The Academy

The Academy by Cordelia Castel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second entry of author Cordelia Castel’s Seven Kingdoms series opens with Rilla continuing to elude the man to whom she was promised marriage, Lord Orson Bluebeard, going to the city of Metropole to Prince Armin’s palace. Lord Bluebeard quickly has his fiancé put on trial for alleged violation of their contract, with Rilla escaping her arranged marriage due to conscription in the Anti-Magic Army and attendance of its Academy. However, she quickly learns that life at the Academy isn’t exactly ideal, for while she does make a few friends such as Millissa, others, chiefly princesses with whom she shares a dorm, disdain her.

Rilla also struggles academically, as she initially fails her Art of Assassination class for not presenting her thesis, due to an attempt against her life that led to her hospitalization in the school infirmary. Lord Bluebeard warns his fiancé about the pitfalls of the Academy, and another attempt at her life comes in the form of her stumbling into a subterranean dragon’s den in the middle of the woods. Events at a tavern also lead to Rilla’s arrest, although Lord Bluebeard promises to cover her fines if she goes to a royal ball with him, to which she agrees.

A hands-on combat exam will decide whether Rilla will stay at the academy or face expulsion, several twists culminating in the final chapters, accounting for a satisfying sequel that like its predecessor isn’t shy about its fairytale inspirations, with Millissa for instance having backstory alluding to the tale of Rumpelstiltskin. I could definitely relate with Rilla’s negative experience in school, given my own social hardships during my grade-school tenure. There are some occasional unclear details within the narrative, although I would definitely recommend this novella to those who enjoyed its precursor.

View all my reviews