Fallen Academy: Year One
3.5🌟🌟🌟

A fun, well written Angel VS Demon YA romance! The characters were very likable (well, all but one), and following Brielle on her year one journey was a very good time. While this book has a lot of the things you find in a typical YA fantasy romance, Leia also adds a ton of unique elements that kept me intrigued throughout the story.

If you like found family vibes, this is also a good read for you, Bri's friend group is great and felt very genuine. I also love how fast-paced this book was, I can't wait to see what comes in year two!

Thank you to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick, enjoyable read. This series is perfect for anyone new to fantasy, or for someone who struggles with tons of world building. The world building in this book was extremely easy to comprehend and digest. I also think this series would be great for a young adult audience as some of the verbiage is clearly geared towards a high school / college aged reader. Very intruiging plot, and I can't wait to see where it goes!

This one loves to scratch that fourth wing itch for me. I think its the school setting that is so addictive. I loved the characters dynamics.

Readers who revel in fast-paced, character-driven fantasy adventures will find themselves captivated by this tale. The narrative is brimming with witty banter, supernatural showdowns, and underdog protagonists who must navigate the treacherous waters of a morally ambiguous world. If you're drawn to stories where the lines between good and evil are blurred, and where quick wit is as valuable as a sharp sword, this book is for you. Prepare to be swept away by a whirlwind of action, intrigue, and unexpected twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was fantastic and well written.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the chance to read the first book.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. The writing was lacking substance and it made it hard to care about the characters and connect to the world.

DNF @48%

This is just a basic romantasy. Nothing about it feels creative or different. I don't like the characters, the potential romance, or the writing.

Leia Stone does a fantastic job in writing fantasy book and this was no exception, I really enjoyed the way the characters and world were presented and developed. It was everything that I wanted in a opening chapter and was glad it was everything that I was looking for and am excited for more in this world. It uses the angels and demons perfectly and had that feel that I was looking for and was glad it was so well done.

This is I think the 4th series by Leia Stone I've started. I've read Matefinder, King of Avalier and Gilded City. And I think that this book falls into the same type as all of the books. I feel like Leia Stone has her own style, and it works for her, and it makes it easy for me as a reader to decide when to read this book, if it makes sense. I'm a 100% reader. I need to be in the right mood to read the right book, and for me, this book hit the spot when I was craving this kind of easy to get into romantasy.
I'll be honest, this was not the kind of book that will stay with me, and that I will think about regularly like some other books I've read. But this was the perfect fix when I wanted to escape for an afternoon into a different world. This is what this book was for me, and I think that if that is what you are looking for, this might be the read for you.
I'm looking forward to continuing this series (which I will definitely do at some point), because I want to know what will happen with Brielle and Lincoln, and their world. If you've enjoyed Leia Stone's other work, it is worth picking up.

Fallen Academy: Year One was fast paced and fun and followed the formula for a fun paranormal romance. It was definitely a quick read.

From the moment this author referred to “enemies” as “baddies,” I just knew from that moment that this book would be cringe-worthy. Also, who the frick says “YOLO”? Like everything was there for the characters, romance, and world, but how the author executed it. Just made it so, so, so cringe, which eventually gave me the ick.
2.5

I absolutely flew through this book! Great easy read and I found it very interesting Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

The Fallen Academy by Leia Stone kicks off an exciting and imaginative series set in a post-apocalyptic world where angels and demons have battled on Earth—and the fallout has changed humanity forever. With people now born with either angelic or demonic powers, the story centers on Brielle, a girl whose unveiling ceremony reveals a rare and shocking fate: though demon-bound, she’s also angel-blessed, making her a celestial with black wings—something that shouldn’t be possible.

Told entirely from Brielle’s perspective, the story dives deep into themes of loyalty, friendship, family, and self-doubt. Her internal struggles feel real, especially as she navigates her identity and the forces pulling her in opposite directions. The world-building is solid, and as the first book in the series, it focuses on laying the groundwork for bigger things to come.

The romantic tension between Brielle and Lincoln was one of my favorite parts—full of chemistry and slow-burning interest—but the spice was pretty minimal once their relationship progressed, which felt a little underwhelming. I also found Brielle’s voice to be on the immature side for a young adult protagonist, and it occasionally pulled me out of the story.

Still, The Fallen Academy is a fast-paced, original read with a lot of promise. The twists, the supernatural lore, and the emotional stakes had me hooked, and I can’t wait to see where Brielle’s journey goes next.

I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

I absolutely love the characters and their story. Definitely held my attention from page one. Can’t wait to read what will happen next. Another amazing book by Leia.

Fallen Academy by Leia Stone
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Fallen Academy kicks off a high-stakes, addictive urban fantasy series set in a world split between angelic light and demonic darkness. Leia Stone delivers a fast-paced, snarky, and emotionally engaging ride that centers around Brielle Atwater, a fiercely loyal and sarcastic heroine who’s been dealt a tough hand in life—and then discovers she has powers no one saw coming.

The setting is gritty and charged with conflict: angel-bloods and demon-bloods are constantly at odds, and Brielle finds herself caught in the middle. The academy setting gives classic dark

Fast-paced, addictive, and impossible to put down!

The world and magic system were super unique, and I loved the tension between the FMC/MMC—especially with the forbidden mentor dynamic.

While I enjoyed the concept and characters, it did feel a bit rushed, and I wanted more development and clarity around the bigger picture. It leans more into early college vibes in the second half, which younger readers will probably love.

Still, a fun read overall—perfect for fans of Divergent, The Hunger Games, or YA Fantasy of that nature. I’m excited to see where the series goes next!

o this seems to be a re-release with new covers and I am not sure if there were any edits made by the author to the original release in 2018. I received this advanced readers copy from NetGalley and will be reviewing it as a new read, convenient, since this is my first time reading the first book in this series, and all opinions that follow are my own.

This book is intended for the YA audience, but I think anyone can enjoy it. I am definitely older than the target audience. This book was so much fun to read. A rich fantasy, set in a world where Angels and Demons are fighting on earth and everyone has either received a demons powers or an angels gifts. The only thing they did agree on, was that children could live as normal a life as possible whether they live in Demon City or Angel City until they are 18.

At age 18, there is a ceremony that revels whether they were demon or angel marked. Our FMC, Brielle, had a little bit of an unexpected and maybe an unwelcome surprise. She wasn’t expecting what she received and the future, her future, that she had planned with her family, including Shea, who is like a sister to her, now seemed impossible.

The only thing I can say is read the summary. Anything else would contain spoilers and this book is just too good to ruin it for anyone.

If you like the summary, I can almost guarantee you will find yourself escaping into a world that is so rich, has so many twists and turns and if you are like me, you will find yourself wanting to escape into Brielle’s world again.

I gave this book a 3.5 stars. I did enjoy the characters and the concept but I felt that it was rushed and there wasn’t much character development.

I really enjoyed the tensions and dislike between the love interests. The fact that he was her mentor gave it a forbidden element which I loved.

Overall it was a great concept with an interesting story line.

*Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

I loved this book. It was fast-paced, funny, cute, and most importantly, entertaining. I think a lot of people forget that books like this one are supposed to be entertaining. So, maybe the backstory was a little vague, and maybe some of the plot points didn't line up, but none of that really matters if you had a good time reading it, which I did. I read the whole thing in one day, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one. This book was everything I needed at the moment: a fun, easy book with an engaging plot and an enemies-to-lovers that was both funny and romantic. Angels, demons, hot guys- I mean what more could I ask for in a book. Overall, this book was awesome and if you want to read a fun and engaging book that has just enough fantasy to keep it interesting, this one is for you.