Cruel Magic by Eva Chase – A Book Review

Posted May 12, 2019 by Booksandblurbs in PNR, Reverse Harem, Reviews / 2 Comments

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Cruel Magic

(Royals of Villain Academy – Book 1)

by Eva Chase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Slow Burn, Paranormal Academy RH

Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down and Dirty

A great start to a wicked new series – pick it up today!

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

I thought I was ordinary Rory Franco: college student, artist, and over-protected daughter. Then mages barge into my family’s home, murder my parents, and whisk me off to a university known to the rest of magical society as Villain Academy.

It turns out I’m Persephone Bloodstone, the long lost heir to one of the five royal families of dark magic. I’m destined to learn how to manipulate the world with fear—and to stand beside the four other scions: the scorching-hot, arrogant young men who rule this school.

Unfortunately, I’m having trouble locating my supposedly wicked skills. I don’t want to use a power that feeds off people’s pain, but I have to tap into my talents fast if I want to survive. I’ve got no time to grieve for my family. The students here are even more vicious than the teachers, and my fellow scions are worst of all.

The four of them crush anyone who doesn’t kowtow. No way will I bow to any villain, no matter how brutally alluring. They can turn on the charm or tear me down, but they can’t break me, even if I can barely get my magic working.

They’ve never met anyone like me before. I don’t care about ruling. I just want to avenge the people I loved.

It doesn’t matter what kind of power runs through my veins. I’m taking Villain Academy down.

*Cruel Magic is the first in a university-age paranormal academy series. Expect magical villainy, a tough heroine who bends to no one’s will, a dollop of steam, and a slow-burn reverse harem romance where there’ll be no choosing required.*

Thoughts

Bully and academy romances are all the rage right now, filling Amazon page after Amazon page of recommendations. While this little gem may fit snuggly into that saturated genre, it stands apart and shines on its own by offering an incredibly intriguing story, fantastic characters and a whole new world I can’t help but want to explore more.

It is also the kind of ‘bully romance’ I really CAN read. Many of the offerings on the market today are cruel for cruel’s sake, setting men against women in situations that make little sense, with reactions that just make me cringe – or worse, cry. Cruel Magic, on the other hand, serves a point with its ‘bullying’ – and the author allows the reader to peek behind the scenes by serving up multiple POV that galvanize, instead of hampering, the plot.

It’s well done and I can’t wait to see what happens with the Barons, the Scions and Rory in Book 2!

Perspective

First Person, Multiple POV

Ending Type

Cliffhanger

Rating

NC-17 (but far from extreme)

Pros:

Well Written.
Great use of Multiple POV
Character growth.
Rory is amazing, and the kind of strong I want to be.
Malcom…. do I love him? Do I hate him? Who cares… I’m paying attention to him.

Cons:

Nothing structurally, just plot wise – the idea of ‘Nary’s’ on campus bothers me, especially when I think of what purpose they probably serve. Mind you, this bothers Rory too – and that is likely the point, character development wise.

Verdict

4 out of 5 Stars

A great start to a new series – a bit wicked and thoroughly enjoyable! I would recommend this to any fan of Academy stories, Bully Romances (though it is NOT REALLY a bully romance…) magic stories, of The Descendants.

Published May 8th, 2019

300 Pages

Please note, this is a Reverse Harem Series that will feature sexual themes or scenes more suited to an adult audience.