The Sevenfold Hunters

by Rose Egal

There’s nothing hijabi alien hunter Abyan wants more than to graduate from Carlisle Academy and finally rid the Earth of aliens, the Nosaru.

Everything is going to plan until the Nosaru kill one of Abyan’s squad mates. To make matters worse, the school admins replace her elite squad member with a sub-par new recruit, Artemis. Despite Artemis failing every test―and bringing the team down with her―their cutthroat instructors refuse to kick her out.

Together Abyan, Artemis and the rest of the team unravel the mystery of why Artemis is actually there, what the Nosaru really want, and what Carlisle Academy has been hiding from them all.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Vampires

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2022

Reviews

[Ms. Woc Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading vlog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwPAR...

Full review
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....

[Fanna]

20.10.2021 listen to me....this will have sci-fi vampires. AH!

[Shannon Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

The Sevenfold Hunters is a fun adventure with a pretty large (seven, obviously) cast of characters who are training to fight off some real baddies- alien baddies, in fact. After they lost one of their own in the school year prior, he's replaced with his girlfriend, and the squad has mixed feelings. But, they'll have to work together if they want to defeat their enemies- whoever they end up being.

What I Liked:

►I loved the "found family" concept. A lot of these kids didn't exactly have a great support system waiting in the wings, so they became each other's people. That is a lovely sentiment, yeah? Plus, it helps to explain why they were so hard on Artemis, since they were still grieving the loss of their squadmate. The relationships they all developed with each other were great!

►Such a fun, diverse cast! They were certainly all very different, from all kinds of backgrounds, and from all over the world. They all also had really different personalities, which was great, and even though it was a shorter book, they seemed pretty well developed, too.

►There was a lot of mystery surrounding the school and the Nosaru. I mean, who the heck can the squad trust at this point? They don't know, and neither does the reader, which really ups the ante. The Nosaru, who are the alien ne'er-do-wells, are also more complex than meets the eye.

►I was definitely invested in the outcome. Sure, because I really enjoyed the Sevenfold and didn't want them to die, but also because I really just wanted to know what Nosaru wanted, and what was going to happen.

What I Had Trouble With:

►I didn't fully understand the world. Full disclosure, I have no idea if this will have a sequel. If it does, perhaps it will answer some of my burning questions. But as it stands now, I just need more information on the Nosaru, the schools, and just the world in general.

►The beginning was a little draggy for me. There is quite a bit of time focused on the characters in the beginning, which I am usually cool with. I like character focus! But at times, it felt like too much character focus, and not quite enough on what the heck the book was about otherwise. It does eventually pick up, no question, but I feel like starting the action a bit earlier would have made the pacing flow better.

Bottom Line: An enjoyable and diverse cast of characters stand out in this one, and the Nosaru have definitely piqued my interest!

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

[Dr. Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Pride Book Tours & Page Street YA for my finished copy. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun YA sci-fi and I absolutely loved it. The world has creatures called Nosaru, that are basically alien vampires, and The Sevenfold are one of the best alien hunter groups out there. But when things at the school start getting suspicious, they must find out who can be trusted and what everyone’s true motives are. This book pulled me in right away. Both the girls quickly won me over, but Artemis was there first. She’s a softie and I’m here for cinnamon rolls. Also the found family vibes were peak in this book!
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If you like aliens, boarding school settings, sci-fi or horror elements, then this is the book for you! The Sevenfold Hunters follows two girls: Abyan, no 1 badass, and Artemis, the newbie who keeps failing everything but somehow hasn’t been kicked out. Abyan is a Somalian-British muslim straight cis girl and Artemis is a Black British bisexual cis girl. What I really liked about these two was how different they were. Abyan is a headstrong leader, while Artemis is scrambling to keep up in a world she was just thrust into. Both of them go through incredible growth in this book and I really hope we get to see more of them!

[Muna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I start?!

I thought this book was brilliant in every way!🤩
I wish I had books like this when I was a teenager!!!

A HIJABI MAIN CHARACTER?! Who's a complex, vampire slaying bad ass?! YES PLEASE!!

The fact that Egal gave us not just one but TWO well written Black British teenage girls who fight ALIENS is enough for me to be obsessed with this story. As a Somali girl from London, I found it utterly refreshing to see a Black Muslim girl in a thrilling Sci-Fi story who feels truly authentic and does not have to sacrifice parts of herself to have an entertaining and engaging storyline. I hope all the white writers can, in Tyra Banks' words, LEARN FROM THIS.

I appreciated the way Egal sprinkled Somali phrases and MLE throughout the story... likeeeeee XD! She really said this is FOR us BY us and I was so gassed when I came across them. I also don't think this story was meant to be a heavy sci-fi with overly complex and expansive world building. It's a fun YA story about teenage vampire hunters and Egal adds the details necessary to develop the story, enthrall us in the plot, to bond with and root for the characters. I'm so GLAD that there are more stories coming out centring BIPOC and Queer characters that do not include violent discrimination, like please, we need a break for the love of GOD.

The romance had me giggling and loved how it just fit so well within the story. The romantic storylines never felt out of place and were perfectly paced. The way this book ended really has me desperate for more!

The friendships between the characters is what truly stood out in this book. Throughout the story, we got a sense of how strong the bonds are between them through their witty banter and trust in one another. Anyone who loves found family like me will definitely eat this up and leave no crumbs. The conversations between each of the characters were beautifully written. Egal captured the emotions of the characters so vividly and it truly allowed me to bond with all the characters and understand their motivations, conflicts and desires. I definitely laughed, giggled and gasped one too many times while reading.

I loved how this book was rich with diversity but it never felt forced and the characters did not feel tokenised. It made so much sense and I enjoyed how it added more depth to the characters and story. I just wish that the book was longer so we could see more of the action and characters but nevertheless, a 5 STAR read for me!!.

[Justin Baumann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the Penguin Random House audio app for access to this story.

I initially really liked this story. One it has a simple but effective premise that drops you fairly quick into the action along with a decently enjoyable cast of characters and two POVs that we swap between that of a lolely recruit who is figuring out her place at Carisle with Artimes and the more experienced upperclassman with Abyan.

However, the story struggles in overexplaining its lore up front and maybe this is more of a marketing issue but its not clear if this is a series or not. I read it thinking it was a standalone so I expected a clear and concise well paced story and the front half was very slow in building what is a decent mystery and motivating factors, but the back half doesn't really speed up to make the stakes feel dire leading to a floppy ending that could set up another book since not everything was well answered by the end.

This leads to a story that the more I sit on it feels lackluster. Additionally, the large cast of characters means that since I am an avid reader the characters felt more like archetypes more than they felt unique. You have rich boy, noble boy, tough but fair girl, hard ass girl, tech/hacker boy, and plucky MC who is fish out of water in this big bad world. It just leaves you wanting bc the ideas are solid without the best execution.

Overall I went back and forth on this one but ulitimately felt that i needed to down rate it to a 3 due to a ton of tiny cuts breaking down a good start.

[Catherine (Cather.reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Pride Book Tours, the author, and the publisher for the copy!

First of all, let's talk about what I liked about this book. I did enjoy the elements of found family. The banter between the different members of the Sevenfold is fantastic and they really shine through as a tight knit group of friends. I also really love the cover, and the premise is fantastic. The villains also shone through as definitely evil and the stakes certainly felt very high.
However, I wish there was more time spent on explaining the world instead of just shoving the reader into it. I wasn't certain if it was just me who couldn't keep up, but this seems to be a similar issue that i've seen in other reviews. There should've been more time dedicated to explaining the world, because by the end I was just rushing trough it because I didn't understand what was happening and I was in too deep to start over from the beginning. Additionally, I wasn't a big fan of many of the characters. I don't think we ever got an explanation why Artemis goes by Jay as well (or maybe I accidentally missed it), and Abyan was really annoying. I couldn't stand her POV and all the decisions that she made. I would've preferred any of the other characters' perspectives instead of Artemis and Abyan.
Overall though, there are definitely some great elements to it, it just wasn't fully for me.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I've always loved books that have found families in them. I also found the diversity in a science fiction novel refreshing.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was pretty good. set up for a sequel, so looking forward to what Egal has to offer in the future

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sevenfold Hunters by Rose Egal is a novel with a little bit of everything. It is set in a boarding school for those who like that trope. The boarding school happens to be training future alien hunters, complete with cool equipment for those who want their science fiction or spy novels. The aliens, who inhabit human bodies, survive by drinking humans’ blood, making them more vampiric, appealing to the fantasy lovers out there. While it may not look like this mash-up doesn’t work, I am here to tell you that it does. It works so well that I could not stop The Sevenfold Hunters and mourned when I finished it.

What makes The Sevenfold Hunters work is the cast of characters. We see the novel unfold through two main characters, both of whom appeal to readers for varying reasons. Abyan is strong and intelligent, a born leader. She knows how to get the best out of her team and leads by example. When we meet her, however, past traumas begin to affect her, causing erratic behavior that is not normal and becomes downright dangerous to her team.

Meanwhile, Artemis is Abyan’s exact opposite. She is not strong, and she is not that intelligent compared to the rest of her team. We see the two women struggle and search for answers and cannot help but feel their pain and confusion as we try to put together the clues they uncover.

What we find through their research is not anything I expected. Their discoveries became one big game-changer in how I viewed the entire story and the team’s place. Ms. Egal makes sure to leave plenty of questions unanswered but not too many as to create a frustrating cliffhanger. Instead, I can only sit, wait, and think of potential answers until there is news of a second book. Please don’t make us wait long!

[Iona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really intriguing premise, but ultimately very underdeveloped - from the world building to the character development, from the pacing to the impact of the various twists.

I did love Abyan, tho. She was by far the most well developed character and even when she was making dumb decisions I was still rooting for her.

The rest of the group felt horribly under developed and I would have loved both pov characters to have had more scenes with them - Hassan, Tolly and Mason were particularly underserved. I loved Kade at the beginning, but she just seemed to fade away as the book progressed.

Artemis... perplexed me, mostly. Her reactions to plot developments and the state of her relationships with the others seemed more dictated by what the plot needed than anything else.

Big emotional moment/revelations that should have had time spent on them were mostly glossed over and it felt like the book was missing pivotal scenes between some of the characters that the reader really would have benefited from seeing.

For a book that took place almost entirely in a school, the school was a complete non-entity and I still don't quite know how it functioned or worked. Not to mention that it felt like there were only about nine students in the entire school. And seven of them are in the main group. There was hardly any school stuff, so why set it in a school?

This all makes it sound like I hated the book, but I liked it enought to keep reading and I read the second half of the book in one day because I HAD to know what was happening.

But mostly this book frustrated me because of what could have been.

[Justin Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to PRHAudio for this complimentary audiobook. Couldn't get into it. When I did sort of get into it... I got out of it. Maybe I just missed something. I don't give bad reviews often.
Someone help me out?

[Joy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately I couldn't get over the writing style at all. It was choppy, kind of uncoordinated and just generally hard to understand.
I couldn't really focus on the storyline because of that.
Additionally, the main character just wasn't likeable enough for me to get seriously invested in the whole story. I'm pretty disappointed since the original blurb sounded good, but the story just lacked depth.
There was barely any actual world-building, the characters weren't really fleshed-out and the few plot points I actually got curious about were never worked through.

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me.

[KHATÚN · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book, I'm a hijabi myself and loved the way they presented Abyan. Definitely worth a read

[Winterstar · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book begins from Artemis' point of view. The summary on the book cover gives an idea of what happening and happened, and as it's not really clear from the first chapter, though it is hinted at, reading the summary was a helpful bonus to determine where things stand and of the basic plot of the book going into it.

Worldbulding-wise not much is given about the world and how it works- given it's similar to this one in technology and culture etc, and obviously there's some aliens (again, easily determined from the book cover summary) but there's no real idea of how this is affecting this world that is being created, as later on in the book it seems like these alien things are everywhere and all these people are being affected, but no one seems to notice?

In the first chapter Artemis is accepted to a super famous academy, which seems to be so fancy because it's implied that rich people go there and it's hard to get in, except for those in the know, who are aware of it as an alien hunter training place- (but if that's the case why would all the super rich people want to send their kids there in the first place?) As the chapter goes on the reader is given the impression that Artemis has been together with Jared for a very long time, seemingly spanning years, when come to find out later that they only knew each other for 3 to 6 months, which makes it rather hard to believe that Artemis would be so very eager to throw herself into this steadfast revenge plot she has going on. She basically tosses aside her future to follow a vendetta for a guy she knew for at most half a year and fancied herself in love with. She seems to exhibit characteristics of a grieving widow with the way she carries on about losing him which makes her seem rather melodramatic and harder to sympathize with.

Abayan is the other POV character and POV is a little more interesting than Artemis. She is the leader of the super-elite squad that Jared was a member of and her struggles are more engaging that Artemis. Eventually Artemis joins her team of alien hunters and the plot progresses from there.

There are some interesting plot tidbits, especially when one of the aliens seems to act out of what they consider typical or normal and some of the revelations about Abayan and her team and Artemis and why the aliens are interested in them and what the aliens are doing.

There are a few other downsides though- one being that there's lots of abbreviations in the beginning that take too long to be given an explanation, and even when they are, it's not a very good one- like WLDO & BLCC. A vague idea is given as to what they mean, but the bigger question is why are these even missions for the kids, if there's all these other super elite teams out there tackling the alien threat? The workings of the academy are also rather nebulous.

As the book progresses the reader learns more about the aliens and their plans, but several things are unexplained, such as why Artemis has these strange reactions to the larvae alien forms and what happened when she did. There's an incident and it's just rather glossed over. It's noted it happened and then the book goes on like it didn't happen. Also odd is Carlisle's motivations. There's some big todos in the book involving him, however the reasoning behind his actions just don't make any sense, or rather its absent all together. Why would he get rid of people that are fighting the aliens for no reason if he hates the aliens so much? Where's the gain for him in ridding himself of strong allies or of harassing Abayan and her team? What good are his apparent mechanizations to him? They don't seem to be earning him any favors, nor do they seem to be benefitting him in any way. Even if it is supposed to be a control thing, he seems to be in there just to be the 'big bad guy'.

The author does try to give some science behind the alien biology, which itself is interesting, however it really doesn't explain the use of archaic weapons such as swords. From the way it's explained guns and other weapons would work just as well, if not better. Also, with all the battles Abayan and her crew and others fight, how is it possible the world is not overrun with these aliens? It seems everywhere they turn everyone is or is being turned into an alien.

Overall, the pieces of the plot that involve Matteo are the most interesting along with why the aliens are interested in Artemis and the sevenfold, however there are very week plot points, such as Artemis' obsession with revenge and Carlisle's rather nonsensical mechanizations and how so many people appear to be cannon fodder and no one notices. Artemis is okay but not always the most interesting pov and Abayan is better though sometimes her actions don't seem to make much sense at times either. The worldbuilding is a little lacking and a little more at the beginning or interwoven in would probably help in setting the stage better for the plot.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sevenfold Hunters takes readers on a wild ride alongside a team of trainee alien hunters fractured by a death in their midst. The Sevenfold were the most elite team at Carlisle Academy, stacked with legacies whose parents once fought for and now hold prestigious positions on Carlisle's board. The exception is the team's leader, Abyan. Orphaned by the very aliens the school teaches them to fight, it's a personal battle for her. When Sevenfold member Jared dies at the hands of the Nosaru (the aliens) off mission, the team is crushed. And they're not the only ones. He was with his girlfriend, Artemis, rock climbing, when the attack happened, and her world is rocked by the revelation of Jared's secret life and the way he was taken from her. She can't help but feel that the school's response indicates something more sinister is going on. It motivates her to seek entry to the elite academy, not as an aspiring Nosaru hunter, but to find out what Carlisle is hiding about the day Jared died. In a twist, the school assigns Artemis to Jared's old squad, an action that stirs up a lot of animosity towards the new girl. Not only does the new recruit threaten the team's standing in the school's rankings, but she also has the gall to take the space left by their friend, the one they're still mourning. We get the story through two POVs as Abyan and Artemis try to put together all the strange things happening at Carlisle, initially as separate investigators, but eventually as collaborators.

The strongest aspect of this book for me is the Sevenfold team. There's a lot of representation, starting with the fact that there are only two "token straights," a ratio I can get behind. Artemis is bi, and it's always worth noting for me that one of the members is ace. Abyan stands out as my favorite character. She's British Somali, and her lack of upper-crust background is just another way she stands out at Carlisle. Language code-switching is one of the ways she ultimately ends up bonding with Artemis. Abyan is also hijabi, and we see some of the little and big ways her faith has impacted her time at school. For one, she's had to fight to prevent her squad from being assigned missions that would require her to miss prayer. We also see the heart-warming respect she receives from her friends regarding personal boundaries. Her best friend on the team is Hank, and they have a heart eyes will they/won't they vibe. They always have each other's backs, even against the rest of the squad. Their flirtatious banter is top-notch, and I was rooting for them to take the plunge. But while they share intense moments and some adorable friendly hugs to ground each other, Hank respects that Abyan wouldn't be comfortable with further physical intimacy. My final comment re:Team Abyan is that there's some powerful depression representation through her character, showing how she copes (or can't) with the bad days and where they come from. I found it relatable and meaningful, an aspect of her reality woven through the rest, just like mental illness is in real life.

The weaker element of the book for me was the world-building and background components. In terms of relationships, Abyan and Hank have a deep feeling of history between them even if it doesn't play out on the page. But not all the friendships on the team have the same nuanced quality. In some ways, I think that's natural. In other ways, the famed synchronicity of the team feels unsupported even before you get into the specific fractures affecting them this year. For world-building, it feels a bit like a standard alien and evil corporation plot, which isn't necessarily bad but doesn't inspire my enthusiasm. It also leaves room for some plot holes or at least thin explanation since it's relying on common tropes.

In the end, characters and their relationships are more important to me than world-building, and I think these characters have a lot to say. With that in mind, I would pick up a future book about them should it exist to see how things evolve for them. Thanks to Page Street for my copy to read and review!

[ivelis]

I can’t rate this because I stopped reading just a few chapters in.

I ran across this book at the library and checked it out because it looked really interesting. The writing flowed well, and the style was more complex than other YAs in this category.

The reason I stopped reading is because it’s too reminiscent of vintage paranormal/urban fantasy YA a la Cassandra Clare circa 2013. We have a group of teenagers who are tasked with saving the world (from aliens, this time) and they drive BMWs and have missions with inscrutable acronyms and are super good at their jobs and no one can beat them. There’s some canned banter here and there, and of course the obligatory crush with sparks and lingering looks. I’m just too old for this at this point, but it’s not just that: It’s very much overdone. There’s nothing new, not even the thing with the boyfriend’s death and the mysterious corporation. I can recall about 10 different YA books from writing that alone.

The author states in her acknowledgments that this story started some 12 or 13 years ago, when she would tell it as a bedtime story to her siblings. I love the heartwarming nature of the novel’s conception, and kudos for getting it published because I know it was not easy, but it’s very clear to me that the concept was created at a time when stories like this reigned in YA.

Unfortunately, the industry has long moved on, for better or for worse. I think the turning point was with Red Queen, when suddenly we were all sick of overpowered teenagers. Suddenly we had a slew of books with “realistic” teenaged MCs (typically girls) who are weak and can’t fight, which is also good because most of us can’t. In this day I’m seeing stories that don’t fit into just one box because everything has been done. Romantasy is what I sniff will be the next big thing, especially in older cohorts. The Last Finestra comes to mind: Italy, gods, a brooding MC, things like that. People want new settings and classic concepts repackaged in new dressing, and of course heroines with agency. YA will always be to some degree derivative, but I’m seeing more efforts to refine what already exists and not just try to emulate what has been successful before.

A recent example that I enjoyed is Divine Rivals: We have gods, mystery pen pals, a war, a land torn in two. An MC who wants to save her brother. This has all been done, especially that last part (always with the lost siblings...), but that book had a distinct flavor and a new setting. A recent example I *didn’t* enjoy is Ruinous Fates: We have witches, a pair of dice, an interesting world with complex creatures, a bunch of love triangles. I didn’t like that book, but I finished it because I could tell the author was trying to do something new, especially with the magic system. It just didn’t vibe with me.

So IDK. I had too much deja vu to want to continue The Sevenfold Hunters, and I wasn’t in the mood for a nostalgic read—for that, I’ll pick up City of Bones again. The characters also didn’t hook me. I believe a stronger desire from the two MCs would have made me want to read. Artemis wanted to find out what happened to her boyfriend, but then the story is not about that; it’s about the school itself and trying to pass the various trials that were sure to come. I haven’t read Legendborn yet, but it seems like that book had a good balance between “wanting to find out what happened to a dead loved one” and “learning more about a new world/magic system and surviving its trials.” So I know it can be done, and with subtlety, too. Three chapters in, Artemis was already facing off against a nurse/counselor about the school’s secrets. It was just too early for that. Some subterfuge, investigation, would have made her storyline more compelling.

Meanwhile, Abyan doesn’t want anything, not really. As far as I could tell, she was just there to introduce the world, the school, the alien missions, and the Sevenfold Hunters via an intimate POV. That’s not enough for me to love a character and want to follow them.

[Margaret Schoen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a review of an ARC from Edelweiss.

Artemis has been accepted to the Carlisle Academy, the most elite private school in England. She's there to find out what really happened when her boyfriend was killed in a supposed accident. At the school, she's assigned as a new recruit to her boyfriend's former squad the Sevenfold Hunters, a team of teenage assassins tasked with tracking down the Nosaru, an alien species that he been secretly living on Earth for centuries.

OK, this was just really bad. Vampire aliens and teenage spies must have sounded good in a pitch meeting, but my god, does this drag. There's a giant cast, very few of whom get fleshed out (or if they do, it happens well past the 50% mark). There are 17 different mysteries - why are the aliens fighting each other, what is the school hiding, why is the school secretly experimenting on students, is the secret government operative actually evil - the answers of which are painfully obvious. There's awkward insta-romance. Switching points of view for no obvious reason. Confusing backstory - do the people of Earth know about the aliens? They are smart enough to have space travel, but instantly turn into zombie "must drink blood" once they find a hots? How does that work? Only teenagers are capable of hunting the space vampires? This just seems like someone read the summary and approved the book based on buzzwords, but didn't actually read the story itself.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fine, but in many ways did not live up to my expectations. I was excited for some high-concept scifi, complete with aliens and secret organizations. Instead, I got YA tropes, vampires with alien origins, minimal world-building, and a plot that limped along to a hasty conclusion and plenty of loose ends. As a result, this reads more like a Buffy/Potter hybrid than a true original scifi adventure.

Admittedly I am not the target audience, but I still read and enjoy plenty of YA. Unfortunately, the lack of depth and substance became painfully clear within just a few pages. The author does manage to avoid the worst of the YA romance tropes (nary a love triangle to be seen!), but can't resist comically uncommon character names and the tragic new girl arc. Apart from one character relationship, the rest are shallow and don't really go anywhere until the obligatory dramatic profession of like/love.

The most interesting plot points never really came to fruition - perhaps the author is setting up a series, but I'm not sure I'll stick around to find out. Perhaps younger readers into this specific genre (are vampire aliens and secret British boarding schools a genre?) will enjoy, but for me, I wanted so much more than I got.

[Plots and Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/𝟱

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Vampire aliens
~ Exclusive school/Academia
~ Diverse British ethnic groups
~ LGBTQ+ representation
~ Fights 🙌

Abyan is losing her mind & focus at a critical time. Her team needs her focus to vanquish the Nosaru & recover from their grief over losing a squad member, instead, they get the rookie Artemis & a leader with other things on her mind. As the team re-learns how to work together, fight the Nosaru, train Artemis & avoid being kicked out of Carlisle Academy - they find out secrets about the school & themselves in highly destructive ways.

🌵
Overall, although I didn’t particularly LOVE any of the characters, the premise was good, with characters with depth & struggles. There were sci-fi elements, but I would probably call it a fantasy-sci. It’s a good read for some ‘Academia’ lovers. 🤔 I wasn’t fully convinced that the alien vamps were evil.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ Ugh the whiny useless female who complains about wanting to go home but doesn’t spare everyone & just LEAVE
~ 🤣 Had to keep reminding myself not to get upset at the children
~ Leader that refuses to accept being wrong and endangers others instead
~ Unnecessary delay and drama

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC of this book.

3/5 Stars

The Sevenfold Hunters first grabbed my attention from the description, students who go to school at these prestigious Carlisle Academy to study, learn, but also hunt and fight aliens. Seemed like a great science fiction book to pick up. However I found it fell a little flat of my expectations. While this book is fast-paced I found the plot uninteresting, as it seemed to follow a very typical plot. While there is a mysterious plot line within the book, I found it little predictable. Having a hard time gaining my interest to further along with the book. For myself, I love books with well done world building of any scale. Although this book had minimal world building in which seemed rushed, and undescriptive. Having very little context and background for where the story takes place and how it evolves. The characters within the story are the best part of the story, as there is the found family trope. The author did a great job creating diverse characters, showcasing a tight knit group of friends who each add a refreshing perspective to the story.

If you love science fiction books with aliens like The Final Six and Nyxia, then I recommend giving this book a read.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the plot, but disappointed by the execution. It started promising and it kept me interested for a little bit. But after that it just went downhill. There were a lot of 'main' characters, but they weren't fleshed out. The plot felt somehow both overexplained and underexplained? The things that were really obvious were pointed out a lot, but there were also things that were never explained at all? I also expected a bit more of the boarding school vibes. It just didn't seem like there were many other people at the school and the school schedule just didn't make a lot of sense.

Also, I'm confused as to whether this was a standalone or the first book in a series. The ending seemed so open and a lot of questions were left unanswered, but I don't see a sequel announced anywhere?

[Debby Kean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shocking, maybe I am of the wrong generation, but it's so boring! A long way in, she's all about the characters who are in some kind of Utopia where 7/9 of the introduced characters are Black (with a capital), Omni capable & gender confused! The 3 exceptions are white, and two of them are signalled ahead as probable villains. The author says she's in London, but if it's London England, I am a marine iguana. That wouldn't be a problem if the story wasn't set in what the blurb calls a "fancy British boarding school".
A huge disappointment.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book a great deal. I would have liked the aliens to be less like vampires, but the writing was good, and the characters were mostly engaging. I really appreciated having main characters who were not typical cis WASP characters. If and when a sequel comes out, I will be reading it.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the idea of this concept, aliens that acted like the human idea of vampires, to be intriguing. But it came off as quite a jumbled mess of a story, an interesting story, one that kept me reading, but jumbled none the less.

[Penny's Preferences · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elite private school with a hidden agenda. An outsider is recruited as a student, but they are really there for revenge. Oh, and don't forget the blood-sucking aliens. Then to top it off there is racial and sexual diversity representation. I'm excited to continue to read this one.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young adult book about an academy of young students who are trained to fight vampire aliens. Good story!

[Izzys_Internet_Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

I really enjoyed reading this book! I can’t wait for the sequel there are so many questions that need to be answered

[Liz Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

If reading or listening about an abusive relationship bothers you STOP, this book is not for you.
Otherwise it’s an interesting but aggravating book.

[mona brumbelow]

Shallow