I wasn''t a mother when I first discovered Jen Calonita's books, but now that I am, I anticipate even more eagerly new titles. In her Royal Adademy Rebels series, Jen challenges stereotypes in a sublte yet profound way that young readers, helped by parents, older kids, or educators, could benefit from at a very early age. But on top of that, these insights come packaged in incredibly charming, beautifully written and deliciously developed stories. A must read!

I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

This was a fantastic and delightfully quick read! I devoured the whole book in one sitting, and can't wait to read the sequel! The main character Devin makes a great female hero, even though that's the last thing that Fairy God Mother Olivina wants her to be.... but Devin refuses to be molded into a scared princess who can't fight her own battles. She is not waiting around for any prince to save her, she'll save herself! I will certainly be checking out more books from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, as well as the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Misfits is the first book in the Royal Academy Rebels series, a follow up to the Fairy Tale Reform School series, by Jen Calonita. While you do not need to have read the first series to enjoy this one, I think it would help and be well worth it since the first series was wonderful.

In the magical fairytale kingdom of Enchantasia, becoming a legendary Prince or Princess doesn't happen overnight. Enter Royal Academy, the training ground for the fairytale leaders of tomorrow! But reluctant-future-princess and new-student Devin has some reservations about RA, especially when it comes to the Headmistress. Olivina seems obsessed with preparing students for possible villain attacks. But when Devin asks when they're going to learn how to actually rule a kingdom, Olivina becomes enraged. Something isn't right with this lady, and what Devin discovers could change the fairytale world forever.

Misfits is another delightful read about young characters that do not quite fit in finding their way. Devin knows what she wants, but the world is pushing her to be someone very different. I liked following her development and walking the line between following rules, meeting expectations, and being yourself. She is trying to find her place in a new school, with new people, and unfamiliar rules. There is the obligatory mean girls, because every school has at least one, and the group of friends that might seem like an odd mix but works. However, new friends and experiences keep on her toes as they all discover not everything as it seems. I do feel like there was a lot of groundwork laid down in this book, setting the scene for the rest of the series. However, the read was still entertaining and went really fast. I was not ready for it to end, and am very interested in where Devin's story will take her group of friends and readers.

Misfits is an engaging read, and my only real complaint is that I was not ready for it to end when it did. I am looking forward to continuing this series.

Devin is a royal, but all she wants to do is care for her animal friend. That is fine until she is enrolled in the Royal Academy. Following under the rule of the Fairy godmother, Olivinia is not how Devin saw her life taking shape.

Once at royal court Devin finds she is different than most princesses. She is bold and independent. This tale takes the reader on a tour through the Royal Academy. Shows us the day to day classes and of course the obstacles. What? There are obstacles? Well, of course there are. You must read this story to find out what happens. You won't be disappointed!

I loved this story!

The characters in the story are new princes and princesses. Some are related to familiar princesses, such as Raina who is Snow White’s sister. Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel graduated from the school years ago, but they still make appearances in the story.

Devin was a rebel, which didn’t go with Olivina’s vision for the school. Olivina is the fairy godmother who runs the school. However, everything is not what it seems at the school. People who you think should be good are actually connected with villains.

Though I haven’t read the Fairy Tale Reform School series, which comes before this book, I really enjoyed this story! I’m going to look for that series to see what happened to the original princesses.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

With a gorgeously colorful cover and a rather enticing synopsis, my initial expectation was that <i>Misfits</i> by Jen Calonita had the makings for a fantastic novel. A middlegrade story about a Royal Academy and the fairy tale characters who attend it, the main character Devinarina definitely doesn't feel as though she fits in with the royalty crowd. She would much prefer to be this world's equivalent of a veterinarian.

The novel gets off to a wonderful start, introducing a rather unique and fun main character. But as the story progresses everything seems to fall apart alongside young Devin's own personal feeling that the life she wants is crumbling as she heads off to the academy at which her name has been put down to attend since her birth. Naturally, Devin isn't really fond of the stereotypical princess expectations. And while there are other characters who love it, there are also some who believe they don't fit into the stereotype set forth by their royal expectations.

Unfortunately, I found the story somewhat disappointing. It’s as though the author tried to combine Harry Potter and Descendants complete with a Dumbledore-esque headmistress, a special school, a stupidly quirky villain, one dimensional characters, and a gross misunderstanding of basically every fairy tale in existence. I was regularly frustrated with the portrayals of characters like Snow White and Cinderella, especially in that the author regularly references Cinderella as though she was a young woman only interested in "catching" a prince, which by far is one of the most frustrating misconceptions that has ever existed within her story.

With the fact that you need a real suspension of belief when it comes to the idea of a Royal Academy for princes and princesses where all the royals of the fairy tales we know and love have gone and now their family attend, a book like this has to be exceedingly impressive to make up for that fault. And really, this is where Misfits fails. It has a plethora of cliches and tropes that the author occasionally tries to call out, but never actually manages to do so.

The villain is exceedingly obvious and slightly unbelievable if only because of how obvious she is. While the story remains quite fast paced, it never really manages to capture your attention and the characters all fit into these very flat archetypes and never quite develop from them at all. Many are unrealistic, acting in ways that don't make complete sense. And ultimately, the story with its plot and characters as a whole feels underdeveloped and pedestrian.

As I realize this book is meant for a middlegrade audience, I can forgive some of these issues I had with the novel, but then again I've also read some incredibly impressive middlegrade novels. As such, I don't think I'd really ever be recommending this book to young readers that I know. It's not terrible, but it's not good either.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

Jen Calonita has done it again in this series set in the same kingdom as Fairy Tale Reform School. Every prince and princess is required by law to attend the Royal Academy which is run by Fairy Godmother Olivina. Too bad for Devin, because she doesn't want to leave her home and the woodland animals that she cares for. As she tries to fit in and do what she thinks is right, she is reprimanded again and again by Olivina and warned to act like a true princess. But things at the academy are not what they seem. How do harpies manage to crash the first ball of the year? Why is there a dragon running amok and trying to barbecue students? Events just aren't adding up. Devin will need help from her roommates Sasha and Raina and her friends Heath and Logan to try and get to the bottom of the mystery.

Fans of FTRS will be delighted with this new look at Enchantasia from a young royal perspective. Those readers who haven't met Gilly and the others from Reform School will still be able to plunge right in and cheer for Devin and her classmates as they attend classes while surrounded by pixies, talking mirrors, and all the rules in the school manual.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys fairy tale retellings, feisty heroines, and lots of humor to go with the danger and mystery. The characters are all unique - prince who is allergic to dragons, a princess who writes a tabloid column, etc. and the setting is magical (really).

I’ve been meaning to check out the Fairy Tale Reform School Series for a long time because it just looks so incredibly fun, so when I saw that there was a spin-off series (Royal Academy Rebels), I thought I’d jump in and see what I’ve been missing!

As expected, this series is super light and fluffy and adorable and perfect for MG readers who love the boarding school spin on fairy tales. The MC is Devin, a reluctant royal who would prefer to be taking care of animals rather than dressing up for endless balls. She’d also much rather fight for herself than wait around for a prince to save her in a crisis. Neither of these things go over too well at the Royal Academy, though Devin does manage to pick up some allies when it becomes obvious that the princessy way of doing things isn’t always going to cut it. There are some great messages here for young girls, and there are lots of mysteries set up about the headmistress—things aren’t what they seem at the academy. But be forewarned that this is the first in a series, and there’s really no resolution at all in this book… you have to wait for future books to find out what happens to this ragtag team of misfits.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

2 very cranky and disappointed stars for Misfits, in which we follow Devin, a princess who would much rather spend her time taking care of sick and injured animals than doing the usual princess-y things. Devin's special skill of being able to communicate with animals makes her a natural at tending to their healthcare needs, and she spends much of her time sneaking away from the castle to partake in "Animal Care".

Unfortunately, the kingdom requires that all princes and princesses attend the renowned Royal Academy to learn how to be good royal leaders and do royal stuff like going to balls, being saved by princes/saving princesses, and the ultimate goal of "catching" the right prince or princess to marry. Somehow, Devin, clever as she is, has overlooked this mandatory attendance thing and thought that she would be able to avoid going to RA. Of course, she is mistaken and gets her butt shipped off to the Academy before she knows what's what.

As I read this book, I was hovering between giving it 3 and 4 stars most of the time. This is a light and fluffy read with some amusing little snippets and clever nods to beloved fairy tales here and there. There are definitely an awful lot of over-used YA tropes to be found (quirky MC with a special skill who does not follow the rules especially when the rules involve not using her special skill, dealing with cliques, mysterious and potentially evil happenings that get explained away too easily, friends who stop being friends when quirky MC keeps breaking rules and gets friends in trouble), but for the most part this is a fun read and I figure that the middle grade kids this book seems to target will not be as weary as I am with these plotlines.

But then I got to the end. Or, rather, the complete lack of an ending. There is no happily ever after here because there is no ending. The book just stops in the middle of the story with a clue about where things will go next. Now, to be clear, I don't mind a series with a story arc that continues from book to book to book. I don't even mind if a story gets wrapped up and then the characters find themselves suddenly thrust into a new adventure at the very end of a book that is obviously a lead-in to the next in series.

What I do mind, however, is a book that indicates you are heading into the climax of the story only to discover that the climax is not going to happen and you'll have to wait for the next book. Except you know the next book is just going to drag things out, too, and who knows how many books you're going to end up waiting on before you actually get a real climax and a proper ending.

It's like helping your mom to bake cookies, then being told you have to help clean up if you want a cookie, then once everything is clean you still have to wait until the cookies finish cooling before you can have one, but by the time they're cool, suddenly it's too close to dinner and you can't have one until after dinner, except then dinner is liver and boiled Brussels sprouts and, well, that's just not happening, so it turns out there will be no cookies for you. And now I remember why I don't like oatmeal-raisin cookies (besides the obvious that raisins are vastly inferior to chocolate chips).

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky for providing me with a DRC of this book.

I feel like this story has been done before. It was cute and a quick read, but I felt like I've heard this story before. I think that kids will still pick it up and love it though. Who wouldn't love a good, clever, fun princess story.

Misfits was a super cute book about not fitting in- in a fairy tale world. I didn't read the first series from Jen Calonita (Fairy Tale Reform School) but it didn't seem super necessary. There were some references to that series, but this might hold up as a good separate series.

Devin is a princess in Enchantasia (say that 5 times fast), but she's not a typical princess. She isn't into ruffles and other stereotypical princess stuff- she likes talking with her animal friends and helping them with their ailments (think vet). Unfortunately, that's not an accepted princess activity and she has to sneak around. Which is easy until she's "accepted" into the Royal Academy. "Accepted" because attendance is required for all royals. There Devin immediately runs into trouble with the Fairy Godmother and begins racking up demerits. But things seem off with the Royal Academy and Devin's situation quickly gets worse.

Devin Nile is my hero! A true rebel and a marvelous misfit who understands the importance of being able to rescue yourself and that doing the right thing will always be the right thing to do. I am excited to hand sell Misfits and I look forward to enjoying the rest of the series. I will never be a proper princess but I will always be a perfect misfit.

Misfits, set in the same world as the popular Fairy Tale Reform School series, tackles life from the princess point of view. Though royal, Devin does not have an easy time adjusting to life at the Royal Academy. Everything she does and everything she is seems to be wrong. I love the friendships that she develops throughout the book that ultimately help her to succeed. This is a great adventure and will be sure to please readers.

¨Fake it till you make it.¨ Devin may be a princess, but it isn´t the life path she´d choose for herself. If you ask her she´d rather use her ability to talk to creatures to aid in healing them. Unfortunately, Devin doesn´t get a say in what she wants to do and is sent to Royal Academy- because attendance at RA is mandatory for all young royals in the kingdom. From the moment Devin arrives at RA she feels as though something is off. The question is, is she right or is she just refusing to give RA the chance it deserves? Afterall, what can go wrong when the Fairy Godmother is the headmistress?

I´ve been excited to read this book ever since I finished reading Switched (book 4 in Jen Calonita´s Fairy Tale Reform School Series.) The minute I saw it listed on NetGalley I requested it and kept my fingers crossed and constantly checked my email with the hopes of being accepted to read it. Maybe some of that excitement is what led to some of my disappointment in the book. While I loved all of the characters and the story that was presented I felt like the story was over just as it was beginning despite the book being 256 pages long. However, I took all of this with a grain of salt because I know it is the first book in the new series and thus was a foundation for what is to come. If this series turns out to be anything comparable to The Fairy Tale Reform School Series the books will all be well worth the read. I am eager for the next book in this series to come out. Be forewarned the ending is a cliffhanger and will leave you hungry for more. **Note: You do not need to read or be familiar with the Fairy Tale Reform School Series in order to read this book, but I feel it would be more enjoyable if you do. You´ll have more to take away from the story.**