Cute. The book is cute. It reminds me of something my daughter would have read when she was younger, wanting the next in the series

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next book in the series.

Teddy Cannon is a misfit - a gambler in debt up to her eyeballs with a mobster who is going to make her pay; she's smart and resourceful - but a bit adrift after being expelled from Stanford. Teddy is also a powerhouse poker player because she has the uncanny ability to read when people are lying to her - a talent that has had her banned from every casino in Las Vegas.

When she loses it all in a high stakes poker game and both casino security and the mobster she owes money to are on her heels, Teddy is bailed out by Clint Corbett, a mysterious former football player and LVPD detective, and is offered the chance to attend Whitfield Institute - a school that trains gifted students to be law enforcement and national security personnel. Because as Clint explains to her - Teddy doesn't just have great instincts about people, she's actually psychic.

The next thing Teddy knows, she's boarding a flight to San Francisco and living on an island in the Bay, training to become a government agent and honing her psychic skills. But when students begin mysteriously disappearing and Teddy's psychic abilities give her flashes of insight about secrets being kept about an accident with another group of government trained psychics, Teddy has to decide whether to risk her spot at Whitfield to dig deeper - and whether to trust her fellow trainees to help.

School for Psychics is the first book in a fun new series that combines a heroine with paranormal gifts, a mysterious school for government operatives, a possible conspiracy, and criminal investigations. The result is a fun, intriguing, and quick read that will have you itching to read the next book in the series.

The main character here, Teddy, is trying hard to overcome her tendency to make poor life choices, but frankly, she sucks at it; she still does things like drinking heavily the night before a vital exam. That's a long way from being my favourite kind of character, which lost the book some points - not quite enough to take it down to three stars, though.

The premise of a school to train people with psychic powers to work with the military and law enforcement was an interesting one, and well handled. The Outcasts vs Alphas division of the students struck me as a bit YA, but it didn't descend into total cliche, and there was at least one alliance formed across those lines.

The plot was competently laid out, and the characters hit their marks in it and showed some progression beyond being stereotypes. Overall, a decent job, but not the kind of main character I want to follow into a sequel.

I received a copy from Netgalley for review.

I inhaled this book, ignoring chores and work.

Stories about psychics that are written in first person sardonic are almost always going to draw me in, especially if the main character is a mess trying to be a better person, and so it is with 24-year-old Teddy Cannon, who we begin with in her hometown Las Vegas. She's dressed in a fat suit, as she has been blackballed from all the casinos, but she desperately needs money as she owes a quarter million to a loan shark. But she gets made by . . . a recruiter for a school for psychics.

Go to the school and have her debts cancelled and her parents' retirement fund restored, or be left on her own to deal with it? Gee, tough choice. Not. Except that it is for Teddy--which shows how serious are her trust issues, in spite of truly awesome adoptive parents. (the word adoptive is there for a reason.)

Teddy has always been able to sense when people lie, which contributes to those trust issues. But she takes the offer, and goes to the school, which is located on an island in San Francisco Bay. She expects at any time to be booted out, which extends to her extra helping of attitude. She likes to hook up with hot guys, but wants no part of relationships; she has a tough time making friends, she doesn't trust the instructors as far as she can spit into a wind.

She not only has to learn all the nifty stuff taught at the school, she has to learn to have friends, and how to trust your team--which, for her, is harder than the killer obstacle courses, grueling forensics classes, and so forth.

Then things start getting odd.

Okay, I usually roll my eyes at psychic schools that are related to Sekrit and Evil Government Labs. I also roll my eyes at love triangles. But Archer sold me on the government aspect of this story because it, like the psychic abilities, made sense. Archer draws from human nature in building the history of the government stuff. Equally, I liked the way that Archer drew on our own human senses in developing the psychic talents.

I really liked the way Archer develops the characters. Kate and Jillian were my favorites. There are plenty of hot guys, and though Teddy is drawn to two, her own issues get in the way of the usual Angsty Love Triangle road I've seen in too many novels, especially YAs.

I don't know that I'd call this YA. It feels like one, though the characters are in their twenties. They are in school, with stringent rules. There are adult relationships, though not on page. There is adult language.

I would have loved it as a teen, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as an old bat. In fact, I want the next one NOW.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I rather enjoyed this book and was able to read it in one sitting. The characters were very enjoyable and fun to read.

Teddy is able to read people - and does a wonderful job at the casinos. Unfortunately, she is now banned from all of them.

Going undercover to help pay off her debt to a mobster, she gets caught, and is offered a chance to go to school to fine tune her abilities.

The catch? She will be working with the government.

it took me eleven days to finish this book because i was just completely bored out of my mind.

there’s nothing particularly wrong with it – i just didn’t click with anything: the writing, the characters, the plot, none of that made me excited enough to want to pick this book up after i set it down. and i guess i’m in a slump now because forcing yourself to read mediocre books when you don’t want to is the worst.

first things first, the plot.

teddy cannon is a 20 something gambling addict from vegas. when we first meet her, she’s been expelled from stanford and is in a casino trying to make some money tô pay off a huge debt to a russian mob. and she fails, big time.

she’s desperately searching for a way out of the casino without being recognized by the very strong, very mean dudes who are looking for her when a guy comes seemingly out of nowhere and saves her by hypnotizing them – or something – and making them forget about her.

then he tells her she’s a psychic. and she has a place in a psychic school the FBI is running.

so, that’s a pretty interesting base plot for me, right there. i love the kind of books that take one fantastic or supernatural element and throw them into a contemporary setting. so a psychic college? i was sold.

unfortunately, neither the writing or the character development did anything to hold my interest in this story. i’ll just have to come right out and say it: this writing was bad.

the entire book was written in very short sentences comprising very long paragraphs. the author apparently didn’t know that commas were a thing and you can actuslly write a sentence made of more than five words – and you don’t have to state the character’s name at the beggining of every. single. new. sentence. it felt choppy and every time i realized she was doing it again, it would take me right out of the story because i was too annoyed at the style. and there was absolutely no atmosphere set throughout the entire book; it just felt like i was reading a very dry op-ed piece.

also, this author commited what i consider to be the #1 crime in writing: unexplained time jumps. this book takes place during a whole year. instead of describing what happened during that time, she’d talk about things that happened over the course of a few days and then jump to months and months ahead, and just expect you to go along with it. when you tell me teddy gets a new roommate, shows them exchanging a few words and in the next paragraph you talk about how they’re such good friends now, i’m not going to believe you just because – i want to see that relationship being developed, otherwise i’ll be very skeptical about the whole thing.

tying right into that, the characters and the character development were awful. although the 3rd person narrator was constantly telling me what teddy was supposedly like, it never showed. so although i know what teddy was supposed to be like, i don’t really believe it because she never acted accordingly. the same goes for the rest of the secondary characters, and those were even worse, because they were barely featured, unless it was in a way to serve the plot, so there were no organic connections between any of them.

and also everyone was just so fucking juvenile. newsflash: you’re in college, not in a gossip girl-esque high school setting. all of these twenty somethings ran around the whole time acting like teenagers. if i wanted to read a high school contemporary, i would’ve picked up one.

i’m giving this two instead of just one star because i reserve my one star ratings for book that actively make me angry, and this one didn’t make me feel anything at all. it was completely lackluster.

Teddy can play poker. And she is in debt. She is desperate to get out of trouble. If she could just play one more time. But this last time at the Bellagio will come with more than she bargained for. Clint Corbett.

Teddy Cannon is a self-assured, witty, twentysomething, with special talents. She can read people. Her gut taught her to trust her instincts at an early age. Not just in the sense of non-verbal and social psychological cues, but in the sense that she knew what they were thinking. An unexpected meeting will Clint will change her future. He is a recruiter for the Whittmore Institue, a school for Law Enforcement Training and Development who will use their talents to secure the future of the nation.

The narrative hinges around a 24-year old that is navigating her way through her extraordinary psychic abilities at a special college. As she hones in on her telepathic ability, she forges out great friendships with the other first years. Her classmates are all unique with distinct personalities and abilities. Two groups emerge from the first year. The Misfits, Teddy's group and the Alphas with extraordinary abilities. Her group the Misfits and the Alphas are pitted in a competition which fuels the rivalry of the teams. However, it is Teddy who puts herself in grave danger when she discovers she can see into other's past and uncovers information about her deceased parents. She has a target on her back and she is not sure who she can trust.

The School For Psychics moves at a steady pace and has an interesting storyline. The novel flows easily and effortlessly and it was easy to get lost in the story. I enjoyed the journey in a psychics world - and the author played the abilities out with realism. The recurring dream was also an interesting way to discover Teddy's backstory. One criticism of the novel is that the dialogue at times seemed to be younger than the characters age. If the heroine of the story was 18 years old, I think that the story would have jived better. The story is plot driven and not overly poetic. However, this is a seriously fun story that may be the start of an entertaining series.

Thank you, NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and KC Archer for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The cover is beautiful and the story sounded amazing and, honestly, this book was great.

Teddy is a gambler in Vegas, banned at some casinos because they think she's cheating. Well, she is, but not the way they think. Desperate to pay back her parents (from whom she really did steal), she goes back to the tables one more time - in disguise. She's hiding from the casino security but also from the mobster she owes money to. Things take a surprising turn when a man approaches her about her secret psychic abilities and offers her a way to escape the mob and pay her parents back: she can go to a special school.

I would compare this to The Magicians by Lev Grossman, which I enjoyed. This has a lot of romance and sexual innuendo from the get-go, which is totally fine but I really wanted more of the magical elements. Still, a super fun and thrilling beginning for a series.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc to review.

In K.C. Archer's story of a training school for psychically gifted young adults the reader can expect an interesting story line, with moments of danger, adventure, mystery- even romance. But the mix and the style of writing left me wondering. Is this a YA book? I'm not entirely sure where to fall on this. While I have nothing against books for young adults, I do ask for compelling, complex characters, and gripping situations in my action/suspense reading. The characters here fell a bit flat for me. I needed greater character development to sustain interest.

Utterly 'Charlaine Harris' - while mostly unlikely or even unbelievable, this is easy fantasy fiction - very readable

It was a fun read and I will probably read the rest of the books when they are published.

A different genre to what I usually read I was pleasantly surprised by the book. The book is written from the female perspective I found it a fun read. I love anything paranormal related and this book was perfect for that. It follows Teddy, a very likeable character and her first year at The School for Psychics. All in all, an enjoyable read that would appeal to any age.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in return for an honest review.

First, I enjoy the idea of psychics and mediums so it was only natural that I had high hopes for this book... and it lived up to my hopes. It is not a "OMG you have to read this" book, but I really enjoyed the whole premise of a school to train those with different kinds of psychic abilities.

Main character Teddy (pet peeve here- why are so many female characters given a male name? There are so many pretty female names that I see no reason to name a female Teddy. Enough said authors?)
ok, back to Teddy who is untrained and winging it, poorly for that matter, when she is "discovered" and recruited for this school. Their aim is to train her and others with various powers to be used by the government for good. But... bad is another way to use these powers. Which will she choose?

I'm thankful to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more in this series.

I really enjoyed this book, which was the first I've read by this author. I see some people discussing whether it's a YA or NA or just who it's marketed toward. My opinion? Anyone. It's similar in some ways to Harry Potter in that it's a group of 20-somethings in a school to train psychics (not unlike magic in HP) to work in police work, the FBI, the CIA and other such agencies. So really, I think this book is for anyone.

I enjoyed the character of Teddy, the main character and the struggles she has to find herself. The school sounds fascinating and all different sorts of psychics and other talents are discussed. It was very interesting!

I can see this is set up to be a series and I'm glad because at the end I just wanted to know more of what will happen in their lives. Thank you to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me an ARC of this book.

I loved It! The characters are wonderfully quirky and the whole premise, a school for developing psychic abilities, is a hoot. The action is fast paced and filled with twists and turns. Teddy is a very likeable main character, and I definitely want to read the next book in this series to see what happens next.

School for Psychics will appeal to readers of all ages, from middle school on up.

A fun read as we explore Year 1 at a college that grooms psychics for jobs with police forces or the government. Teddy Cannon lives in Las Vegas and has been banned from all of the casinos for her ability to read other players and win. She is back in disguise and in a casino trying to win enough money to pay off her debts to a mobster. Things are going well and it looks like she will win until suddenly she can't read anyone and she is identified by casino security. To her rescue comes Clint and he gives her an option for her future, attend the Whitfield Institute for Law Enforcement Training and Development and her debts will be erased. She doesn't have much choice but her world is rocked when she discovers that it is a school for psychics and that her ability to read people is actually part of her psychic ability. Teddy is doubtful but with the help of the other 1st year Misfits she explores her psychic ability. When she is offered a chance to find out more about her birth parents her friends agree to help, even though it is highly illegal. As things go horribly wrong Teddy isn't sure who she can trust. A story of friendship and loyalty and discovering your true self. It reads like a cross between a cozy mystery and a tv show, fun and engaging.

A fun take on the popular magic school trope, School for Pyschics swerves a bit, pulling together troubled young twenty-something adults with psychic powers and training them to fight crime, solve cases and handle military-like situations. Teddy, the heroine, is a well-developed, interesting character and it's enjoyable to see her navigate a path that is not entirely clear--who really are the good guys and the bad guys? There are some quirks in the plot that stretch belief, but not so much that the overall read isn't enjoyable. Suspense, romance and intrigue make this a fast, entertaining read.

Such a fun book! I admit I am not big on reading about psychics, or government conspiracies, or FBI crimes, or really anything this book is about..yet, I couldn't put down. Kind of a grown-up Harry Potter, I loved reading about Teddy and her mishaps as she is recruited and navigates her first year of psychic school with her group of misfit friends. I can't wait for the second book in this series.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

School of Psychics by K.C. Archer, (pen name).
Who is the writer behind K.C. Archer? My guess is it could be Gabrielle Zevin, Veronica Roth, or Suzanne Collins, All are writers for the millennial/young adult crowd. Dysfunctional young adults, loss of parents at a young age. Special powers. There's definitely parallels to Harry Potter (Teddy Cannon), School for misfits, good vs. evil, protected school environment.
But, was the book good? Yes, it was entertaining, fast paced, funny, and kept my attention, mostly, I had to know how it ended. (SPOILER here-- with a set up to future books in a series!)..
But it could have been edited to 2/3rds as long.. My gosh! -- 47 chapter is just TOO MUCH! I read 13 chapters, then jumped to 30, (I thought it only had 37 chapters)..
I quickly caught up, through re-telling and re-hashing, with what I'd missed in the 17 chapters I'd jumped over.

Disclaimer: This review was based on the advanced ebook from netgalley; The publisher reached out to me with an invitation to read and review.. This is my honest review.