A good sci-if book and interesting start of a new series. The characters are well developed and the book has a good storyline. An interesting read. I look forward to more books in this series.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

J. C. Mastro https://jcmastroauthor.com is the author of two novels. Academy Bound was published in 2022. It is the 58th book I’ve completed in 2022.

Due to scenes of violence and mature language, I categorize this novel as R. The primary character is 16-year-old Zachariah ‘Zack’ Aurelion. Aurelion’s mother was an officer in the Earth Alliance. She went MIA eight years earlier at the end of the war. Now he wants to follow her into the Earth Alliance Fleet Academy. He wants to become a Command Officer. He wants to travel out into the stars. He has always been told that his mother is dead. He believes she is still alive, and he intends to find her.

Aurelion is in his first year at the Academy. His best friend, Russell ‘Russ’ White, is one of his fellow students. On the first day at the Academy, they meet Samantha ‘Sam’ Harriman. The three become close friends.

Together they suffer through the trials of first-year Academy students. Towards the end of the term, they are thrown into danger when the ICW suddenly attacks the EAS Dreadnought, where the three are on a training mission.

I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 356-page young adult science fiction novel. The novel reminds me a bit of Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. It is one of the typical coming-of-age novels for young adults, but I enjoyed it a lot. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

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Academy bound is a wonderful story following the journey of Zach chasing his dreams, battling and overcoming his fears and finding love. I enjoyed watching him grow, make friends and search for answers. He is a very relatable character with real flaws. I love books with internally conflicted characters and this had me hooked. Would definitely recommend this.

4.5 rounded up
Excellent young adult sci-fi mystery. Well plotted and interesting characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

If you enjoy faith-filled, exciting young adult stories, science fiction, mysteries, military tales, you'll want to add Academy Bound to your TBR asap! Enjoy this thrilling book!.