If you love Academia, secret missions, and forbidden attraction - this is going to be the book for you. Immediately mentioning Scotland drew me in, and I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed in this book.

The first half of this book was interesting, but it lost steam after that. There isn’t much that happens. Some of the sentence structure makes it obvious that it was translated into English and I think it should have been edited a bit more thoroughly.

Thank you to LYX and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Anywhere follows Emma as she travels to Dunbridge Academy to learn more about her estranged father. As Emma gets to know Henry, she feels drawn to him in ways she tries to resist. Because, shocker -- he has a girlfriend. Emma navigates a new school, being away from her mom, trying to learn the truth about her father, and trying desperately to not fall in love with a taken man. This love story blends deeper themes of grief and morality into the romance genre, providing a truly captivating story. This is the first installment in the Dunbridge Academy series and I will be picking up the next one!

Emma and Henry's chemistry is sultry and soothing. The complexities of the plot add to what you may think is your standard romance fluff at first. Trust me, this one has substance.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.
I started reading with an open mind but around the 40% mark, I couldn’t finish. Perhaps it’s the way it’s translated but I really couldn’t relate to the main characters. I didn’t like the forbidden romance vibe. Emma and Henry falling for each other while he has a girlfriend is just messy and not for me. It’s definitely YA romance. Perhaps you will like this book but I didn’t.

He could be anywhere else... but he's right here, with me.
Academia, secret missions, and forbidden attraction-Anywhere had all the ingredients to pull me in. Emma arrives at Dunbridge Academy chasing answers about her father's past, not expecting to get tangled up with Henry Bennington... who just so happens to have a girlfriend.
Set in the moody halls of a Scottish boarding school, this book explores the fine line between curiosity and connection, but the emotional depth I wanted just didn't land. I wanted to be obsessed with Henry's green eyes and Emma's search for truth, but the chemistry didn't fully ignite and the mystery subplot felt sidelined.
This one has the vibes-academic rivals, family secrets, midnight confessions-but I needed more depth in the character development and pacing to really feel invested.
• Tropes & themes:
• Forbidden romance
• Boarding school setting
• Family secrets
• Messy emotions
• Midnight study sessions
• Slow burn-ish tension

I think the prose is great, and the idea was definitely there. I do hope that it went through another round of editing. You can tell it was translated because the English and the sentence structure were hard to get through at times.

✈️ He could be anywhere else… but he’s right here, with me.
Academia, secret missions, and forbidden attraction—Anywhere had all the ingredients to pull me in. Emma arrives at Dunbridge Academy chasing answers about her father’s past, not expecting to get tangled up with Henry Bennington… who just so happens to have a girlfriend. 😬

Set in the moody halls of a Scottish boarding school, this book explores the fine line between curiosity and connection, but the emotional depth I wanted just didn’t land. I wanted to be obsessed with Henry’s green eyes and Emma’s search for truth, but the chemistry didn’t fully ignite and the mystery subplot felt sidelined.

This one has the vibes—academic rivals, family secrets, midnight confessions—but I needed more depth in the character development and pacing to really feel invested.

🎓 Tropes & themes:
• Forbidden romance
• Boarding school setting
• Family secrets
• Messy emotions
• Midnight study sessions
• Slow burn-ish tension

If you love prestige academia meets personal discovery with a whisper of drama, this might still hit the spot for you—especially if you’re in the mood for something soft and lightly angsty.

#Anywhere #SarahSprinz #DunbridgeAcademy #NetGalleyReads #AcademicRomance #ForbiddenRomance #FamilySecrets #NewAdultBooks #RomanceBookReview #BookstagramRomance #SpicyReads #MoodyRomance #DarkAcademiaVibes

Hmm… I wanted to love this because the idea of forbidden love, an academic setting, and a bit of a mystery on top of it all sounded good, but I don’t think the execution was done well.

Emma and Henry meet on their way to Dunbridge Academy. Henry has been going there his whole life so he kind of takes Emma under his wing. He has a GF, so when Henry and Emma get closer… it gets a bit messy.

Emma is also going to this Academy because she wants to find and reconnect with her father and there is a bit of a mystery going on with that + a professor at school.

Idk. Here’s the thing-none of it was flushed out well enough. I didn’t feel emotionally connected to either MC so it made it hard for me to care what happened to them.

It also felt like the whole line w/emma finding her father took a backseat.


Definitely new adult so I appreciate that being correct.

Overall I wouldn’t recommend.

Thank you NetGalley && LYX for the ARC!

I really thought this was going to be a winner with the summary of this story but sadly it fell quite flat for me. It lacked a plot that sucked me in and kept me engaged. In addition, the English translation was very noticeable in some parts that made reading very strange.

This fell flat for me. It felt to repetitive throughout the story and overall lacked plot and something to suck me in.
I may revisit again at a later date to see if my rating changes.

Okay so… the plot is cute. Emma moves to another country to go to Dunbridge Academy and lowkey figure out what happened to her missing dad. Along the way she literally bumps into Henry and instantly becomes obsessed, but of course—he already has a girlfriend 🙃 Classic.

The plot is super predictable, but I kept reading because I thought maybe something interesting would happen (spoiler: not really sure it did?). The biggest issue for me though was the translation—it’s originally in German, and you can definitely tell. Some phrases were just straight-up weird?? I had to reread a few lines like… wait, is that what they meant?? If this is being published in English, it seriously needs a second pass with a diverse group of readers.

Also, this is marketed as YA, but nope—definitely reads older. So yeah, not a total flop, but not what I was hoping for either.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

The story follows Emma, who enrolls at Dunbridge Academy—the same school her parents once attended—with the hope of uncovering the mystery behind her father's disappearance years ago. Determined to avoid distractions, Emma's plans are upended when she meets Henry, a fellow student. Their connection deepens through secret midnight parties and moonlit walks, but complications arise as Henry is already in a relationship, and Emma fears heartbreak. Anywhere offers a heartfelt exploration of young love and self-discovery within a captivating boarding school setting

I loved the writing and setting in this book! I love a good book set in an academy, just because of all the tension and this delivered! I loved the characters and cannot wait to read more in this series!

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and Simon & Schuster Client for the opportunity to read this DRC. I enjoy books that take place in boarding schools, especially outside of the US and this was an enjoyable read over the long Memorial weekend. Emma was definitely on an emotional journey throughout the entire book and all of the hidden secrets boiled up to one explosive bang for everyone in her orbit. There definitely will be some people who feel this isn't their cup of tea due to various tropes involved (quasi cheating, miscommunication, absentee parents, and so on).
My only quibble with the story is her previous friend/ex-boyfriend she left in Germany -- I felt too much was discussed about these off-scene characters and it could have been less than a paragraph devoted to this.

Definitely give this a chance if you are looking for a slow-burn, slow-read put down and do other things or read another book in addition to this one. I'd be curious to see about book 2.

this was just ok for me. Kind of reminds me of Maxton Hall. i think im just too old for it honestly. if i were much younger id probably enjoy more