I like books with the academy / boarding school trope, because I missed my teen years due depression (that's a story for another day, lol) and so, I think they're pretty cool, entertained and a little bit refreshing. I like the idea of making new friends who will be with you fighting darkness and that kind of shit. Mischa and Max confront the prisoner Kristov: it turns out it is this Kristov whom Santra is impersonating. Santra reveals herself, overpowers her guards, and takes Max hostage. She threatens to kill Max if Mischa does not come with her. I could already tell that this Academy was like high school on steroids, filled with magical creatures born of myth and legend."

Panic bloomed within me. Strong waves that almost crushed me. Five years ago I had been wanted for questioning by many government agencies. Not only had I run away at seventeen, I'd fled a crime scene, leaving my mother's body behind. But I was almost certain that they’d given up on me long ago. It's time for the fight of all their lives...and it will leave you breathless. The protectiveness and love all the characters have for one another is seriously so far off the charts. These are characters that you find yourself easily relating to and connecting to. There wasn't a moment that I wasn't feeling what they were...and that's what makes this ride so phenomenally perfect.

With most of the Dragon-Marked now on her side, Elda frees them from the compound. She incites them to use their power to break down the boundary to the human realm and to take their 'rightful' place. The adults enlist everyone with combat experience to stop them. World-building is also stunning. It feels like you are there and seeing things through the characters’ eyes. However, the book’s pace at the start was a bit slow. But then the remaining speed was perfect. I dont know why Jaymin decided to cast her heroines in the mould of other YA authors - bold, brash and mostly making obviously idiotic decisions requiring the male hero to step in. The voicecast includes Larissa Dias, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Cardi Wong, Vincent Tong, Ali J. Eisner and Bethany Brown, as the main characters.

You’re into the drug scene, right?” I burst out before she could reply. “Seeing the flying dragons and all that jazz. That’s why you’re all up in here talking about powers and soups. See, I don’t do the drugs. They’re not for me. My life is crazy enough as it is, so you can take your weird talk and fly away now.” I shooed her with my free hand, making little whooshing sounds.And … speaking of these bindings, they were so bizarre that a part of me was starting to believe what she was saying. The words kept running through my head: vampire, shifter, fey, and magic user … supernaturals … academies … prisons… Maddi has had a crappy life so far at 22 years old and it just got so much weirder. I like how sassy and stubborn she is. She doesn't accept everything right away but she doesn't turn into a hysterical mess either. Given time she adapts quite well to her new life. Her relationship with Asher takes a long while to start but after that things take a turn with lots of impossible problems with no solutions. the info dump in the first book was annoying AF, I felt like this was a book for twelve year olds, but was mistaken with all the explicit sex scenes.