⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉 𝖎𝖋 𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝕷𝖎𝖐𝖊:
🥀 Magical Academy
🥀 Counselor x Teacher
🥀 Hate to Love
🥀 Forbidden Love
🥀 Only Human
🥀 Slow Burn
🥀 Sliiiight Bully Romance

I was so intrigued to read this book and it did not disappoint! I always love a magic school setting and I haven’t read a counselor x teacher dynamic yet! This was a fun, sassy, beautiful story with easy world-building, dragon-shifters, magic, and delicious tension!
Poor Ella wants to do her job as a counselor but everyone, including the students, views her with ingrained hostility. She’s such a mentally strong FMC and I love how she’s so focused on the wellbeing of the students despite it all. Kellen is the sexy, vindictive dragon-shifter teacher who despises Ella and is determined to make her life hell and remove her from the school. I fell in love with their characters and the side characters, Jarion, Laya, Josefyn, and Akio 🥹 the characters are what captured my attention but then a sneaky little plot line creeps up to keep you reeled in! I’m not super big on bully romances but it’s only in the beginning and Kellen more than makes up for it 🤭 this was low on the spice scale for me but the story didn’t need it!
That twist was unexpected - once it’s hinted at, you can guess but until that first hint, I didn’t see it coming!
This book was like therapy, even though they were children, they still had such relatable issues. I truly wish I had a counselor like Ella Rose growing up, every child needs someone like her on their side. I found myself tearing up a lot of times purely for that reason. The writing was so beautiful and captured the importance and struggle of mental health. I absolutely loved this story and the journey the characters went on. It was so much fun and I can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you Net Galley and Kyla for this ARC!

I feel like I was kicking my legs like a giddy school girl for Noella and Kellen...
I really enjoyed Ella's role in the school and her growth throughout the story, as well as Kellen's softening heart cause that man was STONE COLD in the beginning 😂
I honestly didn't know what to expect initially in regards to the fantasy aspect but learning all the Primordials (also bonus points for that name...I loved it) and the twist ending was *chefs kiss*

So excited for the next book, and if you are a fan of Zodiac Academy then you will LOVE this for its similar vibe, just from the professors POV

Thank you to NetGalley and Kyla Shinder for the ARC ❤️

Really enjoyed this story it has magic. Powers. Cool creatures. Some shifters. A magic school and more. I love how all the main characters have their own traumas that they are working on healing and that they are all powerful in their own way. The only thing is I guessed the ending. I really did enjoy the found family. The romance and her dog

This book was absolutely fantastic!
I ATEEEEE this up.
The tropes and topics of this book was spot on amazing.
And hello?!? Shifters?!? Yessss please!
I can’t wait for the next one!

Magically bound to a contract that keeps her in another realm Noella must do her best to make her own way in a strange world of magic and mystery... all while everyone there hates her for her very existence. But no one seems to hate her more than Kellen, whose obsession walks the line between love and loathing. Is Noella destined to be more than just a school counselor? Can Kellen be more than just an angry dragon shifter? Perhaps...

I look forward to reading the next book. Absolutely exceptional story telling.

This was an AMAZING book. It teaches you so much. You learn how to set boundaries and to stick to them, how to express yourself in a healthy way. And the list goes on. I think this is also a good book for people who loved Fourth Wing and Zodiac Academy. Strong and resilient FMC, dragon daddy MMC, and amazing children with so many different personalities and abilities.

It talks about setting boundaries for the kids and to let them come to terms with talking through their feelings and frustrations.

I’ve never read a book that has allowed such acceptance and expression of feelings for children for young adults for adults being taught by adults written for adults.

It’s about a woman who was tricked into leaving the earth plane to another dimension (fantasy very ZA) to be a counselor for children after a tragic death at the school. Everyone hates her and belittles her but she stands resilient against them and starts dishing it back (very Tory) (ALSO NOT SPOILERS FOR ZA BECAUSE THIS IS TALKED ABOUT IN BLURBS) she puts the kids first and finds ways to help them. Help them cope help them find ways to exist in a world that nothing but cruel. Shows them the love and compassion they were never offered in life by their peers by their parents. It’s an emotional ride and is a Romantasy but I think you’ll love it.

Bleeding Rose | Kyla Shinder
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

It’s RELEASE DAY! And just as importantly Kyla’s birthday! As far as birthday gifts go, I think this book is absolutely one of the best things 🫶🏼

This story was the perfect mix of fantasy and romance! It was a great twist on what’s usually a POV from a student in a magic school. We were able to see everything from the teachers perspective. And the mental health rep? Chefs kiss 💋 because MAGICAL CREATURES HAVE FEELINGS TOO.

Book two is already in the works. And yes I checked immediately once I’d finished reading book one because I couldn’t help but know 😅

Thank you NetGalley and Azala Press for this ARC!

“Just because a feeling is familiar doesn’t make it comfortable.”

“Bleeding Rose,” by Kyla Shinder

This was a really good book. I liked how unique the story was with the character being tricked to be a human counselor in a magic school for students and adults who not only hate humans but actively try to harm her every day. One thing I didn’t like as much about the book is that I thought it was too long, while a lot of time was devoted to her being a counselor to the students, I felt like too much time was spent on it when it could’ve been shortened. The romance had a lot of tension and discrimination, and the characters were dynamic and interesting. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Magic
-Shifters
-Physical Abuse
-Mental Health

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

2/5 🌟🌟
2/5 🌶️

Honestly I’m not sure how I feel about this book. There were moments in it that had be really captivated and wanting to know what’s next and then it went on a side story that didn’t feel particularly relevant. I felt there was a lot of over explanation and I felt that the therapist lingo and counseling sessions were probably a bit overused. I really would have loved to see more character and relationship development in this book between the main characters and less focus on the students. I was really disappointed with how the end played out. I was frustrated when we just got new information about Ella and Aros etc and then it went into several chapters of basically a field day for the school and we got no answers or insight until the very very end. I feel like this book had so much potential and such a great plot I just was really hoping for more. The romance in this book I felt like in the beginning really had be pulled in but it completely lost me when Kellen basically just worshipped her in every single line he described her and it just felt unrealistic and a little too much. Their first time being intimate with eachother was a bit hard to get through given all the tears involved… it did not feel sexy. The dreams were more steamy and exciting than the real thing. I just had such high hopes and feel a bit let down. I can appreciate that the author has real knack for being able to create clear pictures with her description and I can say that the execution of the writing was good but the story just fell flat for me in the end. I wanted to love this 😭

4.25 well earned stars!!!

This book has everything: mental health representation and empowering counseling, a school full of magical beings, children being cared for after leaving bad parents, dragon shifters, the slowest of burns enemies to lovers, prophecies, true friendships, and so so much more!!

Novella Rose is a trained school counselor- except the school she’s now set to counsel at is in another plane, and they don’t want her there. Teachers throw her into walls, students ignore her, and no one wants to hear her social emotional learning units!! But she’s no quitter! She shows up day after day, builds trust, and worms her way into the hearts of a family of dragon shifters: teacher with a vengeance and a tough exterior, Kellen Killic, and his twin student siblings, Laya and Jarion.

I was overwhelmed by just how incredible the mental health conversations that were happening in this book were. As someone who works in the field, with experience of being one of the support systems in schools, it felt so true to life, despite the magical elements of the world. Everyone needs a reminder that you can do hard things, that it’s okay to take space for yourself, and that you do deserve good things to happen to you!!

While the book was a little long (and I’m not complaining, I could live in this world for so long), the story felt full and rich the whole way through! The characters and their journeys were so beautifully written and handled, the plot points were given space and sensitivity, and I was able to really feel everything as I was reading! I loved picking up on the lil foreshadowing elements and was screaming for them to just get there!! I’m so so curious about where we go from here and will be patiently (impatiently) waiting!!!!!

Thank you so much to Kyla Shinder and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

I am convinced this has become one of my all time favorite books!!

5/5 ⭐️

HEAR ME OUT, THIS BOOK HAS EVERYTHING I WANT AND NEED, a GOOD enemies to lovers, banter, EXQUISITE found family, AMAZING worldbuilding, the best dynamics, twists, EVERYTHING.

Noella Rose, our FMC, has just signed a contract to become Delmarth Academy's first counselor, but instead of working at the boarding school in upstate New York like she thought, as soon as she signs she is bound to work in an Academy of another realm, of the Kingdom of Cavale. Now she has to survive the whole academic year between primordial beings with incredible power who hate humans and despise emotion. Especially, the Varmin department head, Kellen Kilic, who is set on making her life a living hell.

HAVE I MENTIONED THAT KELLEN IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND A DRAGON SHIFTER!?!??!? I just love him so much, he and his siblings are THE BEST. I really loved their dynamic. And Kellen is definitely dreamy, I want that dragon shifter to be my love, thank you very much and yes, I never stop with my delulu. Noella Rose is my queen and I loved her POV, her strength, her insight and how she is set in not letting the other primordials diminish her efforts, always trying and always being there for her students even when they don't want to. I really liked how we saw her relationship with some students develop throughout the book. Laya and Jare were AMAZING, I just wanted to cry with some of their parts and then laugh like a crazy person. They're so brave and wise beyond their years and I just want to protect them at all cost.

I can't stress enough how much I've fallen in love with this book, the character, and the world created by Kyla. Just go read this enemies to lovers between a human counselor and a dragon shifter teacher. NOW.

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

You are following Noella Rose as she navigates this new dimension she had never heard of prior to a few weeks ago. She takes a job that she assumes is at a New York school as a counselor. What she didn't realize was that she will be in another dimension, trying to counsel Primordials who absolutely despise her. She is bullied, and roughed up. Enter Kellen, who is the Dragon Shifter who really despises Ella.

I really loved the whole character arc that both of these characters go on, where Ella finds her voice and stands up for herself and Kellen learns that human's are not the ones that need to be hated.

This is the SLOWEST of slow burns I have ever seen but it was so worth it in the end!! I absolutely cannot wait for the next book to come out!

Rating: 3.5

This is one of the more unique fantasy books I have ever read. I loved how it focused on a human school counselor trying to navigate a new realm while trying to help students taught power and physical strength are the most important things in life. It was a really interesting concept!

I really enjoyed the first third of the book, but it started to lose my interest more and more after that. Although I found the counseling sessions interesting the book started to feel more preachy by the second half. Ella was often long winded with explanations even when it was just a casual conversation.

I also wasn't a huge fan of how quickly Kellen went from literally trying to kill Ella to head over heels in love with her. It didn't have a natural progression and I would have enjoyed seeing them be true enemies for much longer. Kellen also made so many declarations of his feelings (both short and long) that they started to lose their impact. Although most were only to himself or a character besides Ella, it made his declarations to Ella (when it finally did happen) fall a bit flat for me.

Another thing I wasn't fan of was the age of the twins. Despite the trauma they've been through maturing them, twelve was still too young of an age for how they were speaking and acting throughout most of the book. I think fifteen would have been a more appropriate age for them.

My last issue with this book is the inconsistencies in POV. Each chapter starts with a character name at the top so you know whose POV it is. However, in many chapters it switches POV without warning or simply after a decorative line break. This made it confusing at times and took me out of the story.

Overall, despite my issues with this book, I'm still looking forward to reading the next book to see what happens with Ella and Kellen.

If you are a fan of Zodiac Academy- this is for you. Imagine ZA but told from the teachers POV… and without crazy illogical plot lines (this is no hate to ZA- I LOVE THAT SERIES). This was such a fun ride with TRUE enemies to lovers. I loved the characters and the topic of mental health woven throughout the story. If you are looking for a unique story that has you captivated from start to finish- look no further!

I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK 2!!!

When i say i DEVOURED this book i DEVOURED IT! its 12:29pm as i write this and i have not slept i have not put this book down since i started it last night.

Everything about the story gripped me, had me hanging onto every single word said.


AND IT ENDS ON A CLIFFHANGER?! Ma’am!! MA’AM!!! I need the next book.

I was smiling, laughing, crying at parts in this, when i say for parts i had to sit up in bed to read because it gripped me that hard I'm not kidding. This got me out of a reading slump and I'm not mad about that! I am mad about the cliffhanger though 😂 ma’am Kyla I NEED MORE 😩😩😩😩

This book was everything and more! A human school counselor and a dragon shifter professor is so clever and a trope I didn’t know I needed until now. I loved everything the slowburn, the mental health rep, the banter, the found family, the spice, and the plot twists. I especially enjoyed the wholesome moments (I definitely didn’t bawl my eyes out). I also loved that the world building was easy to understand and picture in my head. This was easily a top read for me for 2024!

I normally don't read fantasy books so it took me a while to get into the story and to understand everything. I liked the storyline and the characters but I think that fantasy just isn't for me. I'm very grateful that I got to read this book but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Azala Press for this arc!

Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

This book had a lot of deep complex emotional moments. The MC is a school guidance counselor in a world of shifters and other magical elements guiding students and faculty on how to regulate their emotions. At some points I felt things were getting a bit too emotional with repeated sentiments. The male MC sobbed and cried an unbearable amount. And I love me a man who can show his emotions. I married a sensitive man myself. But in the end he pretty much sobbed touching her, Sobbed thinking about her, it was a lot. The dynamic between Noelle and Kellan was fire though. They worked through a lot of things and characters developed more emotionally than anything. I really did enjoy the world building and incorporating their magic school classes and even a little tournament at the end.

I think there are places the daunting emotional moments can be cut down. Especially Kellans inner monolgoue about Noella and how much he thinks about it. It drones on a bit repeatatively.

All in all it's a fantastic world and I really want to read book 2 to see where the characters end up.

Thanks again Netgalley for the arc.

<b>⭐ - 4.5/5 - ⭐</b>

Thank you #netgalley and #azalapress for the ARC of this book!

I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I cheered, and every other reaction you can think of!

✦ Touch her and die
✦ Mental health rep
✦ Enemies to lovers
✦ Grumpy x Sunshine
✦ Slow burn
✦ Dark Academia
✦ Trauma/Abuse Healing

⚠️ - Yes - trauma, abuse, etc
🌶️ - 2/5
💕 - 4.5/5
👥 - 4/5
🌎 - 5/5
🗡️ - 2/5
💀 - 2/5


𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠:
Noella Rose gets a job offer to become the school counselor for Delmarth Academy. Unknown to her, this school is in another dimension, ruled by Gods and home to beings called Primordials, who happen to hate humans. After a year, she will be allowed to return home...if she survives that long.

Kellen Kilic is a Primordial teacher at Delmarth Academy. His life is spent protecting his heart and his twin siblings. Noellas arrival turns his whole world upside down. He's supposed to hate humans, so why is this one invading his every thought?


𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
● The author does such a good job at making us feel the pain that Ella is going through in the first few chapters of the book, that when she’s shown true compassion and friendship, I actually teared up a little bit.
● Points for the use of ‘spoons’ when talking about mental health and energy spent
● Mental health representation throughout
● I’m not usually a huge fan of 3rd person books, but honestly, this was written so well I barely noticed.
● The relationship between Kellen and Freya (Noella's dog) is just too stinking cute!
● Focuses more on the characters within the story, versus the fantasy and magic of the world. Not to say that the world building was incredible!


𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅:
● This being an ARC, I definitely overlooked a few things, but some of the paragraphs were LOOONG...like pages long.
● Sometimes the POV switches mid chapter and it's a bit confusing
● 3rd act breakup...however it was VERY brief.
● Mildly predictable twist(s)


𝒬𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈
<blockquote>"Selfishness is defined as concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others. Taking care of yourself is different than putting yourself above someone else. It doesn't mean you don't care for others to care for yourself. I'm both our dimensions, apparently, we have all been conditioned to think that prioritizing our needs or setting boundaries is a selfish thing to do, but it's not. Putting yourself first is not selfish."</blockquote>

<blockquote>"But I know depression. I know how it moves. I know how it operates. I know how it takes hold, and I know how it can destroy."</blockquote>

This is probably one of my favorite books of 2024. The whole book kept me on my toes and that cliffhanger left me screaming! I cannot wait for the next book and to read more of this authors books!

The premise sounded great, but it wasn't for me. There was a lot of info dumping on magical creatures at first.