I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fallen Academy Year One by Leia Stone Series: Fallen Academy #1
on 2025 March 18
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 350
Format: E-Arc
Source: Netgalley
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Brielle Atwater isn't sure of much, but she knows a few things:
1. Having black wings is not normal.
2. Selling her soul to the demons was a mistake.
3. Lincoln Grey is the biggest *** she's ever met … but not falling in love with him might prove impossible.When angels fell from the sky to war with the demons that ravaged Earth, their combined powers infected humanity. Now, the humans are assigned one of two fates, being either demon gifted or angel blessed.
After wings sprout from Brielle's back at her awakening ceremony, she's sure she's an angel blessed celestial. It's not until she sees black wings that she realizes something is terribly wrong.
Having sold her contract at a young age to save her father's life means she should be bound for Tainted Academy. That is, until a fallen angel unexpectedly fights for her to be accepted into Fallen Academy, the elite school for those that inhabit Angel City.
She's immediately matched with her impossibly handsome celestial teacher, Lincoln Grey. Laying eyes on him, her first thought is that her time at the academy might actually be fun, but this theory quickly fades when she and Lincoln clash on day one. To further prove her admission into Fallen Academy is cursed, the entire school is thrown into chaos when an Abrus demon reveals that he knows Brielle's secret. Now, above all else, Lincoln must fight to protect her.
To his surprise, the only thing more difficult than trying to save her … is trying not to fall for her.
I really had high expectations for this book because the blurb was so reminiscent of my all time favorite series, Harry Potter, only that we are dealing with angels and demons here instead of wizards and witches. In the same vein as those books with hero of destiny theme, Fallen Academy follows the story of Brielle Atwater who did not know that she’s the prophesized Messiah who will end or worsen the war between the angels and demons. I will not bore you with the intricacies of what Fallen Academy is all about as the blurb is pretty clear where the story is going.
So why am I giving this book a 3 star when most of the Harry Potter books yielded a 5 star from me? Well, the book just did not resonate with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Angel vs. Demon stories; as as a matter of fact, Susan Ee’s Angelfall is an all time fave series, too, and the sole reason why I got hooked with Angel stories. Fallen Academy, however, was just a so so for me. Nothing hit the right spot for me. I find the relationship between Lincoln and Brielle forced and too fast-paced, Brielle and the other characters’ development shallow, the plot very unsurprising and averagely (not poorly) executed, and the world building okay. To sum it up, nothing had awed me while reading Fallen Academy Year One.
Since this is the first installment of the series, I expected that there is an elaborate explanation about our Angels and Demons and how the war came to be. I get that most angel and demon stories are inspired from the Bible, I would have expected that the author took the time to put a new spin on a beloved and extremely familiar story. Unfortunately, the book was more focused with Brielle’s feelings for her handsome teacher, Lincoln.
This book has so much potential particularly that the setting, academia, is something that I really love. There are a lot of things to explore and expound on but the romance became the focus of this book. If the romance had been beautifully executed, I would have declared that it’s a win for the book. Unfortunately, the romance also did not do it for me. So what I’m saying is, read this book at your own risk. It might or might not work for you. I enjoyed it at some point but forgot about it most of the time that’s why it took me a long time to read it. Will I read the next installment? Well, that would depend on my patient and my schedule so nothing certain as of this time yet.