Every school has at least one bully. So, of course, Arcanum Academy has four. And worse? They’ve set their sights on me. The conceited asshats think their god-like bodies, expensive cars and filthy attitudes make them the most desirable beings to ever have had the privilege to walk the halls of the Academy. I have no idea why I’m the lucky target of their bullying, but they haven’t let me out of their sight since my first day at the Academy... And there’s nothing I can do to escape them. Not only do they have looks that could kill, but they also have a secret... ...A secret that is equally as lethal. Not that I care. I’ve spent my life dreaming about the magic that’s been lost to our world since the war, and I’m not going to let some infuriating bullies get in the way of my studies. That is, until I discover the dirty little secret they're hiding has to do with me. Now, I’ve made it my top priority to reveal their secrets. And despite the fact they think they’re above reproach, there's something they don't know. I have a secret of my own. Arcanum Academy is a Why Choose Bully Romance set in an academy in Scotland, featuring dangerous secrets, hidden magic, and men in kilts that are far too sexy for their own good. This series intended for readers who enjoy young adult and new adult fiction with a little (or a lot) more steam, open-minded romance, and mature language and themes.
This was recommended to me by Goodreads because I enjoyed Wicked Gods but this was downright awful. Nice try, Goodreads.
*** mild spoilers I guess***
The MC began to annoy me a lot ever since she started preparing for the academy interviews. Initially, I was rooting for her to prove herself but after reading about how she was during the interviews, I was so disappointed. There is no freaking way that she will be chosen irl after all the typical responses she gave to the questions. She even cusses at the interviewers because one of the interviewers, the principal was simply asking her why she stood out from other candidates. Um??? This is absurd. Sure, the interviewer was strict but there is a reason why?! This is a prestigious academy after all. Guess what??? She somehow scrapes through to the second interview. At the second interview, it obviously goes even worse. She leaves her diary at the interview and storms out. When she goes back to the interview, the interviewers are flipping through the diary with the other candidate?! What on earth? This scene made no sense. Speaking of the other candidate, she was a stuck up and arrogant person. She only existed to be the stereotypical bitchy villain that stands in her way throughout the series. Can we stop doing this in books? If she is to be competitive, she could be more sensibly described. I have read so many books with the villain being described much better than this. Even Wicked gods was better than this. Anyways, she makes it into the academy because of course, she does. Why she made it, we will never know... unless. One of the interviewer's identity is revealed later on in the book and if that is the reason Sarah entered the academy... I am done.
Now, let's get into the pivotal moment of this book - when Sarah enters the academy. This is when she becomes even more annoying! She makes two new friends, Cyn and Jason. For some reason, she constantly objectifies Cyn but describes Jason completely normally. We have pages and pages of Sarah repetitively describing Cyn as sexy one moment and "ugly" the next. Apparently, wearing glasses and frumpy clothing makes you ugly and wearing revealing clothing makes you hot. Can books stop doing this once and for all? The fact that this book is published in 2019 makes it even worse. Apart from that, the only other personality trait she has is to hack into the school records. I was shocked she was not caught as she was hacking into the system frequently. I am convinced that the only reason she was not caught was because they simply didn't care. It truly amused me that she hacked into the system simply to change her name??? There was another ridiculous thing that happened. For context, Cyn is persistently being swarmed by guys and they just would not leave her alone because she is SO HOT. Guess what Sarah does! She kisses Cyn... huh?! The funniest thing is that the guys still come after her lol. A little after that, Sarah goes on to say how she would be attracted to Cyn if she was a guy. Okay??? You can clearly see that I am confused by these characters.
This review will not be complete without talking about the HOT (emphasis on HOT) Scottish boys! Once Sarah sets her eyes on the boys, she goes moon-eyed and she is like: Scottish boys are so hot and that the school must have some kind of hotness test for the boys. I can't- This was just laughable. As if Scottish boys are some exotic creatures. The dialogue of the Scottish boys also felt really off? I am not Scottish but I have heard Scottish people talk. I am certain they don't really talk the way these people talk. There were so many inconsistencies. One moment there are words like "yer" in the dialogue and then suddenly they just disappear. We already know they are Scottish, I don't think it is really necessary to emphasise that all the time?
Of course, these boys treat her like garbage all the freaking time without showing any signs of care and concern towards her, especially at the beginning. There really was zero chemistry between Sarah and the boys. I don't get how I was supposed to even root for them. Yet, Sarah is having wet dreams about them and obsessing over how hot they are. Being hot does not erase them being jerks towards you, Sarah. Towards the end, the boys suddenly become protective towards her which really does not make sense. It is like a switch was flipped in them suddenly. Even the mean principal was suddenly super nice to her. The characters in this book can't decide who they want to be.
The magic system in this book was incredibly elementary and boring. I liked that history was mixed with magic but it felt like it was not explored well enough. Sure, it was not the most original which I did not mind in this book. It is very difficult to be original when there are thousands of magical stories out there. I just wish we got more detail about the magical beings instead of being bombarded with random passages of faes and the introduction of other creatures right at the end. There was even a twist surrounding Sarah's identity which was so predictable. I called it right at the beginning so when it was revealed, I just ended up rolling my eyes.
The ending was so abrupt as well. It is so vague. If you are gonna put mature reverse harem as the tagline for the book, don't just put a random scene of all the four guys over the main character???
It definitely would have been more entertaining if I liked the characters. Also, this book was chalk full of simple grammatical errors which shows that the book was not edited well enough. I came here for a good time but this book did not give me that sadly. I would not recommend this book. Read Wicked gods for a more fun time.
This book kept me awake till the early hours of the morning as i really got into it and could not stop reading. It an engrossing novel set in Scotland at the school for high magic called the Arcanum Academy and the story is as good as Harry Potter but for a mature audience as it is steamy hot with erotic scenes and quite a bit of swearing, the F word is used frequently. Sarah an orphan from the US wins a scholarship to attend the academy however as soon as she arrives she finds out that this school is nothing as she had dreamt it would be and that the rest of the students came from very wealthy families and looked down on her. She could have coped with this however when four sexy hunks turn out to be not only the worst of bullies but also student teachers whose classes she had to attend, her life turns into a nightmare. But Sarah would not allow them to break her no matter what and she felt they had a secret but she had a secret too and would not hesitate to use it against them. The story is full of magic, and has quite a few unexpected twists to it which come as a lovely surprise after all Sarah has to go to. This is a reverse harem novel full of great characters and a beautiful depiction of the magical academy! I think this series is going to keep readers who grew up on Harry Potter really enthralled!
What an incredible book! It's a slow burn, that has you reading into the night! I was completely entralled with the storyline, with mystery, intrigue and magic! The characters were especially fun! I absolutely love Sarah. She's smart yet completely outstanding and the balance of her tormenters, mystical and brooding and the other characters are so much fun! I can't wait for the next installment!
I really enjoyed this story, I hated that Sarah had to lose her mother to begin this incredible journey though. I loved and hated the four fourth year guys too. I also enjoyed that there was a bit of mystery going on the while time. That ending though... It made me so excited and ready for the next book in the series.
Knights with attitudes and an orphan confused in an academy of magic. Student teachers making her life miserable and magical beings trying to kill her. For what? Who is she? Read the book, and Cyn is so entertaining great addition.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book at no cost from the author in exchange for an honest review
Wow, that is what I call a hot steamy fantasy story, even though it doesn't start out this way. Also the strong language used in the story didn't bother me at all, it sometimes made a smile upon me face of how it was used. I love the weaving of the normal human reality with the fantasy elements, even the mention of Harry Potter that made me laughing.
The story starts with Sarah loosing her mother to cancer and doesn't know how she will face her life without her. Her father died when she was six, and there is no other relative that can look after her. Luckily there is Emily, her best friend, who she can count on to stay with.
But then her teacher, Miss Baxter, let her into a little secret, a magical at that. She can attend a school where they will teach you about magic, about the history of magic and what really happened. Did humans really kill all magical kind?
After a difficult start, she finally finds herself in the Arcanum Academy and nothing is what it seems. Especially four handsome guys, Lachlan. Alexander. Sebastian. Gabriel, that are there to make her life miserable. The four bullies are pounding on her in every direction and if that is not enough, her senses of energies make an onslaught on her. But she will not back down or stand down. It is a refreshing change that it is not a girl(s) bullies in this story. But Sarah gets help from Jason and her roommate Cyn to keep her days a bit bearable.
But then she sees things that she shouldn't have seen, and as one night they sneak out of the dorm to attend a fourth grade student beach party. She is so drunk that she kisses Gabriel, but she got more then she could handle. Is she dreaming or is this all real. Who is she?
I definitely want to read more and hope other steamy adventures will come to fruition.
Honestly, it was a bit elementary. LOTS of exposition, and no showing. I don’t feel like I know any of the characters, and I don’t feel like they matter. Like you could switch around the names of all the guys and it wouldn’t make a difference. Like I literally don’t give a shit about any of them. The characters in this book in general are just so underdeveloped and cookie-cutter.
Also, and this may just be me, but I don’t love our protagonist. And I was really annoyed at how she would refer to Cyn, her gorgeous friend who gets hit on by every guy she sees. At one point, she muses that a guy would probably like Cyn whether she was smoking hot in her Halloween costume or wearing her fake glasses and braces disguise. You know. The disguise she wears when she wants to be ugly. Like, bitch, I had braces in high school and my glasses are both functional and cute. And my teeth are straight. So who’s laughing now?
Final thing: There are a lot of idioms that are purely European that the main character regularly uses. It’s a small thing but when a 17-year-old American says things like “I could tell we’d get on” or calling the trunk of a car the “boot”, it takes me out because I don’t believe she’s American. We know what most British idioms mean, but we don’t tend to use them. And I don’t for one second believe she was able to drive a car in Scotland. On the wrong side of the car. On the wrong side of the road. Didn’t even cross her mind. She’s barely licensed to drive in America.
So while there’s nothing wrong with this book, I did not find the plot or characters compelling enough to overlook the little things that annoyed me.
I honestly thought I’d love this, seeing as it’s written by two amazing writers whose stories I’ve LOVED in the past. But I can’t give it more than 3 stars. It turns out that the Bully Romance part just wasn’t my thing.
I must say, it was well written. Even though it starts really sad, and it was impossible to read without a big lump in your throat, it pulled me right in. But then the negativity that those 4 bullies carried around with them and also a few others, started dragging me down. That hatred was too much for me. The fact that Sarah could crush on 4 such rotten persons only because they’re hot, made me like her less as well. I did like Jason and Cyn. But me not really bonding with the main character is a big deal for me, I like to feel that bond. That’s just my personal preference. This isn’t through any fault of the authors, it’s me misjudging this genre.
So it was mostly those four rotten guys and Sarah’s reaction to them that kept me from really liking this book. I had thought I could handle that, turns out I couldn’t. I sincerely believe that if you DO like this genre, bully romance, then you will LOVE this book. I know I’m often the exception in these sorts of things. So do try it if the blurb speaks to you. Because technically it was really good, just not my thing.
Sarah has always been fascinated with magic and magical creatures, she has studied everything she could her her hands on about the subject. A personal tragedy will qualify Sarah for a scholarship at the Knights of Arcanum Academy, a school where students study magic, and magical creatures that are now extinct. When she is accepted to the academy she travels from her home in the US all the way to Scotland where the school is located. She will soon find out that just like any school, there are bullies in Scotland, too. She becomes the target of the four absolutely gorgeous senior students.
Sexy, unusual, and wonderfully well written characters, that have possibly dangerous secrets. Exciting plot with some action, magic, and surprising twists, I think this is a must read. Fantastic!
I am voluntarily leaving an honest and non-incentivized review of this ARC.
I will give this 3 1/2 stars. There were things I liked about this book and others I did not. Loved that it was based in Scotland. The book is better then other Academy books out there. The book has a different take on magic then most as it was part of history but then after WWII it was wiped out. The bullies in this book are really bullies and are not likable. I am guessing this will change more over the coming books. I would have really liked points of view from all five of the main characters and not just Sarah's point of view. I feel a lot was missing when you don't get the guys side of things too. I am hoping in future books we get everyone's point of view. I will keep reading this series as it has kept my interest through out the whole book. I am interested to see where the next book leads.
*I received a free copy of this book via the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.*
I’ve never read anything by Bella Holiday before, NM Howell (writing here as Nicole Marie) is one of my absolute favorite authors, do it’s no surprise that I couldn’t resist their joint effort in Knights of Arcanum Academy. I’m glad that resistance was futile (sorry, Trekker here) in this case, as this was a really fun book. The publisher’s blurb was perfectly descriptive here: a bully romance set in an academy in Scotland (check that box), featuring dangerous secrets (yes indeedy), hidden magic (you had me at “secrets”; this is overkill ... but sooo good), and men in kilts that are far too sexy for their own good (oh come now, that’s just not fair!), all packaged into a really well down story with an excellent plot that well written and features a really strong cast. A yummy treat indeed and highly recommended.
Too many elements I didn’t like. The heroine isn’t too intelligent. She goes into danger even knowing it’s the wrong decision. I’m tired of the bully-romance theme. It seems like the kind of story that is going to try having a happy ending but realistically it sounds like the magical community is already too low in terms of population to be sustainable let alone Mae enough of a comeback to protect themselves from humans. There isn’t a reasonable excuse for not having a tournament or whatever to pick the knights. The bad guys are right that it’s just nepotism. Yet the attraction she has to them seems more like a magical fated mates scenario, which isn’t the case with knights and the queen. They have this big battle and no one is seriously injured yet the school is nearly destroyed?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Dnf at 59% This is not really a review but more of a reminder of why I did not finish it because I am starting to have way to many books in my head and I am forgetting things. -Did not like the mc she was annoying. -No grieving for the mother that just passed away? -Too many “coincidences/accidents” like the uniform and the tide on the first day. -She literally is obsessed with all four guys pretty much immediately. And I could not even tell you the names of two of them. -I was confused on how the world got to the way it was and needed more backstory. Magic exists? People know about it? There was a war?
I can't remember reading a story that started out with someone dying. This story is exciting. I have not been able to put it down. The discovery of Sarah's ability to feel energy coming from others and strange glow to her skin when stressed. Then finding out that there was a Fae that did some of the things she could left her in a fog. I could relate with that. This story is unexpected and scary at the same time. Very exciting story. Can't wait to find out more. I received a complimentary review copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving a honest review.
I really liked this book but I felt it started of kind of slow. Sarah has no knowledge of who she really is. She’s just lost her mother and is sort of guided to attend a magical history school that isn’t what it seems. By the time the action starts its over before you know it lol! It’s a slow burn romance so not much happens between Sarah and her bullies. I’m definitely interested in reading the next book.
Going from knowing nothing to Queen. Bullies that are ment to be protectors.
This is not my favorite type of book, however the author let's enough of the caring part of the guys through that it helps with the head spinning of them bullying her at the school.
I realize it's a series, but I didnt get into this book enough to continue.
This is just great. A well written academy read that is full of magic and magical creatures, action, mystery and intrigue, secrets and sexy men in kilts! Great storyline, great characters and I Can’t wait to read more!
It was basically "Hermione Granger and her harem" but with a stupid and hormy Hermione. Really weird, and the end was rushed. It's been 3 years so I guess a sequel won't happen.
I really enjoyed this book. Sarah has always been interested in magic, even though it no longer existed. When her mother died she was given the opportunity to attend a special academy in Scotland, which dealt in the history of magic. She found herself being picked on by four snooty older students. These four guys were gorgeous (and they knew it), but they were complete snobs. She felt a growing attraction to them, whilst at the same time being disgusted by them. She was to find that nothing was as it had first appeared to be.