I never DNFd any book but this time I just couldn’t read it after 100 pages. I made it through 100 pages in hope that it will surely have something buckled up inside it but alas! I was so wrong. The writing was bland. There were no proper use of punctuation marks which made me perplexed whenever I read sentences. They didn’t make any sense unless you want to heat up your brain by straining it. The only thing I like about the book is the idea behind it. Whoever is the editor need to work properly.

Thanks for the e-arc, netgalley.

DNF at 25%

This writing was just not it. It doesn't read like it went through an editor before being published. Sentences just stop without it seeming to reach a conclusion or make a point.

Really disappointed, the description sounded interesting.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

This book sounded so intriguing by the synopsis that I immediately requested it. But after only half, I recognized how dark this book is - something that is not indicated at all and should be, due to some extremely heavy trigger warnings and such. Though I dnfed and wasn't able to finish the book, I skimmed the majority.

( tws - slavery, abuse, non consent, islamaphobia, graphic sex scene, etc )

I loved the school. Or at least the concept of it. If the book had been further edited, rid of certain scenes and changed significantly after more drafts, I would've enjoyed this book more. There were a couple exciting moments and if the rest of the book was like that, I would've loved it. Unfortunately that was not the case.

Firstly, I spotted quite a few grammatical errors and mistakes regarding the sentences. Whilst these wouldn't bother me in a small proportion ( one or two ), there were most definitely many more than that and I was barely able to read it.

Secondly, the characters were all pretty bland in my eyes and the plot was slow and lacking. That was not at all what I was expecting from a book that looked to be fast paced and exciting from the premise alone. These could both definately be factors of the book primarily being written in dialogue ( and lack of description alongside it ), since it was hard to get attached to the characters and plot. I also really didn't enjoy the writing style and it seemed rather 'basic' to me, to say the least.

As well as that, I feel like both the islamaphobia and selling other people ( especially minors ) with no concent in the Academy weren't dealed with correctly. Again, this may be due to me not finishing the book, but other reviews seem to have the same / similar issues to me with this.

In conclusion, this book had an interesting premise, but in my opinion, the execution was lacking and it wasn't able to keep me hooked.

Safia comes from a Cuban African family and often works with her brother Yago in their parents restaurant. They can't afford to pay for college so Safia is determined to keep working for her parents. But one day she gets an offer she can not refuse. Yago has arranged for Safia to go to college. What Safia doesn't know is that she is being send off to a secret school where world leaders are being groomed. Safia tries to survive the crazy point system and the odd people. But then something happens that turns all of this around and Safia does everything she can to survive.

I was really drawn to the cover and the short synopsis of this story. It seemed like a mysterious novel with a dash of new adult. The beginning of the story was fine. We get to know Safia, her parents and her love interest David. At this point I really didn't know what to expect from this story. But when she finally arrived at the school, things took a turn. Altough the concept of the story with the elite school and the point system was well tought out, the rest of the story didn't excite me. First of all, the characters stayed very superficial. We don't get a good description of the characters and their personality seems to shift constantly. Altough we think we get to know Safia the best, she also does things that seem out of character and it makes me confused.

I also didn't feel like there was progress in the story. There was a lot of dialogue going on but not a lot of action. Only the game night was a little more interesting to read. The author really captured the weirdness of this novel in this scene. There was a lot going on like torture, betting, weird sex games and even violence. A trigger warning in this book would be in place! Altough the book was marked as 'Thriller' it is not at all a thriller. Mystery and new adult describes the book very well.

The book definitely has potential. I like the concept of the school and the point system. I also like Safia as a character but there was just to much going on. There wasn't a lot of action and all the action that did occur was weird and sometimes understandable. I also didn't understand the end of the book and was left disapointed that the story ended that way. I hope the author doesn't give up on writing because the idea is really good but the execution of the story could be better.

This one I grabbed because of the cover and well it wasn't all that good. I ended up only getting about 20% into it before I decided to DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book! I loved the idea of this book and the cover was very captivating! The book follows Safia, a girl who winds up at an academy with a point system. The students have to complete assignments and tasks to earn points and ensure their survival at the school. I liked Safia as a character and there were interesting concepts in this book. However, the book fell flat overall. I was confused at parts because the world was not explained very well. The plot was executed poorly.

It felt very much like a first draft. I can definitely see the potential, but it felt like there was some pieces missing that would've really rounded out the story.

Thank you to the publisher and Neti Galley for providing me with an ARC for my honest review.

The cover and the summary of this book are what first attracted me to read this book. It started a little slow but picked up throughout. Though boring at times, the competitive system the school had intrigued and I wanted to learn more. (This book deals with some dark themes, so I would check the trigger warning before reading it) The ending was good, but I feel like it good has been more extravagant. Other than those minor changes, this book was pretty good. The author did a very great job of building the mystery towards the climax and developing the characters. I enjoyed the author's world-building and his writing. I look forward to reading more of this author's works in the future.

Once again, thank you.

I'd put it at a two and a half if I could. I could see how this story could be really, really good. However, I felt as if I were reading a first draft, with a lot of chunks missing and quite a few confusing bits and pieces. I just could not enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange an honest review.

<i> Every Student has a Secret </i> tells the story of Safia who is whisked away to a dark and dangerous secret academy for the children rich and the famous. There, no one cares how much money you have, only how many points and everyone wants to take yours.

This book was problematic on many levels. The first being that it is in desperate need of an editor. I am usually the worst at spotting grammatical and spelling errors and I don't normally comment on them for ARCs but these were egregious. The book was also hard to understand plot wise. Even though we are told Apex Academy is for the children of the rich and the famous (or those stand out students who they think could become rich and famous), we don't really see much of that. None of the characters stand out or even differ too much from each other.

By far the biggest problem though was the sexual violence. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to call this softcore erotica. It feels like every character was some hyped up sex addict and most had some sever sadistic tendencies. Which is fine, whatever floats your boat, but when you start talking about one student owning another and forcing them into sexual acts (and then find out that at least one of those students is 16 while the other is definitely an adult, well...) that gets a little icky. Not to mention the headmistress not only participates in sexual acts with her students, she is also married to one of them. And I'm sorry, the excuse that is constantly thrown around the book is that "you can leave anytime, no one is forcing you to stay" is BS.

The premise was interesting but the execution lacked.

2/5
While the blurb of "Every Student has a Secret" sounded fairly interesting, I didn't find myself hooked at all. I got about 10 percent through it before stopping. The book was just completely full of dialogue, with just barely any description. Usually, I enjoy lots of dialogue, however, it felt all unnatural and clunky. I hate leaving books unfinished, but I couldn't bring myself to enjoy this one as I was reading.

An amazing book which takes you travelling to an alternate universe of fun, love and deceit. It's quite homely and entertaining as well. I definitely would love to continue reading further

I have received a digital advance review copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I requested this book, because I really liked the description of it and I felt like this could be a book that I would like. When I actually started reading it, that wasn't the case. I found it a little bit boring to be honest. There were certain moments when there was too little description of what was going on.
What I liked about the book was the concept of the plot itself, but I didn't like how it was executed.
Also this book tackles with a lot of topics that might be triggering to some people (islamophobia, slavery, abuse, homophobia ...)

Overall, I was disappointed with the book and I had to force myself to finish it because I had hoped that maybe it will get better, which it didn't.

I really wanted to like this book. premise and description sounded so promising! However this book was a tad boring. Not much happened. The beginning of this book was so slow I almost didn’t finish this book. Let’s see what this author brings out next. Only a ⭐️⭐️

Let’s start with the trigger warning: homophobia, islamophobia, slavery, non-con, minor abuse.

For a book that did not have any indication of being dark that’s quite a lot.

All in all the plot was lacking, I was disappointed at the 80% Talking without giving enough details. (Except in the sex scenes there was no detail spared)
I wanted to read it because the synopsis sounded interesting with students having to gain points etc. but sadly it wasn’t adapted as such.

I wasn't blown away by this book.... it was an enjoyable read on parts I feel like it could've been a lot better but I sort 9f enjoyed it all thensame but finished it scratching my head feel like there's more to the story.... maybe there'll be a sequel?

This book contains many trigger warnings.

I felt like overall there could have been a very good storyline here but I felt like the author executed the plot poorly. It was underwhelming, I think this may have been due to the fact most of the book was written in dialogue. This meant that there was little description to go alongside the characters. I didn’t find it easy to get attached to them at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review of the book.
i was honestly very excited reading the description
will always love a good school setting but did this make me think if that yes ,while it had a very promising premise this book was not for me i was not very connected with the mc andthe plot line was a bit flat
almost didn't finish the book
if it it just unwinded a bit slower and gradually showed me all the cards my dyslexic ass would have probably pr recieved it a bit better

I just couldn’t get interested in this book so I had to dnf it before I got myself in a slump. I think it was just the wrong time to read it. The premise is good. I think I’ll try it again at a later date

I don't even know why I requested this book, the cover's really really gorgeous whether it's the first version or the later version but omg what's wrong with this book? The premise or blurbs sound really really promising and I'm getting pretty excited to start reading this book. It wasn't as what I expected before. It's getting even more disturbing for me that I have to stop and take a breath. The ending is MEH
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A novel that will catapult you, along with the protagonist, Safia, from a simple waitress at her family’s Cuban African-American diner, to a very secret school. Here, the students are groomed for a purpose that isn't exactly clear.

Determined to survive and not fall victim to its games, Safia must try to navigate the school's crazy rule system and keep her points high enough to survive or risk servitude to the same students that stand beside her.

Along her journey, she will make friends and enemies. But in a school where trust is limited and friends are never who they say they are, how will she survive this high-risk environment?

Welcome to Apex Academy.