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The Bloodwood Academy #1

The Bloodwood Academy Shifter: Semester One

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A Vampire, a Shifter, and a Fae... Bad joke or the start to the best time of my life?

It all started when I was doing some bare-back riding with my boyfriend, Tommy, atop a rock in Middle-of-Nowhere, Nevada. In walks a wolf like he’s my mom on a meth trip, staring at us and growling like he’s an over-protective husband.

Worse, according to Tommy, I’m growling back. Next thing I know, Tommy is halfway across the desert and I’m at an elite academy for Witches, Shifters, Vampires, and Fae looking like I was plucked out of the local trailer park. Oh wait, I was.

Bloodwood Academy for the Supernatural has only one rule: Don’t mingle with students outside your race.

So, of course, that just so happens to be the first thing I do. How can you say no to a Fae God with golden eyes, a moody Werewolf with pack issues, and a Vampire with magic fingers.

My men are not only sending everything into a whirlwind, but now my life is in danger.
It turns out that if I don’t go back to my single wide, some jealous females are going to rip my throat out.

I need to figure out why I’m connected to all of them, and why the headmaster has it out for me, before I find myself ten feet under.

At 90k words Bloodwood Academy is a full-length why choose romance with a snarky heroine, shirtless men, love scenes that will send you swooning, and no end to pulsing… muscles.

It's not just Rae Fox, it's Rae Foxx. There's too much steam here for just one x.

288 pages, ebook

First published August 30, 2019

3186 people are currently reading
2421 people want to read

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Rae Foxx

88 books191 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 323 reviews
Profile Image for Marguerite (M).
767 reviews653 followers
August 5, 2021
Rating: 4.5 stars

After a camping trip gone wrong, being dumped by her boyfriend and sold out by her mother, Ivy ends up in a special academy for supernatural beings. Turns out, she's a wolf and he has 17 years of shifter knowledge to catch up. Cake.


The Bloodwood Academy is a reverse harem debut, and it's a good one at that. It's well written, steamy, it has no bullying, a great heroine, an awesome female sidekick and a somewhat classic plot that cannot go wrong. Add to that a fast burn, action and lot of possessive declarations and you end up with probably one of the best reverse harem of the year.

But if Ivy was an awesome main character, the spotlight was stolen by Scarlet. A bit standofish at first, she quickly became the best roommate ever and the perfect addition to the territorial team of misfits getting put together. Scarlet was the absolute best and a much needed female character in the reverse harem genre. I hope she will get her own Happy Ever After too!


Trigger Warning: Some beating scenes but overall pretty soft.

You might also like:
+ Finding Somewhere to Belong
+ The Vixen's Lead

> MM (later)
> No FF
Profile Image for Ada.
455 reviews46 followers
September 5, 2019
The Bloodwood Academy Shifter: Semester One is choke full of cliches and done-to-death elements from RH genre. That's not the irritating part; it's the bad execution that starts somewhere after boinking Finn that gradually gets worse till it reaches a mess of a climax.

I think the book's strongest point was the initial chapters that establish Ivy's character, current situation and a contrast to the academy life that we can see it. Showing not telling. I think that was done beautifully, it made me care about a character like Ivy who would usually feel more abrasive and irritating if we had skipped straight to the academy. Over time she does tip more towards brash and stupid typical of the 'bold and badass' image we see in this genre.

The harem was rather dull for the paranormal creatures involved. Howl(The fuck with the name man?) was the only one who felt like there was some life to his character and that his relationship with Ivy actually feels like a thing that moves and progresses.
Finn was straight up disappointment, dude talked so.. weird. Who the fuck talks like that? It's not like I learn a lot about his character to get the reason he talks that way. Just because he is a Fae prince, is that it? Not to mention he kills the mood when he is telling Ivy he will be there to heal her after she is a punching bag to the wolves instead of having her back if she needs him.
Saxon was even less developed than Finn. Even this one talks weirdly. I know nothing other than he is already whipped for Ivy with no effort. It's so much fun seeing that, yeah? Both Finn and Saxon have insta-relationships with Ivy, all it does is make it look there is just forced chemistry for the sake of having a harem.

The plot is easy enough to predict but the story moves in a way that is very abrupt and jarring. It flows with no rhythm and ends with this end fight that felt so all over the place. If the story is going to be nothing new it should feel like it's done well at least.
Profile Image for Melanie (mells_view).
1,931 reviews395 followers
October 22, 2019
I was a baby shifter with more knowledge of how to roll a joint than of the history of my pack, but even I knew that didn’t add up.

This was a fun read. Some points felt a bit draggy, but other than that I was entertained. Shifter/paranormal private school, with a RH romance, and suspenseful subplots. All in all a good read. Will be checking out the next book of the series to see what’s going on with Ivy and her crew.
Profile Image for Mona  Brown .
1,802 reviews18 followers
September 28, 2019
Ivy is amazing

What a way to start a series out. Ivy is from the wrong side of town. All she wants to do is go to community college and get out of the trailer park, instead she finds herself going to an exclusive school that has a bunch of written and unwritten rules. So, of course Ivy is going to break as many as she can. Her roommate Scarlett is someone I want to have as my friend....snarky, funny and rolls with the punches. What more could you ask for. And the guys? Let's just say you need to read about them because, damn. I can't wait to find out what kind of trouble Ivy finds next
Profile Image for Annie.
68 reviews
December 19, 2019
4.5 Stars. I really enjoyed this Academy book , it flowed really well, fast-paced and steamy scenes including hot threesomes. Strong FMC and Strong FC bestie and it had one really violent scene that made me cry (which rarely happens) but overall I highly recommend it.
Profile Image for ❀ Crystal ✿ -  PEACE ☮ LOVE ♥ BOOKS .
2,533 reviews309 followers
May 3, 2020
4.5 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this RH read. The heroine is bold, sassy and doesn’t hold back with her thoughts or actions. The book was super hot and the heroine loves her some sex. Thrust into a new world in a day Ivy has little time to adjust to her new reality. Going from a literal trailer park to the sup equivalent of a Ivy League school is quite a change of scenery. The wolf inside her however is always ready to go, eager for a fight and I’m sure in time she’ll be unstoppable. She’s quick to make enemies but her heritage alone would I’m sure always have shackles raised and enemies all around her. Now we know the true threat she poses and I can’t wait till she realizes what she can do and what power she holds. Ivy mated the future leaders of both the Fae kingdom and wolf (I don’t remember about her vamp) so it’s clear she’s going to be like some prophesied type figure bringing all the sup’s races together.
I really loved her snark and hotheadedness even when I knew it’d be in her best interest to just shut up. She’s made some prominent enemies over just the course of this one book so I’m eager to see what’s next and if she’ll still gain another mate which was hinted as a possibility. While her men are the best of the best I think theres probably a warlock or Mage in her future but I could be completely wrong. I’m sure Finn, her Fae mate, wouldn't mind as he’s of the mindset the more the merrier lol and so am I. Only thing I could have done without was Really loved the thrill of the story, the chapters were fun and the story was exiting. Can’t wait to see ivy and her men take on the world.
Profile Image for Annette.
3,847 reviews177 followers
December 1, 2019
I’ve been eyeing this book for a while already, but I was very patiently waiting for the paperbacks to be available. Until all of a sudden during a giveaway in a facebook group I won an e-book. And the moment I started reading I already knew that this book was gonna be everything I was hoping to get in this book and maybe even a little bit more.

During the first part of the book we get a really good impression of the life Ivy leads. And it’s not exactly a glorious, happy and amazing life. But it’s due to that build up that we understand how important it is for Ivy to get away from that life and to be going to Bloodwood Academy, where a new life is waiting for her.

Once Ivy enters the academy the story really takes flight. Rapidly we go from discovery to discovery, seeing more and more of this complicated world. We get to know the pack dynamics, the politics, the different species and how they feel about each other and we’re learning that something is going on with Ivy, something that makes it possible for her to have more than one mate.

During the entire story I shove further and further to the edge of my seat. Both because Ivy is an amazing bad ass character who grew on me quickly and because the plot was so addictive. I have to admit that I’m not entirely feeling the bond with her soulmates yet, although Finn is cute, but I’m sure we will see them bonding more in the upcoming novels.

I can’t wait to add the paperbacks to my shelf! I’ll for sure get the rest of the series too!
Profile Image for Ana.
385 reviews342 followers
August 12, 2021
It’s so hard to find good RH academy, it’s all full of cliches, underdeveloped characters and weak plot, this book isn’t different.

Ivy was so annoying I could barely stand her, I understand everything that she went through and in the beginning I actually liked her but the moment she arrived at the academy she turned into such an annoying character, she’s supposed to be super powerful but have no interest in finding out more about it or how that’s possible instead she becomes a walking cliche only interested in boys and verbally (and physically) fighting the mean girl, also that whole plot with Selene was so ridiculous, I hate books about girls fighting for a man, there’s no need for it and the fact that Howl knew about Ivy being his mate but let Selene give him a BJ just irritated me so much, wtf??

At least Ivy had a female friend who wasn’t a jerk which is a nice change of pace but honestly the plot was all over the place and very predictable, I’m not continuing with this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Evelyn.
140 reviews1 follower
December 1, 2019
Very irritating.
I think the author wanted to make the heroine badass and witty but for me she seemed ridiculous and cringe worthy. Half the shit she said and done was making me cringe
I didn't get the harem guys. They just came by one by one and they have sex even though they just met. I didn't get it.
The only one I liked a little bit was Howl...typical bad boy alpha prince. But with his little act in the library with Selene I said fuck it and gave up on the book.
I really didn't care for any of them
DNF at 50%
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Debbie.
260 reviews26 followers
October 22, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this story - I do wish we had seen more interaction with Finn and Saxton. I do understand why Howl got most of the page time though, since its his dad that is a j*ck*ss :)
Profile Image for Brooke.
1,590 reviews45 followers
May 22, 2020
Wow. This went down hill quick. I’m infinitely glad that I have this on Kindle u and did not have to pay for this book.

The thing is, had I read the sample only I likely would have been hooked. And I was hooked for about 45% of the book. I went in with low expectations I don’t like the Trailer trash background but was encouraged when I didn’t hate Ivy. I liked the set up, I liked the school, I liked the evil catty bitch trope. And man do I love reverse harems (in theory, execution often falls flat. Like here).

The issue with this one is that once all this great set up happens for Ivy. There is ZERO building of two of the three current haram. Like NONE. NONE. AT. ALL.

It’s almost like two people wrote this book and one of them had great ideas and kinda spoke to the other about where the story planned to go. And then the second writer came in and just wrote some stuff but didn’t even fill in gaps.
Profile Image for Donna.
1,626 reviews33 followers
September 16, 2020
I loved the characters in this book. Ivy always has a snarky comment. Her roommate, Scarlet, isn't quite as snarky but she had some lines that cracked me up. There were a couple laugh out loud moments in this book that I won't forget any time soon. Ivy's guys were a great bunch as well as her wacky friends. I am curious about her heritage now. I have lots of questions about how she got her magical powers, who her parents really are, etc. I will be reading the next book to find out.
Profile Image for Mummy's Naughty Corner.
1,513 reviews89 followers
May 5, 2020
Well what can I say. Ivy is a cool character. I like the story line. I'm glad she didn't walk straight in and bam she was the biggest baddest thing there. I hate the wolfs but I feel the hatred added to the story and helped to push her. I feel that the other guys got less book time then Hale and I would like to learn more about the others.
Profile Image for Lee.
36 reviews1 follower
August 27, 2019
The Bloodwood Academy Shifter: Semester One
by Rae Foxx


TLDR: This is the one of the most well-written RH books I’ve read, and the best debut book I’ve read in this genre. GET THIS BOOK.

ARC: I received an Advance Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased this book when it came available for pre-order.

Technical stuff: This story is a paranormal reverse harem romance with were-animals, vampires, fae and witches/mages. This is a bullying, Academy book. There is a lot of explicit (well written, and very hot) sex in the story line, as well as NSFW language. I did not feel that the sex was gratuitous, but part of the story. There is some verbal abuse, verbal and physical bullying, and violence (both domestic and “general”) which may be triggering for some. If these bother you, then perhaps this isn't the book for you.

The story is told in first person, from several people's perspectives. There is a cliffhanger ending in the overarching storyline although several parts of the "immediate" story are resolved within the book. It stands alone, though it is clear that there is more to the story.

Opinions and overview of story (with minor spoilers):
Ivy Potter is living a “dead end” life in the middle of Nevada with her mother, and spends time with her boyfriend. Her father walked out on them years before, and the life of relative affluence (upper middle class/upper class) left when he did. She and her boyfriend encounter wolves on a camping trip, and when she returns home is met by a clearly wealthy woman advising her that she has a scholarship waiting for her at the Academy.

Ivy is sent off to the Academy where it is made clear to her that she is from the “wrong side of the tracks”, and that students and staff have no intention of making her transition to Academy life easy or pleasant. The one absolute rule at the Academy is no interspecies dating.

Ivy is a kick-ass, take-no-prisoners, sarcastic, tough-as-titanium lady, and it’s a damn good thing, since she’s going to have to be.

We also learn more about the culture: violence tends to be the driving force behind the Alpha and his control over the shifters. We learn that interspecies children are killed “for everyone’s safety”, and that power is all. Historically, it used to be acceptable for different species to date and mate, and it wasn’t uncommon for a woman to have multiple mates, but this is no longer allowed.

Throw in a mate who refuses to declare himself, a Headmaster who would love to see Ivy dead, a mysterious family history that makes Ivy a target, Ivy’s challenges in submitting to the shifter Alpha, girls who are bitchy snobs, boys who are too interested in Ivy, a roommate that is nice but not particularly powerful, a Librarian that makes multiple copies of herself, and you get a sense of who the main players are and perhaps where things might go.

I definitely enjoyed the story, the sex scenes are incredibly fun and HOT, the emotions and relationships feel remarkably authentic.

I cannot recommend this book enough. (YOU MUST READ IT! ;-) )
Profile Image for ForTheLoveOfBooks.
500 reviews
December 10, 2019
I loved it but....

So I really enjoyed the heroine. Ivy is amazing. Her personality and quick wit had me laughing throughout the book. The things she said were so out there but completely funny. And I loved that she understood her origins and was okay with the fact that she was “trailer trash” because it seemed to have made her resilient. Finding out little snippets of her past and discovering just how powerful she could be was also like What??? I loved it.

Now I want to truly give this book a 3.5 star because there are tons of grammatical errors or sentences that don’t quite work. It’s not enough, in my opinion, to distract from the story but it’s noticeable. The other issue I have is the use of the word “Prude”. It’s not used correctly. There are several times prude is used and the sentence following didn’t exactly make sense. It took me a couple times seeing the word misused to understand what it means in this book, but it irritated the living gobstoppers out me. Because every time I’m like “that’s not what the flip prude means! Aggg.”

So yeah. Had those things not been present, the book would totally be worth a five to me because it was exactly what I needed and Ivy is a great character.
Profile Image for beth m.
873 reviews
December 29, 2019
There’s much to be improved

This book maybe just wasn’t for me, there was really great potential but there was a lot of Ofer the top emotions and actions. First of all the female lead while badass, was a little too rednecky trailer trashy for me to get down with. A little rough around the edges is totally fine, but she was borderline screwing her bf (more like whoring) that she didn’t seem to care much for because she saw no other way to continue on with life or know how to support herself to get out of her situation. Between her crap boyfriend and unstable mom both of them emotionally abusive saying there’s no need to learn or get an education, or ect. Tommy (the bf) was so overwhelming sexual and trashy I debated finishing this because I was not sure if he was a constant character that I’d be stuck reading about. Thankfully that ended.

As for the guys, the only one that had a storyline was the wolf shifter who’s name was wolf? Wulf? I don’t know anymore... but personally, come up with a better name. I mean come on! “Hi I’m wolf/wulf a wolf shifter” he didn’t say that in the book, thank god but I mean please give us a real name. The other two males really came out of nowhere, with no storyline, you have no idea really about them or their backround. It was poorly constructed and the follow through wasn’t there.

Also, the antagonists in this book didn’t make sense. Super over the top emotions and ect. Add in the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes and this book was a one star.

This series needs better development and delivery. Dear author, do better.
Profile Image for Daisy Sauceda.
1,809 reviews21 followers
September 2, 2019
**** I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy ****
This is a FREAKING 5 STAR BOOK AND A MUST READ!!!

Wow, this book is a great start to an Academy Series. If you want an Academy book to read than this book is the one to read. Rae Foxx has a lot of elements in this book that just flows together.

Your main character is Ivy Potter who is from the wrong side of the tracks but wants more out of life. Her environment is not the best but she is trying to make it work til she can get out. One night with her boyfriend Tommy changes her life. Tommy is not too bad looking either however not the smartest person but after their night he wants nothing to do with her. Then someone shows up to offer her a place a Bloodwood Academy. However, something weird happens but Ivy just places it in the back of her mind. She gets to school and meets her room mate who is pretty cool. Then she meets Finn, Howl and Saxon some of the hottest guys she has seen. Then there is Selene who is not a nice person and she is not the only to bully Ivy. Ivy is not going down without a fight. She is a tough girl, witty, sarcastic and just all around AWESOME CHICK. A lot of things happen through out the book that are are intriguing AND HOT AS SIN!!! Unfortunately, I am not willing to give away any information and trust me when I say you need this book in your life. You will not regret it.
Profile Image for Richelle Zirkle.
2,158 reviews12 followers
August 28, 2019
This first entry into Ms Foxx’s New Bloodwood Academy series had me laughing right from the beginning. Ivy is my favorite kind of FMC. She is sassy, strong and determined... to break all the rules. ;-) No interspecies relationships they say... Lol. Yeah, right! Ivy is going to walk into a room and own it. She will rock her cut offs and flip flops and turn every head her way. Soon we will even know why... As Ivy grows her harem, her fae and vampire mates seem to sense something the others don’t... I can’t wait to see how that gets resolved. The final scene in the book scorched my kindle it was so hot. Then Ms Foxx threw down the gauntlet and book 2 is headed straight into a power struggle...

I had so many favorite parts of this book, but you really need to get your hands on it and read it to enjoy it yourself. It is a fast burn RH that doesn’t disappoint!
Profile Image for Charlotte.
420 reviews1 follower
August 30, 2019
What an awesome read. Highly adictive once i started i just couldn't put it down.

The main character is kick ass and all kinds of awesome.

Brilliant writing style. A brilliantly built world and characters. The way its written sucks you in so its like your in the book living the story.

Loving the RH side of this book. The guys are great and you'll fall in love with them so quickly, just like Ivy did.

Love the take on shifters, i haven't read loads of shifter books, but this is definitely up there with the top.

Rae Foxx!!! You are Awesome. I loved your imagination in the great story. You really have delivered a brilliant read. 5 stars from me. I really am looking forwards to the second book.
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews127 followers
Want to read
December 24, 2020
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/18/2020)! 🎁
Profile Image for Ms. Cyn.
1,544 reviews
May 16, 2020
Love the idea

Ivy is strong but humble. She knows where she comes from but wants more for her life. Getting a full scholarship for an unknown school is too good to be true. There are a few things that I'm still confused about. The biggest one being the reason why Howl was in Nevada in the first place.

I like the idea of the other men being from different races although I don't see how her magic fits all of them. Also, there was a hint that there might be a fourth mate. That would be interesting.
Profile Image for Rose.
451 reviews12 followers
June 20, 2020
3.5-4⭐️

I really enjoyed this book.
Ivy was hilarious.
Finn was adorably sexy.
Saxon, I need to know more about you.
Howl.......... you were forgiven faster than I would have liked.
My issues were the grammatical errors, and detail errors. Unfortunately for me that took away from the story.

However that being said, this caught my attention and I couldn’t put it down.
Profile Image for Gabrielle.
339 reviews5 followers
March 29, 2020
2.75☆

This was really not well written. There were nonexistent transitions and the characters really had like 1 personality trait each. That being said, despite its faults, I was entertained through it so theres that
32 reviews
March 19, 2020
Must read!

This is a must read, first book of a series. I got this book for free but I will be buying all of this authors books now!
Profile Image for Mel.
344 reviews8 followers
August 24, 2020
This book was rushed. It was confusing. The romance wasn’t even that good. It seemed forced and was cringey. It also ended in a major cliffhanger! 1.25 stars!
Profile Image for Cindy ✩☽♔.
1,403 reviews982 followers
March 19, 2021
An overly familiar feeling reverse harem, that is poorly paced and very underdeveloped. I wanted to like it, far more than I actually did.
2 reviews
February 24, 2022
Ok

This book started off so well but, quickly went south. The idea for the story is there and I’m here for it but I feel like the author starts to rush through the story half way through the book and it can be hard to grasp how much time in book has past or how the main character gets to the place she is with her mates. Like I said good read but I just feel like it fell short of the mark. Hopefully the second book will be better 🤞🏼
101 reviews
January 25, 2020
Story ok, grammar atrocious

Ok, so I try not to be a grammar nazi because I am certainly not perfect. However, when the sentence structure is so bad that you can’t really figure out what she is saying, or when she actually ends up saying the opposite of what she means because she doesn’t understand word usage? If she only had a book or two published that would be one thing, but she has multiple books and series. It leaves no excuse for the laziness of not editing.
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