I ABSOLUTELY devoured this book! it gave me dark academia and paranormal vibes. honestly i got sort of Zodiac academy vibes with all of the creatures in the world. 100% black cat FMC and a golden retriever MMC and slow burn. There was found family that wormed my heart reading it. the story was so ell written and fast paced with the murder mystery plot in the background. the romance was amazing to the point that i just needed more and could not stop reading. this is a fun and absolutely hilarious book to read for the summer months!

4⭐️

I saw someone say this book was a mix of Zodiac Academt and Nocticadia and I can fully agree!!

I was immediately immersed into the plot of this book and the authors do such a great job at the world building. You get a good mix of everything in here like fae, vampires, shifters and etc which I LOVEEEE. Plus I just love a good academic setting.
The found family in this was so amazing!! And I felt like all the characters were unique and well thought out. And those MMCs are *chefs kiss* BUT my favorite part what the muster plot because it’s MY FAVEEE in romances/fantasies. Overall I had such a fun time reading this and very much recommend!

I got lost in the world and mystery of Blood & Betrayals. I was already looking for book 2 before the insane ending of this book. I have so many questions and no answers. Can’t wait to see the rest of Summer’s story and if she will find the answers that she needs.

I really enjoyed this book and decided on 4 stars. It’s is a gripping blend of romance and suspense, with well-drawn characters and emotional tension. The chemistry between the MC’s is electric, and the twists keep the story moving long. Some plot points felt a bit predictable, but its well written and engaging.. Perfect for fans of dark romance with a touch of danger.

Oh my this book!!

I have been absolutely obsessed with this book it is just the perfect blend of darkness, fantasy, romance, spice and suspense!

The book follows the main character Summer as she navigates her way through her first year of school in Avalon. She is a fae and the school is host to many magical types. Summer quickly makes friends with Alice a vampire with her own trauma and story to share. But this relationship is just perfect their humour and sarcasm just spoke to me. The friendship felt completely real and authentic. Along with her studies summer and Alice are parties and it is at a party summer is offered the stories most comical and famous sandwich!

Summer and Connor’s relationship is a fantastic, hot and steamy whirl wind. Like most first loves they fall hard and fast.

When a murder happens on school grounds we discover get throw. Into a murder mystery Summer cannot let go of. A strange online stalker also gets added in there who is seeming to be just the right shade of morally grey!

Our FMC finds her strength and will not let others battle for her, she is strong and independent. This story has it all and I need book 2 NOW!!!

I will definitely be returning to this series as soon as it arrives because that cliff hanger was just unfair!

I received an ARC of Blood & Betrayals by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune through NetGalley, and wow, this dark academia romantasy had me hooked from the start! Set in the mystical halls of Avalon University, this book dives deep into a world of magic, murder, and tangled relationships. Here’s my honest take with pros and cons for this gripping debut.

Pros:
The atmosphere of Avalon University is intoxicating—think ancient stone corridors, arcane runes glowing in the dark, and a constant sense of danger. Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune craft a vivid, immersive world that blends dark academia with urban fantasy vibes, perfect for fans of Zodiac Academy or Crescent City. The story follows Summer Tuatha De Daanan, a sharp-tongued fae trying to keep a low profile, only to get swept into a murder mystery and a stalker’s deadly game. Summer’s prickly, guarded nature makes her a compelling heroine, and her emotional journey, especially around trauma and healing, feels raw and authentic. The cast of characters steals the show: Alice, her unhinged vampire roommate, is a ride-or-die bestie with killer banter, and Connor, the golden retriever-energy angel, brings heart-melting warmth. The mysterious “Stranger” (hello, shadow daddy!) adds a thrilling, obsessive edge that kept me guessing. The plot is a rollercoaster of twists, with murders and secrets piling up, and the pacing keeps you glued despite the book’s hefty length. The spice is spicy, the found-family vibes are heartwarming, and the mix of thriller and romantasy is addictive.

Cons:
That said, the book isn’t flawless. At over 900 pages, it’s a beast, and while I loved the depth, some sections, particularly in the middle, felt bloated with repetitive inner monologues that could’ve been trimmed. The magic system, with its runes and multi-realm creatures, is intriguing but sometimes vague, leaving me wanting clearer rules. A few side characters, like some of the other students, didn’t get enough development to make their roles as impactful as Alice or Connor’s. The romance, while steamy, occasionally leans into over-the-top pet names that had me cringing alongside Alice. The cliffhanger ending is brutal (my heart is still recovering!), and a couple of plot threads felt unresolved in a way that left me more frustrated than excited for book two.

Overall, Blood & Betrayals is a bold, addictive start to the Avalon University series, packed with dark magic, messy emotions, and characters you’ll fall hard for. Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune have crafted a world I’m dying to return to, even if it could use a bit of tightening. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Rose & Star Publishing for the ARC, I’d recommend this to anyone craving a spicy, suspenseful romantasy with a dark academia twist.

Wow! This was very good!
The worldbuilding, the characters, the story - very intriging!
Loved the chaotic and deepfound relationship between Alice and Summer, and the Golden boy was very well written.
There's a lot of mystery and stalking-vibes, but at the same time you get a lot of romance (and spice).

It's one of those storys were you think you know, but then you know nothing!
This will keep you wondering and hit you right in the feels.

A bit long, but definitely worth a try if you like a dark urban fantasy and thriller vibes in a magical university.

A thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, and hopefully we get the next book ASAP :)

Holy hell—this is just like ZA, I’m not even kidding! I’M OBSESSED🔥The plot was honestly great, Summer (the FMC) was very likable, her friendship with Alice gave me some serious college flashbacks - the characters acted very realistic lol! Alice is honestly one of the best side characters I’ve read in a while—she just felt so real.

And Stranger?? The tension between him and Summer??? Don’t even get me started - absolute chef’s kiss. I’ve got a couple theories about who it might be, but the piercings?! OH MY GOSH😮‍💨

Also, the fact that the book was over 1k pages?? Fan service at its finest, and I loved every second of it 🖤 Only thing that I disliked a bit was some of the FMC + MMC convos—they got kinda repetitive, but whatever, the spice made up for it haha🌶️ Can't wait to read book 2!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the eARC 😊

This really didn't work for me. We start off with an FMC, Summer, who supposedly doesn't want to get close to anyone, yet immediately befriends her roommate, Alice. I will give credit where it's due and say that the found family vibe between Summer and Alice was well done. Very soon after this, like.. that same night.. Summer meets Connor, immediately makes out with him and they eventually get together. Connor is a certified sweetheart but kind of lacks any real personality otherwise. All of these characters are apparently in their late 20's/early 30's but I don't believe that for a second. They act like your typical, drunk, 19/20 year old college kids. This book reads like fanfic and goes on for much too long. It should've been condensed to under 500 pages. Even then, I just wasn't particularly blown away with any aspect of the story. There are also way too many pop culture names used here, and a little more backstory and world building would've helped overall. I also wasn't into the "stranger" and thought it seemed to make the plot a lot more infuriating than it already was. This was a book I almost DNF'd early on, and honestly, I probably should've done just that. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter. Even with school and a busy schedule, I finished it in 10 days - which, for me, is pretty fast. The writing is addictive and the pacing kept me turning pages.

The characters were the highlight for me. I freaking loved the Morningstars - Luke, Rafe, Zach, Zane - and especially Connor. My sweet, loyal, golden retriever boy! He was patient, kind, and honestly deserved so much better. Alice was another standout - total badass and such a fierce, fun character to follow.

But I really struggled with Summer’s character and her choices, especially when it came to her interactions with 'The Stranger'. I’m not a fan of relationship dynamics that feel dishonest or tiptoe too close to cheating, and unfortunately, that took a lot of the enjoyment out of the story for me. The secrecy, flirting, and poor communication made it hard to root for certain relationships, and it soured what could’ve been a great romantasy arc.

The ending was emotional and the cliffhanger hit hard, I even cried - but to be honest, I don’t see myself continuing with the series, which is disappointing because the story had so much potential!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m struggling a lot with this review. I genuinely loved the writing, the authors built a world that sucked me in and was wonderfully imagined. The concept is so cool and the way this book thrills you is amazing. I never had any idea what to expect and the intrigue and suspense sucked me in. I have so many questions and so little answers and I cannot wait to find out the bigger picture.

Our FMC, Summer, is a Faerie surrounded by questionable circumstances who was raised in a quite abusive situation, which caused some sort of (mental?) block on her powers in order to protect herself, and some intense attachment issues. Although I can understand her self-destructive tendencies, they also really frustrated me. Writing this out, I think it might be because the mental health/trauma rep is done SO well that it reminds me of me before my extensive therapy, and my frustrations towards Summer are actually more towards my struggling troubled inner child who worked so hard on healing but is still present in everything i do? *adds to list of things to talk about in therapy*

The friendship between her and Alice was so fun, because although they’re both young and quite volatile, they could also be true to themselves and honest with each other, and the mutual support was beautiful. Connor, Summer’s arch angel boyfriend, is a ray of sunshine. The man is a literal golden retriever, a darling, and I often felt bad for him. I can understand why Summer is so hesitant to love and I know a healthy relationship doesn’t come naturally, but certain things happened that broke my heart for him.

All in all, I’m still extremely intrigued and I cannot wait to find out more over the course of the next books! I need to find out more about the headmaster, I need to know more about Stranger, I need to know Summer’s history, I need to KNOW!!! Also; after that ending I need an address to send my therapy bill to and a hug.

I’m in utter disbelief and shock. That was a rude cliffhanger, Jeanette and Alexis.

While I enjoyed the book, it was long, I took a break halfway through. The story felt like it wasn’t going anywhere at that point and I needed a change of pace as it was getting repetitive. The pacing of the book was different with the last two chapters being an absolute whirlwind that had some story gaps that I’m hoping get filled in with book 2.

Honorable mention: The way they wove in the lore of Tuatha Dé Danann into the Fae, *chefs kiss*. Love seeing fae folklore especially in this very modern urban fantasy world.

Cast of characters and my thoughts on each:

Alice Legosi is my spirit vampire. I love her so much.

Summer was kind of a pain. She kept falling into the same patterns and did not learn or grow from her mistakes. But I feel like this was intentional and we’ll see major shifts in her in book 2. While she was a pain, I did understand her fears and emotions.

Alice and Summer’s friendship was so wonderful and watching Summer learn, even if it was slowly, to build other relationships felt so real and relatable.

Summer and Connor are disgustingly adorable and so very, very horny. Connor was personally a little too much for me. I felt like Summer needed to add a few more people to the relationship to help balance out Connor’s endless golden retriever energy.

The Stranger… omg. He is what kept me hooked and needing to know who the fuck he is. I have my theories.

Headmaster Emyrs…. yes please, although his first name is Jim, really? No.

Rafe, I hope we see more of your broody, grumpy self.

Max, I sure hope we see you go full Berserker mode and more training sessions.

---

Star: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Steam: 💋💋💋
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Dark: 🌆 **sunset**

“There are those who die in fire and those who thrive in it.”

Blood & Betrayals follows Summer, a fae starting her first year at an elite magic institution known as Avalon University. While trying to move on from a dark past, Summer finds herself opening up to new people (her feral vampire roommate bestie Alice, and boyfriend Connor, while navigating murders happening on campus.

Not only are the characters themselves incredible, the relationships between them are absolutely everything. This book also contains the absolute most satisfying found family. Summer has so much character growth and it was emotional to see how she learns to let others love her and to love others. There were so many layers and different types of relationships that I felt like I was a student as well watching all this unfold. The whole magic system with the runes was particularly interesting. I loved the murder mystery element so much. The twists in this book are INSANE.
.

I absolutely loved this. I have theories, I did research on Arthurian legends after I finished the book…I have so many questions.

First of all, I have never seen a main character have so much tension and chemistry with this many other characters without it being a reverse harem story 😂 I am still waiting for this to turn into a RH. Please please please.

I didn’t really love Summer right away but she really grew on me. I get that her character is really jaded and is basically like a stray cat who tries to claw everyone’s eyes out if they try to pet her…but girl, give your friends a little credit. She got there eventually. My only complaint for this entire thicc monster of a book is that I have developed a violent allergy to the nickname “big guy” and if I hear it again, I will exorcist style projectile vomit. Summer, girlfriend, change it up a little. Use his actual name. Try out a few options. FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS ☠️

Alice is the absolute perfect best friend. Full-on black cat energy, only likes 1 or 2 people but loves to shop. Only does social things ironically. Scares off anyone who tries to talk to you. Honestly, I need an Alice.

Connor… I have a lot to say but I’m going to hold back. You gave me Liam from FW personality but added slight Tamlin (ACOTAR) vibes and I was gaslighting myself the whole time. I sort of hated him but felt guilty about it. Was it deserved? No. Poor Connor just tries way too hard and gets on my nerves.

Emrys, Max, Rafe, the Stranger…listen, if you need a female for a reverse harem with any and all of these dudes, I volunteer as tribute. My husband would understand. 🤤

I am BEGGING for a book 2 ARC.

DNF @ 25%

First, I’d like to state that, as a general personal rule, I try my hardest not to DNF books I’ve already started. This is especially true of ARCs, which is how I got this book. I tried hard to push through, but I’m only human and must admit that, at a certain point, a book just isn’t clicking with me.

I requested this ARC because the synopsis interested me, and the cover—dark bricks covered in ivy—looked fitting for a moody and mysterious academia tale; thus, I said, “Sign me up!” I like good ol’ fantasy school settings, and I’ve seen comparisons to Zodiac Academy. I read the first two books of Zodiac Academy when I was younger and found them to be entertaining popcorn reads. From how Blood & Betrayals’s synopsis is written and the slightly understated cover, I thought this would be a bit more mature and less cartoony compared to Zodiac Academy, so I felt comfortable requesting it. Unfortunately, within the first two chapters, this book proves to be at the same maturity level as Zodiac Academy.

Before I delve into why this book failed to work for me, I do want to say that the idea itself is cute. The university map provided in the book looked super fun and showed creativity and thought, which I appreciated. I’m always interested in the idea of fictional multi-species institutions because seeing different Fantasy and Sci-Fi creatures—including but not limited to vampires, fae, and shifters—interact can be entertaining.

Moving on to my reasons for a DNF…

This book is very juvenile. For one that is supposed to be in an academic setting with older characters, the characters behave more like high schoolers than people in their "late-20s/early-30s." I was so excited when the book mentioned the older demographic of the students because I love seeing older characters in college. Usually, that means we get the fun university setting without all the peaked-in-high-school drama. However, I quickly found that these characters are mainly fixated on the college partying lifestyle, which just doesn’t call to me anymore. The dialogue is reminiscent of stereotypical American high school movies. (This book literally still has the bubbly cheerleader clinging on to the musclehead jock cliche.) I felt like I was transported back to the past with the overt use of outdated caricatures. It just wasn’t fun to read for me because I’ve already gone through that reading phase.

The biggest problem I had was with the main character. Don’t get me wrong, all the other characters were more or less 2D caricatures. However, the female lead—Summer—is an amalgamation of the “not like other girls” and “no one understands me” tropes that were popular in the 2010s. I think I wouldn’t have minded it as much if we weren’t stuck in her first-person POV, but we were. I really couldn’t connect with her narration because she just came off as unlikable and immature.

The last strike I'll mention is just the lack of proper development of character relationships. Summer is made to be this standoffish girl, which she is to an extent, but she basically becomes besties with her roommate upon first meeting. Honestly, all of Summer's friendships and relationships just seem too convenient and underdeveloped.

Although this book didn’t work for me, I do think it can find its readers. It checks off many common New Adult tropes and has the NA vibe. If you’re interested in a NA romantasy with a modern writing style and a magical college life setting (similar to the early Zodiac Academy books and Vampire Academy), I think this is worth a try.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Note: I normally don’t assign ratings to DNFs that I haven’t at least hit 50% on. Therefore, I will be leaving no rating for this review on my review platforms.

Blood & Betrayals was such a wild, addictive ride—I couldn’t put it down! Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune absolutely nailed the mix of tension, spice, and emotional twists. If you’re into enemies-to-lovers with a paranormal edge, this book is going to be your new obsession.

The chemistry between the main characters? Off the charts. I was living for their banter and slow-burn tension. And just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, the story threw in a twist that had me gasping. The world-building is rich without being overwhelming, and the betrayals (yes, plural!) hit hard in all the best ways.

This book has everything I love in a dark romance—fated vibes, morally gray decisions, high stakes, and just enough spice to keep things extra fun. I already can’t wait to see where the series goes from here!

Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for something intense, emotional, and a little bit dangerous 🔥🖤

*ੈ✩‧₊˚Rating*ੈ✩‧₊˚
4/5 Stars

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗Tropes˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
🏫 Found Family
💫 Insta Lust
🏫 Fmc Has A Stalker
💫 Black Cat (Fmc) x Golden Retriver (Mmc)
🏫He Falls First And Hard
💫Dark Acedamia Setting

💭 Thoughts-
This book was actually a wonderful book but, I definitely had a couple of things I didn’t like, most of them just being one thing, to be honest. That is that I just hate Hate the mmc. I thought he was annoying and moving way too fast with their relationship in the book. I was just honestly hoping the whole way through that he would either die or that she would break up with him, so that then I wouldn’t have to suffer through reading more about him. If you can’t tell, I’m totally rooting for a certain stranger. (ifykyk) Besides that, though, I really enjoyed the book and the overall plot of it and could not put it down! I absolutely loved the ending of the book though and thought it was great! Overall, though, I would totally recommend this book!

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(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

I'm torn about this book.
The start grabbed my attention, but with the first spiciness being around 100 pages in, I knew this was going to be a LONG read.

I enjoyed the world, the storyline and the way the plot was written. If it didn't have 30 yr olds acting like teenagers, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.

The length was a bit excessive so it did take some time- if I realised it was that long I probably would have skipped over it.

Thanks NetGalley and author for aproviding this ARC to read!

There didn't need to be 1027 pages 😒 lots of repetition and not enough answers.
This book has so much potential! With some serious editing and more proof reading it would be perfect!

4.5 stars! Okay love how it ended, that was exactly what I was hoping was going to happen! I love Alice and Summer's relationship so much and love all the found family! And the stranger!!! Can’t wait to find out more about him!