Damn, this was intense. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Morally grey everything. Hell borderline morally black. Dark academia sort of, since it’s based in a school, but more of a house tournament from hell than actual academia. With sex magic, I should mention. Though the mechanics of that weren’t super defined?

Which was my one gripe with the novel- the magic system wasn’t super well defined. But if we’re being honest most people probably weren’t here for a deep dive into a magic system there here for the PWP.

And damn is the plot interesting. Be aware, this is very adult! I mean, sex magic, for chrissake. I really appreciated that the author included trigger warnings and I hope that people read them before reading the book! I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel and figuring out what’s going on between the MC and the MLI

Wow! Where do I even begin. It was definitely different than most books I read. I was really intrigued when it was described as being a cross between Harry Potter and Gossip Girl.

I feel like I had to force myself to get through this book. I found myself wishing for more information on the magic system and world building. It did have some great steamy romance, but SO many F words. I don’t mind the F word, but it seemed a bit excessive.

House of Pain is one of those gleefully fvcked up books that is an absolute DELIGHT to read!

Set at a cutthroat school for witches, Alecto Black’s half human status keeps her on the outside, no one thinks she has the viciousness needed to make it a witches world.
And she is sick of that sh!t and ready to prove them wrong.

She has a hâte/hâte relationship with her classmate Blaze, their pranks always escalate with both needing to get the last word until they turn potentially deadly and they realise that perhaps this isn’t the kind of satisfaction they should using each other for.

This is a dark, s3xy, and just incredibly fun read that I would definitely recommend to anyone who believes spooky season is a state of mind and not a calendar square.

Alecto is figuring out how to be as unrepentant and vicious as the full blooded witches and Blaze is realising that maybe all the back (and front) stäbbïng just isn’t worth the effort. There is definitely more to both these characters that I’m looking forward to finding out about in the next book.

Oh and not for nothing there is a s€xy demon named Rouge Smoulder, and if you’re anything like me that information alone will be enough to have you smashing that preorder button, which you should do anyway!

Thanks to @karolinawilde and @netgalley for letting me read this ARC! House of Pain comes out on 06/Dec. It’s a fvked up BLAST to read and I promise it’s a good time!

I requested this book because it was sold as being similar to Zodiac Academy, which I love, but I just could not get through this one. It was a bit messy and the world building was not explained well so I spent the entire time confused. I had to DNF but definitely give it a chance if it sounds good to you!

Thank you NetGalley and the author for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This books reminds me of Harry Potter with a mix of Sabrina. I give this book 3.5 stars. Alecto is a half witch and goes to a school that is trying to steal the other houses book. While doing this, Alecto and Blaze start a connection that they do not understand. They hate each other one minute, then love each other the next.

This book I enjoyed reading, there was more blood magic than there was sex magic. You fall in love with Alecto and her personality from the beginning. She wants to show that she’s not some innocent girl just because she’s half witch. She becomes into this ruthless witch that doesn’t stop at anything to show she’s just like them. You want to hate Blaze and what he does but you just can’t at times. The characters and plot was enjoyable. I’m ready to reas the next book in this series!

I'd give the spice a 10/10 , sometimes the plot felt lacking in some parts compared to that but this was definitely a very enjoyable read with an amazing magic system and relatable characters. It's exactly what I was looking for in a dark romance fantasy. Alecto's character development and the enemies to lovers romance is what I enjoyed the most. I can't wait for book 2 hopefully it will be even better !

I’ll give this book a 4 stars . The plot felt alittle underdeveloped just ALITTLE but overall the spice was amazing if you love basically an adult bully romance & a bit of a magic system & SPICE this book is for you . The way Alecto kept forgiving blaze like nothing was a bit triggering lmao & I feel like I wanted to see more sides to everyone not just a toxic romance but still overall an interesting read and I recommend everyone gives it a chance if you love a dark fantasy romance ! ❤️

Ok yes it's a magic school divided into Houses but please imagine a college situation rather than a dare I say Hogwarts type scenario. To be blunt these Witches and Warlocks are pretty nasty and if I'm honest not that likeable. Clearly the central couple could be Alectro and Blaze but this definitely starts out strongly as an enemy to lovers vibe. Oddly this couple have so much more in common that really they both seem to have absolutely monstrous and deplorable parents. This might have started out with me on the fence but I definitely enjoyed the end and would love to know what happens next.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was this far surpassed my expectations! Alecto Black is surviving college, quite literally, as the only half breed witch. Alecto is a legacy member of the most infamous house on campus, House of Snakes. While she may be a legacy, the other witches including those in her own house treat her as less than because of her being half mortal. And no one knows how to push Alecto’s buttons more than her house mate Blaze. He is rich, arrogant, sexy and hellbent on making Alecto suffer. As the year’s competition between the houses starts, Alecto moves to prove she can be as vicious, cruel and calculating as the witches themselves! Everything about this story was fun. The world building, plot, smut, and magic!! Alecto and Blaze enemies to lovers storyline was full of spice. I’m looking forward to book 2!

Definitely got the gothic Harry Potter vibes from this book! I would classify this as a dark bully romance, with lots of content warnings so be sure to check those out! I think the world building could have been a bit more developed as well as the characterizations of Alecto and Blaze, but I think overall this was an enjoyable, quick read. I think people who are big dark romance fans will enjoy this!

House of Pain
⭐️⭐️⭐️
When I saw this book was “Gotchic Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl” I knew I had to read this. So thankful for NetGalley sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. If you’re hoping to read this one, the release date is on a few days away-December 6,2022

💀this book was fun, exciting, and at times creepy and you wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next
💀 The back and forth with enemies to lovers was frustrating at times, but you also understand the female and male main character’s behaviors are a result of their trauma from their parents. They did have chemistry despite it being toxic, and boy was it steamy 🔥🔥🔥
💀at times, it did feel a bit too similar to Harry Potter
💀some things felt like they weren’t fully explained, and you were really left up to your imagination (especially with the different creatures). With this, some significant parts made me have to go back and re-read to fully understand it’s significance.

I'd like to thank the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gothic Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl. A very cool meshing of genres and Wilde does nail the mood. Unfortunately this book wasn't a great fit for me. I was fascinated by the characters but I didn't feel particularly attached to the characters.

I wanted to know a bit more about the setting. Maybe if there was a note in the beginning about the houses and who was in what house and what they meant it would have been a bit easier to understand. I really wanted to like this and I kind of did, just not enough to finish it. Had to DNF. But I think Wilde has a good story in there if you're willing to give it a shot.

Similar vibes to zodiac academy. Lots of smut and spice. Be sure to check all TW prior to reading. Overall I liked the book. Some parts were slow, but still kept my interest. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Karolina Wilde for providing me this arc for an honest review*

Unfortunately this was a dnf for me. I couldn't connect with the characters the world building was a little messy. I believe this is a first novel in a series. I won't read the next books.

I really enjoyed this book!! I don’t normally prefer this type of book (bully romance) and I was a little bit iffy about seeing previous reviews comparing it to Zodiac Academy because I that series wasn’t for me. I think this is much better than Zodiac Academy- it’s not as drama filled (at least in the sense that it was filler) but it was just as Intense but everything came together extremely well! I enjoyed Alecto’s character a lot and you can see her transformation and well as Blaze. Without the dual POV the story wouldn't have been as clear for me in the sense of romance and Blazes actions. I really liked the idea of the different houses because it’s not exactly like a sorting hat type of thing or even by “species” but more so what type of magic you want to do/drawn to. Wilde did an awesome job as the first book in this series and I’ll 100% be continuing.

the book itself was well written. i def recommend for most to check TWs for this book. it has a great element of danger and supernatural effects to it. there was a lot of blood, some good scenes with spice in it and magic. i have always enjoyed bully romances and this one is not exception. i got to read it as an ARC and will say it def helped to get me out of a reading slump i was in.

Unfortunately this was immediately difficult to read due to the font. It also was very immature for my taste. I dnf’d it almost immediately. But I’m not the ideal reader for this book. Arc’s should use normal find though for readability.

I was promised Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl in this dark fantasy romance. But I agree more with one of the reviews I have read about this book that the better comparison of this book would be The Magician meets Fifty Shades of Gray. Or to those in the fandoms: imagine a modern academy filled with people like Manon Blackbeak, Kaz Brekker, Mia Corvere, and Wednesday Addams trying to win a game with magic, violence, and sex.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an eARC for me to read and review.

Alecto Black was not your ordinary college student. She was a half-witch in the best witching academy, Venefica, in the cruel and unforgiving magical world called Inathis. As a half-witch, she was often bullied and underestimated for her mortal half. To fit in the most dangerous house in the academy, House of Snakes, she had to learn to be vicious and ruthless, especially when the Game was involved. However, Blaze Leveau, who never hid his hatred towards Alecto since she arrived, made it his mission to turn Alecto's world into a living hell. Just when Alecto had had enough and fought back, a forbidden attraction sparked between them and threw both of their lives into a spiral of lust, chaos, and heartbreak.

The book started strong. I really enjoyed the writing style, with the wonderful proses but also the curses to show the characters' personalities. The pacing was really good, not too fast or too slow, and I found myself wanting to always flip to the next page. I liked the premise and the modern / fantasy setting in this book, though I wish there were more elaborations on the magic system or the hierarchy of the magic types.

Alecto was an interesting character and I relate to her feeling of not fitting in and of wanting to prove herself. I just didn't feel like she grew as a character in this first book. It felt to me that she was still the same person as when I started the story. Blaze, on the other hand, had the most development as a character. But as much as I wanted to love their relationship, I couldn't. I have always loved hate-to-love tropes but bullies give me an ick.

There was a sentence in the book saying "Blaze had seen her at her worst... No, he himself was responsible for bringing out the worst in her." And this screamed RED FLAG to me, not to mention that he tried to get her killed and not because of his belief/ideology/duty –as most hate-to-love usually started with, instead he almost killed her with no absolutely fucking real reason. I loved the notion of loving someone at her worst, but it is different from when someone brings the worst out of a person because it is my belief that the former would lead to a healthy relationship where both accepted each flaw while the latter would be the tale of a toxic relationship.

Luckily, Blaze fucked up and Alecto knew it. I just hope that in the second book Alecto would stick to her conviction and move on with a better man who would love her at her worst and yet can bring out the best version of herself without changing herself. I actually shipped her with the demon and wished they had more quality time; I guess I have to read the second book to see if this would be possible.

I would not recommend this book to those who don't enjoy dark or adult themes. This book has explicit smut scenes and violence is a theme characteristic of the witches as it was described to be their nature. There is a warning on the front page of the book which I appreciate. However, if you love reading books like Nevernight Chronicles and The Discovery of Witches, or if you like watching The Magician, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Wednesday but wouldn't mind the explicit and adult version of them, this book is your cup of tea!

This book is like Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl meet the new Wednesday series. I had a lot of fun with this one. There were moments that felt a little slow, but then it would pick right back up again. I’m excited to read the second one and continue with these characters!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Plot? Check. Smut? Check. Toxic characters you can’t get enough of? Check.

Is it similar to The Zodiac Academy? Yes, however, throw in a ton more trigger warnings. Could some of the plot easily have been left out and the book still been fantastic, also, yes, but that didn’t take away from the story for me like it actually does with ZA.

I cannot get enough of Alecto and Blaze. I thought I was intrigued enough by them individually but when you throw them together I can’t get enough. I definitely can’t wait to see where the rest of the series takes us (and them).