The Trials of Blackbriar Academy

Blackbriar Academy, Book 1

By: Olivia Ash

Narrated by: Amanda Dolan

Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

I shouldn’t be here, and everyone knows it.

Blackbriar Academy is an enchanted school on a magical island, and everyone wants in. It’s a home away from home for the most advanced mages in the world - and only the absolute best of the best are given an invitation.

By some freak accident, I managed to get one.

If I pass the trials, I get to stay. With nowhere else to go, Blackbriar is my one shot at having a real life, and I won’t let anyone take this from me.

But there’s a catch.

It turns out the people on this island are being trained to hunt the darkness - basically, they’re being trained to hunt me.

To survive, I have to hide what I am. As a half-mage, I shouldn't have any magic at all. And yet, my natural abilities are almost impossibly powerful - and incredibly illegal. Over history, magic like mine has corrupted the souls of those who were born with it. They’ve all gone dark - razing towns and murdering hundreds of thousands throughout history.

All but me, and I have no idea why.

As the trials get more and more challenging, it’s clear I’m being hunted. If I’m caught - I die.

At Blackbriar Academy, nothing is ever as it seems...but I have nowhere else to go.

Nothing, and no one, will stand in my way.

The Trials of Blackbriar Academy is a full-length novel with a powerfully magical heroine, a riveting story line, and an alternative relationship dynamic that supports our badass heroine's right to choose more than one man. Get ready for a heart-pounding story filled with an academy fantasy romance unlike anything you’ve listened to before.

Buckle in for heart-pounding action, breathtaking magic, deadly assassins, four drop-dead gorgeous leading men, lots of toned muscles, and most importantly - a young woman’s journey of justice, self-discovery, and freedom.

Warning: The Blackbriar Academy saga is a reverse harem series with explicit scenes and is meant for mature listeners who enjoy spellbinding stories with a few very steamy, fan-your-face moments in their fantasy fiction.

Includes a special bonus note from the author.

©2019 Olivia Ash (P)2019 Podium Publishing

meh

So this is my own fault but I'll blame audible a little for only recommending the academy reverse harems to me (someone please adjust the algorithm!). Anyhow, I told myself the last one was it, but apparently I'm a glutton for punishment so I tried another. This isn't the worst one, but I feel like the tone didn't match the content. The main character was raised by abusive trolls and no one believes her! (I just pictured the plastic troll dolls with the neon hair - need I say more) Also, the conflict was too simplistic to hold my attention and I barely finished. There were some sexy times, but I was so bored of the story by then that I couldn't have cared less. Sadly, this book wasn't my cup of tea.

Ugh. Weak Plot. Too much Sex.

I love a paranormal romance and I love sex scenes. But, there REALLY needs to be a GOOD PLOT. This book is for those who want way more sec than story. And that’s not all bad. It’ll do for a certain purpose. But, it just jumps into the sex, really, and maybe the next book in the series will get better. But, the actual PLOT didn’t really begin until the last chapter. The rest was a basic introduction of the backstory, and the characters, BASIC. I’m a big fan of good series. Merry Gentry, Anita Blake, House of Night, even the dreaded Twilight. But, this just DIDN’T work for me. I don’t usually write less than great reviews. And I have NEVER returned a book, not on kindle or on audible. But, yeah..... I’m just saying if you want the sex, this is the book for you. If you want a solid story with good sex scenes. Maybe not.
Also, I have never heard anyone say “c@ck” the way this narrator does. It’s stuck in my head now and that’s one of my favorite words.

There’s so much that doesn’t make sense.

Narration: she hits her P’s hard on every. Single. Word. 🙉

Story: I wanted to like this story, I love the idea of it, but the actual writing lost me for a few reasons. The story jumps over big things that logistically need to be explained. E.g (spoiler) FMC blindly trusts someone she’s JUST met...given her background, not likely. Also - she is 14 when she’s kidnapped and 20 when rescued ... but has sex with no issue or fear of losing her virginity? Sorry, doesn’t make sense.

needs an editor

the story is pretty good, but the grammar and sentence structure is abysmal. she needs an editor...

love it!

95% of this book is awesome, there were times I wanted to pull my hair.

Started poorly and got worse and couldn't finish

A poor mix of old time Harlequin romance with parody Harry Potter and Sherrilyn Kenyon read with bated breath.

Good narrator

The narrator did a good job with the characters. The story is just okay. The main female character is repetitive in her mental monologues, and the story might have been enhanced by the male characters' POV. It's an interesting story, but it is dry in parts, lacks emotional depth in the romance department, and there are some plot holes that I scratched my head over.

I think I literally just fell asleep at work.

This might be the most boring thing I've heard since the vice presidential campaign speeches. And I passed out twice as quickly. Narrator Amanda Dolan does a great job narrating, and is probably what kept me awake for this long. But I'm on chapter 9, and I just can't do it anymore. Even though this was free, one of those audible collection things, I can't do it.

DNF.

Entertaining

I enjoyed the concept and story of this book. So far the characters are one demential and need a bit more fleshing out. There are some pretty big gaps in information that need to be filled in. I hope to get more character development in the next book. The narrator was not the best and couldn’t seam to quite get the pacing right. There was little to differentiate between characters, especially the many males in this book. I hope in the next she’ll improve!

Let this Academy story graduate your listen

Book 1 in a series . Olivia Ash blurb caught my attention. After listening to the first 2 chapters I had to listen to it , listened to it in one night . This listen is a reverse harem academy full of action , mystery, hot hero’s 4 of them and a bad @ss heroine.
Heroine is Wren . Hero’s are Soren, Gideon, Milo and Jessie.

When the story begins you see Wren living with Trolls , she’s battling to get to the gold horn , you think she’s going to touch it and be dropped into another world . After wondering from the troll village trying to escape she saves 2 children, and destroys a Lamina . A professor saves her from the trolls trying to get her back. The professor saves her and invites her to the academy. Wren accepts the invite . Once Wren arrives at the island where the academy is someone shows her t9 her room where she meets Jessie. She then meets Soran who gives her attitude. Wren magic grows strong with only certain men . Jessie is one of them , Wren can’t believe that Soren is the other . Her magic acts up when she sees Gildeon for the first time . There are 4 houses for the academy that each new student must feel comfortable and see what house their strength feels at home to . You also meet Anderson, who is a mag that steals energy . Anderson steals energy from Wren and after that he wants more . The professor invited Wren to the academy for a devious purpose. The professor is looking for a secret that Wren has no idea what it’s about . Wren thinks that Soran hates her but his bad vibe is for a reason
The narrator Amanda performance was good. Her voice is strong, clear and smooth