A Song of Shadows

Otherworld Academy #2

by Jenna Wolfhart

My new life at Otherworld Academy went from not-so-normal to downright-crazy fast. My best friend got turned into a shapeshifting beast, the Autumn Court tried to launch an assassination on the changelings, and I can somehow tap into the powers of all four courts.

And that's not including my insanely attractive fae instructors who make me feel like the temperature has gone up a thousand degrees.

But even though things were crazy before, it was nothing on how they are now. Danger lurks in every corner, new threats are closing in, and the storms are only growing larger. Now, I must learn to harness my powers with my four fae instructors, not only to save the changelings but the entirety of the faerie realm.

A Song of Shadows is the second book in the Otherworld Academy series. This is a full-length reverse harem fantasy.

Genres: Reverse Harem, Fantasy, Fae, Romance, Paranormal, Magic, Audiobook

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2018

About the author

Jenna Wolfhart spends her days dreaming up stories about swoony fae kings and rugged blacksmiths. When she's not writing, she loves to do CrossFit competitions, rewatch Game of Thrones, collect Taylor Swift vinyls, and drink far too much coffee.

Jenna has always had a passion for writing, books, and publishing. Previously, she worked for an academic publisher in New York and then completed her PhD in Librarianship, focusing on young adult fiction.

Jenna now lives in England with her husband and her two dogs.

Reviews

[✨Skye✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hm. I definitely don't think this is as good as the first one, but I have high hopes for book 3. I just wasn't as captivated by this one and I think the plot was messier. I don't feel like a lot happened in this one, and in terms of the relationships, I didn't see as much as I would have liked, especially of Kael and Finn.
This sequel follows Norah, who is a Fae and now lives in the Otherworld, learning how to control her fae abilities and juggling her feelings for 4 fae males from the 4 different courts. This series has a lot of political intrigue, twists and turns and a good chunk of romance, but honestly, I wanted more. It's a reverse harem so I was expecting lots of scenes with the guys, but there wasn't a huge amount. It's almost like they took in turns for her attention, and it seemed quite disjointed-it was like she's focussing on this guy, then this guy, then this guy, and there wasn't a lot of cohesion. This series is definitely still a guilty pleasure and I loved Norah's development in this one. I love Liam, Rourke, Finn and Kael. I will still read this series because I do love it, but I had more issues with this one than I did book one.

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oopsie, didn't like this one

[⋆☆☽ Kriss ☾☆⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes a second book fares better because it has the first book's content to jettison off of, but sometimes it fails because it doesn't take the chance to use the first book as stepping stone up, but rather as a cliff to nose dive down from.

Yet again, the story is aggressively simplified and fast paced to the point of being actually insultingly dumbed and toned down, as if it's a novel for 12 year olds, but with a lot of badly done sexual tension. Like why is this story so stupidly, naively done? Was the author's writing process just "and then they have sex... and then a bad guy shows up! and then horses... and then the kings get killed... and then Norah is a magic queen! The end." because that kind of dumbly linear, overly simplsitic story logic and idea building is what this entire book is.

Things happen in rapid, unwarranted succession. There's no build up. We're told things but shown nothing. There's zero emotion. The behaviors and actions of the characters have no realism. Norah and Rourke barely connected and then had sex while in the throes of danger. Norah is always dumbly horny and simpering about how she's not getting enough attention from the guys. She randomly has powers that she doesn't have to work for, despite the author trying to work in some limitations or side effects. Viola is a dumb villain. All the villains are dumb and cliche and written as complexly as a 10 year old would but they're not even FUN in that regard. They're just lazily, poorly, stupidly written.

I feel no chemistry between the characters. There's no emotion. The plot is rice cracker bland and thin and weak. BLEH.

Definitely not interested in the third book and also seriously upset I wasted like a dollar on this series. I have nothing positive to say besides the fact that the cover looks nice.

[Ashley Martinez (ilovebooksandstuffblog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerously entertaining! An action packed sequel that leaves my heart pounding till the very end. I really enjoy this series so far. With so many twist and turns I was kept on the edge of my seat.
The characters were fun to read and I enjoyed learning more about them. This book focused more on Rourke. I enjoyed hearing his story!
I can’t wait to see what happens next to our fearless fae!

[Mummy's Naughty Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay this one was a lot slower then the first one. I loved the redcaps and feel that part of the story line was missing. I liked the planning to get the courts to fight but a lot of the ideas were very predictable and it dragged in parts.

[Christy deSade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trite with a side of blah

The oh so important "revelations" were so predictable that they fell utterly flat. The supposed plot twist was the same played out story we've read a thousand times (And it wasn't handled very well). The worst part was the anticlimactic ending...I mean, really? After all of the build-up, it's over in less than half a chapter. The relationships didn't develop and remained boring shells of what they could have been.

[Jana Gundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always want more!

I'm a huge fan and I always drop any other book I might be reading, to get to whatever this author puts out. I loved the story, the action and finally some love action and some answers to questions we've all had!

[Jaime (Two Chicks on Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this as much as book 1! I can’t wait for the next one!!!

[Kimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Overall Rating ★★★★
Plot ★★★★
Humor ★★★
Characters & Character Development ★★★★
Narration ★★★★

Story: I'm really enjoying where this story is going. I can't wait to see what happens next. I really like Norah. Norah knows that she's not invisible but she wants to protect the realm in whatever way she can. She knows her limits but when it comes down to a fight, she pushes herself to help others. I really like the guys as well and what they contribute to the story. They encourage Norah to reach her full potential and they're supportive. I didn't mind that there wasn't much sex in this book because the plot is really good. There was a lot of action in this book. It was disappointing that Kael and Finn weren't actually around in this book. I don't however appreciate the way they guys kept information from her. And she makes it clear that that's not okay. I like how she's not weak willed like some younger characters. Alwyn was annoying the way she tried to keep them apart and mess everything up. I don't believe it was to protect her.

I hope her best friend is in more of the next book because I know she has her back and she's good back up. I still don't like or trust Sophie much. I feel like she needs to stop sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. I really hope that the next book (which it seems is the last) has more of Norah and her guys being all together because I didn't like the separation. That's what a harem is about. They should have gone on all their journeys together.

Narration: Stephanie Rose. I feel like she does a pretty good job with the guys voices especially with their accents. I love how they're all different. I'm going to find more books narrated by her to listen to. I'm going to continue to listen to this series when the next book comes out on 9/25/18.

[Krystal Ayers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well. A fae with four mates and is the daughter of the true queen. Did we see this coming? OF COURSE! UGH! I hate when things are so dang predictable! It takes away from the story, completely. Now, I did like that this had a tiny bit more plot than the other. I understand we have to suffer through the harem part of the genre but it's truly annoying to have them all fall head over heels for this girl in barely enough time. AND, she was extremely predictable in her," Ohh, I'm no good, I stink, I don't know how to do anything" but by the end of the book she has perfect form of her powers and she's like,"I'm a badass." I actually liked Norah in the first book so I really hope they don't ruin her completely. It's bad enough she's a predictable princess of the realm. She could have been the niece (though that's been done), or just.. something else! Anyway, yep. Not terrible but lots of not great things in this book.

[Chelsey Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler Warrior

I’m pretty into this series. The plot is fun, the world is well fleshed out. I am a little bit bummed that the sex scenes are just skimmed over. I don’t enjoy a book that is 90% sex and 10% plot but neither do I enjoy a book that is 98% plot and 2% sexy times.
As always: here are my thoughts as I had them:

Dude I bet it’s her mom. Or Alwyn.
Maybe Alwyn IS her mom. Wouldn’t that be bangin.

I like how no-nonsense Norah is.

God, save me from men who keep things to themselves like the MC is some delicate fckng flower.

God they’re all morons. HAREM LIFE FOREVER. It annoys me when any of the MCs bring up choosing like they didn’t all just talk about the queen’s harem last time.

I feel like we’ve taken a HUGE step back here. They discussed her having all four courts powers. Why is she now acting confused about where she’ll ‘end up’?

Ohhhhh.

Duuuude. Totally Alwyn.

Is she only ever going to get any action if she LEAVES with one of them? They’re horrible sharers.

Apparently the answer is yes.

Aww, that scene could have gone better. More...descriptions, would have been nice.

Um. Crazy town.

Alwyn is such a twat.

Hmm..that ended weird.

[Faith Chin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Characters were underdeveloped and childish. Norah was a horny teenager and got turned on real quickly when she was with one of her four instructors (who all turned out to be her mates). Also, from the first book, it seemed unrealistic to me that she could entirely abandon the human realm so suddenly when she has been in it for 18 years. I expected that there would be a follow-up on this issue in A Song of Shadows. In many books like this, the main protagonist, in this case, Norah, either has to train to achieve their powers or the author provides a very good background story to ease us into thinking that the protagonist deserves her powers. But I didn’t feel that Norah was deserving. Her powers were pretty random and new ones would pop up suddenly in the book. Although I could tell Wolfhart tried, the four fae males Norah were attached to did not appear to me that they have sufficient distinctive character traits and this made the book even more dull. To sum it up in all honesty, all of them were just wholly obsessive with Norah. Plot was little and I expected more.

Probably wouldn’t read the last book of this trilogy. This one was underwhelming.

[Watch Jamie Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

All hail Norah!

The battle for the fae kingdoms continues with Norah and her fated mates. As Norah continues to unravel her feelings for her males, the four kingdoms start a war to end all wars. This installment in the story does a great job at progressing all parts of the story without leaving anything out. I want Norah’s decision to be with all four of her mates to be made sooner rather than later, but I take comfort in knowing that it has to happen at some point. I enjoyed getting to know Rourke better in this book, as he was on the down low in book 1. The plot for the kingdoms and the Otherworld thickens and I loved the intrigue and mystique surrounding the storyline. Norah’s connection to her fae powers progresses really well isn’t his book. It’s not too fast or unbelievable. I still love the pace of the writing and I’m excited to keep going and see where this adventure takes us! Onto book 3!

[Oasis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the plot, the characters, pretty much everything except how fast the writing moves. It reads like the author was on a time crunch and just wrote everything down to get to the end as fast as possible.

[Colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy I found this series. It has all the major elements I love in a story. I can't wait for the next!! Just finished this in four hours.. I couldn't put it down.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. It was fine. Just like with book 1, I still really like like the characters but the storytelling and writing just isn't doing it for me. Also, I noticed a few errors and editing misses. Small things like people eating poisoned blackberries but later it is said they were poisoned by blueberries. It didn't affect the story but it still brought me out of the story and made me look back to see if I was crazy or if the berry really did change.
Since I had to do a lot of skimming to get through this book, just as I did with book 1, I am not going to read any further into this series.

[Bondedtobooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF, I did skip to the end to see what happens.

This need to be longer and more detailed. Alot of things happened without any reaction or detail. We needed the Mens POV to really get to know them.

[Silver Gautier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad

I really enjoy this series so far but it seems so far that the author will introduce things that are important to the story for example Marion’s stone but then do nothing with it. Considering it was a ‘death object’ something should’ve happened when she touched it but nothing ever did... I’m worried that a lot of questions will be unanswered even in the next and final book.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as fantasy adventure books goes, this one is fantastic. However, in terms of a reverse harem this is not only slow burn but also VERY tame.

Character development is a little light for literally all of the characters except for Norah, and even for her it’s not particularly in depth.

Besides that, the story has grown immensely and is so damn entertaining that I read through both the first and second books in the same day. And let’s be honest, it’s only 9 pm...I’ll probably start the third book tonight as well lol!

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Wolfhart is fast becoming one of my favorite authors, and this book just highlights why. First let me say that this is a new adult book and the second in a series. One of the reasons I enjoy this author is how well she writes. I always feel like I’m immediately drawn into a book she writes, and I am kept there by how descriptive the scenes are. Not only that, I feel for all the characters, and in this book I love how Norah is coming into her own powers. This book was a great addition to the series, and while I do feel the end was rushed a little, I still loved this book overall and can’t wait to see what’s coming next. Highly recommend!

[Liz Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liking this RH series of Jenna's

I wasn't sure I was going to like the Reverse Harem genre. I've tried other authors and they're a bit heavy-handed with the sex scenes. I like Jenna's RH style, though. It's much more subtle and classy. I'm really enjoying the Otherworld Academy series. As always, Jenna tells a great tale weaving magic around the reader and pulling them in.

[Pixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Fans of Sara J Maas will LOVE this Fae Series!!!* These books are like Fae fairytales in every sense of the word. I adored it from start to finish, and was immediately drawn in to this beautiful and romantic story. It was easy to get swept away into this story, and I enjoyed every moment. I couldn’t put this down till I finished, and I was very satisfied with the ending. Highly recommend for an enchanting and captivating read.

[Kelly Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow burn but interesting read

The whole series is full of interesting twists and colorful characters, thoigh its a bit too slow a burn for me. A lot has happened in 2 books, and I enjoyed the read and look forward to the final installment next month.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why! Why did this book have to he so damn short? Why does this series keep me wanting more? I absolutely love this story, even though the fighting scenes are severely lacking. Not just the fighting, but the steam. Where's the steam!?

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could use editing

A little predictable. Could use some editing work.

Overall the story is simplistic but fun to read. I definitely don’t feel like the author forced the mates to have equal time but I’m definitely missing Finn and Kael.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

A little bit more progress in the romance department
However, I wish the final battle was a little bit more interesting

I am interested to see where the dark fae come into the story next!

[Giulietta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um, what? If Viola was so powerful and she was the main villain of the first books why did that happened? I would have liked a better plot line. Better luck next time, I guess (like the first book)

[Toni ~married to a hunk~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another fast paced book. I love how they are moving around the whole areas. The next book is going to be interesting.

[⇝ b ⇝ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot was lacking in this book. So many things could’ve been drawn out more and given actual explanations. But overall I actually still enjoyed this.

[AMG · Rating 3 out of 5]

RH MMMM/Fae

SYNOPSIS (of Trilogy): The story is set in the modern world but it‘s one that does not know that fae exist. The FC (Norah) discovers on her 18th birthday that she is a changeling Fae swapped at birth for a human baby. She is taken by 4 Fae instructors to Otherworld Academy to learn about being a Fae and to be trained. Many years earlier there had been a revolution where the Autumn Court had assassinated the ruling Queen of all the Fae Courts (Marin) and the Fae had been broken up into 4 ruling seasonal Courts each with their own royalty. There are 4 instructors from each of the seasonal Courts who work at the academy and she connects with them as mates. As time passes she discovers she has powers linked to more than one Court which which is unusual as usually a Fae is linked to only one Court. The Autumn Queen is intent on taking over all the Courts and killing any Royalty and opposition. The Trilogy covers how Norah learns who and what she is and the fight against Viola and subsequently the Dark Fae. There are 3 following book but they deal with a different but linked character.

Heat level: 🌶️🌶️/🍆🍆 - there are limited sex scenes or sexy times and the writing of the scenes was, in my opinion, lacking in heat.

The writing is OK but despite being second editions the books have a few typos and editing issues. The story itself starts off slow and I almost gave up but then it picks up. The trilogy had its ups and downs in retaining my attention and I skimmed parts. Unfortunately the story lacks any originality which would be that big a problem if the writing was high quality and the characters engaging. Unfortunately that isn‘t the case here. The FC is supposed to be strong but does a lot of whining and actually doesn‘t show any real strength of character or fighting ability. She‘s simply lucky enough to have some powers that carry her through. There‘s no real character development and it is hard to see why any of the MCs would fall for her let alone the insta-attract that happens here.

The story also has a few inconsistencies/plot holes which are jarring such as a reference to first years going on the trek against the Autumn court when only Norah was permitted to go; one minute she struggles to shadow for a couple of minutes and the next she seems able to do so for hours; or she shifts once and then becomes an expert. Norah can shadow and shift yet when she’s caught shadowing instead of just shifting to escape she just surrenders. The FC just comes across as stupid. Why would she just walk in alone to a stronghold already taken over with no plan and no back up? How did she not pick up on Summer’s plan of misinformation which was so obvious? Then there’s Norah whining about not being good enough and able to fight Viola (despite having all these amazing powers) and has given up but Viola then says she’s going to take her mates as her own - how, through rape? - and apparently Norah is suddenly able to fight back - seriously 😒!

Whilst there is a lot of detail in the first 20% of Book 1 there are then gaps in the story and other elements are sped through. For example, the relationship between Norah and her 4 instructors just happens. One minute they are strangers and the next she is talking about them as her mates and they are being all attentive and protective of her. No one questions why they are so focussed on her. There is no development of relationships, no world building nor background development to flesh out the characters. It‘s all very superficial and there seems to be no real consideration or discussion about Nora having multiple mates or her explaining that she has just slept with/gotten off with one MC before doing the same with another MC. She goes from virgin to multiple bed partners and sexually pushy at the drop of a hat 🙄 In addition, Marin was supposed to be incredibly powerful and you never find out how Viola managed to assassinate not only her but her mates as well and everyone appears to have just accepted it and taken no action against Viola. It‘s a bit strange that no one seemed to question what Viola did all those years ago and let‘s her get away with it.

You do not see Norah grow into her heritage. Having shown absolutely no ability or depth of character she‘s suddenly a Greater Fae despite her constant „woe is me I‘m not good enough“ whining and she‘s suddenly acting like a saviour of the Fae. Her powers just suddenly appear, there‘s no evolution she can just master all these significant abilities at the drop of a hat. It‘s all a bit ridiculous especially where it seems that only Norah alone can save everyone 🙄

Ultimately I found the story slow and disappointing with little to engage.