I received a copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley.

Mina Van Helsing is a warrior. Trained since childhood to become one of the human military force tasked with controlling and imprisoning the wrongdoer supernatural. And she's a good one. Descendant of the great hunter Van Helsing himself, Mina has legacy to uphold.

This gets put in jeopardy when she gets accused of murdering two vampires and has no memory of it happening. Despite the amnesia she gets sent to the Van Helsing Academy, a place to rehab the supernatural.

Can Mina find out the truth behind those murders?

Honestly I really liked this book. I found the characters very fresh and interesting. The story is very enthralling but easy to follow along, and the humor is on point.
I might also add the music references show immaculate musical taste ✨.

There are humans, wizards, shifters (werewolfs), and vampires involved. There's inside wars, folklore, technology. I think this book definitely had it all.

Overall I think it was a very cute, easy read and I'm really interested in reading the second book.

This is the perfect read for fans of the vampire academy. This book has a wider range of supernaturals and while it is a school it's also a juvenile detention centre for supes and reapers who have seriously harmed or killed others.

The students don't appear to fit with the juvenile delinquent mould and I'm sure this will be further explored in the series but I would have liked a bit more detail around the discrepancy between what the reapers are supposed to do and how they are actually behaving.

Boy did that ending give me whiplash. Everything happens in the last few chapters of the book and it all became an rushed jumble. I had to remind myself that Mina is a teenager and while she likes to think she's an adult she makes foolish mistakes and even has a wobbler when she is overwhelmed by guilt. It was frustrating to read but in the context of teenage behavior it is understandable.

There was some issues that I highlighted that impacted my rating but overall I loved the premise and I hope the next in the series is more like I hoped.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Van Helsing Academy is the first book in the young adult Supernatural Rehab series by Stacey O'Neale. Mina can't remember anything about the night she was attacked. All she knows is what she's been told: she got separated from her team during a mission and turned up two months later covered in cuts and bruises alongside two dead vampires. After being blamed for their deaths, she is sentenced to three years at the supernatural rehabilitation center, the Van Helsing Academy. As Mina searches for answers, lies are slowly unraveled and alliances forged. Soon she will uncover a secret plot that threatens to destroy her family legacy and ignite a war between the supernatural factions.

Van Helsing Academy is a solid series opener. I thought that the world and character building was well done. There were many of the usual boarding school tropes, but there were definitely deviations from that as well. I liked the development for Mina, and while I was not always happy with her I thought she was consistent and true to character. There were some high points, and I enjoyed those very much. To be honest, I saw at least some of the big twists coming. There were some hints and dropped bits of information that I really expected to become important, and maybe they do later in the series, but I felt like some great potential was there and just not followed through. So many possible twists or characters that were left behind.

Van Helsing Academy is a good read, and I think fans of the genre will really enjoy it.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Phoenix Reign Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is the first in a new series. It is a Paranormal/Fantasy book. I believe this is my first time reading this author. I enjoyed the book. I had some questions about Mina's heritage-I felt the author assumed we knew more than we do. I liked Mina and her group of friends. I found the council odious. There was drama, romance, treachery and more. Friendships were made and challenged. Overall a pretty fun read. 3.5 stars

It's been a while since I've read a YA Paranormal book and the beginning pulled me with the intensity, making me forget how old the characters were. So, when the cliche formula plot lines came out of nowhere, hitting me in every angle that I was afraid I wasn't going to finish this book. That I was going to set this book down and never look back.

However, the plot held on tight making it hard not to continue and find out what's going to happen next! The cliches ended up wrapping me in a tight embrace, pulling on my nostalgia heart strings even though I did roll my eyes sometimes. They were comforting and this story was easy to fall into, no matter if I set it down and didn't get back to it until a couple days later.

If you love bantering love interests, the drama of does he like me or not then this is definitely your cup of tea. Beside all the juicy relationship drama I enjoyed watching Mina realize her world isn't all black and white. That the Reapers who police the supernaturals may not actually be sticking to the code. That maybe she finally needs to put her last name to good use to finally change things for the better, I'm very curious to see how she'll do that. The ending alone was a whirlwind, I was standing on the tips of my toes as everything unfolded and crumbled within the community!

Overall, after how everything ended I'm dying to pick up the next book! When things felt a little too good to be true, a twist comes out of nowhere and I'm honestly shocked I didn't see it coming. There was so much going on and so many emotions within the main character, just liked her you get fooled. So after this, I'm excited to see how her character grows even more! Definitely a book I recommend if you love drama, mystery, haters to lovers, and fantasy stories!

*was given a copy from the author for my honest opinion*

I’ve always been a fan of the Van Helsing story. Watched the movies and the shows…so I was curious about how they would go about it in this book and I was not disappointed. Good read.

Stacey O'Neale has created a fast-paced, action-filled, and VERY addictive series. Van Helsing Academy stars Mina, a privileged and very naive young woman who understands that her own treatment often depends on her very famous last name, but doesn't yet quite see the full extent of that privilege in the world. As Mina's world is turned upside down, she goes a on journey of self-realization - as well as trying to catch the bad guys! Fun and fast, you will not put this down - I can honestly say I wasn't ready to give up this book and stayed awake to read it - then read the next two in quick succession! Clear your schedule!

This was a light, fast-paced read and I quite enjoyed it.

The overall idea of Rehab Academy for Supernaturals was interesting. Nonetheless, I found the worldbuilding lacking and the plot felt too rushed and a bit predictable. I would have loved to know more about the different factions of supernaturals and the covenant they stipulated. Also, Mina raised in me some perplexities. Despite her self-declared wariness to supernaturals, she seemed far too trustful.

Nonetheless, I think this has potential as a series and I can imagine that a younger audience could likely appreciate this book glossing over its flaws more easily than me.

I am SO glad I read this! I could not put this down! Fast pace, interesting characters and plenty of action plus a bit of romance. What more could you want?

I didn't really enjoy this one honestly. I felt like I was forcing my way through the pages just to finish it. I liked the idea though.

Good start to a new series! Mina is a van helsing and her job is to "police" the supernatural. After waking up with no memory and committing a crime she cant remember, she has to attend Van Helsing Academy as her punishment. There shes surrounded by vampires, shifters, and witches. There werent many side characters but I loved all of them! Kiera was fun and of course Sacha was a gorgeous alpha shifter. I felt the relationship was a bit rushed and took me a while to believe it was real. There was some good action and I'm ready to find out what happens in the next book!

I'm going to give this book a three out of five stars.

I liked the main character and her best friend. I however didn't like the love interest, he was way too cocky and annoying. I didn't like the author brought up orgies I didn't find that part to be very necessary.

I however liked that Stacy the author made this book more unique then most of the other academy books.

Thank you too Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this amazing book.

Love the unique plot. The soft characters with this dark violent and racist world is a nice touch of reality.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A mix between Van Helsing lore and Twilight. Except reversed. Mina is caught between amnesia and helping Cassius, a vampire prince. Through in a mix of teenage witches, wolves and a council of adults, and you'll have a thriller. Some parts were repetitive and after awhile Mina's actions will remind you that she is still a child. A good first attempt that ends on a cliffhanger. You'll need to read book 2 to see what happens next.

3/5 ✨

It was good. It had pretty good writing and the plot held for the most part. It just switched randomly sometimes. Also Mina's logic was kinda annoying. She would be like "I'm not going to make friends" then literally two second later would change her mind. The reasoning of why she went and did things also was pretty shaky.

I did appreciate the branching out from the relationship norm. She didn't make you wait for the romance. It was kinda insta lust but that's to be expected. I love that Sacha is Russian.

Hopefully, in book 2, Mina's powers and the "supes" powers are explained. Not a deal breaker but I also hated the supes term being used so frequently. But that's more of a personal preference.

It was an enjoyable read for what it was. I didn't feel like it had anything special. Pretty average in all honesty. I haven't decided if I'll read book 2 or not.

Thank you Net Galley and Stacey o'neale for the ARC.

I've read other similar books, and as a result, this didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it was an okay book overall.

There are some awesome characters that are vampires, witches, and shifters, but the reader doesn't see as much of there powers as they might expect. That could've made the book a bit more interesting. Some components seemed a little unnecessary, such as the fertility ritual, and a few details a bit repetitive. A tighter edit could've helped. The relationships felt a bit rushed. Since it appears there will be another book, that could've been spaced out and even carried over. However, I'm not sure that I was invested enough in this book to check out others in the series.

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With an excellent cast of interesting characters, this is a book you will devour. My only problem was everyone kept interrupting my reading! I found the story fresh and very interesting. Looking forward to more! Thanks #netgalley and #PhoenixReignPublishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

So as I remain unwell in bed for the week, I have managed to get round reading some of these ARCS I have had piled up and I actually really enjoyed this one.
This book is <i>vampire academy meets hex hall</I> and I was so for it. I initially got sucked in by the premise and I did end up reading this book in one sitting.

- definitely an easy read and the plot and pacing was decent and captivating enough that I felt engrossed enough in the story. I will say, I can’t mark this book any higher than three stars for three reasons (the predictability, the annoyance of our main character and the ending) however, this is definitely the type of book that would be good to get you out of a reading slump.
- which brings me onto the characters. first of all, sacha was okay - nothing particularly special about him and it took me as the author was trying to make him come across as this alpha male character (ironically) but he was really…soft in a way I didn’t expect. this want necessarily a bad thing it just wasn’t expected. I found mina to be really erratic and her decisions were weird, especially considering the training she’s had. she wasn’t a logical thinker and I honestly couldn’t see where she was coming from in some of her decision making. also, the romance was quite insta-love and if you know me, I like a good ole slow burn.
- the ending ended well…abruptly. I definitely think more could have been added to make the ending left on a better cliffhanger as I turned the page and that was it. It felt short and sudden and I was like ‘??’

Overall, this book is a good start to what could be a good series I see doing well on platforms such as KU.
<i>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</I>

Mina is a descendant of the infamous vampire hunter, Van Halesing. While out on patrol one night, she gets attacked and wakes up in a hospital after spending months in an unknown location and with an impending trial ahead.

What did she do? Well, she killed two vampires, allegedly. The problem is, she can't remember doing it. So she gets sentenced to three years in a detention/rehabilitation academy that her great great grandfather built.

But Mina has an ulterior motive for accepting the verdict. The academy has secrets, and some of them might just prove her innocence.

I was expecting more from this book. I wasn't disappointed, but it could've been better.

So first up, missed opportunities.

There's vampires, shifters and witches and I wish their abilities were explored more. We only got to see a small part of their power.

Similarly, with the academy, only the weapons class stood out to me. I don't even remember if any others were described? That might be on me, but for example there's several descriptions of the mealtimes and the detentions. They do add to the story, but I wanted more learning time.

Then there was that random fertility ritual...I still don't get the purpose of that...except to show how much freedom the academy allows its students, I suppose?

And the trackers and the panic button, I wanted to see them in action. When Mina comes to the academy, it seems like they're going to be a big part of the story and then they're just in the background.

Now that that's out of the way, CHARACTERS!!!

Mina's head is a nice place to be. I like how she thinks. Except when she's describing Sacha's muscles for the 3578547th time. I get it Mina, he looks like he belongs on the cover of a magazine, you don't have to keep reminding me, I promise I remember.

Kiera is my favourite. She's nice to Mina from the beginning and not once did it seem fake. And she's a very fun character who's not afraid to sing and dance and nerd out.

Sacha is cool and pretty funny on occasion (like the "barrel" scene). I like him and Mina together, although the romance developed too fast for me. It's like she arrived one minute and is smooching him the next. There's a few days in between spent ogling him and all that, but by the end of the book it's clear they're already in love.

This next thing ties into their romance. Sacha is Russian and for most of the book I didn't think any Russian would appear...and then it did.

What I found interesting is that Sacha said "умная девочка" (umnaya devOTCHKA) and Mina sounded it out umnaya devUSHKA. Both words devotchka/devushka mean the same thing (girl), but the first is used for little girls and the second for older ones (which Mina is).

In the same chapter, Sacha says it again and I don't think it flows very well the second time. So might I suggest - "умница" (umnitsa). It means exactly the same thing (smart/clever girl) and works well with the sentence.

Whether that gets fixed or not, it's not a top offender, as far as Slavic language insertions go so I'm giving it a pass.

Will I read more of this series? It's likely, I do care about the characters and want to know what happens next.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

For some reason, even though YA isn’t my favorite, I’ve been reading a few lately including this one. However, I think this is the best one I’ve read recently. Yes, the protagonist is only 16, but she’s a very mature 16, and I frequently forgot she’s not older. This book is about how Mina is trying to find out why she killed two vampires, and she must infiltrate the Van Helsing Academy to do it. (Again, speaking of things that aren’t my favorite: academy books.) Even when something happened which I can’t really talk about because spoilers, Mina handled it much better than some adults I know. I also adored Keira probably almost as much as Mina, and I hope she’s in the next one which I am really looking forward to. This was a pleasant surprise, and I highly recommend it. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.