RIOTUS

What if purgatory was a boarding school where students study magic and protect the balance of the afterlife?

The top students at Blackwood Academy are selected to take part in the Decennial, a competition every ten years where the sole winner is given a choice: stay as an eternal leader at the school, or pass on to the uncertainty of the afterlife. This challenge takes place over four rounds, each more dangerous than the last. As the souls in Blackwood lose memories of their human lives the longer they stay in purgatory, the Decennial is also an escape for this fate. But only one student can win.  

Blackwood is also dealing with numerous students leaving to join the Demian Order, who worship an unknown being called the Soulless One and are stripped of their humanity, allowing them to tap into dangerous yet powerful shadow magic.

Wren is one of the top students at Blackwood whose infamous rivalry with the dashing Augustine masks a deeper connection. Olivier’s feelings of more-than-friendship for new student Emilio is obvious to everyone but him. Irene’s past life weighs over her and is enticed by the unrestricted power of the Demian Order, while her best friend Masika battles her own past.

The worldbuilding of Blackwood Academy is not as detailed as similar books in this genre (I’m expecting Marie to expand on the world as the series progresses), but it was enough to get a sense of place and set the high stakes for our cast of characters. And the characters are what made me fall in love with this book. Every interaction, every angsty moment, every second of banter was expertly crafted to elicit every emotion my body is capable of having.  

I flew through this book. It wasn’t quite short enough for me to read in one sitting, but I wanted to. The pacing is just right, moving along the plot while not abandoning detail or characterization. Some twists were a little predictable, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment in any way.  

I’m still thinking about this book, and I anxiously await the next installment in The Souls of Blackwood Academy. If you loved the dark academic atmosphere of Ninth House, the character dynamics of Six of Crows, and the romantic tension of Legendborn, put Immortal Consequences on your TBR right now. 

for fans of: magic schools, dark academia, rivals to lovers, dangerous games, found family, fantasy, romance, romantasy, young adult drama, multi-POV, and The Vampire Diaries