School for Psychics by K.C. Archer

School for Psychics (School for Psychics, #1)

by K.C. Archer

An entrancing new series starring a funny, impulsive, and sometimes self-congratulatory young woman who discovers she has psychic abilities—and then must decide whether she will use her skills for good or…not.

Teddy Cannon isn’t your typical twenty-something woman. Yes she’s resourceful, bright, and scrappy. But she can also read people with uncanny precision. What she doesn’t realize: she’s actually psychic.

When a series of bad decisions leads Teddy to a run-in with the police, a mysterious stranger intervenes. He invites her to apply to the School for Psychics, a facility hidden off the coast of San Francisco where students are trained like Delta Force operatives: it’s competitive, cutthroat, and highly secretive. They’ll learn telepathy, telekinesis, investigative skills, and SWAT tactics. And if students survive their training, they go on to serve at the highest levels of government, using their skills to protect America, and the world.

In class, Teddy befriends Lucas, a rebel without a cause who can start and manipulate fire; Jillian, a hipster who can mediate communication between animals and humans; and Molly, a hacker who can apprehend the emotional state of another individual. But just as Teddy feels like she’s found where she might belong, strange things begin to happen: break-ins, missing students, and more. It leads Teddy to accept a dangerous mission that will ultimately cause her to question everything—her teachers, her friends, her family, and even herself.

Set in a world very much like our own, School for Psychics is the first book in a stay-up-all night series.

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

3 of 5 stars

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This book was suuuuch a cliché monster.

Everything you can think of happening in Misfit Goes to Magical School and Becomes Hero By Defying the Odds! book is in School for Psychics.  Dropout who has presumed her life cursed turns out to have magical abilities? Check.  Misfit group of BFFs?  Check.  Awkward and inappropriate romantic interest?  Check.  Being the most special at her magical school?  Check.

Honestly, I could keep going.

But, despite all that, School for Psychics is actually a very readable book.  No twist was surprising, but the characters were likable enough, and it was a fun sort of romp.  It definitely comes off as a grocery store paperback, but it's not the worst one I've read.

Our cast of characters fall into all the tropes you'd expect.  Teddy, the outcast and hero.  Jillian and Dara, the weird friends.  Pyro, the could-be-but-won't-be love interest.  Kate, the we're-not-friends-but-we-can-be-allies acquaintance.  There's the friends who could be good, or bad, and you're not supposed to know! (Tip: they're always secretly bad, but occasional repentant).  These will all be familiar faces to avid readers, and nothing really sets these characters apart from any other book, but they are always comforting to see.  My personal favorite of this cast was Kate, who seemed to have more depth than a lot of the other characters.

In as far as the love story goes, ugh.  This is one of those books that could have and should have operated perfectly well without a love interest.  Archer tried to force some steamy moments between Teddy and her teacher/FBI mentor Nick, and not only did they not work for the story, but they were really awkward.

There are no surprises in School for Psychics, but it is an enjoyable enough read to pass a lazy afternoon.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 17 February, 2018: Finished reading
  • 17 February, 2018: Reviewed