‘The Dawnvel Druids’ by William Collins is a book about a strange group on campus and the mysterious fight they are involved in.

Bobby avoids the weird kids at school until he stumbles on a secret and learns he is supposed to be one of them. Now he is taking a dangerous test to become a Druid like them, but not all of his fellow Druids think he should be one. Along the way, he discovers the monsters they fight and the boy who recently died fighting them.

It’s an interesting concept that falters on execution. The characters and world are fine, but the prose kept taking me out of the book. Your mileage may vary.

This is supposedly for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and the Dresden Files. And, in terms of style and atmosphere, I think it succeeded.

The issue I had with the story arose from the lack of characterization and easy prose; the writing was inconsistent and, sometimes, jarringly so. For the sections featuring longer conversations, the prose became basic and straightforward, which is juxtaposed with other sections of beautiful descriptions and imagery. This direct, I suppose, manner of speech also made some deliveries a little awkward and failed to deliver the message as likely intended. The dialogue also felt like an excuse, at some moments, to info dump or explain the world. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn’t deftly executed.

I also think the book suffered from over-promising in the summary and underdelivering on said description. It seemed like the murders and danger would be forefront, but they, instead, took a backseat. Hopefully, this will be more prominent in the subsequent books.

This book has so much potential and I really enjoyed what I read but I would love it ten times more if things were more devolved, expanded upon and the characters better established. I would definitely like to continue on with this series though as I thought the overall supernatural elements were unique and intriguing.

a great book about joung adults in college. But not normal young one they are druids and have to fight against gargoyles and other evil fron underworld. On new student who thinks h e is nothing special suddenly gets to know he is a druid to. It is not easy

This felt quite undeveloped to me in terms of characterisation and writing style and most context about this magical world was revealed through conversation. The story itself had potential: magic, dark magic, gargoyles, vampire faeries, druids and ghosts, a boarding school setting: all of these the ingredients and elements for an urban fantasy story. Many thanks to the author for offering me an arc of this book.

A good start for a new to me urban fantasy series.
It's fast paced and action packed, full of humour and with a cast of interesting and well thought characters.
I'd like to read the other book in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.