As a major Elin Hilderbrand fan, I wish I had enjoyed this more. Though it is a work of fiction for adults, I found it hard to get past the young adult setting. What's more, I wish Cinnamon's suicide had been more of a through line. It felt a little disjointed, or like a hat on a hat. The best parts of the novel were Hilderbrand's use of the royal "We" when speaking from the POV of the student body at large (much like she does with the residents of Nantucket). I'm disappointed to say I found myself wishing the story would end. 2 Stars

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was a super fast and entertaining read! I’m a big fan of Elin Hilderbrand, so I was curious to see what a YA-ish mystery from her and Shelby Cunningham would be like, and it did not disappoint. The setting—a posh New England boarding school—is atmospheric and dramatic, and the characters are the perfect mix of flawed, privileged, and secretive.

The mystery had me flipping pages quickly, even if some of the twists were a little easy to guess. Still, it was fun and had that same addictive quality I’ve come to expect from Elin’s books. A good one to bring to the beach or curl up with on a rainy weekend.

Not my all-time favorite from her, but definitely worth a read if you’re in the mood for something quick and juicy with a little prep school intrigue.

An easy read that I thought would feel more like a YA based on its setting and characters but it had more depth than expected. The story arc for each of the main players was fitting and well developed.

Hopeful this will be the first of at least a duology as one plot point was left hanging, but I think that was definitely intentional. Lots happening in this book and I would love to revisit the characters to see how things continue. It felt like setting the scene to care about the characters enough to want more even while some plot points were wrapped up in the book.

This book was well written. The authors covered many sensitive topics and subjects. The characters were well developed.

I LOVED this book!!!! one of my favourite reads of the year. This is very different than Elin's regular novels in the sense that its New Adult centered. I loved all of the subplots & thought that the characters were awesome. I really want this to become a series!

I am so glad Elin Hilderbrand hasn’t completely retired from writing! I haven’t missed a single book she’s written and this one written with her daughter is a definite read for all her fans! At times it reads like a YA book but the subject and language is definitely adult fiction. Kudos for another great book & thanks for the ARC!

This was my first Elin Hildebrand novel, and it makes me excited that she has such an extensive back catalogue!

I am always always always down for a posh boarding school setting. I love the vibe, the mystique, the cliques, the drama. Elin’s writing was engaging across the board and kept me turning the pages.

I can’t wait to talk this book up to friends!

If you ever dreamed of attending a posh boarding school, grew up watching movies about what it might be like (Madeline was the gateway and Wild Child fuelled the obsession), or just love Hiilderbrand's existing works, you will LOVE The Academy.

An increasingly popular and prestigious boarding school kicks off the school year with some old familiar faces and a handful of new ones. The group is varied - socialite and social media queen Davi Bannerjee, the irresistible hottie Andrew "East" Eastman (who's only there because his dad bought him a spot), Head of School (with something to prove) Audre, the new mysterious student Charley, and the scandalous new teacher, Simone Bergeron (to name a few), but everyone seems to have one thing in common: they all have a secret they desperately want hidden. When a new gossip app, ZigZag, starts sharing those secrets Gossip Girl style, chaos ensues, and the residents of Tiffin Academy must decide who they can trust.

I will admit it took me a little while to get into this one because the first part of the story introduces all characters at once, which is confusing. However, I'm glad I kept going as you do eventually get a sense of who the characters are and how they're functioning within the school. Aside from this the story was well paced and really fun, giving nostalgic high school vibes. I will say, however, *possible spoiler ahead* the student/teacher storyline was difficult to read given the age gap and the way that the previous students' death was handled throughout kind of makes it feel gratuitous. Especially since her letter - which is referenced several times in the story and certainly piques the reader's interest - is never opened or resolved.

With all that said, I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to purchasing once it makes its debut in Sept 2025. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this. Great pacing. End fell a bit flat ( a few loose ends) but overall an engaging read that I know our patrons will enjoy.

Elin Hilderbrand's new book, written with her daughter, will be a huge hit. Elin has the writing chops and daughter Shelby has the boarding school knowledge. The book ends on a cliffhanger, perfectly set up for the second book. So highly recommended for Elin fans!!

I read the whole book though I was tempted to put it down several times. The overall appeal was great but there was a lot of underage drinking that seemed glorified. It is disappointing that an author would choose to promote this when they could be promoting good activities for the youth of our times. I also felt like a lot more could have been done to address the young girl's suicide in a way more productive manner.

I did appreciate the ideas surrounding being the "odd duck" and the struggles that presents. I also liked the dynamic of the popular boy choosing the new girl. There were some nice unexpected twists and turns around the mysterious emails. Overall, a disappointing read from an author that usually offers so much more.

Wow, I loved and devoured this book about boarding school and the drama that goes along with it! The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because there was one large loose end that wasn't tied up - but, it makes me wonder, will there be a sequel????

Where to begin?! The writing is good, and if both Hilderbrand and her daughter wrote sections, the reader cannot distinguish between the two (which is a feat in itself). Living locally to many boarding schools, including some mentioned in the story, it’s always a fascinating topic for me.

I have to be honest - I did get a bit of an ick factor when reading about the sexually explicit lives of these 16 year old kids, when the target audience of the book is adults.

There are some loose ends never tied up - we never find out why Cinnamon killed herself, and no mention is made of her letter that is mentioned multiple times - Dub is told to only open it on Graduation Day. I can only assume book two is coming for their senior year at some point based on a random comment in the author’s thank you section at the end of the book.

Overall, entertaining and well written. It’s Elin Hilderbrand - the book will do well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

Amazing! This has such a juicy voice. It makes me nostalgic for reading Kate Brian's Private series as a teenager. Elin Hilderbrand is an auto-read author for me, and this one did not disappoint at all. Ever since she retired from writing Nantucket summer books, I feel really excited to see her creativity flourish and for her to do different books like this!

This novel is perfect for anyone looking for a suspenseful academia novel, regardless of your age! Highly recommended!

I’m always a sucker for a boarding school book and one by a favorite author, Elin Hilderbrand, and her daughter (I had no idea she was also an author!) This was a definitely a must read. Join the high schoolers (and teachers) at Tiffin for a year of rule-breaking, loving, losing, stressing, making and losing friends, breakups, lies, Zip Zap, and lots of secrets. I’m really hoping this is a new series for this duo!

I am a huge fan of Elin Hilderbrand, and I especially enjoyed "The Academy." Although it took me a moment to keep track of what year third, fourth, fifth forms were and adjust to some of the quirky character names, this story captivated me from the very beginning. I loved learning about life at a boarding school and fell in love with the characters, each of whom had their own past and present story. I enjoyed seeing how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. The drama unfolded page by page, and I was fully into it. I have many unanswered questions and am already looking forward to the second book!

This was definitely different than her normal writing which we were worried about but this surprised us with how good it was. Fell in love with all the characters! 4.5 stars!

I am a Elin Hilderbrand fan, which means I had high expectation for The Academy. Unfortunately this Hilderbrand novel, written with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham, did not live up to my expectations and hopes. The Academy is not bad, but the text reads like young adult fiction, with its focus on a boarding school. Boarding schools are rather old stuff for a generation who grew up with Harry Potter, which means a boarding school novel needs a reason to exist. Otherwise it is just a series of character studies Young adult novels are no different that adult novels. They both need a plot to move along the story.

What is good about The Academy? The setting actually works quite well. The students and teachers are a captive group of all types of personalities, and they are all imprisoned within Tiffin Academy. Many of the characters are well defined and interesting. But there are a great many characters, and after a while, keeping them all straight becomes a challenge. If these characters were uniformly interesting, they might be memorable, but that isn't the case in The Academy. What doesn't work? There are too many POV and it often isn't clear who is speaking. I assume there will be a sequel, since that mysterious email still needs to be opened, and if so, adopt a single POV, an omnificent narrator to tell these many stories. A single POV would also bring much needed focus to this story. Since there is no actual plot, just a narration of junior year at boarding school, the lack of a plot becomes a liability.

Thank you to Little Brown & Co and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC to read and review. The above comments are my actual thoughts.

3 stars