Cover Image: School for Psychics

School for Psychics

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(pub date April 3, 2018 - billed as General Fiction and SF / Fantasy; also suitable for YA)
Writing: 4 Plot: 4.5 Characters: 4.5

New words (to me):
Algor mortis - the second stage of death, is the change in body temperature post mortem, until the ambient temperature is matched.
liver mortis - also known as hypostasis, is the discoloration of the skin due to the pooling of blood in the dependent parts of the body following death.

A Harry Potter-style story for millennials with a menagerie of psychic powers nurtured by a blend of science, chakras, vegan diets and computer hacking in a School for Psychics. A fun book — well paced, great plot development, cool characters, and multiple layers of mystery. Also, nothing egregiously stupid which frankly tends to pepper this kind of book. I gobbled it down quickly.

Teddy Cannon is a bit of a screw-up. She is your typical, irreverent, smart-ass complete with multiple ear piercings and combat boots. She’s been banned from every casino in Las Vegas, even though they could never prove she cheated. That’s because she never did — she just has an uncanny ability to tell when someone is lying. Right as she hits rock bottom she is given an opportunity to attend the Whitfield Institute for Law Enforcement Training and Development — a School for Psychics. She is lured in when told “The world needs people like us.” She hadn’t previously felt like much of an “us”.

Strong moral themes around friendship, trust, and “choosing public service over public menace” integrate with millennial style self-discovery (at one point she wonders if this is “a school for wayward psychic millennials” which was not what she signed up for!). For San Franciscans, the action takes place on Angel Island!

Overall, a good mix of action, reflection, learning, and mystery. The action scenes are good but don’t take over the book (no ridiculously long car chase scenes, thank goodness). A strong ending. While clearly the beginning of a series, the denouement provided closure to the plot while still leaving several mysteries on the back burner for future installments. I plan to keep an eye out for book 2!

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The School for Psychics is the start of a series by K. C. Archer. K. C. Archer is a pseudonym and I have no idea who the author behind the name is, and frankly don't really care. The School for Psychics could pass for a YA novel, although I am far from that age and I enjoyed it. Some edge of the seat moments and at times difficult to put down. I'm looking forward to reading the next story of this series. I was given an early copy to review.

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Woow.. I really did not expect this to be as good as it was !

That might not sound too great.. XD but I try to keep my expectations low when I request a book from NetGalley that I don't know much about... But it was REALLY interesting !! I read through this book way faster then I expected !

I really liked the MC Teddy, she was most definitely flawed, but in a good way. You also noticed her changing throughout the story and grow. The side characters are also interesting and the plot was surprising.

Oke maybe it is not the most original story, but it captivated me and leaves me wanting more. Will surely continue with this series !

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A really fast paced story about a girl named Teddy who learns she is psychic and 8s admitted to a government secret school. There she teams up with a group of classmates she calls the misfits and for the first time Teddy fits in. As the year goes on, she discovers more about her birth parents and her abilities. A great read. Reminded me of Divergent with a similar lead character and writing style.

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I didn’t want this book to end. Teddy is recruited to attend a specialized school designed to train students with psychic abilities. She has always struggled to fit in and to follow rules. Those issues do not disappear at the school but, she does learn more about herself and the skills she possesses. This is not Hogwarts and these students are not children. Their emotions and difficulties are believable and would be heightened due to their unique talents. The reader has to keep on their toes as one’s version of reality may not be the same for another. Every time I thought I did not like a character, they would do something redeemable. Or vice versa. Plenty of material for additional books and I will anxiously await them.

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It's a YA. Let me start with that. School for Psychics is the first in a series. The book is supposed to be about conflicted 20-24 years olds', who are misfits in the real world because they are technically and secretly Psychic. The story follows the life of Teddy Cannon, a girl constantly battling authority and her supposed epilepsy. Like any 20 something year old, she is confused, figuring out her life, and hoping to find her path. Unlike most 20-year-olds, she is psychic, a fact unknown to her till she is found and saved by a recruiter from a mysterious university that claims to train psychics.

Once there Teddy quickly (and obviously) become the "strongest" psychic there, however, and again quite typically an underdog. The entire student population is divided into the Alphas and the Underdogs, even though each and every student is supposed to be the brightest from around the United States. The novel constantly feels like a teen flick, till you remind yourself that it's not. All the conflicts and decisions are so superficial and absurd that it doesn't feel like any adult struggles.
The feel petty and unreal. The characters are kind of developed, the plot timeline is very messy, but the pace is consistent.
The book is a weird mashup of YA and adult. I wish it had found a niche and stuck to it.
I gave it three stars because it was a fun, light read. A lot had to be overlooked, and since I actually finished it staying up until 3 am when I had a flight early next morning, I figured it's worth the extra star.

Author - K.C Archer
Publisher- Simon Schuster
Year - 2018
Rating- 3/5
Source- NetGallery

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If you are a fan the Harry Potter or Percy Jackson series, you will either love School for Psychics, by K. C. Archer, or deem it a rip off. 

As for me, I totally loved it. Here's why. 

Teddy Cannon is a twenty-something misfit, gambler, and loner. She has spent her entire life feeling out of place with the knowledge that she's different and that she can't trust anyone. This knowledge has led her to isolate herself, with her only really close connection being that of her adoptive parents. After being banned from every casino on the Vegas strip, Teddy risks jail to sneak back into a casino to play one more hand. And hopefully win enough to pay of her debts and keep her parents from losing their house. 

But, of course, things don't go as planned and Teddy finds herself on the precipice of a steep cliff of a decision; run for her life, risking her bookie going after her parents or boarding a plane to start classes as a psychic in training at a elite school disguised as a police training academy. An offer made by a mystery man who reads her thoughts and offers her a way to pay off her debts. 

Having read (and loved) both the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series, I found some fundamental similarities between those books and School of Psychics. Though female, Teddy had similar characteristics to Harry, such as being orphaned as a child and not knowing real friendship for most of their lives, as well as with Percy, such as having been diagnosed and medicated to treat symptoms that were misdiagnosed because there were no other normal, logical explanations. The reader will also find similarities in characters and situations found in both books, such as a Snape-like character (reminiscent of Harry Potter) and a Luke-like situation (Percy Jackson). 

Some loyal fans of both series, and possibly some critics of both, will draw those obvious conclusion and will dismiss this novel for what it really is, and the reason we loved Harry and Percy in the first place.  Which is a book about finding out who you are, and your own unique gifts, and using that knowledge to change the world around you, hopefully for the best.

Teddy is a character who is deeply flawed, almost to the point of being unlikable altogether. Her redeeming trait is that she is well aware of her faults and never makes excuses for it. She is also willing to at least give it 'that old college try' to learn and redeem herself after acknowledging her mistakes. 

With the help of the other Misfits she meets at school, Teddy learns to form friendships she's never had before and trust and develop her gifts for the greater good, which she finds out includes someone other than herself most of the time. 

I drew a lot of similarities between School of Psychics, the Harry Potter series, and the Percy Jackson series. But I could also appreciate it for its own story. And I believe given half a chance, readers will find everything they loved about those series in this novel as well, plus the added bonus of it being written for adults. 

I can't wait to see how this story plays out with the rest of the series.

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The School For Psychics was a nice read! It was full of mystery and intrigue. There were also sci-fi and supernatural elements in this story. I loved reading about Teddy’s wild adventures.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

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I am so about this book. School for Psychics had a bit of everything I love: paranormal/supernatural elements in a "normal" world, an angsty main character who is faulty to the max, but you end up growing to love anyways, a mystery that causes more questions then answers, and a cast of characters that have their own problems and self-interest.
Bring on the next installment - I'm ready for Teddy and her antics, her problems, and her growth as a psychic.

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Hello Readers.

I was quite intrigued when I first saw this book. It looked like something that I could really enjoy so I jumped at the chance to read it. Being a lover of paranormal and supernatural books, I went into this hopeful. For the most part, I was not disappointed.

Strong characters. Great premise. I found myself wanting to read constantly. I was drawn into a story where the characters were relatable even if they were "different" from the norm. I was in the school. I was working on my abilities. I was there. I love when a book does that.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was delighted to get the opportunity. I am rating it Four Stars because I feel it is a pretty solid start to a series. I wish I could rate it higher but there were moments that were predictable and bordering on cliche. With that said, I greatly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see what follows in the rest of the series. I will definitely be recommending School for Psychics.


InkedBookDragon

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This book was so enjoyable. Hogwarts for Psychics!!! Teddy was an entertaining main character who wasn't perfect but did not strive to be which made her more human and relateable. Overall, liked the book and looking forward to more.

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Great read, very interesting take on psychics . The main character is conned into attending the school, The author kept the reader wondering if she would make the course with her rebellious nature, but of course she had to. A mystery in which strange things happened because of the psychic powers of the students. Believe It or not!! I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend you buy a copy.

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THE SCHOOL FOR PSYCHICS was an interesting combination of science fiction, mystery, thriller, and coming of age novel. Teddy Cannon's life has gone considerably off track. She's twenty-four, has been expelled from Stanford, and is debt for a quarter of a million dollars to a loan shark because she gambled away money taken from her parents' retirement accounts. When we meet her, she's in disguise as she tries to slip into one of the casinos she's been banned from to find a poker game to win enough to pay the loan shark.

Teddy has a talent. She knows when people are lying which helps a lot when figuring out if other gamblers are bluffing but makes it hard for her to have relationships with people because even the common social lies grate on her. After blowing her stake, she meets a man who tells her that her problems come because she is psychic and who recruits her for the School for Psychics. Desperation forces her to give the school a try.

She finds herself on an island off the coast from San Francisco trying to gain control of her powers in the company of a group of other young psychics. She becomes friends with a group of her classmates known as the misfits since their powers tend to be unusual. Her roommate communicates with animals. The first person she meets is an empath who also happens to be a computer hacker. The first guy she likes starts fires with his mind.

They are being trained to work someday with the CIA or FBI or Homeland Security or the military so besides learning to use their psychic gifts they are also given training for law enforcement. They are also in competition with other first year students to keep their places at the school.

The mystery comes in a couple of ways. Teddy is an orphan but she learns that she has genetic markers that indicate that her birth parents were psychics. She also learns that she is one of three students whose parents died in mysterious car accidents and the other two have left the school abruptly and perhaps not by their choice. She also begins to believe that her mentor, the man who recruited her and is the dean of students, might know more about her than he's saying. As she and her new friends investigate, they come closer to learn all sorts of secrets.

I enjoyed this story. Teddy is an intriguing character who changes a lot through the story. I am eager to read more in this series to see what happens next.

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K.C. Archer’s book “School for Psychics” sounds a lot like the books, T.V. shows and movies I devoured while growing up — Francine Pascal’s “Fearless,” Scott Westerfeld’s “Midnighters” trilogy, James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” series, Stan Lee’s “X-Men,” David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” — following the same serialized formula of misfit kids getting special powers and ending up saving the world.

Ugh, right?

“School for Psychics” recycles this over a new mediocre plot-heavy series — which already has its own T.V. adaption in the works.

This time, your superhero trying to find herself is 20-something-year-old Standford dropout Theodora “Teddy” Cannon, who lives in her adopted parents’ garage apartment and has a knack at winning big in Las Vegas casinos.

Turns out the latter is because of her psychic abilities, which allow her to basically read another person’s mind and to know with an absolute certainty if he/she is bluffing. This useful skill has other practical applications and Cannon’s recruited by the Whitfield Institute for Law Enforcement Training and Development, a secretive four-year San Francisco-based U.S.-government-affiliated school whose sole purpose is to find other psychic individuals like her and train them for government jobs in the F.B.I. and C.I.A.

There she meets her squad — students like Pyro, a former police officer who can randomly set off fires; Jillian, a hipster medium who can only communicate with animals; Molly, a hacker and empath who has the physically crippling ability to feel what another human is feeling; Kate, a clairvoyant who can sometimes predict the future; and Nick, an F.B.I. officer and Whitfield professor who relies on students’ psychic abilities to help the bureau solve crimes.

Although all the characters attending “School for Psychics” are adults, Archer’s characters seem younger as if they were emotionally stunted teenagers. Perhaps that’s due to the environment (it physically feels like high school with its own cliques and heightened sense of drama). Or perhaps it’s due to the lack of character development (you don’t get to know these characters, not even Cannon, so its hard to care for them). Or perhaps it’s due to the cringeworthy and unnecessary romances and flaccid love triangles (which only seem to be a part of this story because they’re part of the formula).

Whatever the case, all of the above make “School for Psychics” tiresome so if you can read what I’m thinking, skip this school.

Disclaimer: I received a free ebook of “School for Psychics” by K.C. Archer from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

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This book almost stole a whole night's sleep but it was worth it. A group of 20 somethings in a school to learn law enforcement and develop further the psychic skills each already possess. I was not sure what I was going to be reading and this could have gone bad really fast, but this book really delivered. Excellent writing and a tight plot helped a lot. I worried this would be X-men meets Happy Potter meets school for magic I was pleasantly surprised. I am glad this is not a YA, the adultness is what set it aside for me. I liked the fact that Teddie is an adult but her personality is a tough facade and she is really still a child looking to belong. She is extremely relatable. Already looking for book 2 and hope the wait is not long.

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A big thank you to NetGalley and Simon/Schuster for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. This book is not for kids, it's not Harry Potter! This is about psychics training in a school as in college. I enjoyed the book, I was confused a few times as knowledge is withheld. It has a lot of characters, some are flawed. Theodore (Teddy,) isn't an angel by any means, but she is interesting . I say give this a try but keep an open mind. If you start thinking it's a Harry Potter you may be disappointed. These are adults who are old enough to drink. I give it a 4.

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This was a book I was a bit hesitant to read because once you start mixing psychic abilities and a special school for those with the gift it’s not that hard for it to become somewhat corny and thankfully that was not the case with this novel.

“School for Psychics” kicks off in the heart of Las Vegas as our main girl Teddy is dressed in disguise trying to win big and settle her debt using her talent at calling players bluffs, but when her plan falls apart she’s made an offer to join a school for others like her who have more than just a gift for reading people.

What I enjoy most is that this book takes place over the course of Teddy’s first year so we get a chance to see her progress both with her gift and allowing herself to be more open to the other students and creating their own group, the Misfits, as they tackle their courses that are handled in a way reminiscent to “Quantico”, while also exploring a bit of the paranormal.

The underlying conflict is spaced out over the course of the novel so you get bits and pieces that don’t seem too important until a big reveal and it all clicks together and eventually comes full circle in the end setting the stage for a showdown among two very powerful groups who both believe they are the good guys.

My only real critique is that there are a lot of characters and I know that probably sounds strange to put as a negative but there were a couple of times I had to stop and try to remember who was who and what abilities they had or else I’d be all mixed up but I’m hoping that it’s something that will be easy to manage moving forward.

This book was a lot of fun and if you’re a fan of the sort of true crime format of solving cases with the flair of special training for the FBI this is a great book for you and the psychic fun is an added bonus.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

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Wowza! Psychics, clairvoyants, telepathy, mystery, and a strong character in search of her true self....yep, I'm in!!! I could not put this book down!!
Adopted Theodora (Teddy) is struggling to keep her life together. She finds herself with gambling debts, living in her parents garage and just plain lost. At this low point, a man enters her life that can make all her debts go away IF she agrees to drop everything to attend a school for people with special abilities. Does Teddy have what it takes? Does she truly have these so called special abilities??

I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!!!

Thank you to Net Galley for this great read!

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I really enjoyed this book! It is not typically the type of book that I read. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters in the story about a school for psychic young adults. The San Francisco Bay setting was also wonderful and a bonus. The book ending more than hinted at a series, and I am looking forward to more!

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