Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.


“Hood Academy” starts out with a mystery that grasps your attention and sets the mood for the whole book. Mia has witnessed a gruesome murder of her father by a werewolf and her whole life is turned upside down. It wasn't a good life to begin with, since her mom died when Mia was little, her older brother left a year later, and she was stuck with her abusive father and no friends. Now that her father is gone, her uncle has agreed to be her guardian and is taking Mia to live with him in a private school - Hood Academy - where he is the headmaster. The revelation about werewolves existing and the mystery of her father's connection to them are taking over Mia's life and create a basis for the novel.

I liked that the story was fast-paced and action-packed, but I did have issues with the character development and constant info-dumping. That's why I wasn't able to give “Hood Academy” higher rating. There's a lot of exposition throughout the book, and the reveals felt underwhelming, I think that if they were more subtle, and if the readers were left to come up with their own conclusions, I would have connected with the story more. The only thing that we were unsure about is Mia's role in the werewolf/hunter community - all the heroes and villains were obvious as soon as they were introduced. The characters' motivations also jumped all over the place, and there seemed to be no clear progression and character growth.

Another thing that threw me off was how trusting Mia turned out to be throughout the story. I like her friendship with Lizzie, but it was again underdeveloped and rushed. It seems unrealistic that someone who had no friends and was raised in an abusive household would so easily accept someone new into her life and be ready to share her secrets and plans.

Overall, “Hood Academy” unfortunately didn't leave a lasting impression, but I think it would be good book for when you're in a mood for something light and don't feel like thinking too much.

I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Even though this book was classed as a horror, it was not. That does not mean, however, that it was not exciting. In Trinidad & Tobago folklore, the closest thing we have to a werewolf is a lagahoo. Lagahoo stories are still horrifying and many of us still shiver at the thought of confronting one. Werewolves, on the other hand, have evolved to become sexy and non-threatening. I am still not too sure how I feel about that. However, the book was still a good read.

In Hood Academy, Shelley Wilson illustrates the fact that even though werewolves are scary, they are still human beings. And, to kill one would mean you’re a murderer. Mia’s world is turned upside down when her father is killed by a werewolf in the middle of one of his abusive rages. She is then taken in by his brother, her uncle, who runs a school. But Hood Academy isn’t like any other school we know. This is a school which trains werewolf hunters. Mia instantly finds a new friend, Elizabeth aka Lizzie, and determines that her favorite teacher is Miss Ross. Antonio, one of the workers at the school, and also Elizabeth’s boyfriend, quickly becomes one of her closest friends as well. However, Felicity, who’s descended from a long line of purebred hunters instantly dislikes her, for reasons which become clear later on. While exploring the school and the nearby town, Mia realizes that things are not what they seem, and, maybe the enemy is not what or whom she thinks. She also learns something about herself which drastically changes her life as she knows it. Maybe, a family is more than just blood ties. Maybe, it’s about a shared bond between a community.

The character development could have been a little better. For example, in Felicity’s case, they kept mentioning what happened to her mother but there were no details. After realizing what her father was like, I found myself wondering if everything she said was true. And, in Elizabeth’s case, we knew absolutely nothing about her or where she came from. I’m not certain if this is going to be a series, but if it is, I would love to find out more about the characters’ backgrounds.

I am guessing that is a remake of the series the author started to write some time ago. This looked like a combination of the two first books. As a result, we ended up having an unnecessary recap in the middle of the book. There were also some unnecessary explanations during the second half of the book. When I started reading the second half, I was at first confused as to why she was repeating what I already knew and it was quite irritating.

I liked the fact that the author did not shy away from the descriptions of the humans turning into wolves. She spoke about the pain, and she didn’t gloss over the fact that their clothes would be unable to stay on. Don’t get me wrong, I know that the older versions of werewolves needed to wear shorts when they reverted to human form for decency’s sake. But, scientifically, we all know that if the clothes were ripped during the transformation, they would have to end up naked when they became human again.

In many books, the topic of domestic abuse is often skimmed over. However, this is something that happens often and people are not as ashamed as they used to be to talk about being a survivor of abuse. I like the fact that the author attacked that very sensitive topic head-on without holding anything back.

The plot moved quickly. I was spellbound from the beginning to the end of this book. The author gave clear descriptions of characters and events, without being too wordy.

This book is clearly aimed at teenagers and young adults. It discusses a lot of issues teenagers would have. Mia learns about life, love, and friendship in this story. She grows up and finds her power during this tale. However, anyone of any age who likes a good story about werewolves will enjoy this book. It was a good, solid paranormal book.

I have received an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher.

I have really loved Hood Academy. Its the first book I read from Shelley Wilson and I'm really not disapointed.

The story about Mia, who's father just got murdered. Her uncle now the one who take care of her and take her to Hood Academy, a school that hidden deep in the forest and will learn that werewolves really exist.

I was hook from the start by this story and could barely put it down.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hood Academy starts in the aftermath of an attack that killed Mia’s father. Why we wouldn’t start the story a few minutes earlier I’m not sure, but the impossible has happened: Mia’s abusive father has been killed by a werewolf right in front of her.

Mia’s absentee uncle Sebastian shows up to take her to the mysterious and titular Hood Academy where she will be trained to fight werewolves.

The story reads a bit like a SyFy movie, but it’s definitely not the worst werewolf book I’ve ever read.

One of my main complaints about the story was the rivalry between Mia and Felicity. I don’t think society needs to keep perpetuating the mindset of pitting girls against one another. Mia and Felicity could have been kindred spirits in some respects regarding their terrible father figures, but this isn’t explored in favor of the girls trying to kill one another. Felicity, also referred to as “the redhead” and “that bitch,” is a bully to Mia. Eventually Mia snaps and beats her to a bloody pulp not once but several times. For some reason, this is explained away because Mia suffered physical abuse at the hands of her father. That didn’t sit well with me. Someone who is abused does not get a free pass to abuse someone else no matter the provocation.

Almost everyone in the story seemed to know Mia was being physically abused by her father for years and no one did a damn thing about it. Sadly, this is probably very realistic as society is content to look the other way on domestic violence cases, but this still annoyed me in the story. Werewolf or human, they all failed Mia when it mattered.

Felicity becomes increasingly cartoonish in her quest to destroy Mia and everything she cares about. Whereas the first half of the book hinted at Felicity having a tumultuous relationship with her father, they’ve put that behind them in the second half to cackle and twirl their mustaches.

In the second half of the book, Mia and her friends and family have to stop a nationwide coverup of offering werewolves a cure only to poison them. The werewolves don’t ask for proof that the cure works before giving it to their children and most of the children die.

I think this must have been two separate books at one point because the second half had a lot of unnecessary recap. Ultimately it was an alright read but I was hoping for a fresh werewolf book and this felt like something I could have read years ago when vampires and werewolves were in their prime.

Mia's mother is dead, her brother missing, and her father physically violent. When her father is murdered in front of her, her estranged uncle takes custody of her and brings her to Hood Academy. A different type of school where he is the headmaster. There she makes friends, enemies and learns the secrets about werewolves, hunters, and secrets in her life.

This story had me hooked from the first chapter and kept me wanting more. Shelley Wilson does an amazing job of holding the reader's attention and keeping you on the edge of your seat. I felt like this story took werewolves and hunter's into a different light, and it was entertaining to see a different take and view point on them.

An interesting take on the supernatural/werewolf genre, Whilst I felt that more time could have been taken on building up the story of the factions and the Academy, this was still an enjoyable read and I liked that the friendship and family theme was more important than romance,

I enjoyed this book, I like how it's not a typical werewolf book. It's fast paced and will keep you turning the pages.

I got this book free from netgalley for an honest review. I found the start slow but as the story progressed it was good and highly recommend this book.

I was highly anticipating the release of Hood Academy, since I’ve always been a fan of strong female leads. From the description, I immediately gathered Mia would either become a werewolf or a hunter, which sounded like a shoe in.

Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed with the character development. The friends, enemies, and love interest are all revealed instantaneously. Even though Mia was abused mercilessly by her father and abandoned by her brother, she immediately trusts Elizabeth, Adam, and Cody. Considering the tragedies she has been through, these developments felt unnatural.

Everything about the story felt rushed. Her father passes away, her estranged uncle shows up, she's sent to a new school, immediately makes a best friend, is picked on by the popular girl, falls in love, the list goes on...

Hood Academy had enough "plot twists" for an entire series. Although the premise was interesting, I was disappointed by the execution. Rather than cramming so many plot points into one book, I wish the secrets were revealed gradually and in a way that encouraged the reader to care for its characters rather than pity them.

I haven't read a werewolf book for a while, so this was fun. After Mia sees her dad killed by a wolf, her mysterious uncle shows up to bring her to Hood Academy, which teaches girls to become werewolf hunters. Then Mia meets a boy in the woods who tells her that werewolves aren't as evil as she's been taught and she begins to question everything.
I liked the premise and the way the werewolves were explained. It was less magic and more science and nature, which is cool. I also thought Mia was a good main character who cared about her friends and was pretty fierce. Elizabeth was actually my favorite character. She loved Adam and was Mia's best friend and she risked herself constantly to help Mia figure out what was happening. She wasn't afraid of the werewolves and was so accepting of everyone.
The downfalls were that the plot moved too fast, so the characters didn't develop as much as I wanted and the plot was a bit too crazy and all over the place. I think we could have slowed down a bit for more world building and explanations about the werewolves.
I did enjoy this book and I think readers will like the strong females and fun plot.

Overall, I'd say this book was okay. Just okay. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. It was kind of just eh. It didn't keep me wanting to pick it up to read and see what happened next. I didn't really care about the "conspiracy" going on. I just didn't really care. I'm sure there will be those who really enjoy the story but it just wasn't for me. I probably won't continue with future books. I gave this book three stars.

Shockingly I really enjoyed this book. I walked into it expecting a cliche werewolf/hunter and got so much more. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot but felt as if the author could have character build a bit more. I also felt like sometimes this plot was a little all over the place and the author did skip about. Also it was a good yet cheesy read! Overall I did enjoy this book and do recommend everyone give it a shot!

So I'm just going to say that right from the get go I wasn't really a fan of the plotline. I felt like it was a bit too horrific for a beginning and it only got more and more worse for me as it went on. It was a struggle to get through. I'm really sorry to say that because I was really looking forward to a great story. Thanks for the opportunity to review it anyways. 2/5 stars.

Hood Academy is not like any other werewolf book I've read the main female role and the alpha male do not end up becoming mates, and there are few twists and turns in the book but I wished there was more of thrill and action. While this is a decent book I would put it in the category of "one and done" will probably on read this book once in my life. Don't let this review discourage you it is a decent book and a quick read.

I decided I wanted to read this book after reading the BHC Press sampler 2019. It had the first few chapters this book among quite a collection of other titles too. This is the one book from the sampler that really stood out to me and made me want to read it. In fact, after reading the sample chapters it made this book a “must read”!

The book has quite a shocking beginning with the main character of Mia Roberts witnessing the murder of her father by a werewolf! With her mother being killed in a car accident years before Mia is in a desperate state as she has no contact details for her brother Zak. Then just as it seems that Mia will have to be placed in social care, her Uncle Dr Sebastian Roberts arrives to take her back to his home and school the Hood Academy For Gifted Young Girls. Mia accepts she has to go with her Uncle and thinks it can’t be as bad as the daily abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father over the years. Also she has every intention of finding her brother Zak. When Zak had left all those years before he had promised to return for her, and she wanted to know where he was now and why he hadn’t kept his promise.

Upon arrival at Hood Academy Mia thinks she is being dumped at some boarding school however her Uncle explains he is the headmaster and the school will train her to be a hunter. Apparently to be a hunter you have to have seen a werewolf which Mia has. There is an old legend which says for every werewolf born there is a hunter born. Mia’s Uncle Sebastian says if she really hates the school, he can sort it out for her to go to the local school in Ravenshood. The book continues with Mia being taught the origins of the school and the history between the hunters and werewolves. Things don’t sit right with Mia and she runs off into the woods and comes across a cliff area where she sits looking at the view. It’s in this beautiful, relaxing place where she meets a young boy around her age who has the most startling blue eyes she has ever seen. Mia ends up becoming quite close to Cody. Mia also becomes surrounded by werewolves at one point too, though they show no signs at all of attacking her like she has been led to believe they would by what she is being taught at the Academy. Of course, like at most schools, there’s a mean girl and her side kicks. In this book it is Felicity Parker and her friends that take an instant dislike to Mia, and enjoy making her life difficult at every opportunity. It does seem at times that Sebastian favours Felicity if there is any sort of disagreement. Though it is revealed why, later in the book when her father is revealed to have been “calling the shots” for some time.

My favourite character relationships in the book were of course Mia and Elizabeth/Lizzie who become instant friends and support each other whenever possible even if it means going against all you have been taught on a few occasions for Lizzie. The next character relationship I liked was Lizzie and Adam. Adam is the grounds man at the Academy and their relationship has to be kept low key as if revealed it could mean Adam losing his job and/or Lizzie being dismissed from the Academy.

I also loved the tutor/pupil relationship that Miss Ross has with Mia and Lizzie. When it is revealed that Miss Ross knew Mia’s mum it brings them even closer. There were other character relationships, between Mia & her boyfriend that were really sweet. They start of with secrets and then all is revealed and no matter what they have to fight for each other they will. I am not revealing Mia’s boyfriend name as I think it could be a bit of a spoiler. I could go on as there really were some great character relationships within this book. Favourite characters were Mia, Lizzie, Adam, Cody, Zak, and Miss Ross. Mia has some seriously difficult decisions to make in this book. From who to trust, to what to do with information she finds out in files in Sebastian's office. Mia also has to get used to her big brother being back in her life, telling her what to do. Zak has changed a lot since he left his home and Mia. He is now the Alpha of the Ravenshood pack. Mia does realise eventually that though Zak was not physically present, he was always thinking about her and did have contact with people checking on her every now and then. IT takes a while of Zak to get used to the fact his little sister is no longer the timid little girl he left behind all those years ago. Mia soon puts her brother in his place when he expresses his dislike over her choice of boyfriend. I also immediately loved the character of Ari, a youngster who has been given an illegal, unproven injection that could kill her. I thought the friendship between her and Mia was brilliant. Though Ari is very young she is a great help to Mia in the book. Characters I loved to hate were Felicity, her sidekicks and her father, and on some occasions in the book Sebastian.

I absolutely adored reading this book, it was action packed from the beginning to the end! I also loved all the background and history of the Academy and the Werewolves. The serum development and its possible affects were also interesting. I thought the change of Oath was a great touch in the book and it would be great if this book was the beginning of a series, although I don’t know what would come next. I love shifter books and this one is up there with some of the best I have read. I would compare it to the Knight Academy by Emerald Barnes. Though Knights Academy is not just hunters & shifters, as it has other supernatural beings in it.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that it was an Amazing, I have to say I loved every word from beginning to end. I just really, really hope that there's going to be more from the Hood Academy, and the Ravenshood pack.

So, to sum up, Hood Academy is a great shifter book, and I would love more of it! I have not just discovered a possibly fantastic series but an author that is new to me too.

Wow!!!! I was NOT expecting this book. Sure, there are werewolves and hunters, but this was so much more than that.

You will be 100% pulled in to this book within the first few pages read. By the end of the first act, you’ll be completely compelled, turning the pages, and bitting your nails.

Mia has been living a nightmare for years and it all comes to a screeching halt in a matter of minutes. Or has one nightmare ended and another begun?

When Mia’s uncle took her to his school, there were a lot of questions that needed answering. It only takes a few days to realize that the school isn’t exactly what it appears and secrets run deeper than she originally thought. Add in the fact that the individuals she’s supposed to NOT trust are making the most sense and her life couldn’t be more confusing. Thankfully she’s made a couple of amazing friends who help her sort out right from wrong.

This book was GREAT! Between the drama, love interest and paranormal elements, I was hooked. I was a bit surprised to see that this was originally released last year. So I’m not sure if this is a re-write, different publisher or gearing up for a second book, making it a series. But if it’s becoming a series, sign me up!!!! I need more!!!!

This is unlike any werewolf book I've read before (in a good way). The narration and setting are on point.

I was drawn to Hood Academy by two things: werewolves + boarding school, two things I like in a book. Rather than being a school for werewolves, it is actually a school for werewolf hunters. Mia is taken to live there by her uncle Sebastian after her father is killed by a werewolf.

I didn’t think much of the world-building as it was a little confusing who we were supposed to be rooting for, besides the main characters. The werewolves didn’t seem to be posing a major threat which would suggest the hunters are not needed. I also didn’t understand why there was a pack of werewolves living so close to a school that trained werewolf hunters.

The romance between Mia and Cody, a boy she meets in the woods and immediately trusts, was completely underdeveloped and the book would have been better off if it had just been left out entirely. In fact, the friendships in general were underdeveloped. They seemed to happen instantly even though Mia seemed like she would be slow to trust people.

However I did really enjoy reading this. I liked the characters and the setting. I thought it was an engaging plot and I found myself racing through the book.

Originally published as two separate stories ‘Oath Breaker’ and ‘Oath Keeper’, these would have been better kept separate and fleshed out by developing the relationships more.

I started out really liking this book. It was fun, full of intrigue and werewolves, and other magical things. But, I got to the point about 3/4 of the way through the book that I couldn't listen to Mia's self absorbed, whiny self anymore. It reminded me of why I gave up on the Twilight books early on. too much selfish teen age girl angst. Perhaps, I just don't enjoy first person books, because I longed for another point of view. But, if you don't mind hearing that type of voice, you should really enjoy this book, the premise is great.

This wasn’t a book I would normally pick up, but it made me want to broaden my reading genres. I felt like it was easy to figure out, but it was a fun quick read and I enjoyed it. Wolves of any type fascinate me.