I absolutely flew through this book!

The characters were so addixting and lived for the messiness of it all

The drama, the suspense it was … * chefs kiss *

Cannot wait for book 2 because that ending killed me

Blood and Betrayals is exactly what I hoped for: a dark, high-stakes story filled with tension, intrigue, and layered characters navigating a world where trust is a rare commodity. From the first chapter, I was drawn in by the sharp writing and the strong sense of atmosphere. Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune do a great job balancing fast-paced action with quieter, emotionally charged moments that hit surprisingly hard.

The plot is twisty without being confusing, and while some betrayals were expected, a few still managed to catch me off guard. What really stood out to me were the character dynamics—there’s a real depth to the relationships, especially as loyalties shift and truths come to light. The chemistry between the main characters was palpable, but it wasn’t just about romance; it was about survival, trust, and whether redemption is even possible in the world they live in.

I did dock a star because there were moments that felt a bit rushed, and I wanted more development for a couple of side characters whose arcs had so much potential. Still, the main storyline held strong, and I never felt pulled out of the narrative.

Overall, this was a great read, dark, emotionally engaging, and thoroughly entertaining. If you like morally grey characters, messy alliances, and plots that keep you guessing, Blood and Betrayals is worth picking up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

TROPES:
🖤magic academy
🖤 fae & angel
🖤 first love
🖤 he falls first
🖤 black cat/golden retriever
🖤 found family
🖤 stalker
🖤 mystery killer

I don’t even have the words yet….. it can’t end like that.

There was so much depth to this story and so much mystery that I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next. With how quickly the love interest sparked between Connor and Summer I was always waiting for the shoe to drop and for something bad to happen. I love when a book keeps me guessing and I genuinely couldn’t have guessed the ending…

Alice is the best bff for Summer and their connection and love really pulled my heartstrings. They’re both so prickly and hard to love that it made their friendship 10x better.

Now let’s get to the stranger, whoooof, I was intrigued from the beginning. Give the quiet, silent, stalker type and I’m a goner. Then he had to get all possessive about the last name and I was done for. I’m in love. I can’t help it.

I need the next book like I need air.

Dark academia takes a romantic and chaotic spin in this lengthy novel. The characters were fantastic and they made the plot and this book absolutely fly by!

4.5!! this book was an absolute ride — dark academia meets magical chaos in the best possible way. the vibes are immaculate. summer is such a fun, sharp, black-cat-coded mc and connor is peak golden retriever material. the found family got me right in the heart, and i loveddd the friendship between summer and alice! the banter was on point, the tension with the mysterious stranger had me feral, and the plot balanced romance, mystery, and paranormal drama so well. pacing dragged a bit in a few convos, but honestly? didn’t even care. i was too busy giggling, blushing, and theorizing like a maniac. can’t wait for book two.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

6 STARS!!!!!!

I haven't felt this way about a book in sooooo long! I can't possibly wait until next year for the next book!

If you love really well fleshed out urban fantasy, lots of world building, dark academia, found family, an obsessed stalker and spice...PICK THIS UP IMMEDIATELY!

I haven't had the best of luck with books recently, this was everything I needed and more! I loved all of our characters, everyone had such fun personalities and I looked forward to hearing from and about all of them. The relationship between Summer and Alice was so lovely. If you love found family, you need to pick this up.

I'm feral for ALL of our main male characters, Headmaster Emrys and the Stalker were everything. I usually love a dark, broody MMC so I was really surprised that Connor, our down bad golden boy, had my heart.

The ending?! Broke my heart </3

This book was so good, I love every second it was everything I needed in a fantasy book, the characters were great the story was great definitely recommend

Dark academia vibes, but make it spicy. Our main character transfers to a creepy magical university and immediately gets caught up in stalkers, murder, and hot men with secrets. There are vampires, angels, found family, and a lot of steam. It’s long (like... maybe too long in the middle), but I couldn’t stop reading. The pacing dips a bit, but the payoff? So worth it. The ending wrecked me in the best way. If you liked Fourth Wing but wanted it darker and sexier, this is your next read.

Obsessed. I read this in a couple of sittings when I was in Malta and flying home. It’s a thick one and I still didn’t want it to end. I can’t believe I’ve got to wait until March 2026 for the next book.

It’s got:

Dark Fantasy Academia
Stalker
Murder Mystery
Found Family
First Love
Soul Mates
Friends to Lovers
Grumpy x Sunshine

I want:

The Shadowy Secret Stalker
The Headmaster
Max
The Cinnamon Roll Angel

There. I said it.

Just read it. It’s on KU. Also I need a physical copy.

Just finished Blood & Betrayals by Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune and WOW.I’m still reeling from that ending. I did not see it coming. (Neither did Summer😭 sorry I have to cope with humor) That ending had me look at my kindle in shock and I feel like I’m still processing all that happened in last few chapters.

One of my absolute favorite parts was the friendship between Summer and Alice. Their bond felt so real, so loyal to each other. I need more of their dynamic in the next books.

The world-building was incredible dark, magical, and completely immersive. I found myself wanting to know so much more about Summer’s past and what’s still to come. There’s clearly so much depth to her story, and I’m dying for answers.

3.5⭐

The story is super engaging and easy to fly through. It definitely gave me Zodiac Academy vibes. I really loved how Alice and Summer clicked instantly, their friendship was fun and refreshing.

A few things which didn’t vibe with me:

- The book felt longer than in needed to be. There were sections that felt unnecessary, and I think the core plot and message would’ve stayed as strong with fewer pages.
- Insta-love between the main characters. Connor just didn’t feel like the right fit for Summer.
- If I never hear the nickname “big guy” again, it’ll be too soon. Very cringe.
- Summer emotional constipation was a lot and most of the drama seemed to come from her inability to communicate which got frustration.

Overall, it was a good read and I had fun with it. I also need to know more about Stranger and Headmaster Emrys asap.

Thank you NetGalley, Rose and Star Publishing, LLC and authors for this book for review. All opinions are my own.

2.5 stars

I always love a thick book, but I fear that this book was TOO thick. I was initially interested in the world of Blood and Betrayals (school for magical creatures, dark elements, a prophecy, etc.) but this book went on for so long that I ended up not caring about any of these things.

The characters in this book are supposed to be in their mid-to-late 20s, which didn’t really make sense for a university setting, but I was willing to forgive that. However, the characters acted really immature, and so I was questioning why they weren’t aged down to be college aged. Summer and Alice spend all their time partying and fighting people, and I would have believed their behavior a lot more if they were younger. I also felt that the book was very imbalanced. We got so many chapters of things that weren’t plot relevant, and then other events were completely skipped over. Ex. We read about Summer visiting Connor’s family for like 5 chapters, and then her visit to Alice’s home was summed up with one sentence of “We spent the entire time fighting vampires that kept trying to jump us and then we went back to school”. I don’t mind veering off the plot course in a book, but this book did it too much, and suffered from doing so. This book could have cut at least 500 pages from its final product, and it would have worked out much better. The ending was also too abrupt, and felt anti-climactic after 950 pages of buildup. However, I did LOVE the character of the Headmaster, and I’m hoping there’s more of him in book 2.
If you enjoy books that are more character-driven, this book might be for you. For me, I just wasn’t enjoying the constant side quests related to partying, hooking up, and hearing the phrase “big guy” every two pages.

3.5 stars

This was a fun vibes read with lots of spice. I enjoyed the magical academy setting, the various magical species (fae, vampires, angels, shifters, etc.), the spooky vibes, and the friendship between the FMC, Summer and her roommate, Alice. Alice is a ride or die type of friend and a complete badass. Connor is a pretty amazing MMC and I appreciated his patience and acceptance of Summer and his ability to create a safe space for her. However, the smut got a bit repetitive and I found myself more interested in other developing relationships. I'm also curious about some of the other male characters and what role they will play in the next book. I did get somewhat annoyed with Summer for stringing some of the guys along. But she got called out for it, so that helped. Although it was a long read, it was entertaining, and I was invested in the plot, characters, and the murder mystery. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book to see how it all unfolds.

If I could rate this book with 6 stars I absolutely would! This immediately became my favorite book of this year. It has everything I love. Dark academia, romantasy, excellent storyline, world building and characters that I just fell in love with. Read this book!

blood & betrayals by jeanette rose and alexis rune 🌿🩸

⭐️5/5: this book was so fun!! the fact that this book was a thousand pages on my kindle but i flew through it says a lot! this was beyond entertaining and had such fun set of characters.

the mystery kept me hooked and i can’t wait to see how the next book plays out because i need answers!! and that ending was brutal and i’m kinda scared how these characters are gonna react…

can we talk about the stranger?? 😮‍💨 this man had me giggling and kicking my feet the whole time!!!

alice and summers friendship is also one of my fav things ever. i was literally laughing throughout this whole book because of them hehe.

“𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆. 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐.”

This book was amazing!! I enjoyed the pace, it was right amount of world building and magic and love story. I love the found family. The friendship between alice and summer was beautiful. Connor my sweet angel baby! And shadow man Omg I was kinda hoping for a why choose cuz I love both of the guys so much. I cannot wait for the second book!!

Thank you Netgalley, Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune, and Rose and Star Publishing for the E-Arc!

3.5⭐️ /2.5🌶️ (A lot of scenes, but they're not long or super explicit)


I really enjoyed this book. Was it perfect? No. But I was invested enough that I did cry in the end!

It is a dark romantic fantasy set at a magical university. The students attending the school come from all different realms depending on their species. There's angels, shifters, fae, vampires, berserkers, etc. Most chapters are from Summer's (FMC) POV. There are a few chapters sprinkled in from an unknown character(s).

Summer has a dark past that she's not interested in bringing into the light. There's a lot of mystery surrounding her heritage. She's different than the other fae and has never had a sense of belonging. As much as she tries to push down who she is, it keeps wanting to come to the surface and she's forced to face it and choose who to open up to.

This book would be great for readers who love a dark academia/fantasy romance/mystery.

Let's start with the things I loved:
- Connor (the love interest). He is a cinnamon roll. He's instantly obsessed with Summer and he doesn't give up until she agrees to give him a chance.
-Connor's family, Connor comes from a large family with 4 brothers and parents that absolutely adore each other. They all play a huge positive role in the story and I thought it was sweet and gave a found family feeling.
-Alice (the best friend). Alice is a vampire. She also has some secrets and darkness and it gives her the ability to form a somewhat instant bond with Summer. Their sisterhood/wifey relationship is good for Summer.
-The mystery. I can't go into a lot of detail in this regard, but there are a lot of things that are left unknown to Summer and us as readers. The stranger (I kinda actually love him), the hunters, why Summer is being hunted... It definitely left me wanting to continue reading the series.
-Max (the frenemy/ unexpected friend). Their dynamic and banter was fun and I loved that he trained her without treating her like a delicate little doll.
-The headmaster- he seems yummy and I want to know more.

Some things that could've been improved.
- The length. I feel like this book could've been shortened pretty significantly and still had an emotional impact. There were a lot of scenes that felt very much the same. Connor and Summer getting coffee, snuggling, having sex, going to bed, taking a shower, waking up, at the lunch table, sex in the stacks. Yes, it was good to see them interacting, but after a while those scenes started to feel a bit mundane and the plot wasn't very clear for awhile.
-The pacing. This kind of goes back to the length. Because there were a lot of scenes that didn't feel like they were pushing the plot forward, it felt a little slow at times. I found myself skimming the dialogue around the 40% mark because it was a lot of the same activities. When it got to around the 60% mark the plot became a little more clear and the story started to feel like it was moving forward a little quicker.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I'm still a little uncertain on what the actual plot of the book is. I don't understand what's actually happening and why. I don't really understand the world, the realms, and the politics. I hope to find that out, but I feel like there's still a lot of uncertainty around a lot of it. I will continue to read the series to find out what happens next especially given the way this one ended! I also have some theories about who this stranger is.... can't wait to find out.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
I think if you like zodiac academy you would love this! It's definitely not dark academia it's more just drama at a magic school with some modern elements like AirPods and phones. If you want magical gossip girl then this is for you. I'm just pretty bored with all of the characters and don't care to continue.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book consumed me. I am unwell after reading this. I didn't think it was possible to have SO many emotions- like, this one re-wired my brain. In the best and worst ways.
5 stars all around. Pretty sure I'm gonna need therapy though.
This one is freaking looooooong, the longest story I think I've ever read so far! And I couldn't put it down, I lost sleep over it 😅

It's a dark academia and has fae, angels, shifters, vampires, etc; literally something for everyone and the magic system is so unique!
One of my absolute fave things about this book has to be the found family, especially Summer and Alice's (her vampire roommate) friendship, I love them both so much and I adore how they just accept eachother and will literally do anything for eachother ughh

Summer has to be one of my favourite fmc's, she's relatable in so many ways and the mental health rep in this is too good. She doesn't take bs from anyone, yet she's seen struggling multiple times throughout, I loved seeing her character grow and become more open to her relationships since she constantly believes herself to not be worthy of love/kindness.

Then we get to meet Connor, who is the golden retriever, angel mc that falls harddd for Summer and I absolutely adoreee them together, he is a literal green flag but I love how he accepts her into his family so easily and shows her what love is. He cares soooo much and it makes my heart acheee ah
Especially after that ending!! Like what!!! I cried. I almost threw my phone. Almost. Prepare to scream, laugh, cry, etc.

I adore all of the side characters in this but holy I need more of the Headmaster & the Stalker 👀 Def giving off some RH vibes buuut who knows, a girl can only hope 🤞

After that ending I was staring into the void for so long, I didn't know how to function and I need book 2 like asap. Now. 😂

This was amazing eventhough it killeddd me, that ending unalived me. It was heartbreaking but had the most amazing world building and character development, the suspense kept me awake at night, the spice was spicing and I just don't have words. Just go read it asap!

I’ve put off this review for days because this book broke me. It has induced a book hangover like I’ve never had before.

Dark academia is always my vibe. If I ever say otherwise, then I’ve been a victim of body snatchers. With academia, however, most tend to have an upper age limit of 22/23 years old. I loved that B&B is an academia setting where most students are at least in their late 20s (especially so when you consider the lifespan of non-mortals). Let’s be real, the late 20s/early 30s crowd can still be rash, impulsive, and messy.

The grumpy/sunshine dynamic between Summer and Connor is iconic. I love them and the development of their relationship and how they (eventually) communicate boundaries and feelings. I love how the entire Morningstar family welcomes Summer and shows her what it’s like to be loved unconditionally. I love how Alice, the best friend, knows she’s still #1.

The Stranger is a unique element of the story and I’m so intrigued to know more about him. There’s definitely a shared darkness between him and Summer that I feel must be tied to her background.

It’s been days and I still tear up when I think about the end of this book. I’ve been coming up with wild theories because I refuse to believe it. I would give anything for the authors to give me a sign that there’s more at play and it wasn’t real. Please. PLEASE.