Demigods Academy: Year 1

By: Elisa S. Amore, Kiera Legend

Narrated by: Stephen Dexter, Vanessa Moyen

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Harry Potter meets Percy Jackson.

On their 18th birthday, everyone in the world receives a Shadowbox - a magic box that is a gift like no other...because, it’s a gift from the gods. For the majority of people, there’s only a birthday message inside their Shadowbox. For a few chosen, though, there’s something more. Nobody knows what those special guys receive. What’s known is that they disappear and never come back.

Rumors say they are invited to join the gods’ army. I think it’s just a load of crap.

My name is Melany Richmond, and for my entire life, I’ve been an outcast - an orphan tossed around like a ship in a storm. I don’t think that gods really exist. I never even received my Shadowbox when I turned 18. Maybe, because nobody knows my true birth date or because not even the gods care about me. After all, I'm a blue-haired rebel and a troublemaker with tattoos all over my arms.

I’m not like Callie Demos, the beautiful blondie living in the huge estate my adopted mother takes care of. She is the perfect specimen of Greek devotion, and nobody doubts she will get “the call”. She has everything in her life and doesn’t appreciate any of it. Her birthday party is the biggest event in town, and everyone wants to be there when she receives her blessing. To me, it’s just another ridiculous parade. But when I secretly open her Shadowbox and feel its magic on my skin, all my beliefs vanish.

Gods do exist. And if the scroll in my hands says the truth, they have a secret academy where their recruits train to become demigods. I’ve done really bad things in my life but stealing Callie’s opportunity to attend the god’s academy? It’s got to be the worst. If gods find out I’m a faker, what was supposed to be someone else’s gift may turn into my personal curse.

This is a young adult urban fantasy for listeners featuring magic, adventures, and friendship.

©2019 Amore Publishing (P)2019 Amore Publishing

INTENSE, INTRIGUING AND I LOVE IT !!!!!

I'LL SAY THIS ONE EASILY COMPETES WITH PERCY JACKSON AND STANDS ON ITS OWN REALLY WELL. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN STORY FULL OF ADVENTURE, LAUGHS, INTRIGUED, THRILL FEEL LIFELIKE LAUGHS IN SITUATIONS. ACCEPTABLE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES. THE NARRATOR WAS GREAT EASY-TO-FOLLOW

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

What if the Greek Gods Were Real?

If you enjoy Greek Mythology and Academy books then this is the perfect book for you. Especially if you have always wondered what meeting some of those gods in person would be like...

Melany Richmond may be Greek but she has never really believed that the gods were real, because so far her life has sucked and they haven't helped her out much. That all changes when she receives her shadowbox and gets invited to go to the academy where she will train to be a Demigod in the Gods' army she doesn't quite know what to believe.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of the series. I especially liked the depictions of Demeter and Dionysus. This book does end on a cliffhanger so consider yourself warned!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fan of Percy Jackson? try this!

This was a fun story that kept me guessing & on the edge of my seat.

A Twist on the Boarding School cliche

Technically, Melany is moving onto a college type situation instead of just a boarding school, but at the base there is that same struggle as this teens learn their new world, their new situation, and their new colleges. Instead of a normal college,, Melaney, an orphan who never fits in, attends by forces beyond her own the God's Academy. The Greek Gods have stopped biding their time and have decided they must face the world as we know it. On of the steps in the God's Academy where they will train soldiers with demigod powers.
While there is echoes of the Percy Jackson novels, this is it's own story and stands on its own. The world set up is totally different; in fact, I wish I could have seen more of how the outside world was with the knowledge of the reemergence of eh gods.
I saw the twist coming, but that doesn't mean it's not a good twist. It will take this series in a new direction I haven
t seen in many others with similar ideals. I think this will be great for the character and distinguishing this series from all the YA in the market.
That being said, I had issues with the alternating view points. Lucian has several chapters and they seemed to be random and didn't really add more to the story that Melaney's wouldn't have. I also didn't like the narrator for those sections; he didn't sound like the character at all.
Over all, The Demigod Academy: Year 1 is entertaining and sets itself apart from other books of the same nature.

I received a copy of this book from the author; all opinions are my own.

Greek god goodness

Loved this book, because I’m a huge sucker for Greek gods and academy. I really love that it is a double POV. I recommend it for anyone who likes academy books or even Greek gods. You will be introduced to some little lesser known gods.

The narration is absolutely amazing because duh it’s Vanessa Moyen. There is absolutely nothing so does bad. Stephen was good and a great accompaniment to Vanessa.

Magical School for Demigods!

Melanie feels like she has no purpose for her life, but when she unexpectedly has the opportunity to attend the Academy of the Gods and train to be in the God's Army she takes it. But the academy and the Gods are not what she anticipated and it seems like they are hiding things from the students. Can Melanie and her friends survive their first year?

I am such a fan of this magical Academy kick that has been going through the book world recently, like a more adult Harry Potter. I loved that this was something entirely new that I have not previously encounter, a mix of the magic school that I am currently obsessed with and Greek mythology which I will always love. I knew vaguely that the story was a mash of of those two topics, but no real details so it was almost like going into the story blind, which can be fun.

There were two narrator for the audiobook, a male and a female to take on the role of both the main characters. I will say that Melanie was a more prominent character, she had more backstory and more chapters focused on her so I would say this is her story. Melanie was completely out of her element (sometimes literally) almost the entire book, learning on the fly how to get by and doing a pretty dang good job of it. She was spunky and fierce but at the same time kind and accepting. Lucian was an entirely different kind of character, being basically of this world beforehand with his background and upbringing. He started off as standoffish but I grew to love him through the course of the story and I loved the romance aspect!

The ending was a huge cliffhanger that would have sucked me in if I hadn't already been a fan of the story. I can't wait to read the book and I highly recommend the story for anyone who loves magic, mythology, twist surprises, headstrong character and a different kind of world building. I enjoyed the audiobook experience so I may try and patiently wait until book 2 has an audio but I may have to pick up the ebook just to continue on.

Love this!!!

I loved this book so much! Melany was such a fun character. Her views and how she felt about this world was great. I really enjoyed this book and the way the myths and gods were portrayed. There is a lot of intrigue along with secrets each god is keeping. There are plots within plots but Melany has her friends and she doesn’t really play by the rules. I enjoyed how much she cared about her friends and the love interest is a lot of fun. The story had a good pace to it and kept me wanting to know more. The narrator did a really good job with the different voices and the emotions. This year ends on such a cliffhanger and I want to know what’s going to happen in the next book so badly! I can’t wait to see what will happen next and what Melany and her friends are going to do.

Demigod Academy

Such a great book. Melany lives in a community where the wealthy train their children to hopefully be selected to go to the Demigod Academy. Melany was orphaned when she was young, until her aunt takes her in. They are the help, they work for the wealthy. The daughter of the family that they work for is turning 18 years old. On the 18th birthdays they receive a box from the Gods. Melany steals the box after the daughter of the rich family was denied entry. Melany gets a scroll from the box with acceptance into the Demigod Academy. She has to pass the finals of the Gods to continue to year two. The ending was a huge twist. Can't wait to see where book two take me.

Loved this!

I absolutely loved this. It was so detailed and the narrator did an exceptional job portraying this story!

She was no one, and then she was a legend

This book was so much fun! The MC really takes her future into her own hands and carves out a place for herself. On her journey to be one of God's soldiers, she finds friends, family, and love to give her a sense of belonging. most importantly, she finds purpose in her life. Through her trials, she finds herself being supported and protected...but by who? and what is that someone after?

Year 1 ends on such a cliff hanger. I almost screeched with the anger of a thousand harpies in public.

Let's talk about that narration too!! Excellent, excellent choice. Very melodic and easy to listen to. Added enough oomph to give each character their own personality. I do think her Lucien was laid on a bit thick when he was talking about his emotions, but otherwise, no complaints here.

Loved it!

This book leaves you aching for the next one as soon as your done! Absolutely loved it!

Brilliant first part of Demigods Academy

When I saw there were 2 narrators I thought they'd both narrate at the same time and do the girls and boys voices. However it was narrated different chapters depending on if it was Melanie's or Lucien's point of view.
That said I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narration was really good and the story flowed well.
Melanie believes she's tricked her way into the Demigods Academy by taking her friends place. She's been looked down on her whole life as she comes from a Foster family. She has always thought she was destined for greater things so she goes to the Demigods Academy on what she believes is her friends ticket. There she will have to learn new skills and pass a series of trials to get into one of the gods clans. If you love Greek mythology you'll love this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I received a free copy from the author but this review is my own opinion. Definitely worth a listen.

More, More!

It's just as well there's a book 2 in the pipeline so that I can see how Melanie and Lucian get along now that they are through the trials, I wonder about the connection to her new house...

Loved the narrator and pace of the story.

The description of the magic types was really authentic sans nerd.

Brilliant

I loved the unique selection process for the school that everyone wants to go to. The main character is Melany who doesn't take herself too seriously and fights fiercely for her friends. She is quite laid back about her love interest which makes a nice change. I found this book to be so spellbinding that I could not stop listening 😀. The narrators are well suited to the characters and bring them to life. I cannot wait to see what happens next to Melany and her friends.