As I did not realize I needed to read more books before this, I did not finish this book. I will come back and update this review when I get through the others first. From what I did read I do love the authors writing style and story telling, Looking forward to this book.

The starting was quite interesting, with a magical school that was alive and a whole new fantasy world to explore. Not to mention a brewing mystery as murders begin to take place on the campus just a student Robin brings his friend Raven, an orphan from the Warrens where they grew up, to the Academia, hoping she’ll be safe there.

When I requested this ARC, I didn’t know it was a spin off of a larger series, so it’s quite possible I was missing a lot of background information when reading this book, which in turn probably affected my enjoyment of the book. Even though it’s a spin off, I would expect some context to be provided to the reader and there was none.

I feel like the story was so wrapped up in the mystery and characters that we got to see pretty much nothing of the Academia itself. We don’t meet any students outside Robin’s friends or learn more about any of the classes which were only referenced in passing, or even what a normal day there would look like, and I found this to be very disappointing from a world building angle.

Though the starting was promising, I found the pace to be very slow and the story seemed to ramble on and on without making much sense at all. It took forever for the book to actually get it together and for the real story to begin – well past the 50% mark if I recall correctly. It was only after this point that things began to become a bit more clearer, such as why Raven was so different and that Robin may not be the ordinary character he seems.

Overall, Shards of Glass just didn’t work for me. However, I did find the world to be interesting so I might check out the other books by this author set in the same universe at some point.

I went in reading this not realizing it was a spin off to another series, so I felt silly not reading the original series first and a little confused at times, but that was my own fault. However, I loved the storyline (although maybe it was a bit too long and somewhat repetitive at times) it has made me want to go jump into the Elantra series from Michelle Sagara. My only other complaint was I did feel at times it was hard to know who was talking and I needed to reread to see if I could figure out who said what when multiple characters were speaking with one another.

Shards of Glass takes place in the world of Elantra. Robin and Raven are orphans in the Warrens until Robin goes to study at The Academia. When Raven decides to journey there to find him, strange things start happening and many truths are uncovered about Robin’s and Raven’s shared past.

I really enjoyed this book! I didn’t realize it was in the same world as a different series (that I hadn’t read), but I was still able to enjoy it as a standalone. It was quite long, but kept me coming back to read more and reach the conclusion. It is a fantasy book, but also reads a bit like a murder mystery, which I love! Raven is coded in a very autistic way, so I feel like it was some good neurodivergent representation. If you like dark academia, I think you’ll like it!

Thanks to Frenzy Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Shards of Glass is the first book of its series, but the series itself is a spin off of another series, so if you haven't read the Elantra series you will find it very confusing as I did. The writing was good, as was the world-building, but I felt like I was missing out on a lot. DNF but will come back to this at another time when I am more familiar with the world it is taking place in.

Disclaimer: “Shards of Glass” is the first volume of a new series by Michelle Sagara, but it takes place in the same universe as her Elantra series, and harkens back to events from that series. So if you haven’t read that series, you’re going to be confused.

And it seemed to open with a lot of promise, since a magic school opens the doors for a lot of exploration of a fantasy world. And considering the magic school is actually alive, has a dragon for a chancellor and a giant spider for a librarian, “Shards of Glass” seems like it has a good basis for a fantasy whodunnit – but it feels like it gets tangled up in its own mysteries and doesn’t explore the Academia itself very much.

An ancient magic school called the Academia has been brought out of hibernation, and contains new students for the first time in centuries. A young homeless girl named Raven is brought there to find her best friend Robin, who is now a student at the Academia and who thought she would be happy and safe there. Unfortunately, she arrives just in time for a murder – and discovers a piece of glass under the body. In case you’re wondering, Raven collects pieces of glass, metal, and whatever other “treasures” catch her fancy.

But this is no ordinary glass – not only was it invisible before Raven picked it up, but it burns the hands of the Academia’s avatar, Killian. And as more mysterious murders pile up, Robin and the faculty of the Academia discover more mysterious, extremely dangerous glass and metal. They also have more questions about exactly who Raven is and what powers she has, as she might be the key to figuring out exactly what is trying to destroy the Academia.

The Academia itself is perhaps the weakest element of “Shards of Glass” – precisely because we don’t know much about it. Despite being a school of magic, we only meet a few students, don’t know much about what they teach, and don’t know much about daily life there. Michelle Sagara seems more intrigued by the idea of a living campus and immortal library being infiltrated by inexplicable powers. Fair enough, it is interesting. But it feels like we don’t know the Academia enough to worry about its possible destruction.

Instead, Sagara focuses on the whodunnit aspects of the plot, both the murderous and the magical. Her writing is solid and fairly atmospheric, although the characters tend to repeat things a lot (such as the glass not being visible until Raven got it). It’s only at the two-thirds mark that things start to coalesce and the many oddities – both with Raven and the attacks – are given some kind of answers, and the tension amps up as we find out more about what’s going on.

Raven herself is an interesting character – she has some traits in common with autistic people like highly individual priorities, issues with communication and single-minded focus. Yet it becomes clear soon after that her traits are the result of something else, and she herself isn’t what she seems. Robin seems like a fairly generic character, but similarly we learn that he’s not what he seems. Then there’s the eccentric Barrani Terrano, the draconic chancellor, the temperamental professor Larrantin, and the giant spider-librarian Starrante.

“Shards of Glass” takes a while to pull itself together, but once it does, Michelle Sagara’s spinoff book has some truly gripping twists and developments. For fans of her Chronicles of Elantra series, this would be a treat.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

The Academia, once an elite proving ground for the rulers of the world, has been frozen for centuries. Now its strange slumber has ended, and a new Chancellor, an orange-eyed dragon, has reopened its lecture halls and readied its dorms.

A very interesting and fun fantasy dark academia read! I didn't know what to expect going in, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Incredibly difficult to get through--I had to force myself to push through it, even though I knew there was nothing keeping me interested. The overwritten descriptions, the glacial pacing, the lack of worldbuilding (there needs to be a GIANT disclaimer on this book that it's a spin-off of the author's other series, or you'll be left with A LOT of questions)....Not worth it. I ended up giving up about 2/3 of the way in because I had forced myself through 270 pages and that was enough of a chore that I didn't feel like punishing myself for several more hours.

I actually didn't realize this was a spin-off series, which explains why I felt so damn lost. I ended up DNFing this book, unfortunately. I would give it another shot though if I read the other books that went along with it! The writing was decent and the story seemed interesting so I won't give it 0-1 stars.

3.75 stars

I procrastinated reading this one because the blurb made it seem like it would read a bit younger than it does. I really enjoyed reading it, but it needs to be like 200 pages shorter. There was so, so, so much repetition. Wait, repetition is not really the right word.. perseveration? Shit that could be said in a paragraph is dragged on for a full page. Frequently.

I also became frustrated with the lack of dialogue tags. I often find they are used unnecessarily/excessively, but this book has so many people speaking at the same time that it can get quite confusing when it's not specified who is actually speaking. There are also long and winding chunks of dialogue which are broken up into several paragraphs, and combining that with a lack of dialogue tags, if you aren't paying close attention, you can get confused.

On the note of confusion, I dislike it when authors have several characters with very similar names in terms of spelling and length; for instance, Serralyn, Sendallan, and Sedarias. When there are characters you aren't super familiar with or who aren't major players, it gets difficult remembering who said/did what.

I found myself kind of baffled several times, to the point that I just kind of had to shrug and roll with it and hope I figured it out later. Or, I just kind of figured it didn't really matter since there was so much perseveration.

I went into this book without having read any of the author's other books. She has written at least 17 other books that also take place in this world. I do wonder if I would have been less confused if I hadn't gone in blind.

I did find the idea fascinating, and the world was very interesting. I like the idea of sentient buildings that can project avatars that can be interacted with. Raven was a very interesting character. If you've read the slow regard of silent things by Patrick Rothfuss, I was getting some similar vibes from this book. I did find this one to be written in a more artistic-vague style. If it was a bit more concise and less confusing, it could have been a 5-star read for me.

Robin grew up in the dangerous Warrens. There he was protected by Raven, a mysterious girl who hides them both when danger is near. Robin becomes a student at the Academia, a mysterious school run by dragons. He arranges for Raven, who has strange ways and an odd collection of glass and metal “treasures”, to see the Academia and become a student. Students at the school are being found dead, and Raven sees strange glass and metal pieces at the murder sites. What are they and how do they relate to the murders? How can the students be protected?

I enjoyed the premise of this book but found that it moved much too slowly for me. It wasn’t until half way through the story that we actually start to learn a bit about why Raven is so different and that the glass may be evil and affects others but not Raven. I wasn’t really invested in the story as there just wasn’t enough forward movement and new conflict to keep me engaged. Maybe the second half of the book picked up but by that point I moved on to other books and my Net Galley access to this book expired.

Michelle Sagara writes a great story with Shards of Glass, it had a great overall concept and it had everything that I enjoyed from other books by Michelle Sagara. The characters were everything that I wanted and they worked with the Academia setting.

Shards of Glass had a lot of cool world elements and a lot of potential but really failed to hit the mark for me. While there were parts of the world that were interesting and caught my attention they were often unexplained and confusing. This combined with a character who acts as if they are YEARS younger than they are really put me off of this book. I think it’s an interesting world and a really cool concept (I love the magic school trope) but I honestly didn’t love the execution.

This was part of a series which was not made clear in the post. It says you can read it without having read the rest of them but I don’t think this is necessarily true because parts of the plot and world were confusing at best and nonsensical at their worst. I think knowing about the world going into this book is a really important part of the reading experience that should be made clear in marketing.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

"Shards of Glass" by Michelle Sagara is a captivating addition to the Chronicles of Elantra series, brilliantly set in the mystical Academia. The novel's heart lies with its unique protagonist, Raven, and her complex journey alongside Robin, amidst a world teeming with magical beings like dragons and giant spider librarians. Sagara masterfully blends mystery, fantasy, and the poignant power of friendship, creating a richly layered narrative that is both enthralling and thought-provoking. This book is a five-star gem, offering a deep dive into themes of identity, memory, and belonging in an exquisitely crafted fantasy realm.

I’m a huge fan of Michelle’s writing under her Sagara and West pen names. I was first introduced to her through her Chronicles of Elantra series so I was really excited to read this spinoff set in the Academia, a newly discovered school in the fiefs. Sadly I wasn’t a fan of the povs and didn’t find them as interesting as Kaylin from the main series.

Michelle Sagara's Shard of Glass is set in the authors Chronicles of Elantra world. This book is set at the Academia, which you might be familiar with if you read Cast in Wisdom featuring Corporal Kaylin Neya. Kaylin was the one who discovered the Academia after it was lost for so long. The school, both as an institution and in the person of its sentient building and grounds, Killianas, is recovering, but it appears someone is trying to belay that recovery.

This story does not focus on Kaylin, rather Robin, who we met in Cast in Wisdom, and Raven, a new character who is obsessed with collecting glass pieces, and was Robin's only friend until he disappeared. Raven, like Robin, lived in the Warrens. Raven is very much a mysterious character for most of the story with her obsession with finding glass shards that nobody but her can see. It was Robin who gave her the name she now carries.

It was Raven who protected Robin when they were living on the streets of Elantra running errands for the Grey Lady. But Robin was apparently stolen by powerful people and taken to the Academia where he was stuck for years while the outside world moved on without him. Raven, though, never forget. Raven knows that people in the Warrens have been disappearing and not returning. She knows to stay away from the Barrani because they are dangerous.

She knows that those who were taken will never be missed never missed. Those like Robin who became an orphan after tragedy took his entire family away from him. Until one day, Giselle, the Grey Lady takes Raven to the Academia where she reunites with a Robin. Because of her curiosity, Robin knows that Raven will be safe at the Academia, and it is a good thing that she shows up when she does. Raven is the one who finds clues nobody can see. Raven is the one who finds hidden rooms that even Killian can't see, and he can't see Raven.

The Academia, once an elite proving ground for the rulers of the world, was frozen for centuries. Now its strange slumber has ended, and a new Chancellor, an orange-eyed dragon known as Lannagaros, has reopened its lecture halls and readied its dorms. In order to thrive once more, however, the Academia needs fresh blood—new students with a passion and talent for learning. But when students start turning up dead, the campus threatens to collapse completely.

Raven and Robin will not let that happen to their new home; if they can survive long enough to figure out who—or what—is trying to kill them. Robin and Raven will have to work with some characters you should know if you have read the reset of the authors Elantra series. Characters like: Terrano, who always seems to get in trouble. Starrante, the Arbiter from the Library who looks like a giant spider. Serralyn, one of the Barrani along with Valliant who chose to attend the Academia. There is also an appearance by Barrani Hawk Teela and Sedarias who is the leader of the Barrani who were stuck together for a century.

*Thoughts* So, let's not say this story is a spin-off. It's a side show that happens at the same time as the authors Kaylin Neya series. As I said, Kaylin does not appear in this story, but she is mentioned as the one who found the Academia. While the story does focus on the school, and the fact that someone is killing students, the key here is Robin. Robin vaguely, fleetingly remembers another life. Another life with a mother, a sister, and a brother. Another life that didn't involve struggling to survive while living in the Warrens. But it has been years since he's been in stuck in the Academia and his memories of who he is, and what happened to his family finally awakens with the arrival of Raven and the Gray Lady. Raven is a really interesting and complex character in that you really need to pay attention to the things she does, especially she she starts seeing things nobody else can see.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin, for this ARC.

The book opens with a young girl named Raven who goes looking for her friend Robin, who's disappeared. She discovers him at Academia, a sentient academy of learning, where students are being killed and no one knows why.

From there, we meet humans and non-humans, spider-people, and other things not identified. I think they figured out who was doing it and why, but don't ask me because I was so confused by the end.

To be fair, this is a spin-off of another series, Chronicles of Elantra, which I have not read. Given that, I would expect not to recognize, but I would expect context to help, and there was none. There was a lot of rambling, (internal dialog was the worst) and so much repetition (yes, we know Raven hides). I did understand enough of the world that I may track down some of the Chronicles.

**Warning:** Not a standalone book. Heavy background missing. World-building that kept me raising an eyebrow and trying to play catch-up. The premise and storyline are interesting, with characters that have heart and interest. It’s a mash-up of Alice in Wonderland, University magic, dragons, and mystery.

Sometimes, though, the unbelievability of the simple things like a girl with no memory surviving on the streets alone. It grates on my inner dialogue of whether that is possible. This was way too much work to jump into without more context.

2.5/5 stars