Heir of Shadows

Daizlei Academy, Book 1

By: Kel Carpenter

Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski

Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

Vampire Academy meets X-Men in this completed new adult series!

There’s only one rule in the world I come from: Keep our existence a secret. Period.

The day my sister broke that rule one too many times, I knew there would be consequences. I expected us to be sent to one of those schools for “troubled” kids and, maybe, Daizlei Academy was, in a way.

But really, it was far more complicated than that.

You see, I thought that world had forgotten me. Forgotten us. For years, we were left alone, and one day...we weren’t.

It was only when I got there that I remembered the second rule: Trust no one.

Because, in our world, they would kill me if they knew the truth of what I am.

Daizlei Academy is a school for supernaturals.

And me? I’m so much more.

This is a YA+ academy series with slow-burn romance and a strong but flawed heroine. It is labeled YA(+) for stronger language and some mature situations. As the heroine ages and grows, so does the content of the stories. Heir of Shadows is the first book in the Daizlei Academy Series. 

©2016 Kel Carpenter LLC (P)2020 Kel Carpenter LLC

Eh

This book was hard for me to connect to. First off, the narrator, while lovely, didn't seem to fit the 15 year old girl of the main character. Then as far as the story went it was a lot of time devoted to keeping everyone, especially the reader/listener, from figuring out what her horrible scary power was- a LOT time. I felt that really kept the plot from fully getting fleshed out. There were definitely some holes where I wanted more detail.

Once the MC stopped constantly focusing on the inner monologue of hiding her secret, the story picked up ok. I might read the next book over spending a credit to listen.

Enjoyed my reading time

When you get passed the constant i'm dangerous and too powerful mantra that the fmc repeats over and over and over again the story is good. Will give the rest of the series a chance, i was still hooked to the story and i want to know what will happen next. Stacey Glemboski did a fantastic job bringing life to this story

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author. This is me leaving an honest and volontarily review.

Great performance

I think the narrator did a fantastic job. Each character's voice was distinctive and fit with the tone of the story.

The story itself was solid. I normally don't read much YA but I really enjoyed the mystery and growing relationship between Selena and Lucas. Selena herself was frustrating at times but I attribute that to being a teenager. I look forward to seeing her growth.

The pacing was a little off for me but things started getting really good at the end. I do wish the world building went deeper since this was the first book, but there's a solid foundation to build on in future books. A lot of threads and mystery have been outlined and we get very few answers by the end which also provides plenty to explore in the series.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at how invested I got in the story. I'm excited to start unraveling some of the mystery and see more of the world.

*** I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.***

Lots of repeating in this book, but overall I still really enjoyed it.

It got kind of annoying at how many time we had to hear the main character repeat things about herself. We get it and won’t forget, she didn’t need to remind us every other paragraph. However, despite this being annoying about the book, I really did enjoy the story. It was a different story than usual and I really engaged with the characters and their relationships.

Interesting story

Not your typical paranormal story. I liked the realness to it. I can really relate to the main character. The only part I didn’t like was the ages. They start at 15, but I would’ve had them start at 16. All the characters were great. They talked a lot about the boy named White(I forgot his first name Adam or Aaron), but at the end nothing. So I still want to know what his deal was. But it’s okay if book 2 doesn’t say, I was just curious.

Heir of Shadows

This is a great slow burn PNR slow burn academy story that was a lot of fun to listen to. Selena has always put her sister first and had to be strong. She has been trying to protect them and make sure her family is safe. These three sisters are definitely interesting and now at the academy where they don’t have to hide their abilities as much things start to get very interesting. The mystery is definitely interesting and kept me engaged. I kept wanting to know more about the sisters and their powers. I definitely can’t wait to find out what else is in store for these characters. The narrator did a great job with the voices and made the story come to life. Definitely a great start to this series.

Finally Struck Gold

Lately I have been really striking out I have been really striking out with finding well written, but more importantly well narrated paranormal fiction stories. Even in the plus catalog. This one has redeemed them all in my opinion. The narrator does a fantastic job with inflection, tone, and enunciation. Although I will admit she needs to brush up on her pronunciation of Latin American last names. She pronounced the last name Rivas (Ree-Vas) as (Rye-Vas). Rookie mistake. The reason I couldn't give the story five stars is two-fold. First, there are multiple sections that stagnate the storyline in my opinion because it is simply the main character inner monologuing about how no one understands her and she is ill-used. And quite frankly the internal arrogance is also strong at these points too. These sections would only add to character development if there weren't so damn many of them. Second, the author did a great job of building up and then wrapping up the storyline of this novel. But throughout the course many, many questions regarding the main characters and their background are raised and in the end you are left with more questions than answers. Most likely because the author wanted to spend the last of the book setting up the storyline for the next book in the series. That could have easily been accomplished by an Epilogue. I would have liked to see more questions answered. At the end I felt like I had just watched an episode of the TV show, "Lost," I had 50 new questions and no G**d*** answers.

This series is interesting BUT

Some would say this book keeps you guessing amd has twists and turns but when people say that i find the books don't make much sense amd go nowhere so this is my opinoin of this series so far.
This series is all over the place.
You think this story is going in one direction and then it goes in a completly different direction and I can't decide if it's a good thing. I am now on book 3 and I feel this series has really gotten anywhere and these books aren't short not thw longest by far but when you get to book 3 you should be further along than what is explained by now. Choose a direction stick with and make it good and make it work. There is little to no explanation of how many things happen and how much time has passed.
It does keep me interested and wanting to know where the story is going but if it doesn't start going somewhere good and soon fast I will not be so interested in listening to this authors stories in the future.
I hope things start making sense soon. I need relationships to progress and grow. We don't need long drawn out explanations of relationships that turn out to be nothing.

Exciting!

I had a great time listening to this book! The story was exciting and adventurous! I enjoyed the characters and the development, as well as the narrator!

didn't know if I liked it at first, but loved it!

if you can get past the annoying stereotypical teen parts its amazing 👏👌 but I get why it's there. already starting on the next one haha

Keeps you wanting to listen on

I received a free audio copy of this book directly from the author for an honest review.

This is a crazy book that keeps you wanting to know exactly what’s going on! Like I had to keep going to find out what was going to happen next. You do almost jump straight into the action of the complete unknown but you just need to role with it to unveil and unravel more and more. I loved the rivalry between the sisters seems like such a real sisterly relationship. Although Selena is not a particularly likeable character she really grows on you throughout the book with her strength to keep her power secret and her sister’s safe. I really love Lucus and I feel Arrons character is pretty interesting too and wonder if he has a bigger role to play in the next book.

Fabulous start to the series.

I’ve sat up all night listening it’s now 4.05am and I need book 2.
The story unfolds slowly at first then everything starts to happen then you start to understand why Selena is so held back.
I knew from the day she bumped into Lucas on her first day at the academy sparks were going to fly between them and I don’t think this is the end of them no matter how hard she tries to kid herself. I really like Stacey Glemboski’s narrating and hope she is narrating book 2 .

Good story

I thought this was a good story and premise but I was not a huge fan of the narration and the feel of teen angst throughout the book got a little too much for me but I also may be too old for this book to thoroughly enjoy. I'd still recommend it but more for young adult for sure.

Dark and enticing

Really enjoyed this story a lot, so different! And even though Selena was incredibly unlikeable at points (some of the things she said and thought.. Just wow) I also kinda really understood her prickly behavior. She's had it rough and only knows how to depend on herself. And Lucas is now my book-BFF!
The narrator did a kick-ass job too, enjoyed listening to her differentiate her voice depending on the characters.
Highly recommend this!!

Worth listening too, but I didn't fully enjoy it.

I was given this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I have really mixed views about it - it wasn't a bad book by any means, but there were things I didn't like too.

I liked some of the characters, their interactions, the narrator was good, the plot interested me and parts of the book were absorbing and kept me curious about what would happen next.

But about a 3rd of the way through it really dragged for a while, the bratty teenage behaviour was too bratty for me (perhaps I'm just too old for it...), and more than anything there were too many secrets and mysteries that remained mysteries for too long. I'm all for mysteries, but they could have been revealed a bit sooner I think given how many times some things were referenced. I never quite felt 'in' the book in the way I do with ones I really enjoy, the world was never quite explained widely enough.

The main character did grow on me over time, she became easier to understand, but some things about her (without giving away spoilers) were repeated too many times and got annoying.

Overall yes, it was worth listening to, but was frustrating as well.

Captivating!

This story has me captivated from the very beginning. I was so engrossed in the tale that I listened to it in 1 sitting, it is absolutely brilliant and thoroughly entertaining. The narrator is very talented and a joy to listen to with clear distinctive tones for each character.

Obsessed

I loved this book. The performance on the audiobook was spot on, and read at a great pace. I instantly became obsessed with the story needing to know who and what the sisters were. I love how open and full of possibilities the world is with all of the different species, powers and characters. I shall be obsessing over this series and I cannot wait to see what the next term holds for them and to learn more about everything in this world.

Original and addictive

Oh my goodness this book sucked me in.. it is so full of action and feels it was like riding a rollercoaster. I absolutely love the triplets and how different they all are. Selena defiantly was my personal favourite. I loved how unpredictable she is and her struggles with her power, anger, sisters and past. The story is gripping, original, the fight scenes are epic like so good.. the humour is sarcastic which I love absolutely brilliant and I can’t wait for the next one.

Confusing but unfolds!

This one is a bit confusing at first as the story and mystery unfolds but ultimately it leaves you wanting book 2!

A unique character building that keeps you hooked

Selena is not your typical teen, nor your typical supernatural for that matter... And she hates when she is mistaken for a weakling.

As you understood, this series revolves around Selena’s life. From the get go, you see that she is a girl in control of herself. She has to. She needs to because if she let’s loose, there is no telling what damages she will cause.

We follow her journey with her sisters from foster care to a family she doesn’t know and a world she didn’t grew up with. But one thing is certain, she can’t loosen the tight leash she has on her dormant powers.

From the get go, there is no sugar coating in this story because we understand that Selena needs to be tough. I like how even with all the control she must keep on herself, is assertive, knows what she is worth and that she is beautiful. It is a refreshing touch in a world where most of the heroines are insecure about their appeal.