School for Psychics has an interesting premise.  The book opens up with Teddy Cannon, a 20-something woman, with a large debt to some Russian mafia types.  She stole money from her parents and decided to go to a casino to win money to pay back her debt.  Unfortunately, she has been banned from every casino on the Strip in Vegas because she won too much.  She ends up being told that the reason she is so good at poker is that she is psychic and she is recruited by someone from a school for psychics.  The school is a secret, but they work with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to help solve crimes with their psychic abilities.  It reads kinda like Harry Potter in that sense. 

Despite the age of the characters and the occasional sex scene (nothing graphic, really), I would consider this book to be juvenile fiction.  I found the storyline enjoyable, but the characters were pretty awful.  I wish that the characters were better because the plot has so much promise!  I really didn't like Teddy.  She is the main character and the book is told through her, but I thought that 1) it was pretty crappy of her to steal her parents' money, 2) she is irresponsible - I mean, come on, a 20-something who isn't going to school with no job, 3) the gambling thing is an annoying plot hole (if she's a psychic, how could she have lost so much money in the first place?), 4) the way she interacted with her friends and others was selfish (I wouldn't want to have her as a friend), and 5) I really didn't see any redeeming qualities other than her psychic abilities, which she was born with and did nothing to earn.  She came off as a bad stereotype of a millennial.  It actually detracted me from the plot because I kept thinking that Teddy was such a brat.  Actually, I can't think of a single character that I actually liked from the book.

Maybe if I was 12-13 years old, I wouldn't have minded her behavior.  That's probably the target age for this book.  It was an easy read.  I just wish there had been more substance to the characters.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced review e-book from NetGally in exchange for my honest review.  This book will be published April 3, 2018.

This book appealed to me because it was a little different than the books I'm used to seeing it. I was intrigued by a book regarding a "SCHOOL FOR PSYCHICS"

We meet the main character Theodora aka "Teddy" (I would go by a nickname as well if I were her) who has a penchant for winning (and losing) big in her hometown of Vegas.
She gets poached by a School for Psychics who feel her ability to win big at the poker table is due to be psychic.

I really enjoyed reading about this character, and as an adopted kid, I admit I am a sucker for kids wondering about their biological parents. I enjoyed the character development throughout the novel, and this book included so many interested people -- but not TOO many where it's hard to keep track of who is who (though it came close).

I thought the psychic premise was cool, especially since it hasn't been overdone yet the way vampires & werewolves have. All the different forms of "psychics" were interesting too and I felt like I learned about the psychic community and what type of psychics supposedly exist.

Overall the book was an easy read, which I anticipated since it was a young adult novel. I appreciated all the current references to pop culture, however, the phrases used at times "boring AF" (yes, REALLY SAID THAT) were cringe-worthy & made it feel like the author was trying to hard to be hip.

I definitely would like to read the next book in this series.

For someone who bills themselves as a human lie detector, Teddy Cannon sure struggles when it comes to deciding who to trust or not in K.C. Archer’s thrilling School for Psychics. She first used her ability to figure out when people are bluffing to win loads of money playing poker in Las Vegas. But when that blows up in her face, she is recruited to the eponymous school, where psychics are trained to work for law enforcement. With every chapter, Teddy gets deeper and deeper into a decades-old conspiracy. There are double-crosses and betrayals, lies and deceptions, with Teddy caught right in the middle. If her lie detecting skills had been a little better, Teddy might have been able to avoid a lot of heartache (but then we would have had a much less entertaining book).

After her recruitment, Teddy finds herself at the Whitfield Institute among two distinct groups of students. On one side are the young men and women dubbed the Alphas. They are psychic but also very much straight arrows. They’re fit. They’re smart. They have their shit together…unlike the other group of students, who call themselves Misfits. Like Teddy, these students have struggled with their various abilities: death warnings, talking to animals, starting fires, etc. Teddy might be the most powerful among them. This might have helped her to get ahead at Whitfield if it weren’t for the fact that something sinister is clearly going on.

School for Psychics reminded me of the Harry Potter novels with a lot less whimsy. Teddy struggles with her powers and her course work while at the same time trying to figure out why her blood was stolen from the school lab and what really happened to her biological parents. Since Teddy and her classmates are legally adults, there is more drinking and sex, though. (Hilariously, Teddy and the pyrokinetic set off the smoke detectors when they spend the night together.) By the time graduation rolls around, Teddy and her ragtag band of friends are ready to take on the baddie.

It might sound dismissive to say that School for Psychics is like Harry Potter, but I don’t want to give the impression that this book is derivative or unoriginal. I was hugely entertained by this book. I could hardly put it down because it’s a great blend of science fiction and thriller. This characters are great and the constant question of who was telling the truth kept me guessing right along with Teddy until the end. This really was a fun read.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration. It will be released 3 April 2018.

Teddy, a 20-something gambling addict, runs into big trouble on the Vegas strip and subsequently gets recruited to a (you guessed it) School for Psychics. This book basically runs through her entire first year at said school, The Whitfield Institute. While at Whitfield, Teddy meets a bunch of fellow psychics and makes some great friends (and a few enemies). Teddy falls into a close-knit group called 'the Misfits', always pitted up against 'the Alphas', who are the more put together, extraordinarily gifted group of students. There's even a gym obstacle course race that took me back to high school in a bad way - ha! Throughout the year, Teddy fights to unravel a potential conspiracy that could affect all of the students and just maybe, lead her to the truth about her tragically deceased parents (died in a 'car accident', how HP-esque!).

School for Psychics was a nice, easy romp in my eyes - learning more toward the YA genre than Adult. There are obvious comparisons to franchises like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, along with boundless X-Men comparisons that could be made. There was some definitely YA trope-i-ness, with a luuurve triangle making a dreaded appearance, but I wasn't too put off by it because I felt that the writing was entertaining enough to carry it off. There plot, especially the second half, was very fast paced and interesting, especially for those who enjoy military or police dramas.

I do wish that we saw way more of each student's actual abilities: there were a few well-timed usages of abilities, but I would have definitely liked to see more of what everybody could do. I like that we had a variety of different abilities throughout the school. Another gripe that I had is that I felt most of the supporting characters had paper thin character development, but because I see that this is a series, I am withholding judgement in the hope that we will learn more about each character along the way. My final gripe is that I really do not like the name of this series - it's almost TOO blunt and simple and has an odd coldness to me that didn't match the vibe of the rich story.

Overall, I am very intrigued by this series and I would recommend it to a friend who enjoys fantastical elements mixed in with a solid detective mystery. I will be awaiting book #2 of this series for sure.

this book is very entertaining. a specail subject psychics and wht they can do . the go to school and are trained for their future.

Such fun! A sort of Harry Potter but with adults. Boarding school, evil secret organization, a kindly head of the school, and a small group of misfit friends. They seem like familiar tropes, but regardless, I could not stop reading this. I loved the characters and can't wait for more in this series.

*Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Teddy Cannon, a Vegas-based gambling addict, who always "knows" when other players are bluffing, find herself with a difficult choice: remain in Nevada and face life threatening obstacles, or learn more about her personal history and abilities by accepting the invitation to attend a secret academy.

This book is well paced and intriguing; despite displaying some clichés situations and using some overused tropes (the "not like other girls" one for example), it manages to capture the attention of the reader, delivering well thought twists and sketching a vast array of delightful, if a tad underdeveloped, characters.

I'm looking forward to know more about Teddy Cannon!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was great and I throughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

This book is about 24 year old Teddy Cannon and starts with her at a casino in Las Vegas trying to win money to pay back the loan shark that has it out for her and her family. Teddy is on a roll as she has a gift of being able to read people well when it comes to gambling, until she is made by former cop and recruiter for a school for psychics. He offers Teddy a once in a lifetime chance to attend the school for her to learn about the abilities that she never knew that she possessed.

While at school she learns a lot about her abilities and her past as things start going horribly wrong. Break-ins, students going missing, and much more which leaves her to question everything she thought she knew.

DNF! The premise sounds good but I got bored reading this after the first chapter.

DNF @ 11%.

Why I should have known this book was not for me: I am hugely uninterested in casino settings or gambling, and generally don't like 'superhero school' stories.

Why I requested it anyway: 'Harry Potter with college students' was too much for me to resist. Plus, the cover is gorgeous! I've been in a reading rut lately and thought this might be fun enough to pull me out of it.

Why I didn't finish it: Ultimately, I couldn't connect with the protagonist, and in fact, borderline disliked her. I was appalled that she would steal from her parents and endanger them and had a hard time getting over that (in fact, half the point I kept reading was to see if maybe she would grow and develop, but I didn't get very far). She was also blindly judgmental. For someone who was supposed to be intuitive, it was ironic how often she judged someone based off their surface appearance.

The dealbreaker came early on for me, when she called a taxi driver sexist for calling her a 'little lady,' but then in the next paragraph she railed on a 'plastic blonde' for having the audacity to want to party in Vegas.

If CW made an X-Men type series where a bunch of misfits with powers go to school, it would be this book. I'd recommend it for people who can't get into comic book superpower stories, but wish there was a bit more ESP and scandal in their YA high school dramas.

3.5 stars

ARC generously provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Teddy Cannon has found herself in a bit of a mess. She owes money to a lone shark who is ready to collect and she has "borrowed" money from her parents retirement accounts without them knowing it for seed money to make enough to pay him back. Otherwise he will take more then just a pound of flesh. The one thing Teddy knows is poker. She has a gift, she can read people, the only problem is that she has been banned from every casino in Vegas, they think she cheats. She doesn't she just has always known what other players are going to do. So Teddy knows poker is her answer out of this mess. What she doesn't expect is for her "gift" to go on the fritz or for some rather large stranger to make her an offer she cannot refuse.

Teddy meets a man who can explain that her reading players is not a talent but her gift, she is in fact a psychic. Teddy is given the option of joining a secret school to train psychics and work for the government or to be thrown to the wolves. She chooses option A.

Teddy is thrilled to learn there are other like her, yes they each have a unique psychic gift, but there is nothing weird about her abilities here. Even though Teddy has a lot to learn she soon finds there is more mystery surrounding her and things going on at school that she has to solve. These mysteries lead Teddy to more questions then answers.

I will admit that this book started off kind of slow for me. It took me well into the book to really get into, probably around the 40% mark. However I will say the last have was much more interesting and faster paced then the first. Teddy was not a character that I fell in love with . Even after I finished I found she wasn't my favorite but I like her more in the end then in the beginning. There was a lot of growth for the character during the book and I did enjoy the "mystery" of the story.

School for Psychics follows the story of Teddy. She has a gambling problem. She's been banned from casinos in Vegas but tonight she is going in a disguise. Teddy is doing pretty well at the table. She's always been able to get a good feel for the other players at the table. She knows when they are bluffing. But other times she blows it, hence why she owes a pretty scary guy some money. When her disguise is made, she must act fast. She is presented with an offer she can't refuse. She can either let the guy she owes money take care of her or she can put her trust in a mysterious stranger who says she's a psychic. What does she have to lose?

Teddy joins a school for psychics and learns some things from her past might not be as they seem. Who can she trust?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast read. I'm looking forward to the next one. One thing I really liked about it, is it's all story. The lead doesn't get lost in a love and doesn't give her power to a man, which is so common in books. I really liked that. It's different. Not saying she doesn't have any love interest, it just doesn't consume her.

Oh I enjoyed this.

We start off meeting Teddy. A young woman who is in Las Vegas. She is in disguise as she is banned from all of the casinos in the city. She needs to win a load of money to pay off a mobster. Money that she had stolen from her parents. She's about to win all of the money that she needs when something goes wrong and Teddy loses the lot.
Teddy is approached by a stranger who offers her a way out. An offer that she cannot refuse.

He tells Teddy that she is a Psychic. This explains how she's always been able to win at Poker. She is given the chance to attend a school for gifted people. People who can help the governments of the world. If she agrees, the money that she stole from her parents will find it's way back into their bank and the mob will stop chasing her.

Teddy figures what's the worse that can happen - and off she goes.

It is massively predictable of course and would probably be better suited to those who like to read YA / Young Adult books. Both of which, I enjoy. Anyone expecting a little more "grown-up" book will be disappointed.
Teddy is a dick. Blaming a lot of her issues on the fact that she's an orphan and has trust issues. A lot of the book would have been boring though - or rather, non-existent - if she hadn't been. But as a 24 year old woman, she really ought to have her shit together by now.

Despite the few annoyances of this book, I really enjoyed it and read it quickly. I look forward to the next in the series.

Despite having an incredibly terrible title (seriously, who approved this? Is it too late to change it?) this is a really fun story that I devoured in less than a day because I just couldn't stop reading.

This has some similarities to Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Naturals series, though the setting is far better and the characters decidedly less hokey. Teddy is easy to root for, as are her allies. Their quirks are more believable and they're less prone to irritating snark than Barnes' crew.

The book does have some problems: It's not hard to figure out who the bad guy(s) are, the plot point regarding the birth mother feels tired, and maybe most problematic...are we seriously just never going to address that the main character has an EXTREMELY serious gambling addiction? I say "has" because despite the fact that this was ignored from the second Teddy left Vegas, I'm pretty sure being whisked off to magic school doesn't cure this.

I also could have done without a few of the eye-rolling drama moments: To symbolize my newfound freedom, I shall exuberantly fling my epilepsy pills into the churning sea! UGH.

But despite the gripes, this was exceptionally compelling to the point where I felt like I couldn't put it down. And mostly, it's just really, really likable. Hope the wait for the second book isn't too long...

A very entertaining YA read. Not the most original setup: Teddy finds out that she is a psychic and is admitted to a special institution for people like her. The characters are what's truly enjoyable (well, that and the insanely addictive plot). Teddy's schoolmates are likable and sympathetic. Plus, they all have awesome abilities (especially Jillian, who can talk to animals... my most desired superpower ever). They all have their quirks and learn along with Teddy. As usual, they all discover that there is a dark side to their skills. Yes, they can communicate without words but they can also influence people and make them do things against their will. When Teddy discovers that her trusted mentor tricked her into a corner from which she could only escape by joining the institute, she loses all her faith. The classes, exercises and exams are a lot of fun, but the heist in the last part of the book had me hyperventilating. This is only book one, so be advised that there are big cliffhangers at the end. I can't wait to see what happens next.

School for Psychics, an up-and-coming new series in young adult fiction, is a sort of blending of FBI and the Hunger Games. The story centers around a training facility for young psychics to prepare them to use their powers to protect and serve our country. At least that is what they claim to be.

The main character, Teddy Cannon, was recruited from a poker table in Vegas after losing a high-stakes game. She agrees to go to Whitfield in an effort to make her adoptive parents proud and to try and turn her life around. Easier said than done.

Once at Whitfield, Teddy learns that being a psychic is hard work and even harder is learning to trust others and become a team player. Time after time, Teddy finds herself in sticky situations, which ultimately lead her to find out some long-buried secrets.

I enjoyed the story and feel like this will be a hit with the target audience. As I stated earlier, it’s part of a series, and I would definitely be interested in reading the next book by KC Archer.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

Teddy, 24-year-old adopted orphan, is a professional poker player in Vegas. Being able to sense if her opponent is bluffing she is fairly successful, however, when the Russian mob and casino security is after her a stranger offers to help her if she attends his school for psychics.
At the school Teddy meets with her fellow first semester students, a group of young adults in their early twenties with mixed psychic abilities. While dealing with typical school drama (unfair teachers, bullies, hot guy, …) a break-in occurs, a student goes missing, and Teddy and her new-found friends have to solve the mystery.

While this book is advertised as an adult book, it reads more like YA. It has too much high school flair to rate as anything else. However, I am 40+ years old and usually skip YA novels, but this one was well written and enjoyable. The beginning was a bit murky and farfetched, but the story evolved from there, and so did our female protagonist. I enjoyed how the characters dealt with their special abilities and learned to control them. It was refreshing that these kid’s powers were limited and they struggled to get better.
This book, while not ending with a cliff hanger, is planned as the first one in a series, and I would definitely go for the next book.

Narration: 3rd person female protagonist’s POV
Sexual content: couple of scenes but not descriptive
Setting: contemporary, San Francisco and island at the coast of San Francisco

I loved this book, it had romance, paranormal and teenage angst. The was fun to read. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I will definitely read more by this author. I cared about the characters and can hardly wait for the next book. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an early copy of this book for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is basically the plot of every “X-Men” movie out there but substitute mutants for psychics. And instead of the Government looking to exterminate them they’re look to exploit their talents. Add in the fact that all of students are 21+ so there’s a large amount of hangover-talk and occasional sex and you have “School for Psychics”.

I don’t want to say the book was bad because it really wasn’t it just was not for me. The writing is average and the character development is virtually non-existing but if you’re looking for a new sci-fi book series then I guess you could give this one a try. As for me, I’ll probably pass on reading the rest of the books to come.

An intriguing concept and a great start. I was gripped at the powerful opening. A likeable character is dealt a handful of trouble only to be rescued with the promise of an exclusive school for people with extraordinary gifts. Rather than being epileptic like she has always thought, our plucky heroine is physic and has the opportunity to hone her gifts for good. Unfortunately that's where the story gets a little slow. On the island we meet multiple characters, and although they are all adults, they act like teenagers and proceed to make bad decisions rather than devote themselves to this once in a lifetime opportunity. This book wasn't for me, but fans of The Magicians (another book I found lacking) are sure to enjoy this novel.