This was a good book.
In depth storytelling. A build up of lore and history that keeps the pages turning.

It was thick but worth it!

I am looking forward to book 2!

Wow, honestly the ending had me in tears. Starting at the beginning, there was a great amount of character development, with acknowledging flaws of the characters and making them seem like real people and not your typical romance trope. I enjoyed seeing Summer start to lean into her power and her backstory was shown just enough to keep you going to find out more. I truly hope there is another book to understand “stranger” and who he is to her. Also explore more of her lineage and relationships with the Headmaster, Max, Alice, and the angels. It did get a little long, and somewhat repetitive in the middle section, but I knew I had to see if through to find out the end! Again, great ending, really the last third of the book I read straight in a few hours. Thanks so much for the opportunity!

This was a fun time- Zodiac Academy fans will love this. Is it well written? Not particularly. Could it have been shorter? Absolutely. Is it a fun time set in an academic setting with mystery, magic and romance that you will fly through? Definitely. It gave me Vampire Diaries vibes and though it won't be something I treasure or a masterpiece, it was incredibly addicting and I read it all in 24hrs. If you're looking for unserious escapism with spice, this is it.

Hurry up and download Blood & Betrayal, Book one of Avalon University. I absolutely DEVOURED this book in under 2 days, and I can’t stop thinking about it and this is a THICK BOOK! I immediately ordered my physical copy and I’m already ready for my re-read 🤣

Y’all, this book has everything I could ask for in a book. Dark academia, amazing world building, magical creatures, some of the most descriptive characters I’ve met, love, spice, mystery, trauma, and the cliff hanger 😭😭

This book, dare I say it, has been my favorite book I’ve read so far this year, and I read ZA books 1-9 🙈, Metal Slinger, Dire Bound, and Firebird. This book is probably a 3-3.5 on the 🌶️ because of the frequency, not really the content itself. I’m hoping the next book is a 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ I have a feeling with the way it ended that it might 😜

I had this sitting in my NetGalley TBR for a while and now that I’ve read it, I wish I had moved it closer to the top of the pile sooner! Was I slightly intimidated by the length? At 704 pages, yes. Did this make me think the book was going to be a standalone? Also yes. (I missed the part where this is part of a duology.)
I can’t lie, after about the first 5%, I wasn’t sure if this was my kind of book, thanks to the writing style of the authors and it felt that they were rather overemphasising the FMC’s lack of opportunities for education when she was younger - it’s mentioned A LOT. But I am a sucker for a Dark Academia Romantasy and was ready to give it more of a chance and I am super glad that I did. I got to the stage where I was choosing to read this book rather than sleep. Sleep is for the weak right?
I loved the stalker/stranger element (the banter and developing relationship between them is one of my favourite things), and I have my theories about who he is! Do I think the story needed all of the chapters and the filler? No, I could have still have the same outcome without it, BUT it was lovely to follow the characters on their developmental journey. I don’t know if it made me more invested in the story, although I do feel like I know them really well now. If anything, it made the cliffhanger ending hit even harder. There is NOTHING that could have prepared me for that. And now I see that the next part isn’t out until next year?!

The MMC is your stereotypical golden retriever type and being with the FMC is literally his whole personality. The FMC was constantly causing herself problems and moaning about her past, which was a bit tiresome, but I do like how she developed as the story went on. Although all they do is have sex. And whilst it’s not particularly spicy, it is VERY frequent. And their relationship developed at a record speed. I’d like to see more from the stranger as the story develops in Book 2 (Sorrow and Strangers). He is one of the main reasons that I stayed. And the headmaster. He sounds great too…

Favourite part: the text interaction between the stranger and Summer in Chapter 94.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating: 🌶️🌶️

Tropes: golden retriever boyfriend, stalker, found family
Paranormal setting with various paranormal creatures forming the characters in the school.

Thank you to Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune, Rose and Star Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my god, this was a horn-fest!

And there's nothing wrong with a horny book, but this was just horny. There was nothing else going on here. A book this long does not need that much horniness.

I am not exaggerating when I say that every other chapter or every third chapter was a horny scene (if ya know what I mean). That's just not necessary. I had to start skipping them because it got uncomfortable and repetitive, most romance books only have like two or three scenes like that, not what feels like fifty.

I really couldn't tell you the plot, there wasn't really much of one. There are fae and vampires, and I love those things, but they never got to shine. All of this book was spent talking about how horny the main characters were for each other. They were also insta-lust/insta-love and I hate that. So that didn't help. And the FMC was kind of giving pick-me/I'm-not-like-other-girls energy and that is such an ick. All of these characters were so immature too.

I was really disappointed with this. I love any sort of story centered around a magical university, but I didn't get to enjoy any of the aspects of that which I enjoy. If I hadn't gotten this from NetGalley, I would've DNFed it. Sorry. Great premise, terribly disappointing execution.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

4.5 - Blood & Betrayals was a good time, so this rating is more for the vibes and not because it was a perfect book. I was looking for something similar to Zodiac Academy and although it didn’t quite scratch that itch, it came close.

Let’s start with the good. I liked the setting and the age range of the characters. As someone in her early 30s, it was nice seeing characters closer to my age range. The story was also pretty good even though I couldn’t really tell where it was going. There are a lot of subplots, which keep things interesting as well.

Now, on to the main gripe I had. This book was needlessly long. I don’t think the plot really got started until around 400 pages in. I like a lot could have been cut out because after awhile a lot of the scenes felt like the same scene copied and pasted. Take the spice scenes, for example. There were a ton of spice scenes, but they were all pretty much the same. I don’t mind a ton of spice, but at least make it good. I found myself skimming through a lot of the repetitive scenes.

And that ending?! I’m still not well. Can’t wait for book 2 to come out.

Definitely check this out if you’re looking for Zodiac Academy vibes with a murder mystery woven in!

To start off - I am giving this book a 3 star rating because only half the book is worth 4.5 stars and you have to read 400 pages (give or take) to even get to the good part of the book. IF you can slog through the first 400 pages then yes the book gets less confusing, the path of the plot straightens out a bit. But then you end on a cliff hanger (?) that will absolutely gut you and devastate you even though you kinda suspected that it would not end great.

So...did I enjoy it? Well, it took several, several weeks for me to read it because of the first 400 pages. And, though I am not opposed to long books I am opposed to needlessly long books. Because of this my rating is lower, I just feel like the first half could have been more condensed and concise - it was more like taking an afternoon stroll in a garden that quickly turns into a wild, overgrown jungle with no clear trail then suddenly the trail is found and you are back in a well groomed garden.

Wow… talk about being taken for a whole ride!

Right when you think you know where this book is going, it flips you side ways! I’m still at a loss for words at that ending!

Glows:
1. Kept me on my toes the whole time! I usually am really good at solving things, but there were so many other things going in that Rose & Rune successfully distracted me!
2. We love a good dark academia vibe and a sociopath stalker with lots of murder and mystery!
3. We have a golden retriever and a red flag that gets more red throughout the book, but gets more attractive…

Grow:
1. Too many chapters… granted they were short, but ladies how could you put me through 100+ chapters just to give me that ending?!? I am traumatized.
2. Some times the verbiage would change from first person to third which threw me little in the beginning, but with editing I guarantee that was fixed.
3. The FMC sometimes made me want to go WWE on her! Love her, but gosh girl theres only so much, “I don't deserve this…” I can take!

All in all, if you are looking for dark academia, spooky vibes this season definitely pick this one up!

“You do not get to decide your worth to someone else. Only they do.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

Did someone whisper dark academia? Because I was already sprinting toward it.

This book had been sitting on my TBR forever. Yes, I’ve tackled 1000+ page beasts before, but making that your first book in a series? That’s a bold move. I was nervous—what if it wasn’t worth it? I’m terrible at DNFing, I’d just end up dragging myself through it. Luckily, no dragging required here. This story practically read itself, although sometimes a bit slowly 😅

The prologue? Straight-up savage. A violent murder scene that screams: “Stick around, because this is going to hurt.” And of course, I did. From there, we jump back two months to the first day at Avalon University and… chaos begins.

The story is told (mostly) from Summer’s POV. She’s closed-off, drowning in trauma, and desperate for a new start at Avalon. Her roommate Alice (yes, a vampire—cue Twilight flashbacks 😅) clicks with her instantly, and the two become inseparable. First night out, we meet our MMC, Connor: golden retriever energy in a Rottweiler’s body—sweet, loyal, completely lovable, and… hot as hell 🥵.

So when does the dark academia vibe actually hit? When Summer starts being stalked. Is it because of her past? Her identity? Her secrets? No clue. But it’s creepy, skin-crawling, and addictive. The kicker? She begins befriending him. My brain screamed don’t do it, but my eyes refused to stop.

Meanwhile, Summer builds herself a little found family with Alice, Max, Connor and his brothers, yet still keeps everyone at arm’s length. Tension? Check. Drama? Double check.
And did I mention there’s the grumpy-sexy headmaster to spice things up?

And then that ending. Excuse me, WHAT? The last chapters came out of nowhere, smacked me across the face, and left me staring at the cliffhanger. I need book two. Immediately.

What I loved:
-Delicious insta-lust
-Reverse grumpy x sunshine dynamic
-Alice (tiny, vicious, hilarious—absolute fave)
-Connor’s family 😍
-The buffet of supernatural races (vampires, fae, angels, berserkers…)
-Arthurian legends woven into the story

What bugged me:
-Don’t tell me these characters are pushing thirty when they act like they’re stuck in a CW teen drama. At that age, I expect at least a little maturity.
-The worldbuilding felt underwhelming. With 1000+ pages, there was space for more richness.
-The side characters felt a bit flat—I really hope they’ll get more development later.

Soooooooo good especially it ur a sci-fi lover you need to read this one asap!!!!!!! Its an amazing read

ARC review! ✨
Blood & Betrayals by Alexis Rune and Jeanette Rose.
(Thank you @netgalley for letting me read it.)
This is a dark romantasy set in a realm named Avalon. It has multiple characters; some going through INSANE character development. The ending? Yeah, the ending demolished me. I literally said bye-bye to the world for a few days. 😭

The FMC, Summer was interesting to follow. Her constant change of personality along with her bundle of insecurity made her a character that could exist in real life (if she wouldn't have fae ears and rune magic. Lol. 😂) Connor was so sweet and cute but my problem was the insta-love. I usually don't mind it but WITHIN 100 PAGES THEY WERE ALREADY IN LOVE?? How does that even happen?
I could understand the commitment issues very well but the way Summer just brushed it off for Connor was both cute and annoying. The romance was there but there was no tension between them. After 250-300 pages, when the stranger appeared that is when the story gets interesting. THAT IS WHEN THE TENSION APPEARS.

The plot, the magic system and the headmaster + stranger was what kept me reading this 700 page (in ebook) book. I genuinely thought the headmaster was the stranger until the ending and now I know I was wrong. But the question remains, Who is the mysterious and elusive Stranger?

Now, to address the main problem for me, THE UNNECESSARY SMUT SCENES ON EVERY SINGLE PAGE. Okay, If you like it, I am not at ALL judging your taste or opinion. It's completely alright if you loved it but this is MY opinion. At some point, I literally skimmed over the spicy scenes because they became increasingly repetitive with no tension or spark.
Thank you for reading,
Uzia.

Rating 3.25⭐
Spice 🪽🧝👤

ARC REVIEW

sigh Honestly, where do I begin? Did I enjoy the story? Yes. Did I like some of the characters? Also yes. Do I feel like this book should have been over 1000 pages? Probably not. What i do know is, it is on sight with Summer. I got beef with her! (I did have a friend to remind me about the trigger list that was mentioned which granted it helped, but I still got beef with her)

Let's talk about the good! Good is always good right? Right?! I liked how this was a very trashy college book. It gave me Euphoria vibes but respectfully a right age range, because hello it's college life than high school. We get great banter, nice friendship connections between the friend, as crazy as she is, I absolutely adore her. We get the most adorable, handsome, golden retreiver Love Interest, who crosses all the mothers Ts. LIKE HE IS AMAZING AND I CLAIM HIM AS MINE (don't come for me bestie, you know who you are). The story was fairly good, however, I will mention I honestly wasn't sure where the plot was heading...maybe too much subplot or maybe different angles of where the plot is trying to go.

Now, some of the cons I had. I do not feel it should have been over 1000 pages as I have mentiond. I felt a lot of scenes were getting wayy too reptitive, like they were doing the same thing over and over again. A good example is the amount of spicy scenes. While I am not mad for A LOT of spicy scenes, it happened so much it didn't phase me at this point. I didn't feel the need to touch grass, ya know? I was very poker face and moved on. Oh, can we talk about how all over the place Summer was, gosh she was SO INSUFFERABLE, like damn I preferred the friend than her and they're both unhinged. There wasn't a HUGE chunk of character development, maybe for the side characters, but not Summer specifically. I am hoping Book 2 will have more character develpoment/growth because gosh this was extremely hard to get through because of how much everything stayed the same throughout the entirety of the book.

To top it off, the ending felt super rushed. Like SUPER rushed, I felt when they revealed a character it was kinda like a "wtf" moment, because they were mentioned, but there wasn't any foreshadowing or suspense building up to it. For me it just felt a person was introduced when never showed up 90% of the book then finally they do and its "HAHA, IM THE PERSON BEHIND IT" it felts anticlimatic and also left a bad taste in my mouth.

My biggest grip of them all?
ALL OF THIS WAS JUST A SET UP FOR CONNOR TO DIE. I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO DIE THE MOMENT HE ENTERED THE CHAT. Blonde hair? Blue eyes? HE WAS EITHER GOING TO BE AN ANTAGONIST OR THE PERFECT BOY WHO DIES. WHY CONNOR?! WHY AND WHY THE NAME CONNOR?! SJM ALREADY RUINED THE NAME FOR ME AND I STILL HAVENT RECOVERED FROM IT (yes it's been a year since I read CC1 but still!) I WAS SO MAD, I SCREAMED. HE DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE!!!!


JUSTICE FOR CONNOR

I received the ARC through Netgalley by Rose and Star Pubishing. This review is my true and honest thoughts.

🩸✨ Blood & Betrayals by Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune ✨🩸

Fear. Fury. Fire. 🔥
Dark academia + paranormal romance = my new obsession. 👀

Summer (our sassy black-cat FMC 🐈‍⬛) swore she’d stay invisible at Avalon… until a feral vampire 🧛‍♂️ roommate, a golden retriever MMC 🐶✨, and a sadistic stalker 👤 flipped her world upside down.

We’ve got 🗡️ murder mysteries, 🏛️ gothic halls dripping with secrets, a broody headmaster 🖤, found family 🫶, and banter that had me giggling + gasping 🤭😱.

This series opener? Unputdownable. 💀🔮 If you love ruthless academies + dangerous romance, this needs to be on your TBR NOW.

⚡️Tropes/Vibes:
🏛️ Dark Academia
🖤 Black cat x golden retriever
🧛 Feral vampire roommate
🫶 Found family
💀 Murder mystery
🌒 Broody headmaster

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The FMC Summer ends up at Avalon University because someone applied on her behalf. She is thankful for this because she is running from someone in her past and feels that she will be safe in the university setting. Summer is a lover of learning, so she was grateful for the opportunity. Summer has not had the best childhood and has always searched for belonging and acceptance, not just from others but also in accepting herself for who and what she is. The book opens with a gruesome scene of a murdered student. These murders will become part of Summer's story, and we follow along with her as she tries to uncover who or what is behind the Fae student murders. There's romance, found family, and character development that I thoroughly enjoyed. The ending made me mad because it ended on a cliffhanger, which, if the second book were available, I would have immediately started. 4 stars

The prologue of this book absolutely sucked me in. It felt dark and intriguing. Unfortunately the writing style of the prologue and the rest of the book were completely at odds with one another. As soon as we dived into the story it felt like a different writer. The book was entirely “telling” rather than “showing” on what the reader should we feeling. For instance, the main character said she never befriended people easily but the reader has no reason to feel that way because she instantly befriends Alice which is contradictory to what it’s telling you. I wished we got more world building and clarity on understanding the characters. They were 30 but were acting like 18. Overall would not r commend, especially at over 1,000 pages.

This book was... interesting. It felt very YA, and yet I'm supposed to believe the characters are in their late 20's/early 30's. The dialogue (while entertaining) just felt very middle or high school to me, and I struggled to engage with the story.

If you love a good plot twist you will absolutely love Blood & Betrayals. I could not put this book down once I started it, literally finished in 2 days it was that good. A wee long for what it was but I didn't mind in the slightest, I was fully sat for the duration of this book. The ending, I am still not well over it and I finished the book last week. Absolutely cannot wait for the next book to come out.

This book gave me the Zodiac Academy vibes in the best way!! I highly recommend checking this out if you love romanatsy 🧡

I absolutely loved blood and betrayals! magical academy, different magical beings with a modern touch like the Nexus app. Summer a fae with a tortured passed gets accepted into Avalon Academy and immediately befriends comic relieft and roomate, Alice. Soon after, starts smitting with mr.popular Connor who has 4 other brothers at school. Love, murder, mystery, all takes place in the book. I love the found family trope and the Morningstar clan just embracing Summer and Alice. The stranger and headmaster is definitely a big mystery that makes you yearn to know what is their deal is. The ending had my heart racing and gasping and i cant wait for book 2 to come out already!