Hood Academy was your typical YA werewolf book for the most part. Hood Academy stuck pretty close to the "original werewolf" story. Full moon turning, pack community and following the alpha's orders. I think that Shelley put her own twist on the so called rivals to the werewolves. Which is really the only thing you can do in a place where there are so many stories based on one topic.

The writing for Hood Academy was super easy to read. I finished the book in two days and only because I needed to pace myself or else I would have sat around and read the whole book in one sitting. I personally am a huge werewolf fan, they are one of my favourite creatures to read about. So, when I saw Hood Academy, I knew I had to read it. Which could possibly make me biased about the book, however, it was pretty generic where a werewolf story goes. Something would have to be pretty remarkable to get a 5 star with as many books about werewolves as there is.

I'm getting tired of authors making series that are 5 and 6 books long, and I'm glad that Shelley made this one a stand alone. I would definitely interested to read more about the werewolves of Ravenshood, but with different conflicts or about different characters from the book.

I really liked the twists and turns in this book, for a horror book it really wasn’t gruesome though.

The entire story is based on Werewolf and Hunter, in which a school called the Hood Academy, was established to train hunters who would, well, hunt werewolves.

I loved the whole story in its entirety, not as gory as I thought it would be but interesting read nonetheless.

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would, for all those interested in thriller.

Read more: https://lifeofamaka.wordpress.com/2019/09/02/arc-review-hood-academy/

Hood Academy was a well paced novel with characters that actually have a bit of depth (for the most part at least, looking at you Felicity). The descriptions got me sucked into the story and the various settings, which is a good thing. I also liked that the author didn't just scratch the surface in regards of werewolf-transitions, she made a point on how painful it actually was.

Hood Academy is overall a well written novel and I would highly recommend it.

Ok I'm going out on limb here and suggesting that this might have been previously published as two separate short books because that's how it feels with a second half that kind of reprises some things. That didn't bother me but oddly the pacing actually did.
I applaud the author on having such an original idea and she actually throws so much into this that if brutal it felt like overkill. I did really enjoy the story but oddly thought it would have had much more depth if it was expanded and turned into three separate books. Everything happens too quickly, the reader gets whiplash as yet another revelation is heaped upon them. I wanted more suspense, I wanted more character development, I'd have liked more information about the Werewolves but most of air wanted the author to slow down !

This book was amazing. It immediately pulls you in and it keeps you wondering "What's next?!" The characters were well put together and the entire book flowed flawlessly. Definite 5 stars!

I really wasn't expecting to get much out of this book. But it was good. It's been awhile since I've read a werewolf book (can we bring back vampires and werewolves pleasseee). I felt like the first half of the book was strong. But the second half felt rushed and confusing.

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

WHERE WOLF? THERE WOLF! THERE CASTLE!

I really liked this book! Mia is a likable strong character who dealt with horrible abuse.

Then her abuser is attacked by a werewolf.

Suddenly she's taken to a school to train in fighting werewolves and discovers the things she thought were good may not be.

So. I really did like this book but there were a few things that struck me as off.

A character is very upset at the idea of werewolf hunting. Another character doesn't even consider that they could be a werewolf.

It's strange because this character was shown to be pretty intelligent before that.

It's been a while since I've read a book featuring werewolves (Twilight maybe?), so I was excited to get into this novel.  And the cover designer did a magnificent job at capturing readers' attention.

This novel starts out with a heart-pounding sequence when Mia witnesses a werewolf killing her father.  From there, the plot takes off at a fast pace and rarely slows down.  Mia is a strong protagonist, occasionally leaping into action before thinking things through, and she's suffered the loss of her mother, abuse from her father, and feels abandoned by her brother.  Without giving away spoilers, the author did a fantastic job at introducing conflict to the story, and Mia's loyalties are pulled in several directions.  

The transformation of human to werewolf is described in detail with vivid imagery, including both the immense pain involved and the feeling of power and animal instincts upon completion.  Being a science nerd, Sebastian's research fascinated me and this is an angle I haven't seen explored in other werewolf books.  I also enjoyed the loyal friendship between Mia and Elizabeth and, lacking a female presence in her life since the death of her mother, her relationship with her teacher, Miss Ross.

Something I missed was more interaction between Mia and a character from her past who turns up again.  In the beginning of part two of the book, part one was summarized, giving the impression of two separate books being combined.  As I read an ARC, this is something that may change in the final version.

If you're a fan of fast-paced urban fantasy with likeable characters and strong friendships, add Hood Academy to your TBR.  It also boasts some pretty cool werewolves!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The suspense about what happened to Mia's family and the details surrounding what happened to her family was interesting. The characters were fun and complimented each other well. I liked the shift in tone in part 2. The relationship of Mia and Ari was a great sisterly bond. I absolutely loved the description of the transformation to wolf form. And the ending was perfect, wrapped everything up in a nice little bow. I teared up a bit.

However, I do wish there was more world and relationship building. She went from never trusting anyone to immediately telling 3 people all her secrets. Also, more time at the academy with detailed training and experiences in classrooms would have been fun.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I'd give it 3.5 stars. The Hood Academy was a fun, quick and entertaining read.

I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but I do like to read this sort of story occasionally, and I think it is fairly well done. Readers who enjoyed the Twilight series, should enjoy this one.

Shelly Wilson’s new young adult novel, Hood Academy is an interesting premise that takes a tire old premise and turns it around for a modern young audience with winning reward for the reader.

The novel starts out with Mia, after the death of her father, is escorted to Hood Academy by Sebastian, her benefactor. Wilson moves the story at a very quick pace and we enter a world of hunter against werewolves with the line very blurred of who is good or who is bad. This leads credibility to the story and as in real life, things are very rarely black or white.

The characters are deliciously well drawn with human faults playing against their ability to try to do good. There are some cases where the main villains of the piece tend to be a bit cartoonish and would have worked better if they were drawn out a little bit better. A reason why they are doing what they are doing or a better understanding on their hatred but this is small criticism considering the large cast are all well drawn and are very multifaceted within their personalities.

The plot moves at a very fast pace and keeps the reader involved which provides a page turner. I am not sure if this was originally produced in two volumes but there is a strange chapter that starts out Book Two where we have a total breakdown of Book One. Again, this is a small criticism and doesn’t take away from the overall novel in any way.

Overall, this is worthwhile read and should be a winner with the young adult readers. For an adult reader, I was entertained and I enjoyed entering the world that Wilson created. I loved the atmosphere and keeping it in a realistic setting with her narrative passages bringing the story to live. Written in the first person, sometimes it gives an idea of the outcome of Mia as far as in her life and death situations. I am keen to discover more work by Wilson and she is well accomplished writer that shows her true craft to afford a rewarding read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.


“Hood Academy” starts out with a mystery that grasps your attention and sets the mood for the whole book. Mia has witnessed a gruesome murder of her father by a werewolf and her whole life is turned upside down. It wasn't a good life to begin with, since her mom died when Mia was little, her older brother left a year later, and she was stuck with her abusive father and no friends. Now that her father is gone, her uncle has agreed to be her guardian and is taking Mia to live with him in a private school - Hood Academy - where he is the headmaster. The revelation about werewolves existing and the mystery of her father's connection to them are taking over Mia's life and create a basis for the novel.

I liked that the story was fast-paced and action-packed, but I did have issues with the character development and constant info-dumping. That's why I wasn't able to give “Hood Academy” higher rating. There's a lot of exposition throughout the book, and the reveals felt underwhelming, I think that if they were more subtle, and if the readers were left to come up with their own conclusions, I would have connected with the story more. The only thing that we were unsure about is Mia's role in the werewolf/hunter community - all the heroes and villains were obvious as soon as they were introduced. The characters' motivations also jumped all over the place, and there seemed to be no clear progression and character growth.

Another thing that threw me off was how trusting Mia turned out to be throughout the story. I like her friendship with Lizzie, but it was again underdeveloped and rushed. It seems unrealistic that someone who had no friends and was raised in an abusive household would so easily accept someone new into her life and be ready to share her secrets and plans.

Overall, “Hood Academy” unfortunately didn't leave a lasting impression, but I think it would be good book for when you're in a mood for something light and don't feel like thinking too much.

I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Even though this book was classed as a horror, it was not. That does not mean, however, that it was not exciting. In Trinidad & Tobago folklore, the closest thing we have to a werewolf is a lagahoo. Lagahoo stories are still horrifying and many of us still shiver at the thought of confronting one. Werewolves, on the other hand, have evolved to become sexy and non-threatening. I am still not too sure how I feel about that. However, the book was still a good read.

In Hood Academy, Shelley Wilson illustrates the fact that even though werewolves are scary, they are still human beings. And, to kill one would mean you’re a murderer. Mia’s world is turned upside down when her father is killed by a werewolf in the middle of one of his abusive rages. She is then taken in by his brother, her uncle, who runs a school. But Hood Academy isn’t like any other school we know. This is a school which trains werewolf hunters. Mia instantly finds a new friend, Elizabeth aka Lizzie, and determines that her favorite teacher is Miss Ross. Antonio, one of the workers at the school, and also Elizabeth’s boyfriend, quickly becomes one of her closest friends as well. However, Felicity, who’s descended from a long line of purebred hunters instantly dislikes her, for reasons which become clear later on. While exploring the school and the nearby town, Mia realizes that things are not what they seem, and, maybe the enemy is not what or whom she thinks. She also learns something about herself which drastically changes her life as she knows it. Maybe, a family is more than just blood ties. Maybe, it’s about a shared bond between a community.

The character development could have been a little better. For example, in Felicity’s case, they kept mentioning what happened to her mother but there were no details. After realizing what her father was like, I found myself wondering if everything she said was true. And, in Elizabeth’s case, we knew absolutely nothing about her or where she came from. I’m not certain if this is going to be a series, but if it is, I would love to find out more about the characters’ backgrounds.

I am guessing that is a remake of the series the author started to write some time ago. This looked like a combination of the two first books. As a result, we ended up having an unnecessary recap in the middle of the book. There were also some unnecessary explanations during the second half of the book. When I started reading the second half, I was at first confused as to why she was repeating what I already knew and it was quite irritating.

I liked the fact that the author did not shy away from the descriptions of the humans turning into wolves. She spoke about the pain, and she didn’t gloss over the fact that their clothes would be unable to stay on. Don’t get me wrong, I know that the older versions of werewolves needed to wear shorts when they reverted to human form for decency’s sake. But, scientifically, we all know that if the clothes were ripped during the transformation, they would have to end up naked when they became human again.

In many books, the topic of domestic abuse is often skimmed over. However, this is something that happens often and people are not as ashamed as they used to be to talk about being a survivor of abuse. I like the fact that the author attacked that very sensitive topic head-on without holding anything back.

The plot moved quickly. I was spellbound from the beginning to the end of this book. The author gave clear descriptions of characters and events, without being too wordy.

This book is clearly aimed at teenagers and young adults. It discusses a lot of issues teenagers would have. Mia learns about life, love, and friendship in this story. She grows up and finds her power during this tale. However, anyone of any age who likes a good story about werewolves will enjoy this book. It was a good, solid paranormal book.

I have received an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher.

I have really loved Hood Academy. Its the first book I read from Shelley Wilson and I'm really not disapointed.

The story about Mia, who's father just got murdered. Her uncle now the one who take care of her and take her to Hood Academy, a school that hidden deep in the forest and will learn that werewolves really exist.

I was hook from the start by this story and could barely put it down.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hood Academy starts in the aftermath of an attack that killed Mia’s father. Why we wouldn’t start the story a few minutes earlier I’m not sure, but the impossible has happened: Mia’s abusive father has been killed by a werewolf right in front of her.

Mia’s absentee uncle Sebastian shows up to take her to the mysterious and titular Hood Academy where she will be trained to fight werewolves.

The story reads a bit like a SyFy movie, but it’s definitely not the worst werewolf book I’ve ever read.

One of my main complaints about the story was the rivalry between Mia and Felicity. I don’t think society needs to keep perpetuating the mindset of pitting girls against one another. Mia and Felicity could have been kindred spirits in some respects regarding their terrible father figures, but this isn’t explored in favor of the girls trying to kill one another. Felicity, also referred to as “the redhead” and “that bitch,” is a bully to Mia. Eventually Mia snaps and beats her to a bloody pulp not once but several times. For some reason, this is explained away because Mia suffered physical abuse at the hands of her father. That didn’t sit well with me. Someone who is abused does not get a free pass to abuse someone else no matter the provocation.

Almost everyone in the story seemed to know Mia was being physically abused by her father for years and no one did a damn thing about it. Sadly, this is probably very realistic as society is content to look the other way on domestic violence cases, but this still annoyed me in the story. Werewolf or human, they all failed Mia when it mattered.

Felicity becomes increasingly cartoonish in her quest to destroy Mia and everything she cares about. Whereas the first half of the book hinted at Felicity having a tumultuous relationship with her father, they’ve put that behind them in the second half to cackle and twirl their mustaches.

In the second half of the book, Mia and her friends and family have to stop a nationwide coverup of offering werewolves a cure only to poison them. The werewolves don’t ask for proof that the cure works before giving it to their children and most of the children die.

I think this must have been two separate books at one point because the second half had a lot of unnecessary recap. Ultimately it was an alright read but I was hoping for a fresh werewolf book and this felt like something I could have read years ago when vampires and werewolves were in their prime.

Mia's mother is dead, her brother missing, and her father physically violent. When her father is murdered in front of her, her estranged uncle takes custody of her and brings her to Hood Academy. A different type of school where he is the headmaster. There she makes friends, enemies and learns the secrets about werewolves, hunters, and secrets in her life.

This story had me hooked from the first chapter and kept me wanting more. Shelley Wilson does an amazing job of holding the reader's attention and keeping you on the edge of your seat. I felt like this story took werewolves and hunter's into a different light, and it was entertaining to see a different take and view point on them.

An interesting take on the supernatural/werewolf genre, Whilst I felt that more time could have been taken on building up the story of the factions and the Academy, this was still an enjoyable read and I liked that the friendship and family theme was more important than romance,

I got this book free from netgalley for an honest review. I found the start slow but as the story progressed it was good and highly recommend this book.

I was highly anticipating the release of Hood Academy, since I’ve always been a fan of strong female leads. From the description, I immediately gathered Mia would either become a werewolf or a hunter, which sounded like a shoe in.

Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed with the character development. The friends, enemies, and love interest are all revealed instantaneously. Even though Mia was abused mercilessly by her father and abandoned by her brother, she immediately trusts Elizabeth, Adam, and Cody. Considering the tragedies she has been through, these developments felt unnatural.

Everything about the story felt rushed. Her father passes away, her estranged uncle shows up, she's sent to a new school, immediately makes a best friend, is picked on by the popular girl, falls in love, the list goes on...

Hood Academy had enough "plot twists" for an entire series. Although the premise was interesting, I was disappointed by the execution. Rather than cramming so many plot points into one book, I wish the secrets were revealed gradually and in a way that encouraged the reader to care for its characters rather than pity them.

I haven't read a werewolf book for a while, so this was fun. After Mia sees her dad killed by a wolf, her mysterious uncle shows up to bring her to Hood Academy, which teaches girls to become werewolf hunters. Then Mia meets a boy in the woods who tells her that werewolves aren't as evil as she's been taught and she begins to question everything.
I liked the premise and the way the werewolves were explained. It was less magic and more science and nature, which is cool. I also thought Mia was a good main character who cared about her friends and was pretty fierce. Elizabeth was actually my favorite character. She loved Adam and was Mia's best friend and she risked herself constantly to help Mia figure out what was happening. She wasn't afraid of the werewolves and was so accepting of everyone.
The downfalls were that the plot moved too fast, so the characters didn't develop as much as I wanted and the plot was a bit too crazy and all over the place. I think we could have slowed down a bit for more world building and explanations about the werewolves.
I did enjoy this book and I think readers will like the strong females and fun plot.