Shadowspell Academy

Series · 7 books · 2019-2021

By Shannon Mayer, K.F. Breene

Books in series

The Culling Trials

2019

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You. I had no idea how those words would change my life. Or how they’d changed my life already… Until the day the most dangerous man I’ve ever met waltzed onto my farm and left us a death sentence. In an invitation. My younger brother has been chosen for the prestigious, secret magical school hidden within the folds of our mundane world. A place so dangerous, they don’t guarantee you’ll make it out alive. If he doesn't go our entire family will be killed. It’s the same invitation my older brother received three years ago—the same place he mysteriously died. The academy has already killed one sibling. I’ll be damned if they take another. I do the only thing an older sister can: chop off my hair, strap on two bras to flatten the girls, and take my brother’s place. Magic and monsters are real. Assassins are coming for me, and the dead are prone to rise. What’s a girl faking it as a boy supposed to do? That’s right—beat the academy at its own game. Or die trying. Shadowspell Academy Book 1 and Shadowspell Academy Book 2 end with a cliffhanger.

The Culling Trials 2

2019

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You. Being accepted into an elite school of magic, monsters, and assassins was not my idea of higher education. But here I am, fighting my way through the Culling Trials to claim my right to be taught. As if the gauntlet-type physical and mental tests aren’t enough, people are going missing. People that are my friends. In a dangerous world where no one is as they seem, the golden rule is simple: Trust no one. They think we should just look out for ourselves. That we should leave the fallen behind and ask no questions. They clearly think we’re idiots. I got this far by trusting my instincts, and I’m not going to back down now. Those kids won’t be left to die. Not on my watch. Shadowspell Academy Book 1 and Shadowspell Academy Book 2 end with a cliffhanger Book 3 will release June 11, 2019

The Culling Trials 3

2019

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You. The last of the Culling Trials is here. I foolishly thought I’d survived the worst. My team is falling to pieces around me and my heart is shattered for the losses I’ve endured. But I can’t stop when I’m so close to the end. There are too many people depending on me. I foolishly thought there wasn’t much more I could lose…until the nature of my bloodline comes to light. I’m not what I thought I was. Not what anyone thought I was. But to tell people the truth would be to kill us all. To fail the trials will mean death, but to succeed might damn me for life.

Year of the Chameleon

2021

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You. I’ve made it through the Culling Trials, the test that proved my mettle against every possible challenge. I assumed that meant things would settle down and I’d start truly learning. No more danger. No more death threats. No more wondering who was out to get me. Apparently, that was not to be. I am what this supernatural world calls a Chameleon—a rarity even amongst all these monsters. And rare things are coveted and feared by the most powerful of all—The House Of Wonder. It’s a good thing I have my crew at my back, because this Academy? It’s about to get seriously ugly. Which means this farm girl is ready to play by only one set of rules. Her own.

Year of the Chameleon 2

2021

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You. The Shadowkiller is back. And he is hunting me down like a dog in the streets of New York City using every tool and ally he has—including people I once trusted. I have never been so alone in my life, and yet if I turn to my friends that puts a target on their backs too. Which means I have to keep running. So, I do what I know, and I set myself to finding the trail of breadcrumbs that will lead me to the one who is still pulling the strings. Frost. A Chameleon just like me. Just like the Shadowkiller. Worse, she’s seeking out my friends to pick them off, one by one. To drain their lives in order to feed hers. To stop her, I have to find her—a task easier said than done in a city this size. What I don’t expect to find is a truth that this world and its secrets run far deeper, and far darker than I could have ever suspected. But is any of that going to stop me? Not a chance.

Year of the Chameleon 3

2021

You Don’t Choose the Academy. The Academy Chooses You. Broken, bruised, and battered beyond anything else, I’ve survived what I shouldn’t have. But my day isn’t done yet. We finally have the key to stopping Frost—literally. Even if we don’t know how to use it. One last time my friends and I have to scour not only the city but the supernatural world to find the pieces of this final puzzle—and we have three days to do it. One final showdown brings us back to where it all began, and I face off against the woman who killed my brother. Who hunted my mother down. Who broke my uncle’s spirit. If I cannot find the final pieces, then I will fail. And if I fail, Frost wins, and we are all doomed. No pressure. No pressure at all.

#1-3

The Culling Trials Omnibus, #1-3

2019

A teenage girl torn from her family must survive a series of deadly trials to earn her place in a dangerous school of magic, from Bestselling Authors; K.F. Breene and Shannon Mayer. This omnibus edition includes all three books in the trilogy; [The Culling Trials,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44440262-the-culling-trials) [The Culling Trials 2](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44782214-the-culling-trials-2) and [The Culling Trials 3.](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44937108-the-culling-trials-3) You don't choose The Academy. The Academy chooses you. I had no idea how those words would change my life, until the day the most dangerous man I’ve ever met waltzed onto my farm and left us a death sentence. My younger brother has been chosen for The Academy: the prestigious, secret school of magic hidden within the folds of our mundane world. A place where there’s no guarantee you’ll make it out alive. If he doesn't go, our entire family will be killed. It’s the same invitation my older brother received three years ago—and he never came home. The Academy has already killed one sibling, and I’ll be damned if they take another. So I do the only thing an older sister can: chop off my hair, strap on two bras to flatten the girls, and take my brother’s place. Magic and monsters are real. Assassins are coming for me, and the dead are prone to rise. What’s a girl faking it as a boy supposed to do? Being accepted into an elite school of magic, monsters, and assassins was not my idea of higher education. But here I am, fighting my way through the deadly physical and mental tests of the Culling Trials to claim my right to be taught. In a cutthroat world where no one is as they seem, the golden rule is simple: Trust no one. The Academy tells us we should just look out for ourselves. That we should leave the fallen behind and ask no questions. Not on my watch.

Authors

Shannon Mayer

Author · 96 books

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I was born into a family of Star Wars nuts. I have a lot of siblings (somewhere I lost count but I think there was more than could be numbered on one hand) and being one of the young padawans I was subjected to Star Wars marathons, on a regular basis. If you've read any of my books you'll see there is often a reference to said movies as a small homage to my upbringing. May the force be with you and all that jazz. I started writing when I realized I didn't want to grow up not believing in magic, or not believing in creatures everyone else said didn't exist. That being said, I have never seen a fairy, unicorn or dragon. I had a neighbour who swore they fed the leprechauns in their garden, but I never caught the little buggers no matter how long I lay in wait. (And consequently had to help the neighbours plant new flowers to replace those I killed waiting for the leprechauns to show their faces.) Along the way, I found my husband who is the rock that keeps me from floating away into my dreams, and we have a little boy who is the centre of our world. Living on a farm keeps us busy (as if the writing wasn't enough) and I have more than my share of stories about wrestling with cows, helping birth calves and ending up in the creek during the process, falling in the mud (we'll call it mud but we all know that on a farm, mud is rarely mud) and chasing escaped livestock in the hopes the four legged convicts don't make it to the highway. I've taken up archery, and the goal is to move into horseback archery in time (you know, when I can hit the target on a consistent basis) and when no one is looking, I love to bake (this doesn't happen often as it's hard to keep the sweet treats in stock with two boys in the house.) As to what's coming next for me? More stories (since those never stop inside my head, I might as well share them with all of you!) and more adventures. Pretty much, when the fancy strikes, I'll jump on it. Leap before you look I'm sure that motto was created for me. Or was that . . . think big and dream bigger, ready, set, pull the trigger . . . yeah. That one is a good one too. But only if you have a gun. And are hunting elephants. Which is not cool because of so many reasons. Let's stick with the first one with an addendum. Leap before you look and let your dreams carry you on their wings. And that, my friends, is me in a nutshell.

K.F. Breene

Author · 92 books