Unfortunately I did not finish this book and so do not feel like I can write a full and proper review. For the right reader, this could be a fantastic read.

Phoebe is beginning her first year at a magical boarding school after the death of her father. The school is for shape-shifters, training them to become spy's in the ongoing war against their enemy the Vigo. The school is underground, right below a human boarding school, where the students need to blend in to accomplish human courses as well as the magical kind. After an attack on the grounds, Phoebe learns that she may be part of a bigger plan involving a prophecy, putting her in the way of even more danger. Hopefully she can master the magic, handle a crush and survive her first year.




You're a Shape-Shifting Spy Phoebe! (said in an English accent)
Sorry, I could not resist the Harry Potter reference. I found this book to have quite a few similarities between the Harry Potter series. For example, there is a boarding school that humans have no idea exists right under them, an orphan (for all intensive purposes), there is a groundskeeper who was found of Phoebe's dad and comes to her aid whenever needed, there is a magical soccer like game the kids all love that involves flying, an instant best friend, magical classes, there are special magical police, and oh yeah a prophecy about one chosen student (who we all know who) but there are multiple students who it may be.

So yeah, I did find some correlations between this book and Harry Potter, but that did not stop me from enjoying this story. I liked pretty much everything about the book, including the plot, the world and the magic. The world building was great, so much detail and personality. The Nya Jade did a fantastic job of mixing the teen high school elements of having a first crush, the awkwardness of life, the hierarchy of mean girls, and having the challenge of school meshing with this complicated magical universe, with different animals species, secret tunnels leading to a different kind of place, evil villains that attack unexpectedly, and a prophecy that could change the world. I was not sure how the story would work with Phoebe straddling the human and the supernatural world, but it went so smooth and it actually helped with the plot.




I am excited to see how the story will continue in the next book because every thing is just building up to something epic and fantastical. As a side note, there were some gorgeous images inserted into the story occasionally between the chapters that illustrated scenes from the story. They were probably my favorite part because they helped me to picture all the fantastical things that the author created, like the tiger Vigo, which is unlike anything I could have imagined. This series is perfect for fans of fantasy or anything supernatural.

I received this title in return for my honest review.
Visit http://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ for the book's blog tour to win a prize

The Year of Four was a perfect book to dive into for a Harry Potter fan like me. I really enjoyed some of the elements in the story like a secret school alongside the human world, different classes of shape-shifters (almost functioning like Houses), and the actual classes that students took, which all had echoes of J.K. Rowling's world.

Jade crafts a complex world for her story where shape-shifters are divided into two groups--Shapers and Vigos--which have been at war since the tragic events of Pompeii.

I was pulled into Nya Jade's shape-shifter world where students train to become spies in the hidden Campus Below of Green Lane academy. This is a place with they learn to pass messages hidden in leaves, communicate through the detailed art of animal calls, and study their enemies: the Vigos.

A drawback of so much detail put into the creation of this world is that quite a bit of the book spends a bit too much time on exposition and spends too much time giving names to various aspects or places (e.g. "P.L.A.N.T's", "The Eye", etc.) However, one benefit to laying out the world in the first book is that it allows for the author to focus explicitly on developing the plot during the sequel rather than spending more time covering world-building information.

The ending ties up plenty of questions surrounding the characters and their relationships without completely taking the mystery out of the plot. We are still left wondering what moves the Vigos will make next, which of the characters will become a potential weapon to end the war, what power will awaken in them. The Year of Four is a story worth reading and I for one am for a sequel <3 Be sure to keep an eye out for this one on October 28th!

*Full review will be published to my blog on October 21st, will update link at that time

The year of four by Nya Jade.
Sixteen-year-old Phoebe Pope has enrolled at the Campus Below: a spy academy for shape-shifters hidden deep beneath the grounds of a boarding school whose humans unknowingly protect it. There, thanks to a carefully planned schedule, she leads a double life: spy trainee Below and normal teenager Above.
As if two course loads, concealing a secret power she alone wields, and coping with her father’s recent death weren’t enough, Phoebe finds herself developing major feelings for actor and teen heartthrob Colten Chase, who attends the Campus Above and appears to be majoring in winning Phoebe’s heart. But when officials learn that Phoebe may be at the center of a startling prophecy, she becomes the target of shape-shifting assassins who will stop at nothing to suppress the truth.
Good read with good characters. Loved how Phoebe and Colton were together. 4*. Netgalley and xpresso book tours.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
This book first caught my attention back in 2012 or 2013 not long after it came out. Unfortunately I couldn’t purchase it back then and it kind of got forgotten. So I was really eager when I saw it on NetGalley and just generally that it gets published again.
I love stories about shapeshifters so just this aspect sells the book for me but when you add to this that they are spies too it’s just a must read in my opinion. I really enjoyed this little tale and glad that got the opportunity to read it.
The writing style is fantastic especially for a debut novel what else the plot is quite fast paced and action packed I finished the book before I realized it. This story has a great group of characters to begin with but they evolve and grow during the events, they just became even more likeable.
Phoebe, the lead character, has a tragic childhood experience and due to this a lot of emotional scars. She had powers all her life and now has to learn to use them to the fullest and to live a double life, too. She has to overcome a lot of her issues, and fight a lot while navigating a not quite easy school year. She is a badass, she has a lot of will-power and really tough. The romance between her and her love interest is really nicely done but tooks away a bit from the main storyline. I usually require a little romance for my fantasy but in this case it could have used less of it.
This book has it all, betrayals, romance, action, adventure, mystery and magic and really creative ideas. I really enjoyed it even if this doesn’t really falls into the type of books I read nowadays. Teenage drama and angst is not something that attracts me anymore.

This is a pretty awesome book and extremely well written, better than many YA SciFi, definitely one I would recommend and look forward to reading the next one.

The Year of Four (Phoebe Pope #1)
Nya Jade
Book Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ❣
The year of 4 is a good start to an action-packed fantasy shapeshifter series. It has a bit of everything romance, mystery, laughable moments and creativity. Plus the title makes sense which is always a bonus to me. I enjoyed reading this book.

Phoebe Pope is starting her studying at Green Lane Academy. The campus is split into two with the mundane being the place everybody sees but underneath is a whole different story. A place for shapeshifter's to train as spies. Phoebe has classes in both and leads a double life during her training. She has her own issues to deal with, but with danger brewing, Phoebe has to be alert with every step. Her love interest Colten seems too good to be true and maybe hiding secrets all of his own. I don't want to give too much away so I'll stop there but this book has so much more to offer.

It would be easier if you can sit down and read this in uninterrupted chunks as there is a lot to digest. This is the start of a series of books which I'd love to read more.

4.5 stars out of 5.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review thanks to Netgalley*

Kindle Edition £1.59 or Free for Kindle Unlimited readers, 340 pages
Published February 2017