REVIEW
I have been curious about K.R. Thompson’s Shifter’s University since its release. However, I kind of fell out of love with YA romance (PNR or otherwise) and it has been sitting on my kindle collecting cyber-dust. In a desperate bid to defeat insomnia, I pulled out the kindle and tried quite a few books. This one was just interesting enough that I read it (and finished it). There’s decent conflict and plot, but as a lover of character-driven stories, it kind of fell flat. I feel like, when I think back on the book, a LOT of things happened, but I only got snapshots of any of it. I really don’t have any interest in continuing the series.
Since I love good character development, I was rather disappointed in how things evolved in Shifter’s University. Claire is an abused foster kid (again) and extremely timid and distrusting when we first meet her. She continues to be this way (even moreso after a while at the school). Then suddenly…she’s a badass, offering to fight the baddest kid in school in order to save her new roommate whom she immediately trusts and likes. She’s bossing people around and coming up with plans. There was no growth. Just…a leap. It was weird and disjointed. Her trust in Logan is also really sudden and disconcerting. I can see her trusting him more after discussing him with her BFF, but to take the word of a new person on another new person after being in a situation like hers….it just felt forced and untrue.
I also think the big baddie was…bland. He was basically a charicature of a bad guy. You knew he was the bad guy from the beginning (think Draco Malfoy…only more obvious), and because of that, there was no focus on him. He just does things, described with brief sentences here and there. It was almost like he was an afterthought.
The foster brother was maybe, the most annoying thing in the book. He joins this group of mysterious people (you know how they are because you get hit with the hint brick fairly early on). But as soon as he finds out what is really going on, he’s all sorry and Claire is all forgiveness. The trust thing, again. This guy totally betrayed you, but because he was going to save you from your abusive foster father, it’s okay because he’s sorry!? I’m just…lost. I’m too annoyed by the characters and their lack of growth, detail, and making any sort of sense to continue the series. It gets a 3 star because it was readable (obviously, I finished it) and had decent action, but I can’t go any higher than that because I seriously do. not. care. The plot was watered down, and the fact that I actively dislike just about every character in the book brings it down. If you want to give it a shot and see for yourself, grab it by clicking on the image below.
Dragons, magic, and more…Welcome to Shifter’s University!
Claire Pratten has a secret—one that she’s never shared with a soul. Whenever she is frightened, her “other” self comes out. Normally she has no problem hiding what she is, but lately life at her foster home has gotten harder and keeping her secret is getting tougher.
Logan Fairmont is a dragon shifter and more than accustomed to looking out for himself—and others. In fact, he is one of the few Imperium University students tasked with spending weekends in the city, searching for young shapeshifters on the edge of revealing their magic to the human race. When he finds Claire, Logan knows she will need the help of the University and its teachers to blend into society.
He thinks he knows what she is.
But magic is never quite so simple.
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