I loved this book series! Yes, it is like Hogwarts I suppose, but with a strong, kick-ass female lead. Nicely done intrigue and questions about who to trust exactly. When Maeve suddenly gets a magical needle inserted she finds out about a whole magical world next to the "normal" world. She gets into to an elite school to hone her powers and manages to get her little brother Finley in there too. Then the action really starts to kick off with making new friends, learning about magic, falling in love, getting betrayed and fighting for your life and your friends.
Maeve isn't your typical heroine, she's sarcastic and usually doesn't make the best decisions, but at her core she's also loyal to her friends and wants to do the right thing. I flew through this book set and understand there will be another trilogy covering the second year with a whole new plot. Can't wait to see what happens next!

***An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. ***

I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC in return for an honest review.

When I first started reading The SpellCrest Academy Year One I had no idea I’d signed up to read 3 books. But, it turned out to be a blessing. The first book of the three wasn’t great. I had a hard time liking the main character Maeve, and I felt the whole magical school a little been there done that. I’ve read Harry Potter and found a few too many similarities, and because of this I couldn’t really embrace the book. Had it not been a 3 part book I probably would have stopped at book one and never picked up book two. But, I pushed on, and I’m so glad I did. The plot evolved wonderfully and the characters, including Maeve really started to grow on me. By the third book I was hooked, I finished it in an evening. The story line and world that Michael Pierce created became more original and highly entertaining. Maeve mostly stopped being a bratty teenager, and I kind of grew to enjoy her attitude and sharp wit.

I’ll definitely be buying the next in this series because there’s so much more to this story that I can’t wait to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Michael Pierce for sharing this series with me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of the book. This is my own opinion.

I liked the cover art. Didn’t really connect with the main character though. She wasn’t bad, I just didn’t really like her personality.

This is nothing like I was expecting. You are thrown into the life of a girl who obviously doesnt follow anyone's rules but herself and are forced to watch her screw up because of it.
It is not the worst academy story I have ever read but it's also not great. Instead of magic and wonder you get nagging and stubbornness.

Great book. I wasn't too sure in the beginning, but this series just keeps getting better. It is very different from other fantasy series that I have read, even mixing in a little bit of science fiction.

Maeve is a strong lead character that just keeps getting stronger. Unlike many female protagonists, Maeve is never portrayed as weak or wanting, and never relies on any one other than herself. This strength helps the story remain strong and interesting.

I just got the next part of the series and can't wait to get started.

Maeve Rhodes and her brother Finley have been shuffled around between foster and group homes since their parents died. One night, after sneaking out of their current group home, Maeve finds an elderly woman lying on the ground, clearly the victim of an attack. When she stops to help the woman, she is giving more than she could have ever imagined: magical powers. With this new gift, she is invited to attend the Spellcrest Academy, a prestigious school for magic users. However, if she goes, she would be forced to leave her brother behind, something that she is not willing to do.

This book was a pleasant surprise. Maeve has the snarky, rough-and-tumble survivor personality you would find with someone who was shuffled from home to home throughout her childhood. Her brother Finley is clearly the innocent as he is dragged into Maeve’s adventures and then tempted to the “dark side” by some not-so-innocent characters. It was well written and had enough plot twists to keep this interesting. Very rarely do I find young adult books that I cannot put down. I am truly looking forward to the second book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Maeve ends up in a situation where she is gifted magic and sent to an academy to learn how to use her powers. I found myself putting the book down frequently due to not connecting with the main characters. Maeve is very quick to anger and action. I really wanted to like this and was excited about the plot but nothing really starts happening until the last few chapters of book one.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed Maeve’s story, she is a fighter and learned that she could do anything once she put her mind to it. I think a storyline of Nym and Razielle would be awesome. Maybe even Devon. I look forward to reading the next set of books.

All the soul crystals reminds me of final fantasy. Lots of anger management issues and backstabbing in the story.

I absolutely loved the plot of this book, I liked very much the style of writing of this author and thought the story was very interesting unfortunately I didn't like there was a lot of cursing and sometimes the attitude of the protagonist but otherwise, I thought it was a very well written book, the world-building was simply great I didn't feel like there was something left unexplained, I loved the friendship between Maeve, Nym, and Razielle but overall it was a great book with a great plot.

This book reminds me a lot of the books by Bella Forrest (who is one of my recent favorite authors). It does a take a while to get into, but its definitely worth the effort to do so. The setting reminds me of other books set in magical institutions, but it takes its own spin on that narrative element in a good way. The characters are well developed, which is something I always like to see in a good book. There were a lot of twists and turns in the book that kept me on the edge of my seat as I read this book. I felt that some of the endings in the individual books were definitely unexpected. I look forward to reading the next omnibus installment, and other future books by Michael Pierce :)

The plot of the story was interesting, but I was not a fan of how the author portrayed it in his story. There were moments of rambling that I wasn’t fond and unnecessary. Overall, this book could not keep my attention for very long.

Not the best fantasy book I’ve ever read but I enjoyed it. I read this book in one sitting. I loved the wit in this book and the cliffhanger at the end was good. There was great world building and I’m intrigued to see what happens in the next book.