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Book Review: Spearwood Academy


Spearwood Academy  Volume 1 (ep. 1-5) by A.S. Oren - ongoing

Spearwood Academy has always been an all-boys school for dragon shapeshifters, until along came Avalon.  The first female student and dragon shapeshifter... in centuries.

First a backstory, I don't normally use reverse harem hashtag when I tweet my blog posts. So I did and stumbled a tweet from A.S. Oren and filed the book under my reading list. Days before this, I was engrossed with Maze Runner Trilogy, not a reverse harem romance story but the set up of the first book is about 50 boys, one girl and one maze. Around the same time, I also received recommendations for two reverse harem English young adult books. I'm such a big fan of YA books. Between reverse harem and non-reverse harem Hollywood TV series, animes and Asian dramas, I also alternately read YA fantasy and YA dystopia genres. This sudden turn of related events was making me excited and I about to post a generic post about YA reverse harem when I received a message from the author right after I followed her. She's giving me a free copy for a review!

This is the first time I get to read something in exchange for a review. I was worried what if I don't like it at all. I'm not sure how to handle it. I started reading the book and find the background story intriguing. Then the heroine was introduced and I was suddenly caught off guard with the burst of emotions. In teenage speak..the feels! It was laid down at the start that Avalon is a big fan of Harry Potter so there's a lot of parallelisms and references. It got me at Ravenclaw remark. But as the world of the dragon shapeshifters is revealed, it is grand, meticulously detailed and magical on it's own right. I can see this as a TV series. Even thought it is being marketed as reverse harem, the storytelling doesn't feel like a hard sell. I'm mesmerized with the the fantasy elements and every now and then I forget that it has reverse harem factors that remembering about is like an awesome perk. This is also the first time I get to try to imagine this many guys in real life. Bishonen stereotyping is a must in a reverse harem and I enjoyed trying to guess which character fits the bill. But still I was surprised with how one of the characters fared and I was like how could I have missed the signs! There's so many possibilities of who she might end up with and I'm really excited on where it will go. I also liked that Avalon's personality is strong but at the same time not immune to the charms of hot boys. 

Sorry for the long backstory earlier. As I mentioned, it was supposed to be a separate entry. But bottomline is I'm absolutely thrilled that my love for reverse harem and young adult has intertwined. I hope, no, I predict that this will be the next trend in both genres.
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Comments

  1. EmilyApril 17, 2014 at 3:03 AM

    oh. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 18, 2014 at 1:58 AM

    I also want to read it >.< Where can I buy the book or read online? I'm from Philippines

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousApril 23, 2014 at 11:07 AM

      If you message the author here, she might give you a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. She did it for me. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7417674.A_S_Oren

      Delete
    2. ayreesaApril 24, 2014 at 9:33 AM

      Hi anon, yes, sadly there's no physical book here in the Philippines. You can buy the copy online via amazon.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousApril 20, 2014 at 10:01 AM

    You should definitely check out The Academy series by C.L. Stone, the first book is free on amazon/kobo/itunes/etc. Its a true reverse harem, the author confirmed it. She gets with all the guys in the end -they will share her. Its an ongoing YA series (will move into New adult later on but is still YA for now). CL has like 20+ books planned for the series. There are 5 books out now the 6th coming in early June.

    Anyways the story is about Sang Soreson daughter of an abusive agoraphobic mother and neglectful father. Her older sister basically hates her and doesn't get nearly enough punishment. One night while trying to run away for an evening just to see what the outside world is like she meets Kota (short for Dakota) and he is the start of her story with the boys, 7 her age and two a couple years older. So 9 in total.

    The author also has a "spin-off" series Scarab Beetle series, also a RH, she'll get 'em all in the end. Theres like 5 guys I think (?). Theres only one book out so far, the next is coming in August I believe. Just wanted to suggest these books to you because omg I am in LOVE. Like totally obsessed, I have reread each books at least 13-15 times now and I only found them Jan of this year :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. ayreesaApril 24, 2014 at 9:28 AM

    Yup someone actually already recommended it but still thanks for sharing. I'm now on Book 2! :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMay 6, 2014 at 1:39 PM

    Maybe you'll like to try Demons at Deadnight by A&E Kirk. Not really a reverse harem but there are 6 hot guys protecting the girl. It is funny and action-packed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FrizzyMay 7, 2014 at 7:17 AM

      Book 2 drop dead demons coming out at the end of this month :D

      Delete
    2. ayreesaMay 7, 2014 at 8:46 PM

      It was already recommended by Frizzy but still thanks! :D

      Delete
  6. AnonymousNovember 15, 2015 at 3:29 PM

    Hi! I have a question for ya! Would you happen to know if there will be any more shows concerning Akatsuki no Yona? The manga has stopped at 105.5. And I really like both manga and anime. Thanks! ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ayreesaJanuary 20, 2016 at 2:20 AM

      Sorry, I'm not current with the manga. I was kinda hoping for second season instead of reading it. But let's see.

      Delete

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