing, good character building, good flow, good world building.
Hate the characters, hate how they interact, hate their reactions to events.
AaaaaaHHHHHHHHHH. See you all in the reviews of the next series I suppose. Hmph!
May 27, 2026
This book was not what I was expecting. I was so ready to dive in, and when I did it was not what I was expecting.
There are some twists and turns in this story, some things I didn't see coming, but some things that I just could not wrap my head around.
For a person to have four fated mates and be rejected so publicly, then for those four to say she is publicly embarrassing them and their name by marrying is just absurd. They did that all on their own by not even getting to know her, and understanding that she is not her own person but the puppet her father makes her to be.
Her brother has a lot of explaining to do.
What kills me is that there is essentially a huge rejection, a huge place of hurt and something that should be extremely hard to overcome and forgive, yet she does so with a pep in her step and barely a blink. Yes I would leave to get away from my father but I would make their lives a living pain they couldn't even think to want to be a part of.
And to be in the midst of all of the girls they slept with, ugh, yuck! She was there fated, and they have the nerve to flaunt their interests in front of her and then get mad when someone shows an interest in her. I just couldn't get into this story and how easy it was for them to be angry AT HER when they are the ones that did the most damage, yet expect her to grovel and forgive. It just was not ok. The ending made a lot of dots connect and I really hope and pray book two is a lot better. And that these four do the utmost groveling and she makes them work for it. She gave in way to easy.
There are some twists and turns in this story, some things I didn't see coming, but some things that I just could not wrap my head around.
For a person to have four fated mates and be rejected so publicly, then for those four to say she is publicly embarrassing them and their name by marrying is just absurd. They did that all on their own by not even getting to know her, and understanding that she is not her own person but the puppet her father makes her to be.
Her brother has a lot of explaining to do.
What kills me is that there is essentially a huge rejection, a huge place of hurt and something that should be extremely hard to overcome and forgive, yet she does so with a pep in her step and barely a blink. Yes I would leave to get away from my father but I would make their lives a living pain they couldn't even think to want to be a part of.
And to be in the midst of all of the girls they slept with, ugh, yuck! She was there fated, and they have the nerve to flaunt their interests in front of her and then get mad when someone shows an interest in her. I just couldn't get into this story and how easy it was for them to be angry AT HER when they are the ones that did the most damage, yet expect her to grovel and forgive. It just was not ok. The ending made a lot of dots connect and I really hope and pray book two is a lot better. And that these four do the utmost groveling and she makes them work for it. She gave in way to easy.
June 12, 2026
I was wondering the other day how this author is publishing so many books in such a short period of time? Is it bad to wonder if she’s an AI author.
This book feels like a copy and paste of all the other romantic fantasy, Why choose books where the girl always turns out to be what she is in the end.
The trope is never different, It’s always the same for these Academy why choose books. Why choose is one of my favourite types of genres however the books that I’ve had recently read have been super repetitive and I’m starting to dislike it.
This book feels like a copy and paste of all the other romantic fantasy, Why choose books where the girl always turns out to be what she is in the end.
The trope is never different, It’s always the same for these Academy why choose books. Why choose is one of my favourite types of genres however the books that I’ve had recently read have been super repetitive and I’m starting to dislike it.
Did Not Finish
August 7, 2026DNF at 51%
Google lied to me about how this rejected mate situation was going to go, but I was willing to see it out. Ivy started off so strong, and I understand we have to come to an understanding somehow, but my goodness do I hate the body betrayal thing. She gives in every. single. time. without any fight (emotionally, I got to no spiciness which is good). I just don't have the patience to put up with this type of FMC, but the writing was good up to this point. Just not for me.
Google lied to me about how this rejected mate situation was going to go, but I was willing to see it out. Ivy started off so strong, and I understand we have to come to an understanding somehow, but my goodness do I hate the body betrayal thing. She gives in every. single. time. without any fight (emotionally, I got to no spiciness which is good). I just don't have the patience to put up with this type of FMC, but the writing was good up to this point. Just not for me.
June 16, 2026
I am actually surprised by how many good reviews this book has.
September 5, 2026
This was pretty much a bad rip-off of Zodiac Academy. The FMC comes from a traumatic background, goes to a school where she's bullied by her love interests, and then she turns out to be a . Also, the world-building/magic is the same - the students are split into four houses based on the elements (fire/water/earth/air), but they can also be other supernatural beings with magic powers (dragon-riders, tiger shifters, sirens, phoenixes, etc.). Tell me, is that not the exact same setup as Zodiac Academy? I mean, that series isn't a work of art by any means, but this felt like an even worse version/world than that because the magic system wasn't even explained well. Every power and magic seemed to conveniently pop up whenever needed.
Interestingly, I hated the last KC Kean series that I read because the FMC was this "badass yet extremely lusty" type of girl who simultaneously took no shit but also was having nonstop body betrayal syndrome. This FMC is completely different, but I still couldn't stand her because she did a total 180 after the first chapter. In the first chapter, she seems skilled at something - she practices fencing with her brother all the time and seems to be a good fighter. After that, it's very clear that she has zero skills and zero intelligence. The only thing I liked about the FMC is that she didn't fold easily for the MMCs after they rejected her and then started acted interested later in the book (but I took this back in the last two chapters when she lost her virginity to literally the WORST one of the four guys, pretty much out of no where). This girl knew nothing about the world, she was completely helpless, she never went to class because she was constantly fainting at the sight of her own shadow, and she was generally hard to root for. Her father is the "mayor" of a town in this kingdom, but there's also a council, and she doesn't know how any of that works or know any of the other rulers. Because she didn't know, the readers also don't know, so generally, we're all confused. Not sure why a mayor's daughter of some random town was so famous all over the kingdom.
Every scene outside of class, the cafeteria, or the FMC's bedroom was completely bizarre. There are multiple instances in this where a FMC spends more time getting ready for an event and detailing her outfit and her friend's outfit compared to the time spent at the event itself. She kept arriving to events and then having one four sentence exchange with someone and then fleeing back to her room to lie down from the stress. For example, the party on the beach, the charity sleepover (which made no sense...charity for what? it's literally never explained how this raises money and what was supposed to happen), and the ball at the end of the book when she leaves during the soup (appetizer) portion of dinner. I think this girl went to three classes throughout the entire book, and then she's astounded that she's an idiot who knows nothing. Also, half of her conversations were just confusing. They literally would talk about nothing. I felt illiterate reading parts of this because I kept thinking I was missing something. The (1) wedding scene, and (2) the scene where she had a conversation with her brother, Hugo, after she finally sees him again at school, literally had me reading the same pages over and over again trying to understand it.
Also, the scene where they had to "power up" the school after the power outage was confusing as fuck. My understanding of it is that the school experiences a power outage because other kingdoms are siphoning power from them (idk why other kingdoms are targeting a school, but i digress), and the students are supposed to pour their magic at once into the school's land (?) to recharge it. However, when they go to do that, it seems like magic is being poured FROM the land into the students and that's why they go all sex-crazed. It didn't make any sense.
And another thing! If women are not allowed to attend this school unless they find their fated mates, why are there so many other female students at this school who are thirsting over the FMC's mates? The MMCs are constantly surrounded by women who are throwing themselves at them, but apparently, only women with fated mates could be students at this school with them. Does fated mates not mean what it means in every other book? Again, MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
Anyways, I'm a no on the next book.
Interestingly, I hated the last KC Kean series that I read because the FMC was this "badass yet extremely lusty" type of girl who simultaneously took no shit but also was having nonstop body betrayal syndrome. This FMC is completely different, but I still couldn't stand her because she did a total 180 after the first chapter. In the first chapter, she seems skilled at something - she practices fencing with her brother all the time and seems to be a good fighter. After that, it's very clear that she has zero skills and zero intelligence. The only thing I liked about the FMC is that she didn't fold easily for the MMCs after they rejected her and then started acted interested later in the book (but I took this back in the last two chapters when she lost her virginity to literally the WORST one of the four guys, pretty much out of no where). This girl knew nothing about the world, she was completely helpless, she never went to class because she was constantly fainting at the sight of her own shadow, and she was generally hard to root for. Her father is the "mayor" of a town in this kingdom, but there's also a council, and she doesn't know how any of that works or know any of the other rulers. Because she didn't know, the readers also don't know, so generally, we're all confused. Not sure why a mayor's daughter of some random town was so famous all over the kingdom.
Every scene outside of class, the cafeteria, or the FMC's bedroom was completely bizarre. There are multiple instances in this where a FMC spends more time getting ready for an event and detailing her outfit and her friend's outfit compared to the time spent at the event itself. She kept arriving to events and then having one four sentence exchange with someone and then fleeing back to her room to lie down from the stress. For example, the party on the beach, the charity sleepover (which made no sense...charity for what? it's literally never explained how this raises money and what was supposed to happen), and the ball at the end of the book when she leaves during the soup (appetizer) portion of dinner. I think this girl went to three classes throughout the entire book, and then she's astounded that she's an idiot who knows nothing. Also, half of her conversations were just confusing. They literally would talk about nothing. I felt illiterate reading parts of this because I kept thinking I was missing something. The (1) wedding scene, and (2) the scene where she had a conversation with her brother, Hugo, after she finally sees him again at school, literally had me reading the same pages over and over again trying to understand it.
Also, the scene where they had to "power up" the school after the power outage was confusing as fuck. My understanding of it is that the school experiences a power outage because other kingdoms are siphoning power from them (idk why other kingdoms are targeting a school, but i digress), and the students are supposed to pour their magic at once into the school's land (?) to recharge it. However, when they go to do that, it seems like magic is being poured FROM the land into the students and that's why they go all sex-crazed. It didn't make any sense.
And another thing! If women are not allowed to attend this school unless they find their fated mates, why are there so many other female students at this school who are thirsting over the FMC's mates? The MMCs are constantly surrounded by women who are throwing themselves at them, but apparently, only women with fated mates could be students at this school with them. Does fated mates not mean what it means in every other book? Again, MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
Anyways, I'm a no on the next book.
October 27, 2026
I have so much to cover, so strap in. I think it's important to preface this review by saying I enjoyed it!- because I'm but a very simple girl, and it was a long flight, and rejected mates can do no wrong. NOW, let's get into the nitty-gritty.
First up, things I liked: hot guys. rejected mates. magic. academy setting. fmc that no one knows is actually lowkey traumatized and they slowly find out. cool powers! tention tention tention. drama!
If you're looking for a book where the men grovel properly, this isn't it. There's barely a half assed apology, OH and they still bully her! So NOT grovelling, but that usually happens later on in these series anyways.
Overal a really easy read to pass the time, a little bit of a 'same old same old' vibe, but who cares because rejected mates and hurt and yay! I'm going to keep reading this series because I'm invested in the storyline and I want more of these HOT POWERFUL GUYS 😩💗
The reason why it didn't score higher for me personally, is because of it's plot and writing issues.
The series has potential! However, besides the main plot (which was lowk copy-pasted from Zodiac Academy🤨) NOTHING made sense. Why is a random girl from this random mayor world famous? What was the charity for (there were so many things related to charity)? Why is she the symbol of hope? Why does this world even need hope? What in God's name is the political system this world has got going on? Does everyone's powers just do anything and everything without consequences? Is the magic endless and why does the academy itself run out of magic when I thought it was just magically is always there?
To conclude: I had a lot of questions.
The reason why we don't know any of this is that our dear naive 'badass' FMC doesn't know. And doesn't ask for us. She doesn't care about any of it, or us apparently. So we stay clueless and confused.
Next up on why this read strangely, she goes to her room, the dining hall, and class. Everywhere else where she goes, she goes for a max of 4 sentances, gets flustered or frustrated and leaves (she does this SO often). The outfits of what the girls are wearing gets described for longer than the time they spend at the actual event??? It was just strange. The HOT boys are always accompanying her and seeing her to and from these 3 locations. She does nothing else, but also somehow never goes to class? THIS IS WHY WE HAVE QUESTIONS!!
Up next is the characters themselves. Because there were so many plotlines, everything felt a little flat. Even the characters themselves. Now I'm not going to shit on this too much, because it's a series and I want to give the author time to flesh them out more, but I wish there were less PLOT heavy things and more reasons to actually want to root for the damn characters in the first place.
Enough ranting about a series I'm going to be continuing, I'm not hate reading I promise, I'm just so easy to please but so critical of the writing style and plot, and 11 hour plane flights are brutal.
First up, things I liked: hot guys. rejected mates. magic. academy setting. fmc that no one knows is actually lowkey traumatized and they slowly find out. cool powers! tention tention tention. drama!
If you're looking for a book where the men grovel properly, this isn't it. There's barely a half assed apology, OH and they still bully her! So NOT grovelling, but that usually happens later on in these series anyways.
Overal a really easy read to pass the time, a little bit of a 'same old same old' vibe, but who cares because rejected mates and hurt and yay! I'm going to keep reading this series because I'm invested in the storyline and I want more of these HOT POWERFUL GUYS 😩💗
The reason why it didn't score higher for me personally, is because of it's plot and writing issues.
The series has potential! However, besides the main plot (which was lowk copy-pasted from Zodiac Academy🤨) NOTHING made sense. Why is a random girl from this random mayor world famous? What was the charity for (there were so many things related to charity)? Why is she the symbol of hope? Why does this world even need hope? What in God's name is the political system this world has got going on? Does everyone's powers just do anything and everything without consequences? Is the magic endless and why does the academy itself run out of magic when I thought it was just magically is always there?
To conclude: I had a lot of questions.
The reason why we don't know any of this is that our dear naive 'badass' FMC doesn't know. And doesn't ask for us. She doesn't care about any of it, or us apparently. So we stay clueless and confused.
Next up on why this read strangely, she goes to her room, the dining hall, and class. Everywhere else where she goes, she goes for a max of 4 sentances, gets flustered or frustrated and leaves (she does this SO often). The outfits of what the girls are wearing gets described for longer than the time they spend at the actual event??? It was just strange. The HOT boys are always accompanying her and seeing her to and from these 3 locations. She does nothing else, but also somehow never goes to class? THIS IS WHY WE HAVE QUESTIONS!!
Up next is the characters themselves. Because there were so many plotlines, everything felt a little flat. Even the characters themselves. Now I'm not going to shit on this too much, because it's a series and I want to give the author time to flesh them out more, but I wish there were less PLOT heavy things and more reasons to actually want to root for the damn characters in the first place.
Enough ranting about a series I'm going to be continuing, I'm not hate reading I promise, I'm just so easy to please but so critical of the writing style and plot, and 11 hour plane flights are brutal.
June 17, 2026
First half was good: Interesting plot line, decent writing. But it fell through. Has potential!
October 7, 2026
Nope...
“I’m not groveling for shit.” (this was said by her "nicest" mate)...
Cruel words, cruel actions, humiliation, degradation, you name it, it was here, so who the duck in this world would forgive that? Why do authors keep pushing this agenda? If it were me, I would have bi1ch slapped those "mates" of her and found better... SERIOUSLY WHY AUTHORS KEEP DOING THIS? it's not ok to forgive that kind of behavior...
“I’m not groveling for shit.” (this was said by her "nicest" mate)...
Cruel words, cruel actions, humiliation, degradation, you name it, it was here, so who the duck in this world would forgive that? Why do authors keep pushing this agenda? If it were me, I would have bi1ch slapped those "mates" of her and found better... SERIOUSLY WHY AUTHORS KEEP DOING THIS? it's not ok to forgive that kind of behavior...
July 27, 2026
Hate to lovers done wrong
Ugh… these books made me so angry.
There’s the beginning of a genuinely interesting story here, but it gets buried beneath weak character development and an endless need to find another excuse to add spice.
I love a good betrayal-to-redemption romance, but this just wasn’t it. Instead, it falls into one of my least favorite tropes: “I hate them, but I just can’t resist my hormones or the fact that they’re my fated mates, so I guess I’ll keep letting them in and sleeping with them anyway.” It drives me absolutely nuts.
The FMC spends so much time giving in instead of making anyone actually earn her trust that I eventually stopped rooting for her altogether. She has no backbone, no consistency in her convictions, and very little character growth. She’s basically a doormat by choice. The MMCs aren’t much better. If they’re supposedly trying to redeem themselves, maybe stop accepting intimacy before you’ve done anything to deserve it. And don’t even get me started on how she just lets people who drastically harmed her get away with it and even works with them. 🤦♀️🤬
The ending of book one intrigued me enough to pick up book two, and for a little while I thought things were heading in the right direction. Then we reached the magical “the only way for her to control her powers is through physical intimacy” plot point… and that’s where the story completely lost me.
I love good spice. Good spice is the payoff. It should deepen relationships, reinforce emotional tension, or reward all that build-up. But this didn’t feel like that. It felt like the story kept manufacturing excuses for another spicy scene instead of letting the romance and plot naturally lead us there.
By the second half of book two, it felt like we couldn’t go more than a couple of scenes before her powers needed “fixing” again. Instead of building the plot, developing the characters, or letting the relationships grow naturally, the story kept circling back to the exact same solution. We lost the actual story to it and it became repetitive, predictable, annoying and honestly pretty boring.
For me, that’s what made it feel cheap. The spice stopped being a natural consequence of the story and started feeling like the mechanism that kept it moving. Rather than enhancing the romance, it replaced the emotional development that should have made those moments meaningful. By the final spicy scene, I wasn’t swooning. I was so over it I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room.
Ironically, the last few lines of both book are my favorite part because they hint at a much bigger, more compelling story. They’re almost enough to make me want to continue… almost. Unfortunately, after reading book two I don’t have any confidence that the execution in the rest of the series will ever live up to the premise.
If these are the kinds of things that frustrate you too, I’d save yourself the annoyance and skip this one.
Ugh… these books made me so angry.
There’s the beginning of a genuinely interesting story here, but it gets buried beneath weak character development and an endless need to find another excuse to add spice.
I love a good betrayal-to-redemption romance, but this just wasn’t it. Instead, it falls into one of my least favorite tropes: “I hate them, but I just can’t resist my hormones or the fact that they’re my fated mates, so I guess I’ll keep letting them in and sleeping with them anyway.” It drives me absolutely nuts.
The FMC spends so much time giving in instead of making anyone actually earn her trust that I eventually stopped rooting for her altogether. She has no backbone, no consistency in her convictions, and very little character growth. She’s basically a doormat by choice. The MMCs aren’t much better. If they’re supposedly trying to redeem themselves, maybe stop accepting intimacy before you’ve done anything to deserve it. And don’t even get me started on how she just lets people who drastically harmed her get away with it and even works with them. 🤦♀️🤬
The ending of book one intrigued me enough to pick up book two, and for a little while I thought things were heading in the right direction. Then we reached the magical “the only way for her to control her powers is through physical intimacy” plot point… and that’s where the story completely lost me.
I love good spice. Good spice is the payoff. It should deepen relationships, reinforce emotional tension, or reward all that build-up. But this didn’t feel like that. It felt like the story kept manufacturing excuses for another spicy scene instead of letting the romance and plot naturally lead us there.
By the second half of book two, it felt like we couldn’t go more than a couple of scenes before her powers needed “fixing” again. Instead of building the plot, developing the characters, or letting the relationships grow naturally, the story kept circling back to the exact same solution. We lost the actual story to it and it became repetitive, predictable, annoying and honestly pretty boring.
For me, that’s what made it feel cheap. The spice stopped being a natural consequence of the story and started feeling like the mechanism that kept it moving. Rather than enhancing the romance, it replaced the emotional development that should have made those moments meaningful. By the final spicy scene, I wasn’t swooning. I was so over it I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room.
Ironically, the last few lines of both book are my favorite part because they hint at a much bigger, more compelling story. They’re almost enough to make me want to continue… almost. Unfortunately, after reading book two I don’t have any confidence that the execution in the rest of the series will ever live up to the premise.
If these are the kinds of things that frustrate you too, I’d save yourself the annoyance and skip this one.
July 7, 2026
Hugo is the worst brother EVER. He purposefully left Ivy in the dark. Completely ignorant on so many things that she should have known. He didn't even warn her about the rejuvenation ritual. Then he ghosted her for weeks with no explanation as to WHY. But worst of all he befriended her Hated Mates. Even told Teddy how she fences.
"Do you regret rejecting me?"
"No."
"Cool. Wanna have casual sex now?"
WTF???!!!
Either an editor is needed or dragons change their pronouns constantly. Is Lucky male or female? No one knows.
Girl has every decision made for her her entire life... then when she escapes to the Academy her brother and mates are still making decisions for her. Even very minor things that she could be included in on... and then she's supposed to THANK them?!
*****SPOILERS ***** SORT OF
It never explains how she survived the lake. Bindings and clothing still intact....
It never explains their reason for rejecting her. We know Barron's reason but what about the others? They didn't know they would all be fated to the same mate. They couldn't have planned ahead.
It never explains why they are so rude to her once they bring her back. I mean it was THEIR choice. Not hers. She has every right to hate them.
Why are there so many "single women" pawing all over teddy? Girls can't go to the academy without a mate. So where are their mates?????
Can everyone just teleport? They gonna teach that at the academy?
Book 2 got some 'splaining to do....
"Do you regret rejecting me?"
"No."
"Cool. Wanna have casual sex now?"
WTF???!!!
Either an editor is needed or dragons change their pronouns constantly. Is Lucky male or female? No one knows.
Girl has every decision made for her her entire life... then when she escapes to the Academy her brother and mates are still making decisions for her. Even very minor things that she could be included in on... and then she's supposed to THANK them?!
*****SPOILERS ***** SORT OF
It never explains how she survived the lake. Bindings and clothing still intact....
It never explains their reason for rejecting her. We know Barron's reason but what about the others? They didn't know they would all be fated to the same mate. They couldn't have planned ahead.
It never explains why they are so rude to her once they bring her back. I mean it was THEIR choice. Not hers. She has every right to hate them.
Why are there so many "single women" pawing all over teddy? Girls can't go to the academy without a mate. So where are their mates?????
Can everyone just teleport? They gonna teach that at the academy?
Book 2 got some 'splaining to do....
June 7, 2026
Dnf at 34%, 1 hour and 55 minutes.
Quite boring and basic. FMC is acting like she’s had THE hardest life when she hasn’t 🙄
Quite boring and basic. FMC is acting like she’s had THE hardest life when she hasn’t 🙄
June 12, 2026
aaarrrrrgggghhhhh
This book gave me the sads and I don’t appreciate it! If people would just stop and . . . . Hhmmmm this book captivated me and it was not my fault at all!!
This book gave me the sads and I don’t appreciate it! If people would just stop and . . . . Hhmmmm this book captivated me and it was not my fault at all!!
July 8, 2026
DNF
May just be me, but I am not interested in naive, pampered princesses. May got better, but the lack of a spine was enough to end my eye rolling.
May just be me, but I am not interested in naive, pampered princesses. May got better, but the lack of a spine was enough to end my eye rolling.
October 18, 2026
I absolutely love all of KC Kean’s plots and absolutely hate all of KC Kean’s writing.
It’s like eating chocolate cake studded with glass. Super delicious and I can’t stop but I’m suffering the entire time.
As usual, her FMC is a pampered, rich princess that everyone mistakens as spoiled and entitled but really grew up abused and neglected. She wears a persona as the Angel of the city and is probably a publicist’s wet dream. I wish she could maintain that composure and grace when she encounters the MMCs. Sometimes I think it would be more empowering for her to be above it all.
But instead, of course the minute she (re)meets the MMCs, she super sassy and shows “she has a backbone” but can’t follow through. BBS might as well be her first name, and for how much she supposedly hates them, she’s sure ok with them grabbing her and touching her and kissing her.
I am so angry, mostly at myself because I know I’m going to read the second book and probably DNF somewhere midway the third like I always do with her series.
TW: there is OW drama and imo, what one MMC does is cheating as he’s still sleeping around after bringing her to their academy.
It’s like eating chocolate cake studded with glass. Super delicious and I can’t stop but I’m suffering the entire time.
As usual, her FMC is a pampered, rich princess that everyone mistakens as spoiled and entitled but really grew up abused and neglected. She wears a persona as the Angel of the city and is probably a publicist’s wet dream. I wish she could maintain that composure and grace when she encounters the MMCs. Sometimes I think it would be more empowering for her to be above it all.
But instead, of course the minute she (re)meets the MMCs, she super sassy and shows “she has a backbone” but can’t follow through. BBS might as well be her first name, and for how much she supposedly hates them, she’s sure ok with them grabbing her and touching her and kissing her.
I am so angry, mostly at myself because I know I’m going to read the second book and probably DNF somewhere midway the third like I always do with her series.
TW: there is OW drama and imo, what one MMC does is cheating as he’s still sleeping around after bringing her to their academy.
September 28, 2026
I’ll be honest, I’m going to at least start the next one, but I have huge problems with this book.
I’m not a big fan of bully romances and thought this would be more rejected mates but it is severely lacking. The four rejected her yet have zero remorse for their actions and how it impacted her. They do nothing when other people bully her and only care if another guy is flirting with her as if the four of them have never touched another after rejecting her and don’t have other women hanging off them all the time.
There was ZERO groveling. You can’t just write that they groveled and expect it to work. They don’t regret anything except MAYBE Sax and even he barely does anything to help her.
The FMC is manipulated and used her entire life, including by her brother she adores. She lets her brother off WAY too easy and I’m still mad about it. I’m supposed to believe this guy loves her when he let her spend another two years with abusive parents before finally getting the guys to drag her to campus? Then says it’s “for the kingdom” and when she asks “what about me” he’s all “oh, yeah, that too. Promise!”. Really? That’s love there. Plus he know what the guys have out her through and his answer is that they’re good guys and she needs to give them a chance? Are you fucking kidding me? Literally all of you are having secret meetings about how useful she better be to you, it has nothing to do with her or her wellbeing.
Then she goes and gives her virginity to the guy who spent the entire book flirting back with other women in front of her? That was a choice by the author. The guys say they’re not forcing her into anything but that’s literally all they do.
We get flashes of her standing up for herself before reverting to people pleasing and going with the flow. She told them all to fuck off at the beginning yet continues to go along with them as they pester her and manipulate her into doing what they want.
I feel like as I rant about this book I’m talking myself out of the next one but I need to see if they have any redeeming qualities at all. My hopes are low.
I’m not a big fan of bully romances and thought this would be more rejected mates but it is severely lacking. The four rejected her yet have zero remorse for their actions and how it impacted her. They do nothing when other people bully her and only care if another guy is flirting with her as if the four of them have never touched another after rejecting her and don’t have other women hanging off them all the time.
There was ZERO groveling. You can’t just write that they groveled and expect it to work. They don’t regret anything except MAYBE Sax and even he barely does anything to help her.
The FMC is manipulated and used her entire life, including by her brother she adores. She lets her brother off WAY too easy and I’m still mad about it. I’m supposed to believe this guy loves her when he let her spend another two years with abusive parents before finally getting the guys to drag her to campus? Then says it’s “for the kingdom” and when she asks “what about me” he’s all “oh, yeah, that too. Promise!”. Really? That’s love there. Plus he know what the guys have out her through and his answer is that they’re good guys and she needs to give them a chance? Are you fucking kidding me? Literally all of you are having secret meetings about how useful she better be to you, it has nothing to do with her or her wellbeing.
Then she goes and gives her virginity to the guy who spent the entire book flirting back with other women in front of her? That was a choice by the author. The guys say they’re not forcing her into anything but that’s literally all they do.
We get flashes of her standing up for herself before reverting to people pleasing and going with the flow. She told them all to fuck off at the beginning yet continues to go along with them as they pester her and manipulate her into doing what they want.
I feel like as I rant about this book I’m talking myself out of the next one but I need to see if they have any redeeming qualities at all. My hopes are low.
May 28, 2026
Holy fire
Woo what a book this was all I can say is I couldn't wait 42 come out after I read the one chapter prior that was sent out.And I am totally not upset about it at all.This one was awesome, although I felt really bad with what the four guys did to her.But I really hope you come as back in the second book and just makes him grovel and regret everything
Woo what a book this was all I can say is I couldn't wait 42 come out after I read the one chapter prior that was sent out.And I am totally not upset about it at all.This one was awesome, although I felt really bad with what the four guys did to her.But I really hope you come as back in the second book and just makes him grovel and regret everything
May 21, 2026
Ivy, Archer, Sax, Baron, + Teddy
-fantasy academy
-whychoose
-rejected fated mates
-second chance
-ow/om drama
-shifters/animal companions
its been a long while since i read a rejected mates & this one did the second chance of it SOOOOO good! i was pleasantly surprised with all the om/ow plot drama too,, but i loveee that shit!!
-fantasy academy
-whychoose
-rejected fated mates
-second chance
-ow/om drama
-shifters/animal companions
its been a long while since i read a rejected mates & this one did the second chance of it SOOOOO good! i was pleasantly surprised with all the om/ow plot drama too,, but i loveee that shit!!
June 30, 2026
That ending was amazing! I can’t wait to see what happens for Ivy and her man. I love the magic, the dragons, and all the drama. So can I get book 2 now?? KC did such an amazing job with this book and I can’t wait to see how the series unfolds!
July 4, 2026
4.5⭐️
July 19, 2026
3.5 Stars
July 6, 2026
I read it because I wanted to see how bad it would get in the end.
June 20, 2026
1.5 - a big yawn and too many characters and the plot was all over the place 🤨
August 14, 2026
A senseless and extremely immature book. I could tell just how terrible it was from the very first chapter.
For starters, these so-called "fated mates" have no brains and shitty personalities. I’ve read books where the male leads screw up (usually for the stupidest reasons 🙄), and I’ve always hated how easily the female lead forgives them, even after suffering such heartbreak. I mean, seriously. But in this book, it’s even worse. They judge her harshly, hate her for no reason (and, in my opinion, there really isn't a valid excuse for their nasty attitude), and insult her without cause. So, you get lost in an academy you know nothing about—after being dragged there against your will—and ''you’re'' clearly the idiot. 🙄
And let me guess: amidst all the insults, mockery, and shitty behavior, all the FMC will see is how handsome the guys are; then she’ll forgive them, and they’ll live happily ever after. Ha. It wouldn’t be the first book like that, and certainly not the last. I feel like this book would have been a hit for me if I’d read it when I was eleven.
The whole thing with authors trying to pull off a successful "enemies-to-lovers" plot just doesn't work when the parties involved act like toddlers—at least not for me. "Hate-to-love," sure. But where the hell is all this hatred for the FMC coming from when the poor girl has been locked up at home her whole life? I hate the "let's hate a kid for what their parent did" trope, especially when she isn't responsible for her parents' behavior. Honestly, I don't know if that's the exact case here—since I DNF'd it—but I've seen this plot so many times that I have a strong hunch.
The point is, the characters are pointlessly immature. It reminds me of when I stop my nephew from jumping off a chair—doing something that would surely end with him breaking his neck—and he starts hurling random insults, using whatever words pop into his head first. Basically, it's senseless stupidity: funny, but also deeply annoying.
For starters, these so-called "fated mates" have no brains and shitty personalities. I’ve read books where the male leads screw up (usually for the stupidest reasons 🙄), and I’ve always hated how easily the female lead forgives them, even after suffering such heartbreak. I mean, seriously. But in this book, it’s even worse. They judge her harshly, hate her for no reason (and, in my opinion, there really isn't a valid excuse for their nasty attitude), and insult her without cause. So, you get lost in an academy you know nothing about—after being dragged there against your will—and ''you’re'' clearly the idiot. 🙄
And let me guess: amidst all the insults, mockery, and shitty behavior, all the FMC will see is how handsome the guys are; then she’ll forgive them, and they’ll live happily ever after. Ha. It wouldn’t be the first book like that, and certainly not the last. I feel like this book would have been a hit for me if I’d read it when I was eleven.
The whole thing with authors trying to pull off a successful "enemies-to-lovers" plot just doesn't work when the parties involved act like toddlers—at least not for me. "Hate-to-love," sure. But where the hell is all this hatred for the FMC coming from when the poor girl has been locked up at home her whole life? I hate the "let's hate a kid for what their parent did" trope, especially when she isn't responsible for her parents' behavior. Honestly, I don't know if that's the exact case here—since I DNF'd it—but I've seen this plot so many times that I have a strong hunch.
The point is, the characters are pointlessly immature. It reminds me of when I stop my nephew from jumping off a chair—doing something that would surely end with him breaking his neck—and he starts hurling random insults, using whatever words pop into his head first. Basically, it's senseless stupidity: funny, but also deeply annoying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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