Thank you for giving me the chance to read Immortal Consequences. I decided to set this one aside at 16%. The first chapter started off with a bang that left me intrigued, but that intrigue quickly diminished as the characters bantered back and forth about useless things. The 16% mark started the sixth character's point of view, and at that point, nothing important had happened except bantering between six characters in sets of two that clearly were in love with each other. There wasn't enough plot, especially since I thought something would happen by 16%.

relatively easy to follow which I appreciated. I loved the yearning aspects between four of the characters, the kind of yearning that only a YA novel can supply. Wonderfully written and captivating.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! From the angst of Wren and August falling in love despite being bitter rivals to Olivier and Emilio (I LOVE Olivier so so much my precious boi) to even Masika and Irene, I just loved seeing their journey and the way they are all competing for redemption while having the core elements of dark academia. It really is what the Atlas six wanted to be but couldn't actually be and I am SO happy for that that I need the next book like right now please and thank you

4.25 ⭐️

Here are my top five reasons to read Immortal Consequences (can the cover being beautiful count?)…

A WORLD LIKE NO OTHER

Immortal Consequences is set in Blackwood Academy, a boarding school situated on the edge of the afterlife. Once a student is chosen for this school, there is no way out… except for the once-in-a-decade event, the Decennial, that gives the winner the opportunity to either graduate and join Blackwood’s magical elite, or cross over to the “Other Side.” I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve never read a book set on the edge of afterlife! Bonus points for being set in a boarding school!! Although the world-building could have been a tad better, the world that Marie crafted was still incredibly interesting to read.


MUTIPLE POVS

Any fans of multiple POVs will like this one! Each chapter cycles through the six main characters (think Six of Crows), who each have their own “objective” for the Decennial. I was kind of confused at first on who each of the main characters were but I swear it went away pretty quickly. Marie used the multiple POVs very wisely… it definitely kept me reading! Especially when one thing would happen to one character and then the POV changes to a completely different character who has their own problems. Even if you don’t like multiple POVs, I would still recommend giving this a try!


THE TWISTS WERE JUST 🤯

Honestly there are so many twists in Immortal Consequences that were executed very well! (This next bit it going to be very vague because I can’t have spoilers, so bear with me.) Basically, in the second half of the book, we find out that a heck of a lot of things aren’t true. Like I’m talking A LOT of things. And then there is also this one situation one character (my favourite MC) faced that made me want to throw my Kobo across the room! Thank god that got resolved because I would have been so angry at I.V. Marie if it didn’t. Oh I forgot to mention that the ending was also pretty crazy! I can sometimes predict what’s going to happen in books, but I had no clue Immortal Consequences was going to end like that. Such a good ending!!


A GREAT CAST OF CHARACTERS

Immortal Consequences has a great set of main characters! You’ve got two academic rivals (Wren and August), a girl driven by ambition (Irene), a girl plagued with memories of her almost-girlfriend that she lost (Masika), a playboy (Olivier) that cares about nothing except the new, quiet student (Emilio). Out of the six, my favourite character is 100% Emilio (also Olivier–more on them two in the next section) and my least favourite is probably Irene. She pissed me off so many times; I understand that she’s supposed to be unlikeable but I still can’t with her. The side characters were okay, but I will say that I got confused on who was who a lot that sometimes I just stopped trying to figure out who they were. (Sidenote: I was reading August as Augustus and Olivier as Oliver for WAY to long before I realized I was wrong 😭).


THE ROMANCE

There are two main romantic subplots in Immortal Consequences: Wren/August and Olivier/Emilio. I’ll start with Wren and August, the academic rivals. To keep it short, I’m just going to say that for the majority of the book I felt their romance was unnecessary, but then I got to the last few chapters and I realized just how important it was for the plot (you’ll see). Still though, I feel like their romance was forced and the book could have been just as good without it. Now moving on to my favourite couple of the book: Olivier and Emilio! They are the couple that you just want to scream at to get together, the couple that take so long to actually figure out their feelings for each other. I adore these two, and really hope we get to see more of them in book two!

Many thanks to Delacorte Press, Penguin Random House Children’s Books and the people at Toppling Stacks Tours for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blackwood Academy is a dark boarding school located on the fringes of the afterlife. Once a pupil enters the academy’s arched gates, there is no way out. Though the Decennial which is a cut-throat magical competition with only one victor. Trapped indefinitely in adolescence and forced to reap souls, the students of purgatory’s Blackwood Academy boarding school have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to escape their fate in this debut. Trapped indefinitely in adolescence and forced to reap souls, the students of purgatory’s Blackwood Academy boarding school have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to escape their fate in this debut. This year, six of the Academy’s top students have been chosen to face the Decennial’s tests. They aren’t the only ones playing Blackwood’s game. Who will win, and who will fall? Only one thing is for certain, in this game, some fates are worse than death. For centuries, those who die as teenagers with in-between souls and morals can be admitted into Blackwood. To keep the balance within Blackwood, however, there must be a consistent flow of souls entering and leaving to the Ether. However, this balance has been disrupted, for reasons our six main characters will find out as they compete in the Decennial.

The author has written a dark romantic fantasy. The mystery at the heart of the story is compelling and will engage readers and me all the way up to the cliffhanger ending, which will leave them yearning for the sequel to tie up loose ends. The story fascinated me and held my interest as I couldn’t stop reading this — I read through the night! Packed with drama, intrigue, and romance, “Immortal Consequences” had me enthralled from the very first page.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩”

This YA is a dark academia that follows Wren, August, Olivier, Emilio, Irene and Masika who live at Blackwood Academy a magical boarding school on the fringes of the afterlife. They all have been nominated to compete in four dangerous trials with only one to become victor.

for a debut this book was EVERYTHING. I’m utterly obsessed. I was fully invested in every single characters pov. It was super addictive and kept me turning those pages till the very end but the CLIFFHANGER 😭 I need the next book immediately!

✨academic rivals to lovers
✨dangerous trials
✨six pov’s
✨lies and betrayal
✨pining, longing, yearning

⭐️: 3.25
🌶️: 0

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press and I.V. Marie for sending me an ARC.

I was so excited to get approved for this ARC and had every intention of reading it as quickly as possible. And then life happened and an international move plus new jobs etc and time got the best of me. But I finally found the time to start this book at the beginning of July because I wanted to have my review in before publication date. Dear reader, it’s now August 18th and has taken me over a month and a half to finish this book. Trust me in saying it wasn’t because I had other things to do. It was the book itself.

The concept was incredibly intriguing. A school in purgatory existing to help ferry lost souls and exist in every shade of teen angst for all of eternity. Maybe this book isn’t for me, I will gladly say that. But I have been loving a lot of YA books lately so that doesn’t fit quite right. But good lord, get to the damn point. That’s how I felt through most of this book from like 35% until 85%. If I wasn’t so focused on completing this ARC, I would have DNF’d this book.

First, 6 different POVs is a lot to track. I’m not a huge fan of that many characters inner thoughts and might have been part of the issue. Also, all of them are harboring deep, dark secrets they can’t tell anyone because bad things will happen? And like I get it. They’re 19 or whatever but they’ve been 19 for about 70 years so I don’t think that really counts anymore for the lack of rational thought.

I wanted to care about the characters. And the romances. Wren and August have a nice slow burn but the will they/wont they felt way too dragged out and then suddenly it was on? The pacing for them felt odd. And Oliver and Emilio was also a weird pacing thing. I felt like the author wanted to do slow burn longing but only ended up giving readers frustration and confusion.

And can someone please put Irene in therapy? For the love of god. Her constant anger and lone wolf tendencies were exhausting. Her past is hinted at but never really explained. Or maybe it was but it took too long to get there and I was already checked out.

Overall this book had a lot of promise. And finally FINALLY in the last 8% the book got good enough to keep my attention. But not enough to make me rate it higher. Will I read the second book? Meh. Maybe. But I do hope the author works with a better editor to work on the pacing and layering. She has great ideas…the execution is just wanting.

Dark academia in purgatory, multiple POVs, magical trials - have I hooked you yet?? Truly, really enjoyed this book. I thought all the characters interesting, and we got just enough of them from their chapters to know some of their intentions, but not everything. We only get the tip of the iceberg really, and it kept me wanting more of their chapters so I could learn more about their pasts. Emilio and Olivier are the heroes of this story, imo. Give me a full on book about them please. I also really enjoyed Irene and Masika, both individually and their friendship. August was also pretty interesting, Wren might be the weakest link - womp womp.

The story dragged for me in the middle, having to go through multiple trials from multiple POVs definitely bogged the story down and I think we could have expanded on some things more if we’d had less perspectives to get through, but that’s fine. I think the next book will be interesting and having multiple POVs will be beneficial.

The one thing I’d say is if you’re not into horror elements at all then you should probably skip this one, because there are definitely some nightmare creatures that show up!!

I definitely recommend this one, it was a lot of fun!

Thank you to Netgally & Random House Children's | Delacorte Press & I.V. Marie for the review copy.

“Immortal Consequences” by I.V. Marie is a dark academia/afterworld romantasy. This is YA but I recommend it for upper YA for some of the themes. This story has yearning, tension, and a slow build up. Multiple POVs keep the storyline moving. The World Building is very well done. Has plenty of emotional intensity and dramatic pacing.
Thank you to NetGallery and Random House Children's for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

💬 Are you ready for spooky season? What's on your TBR?🖤

Immortal Consequences by I.V. Marie
Immortal Consequences is a dark, eerie, and completely addictive paranormal fantasy set at Blackwood Academy, a school in purgatory where six students are chosen to compete in a magical, high-stakes contest known as the Decennial. There can be only one winner. The prize is A once-in-a-lifetime chance to change their fate in the afterlife or remain trapped in purgatory forever 🖤📚

One of the standout elements for me was the use of multiple perspectives. Each character has their distinct voice, backstory, and motivation, which makes the story feel rich and emotionally layered. From bitter enemies to broken souls, the cast is tense, diverse, and unforgettable.

The setting is steeped in spooky, gothic atmosphere 👻 Very much in the dark academia vibe Just when I thought it would be a straightforward competition, the plot throws a twist that forces the characters into fragile alliances. That unexpected turn added so much emotional complexity and raised the stakes even higher. I flew through the pages. As an added bonus I was reading some of the book during a power outage due to a bad storm which added another factor to the eerie vibe.

On a personal note, I was thrilled to support a fellow Latina author. Knowing that I.V. Marie is from Miami made it all the more meaningful 💃🏽✨
I received an advance reader copy through NetGalley, and I’m already counting down the days until the sequel. Also, the finished copy has gorgeous sprayed edges. a must-have for collectors ✨📖
Perfect for fans of dark academia, deadly trials, supernatural elements, and emotionally driven character arcs. Highly recommend.

Thank you Penguin and IV Marie.

This YA dark acadamia book has all the right tones but struggles to deliver. Read it for the vibes but keep it light and you can enjoy it for what it is. Not for the critical analyst.

Immortal Consequences by I.V. Marie has such a fresh and unique storyline that immediately caught my attention. I have to admit, the multiple third-person POVs were a challenge for me to follow at times—just my own reading quirk—but if you listen to the audiobook the depth the multiple narrators add to the world and characters is undeniable. Immortal Consequences breathes fresh life (or afterlife?) into the dark academia genre with an original setting, high-stakes competition, and slow burn romance that sizzles.

Set in Blackwood Academy—a gothic boarding school perched on the fringes of the afterlife—students must compete in the Decennial: a deadly magical competition offering only one escape from eternal soul-reaping. Six students—Wren, August, Emilio, Olivier, Irene, and Masika—bring unique motivations, backgrounds, and identities into the competition. Wren and August’s fiery push–pull chemistry is perfectly tense and emotionally charged. If you’re into dark academia with a lethal twist—where every choice may cost a memory, a soul, or more—this debut is a page turner you won’t regret.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House and Delacorte Press and I.V. Marie for the opportunity to be an ARC reader in exchange for an honest review!

A million billion stars. Perfectly paced, beautiful character development, suspense was just right and that ENDING?!? Book of the year honestly.

Immortal Consequences is a brand-new fantasy that instantly grabbed my attention with its premise: six students, all already dead, attending the mysterious and magical Blackwood Academy in the afterlife. Each of them is given the chance to compete in the high-stakes, once-in-a-lifetime (or… after-lifetime) event known as the Decennial.

That line alone set the tone for what was to come—dark, haunting, and strangely beautiful. I’d been hearing glowing recommendations for this book for months, so my expectations were sky-high going in. I’m so happy to say it didn’t just meet those expectations—it pulled me in and made me understand exactly why so many readers have been raving.

From the very first chapters, the atmosphere was one of my favorite elements. The author crafts a world that feels dripping with shadows and whispers—exactly the kind of eerie, dark academia vibe that makes you want to curl up in a quiet corner with the book and stay there for hours. Blackwood Academy itself feels like a character: vast, mysterious, filled with secrets that seem just out of reach. And then there’s the magic—intriguing, unpredictable, and so wide in its possibilities that it’s impossible not to get lost imagining what each character might be capable of.

The story’s pacing is deliberate, and while it takes a little while before the main plot really kicks in, I understood why. With six different POVs, there’s a lot of groundwork to lay, and each character is distinct enough that they deserve their own proper introduction. Once I got past those early chapters and the competition began to unfold, I was hooked.

Six POVs could have been overwhelming, but I found myself genuinely enjoying each one. The characters are all sharply defined, each with their own secrets, scars, and reasons for wanting to win the Decennial. My personal favorites ended up being Wren, Olivier, and Emilio—they just stuck with me in ways I can’t quite explain, though I suspect it’s because they each had an emotional undercurrent that tugged at my heart.

One thing I really loved was how these six could almost be grouped into loose ‘pairs.’ Not necessarily romantic pairs—though I’m hoping at least a couple of them become canon in the future—but pairs of people with history, mutual trust, or complicated loyalties. Those connections added warmth to the otherwise eerie backdrop, and there was a subtle found-family vibe that I completely adored. The moments where the characters let their guard down, even just for a heartbeat, really stood out to me.

As for the plot itself, while the ending didn’t completely shock me—the reveals were a little predictable in places—the execution more than made up for it. The tension builds steadily, scene by scene, until it all comes together in a finale that feels earned. I especially loved the extended epilogue, which gave us more closure than I expected while also leaving just enough questions hanging to make me desperate for book two.

In short: Immortal Consequences is an eerie, atmospheric debut with a cast of memorable characters, a magic system full of potential, and an afterlife setting that lingers in your mind long after you’ve closed the book. It’s the kind of story that wraps you in shadows and keeps you there, and I can’t wait to see where the author takes these characters next.

Unbelievable debut !!!
I just loved this story line and dark academia setting.
I am an avid fantasy reader and normally am not the biggest ya a fan. This was amazing !

I will recommend to any fantasy lover!

Overall Vibes: Classic YA
Hot Sauce Scale: 2 (one kissing scene, fade-to-black implied sex)

Immortal Consequences gave me serious nostalgia for 2010s YA. I liked it so much that despite reading the ARC, I also ordered the stenciled edges version as my August Book of the Month pick. Gotta have that pretty hardcover for my shelf.

The book has six rotating POV characters which mostly works in its favor. You’ll probably be more invested in one or two of them. They all have something to do in the story but some are definitely more likable. Blackwood Academy is located in purgatory and for reasons not yet fully explained, dead teenagers just show up there and get put to work learning magic and helping lost souls cross over to the actual afterlife. Sometimes souls get stuck and apparently the only thing that can convince them to move on is a deceased teenager. There’s a ton of potential for lore here and I’m hoping book two expands on it.

The school itself has different dorms with funny names (think Hogwarts houses) and unique specialties. This isn’t fully fleshed out yet but new students are essentially “sorted” when they first arrive. All the POV characters are already well established at the academy (some have been there for centuries) so there’s not much time spent explaining how the place works or what’s expected of them. We don’t get a history lesson. I really, really wanted one. Dump the lore, please!

Most of the book follows the main POVs (and some red-shirt side characters) competing in the Decennial, a tournament where the winner can either graduate to become an elite magical member of the academy (the Ascended) or cross over to the other side with no strings attached. I’m still not totally sure what the Ascended do besides act as narcs and have creepy glowing eyes. That must be saved for the sequel. There's certainly a lot of Ascended so they must be doing something.

My least favorite trope in play here is the “two characters refuse to admit they l-o-v-e each other” bit. It is used for not one but two separate couples. At least the book lampshades this by having other characters call one of the couples hypocritical for scolding the other about it.

With six POVs, you can tell early on which competitors in the Decennial aren’t going to make it. Their “cannon fodder” status is obvious and the constant fake outs of “this POV character is really gonna die, they can’t heal this time!” made me not concerned for the fate of the main characters. The competition itself feels half-baked but that actually lines up with the reveal near the end. Is the Decennial just designed to kill already-dead teens with as little effort as possible from the organizers? Yeah, it totally is.

The story ends with three different groups vying for power in purgatory with our characters split among them. It’s a solid cliffhanger and I’ll definitely pick up the next book. I’m crossing my fingers for more lore drop.

I was hesitant when starting Immortal Consequences, hesitant but hopeful. I've read a lot of books pitched as dark academia lately that don't feel very dark academia--- Immortal Consequences was not that. This book gave me every trope and micro trope that I could possibly want in a boarding school novel while still remaining original--- I mean a boarding school in purgatory? Incredible concept. I loved Wren, she was definitely my favorite character I loved how unabashed her ambition was and how kind she remained but she was such a classic smart girl, she cared about her academics and that was incredible representation. Her relationship with August had me hooked from page one, I love an academic rivals to lovers and this was done RIGHT, their back and forth in the classroom was impeccable. Emilio was also a character I really connected too, I loved his kindness--- the library scenes were everything I'm gonna need him and Olivier to get together in the next book. So this book is a new all time favorite that being said there were some points where this read like a debut--- which it was but you know. The word chuckled was used an insane number of times, so I think a little editing there would be great, also, and this might sound hypocritical from someone who has abused the emdash in this review, the use of elipses was getting to be a lot in this book. On a more character development note I think getting more of the characters backstories in the next installment would be really helpful, all we have right now are crumbs. I think one of the main reasons this story works so well is the boarding school setting and while I know the ending of the first book might make it difficult I do hope that we don't abandon that entirely in the second installment. A girl loves a library scene. Thanks again for the advanced copy, I've been lucky enough to be able to handsell some copies and the store has had a visit from I.V Marie, who was the sweetest. So I'm so excited to get behind this book and subsequent duology!

Wow this is not all the book I was expecting… Usually I don’t like young adult fantasy since it’s not steamy, but I absolutely love this one. In Blackwood Academy, where students are awaiting to either be ascended into afterlife or sent to purgatory there is a competition that happens every year where you compete against your fellow students to become an ascended… This book focuses on six students that are all remarkable in their own ways and connected and explicitly. I adored the August and Wren storyline, and was SHOCKED by the ending. This book is setting up for a sequel and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

What a unique premise!! Imagine a deadly competition where you can’t actually die because— fun fact— you’re already dead! Blackwood Academy acts as a sort of purgatory and is essentially a boarding school of dead teenagers who learn to become reapers as the majority of them will eventually become that.
Every ten years they get a shot at becoming an Ascended which basically means they won’t lose their memories over time.
To get to this position, Silas, the headmaster, normally picks a person. However, this time he has turned it into a competition. This story is told over multiple POVs and you learn to love and root for each one in their own way. They’re very different characters and have their own love stories (I really loved August and Wren) and the plot twists that come after each trial have me intrigued at how the series is going to continue. The games are over, but now we know more.

Thank you Toppling Bookstacks for having me on the tour!

It took me a while to get fully hooked on this one, but about halfway through it REALLY sucked me in. While the premise is quite intriguing and the characters are compelling, part of the beginning is just getting to know all 6 of the POV characters, plus side characters. I love multi POV so I really enjoyed that there were so many, and I thought they were all well fleshed out and able to be told apart easily. Though, I did listen to the audiobook with a narrator for each character, which made it so easy, and it was an exceptional audio.

Immortal Consequences is the type of dark academia that is mostly dark academia because that's where the characters are, actual academia doesn't play a huge role. Which, makes sense to me because some of these kids have been there for hundreds of years, yet they're still going class? What are they learning at this point? The bigger plot is the competition, which awards a role that is above student (I think) - but only one winner every 10 years.

Them being at the academy and treated like students with classes and curfews despite being dead and immortal is a bit far-fetched for me. Some of those details are explained or given reason later on, but I still don't fully see reason in it all.

The yearning, pining, *just kiss already*, etc is top notch. There is so much angst and pent up feelings floating around that school! The ending definitely has me intrigued for book 2!! It really took things to the next level.