A thoroughly enjoyable college adventure, with exceptionally fun and interesting world building, great characters, depth and heart. It felt like a good balance between adventure and pining “I’m lying and here to ruin everything and I don’t deserve these friends or this hot elf boy” angst. I loved all the students and hope we get to know more of them in future books. I’m not going to lie, I cried a bit at the end. Definitely looking forward to more of this series.

The audiobook narrator was great.

Isaac Frost was raised by a dark man and has given Isaac Frost a task. A task to infiltrate and destroy the elves’ new school. But this task isn't as easy as Isaac thought it would be. Isaac finds himself forming relationships and unexpected bonds with his classmates. He's not sure what he's supposed to do. I thought this was a good character driven story that shows found family and friendship. The characters are supposed to be in their 20s, but for me they did feel a bit younger. While that ending was not what I was expecting (my heart)! I'm eager to see what happens next in this series. I ended up listening to the audiobook, narrated by David Axtell and it was such a fun experience being able to see the voices that David chose to do for all of the characters.

A very special thanks to Blackstone Publishing, Bibliolifestyle and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @blackstonepublishing & @netgalley for 𝑹𝑶𝑮𝑼𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑴𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑻𝒀 𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑳𝑬𝑮𝑬 𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑹. 𝑺𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒕𝒐𝒏, out October 15th!

This is a bit opposite of the typical dark academia/magic academy story! Not irreverent, per se, but RCC houses the less typical magic students where most are not human. Isaac was raised by a sinister Undertaker in the Graveyard where he, and many other young boys, were trained to become assassins. His presence in the school is for a darker purpose, but as he unexpectedly develops friendships and one deeper connection, he becomes less sure of his mission.

I found this story to be a an entertaining start to the Liberty House series. It did feel a bit YA for my preference, and the romance aspect was a bit odd for me (for characters as old as they were, a first kiss was an interesting choice). I do think it was witty and fun, with just enough social commentary to make it feel more than fluffy but not preachy.

Adding the audiobook, narrated by David Axtell, was a nice combo. It kept the energy going, though the choice of voice for Vran felt softer than I would have done in my head. I did like having both formats, and this naked cover is pretty sharp!

Overall, it was a fun read and I am curious where Isaac will go as this series moves forward! ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Rogue Community College
A Liberty House Novel
by David Slayton
Narrated by Meredith Lustig & Michael David Axtell

I received an ARC of this audiobook from Netgalley.

I LOVED this audiobook & highly, highly recommend it!

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into listening to this book. There are a few things similar to other books (Like kings and queens of a playing deck or tarot deck - swords, cups, etc)

The rest of the book feels so original and perfect. I am having a book hangover and wishing there were 39567978 more books in this series to listen to - yes, I am that hooked.

Keywords:
Fae, school, guardians, goblins, magic, romance, graveyard, undertaker, assassins for hire


5/5 stars!

A YA fantasy novel about post-high school “kids” who have special skills and live at a school where they go on missions together and learn to hone their unique talents. Isaac Frost is there undercover with his own mission: to bring the school down. But as he gets to know more about the school, the students, and himself, he starts to question everything.
There’s a dance with the Elves school, spells applied as charms, portals that lead off-world, kissing and flirting, and other YA fantasy-genre happenings. 3.5 rounded up. Not my thing, but I could see it being very entertaining for the right audience.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for access to the audiobook for review purposes. #RogueCommunityCollege was published Oct 15, 2024.

Rogue Community College by David R Slayton The Liberty House series #1. Urban fantasy magic college. Minor romance. Spin off and in the same world as the Adam Binder series. Isaac Frost is an assassin and although he’s been trained, he has no kills yet. The profession was not his choice. The Undertaker owns him and he must accept his assignments or suffer the consequences. His current assignment is to infiltrate the school, enroll undercover, and kill a specific target. Isaac is a Phage. With a taste of a person’s blood, he can find out all their secrets and memories. Rogue Community College is a magic school for unique and wayward students. The school changes its paths and doors, protecting the heart until the student is trusted. As Isaac learns the secrets of the school and the students, he finds unexpected friendships and acceptance. Things he’s never had before. He knows his mission and that he truly has no options, but he also starts to wonder if there is a chance for himself. There’s not. But…. A wonderful cast of unique and personable students. And, of course, Argent, who made herself known if he Adam Binder series. The other students acceptance of Isaac is sweet and endearing. They become friends. Spoiler follows*********** The ending is heartbreaking. Not what I expected. It’s clearly going to be a series so maybe there is a reason. In the meantime, I’m so sad

4.25/5

I went into this book with zero expectations. I saw the title, I loved it and decided to read the book without even looking at the synopsis. This was so good! It had everything I wanted in a fantasy set in the modern world. A magical school (a sentient one at that! And it made me unexpectedly cry at the end), a found family of friends, an unexpectedly sweet romance, and the chosen one/last of your kind troupe. I can't wait for the next one!

Michael David Axtell did a great job and his voice acting paired really well with David Slayton's prose.