Shadowspell: Die Akademie der Schatten Band 2

Shadowspell Academy #2

by Shannon Mayer

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

Being accepted into an elite school of magic, monsters, and assassins was not my idea of higher education. But here I am, fighting my way through the Culling Trials to claim my right to be taught.

As if the gauntlet-type physical and mental tests aren’t enough, people are going missing.

People that are my friends.

In a dangerous world where no one is as they seem, the golden rule is simple: Trust no one. They think we should just look out for ourselves. That we should leave the fallen behind and ask no questions.

They clearly think we’re idiots. I got this far by trusting my instincts, and I’m not going to back down now.

Those kids won’t be left to die.

Not on my watch.

Shadowspell Academy Book 1 and Shadowspell Academy Book 2 end with a cliffhanger

Book 3 will release June 11, 2019

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Romance

260 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2019

About the author

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I was born into a family of Star Wars nuts. I have a lot of siblings (somewhere I lost count but I think there was more than could be numbered on one hand) and being one of the young padawans I was subjected to Star Wars marathons, on a regular basis. If you've read any of my books you'll see there is often a reference to said movies as a small homage to my upbringing. May the force be with you and all that jazz.

I started writing when I realized I didn't want to grow up not believing in magic, or not believing in creatures everyone else said didn't exist. That being said, I have never seen a fairy, unicorn or dragon. I had a neighbour who swore they fed the leprechauns in their garden, but I never caught the little buggers no matter how long I lay in wait. (And consequently had to help the neighbours plant new flowers to replace those I killed waiting for the leprechauns to show their faces.)

Along the way, I found my husband who is the rock that keeps me from floating away into my dreams, and we have a little boy who is the centre of our world. Living on a farm keeps us busy (as if the writing wasn't enough) and I have more than my share of stories about wrestling with cows, helping birth calves and ending up in the creek during the process, falling in the mud (we'll call it mud but we all know that on a farm, mud is rarely mud) and chasing escaped livestock in the hopes the four legged convicts don't make it to the highway.

I've taken up archery, and the goal is to move into horseback archery in time (you know, when I can hit the target on a consistent basis) and when no one is looking, I love to bake (this doesn't happen often as it's hard to keep the sweet treats in stock with two boys in the house.)

As to what's coming next for me? More stories (since those never stop inside my head, I might as well share them with all of you!) and more adventures. Pretty much, when the fancy strikes, I'll jump on it. Leap before you look I'm sure that motto was created for me.

Or was that . . . think big and dream bigger, ready, set, pull the trigger . . . yeah. That one is a good one too. But only if you have a gun. And are hunting elephants. Which is not cool because of so many reasons. Let's stick with the first one with an addendum.

Leap before you look and let your dreams carry you on their wings. And that, my friends, is me in a nutshell.

Reviews

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but for the life of me I don't understand what is going on. The writing is great, you keep reading and reading until the very end when you realize there is no plot line. The only thing that I know is that there is some sort of trials and that's it.

There's no reason given for this trial, there's no explanation of what Wild is, why anyone is after her or what happened to her brother. Having these questions unanswered in book 1 is understandable but having these questions still after reading book 2 is ridiculous. Hopefully everything can be sorted in book three.

Giving it 4 stars despite my misgivings because I really like Wild, a bit of a know-it-all but she was badass.

[Redhead Haze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: contemporary fantasy, YA
Tropes: Dark Academy,  magic school, trials
Trigger Warnings:  death
Series: Shadowspell Academy #2
Cliffhanger: Yes
Spice: 0/5 🌶
Rating: 4 ⭐

“It’s just tracking. Haven’t you guys ever done that?”
“What would I track, pigeons? I live in New York City,” Ethan said dryly.
“You could try tracking a better attitude, how about that?”

I've read this in like an afternoon and I absolutely couldn't put it down. It's very addictive. Is it a masterpiece?  Lol, no. But do I recommend it? Yes. It's fast paced and easy to follow,  I love its vibe and I can't wait to pick up the next book.

》》The Plot《《

Wild and her team go through two more trials, some kids start disappearing from the academy and some weird things seem to be happening. Not great, not terrible I'd say. Oh, and there's finally some romance, even if it happens in the last pages. At least I have hope for more in the next book.

“You better hope you keep being useful,” Ethan said, “or someday soon you’ll be crushed by your lack of knowledge.”
“You should get a side job writing for fortune cookies. You’d be a smash hit.”

》》Characters and Relationships《《

Well, I would like to say they have more dimensions in this book, but they do not. Apart from seeing a bit more of Colt and Rory there really aren't new developments in this department. Do I sense a love triangle here? Maybe. But it's very weak at this point so we shall see.

》》Favorite Scenes《《

🧑🏻👩🏻 Rory hiding Wild
🦄 The scene with the unicorns and Wild's enthusiasm
👩🏻🧑🏼 Wild threatening Ethan on the bus
👩🏻🧑🏽 Wild and Colt

》》Conclusion《《

It was fun, but I honestly think the first two books could have been a singular one and I have the feeling that this entire trilogy could have been one single book. I will keep reading this series as I definitely enjoy it. And about Harry Potter meeting the Hunger Games? Hmm, maybe it gives better vibes of Zodiac Academy meeting Divergent.

[★Me Myshelf and I★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.34 x longer than book 1

2 x house trials

= A Honey Badgering good time


Book 1⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Wild has the worst kept secret in the whole of the Academy, so this lost the “Mulan” thing book 1 had going on. Which I kind of missed. But her rag tag team of misfits are still hilarious and all interesting characters in their own right.

The honey badger
The “cheater cheater pumpkin eater”
The status seeking Vampire
Where’s Wally and
The Goblin

Little more of the Sandman would have been nice and I’m not sold on Rory yet but wow I’m loving this Academy series! The trials are really creative and I was surprised to find two house trials in the book. I thought for sure it was going to be one trail per book but hey I’m not complaining. It’s nearly all action and no romance so for me to like it this much is saying something

If you need an extra incentive to start this series then how about this...

[Vivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jedynym mankamentem tych książek jest dla mnie to że są takie krótkie i świat i bohaterowie mogliby być bardziej rozbudowani (chociaż i tak ich wszystkich lubię), ale przyjemnie się czyta, jestem ciekawa tajemnic rodziny bohaterki i kto na nich czyha

[Daisy Delfin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pages: 242
My rating (stars): 5
MC: Wild
SC: Billy, Sam (twins, brother and sister of Wild), Rory (Wild’s best friend), Tommy (Thomas the older brother), Drexia nickname: Wally, Pete nickname Freckles, Sandman = Sideburns = Sunshine, Gregory Goblin nickname Biebs, Orin, Ethan Helix


The second book is as good as the first, but since Wilds secret is out, the Mulan thing is gone. But I love her friends and that she is a good and protective leader. I like the MCs and the other characters as well.

Summery of the contend of the book. Loads of spoilers are included, so don't read it, if you are reading the book for the first time. But if you want a reminder what happened and have read the book, you will get a detailed summery here.

The second book starts directly where the first one ended. Which means we are in the scene where Pete discovers that Wild is a girl.
The next morning they have a rude wake up call. Instead of a day off, they have to get up fast and are in for their next trial.

This one takes place in the House of Unmentionables. Going in Ethan takes the lead. Already in the bus he had some papers which I assumed were information on the trial. He leads them to a bridge. Wilds senses warn her of the danger which is near to the bridge. Turns out that the danger is a troll. Gregory tells Wild that there are other places on the body which she should attack to best the troll. Naturally Ethan throws Wild in as a bait. She faces off with the troll, only o find out that troll magic is playing mind games with the victim. He lets Wild see how he will torture her and kill her.

Then she is pushed down and falls at the feet of the troll. She attacks the troll and cuts one of his fingers off. Somebody shoves Ethan over the bridge. But the troll does not attack him, because Ethan gets special treatment. He just pulls his wand out and conjures a staircase. And of course he climes it and leaves Wild on her own. After that the troll stop tormenting her magical and Pete jumps down to help her. But the troll again attacks wild with mind games, but this time she somehow lets his magic flow though here and uses it against him by showing him how she will hang him up at his feet dangling down the bridge. The flee the scene after cutting off some more fingers. But before escaping Wild has on of her hunches. She talked to Gregory and he tells her that the Troll normally have some talisman. So Wild and Gregory go down again and Gregory finds a ruby because Goblins have the magical talent to sniff out any gem or gold. Wild makes him keep the Ruby.

Wally tells Wild that each trial has three challenges. The third one being the challenge for the gold. Their next challenge is a Tower with a rock surface, which they have to climb. While climbing they are attacked by gargoyles. Wild throws Pete in Badger form up the wall, but her aim is off and he lands on a ledge but attracts one gargoyle. To safe him, Wild and Gregory go after him. Gregory rakes the gargoyle with his claw like fingernails and injured the gargoyle turns to stone. Meanwhile Ethan takes the easy way up, without helping the others. The others struggle their way up fighting the gargoyles and helping Pete. When they come to the top they see that Ethan already found the second thing, which is a square shaped piece of gold. Ethan assumes, that Wild and Gregory found the trolls token. So they tell him they found the ruby. Leaving the tower they come to a field with hay. And their next challenge is to find a third gem. But Ethan has a map and Gregory finds it with the help of his senses.

The illusion of the field dissolves and they are in a triangle room with a huge pile of gems and gold and a table. The treasure disappears leaving them with a triangle table with three holes for the gem. They have to find out, where to place which gem. Gregory tells Wild that one of the walls is made of Rubys and then Wild can feel it too. They inspect the other walls and find out that they are made of gold and sapphire. Wild places the gold and gems according to the walls. And they win this trial. Ethan wants to take all credit but Wild knocks him out and shoves Gregory to the front. Gregory tells the people who come in that it was a group afford and Ethan takes charge and plays the leader. But it is decided that the treasure will be divided between the group members. The newcomers tell them that they are the biggest group, which made it through the trial which is rather uncommon.

After finishing the Trial the return to the mansion with Ethan trying to get a room in there.

He walks straight to Director Frosts office. But the Assistent of Mrs. Frost is there, Adam a vampire. He leads them to Director Frosts office. Ethan tells her that his father must have approached her about better housing. She answer with a lot of sarcasm which Ethan doesn’t get. The others are a bit embarrassed. Adam leads them to their new room, where the guys will house together.

In the room when Wild goes to look at the bathroom Ethan attacks her. They fight and she gets him good, but he tries to kick her in the balls. And because it does not work he gets suspicious and tells her that she is a girl. Because he also ripped her shirt, he could see evidence of a sport bra. He wants to boot her out. Wild tells him that she has to stay otherwise her sister and brother are in great danger. Still Ethan does not give in. But then Gregory pulls out a picture of Ethan kissing an older lady and he uses it to blackmail her. Also the other two jump in and tell him that they need Wild for the Trials. Finally Ethan gives in.

After that one of the guys explains that wild and Gregory are threads to Ethan because they are doing so well. That night Wild wakes up with a feeling that something is off. When she looks at the bed of Gregory, he is not there. Orin know that he went out an hour ago but Wild gets a feeling that Gregory is in danger and decides to go after him. At the main door she sees a group of guys, one being Gregory and it looks like he is taken. She hurries after the group but gets tackled from behind. Turns out that Rory followed her and he tries to calm her down, as a new dread washes over Wild: she senses that Tommys killer is there and he is after her. Rory calms her down and the Killer leaves the field.

Rory takes her back to the mansion. She is angry with him and has many questions but Rory disappears. The next morning Wild tells the guys of her group that Gregory was taken. But also this third day is not day off. They meet Wally after breakfast and walk to the guys room with her and all of them get the message that today is the third trial and they have to get there within 50 minutes. Ethan wants to grab his cheat sheets, but they are gone. Orin tells him that Gregory discovered them and took them and Ethan believes that he sold them. So he tries to find the person who bought them. But Wild and the others do not believe that Gregory sold the sheets, because it would be a great disadvantage for the group.

They have to go into the Trial of the House of Claw without prior knowledge. Luckily Pete is a honey badger and well equipped for this trial. Ethan follows a group which has a suspicious sheet of paper and he follows without thinking of the consequences. Wild sees that they are near a water hole and suspects that a predator would pick his prey here. She is careful and want the scene with Ethan and the other group over. While standing there she senses a thread and uses the other group as human shield. Pete warns them that there are five lionesses. The fight against them and survive nearly unharmed.

They have to move on to the second challenge which turns out to be tracking. Wild is good at it, she used to hunt while she lived on the farm. Pete has keen sense of smell. Together they find tracks and scents and they follow the wolf. They have a run in with a pack of wolf shifter. They fight and injure them and walk away.

They walk into a pack of unicorns and Wild is delighted. And beside the unicorn pack is a pack of alicorns, flying unicorns. Wild wants to take those and Pete knows they have to use the alicorns to fly to the treasure. So Ethan wants to fly the biggest stallion but the alicorn does not want Ethan as his rider. They send Wild to get the alicorns and when she approached the first alicorn, she senses that it won’t take her on. So she goes to the Stallion and after a standoff another alicorn approaches her and the mare is willing to let Wild ride her. So she tells the others to pick out their alicorns. The whole group flies to the treasure and a group of shifters. The Alpha approaches Wild and tells her that she is the leader, even tough she denies it and tells him everything was a group effort. The Alpha tells her that her alicorn is a friend for life and she does not take on riders. Also she is a good judge of character and liked wild. And he tells Wild that he will try to protect her.

After that they take the bus back to the mansion. Colt flirts with Wild and she finds out that Ethan told him her secret. She is really unhappy and attacks Ethan steals his wand and threatens to break the wand. Ethan tells her that he will be more careful. The people in the bus talk about this incident, because it is unusual that Wild could take Ethan wand and was not harmed. At the Mansion Wild ask Ethan if they have put her in the wrong house, because she could take his wand. And he answers that she will know after the trial of the house of wonders.

The next Day Wally comes to the guys room weeping turns out that the girls in her room bullied her and hurt her. Wild is angry and goes after the three girls and Orin goes with her because they are vampires. Wild gets into a fight with one of the vampires. But then Jared an older vampire takes her and drags her to Director Frosts office. The want to expel her but the rest of the group shows up and tells Director Frost why Wild went after the girls. Director Frost decides, that Wally has to stay in the room of the group and that Wild can stay. After the group leaves, Director Frost wants a word with Wild. The Director saw through the rouse and knows that she is a girl but because the Director was in the same situation she offers understanding of the situation. She writes a list with the missing kids while Wild is in the office adding a fourth name to it. She also shows Wild a box of Wands and tells her that most people expelled were in the house of wonders.

After this they decide to stay in groups of at least two at all times. Wild and Wally got back to their room. But Wild senses a threat and leaves Wally in the hall while going into the room alone. She finds Rory in the room. He is angry, because he heard that her secret is out and she was caught fighting. Rory warns her to only think of herself nobody else. Then he is gone.

After that the whole group is back in the room and split up to find information on the missing kids. Wild goes with Colt. They try to find information on the newest case. And the roommate tells them that Gregory got the offer to skip the last trials and finish on a fast track without further trials. Same thing happened to the the other kid. Wild goes into the forest where she lost Gregory. Colt is with her and they kiss. Rory interrupts them and the book ends.

Pete revealed something about shifters: “Smaller animal forms can change faster and more frequently than the larger, deadlier forms.”

[Lien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so confused. Will there be more than 3 books in the series? Because there is absolutely no way Breene & Mayer can bring this to a satisfying ending with only one more book. There are too many unanswered questions so they're either going to rush the answers or continue with the series.

The trials were really boring and predictable. I mean it wasn't like the team just breezed through them, there was lots of action involved but I already knew that Wild would succeed in everything she does so there wasn't much fun in reading about that. This probably won't go over very well but as a character, Wild is kinda bland. As I said in book 1 she's just too perfect and now we discover that she's even more. There is nothing that really stands out to me and makes me really, really like her.

The secondary characters though are awesome. I even started to like Ethan a tiny little bit. He annoyed the heck out of me but now that I think about it, Ethan is probably the character that I'm looking forward to the most.


**ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review.

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➔ 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
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#1. My review of ➞ The Culling Trials | 3.5 stars
#2. The Culling Trials 2 | 3 stars
#3. My review of ➞ The Culling Trials 3 | 4 stars
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[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Culling Trials book 2 picks up Wild's story immediately after the ending of the first instalment so please be aware there will be spoilers for the first book in this review. It's turning into a really fun series though so you should definitely check it out if you haven't already.

Picking up immediately from where we left off Pete has just walked into the bathroom and discovered that Wild is really a girl. Although he has a little trouble getting past the whole boob thing before he can even think about how her secret could affect the whole group if she's discovered! There is a very good reason that Wild has been hiding her true identity and her whole family will be in danger if anyone finds out who she really is so she's got to place a lot of trust in Pete to keep her secret.

I'm actually really enjoying seeing the friendship grow between Wild, Pete, Wally, Orin and Gregory, they're all from totally different backgrounds and have very different skills but there seems to be a genuine bond between them. You'll notice that I'm not counting Ethan in that grouping but he's a whole different kettle of fish and it's going to take a lot of work before I'll start trusting him.

Wild's secret is actually the least of their problem as the culling trials continue. There is danger from every direction and even working together is no guarantee of success but if they don't make it through Wild will never discover what happened to her older brother or why they tried to recruit Billy. She also needs to get to the bottom of whats going on with her childhood friend Rory, he's been holding out on her for a long time and it's clear he has information she needs if she's going to survive this experience.

I love how fast paced these stories are, lots of action and fun as they work through the trials but also a strong group of characters who are becoming fast friends. There are secrets galore that I can't wait to uncover and I'm just glad we don't have to wait long for the next book!

[Avada Kaddavra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geht direkt super spannend und rasant weiter. Auch wenn es kein Meisterwerk ist, macht es mir einfach Spaß, es ist super unterhaltsam😅

[Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

****4.5 Douche Canoe Stars****

The book just goes too fast and it's over before I even know it and it leaves me wanting more and more!

I don't think I can wait another month to find out what happens with the next trials and what is going on with Rory, Wild, Ethan, and the rest of the crew!

I WANT MORE!!!

[Zuzanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Nie jest to coś idealnego, ALE od dawna nic tak bardzo mnie nie wciągnęło

NIE MOGĘ SIĘ DOCZEKAĆ AŻ PRZYJDZIE MI TRZECI TOM

[Tiera McMillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Somewhere here in book 2 I started really connecting with the characters of this series. I'm pretty sure it was right about the time a certain someone was fangirling hard core about unicorns. Its like we just clicked.. Lol. I still have the same problems here in book 2 as I had in book 1. There is just no world building in general though the scenes are built just fine. The reader is just barely given any information to semi accurately make some assumptions but nothing is set in stone and its not all quite adding up.. but... It was a fun, wild ride. (pun intended)

Wild and her team head onward to challenge #2 which plays to Gregory's strengths as a goblin. Unfortunately, douche bag entitled jerk wad attempts to commandeer the mission and almost gets everyone killed with his freaking cheat sheet. Only because Wild and her other team mates leave no man behind do they make it out of the challenge with all their team mates and with Gregory as the star of the show. Initiates are being kidnapped however, and Gregory becomes a victim right along with douche bags cheat sheets. Now they are on their own for the next challenge the beast challenge. Something odd is going on with Wild though... slowly but surely her powers are displaying and seem to change based on the situation. Only one other person had demonstrated all the house powers and she needs to stay under the radar. Her team may know her secret but she still needs to keep her brother safe. If that wasn't enough there is an assassin on the grounds just waiting on the moment to pluck wild off.

The characters have developed a funny sarcastic camaraderie that I'm super digging here in book 2. I'm excited to see where the ride takes us next. Hopefully we will start getting some answers soon.

[debturk1970_bookvibes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Pulse Pounding 4.5 Stars!!🌟💥

Holy moley the tension goes up & down like a yo-yo in this book. I needed meds for my blood pressure & an inhaler for catching my breath!!😱😍

Wild & her crew are thrown back into the thick of the Culling Trials from the get go. Ethan is his typical douche canoe self, full of self importance & out to win at everyone else's expense - can he or will he ever learn to be a team player?? Each other member is pulling their weight, or more, until in the dead of night things take a terrifying turn & things change altogether!!😳😢

Wild's crew need each other more than ever. Threats are coming from all sides as their diverse team seem to be quite successful. Who can she trust if her secret starts get out? Where do Rory's loyalties really lie? Who's taking the missing kids? What's Sandman up to? And who is stalking her steps??😳

This was a total rollercoaster of a ride. The Crew become much more real to us, as each character steps more into the limelight for us readers.😍 This one has a humdinger of a cliffhanger too and it's explosive!!💥😒

Bad@ssery ensues from start to finish. I'm on pins & needles already for book #3 & darn straight that puppy is already pre ordered!!🌟🙏😃

Debbie, 1970, UK

[Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying this series.... This book picks right up where it left off in the first book. This book is a combination of Harry Potter meets hunger games.

[Koko_przedstawia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nieźle się uśmiałam na tym tomie 😆 Bimber i ogórki oraz gej i fetysz jednorożców to mnie rozbroiło 😁 Na pewno w najbliższym czasie przeczytam 3 tom 🤪

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

Still nothing that rises above the rest, but still fun to read.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Two more trials down for our rag-tag team!

In this one we get to see the group go through both the Goblin and Shifter trials-While I like that each individual of the team is bringing something to the table, I wish everything was quite SO easy for Wild. However, besides her instincts and speed we do see that some her ability to find answers in the trials comes along with knowledge from her past experiences-a large portion of it seems to obviously be pointing to her being a Shadow Killer. duh.

We also get to see a bit more personality and bonding from the side characters-and of course Ethan continues on his quest to be King D-bag....but so help me I think i'll eventually end up really liking him one he gets the arrogant attitude knocked out of him. So team Rory...not really. Sue me.



Excited to see where this goes- why did they force Wild to the trials, who is taking the missing kids, and who is this mysterious assassin?

[sam]

dnf @ 10%

[Heather Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

Fantastic continuation of The Culling Trials. Wild is learning step by step, and surviving the terrors the academy throws at her, with the help of her make shift and mismatched crew. We get two full trials this time around instead of just one, offering more clues and glimpses into the houses these trials represent - and just what they might mean for Wild.

Pros:
- Character development
- Fast paced!
- Great team.

Cons:
- This is a trilogy?? HOW are they going to solve everything in just one more book?? What about the school? Is there going to be another series?

[Natalie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing on from Pete getting an eyeful, Wild being a girl is the worst kept secret going. Sunshine has lost his appeal and feels like a bad guy creeper. Rory- well I’m hoping Wild’s lie detector is accurate. Ethan is growing on me although he did need bricking at the start.

The rest of the crew is steady as ever and I like the whole family vibe going on. Gonna say Pete is my favourite but then you’ve got cool, calm Orin stalking the shadows. Favourite part was revenge for Wally.

The story is still going strong with more trials, a little mystery, secrets and mayhem. Ends on another cliffhanger and again a little short. Still onwards to the next one.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah this was better than the first book for sure.

Plot:
Fast paced and action packed

I already talked about the characters but there are new ones

Rory: i don’t trust him he’s plotting something i know it.

Colt: i kinda like him? I know I shouldn’t trust him considering i know virtually nothing about him but i do. I still like Ethan more tho he’s much worse which makes him a better love interest.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wild and her group continues to face the Culling Trials, each one geared to a different House. It becomes clear that someone is trying to kill Wild as their trials are much more difficult than other groups. There are also kids going missing, but everyone is distracted when Wild's big secret gets out.

I thought this one was a bit better than the first book. Yet I'm still frustrated with the ambiguity of what the hell is the purpose of the trials. I get trying to weed out the best of the best for school, but so much of what is going on doesn't make sense. And what is so great about this school that kids are willing to DIE to get into? I'm just a little lost. I keep reading the synopsis for book 1 and going to the author pages to see if this is a spin-off and I just haven't read the series with all the explanations - but nope! It is what it is. I'm already two books in, I might as well keep reading. I hope Ethan will get his ass handed to him in the next one, that might make it all worthwhile.

[Sabiba Hossain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is significantly better than the previous one. Other than that, I don't remember any noteworthy events taking place. Colt was a nice addition, but he just seemed a piece to add to her story, not a human being. I mean, all characters seemed kinda flat in this series, but he's extra flat? One reason for this is maybe Wild is a narcissist and doesn't notice/care about other people. In the first book, she was so annoying! She was constantly giving people nicknames in her mind, like Wally, Freckles, Wonder Bread, Sideburn- It was getting annoying tbh. However, this book managed to improve her character building along with the writing style. Yaay.

[Morwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars generously rounded up.
It's a not well-written, but endearing/addictive book.
All that took a dip during the second half where the absurdity of how our heroine is depicted as having all the powers, infallible deduction skills (even if the reasonings are always watery), and all the right people on her corner, started to make it impossible to bear with a straight face.
The boy/girl divide and extreme clichès are also getting old, they are not children freshly finding out what parts they got assigned and what to do with it! Nobody 18+ behaves like that.
I'll give the next book another try, hoping to get back to that silly, but fun feeling it gave.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read the author K. F. Breene before, but if this second book in the Shadowspell Acaemy series shows how good she is, I must start very soon. Anyway, we start up right where we left in the first book, and the action never lets up from that point on. Wild is determined to win the trials, but when she discovers there have been missing contestants and it gets personal, she ups her game. I have to admit that YA is generally not my favorite genre, but I don’t mind when the plot, characters, and actions are young without being juvenile like this series. Not only is this book fun, it kept me glued to the pages to find out just exactly what is going to happen next. I am enthralled with this series, and after the ending, I’m more than read for the next one. I do highly recommend it! I voluntarily reviewed the e-book which I was provided.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeszcze lepszy! 🤩 świetna zabawa, przygoda i walka - jest co czytać 💪

*chociaż jeden wątek mógł zostać rozegrany inaczej albo trwać dłużej...

Poza tym mega!

[Anna ʚɞ · Rating 2 out of 5]

ׂ╰┈➤ 2.5★

I beg your finest pardon but what the actual is going on in these books?!?

Also i just love that we've now established that asking someone THEY JUST MET where they're from, automatically means flirting - cus yeah that makes sense.

Proper review to come soon 🤞🏼

[Tracy D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good pace, great cliffhanger!

Loved Wild! Really enjoying this series so far. I'm happy some things finally got resolved with her past. And I'm feeling a little heat between her and a certain someone. Lol. You know what they say? Where there's smoke, there's fire! I'm hoping that doesn't take a backburner in the next book.
This has been totally YA, but with no annoying angst. (Always a plus.)

I'm still really confused about who the bad guys are, and what their problem with Wild and her family is. There are hints, but not enough to "ok, that's gotta be a good enough reason to KILL OFF A FAMILY." It seems like the authors are deliberately trying to be misleading. I'm sensing a swerve coming. I'm already working things out though, and it's not what Wild thinks by the end of the novel.

There is pretty much nothing I didn't like. This book, and series, has been pretty action packed, with a fast pace. There are enough genuinely interesting characters and relationship dynamics to keep pretty much anyone interested. Most of all, fans of the paranormal genre.

Great read!

[Zara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wild disguising herself as a boy = worst kept secret in the academy.

[CobaltFeathers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Efectiv mă ia cu durerea de cap când citesc cartea.Cred ca Twilight era mai buna decât chestia asta,acolo știam măcar cum arată personajele.Tot ce știu aici despre aspectul fizic este ca protagonista are parul maro (și este aparent musculoasa pentru ca a trăit toata viața la o ferma in Texas?),Drixie(cred ca asta e numele ei,a fost menționat doar odată in carte)are gene lungi și un tip Ethan are ochi albaștri și e blond.Ce naiba?Nimeni nu are vreun tip de personalitate aici,nici măcar tipii care ar trebui sa para scary sunt ridicoli.Am văzut villans mai înfricoșători in desenele animate la care ma uitam când eram mică.Nici nu am ce spoilere sa dau dacă as vrea,nu se întâmpla efectiv nimic.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the most entertaining part of the book was Wild's ragtag crew; their chemistry, their banters and Wild's mysterious lineage. This book introduced a little foreseen romance which wasn't surprising but I'm so waiting for : ) So far it reminds me of Harry Potter+Percy Jackson but in a different tone. Yep gonna stick to the series like glue even I know future predictable plots but the team....they made me smile.