A cool idea and fairly well written, but I am not a fan of characters making bad choices just to advance the plot. It is even worse when the characters acknowledge they are making bad choices and do them anyway, repeatedly. There also didn't seem to be any consequences at all for those bad choices. Even so, the story engaged me enough that I read through to the end and I wasn't annoyed when I was done.

Although a reasonable read it unfortunately cannot help but be compared with Harry Potter and Hogwarts.
On that note it just feels like a cheap copy with a lack of world building.
Would certainly suit a young audience.

What an incredible book!! I was swept away in this wonderfully written book. With the impulsivity you would expect from high school freshmen, we watch friendships grow and individuals learn who they are. It was a very unique spin on mythology with plenty of adventure. I think fans of Rick Riordan will greatly enjoy this book but it also has a bit of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer feel to it as well. I think it's partly because of the Scooby Gang that forms and the whole prophecy bit. As a parent, I enjoyed the lessons that were woven within the story and I didn't feel as though they were so obvious that it interrupted the story. However, it does give a parent, book club, or teacher excellent material for discussion with the reader. Overall, I highly recommend this story. I can't wait to read more.

Thank you to Sarah Vogler, Aurora House, and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this book and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.

I received this book as an arc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Its a story about a child struggling to fit into a world that they don't quite feel part of. similar to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.

Sheer, dumb luck seems to be how most of the challenges are overcome. It felt like poor choices over and over didn’t help anything either.

As this is middle grade, I am not the intended audience. I think my thoughts aren't what an 11 year old might think reading this.

I want to start this review saying that despite giving this book 2,5 stars, I still enjoyed myself. This book has a lot of potential, but it just didn't wow me. I've read almost all of Rick Riordan's books and I find myself comparing this book to his and then this book lacks so much.

Worldbuilding: Gods have been defeated by humans. Humans got their powers. And that's it. I couldn't find anything more than that and I would have liked to see more.

Mythology: Yes, she uses the gods and their powers, but there is nothing that hints to myths and no actual stories about the gods are mentioned.

Characters: Oh boy, they were so flat. There just wasn't much to them and I really wouldn't have cared if any of them died...

Overall, this book is okay. I give it 2,5 stars and I'll never look back. I do not recommend reading this book. Maybe a young child of age 8 might like it, because of its simplicity.

This is a really fun and inventive read that I’m sad is going to be lost in the inevitable comparisons to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. It really deserves to be measured on its own qualities, as apart from the boarding school setting and the use of Ancient Greek mythology, it isn’t really much like either of those. It actually reminds me much more of the School for Good and Evil books, which I also thought put a fun spin on upper middle grade adventure.

The magic system here is super cool – essentially, the Greek Gods’ powers were all transferred to human kind, so everyone has one kind of power, whether they be a Demeter (control of plants) or a Venus (love and attraction powers) or whatever. Our main character, Hailey, is a Zeus – in fact, the only Zeus in a century. She has weather powers, but her new magical school is underwater, so she has a hard time proving it unless she leaves the school… It’s really compelling, and I loved the conceit of having the reasoning behind the magic system spelled out in Hailey’s history lessons – but then, you know I love it when you get to actually see classes in a school setting!

There’s a wide array of friends and enemies to be made, as well as an assortment of oddball teachers. There’s danger, of course, and a mystery to solve, but for me, these took a backseat to Hailey’s general experience of Poseidon’s Academy and the school itself, which is always what interests me in these sorts of books. The atmosphere is really fun, and I know I would have adored this as a kid, with my mythology obsession. I’ve already downloaded the next book in the series, and can’t wait to carry on!

Five out of five stars!

I received this book as an arc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Greek Gods are dead and their various powers have been inherited by the humans who defeated them. 13 year old Hailey is a Zeus, the first in over a century, complete with a prophecy that a Zeus will save the world.

Like the stories of Harry Potter or in the case of Greek Gods, Percy Jackson, it's a story about a child struggling to fit into a world that they don't quite feel part of. As a lover of greek mythology myself, (although by no means an expert) I enjoyed seeing the different creatures & monsters, some I knew others I hadn't heard of before.

While I didn't LOVE this book, I do think it's a good book for middle graders. I could see some of my students really enjoying it as well.

Some of the issues I had dealt with the poor choices the characters kept making, again and again in the story. Most of their successes came from "sheer, dumb luck" if I can quote other story about a magical school, actually a lot of the plot points could be categorized that way.

Granted, I'm not the intended audience so I think my critiques aren't what an 11 year old might think reading this.

Would I recommend this book to a student who loves mythology and adventure stories? Yes.

Am I going to read the sequel? No.

This was a entertaining read but found the connection to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson a bit too strong for me. I liked the characters and enjoyed the writing though. I imagine that many young readers will enjoy this story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Aurora House for the chance to review this book.

Cute story. A little in the Harry Potter-ish realm, but enough differences to make it interesting. Would have liked to see more of the classes, but good friendships and interesting story line.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars

While Poseidon’s Academy was by no means “bad”, I can’t say that it was my cup of tea.

I found that it lacked some of the things a well-written book should have. For starters, world-building.

The author does a decent job of introducing readers to the most significant elements of the setting, but there is still something to be desired when it comes to the information given about the world’s history and attributes. I just wish the author would have provided more details on how the humans receive their powers and why they receive the powers of certain gods… Speaking of which, we are told that when the Gods were defeated, thousands of years before Hailey (the protagonist)’s time, their powers showered down upon humans and thus led them to possess divine magic of their own… This part of the book just triggered a lot of questions within me. Like, if the Gods’ powers were distributed among mortals thousands of years ago, then how did our main character (who was not alive then), get hers? And Are certain powers passed down through blood? Needless to say, I still have plenty of questions that were not answered in the book.

Moving on, I also thought the characters in this book were somewhat one-dimensional. I never really connected with Hailey, the main character, and while it pains me to say this, she was a pretty bland protagonist in my perspective. She didn’t have many intriguing qualities, nor did she have any depth or complexity. I didn’t find any of the supporting characters very interesting either, which is quite unfortunate because unique and fascinating characters majorly contribute to a book being enjoyable to read (at least in my experiences).

However, there were certainly some elements of this book that I appreciated immensely. Poseidon’s Academy is a fun, fluffy read that made me miss the middle-grade genre due to its bright and colourful narration. Sarah A. Vogler does an excellent job of painting vivid images in your head of all the fantastical places, things, and creatures that appear within this book.

All in all, though I didn’t love Poseidon’s Academy, I would definitely recommend it to fans of Percy Jackson and/or Harry Potter who are looking for a light and easy read that features magical powers, mythical beings, and more!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah A. Vogler, and Aurora House Publishing for sending me an eCopy of this book!

Getting sucked into a whirlpool, sleeping in monster-infested woods, and battling psycho sea-nymphs was not how Hailey planned to spend her first year of high school. But when you’re the only Zeus in the world, life tends to get a bit complicated...The Great Battle saw the world changed forever when humans killed the gods and absorbed their powers. One power was coveted above all others: Zeus’s. Thirteen-year-old Hailey Woods is the first Zeus in over a century. Unlike everyone else, she hates her powers because of an ancient prophecy that claims a Zeus will have to save the world someday. Hailey doesn’t want to save the world. She wants to be a normal teenager, whose biggest dilemma in life is deciding what to eat for lunch, rather than training to become the ultimate weapon. Poseidon’s Academy, an underwater palace where her powers don’t work, was meant to give her that opportunity. But when she arrives, she discovers the sea-nymphs living there are plotting to resurrect the gods, and Hailey must find a way to stop them before they can enact the prophecy.
This was an ok read. I might have liked it a little more if it had been written before Percy Jackson, but unfortunately it didn’t so it underwhelmed me a bit.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Undoubtedly, this novel had an arduous task. Being created in the shadow of novels such as Percy Jackson (and the well-recurved spin offs) and Harry Potter, it works to incorporate the two main features; Greek Gods, and a Boarding School. I must say, it’s done so with many qualities I admire.

Where this novel differs from the norm, is it’s construction and world-building. Hailey is not living in a shadow-world, in hers the Greek Gods are real - albeit slaughtered years ago in a Great War between the humans and Gods (read to find more on that). As a result their powers trickled to earth, and all humans from there have had a Gods power, or a variant thereof. It immediately sets this novel away from its counter-parts where the MC is forced to hide themselves, rather in this one, Hailey chooses to limit displays of her powers in search of anonymity (she is the only one inhibiting specific powers subject to a prophecy).

I’ve noticed speculation regarding the lack of definitive diversity in the novel, and cannot help but disagree. It is the deliberate nature of not identifying the “race” of people that helps to bring this novel into higher-stakes. Too many novels lose themselves in an attempt at being diverse, pointing out the “Gay”, “Black”, “Asian” or other denomination which ‘seperate’ the person(s) from others. In this, the only thing which defines you is your power. It’s nice to be defined on attributes, rather than the stigma assigned to other aspects of ones self - as our society currently does, sore point, and point of contention I guess, I digress.

While in admiration of the plot-building, character building and development, and world-building (Academy Centric for a reason, I suppose), I found myself frustrated by some of the generic qualities amongst the characters, and the way they defied the logical paths - aka. if you think there is a conspiracy, tell someone. It’s illogical to expect to deal with a centuries old prophecy when you’re young students, some of which unable to accurately weird their powers. That being said, they are teenagers, who - reminiscent to our own world, and my younger days - are notoriously rebellious, I appreciate the authenticity that develops within the characters and the way it works to define their personal characteristics. It also shows their active development, and areas of improvement to come.

I was left with a fair-few questions (and obligingly eager for more). I look forward to our MC being developed into a more intriguing individual, and her counter-parts being worked into something more defining. Character development is seen throughout, but I love myself supporting characters who are well founded.

As an avid reader of Percy Jackson, and Harry Potter (as a typical Millenial), I was not disappointed. Left-wanting, in some aspects. But intrigued and impressed, none-the-less. I’d love to read more.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy from Netgalley for an honest review. Now, I've read the Percy Jackson series and Harry Potter, and this has some of the elements I really liked of each. This book is set in an alternate world that Gods were real, and have since died but passed their powers on to others. Like Harry Potter, there are specialized schools, but like Percy Jackson, they have to learn each of the powers and that no one has quite the same gifts- but both leads have rare and unique powers. I like that the book quickly gives a recap of how the world is different. And jokes that "of course there's always a prophecy.." In this case, she's the first Zeus in a while, but feels pressured by the people around her as they all want to see her perform. She's got confidence issues and sadly, an issue making stupid decisions which got on my nerves. I almost put it down, but I liked the plot too much. Gratefully, she realized she was making bad decisions and that maybe she needed to do better. I loved the personal growth and that the professor told her she was learning well when everyone previously had treated her as a failure. I felt like the headmistress could have been a little stronger- she felt like a bit of a pushover and I was confused about the worship angle, but hope that the contradictions will be addressed in the next book.

Effectively a YA supers story with a skin of Greek myth. The Greek gods were killed in a war with their human slaves centuries ago, and their powers distributed themselves across the human population, so you can be, for example, a Demeter and have the power to grow plants, or a Heracles and be really strong.

The good: It's a fresh premise for a supers novel, and gives the opportunity to drop plenty of Greek mythic stuff, including all kinds of marvellous monsters. There's strong sensawunda in the underwater school filled with beauty and magic.

The bad: there are inevitable Harry Potter echoes whenever you have a magical school, but there are a few too many of them here: acceptance letter, magical plates that fill with whatever food you want in the dining hall, dorm rooms off a common room, staff with names like Madam Mendem (who is the school healer) and Guinevere Grayson. There's also a Sky High moment near the beginning, when the main character's best friend joins her on the roof by having a tree grow and deposit her there. I haven't read Percy Jackson, so I don't know if the parallels there are also too frequent and obvious; it wouldn't surprise me.

There are two Convenient Eavesdrops that are essential to the plot. Two! Now, I realize that in YA, it's difficult to get the kids knowledge of the aduts' plots without a plot device like this, but I still always roll my eyes and think of Five Go Mad in Dorset every time a plucky kid happens to be somewhere and overhear "Rhubarb, rhubarb, secret plans..." And when it happens twice, it's even worse.

Coincidence and poor decision-making pretty much drive the plot, in fact. Even though at the end we're led to believe that key parts of it were orchestrated by the plotters, an important plot token is picked up through a series of events which the plotters couldn't really have influenced. There's not a lot of protagonism from the characters much of the time, and they get off too lightly when they break the rules and endanger their own and each other's lives. There are rather too many in the core cast, and I found myself struggling to remember who had which powers.

There's a very early flashback, introduced by "Her mind flashed back to...". If you're flashing back that early, you're starting in the wrong place.

In the pre-release version I read from Netgalley, there were also a number of awkwardly or incorrectly phrased sentences, which hopefully will be fixed up before publication. A few of them gave hilarious mental images because the literal meaning of the words just hadn't been thought through.

One of the tests I apply to books that have some good and some not-so-good elements is: would I read a sequel? In this case, I think the answer is "no". While there are some well-staged moments and some bravery and determination from the characters, and it's a decently fresh premise, overall the plot is too expected and too reliant on coincidence, and the characters don't develop much depth or individuality. Combined with mediocre sentence-level writing, this adds up to a score of three stars.

Vogler's story is a little Percy Jackson and a little Harry Potter. Being the first book in the series, it bears great responsibility in developing both a story that feel complete, yet leaves the reader begging for more. I am sure many readers will gall in love with Hailey and Poseidon's Academy, but unfortunately, I am not one of them. It was a good story, but just doesn't seem fresh or new.

This is a story that I felt the other was trying to overcome to major books and failed greatly. The promise of a magical academy reminded me of Harry Potter. The promise of Greek Gods reminded me of Percy Jackson. This took a lot of courage for the author to write this because of these authors who came before her.

First the promise of the book sounded great, but it just did not deliver. This is because there is not building of the story world. It was so confusing to be because I just did not know how this world came to exist. Why are the people not speaking Greek; how did these schools get teachers to teach students how to use their powers; how were powers handed out if not based on their family? I still have many more questions and that is just about world building.

As for the characters, I felt like there were no growing happening or that I could not relate to them. I understand finding something and not wanting the teachers or other students to know about it. Why did this school except the main character if she is the only one with the power of Zeus? She felt like she was powerless because her teachers from her other school told her that she was powerless and now at this school she was very powerful.

This story is a 2 star because all I have is questions and not a question was answered. I could not immerge myself in the book and it was hard to read.

I was given a copy of this book through Netgalley for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After the gods were defeated by the human race in the Great Battle, the powers of the gods poured down from the heavens blessing all humans with their supernatural gifts. 13-year-old Hailey Woods is the first Zeus in over a century. She’s just received her acceptance to the prestigious Poseidon’s Academy alongside her friends. The only issue? Hailey is destined to defeat the gods when they return one day as per the prophecy.

If Harry Potter and Percy Jackson were to meet, this would be the outcome. First things first, I NEED one of those conjuring plates that they use at meal time. You sit in front of the plate and whatever you’re craving appears! Can you imagine?! No cooking. No clean up. And you’re always satisfied!!! Pure genius!

Without giving away the plot, I really enjoyed watching the journey unfold of Bailey and her friends taking on the sea nymphs that want to destroy Poseidon’s Academy and the human race. The pace of the book was consistent without any dull moments.

My one critique is that I kept reading the story in Hailey’s voice as the first person rather than an omniscient narrator.

Overall, the book was fun and enjoyable. I give this book 4/5 stars!

Over sixteen hundred years ago, humans banded together to kill the gods that had been using them. The gods' powers then rained down onto humanity, so that they could wield those powers for themselves. There is a prophecy that the gods will return, and one with the power of Zeus will control lightning and save the world. Hailey Woods is the first person born with the powers of Zeus in a century, but she's thirteen years old and hardly knows how to handle the power she does have. She enrolls in Poseidon's Academy, an underwater school that is very exclusive. The benefit of being underwater also means that Hailey can't use her power or be harassed to put on a show, allowing her to feel like a normal teenager. However, she overhears nymphs plotting against the human students and will do what she can to stop them from enacting the prophecy.

It's fun to see a new series aimed at teenagers that has them actually acting like teenagers. They can be jealous, petty, friendly and fiercely independent as well. Hailey arrives at the school with two of her friends from home and makes a few more. There is the requisite Mean Girl and her friends, who are literally a Venus and a pair of siren twins. Having powers means the bullying is a little more intense than the average name calling. Being a teen-centered novel, this means that the characters avoid most of the adults that are actually present on campus, so other than laying out rules when the teens run amok, we very rarely see them. That is one aspect I find annoying because there is surely a way to make adults in teen series be more than absent or morons. It can be understandable that teens don't always trust the adults around them, but for a boarding school full of powered children, you would think there is far more security present there.

Overall, I was drawn into Hailey's story and cheered her and her friends on. It's a little silly that she and her friends think a bunch of thirteen-year-olds that barely know magic or how to corral their powers are able to do half the things they attempt. They do get gravely hurt and scared for their efforts, so it's not entirely a cakewalk. This is an interesting start to the series, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book it was my first by this author but not my last. I highly recommend it to everyone.

This book has a tough job to do. Any teen fantasy book set in a magical boarding school can’t escape the shadow of Hogwarts (especially when it opens up with an acceptance letter), while mentioning any kind of Greek god lands us in Percy Jackson territory, so to tackle both is pretty brave. Sadly, for me, it didn’t pay off. For one major reason: world-building. Or, rather, the complete lack of it.

Both Harry Potter and Percy Jackson inhabit a secret world hidden within the one we all know so well. In Hailey’s world everyone has magic. The Greek gods were killed some sixteen hundred years ago, and a little of their power went into every human being on the planet. And yet the world has developed exactly the same as ours, right down to English-speaking, white Australians and mean-girl white Americans, as if British colonialism happened exactly the same.

I could probably write several essays about why this doesn’t ring true (if everyone has magical powers, what kind of weaponry – if any – would have developed? Would we have needed the same kind of tech we have today? Would industry have developed the same? Would Europe still have developed so much faster than everyone else, without the social and economic pressures of our mundane world?). All of which is a bit too deep for a middle grade adventure tale, but I still find it relevant. If you’re changing the whole world, change the whole world! Don’t be lazy.

And, if we’re talking about world history, why did the defeat of the Greek gods happen at the same time as the collapse of the Roman empire? Where are those gods? Where are the rest of the world religions? Where are their gods? Where’s the rest of the world’s population? Did I imagine it, or are all the pupils Hailey interacts with white? Why are the five main characters all English in an international school? Why are the only other nationalities mentioned Australian and American? Why are they speaking English when they’re all part-Greek god?

And why on Earth is Hailey accepted into a school in which her powers will be useless? If Zeuses are so rare and special, surely they’d be taken away and trained by some overriding power, just in case they grow up to save the world one day. It’s not like she’s hiding who and what she is. And why is there only one Zeus anyway? You’d think that as the most powerful god his magic would have spread the furthest. Then again I have no idea how the powers thing works, since it clearly isn’t hereditary as no one seems to have the same magic as their parents.

Basically this book left me with a lot more questions than answers. Which might have been okay if Hailey hadn’t been so boring, her best-friend hadn’t been so annoying and her three male friends hadn’t been so interchangeable. They all also act a lot older than thirteen. If it wasn’t for the (refreshing) lack of romance, I’d have said they were sixteen at least. I put it down so many times in the beginning and didn’t feel much like picking it back up again, but the plot and action do get better as it goes along. But for someone so powerful and potentially important, Hailey isn’t the most compelling of heroines.

So, sadly, this one wasn’t for me. It’s an easy enough read with magic and Greek mythology, but the characters aren’t very interesting and the lack of development in them and the world leaves it all a little flat and flimsy. Young readers might enjoy it, but if they come here looking for a female Percy Jackson (thanks to the Poseidon title) they will be disappointed.