Heir of Shadows (Daizlei Academy, #1)

by Kel Carpenter

I flew through this. It was a really easy read and it was fairly enjoyable.

That being said - this book isn't good. It could be good. There's a lot of potential here for something special to be added to the paranormal genre. But this is not that. Frankly, this book needs to be reworked and properly edited.

One of the biggest problems is the world building. The author obviously has a very clear vision of what this world is - but it's not conveyed clearly. There's a fine line between adding too much detail and not enough and here - it's not enough. There's no proper explanations behind a lot of the existing world building. Why are the supernaturals all in one place. How did they never run into their own kind. Why is it such a big deal they manifested early. What are their abilities - the author shows more than tells but this book would benefit for having some explanation of the different types of supernaturals and the world they live in. What is the killing gene - how do they test for it - why is it never discussed, is it taboo? why can't they tell Lily, how does Alexandra protect herself when she doesn't have it. Etc, etc, etc.

The other big issue is the plot reveal of what the hell Selena is. I get the author was trying to build up the tension but it fell pretty flat. Without a proper explanation of why her ability is so dangerous - I was just left thinking huh. And a bit more of her backstory would've probably helped this. Particular why she would be regarded as dangerous and what sort of danger she would be in and why she would need to keep it secret. Without it just seemed like she was been way too dramatic. It's said Selena has no control over how to use it but without an explanation of what her abilities are specifically and how they work this just seemed ridiculous.

The characters themselves were alright although Lily's character wasn't fleshed out enough and neither were the other secondary characters. Also back to the world building quickly - why have a school without rules and if there are rules then how come no one gets called to the headmaster's office for discipline - they had one detention at the start and then it was like the author forgot there might be rules - like why run a school if students just skip a bunch of classes - how do they just get away with it? Right characters, the romance was nothing special. It basically should've just been left as best friends and remove all hints at romance or include a lot more romance - one of the two because as is it falls flat. I like her relationship with her sisters but the dynamics needed to be fleshed out more.


I enjoyed this and it was easy enough to get through but I had to ignore a lot to get there. I don't believe I'll continue with this series as is - unless they come up free on amazon, then maybe. However, if it was reissued I would definitely give it a go. Three stars for pure enjoyment, but the reality is as is, this is a two star book.